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"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." — Sun Tzu, The Art of War

When it comes to sports and war, parents would say football is for fun. When it comes to war, the late Dick Cheney would say war is for profit. That's quite a difference, but both have one thing in common: destroy your opponent's will to win.

In war, it's much easier to go on the attack and defeat an enemy on his home turf when the people no longer believe in their leaders.

Case in point: the Allied invasion of Sicily during World War II.

By 1943, many Italians were tired of Benito Mussolini's disastrous war. Italian forces defending Sicily suffered from poor equipment, inadequate training and low morale, and many Italian soldiers surrendered when given the opportunity. The German troops on the island presented much tougher resistance, but the Allies conquered Sicily in just 38 days. The defeat helped bring about Mussolini's removal from power.

That's some pretty good Sun Tzu strategy.

In sports, the similarity is the same.

Case in point: the Chicago Bears going on the road to Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

In past years, the Packers had a definite home-field advantage at Lambeau Field. Not anymore. It appears the winds of change are coming to Lambeau.

Any coach will tell you it's much easier to play an away game when you first take the home crowd out of the game and, second, turn the home crowd against the home team.

We've all seen games where fans boo the home team at the end of the game.

But how would you like to see Packers fans booing the home team before halftime?

Knowledgeable and longtime observers of the Packers noticed a decline in Green Bay last year. They haven't improved this year.

Case in point: Green Bay's first home game was scheduled during a Thursday night prime-time slot.

The game didn't go the way pundits and Packers fans thought it would.

The hometown-favorite Packers convincingly lost 35–14 to the underdog Atlanta Falcons in front of a nationwide audience.

It's bad enough when you lose a game.

It's a lot worse when a national audience hears your fans boo you before the game ends.

A couple of weeks ago, the NFL took one look at the Packers and realized the Bears-Packers game wasn't going to be the great rivalry game everyone expected.

Their instincts correctly told them the Packers are in decline.

In other words, the ratings were going to tank—and that means advertising revenue would, too.

Money means everything to the NFL.

Is there any doubt the league office may have called the television networks and said:

"The Packers are going to stink this year. Banish them to noon games."

And a stinker of a game it will be.

Despite Matt LaFleur's declining status in Green Bay, turning the Packers faithful into booing banshees at Lambeau Field isn't like turning on a faucet.

It requires a plan—a Ben Johnson plan so devious and overwhelming that Chicago Bears fans will chuckle over it for decades.

Yes, the game is going to be a stinker that'll be over by halftime, with the Bears totally in control.

After halftime, Lambeau Field will start emptying in the third quarter as fans flock to the exits.

Ben Johnson isn't going to take his foot off the pedal.

His game plan has the Bears blowing out the Packers as booing Packers fans flee Lambeau as though somebody yelled:

"Plague!"

Why would Ben Johnson go with this strategy?

Ben's thinking long-term here.

Last year, despite signs that Matt LaFleur had peaked and was unable to take the Packers to the Super Bowl, the Packers organization signed him to a multiyear deal.

The Packers—and, most importantly, their fans—are stuck with LaFleur.

It doesn't get any better for Matt LaFleur.

He's stuck with fans booing him.

If you're at home in Chicago and want to make the game more interesting, invite your friends who are Packers fans over to watch the game.

Make sure they wear their cheesehead hats.

Prepare for game day and order an electric cheese grater from Amazon.

Look at the ratings and make sure you order the one with complaints about a really loud and annoying motor.

You'll know what to do when the Bears score a touchdown.

So, what do Sun Tzu, Dick Cheney, Matt LaFleur, Sicily, cheesehead hats and a noisy cheese grater have to do with handicapping a football game?

Everything.

Read my Circa Million selections and learn.

On that note, the picks:

Chicago Bears (-1½) vs. Green Bay Packers

The whole article was dedicated to this game.

Do you really need more?

NY Jets (-1½) vs. Cleveland Browns

Watching Jets coach Aaron Glenn find his true self as an NFL coach is kind of like watching Goldilocks figure out which porridge suited her best.

Truth be told, Aaron found his true coaching style in his first game this year, defeating the Titans.

Then the porridge-tasting contest happened while Aaron tried figuring out the best coaching style.

The result: Aaron flubbed his way to a 1–3 record.

But that'll change as Aaron coaches his Jets team to a victory over Cleveland.

Afterward, he'll say:

"This one is just right."

Atlanta Falcons (-3½) vs. Baltimore Ravens

Considering the Ravens' injury report, do you really need an explanation?

Las Vegas Raiders (+3½) vs. New England Patriots

The Raiders lost to the Chiefs in an improbable come-from-behind victory.

Name a team more angry.

New Orleans Saints (+2) vs. "the worst 4–0 team in the NFL."

WHOOPS!

We mean the Minnesota Vikings.

Last week: 5-0 Season to date: 15-5