NFL Betting Odds
The Bears are 20:1 to win
the Super Bowl, 17:2 to win the NFC Championship,
and 4:6 to win the NFC North.
Schedule
Chicago’s 2006 opponents
had a record of 114-142 in 2005. That is the easiest
schedule in the NFC. The Bears get their bye-week
after Week 6.
After writing about
the NFC East teams and detailing their tough schedules,
it is refreshing to look at Chicago. The NFC North
teams play the AFC East and NFC West, and there
are some easy games in there. Add in a weak NFC
North division, and you can see why the Bears’
schedule is the easiest in the conference.
Sports Edge Analysis
Quarterback, Rex Grossman
is the named starter, but he has not outplayed
Brian Griese so far this pre-season. Grossman
was very shaky in the pre-season opener, and given
his history of injury, it would be very surprising
to see him start all 16 games. Fortunately, Griese
is one of the best backups in the game and the
team will not falter with him.
The Bears' running back situation
is just as muddled. They have two potential featured
backs in Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. Both
have been hurt this pre-season and they will likely
end up splitting carries. Adrian Peterson is also
a solid third back and can even be a starter if
need be.
The wide receiver core is
average at best, but does have some good young
talent. Veteran, Muhsin Muhammad is the number
one guy, although he had a disappointing 2005
after coming over from Carolina. Bernard Berrian,
Mark Bradley and former cornerback, Rashied Davis
are all battling for the number two role.
Chicago’s offensive
line has a very good center in Olin Kreutz. Left
tackle, John Tait is solid at that important position.
Where the question marks lie is Ruben Brown at
left guard and Fred Miller at right tackle. They
are both getting up there in age, and the team
is hoping to get one more good year out of them.
The Bears’ defense
was 2nd in the NFC in yards allowed last year,
and 1st in points allowed. In fact, their 12.6
points per game allowed beat every other NFL team
by 3.6 points. That kind of stifling play drew
many comparisons to the 1985 Bears’ defense
that won the Super Bowl.
When you dissect the personnel
of Chicago’s “D”, what strikes
you the most is that the whole is far greater
than the sum of the parts.
Coach Lovie Smith has integrated
his defensive system and every player on the field
is in sync, and in position to make the play.
Of course, the Bears have a lot of talented players,
but they would not be as effective a group in
another scheme.
The highest profile position
on the defense is the linebackers. Brian Urlacher
had a monster 2005 and he is flanked by two good
ones in Lance Briggs and Hunter Hillenmeyer. They
are also helped by having an intimidating front
four that can both rush the passer and stop the
run.
The secondary does
their share as well, and they even acquired cornerback
Ricky Manning to add depth along with Nathan Vasher
and Charles Tillman.
Prediction
The Bears went 11-5 last
year after going 5-11 in 2004. Last season was
even more incredible given the fact that rookie
Kyle Orton started 15 of the regular season games.
The offense is certainly improved on paper with
Rex Grossman and Brian Griese available at quarterback,
now they have to prove it on the field.
The defense should continue
to be excellent. It is disturbing that they allowed
Carolina to rack up 434 yards and 29 points in
their home playoff loss last year. Despite that
aberration, Chicago is still the class of the
division and they should finish at 10-6 with another
division title.
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Posted by miker at August
17, 2006 08:24 AM
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