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Atlanta Falcons vs Chicago Bears
Soldier Field – Chicago, Illinois
Sunday September 11 – 1:00PM on FOX
Spread (ATS): Atlanta -2.5
Over/Under: 40.5
Odds courtesy of BetOnline.com
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are looking to get the taste of a bad playoff loss to Green Bay out of their mouth by beating up on their rival – the Chicago Bears – in the opener. Atlanta was one of the better team in the regular season last year and appears to be gunning for a championship this year, selling most of their draft to get a receiver from Alabama named Julio Jones. He is a dynamic playmaker but that move might have cost them some depth.
On offense the Falcons seem to have it all. They can pound you with running back Michael Turner and quarterback Matt Ryan is becoming one of the more clutch passers around. With the speedy Jones in the mix they have three hard to cover targets in him, fellow wideout Roddy White and eventual Hall of Famer tight end Tony Gonzalez. At times they look like they can’t be stopped, they are just so well balanced.
The Falcons defense is not nearly as star studded as the offense. John Abraham is still an elite pass rusher and they got him some help on the other side in the form of Ray Edwards. If they can get a rush than the rest of the defense should be fine. The Falcons beat the Bears in 2008 and 2009 and are favoured to do so again on Sunday.
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears also made the playoffs last year but like Atlanta they didn’t get much satisfaction from the experience. Their defense was solid but on offense the way the season ended provided more questions than answers. Even though they won the division last year almost nobody is giving them a chance to do so again. Even making the playoffs seems like a long shot in 2011.
That is because the Bears didn’t do much to make you think they will improve on offense. QB Jay Cutler has a history of failing to meet expectations but it really isn’t all his fault all of the time. The weapons at his disposal are not very good and the “magic” of coordinator Mike Martz has failed to materialize. This year they brought in Roy Williams who had a career year in a Martz offense years ago in Detroit. There are hopes he can be a reclamation project but I think they might be grasping at straws there. This team should finally draft an elite receiver.
The defense is much better with familiar faces in linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs – although Briggs apparently wants out. They have a major disturber on the line in Julius Peppers and if he dominates than everything written earlier about the Falcons offense can be thrown out the window. The Bears are at home and seem to play best when little is expected from them. This seems like it could be one of those situations.
ATS Pick: Atlanta -2.5
Over/Under Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Atlanta 33 – Chicago 16
Need more help making your picks winners? Check out our top handicappers.
Atlanta Falcons Betting Trends:
- Atlanta is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games
- The total has gone OVER in 8 of Atlanta’s last 12 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta’s last 5 games on the road
- Atlanta is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Chicago Bears Betting Trends:
- Chicago is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago’s last 8 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago’s last 5 games at home
- Chicago is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games at home
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