2010 Chicago Bears Team Preview/Predictions
With NFL football just a short time away, Cappers Picks Football handicappers have been hard at work putting out the team by team NFL previews for those of us who can’t wait. Bet on the Super Bowl winner, plus Conference and Divisional winners.
What are you waiting for use our insider knowledge today to gamble on all the NFL Football Futures in our top online sportsbooks today.
2009 Record: 7-9
ATS: 6-10
It’s a make-or-break year for the Men of the Midway. The Bears reached Super Bowl XLI in February of 2007, but haven’t made the playoffs since. That’s not acceptable in a city that demands quality.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TOP CAPPERS FOR NFL FOOTBALL BETTING THIS SEASON —–>
The 2009 season was a miserable journey, which forced the organization to make a number of changes heading into 2010. Chicago sputtered and stumbled to a 7-9 record with stellar linebacker Brian Urlacher having his season ruined by a wrist injury suffered in the season opener.
Urlacher’s loss was obviously substantial, but as big as that event in fact was, this team still could have won 10 games if its major acquisition had performed better.
Jay Cutler owns as strong an arm as any quarterback in the game today, but his brain and his lazy footwork fail to supplement his natural physical gifts. Cutler threw a sea of interceptions in 2009, costing the Bears week after maddening week. He did play well in a late-season Monday night win over Minnesota, but that high-level performance only reminded Bears fans how much Cutler underachieved for most of the year.
The Vanderbilt product never found any consistency or rhythm, and his on-field product cried out for a better offensive teacher.
With all this in mind, 2010 brought about the kind of change that might resurrect Cutler’s flagging NFL career. The Bears, in search of an offensive coordinator who could unlock a talented passer’s full toolbox of skills, plucked Mike Martz out of the unemployment line and selected him to be the new playcaller in the Windy City.
Martz – who was the offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl XXXIV champion St. Louis Rams and then served as the head coach of the Rams in a Super Bowl XXXVI loss to New England – has presided over some of the best passing offenses the NFL has seen in recent memory.
After brief stints as the offensive coordinator in Detroit and San Francisco (where he lacked high-caliber material to work with), Martz is entering a more promising situation. It’s true that Chicago lacks elite receivers (that will be a lingering challenge), but if Martz can improve Cutler’s footwork and instincts, he could allow his prime passer to finally live up to his immense potential.
That development, in and of itself, would give the Bears three extra wins relative to 2009.
The other big key for the Bears’ defense is for new acquisition Julius Peppers to make an impact. Peppers – who spent the entirety of his career with the Carolina Panthers – is faced with a change of scenery at this latter stage of his career. How Peppers handles this tour of duty will largely determine the progression of Chicago’s defense, whose secondary will be under assault.
Peppers, along with Urlacher (who will hopefully be healthy) and the rest of the Bears’ front seven, needs to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks so that the secondary’s vulnerability will be minimized.
The Cutler-Martz partnership is clearly priority number one in Chicago, but Peppers and the pass rush are the second big point of focus for embattled coach Lovie Smith, who needs to make the playoffs if he wants to keep his job.
Long story short: It’s hard to trust Jay Cutler… even with Mike Martz. The Bears will go 9-7 and miss the playoffs. Goodbye, Lovie Smith.
Bears 2010 Outlook
They’ll surprise with a key win or two and likely shape the playoff picture for the other three teams in the division, but one thing is for sure: they won’t be a part of the 2011 postseason.
Bears 2010 Futures
Super Bowl Odds: +3250
Conference Odds: +1415
NFC North Odds: +305
2010 Bears Predictions
Place they’ll finish in NFC North: 3rd
Place they’ll finish in NFC Conference: 9th
Over/Under Season Wins Prediction: Over 7.5 Wins
JOIN SPORTSINTERACTION SPORTSBOOK TODAY – GRAB A FREE PLAY BONUS WHEN YOU CLICK HERE NOW AND TELL THEM CAPPERSPICKS.COM SENT YOU!!!
Dave Golokhov has written for BETUS Sportsbook, Sportsfanmagazine.com, FOX, Askmen.com, Sports-central.org, and the FOXSports.com Funhouse.
