Chicago Bears
The Bears were two completely different teams in 2011. The ‘good ’ Bears went 7-3 to open up the
campaign. The ‘bad’ Bears went 1-5 to
close out the season after a bevy of injuries decimated their roster, most
notably the season ender to starting QB Jay Cutler.
Chicago finished the season with an 8-8 SU and 8-8 ATS mark
while going 9-7 to the Over. They were
outgained by 0.3 yards per play and finished with a +2 turnover margin against
a much tougher than average slate of opponents.
2012 Issues:
Mike Martz failed miserably as the offensive coordinator in
Detroit and in San Francisco prior to his arrival in Chicago. No surprise that Martz’s offense failed with
the Bears as well, leading to his resignation following the disastrous close to
their campaign.
New offensive coordinator Mike Tice is the former Vikings
head coach, assistant head coach/offense in Jacksonville and the offensive line
coach here in Chicago under Martz for the last two seasons. His new offense is designed to maximize the
Bears big play ability while getting the ball out of Jay Cutler’s hands
quickly.
The Bears are loaded with top notch skill position talent,
bringing in receiving weapons Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery in the
offseason. Their biggest weakness in
recent years has been on the offensive line; still very much a problematic unit
heading into the 2012 campaign.
The Bears still have a reputation as a top notch defensive
ballclub, and earned three pro bowl berths on the defensive side of the ball last
year. Defensive coordinator Rod
Marinelli operates a relatively conservative Cover-2 scheme that dates back to
Lovie Smith’s tenure as linebackers coach under Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay 15
years ago.
But Chicago’s best defensive players are all over the age of
30; an aging unit. And the Bears have
suffered multiple key defensive injuries repeatedly in recent years;
potentially a cause for concern again in 2012.
Betting Markets:
There’s only one team that can match Buffalo in terms of
betting marketplace support so far this offseason – these Bears. We’ve seen a flood of money come on the Bears
Over their season win total, in part because of their much easier schedule in
2012. First the Over 8.5’s got bought
up, then many of the Over 9’s. You can
still find Chicago Over 9 out there, but O/U 9.5 has become the prevailing
number.
Ted Sevransky has been a Las Vegas-based pro capper at Covers Experts for over 10 years. He can been heard on ESPN, Fox Sports and more.