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With the Chicago Bears struggling through a season which began with such lofty expectations, many names are bound to be connected to the Bears. Most notably, people will start speculating about head coaches, defensive coordinators (to take pressure off Lovie Smith) and offensive coordinators who could replace the maligned Ron Turner.

A name that would make sense is Mike Martz -- who was head coach when Smith was the defensive coordinator in St. Louis for three seasons earlier this decade. Martz presently works as an analyst for the NFL Network, but -- according to the Chicago Sun-Times -- he would welcome being hired as the Bears' offensive coordinator.

With a 30-24 win over San Francisco Sunday at Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers thrust themselves into the thick of the NFC playoff race. At 6-4, Green Bay kept pace with the New York Giants, who also won, and jumped ahead of the team the Giants beat (Atlanta).

However, it was a costly win for the Packers.

The defense may have suffered a couple of major blows with potentially serious knee injuries to outside linebacker Aaron Kampman and cornerback Al Harris.

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As the Chicago Bears look to break a skid which has found them losing four of their last five games, they are apparently not in a very outgoing mood. As NBC gears up for Sunday Night football this week -- which pits the Bears against the Philadelphia Eagles -- they requested "access" to Bears general manager Jerry Angelo, head coach Lovie Smith and quarterback Jay Cutler. The Bears declined.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the reason a Bears spokesman gave for the denial is that the team needs to focus on winning games instead of talking to the media.

When you're 8-1, you can afford to be picky.

Antoine Winfield is starting to return to practice after missing three games with a foot injury. But since the Vikings right now have a three-game lead in the NFC North, Winfield can head into the weekend knowing that he doesn't have to rush back before he's ready.

What Bill Belichick did Sunday night has happened before. It justifiably earned Barry Switzer the nickname "Bozo The Coach'' for failing TWICE on fourth down in the late stages of a tie game. And the Eagles' Andy Reid did the opposite of the New England coach on Sunday, eschewing fourth-and-short twice to kick field goals in what turned out to be an eight-point loss.

Switzer's mistake didn't prevent Dallas from winning its third Super Bowl in four seasons in the early '90s, but it left Switzer at the top of the oft-debated list of worst coaches to win a title.

On Nov. 15, 1995, the Cowboys were playing in Philadelphia and faced a fourth down and 1 on their own 29 with the game tied 17-17 and just over two minutes left. Switzer decided to go for it and sent Emmitt Smith left over the massive Nate Newton.

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I'll admit, I was wrong. During the offseason, I wrote here at FanHouse that the Vikings' pursuit of Brett Favre was foolhardy. Between his age and the poor finish to his 2008 season in New York, it seemed too risky to put the Vikings' season in the hands of a 40-year-old quarterback.

Brad Childress' gamble has paid off big-time. Favre is one of the key reasons that Minnesota is battling New Orleans for home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs, and he is the reason Childress is talking contract extension instead of worrying about his job security.

Obviously, Brett Favre isn't the average 40-year-old quarterback. He's having the best season a 40-year-old QB has ever had in the NFL and it's not even close.

As with any polarizing figure, Jay Cutler brings about strong emotions on both sides of the fence. Many people believe he's the worst thing that ever happened to professional quarterbacking, someone who sucks so bad he'll be in the UFL in a few years. Others believe his golden arm will carry him to the Hall of Fame eventually and every mistake he's ever made has been someone else's fault.

As with most extreme arguments, the best answer lies exactly in the middle. Cutler has tons of talent, but he has very large strides to make before he can be considered the franchise quarterback many believe him to be.

Though most had the Minnesota Vikings as the favorites to win the NFC North heading into the season, nearly everyone agreed that either the Chicago Bears or Green Bay Packers -- or both -- would at least pose a challenge to the Vikes' second straight division crown. Instead, we're taking this division race off life support and putting it to rest after Week 9. The 2009 NFC North champions will be the Vikings. They can now focus on securing home-field advantage in the playoffs.

The reason for the above sentiment is that both the Bears and Packers were abysmal, in different circumstances, Sunday afternoon. The Pack went into Tampa Bay and lost to the formerly winless Buccaneers, while the Bears were absolutely manhandled for the majority of the afternoon by a fickle Arizona squad.

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Lovie Smith has a 49-38 record as the head coach of the Chicago Bears. In his first five seasons, he guided the Bears to two division titles and one Super Bowl. The Bears are currently in the 2009 playoff race at 4-3. Yet, among fans and Chicago-area media, Lovie is just as maligned as the pathetic offensive line.

The complaints range from Lovie's penchant to avoid showing any emotion on the sideline to his not properly preparing players for games to his almost scripted non-answer answers in press conferences. Regardless of the reason, Lovie is not particularly loved, at present, in Chicago ... except by his Bears.

Editor's Note: Bruce Ciskie, a lifelong Packers fan, opines about the state of his beloved team.

High expectations greeted the Green Bay Packers in August, as the team arrived at training camp. Practices -- held across the street from Lambeau Field -- were very physical, as the Packers tried to show they wouldn't be bullied around like they were far too often in 2008.

That 6-10 season, we all were told, was a memory. It was a fluke. It wasn't how things would be conducted in Green Bay. Bad tackling, soft defense, poor special teams play, and stupid penalties were going to be a thing of the past.

Or not.