Super Bowl Odds Improving Every Day For Chicago Bears

NFL News - March 6th, 2010 - Written by John

So 2009 was pretty forgettable, huh?

After building up such extreme expectations for Jay Cutler, the Chicago Bears had a hard time even staying competitive in their own division, being swept by the Green Bay Packers and going 2-2 in their other four division games. Without much support in the backfield, Cutler led the league in interceptions (26) and was constantly targeted in the media for the club's plight. Two years after appearing in the Super Bowl, Chicago finished 7-9, and nearly blew up the coaching staff. But Lovie Smith managed to buy himself another year, and appears to be throwing the kitchen sink to turn the ship around.

Now, with similar potential, the Bears are 35/1 favorites in the NFL Odds to win the 2011 Super Bowl, according to Bodog.

General Manager Jerry Angelo brought in offensive guru Mike Martz to fix Cutler's woes as coordinator, and the two have since warmed up to each other after Martz's thorny comments last season.

Martz suggested Cutler isn't "getting it", and needs to wake up before being run out of town. The two met in Nashville just after Martz's hiring, and spent an evening together smoothing the ruffles.

Chicago also ran down defensive end Julius Peppers, regarded as the top free agent this spring, to improve the defense. He was hoping for about $12 million a year, and the Bears were the first bidders. He got exactly that in the form of a six-year, $72 million contract with $40 million due in the first three years. Brian Urlacher missed almost the entire season, and the unit was uncharacteristically out of the top-15.

Matt Forte had a terrific rookie season in '08, but fell back to earth in his sophomore year. He only ran for 100 yards once, and finished with 929 and four scores. To relieve some of the load, Angelo brought in former Minnesota Vikings running back Chester Taylor to platoon.

Devin Hester was the team's leading receiver with 757 yards.

As bad as the first half of the season was, Cutler actually rebounded pretty nicely in the second split. He finsihed the year with back-to-back wins, throwing for over 270 yards in both games, including a victory against the NFC North champion Vikings.