Well, the first round matchups are set and now the Bears must wait to see who they’ll face in the divisional round game. Is it just me, or are you as scared as I am to see who will come into this town and leave the Bears in a “one and done” fashion like last year and 2001. Could it be the revived Dallas Cowboys with Tony Romo and legendary Bill Parcells? Could it be the second-chance New York Giants riding the coat-tails of Tiki Barber’s eventual retirement? Or could it be the “wizard of offense” (Mike Holmgren) and his Seahawks?

All I’ve heard lately is a bunch of lame excuses from Bears players (and stupid questions from the Chicago media) and “what if” scenarios about the Bears quarterback situation. They better get back in gear and ready for whomever they will meet first as any of these 3 teams are very dangerous and could easily spoil a route to Miami. Here are my takes on these three teams:

Dallas Cowboys: Is Tony Romo a bust or godsend? I’m not really sure, but he doesnt scare me at all. The Cowboys find ways to lose internally and have the always troublesome and unreliable Terrell Owens on their sideline. To me, there is too much media draw to the Cowboys and internal problems keeping them focused on the real prize. The Cowboys defense is utterly overrated and they have no pass rush besides DeMarcus Ware and Greg Ellis (IR). Their running game is by committee and and their doesn’t appear to be any fortitude between their offensive line (did I mention that Marc Colombo starts for them?). Seriously, if the Bears met the Cowboys, I think that would be a great stage for them to prove themselves and give the media what they don’t want (a Bears win).

Bears 31 Cowboys 14

Seattle Seahawks: Once again, I’m not scared of the Seahawks, especially with the demise of their defense. The only problem here is that they played the Bears earlier in the season and were embarrassed on national television. Holmgren is notoriously known for recouping a team after a previous loss and sorting out scheme issues for a second matchup. I assure any Bears fan that if they meet again, the score will not be so one-sided. The Seahawks are hungry after last year’s loss to Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl and its a sure bet that Holmgren is on the hot seat to get back to this year’s big game.

Bears 24 Seahawks 17

New York Giants: Once again, a team that the Bears met earlier this year (and on Sunday Night Football). If the Giants didnt make the playoffs, Tom Coughlin would have been fired on New Year’s Day, but is given a game-by-game chance now to see how far the team goes before letting him go. Right now, Coughlin must win the whole thing in order to come back next year, which will leave his players hungrier than ever. Also keep in mind that it could be the last game for Tiki Barber and he will surely be gunning for a Super Bowl appearance. The only problem for the Giants is that they are desimated by injuries and unreliability from their offense. I would suspect that Barber and Brandon Jacobs would run well against the Bears defense, but at some point, the Giants need to put the ball in the air and that’s where the problems start for them. In a defensive game like this, it would be a key matchup with kickers (Robbie Gould vs. Jay Feely) which Gould would win seeing as his home field is Soldier Field.

Bears 20 Giants 17

No matter who the Bears play, it will be at Soldier Field, but that’s not so comforting seeing what happened last year against Carolina, however, take away two plays (coverage issues on Steve Smith) and the Bears win the game and travel to Seattle. With the more than seasonal weather in Chicago lately, its a good bet that it will be freezing cold here for the divisional playoff game and add a touch of lakefront wind (that will favour Gould in the kicking game). My biggest fear is meeting Philadelphia or even New Orleans at some point (NFC Championship Game). If the Bears can get their act together against one of these 3 teams, it will put an enormous amount of pressure one whoever comes in to play the Bears in the NFC Championship game. If you’re looking for a homefield advantage scenario in January, nothing comes to mind like Soldier Field. Let’s just hope the Bears take advantage of it this year….