Chicago Bears NFL Betting Odds

2010 Season

Talk about the 'comeback kids.' After a 2009-10 NFL season that left much to be desired, the Chicago Bears went back to the drawing board and virtually reinvented themselves, a strategy that paid off in the 2010-11 NFL season. Where the season before the Bears came third in the NFC North division, last season they finished first on 11-5, and made it all the way to the NFC championship game.

2011 Off Season

Even though the Chicago Bears bounced back from a dismal 2009-10 NFL season and almost made it to the Super Bowl last season, they were far from perfect. Consider how they struggled with their offense and were often forced to make use of special teams and rely too heavily on their defense. However, to address these deficits, the Bears went 'wild' during the off season, trading and signing new talent left and right. For instance, Chicago bid S Danieal Manning, DT Tommy Harris, C Olin Kreutz and TE Greg Olson goodbye, and used the 2011 NFL Draft to welcome the likes of OL Gabe Carimi as well as DE Vernon Gholston, WR Roy Williams, RB Marion Barber and others to the den.

2011 Preview

The Chicago Bears could be in the pound seats this season, because not only will their confidence still be sky high after a blazing 2010-2011 season that almost saw them make it to the Super Bowl, but they used the off season to great effect by getting rid of some 'dead wood', while snapping up a host of new talent. Head coach Lovie Smith has had a pretty good run with the Bears over the last seven seasons, and may be poised for a Super Bowl season this year if he can iron out a few problems with the team. Offensively he needs to get the team to improve on their total yards as they ranked 30th in the league in total yards last season. He also has to help prevent Chicago's QBs from getting sacked so much. Last season the Bears were sacked a whopping 56 times, the most of any team in the NFL. But the good news is that Chicago's defense was not-too-shabby last season, ranking ninth overall in the league, with 314 YPG. This means Smith can spend the majority of his time knocking Chicago's offensive lineup into shape.

2011 Prediction

The Chicago Bears are one of those NFL teams where anything could happen. One season they play like a bunch of high schools kids, and the next they're touted as potential Super Bowl contenders. The question is whether the Bears can replicate their success from last season, and even improve on it this season thanks to their newly tweaked offense? That may depend a lot on QB Jay Cutler, who has to make far fewer mistakes this season and focus much more.

**Our Pick

While there are no doubt many NFL betting fans out there who expect the Chicago Bears to falter this season, for our NFL betting buck we believe the Bears will play even better than they did last season. So don't be surprised to see the Bears top the NFC North division standings once more, and perhaps even rack up a record north of 11-5. That said, Chicago Bears will have to dig very deep to fend off their six rivals who also made it to the playoffs last season.