2011 Chicago Bears Team Preview | NFL Predictions
The city of Chicago has still not gotten over the loss to archrival Green Bay in the 2010 NFC Championship Game. The question for 2011 is whether the Bears team will rebound from a heartbreaking and soul-crushing loss.
2011 Chicago Bears Team Preview/Predictions
2010 Record: 11-5
ATS Record: 9-6-1
In the 182nd staging of the league’s most historic rivalry, a clash when the stakes had never been bigger, the Bears folded and more importantly their franchise quarterback seemed to quit.
All Jay Cutler could do was watch, having left the game with a knee injury early in the third quarter. Even before the injury, Cutler was having trouble moving the ball. Worse, he was getting booed by the home fans at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Could the Bears be the 2011 version of the Minnesota Vikings by going from first to worst? Whatever happens, Cutler will have a loud say in the matter.
If Cutler plays like he did in his first year in Chicago when he threw 26 interceptions, it will be a long year for the defending NFC North champions. However, if Cutler plays more like he did last season then the Midway Monsters could repeat, but even in that dream scenario, there seems to be a sizeable stack of problems.
Until the playoff run last season, everything seemed to go against the Green Bay Packers in the 16-game regular-season slate, and for the Bears. This double-pattern included a laundry list of injuries for the Packers while the Bears were mostly injury free. The laws of averages suggest that Chicago won’t have the regular-season joyride it benefited from in 2010.
Meanwhile, the Packers are poised to reign in the NFC, possibly for several seasons.
Ever since Lovie Smith became the head coach of the Bears in 2004 and installed his version of the Tampa 2, the Bears have always been a top defensive unit. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The team is led by linebackers Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher. The Bears limited opposing rushers to 3.72 yards per carry which ranked them sixth best in the NFL. Also, the Monsters of the Midway limited opposing quarterbacks to a 74.4 QB rating, which ranked third best in the league.
In case you haven’t heard, the Bears have a pretty good return game: Devin Hester is a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball.
Will the Bears be able to block a soul in 2011? The Bears had the worst offensive line in the NFL last year. They did get better towards the end of the year, but their running backs averaged only 3.89 yards per carry which ranked 23rd, and they ranked worst in the league on pass plays turned into an interception or a sack. Of course, a big reason for that fact was that they gave up an NFL-worst 55 sacks.
Another weakness for the Bears is that they lack a true number one wide receiver. Johnny Knox finished as their top receiver but he had only 51 receptions on 100 attempts in 2010.
How many quarterbacks are going to have enough faith to keep throwing to a guy when they know he’s only going to catch the ball half the time?
The Bears are going to have to go out and get a number one pass catcher.
2011 Bears Futures:
Super Bowl Odds: +3250
Conference Odds: +1350
NFC North Odds: +450
2011-2012 NFL Regular Season Wins: Over 9.5 (-115), Under 9.5 (-115)
2011 Bears Predictions:
Place they’ll finish in NFC North: 3rd
Place they’ll finish in NFC Conference: 10th
Over/Under Wins Prediction: Under
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One reply on “2011 Chicago Bears Odds | Preview | Picks”
Will the Bears reach the 10 win mark in 2011? Weigh in Bears fan!