There was nothing shocking about a 5-11 finish for the Chicago Bears in 2017. With a rookie quarterback and a roster filled with holes, five wins was actually pretty good. Still, ownership made the right call in sending head coach John Fox packing, replacing him with former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
If there’s going to be a sudden leap in victories for the Bears, the oddsmakers at BetDSI Sportsbook aren’t expecting it. Better than last season? Sure, but still far from a winning record. Here’s their over-under on victories.
Chicago Bears 2018-19 Regular Season Win Total
Over 5.5 (-140)
Under 5.5 (+110)
How much better can the Bears be this season? First off, let’s look at the smart thing they did in keeping defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. They’ve built a solid defensive unit in Chicago and only added strength to it by selecting Roquan Smith out of Georgia in the first round of April’s draft. They’re solid in the secondary and decent up front. This unit isn’t a world beater, but it’s NFL level and one they can win with.
Offense has been the problem in Chicago for years, but this is the best unit they’ve had in place since Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Matt Forte were all in their primes. They brought in Allen Robinson at wide receiver from the Jacksonville Jaguars, added Taylor Gabriel from the Atlanta Falcons and drafted Memphis wideout Anthony Miller in the second round. If Kevin White can actually play more than a single game, second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky should have plenty of weapons.
Anthony Miller impressed by Mitchell Trubisky's football I.Q.
READ: https://t.co/yhvMK9d2q5 #DaBears pic.twitter.com/x9HDdG4831
— Bears Wire (@TheBearsWire) June 4, 2018
Up front, the Bears added to their offensive line by selecting James Daniels in the second round. This was already a pretty good unit, led by Kyle Long and Cody Whitehair in the middle. Jordan Howard is probably the best running back no one outside of daily fantasy players talk about. Tarik Cohen adds another dimension, catching the ball out of the backfield. Benny Cunningham might be the most complete back on the team.
Chicago has brought in a slew of tight ends over the last couple of seasons to try to open the middle of the field. This is a year that 2017 second-round pick Adam Shaheen really needs to step up.
So what are we looking at in wins and losses? With a team like this, new coach and second-year franchise QB, it’s always hard to say. Just look at the Los Angeles Rams last season? Nobody expected an 11-5 finish with an NFC West title for them, but it happened. Chicago could shock some people and nothing would make a bigger statement than beating the Green Bay Packers in Week One.
Matt Nagy has been working 16 1/2 hour days in the still of springtime. He tells me why here. https://t.co/zSHCI9QCca
— Dan Pompei (@danpompei) June 3, 2018
Of course, I don’t think they will. After that, they do have a schedule that’s filled with winnable games. They play the Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills this year. All those teams have big question marks of their own to deal with. Can they split home games with the Packers? It’s possible. They certainly won games against teams they shouldn’t have been able to beat last season (I’m looking at you, Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers).
This one is tough and, out of all the picks I’ve done so far, the one I’m least confident in. I say take the over and cross your fingers.
