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The Chicago Bears were a step away from reaching the Super Bowl last year, but an injury to starting quarterback Jay Cutler was too much to overcome in a 21-14 home loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship.
Cutler’s personality is under scrutiny again heading into the 2011 season, as his summer marriage to Hollywood starlet Kristin Cavallari was seemingly called-off by the former Vanderbilt star. This follows up an offseason of fans questioning his toughness when last seen on the sidelines with a trip to Dallas on the line.
Chicago finished the regular-season with an 11-5 SU record and 9-6-1 ATS mark, while the ‘under’ was 9-7. The Bears finished the season with four straight ATS victories before failing to cover as 3.5-point underdogs versus the Packers.
The team is led by a core group of defensive players, as linebackers Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and defensive end Julius Peppers return. The trio combined have 19 Pro Bowl appearances.
That unit ranked second in the league by allowing just 90.1 yards a game on the ground, while giving up just 17.9 points a game.
All teams are set to begin training camp 15 days before their first preseason game and things are no different from head coach Lovie Smith and his staff. Chicago kicks off its preseason August 13 against the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field.
“I’m excited to start working together as a team and excited to see the guys,” Smith commented. “I haven’t seen any of the guys in forever.”
The Bears face a major challenge in terms of the schedule in September, facing three of the best teams in the NFC, including a season opener at home against the Atlanta Falcons. Chicago will then travel to New Orleans before finishing the month at Soldier Field against rival Green Bay.
Bettors should expect a regression from the team's performance last year, as it finished 30th in total yards offensively and some of the defensive stars are moving up an age.
At the time of this writing, the Chicago Bears are +3536 to win the Super Bowl at Pinnacle Sports.
