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With the odds makers at Bookmaker.com believing that the Chicago Bears will not win more than 8 games this season, many believe that line is way too generous.
"How about making the line ‘5'?" asks Gambling911.com's own Dan Shapiro.
Chicago finished dead last in their division last season. The Bears rebounded from a 5-11 last-place finish in coach Lovie Smith's first season as coach in 2004 to claim NFC North Division crowns with marks of 11-5 in 2005 and 13-3 in 2006.
"We've been in this situation before, so it's not new to us," Smith said. "We've been in last place and we've climbed that mountain. So that's the message going in. It's always good to be the underdog. Right now most people are counting us out. We like that position."
"There is a reason for counting them out," argues Shapiro. "On paper it does not appear as if the Bears will even be able to score this season."
Walter Cherepinsky of WalterSports.com had this to offer:
I have every reason to believe that the 2008 Bears could challenge that Seattle squad as having the worst scoring unit in modern-day history. Seriously, I can't think of one redeeming quality Chicago has in its offense. Starting at quarterback, Lovie Smith will see who sucks less between Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton to determine who the starter is. Does it really matter?
The Chicago Tribune's Matt Millen goes as far as to suggest that the Bears should trade Devin Hester.
This is the perfect time to trade Hester-when his returning skills are at their peak and before he has shown what he cannot do as a wide receiver.
As a third-year player with a low salary-cap figure, Hester on the trade market would be as hot a commodity as a snowblower after a November blizzard.
A lot of teams could convince themselves Hester is the one player who could make the difference for their season. And they might not be wrong. Could you imagine Hester on the Chargers? The Jaguars? The Giants? Hester could have an instant impact on any team as a returner.
But do the Bears really want to go through the season without scoring a single point?, asks Ryan Wilson of the AOL Fan House.
Probably not. But with all this talk of how bad the Chicago Bears are going to be this upcoming season, we're a little surprised that Bookmaker.com has only lowered their regular season total wins line to 7 ½ - the favorite at -130. Hardly a strong opinion this team will have such a rough season.
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Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
