Bears still in it!

In fact, everyone's still in it, though I guess this was before this weekend's games...

Bears not mathematically done yet
By Vaughn McClure Tribune staff reporter
4:38 PM CST, December 8, 2007


As crazy as it sounds, the Bears remain in the playoff conversation.

Go ahead. Shake your head in denial.

But an NFL spokesperson confirmed the Bears have not been mathematically eliminated. In fact, no team in the NFC had been eliminated as of Tuesday, including three, 3-9 teams.
Of course, that's likely to change with Sunday's games. And the Bears have to win their final three games. The odds are against them.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau (buncha liars, damned liars, statisticians), no 5-8 team has made the playoffs under the new format, dating back to 1990. Seven teams that finished 8-8 though have made the playoffs, most recently last season's New York Giants.

Mark Myers of chancebot.com—a site that analyzes such numbers—and probably wrote this article-figures the Bears will have a 1.27 percent shot at a wild-card berth if Dallas, Seattle and San Francisco win this coming weekend. Then, if the Bears win out, their chances would increase to 16.25 percent.

The tiniest bit of opportunity has at least one Bear optimistic.

"We win these last three, and everybody else keeps losing, we do have a shot," cornerback Charles (peanuts for brains) Tillman said.

My embellishments in italics.