DOLPHINS @ BEARS
Take: BEARS -1.5
This does not figure to be a good season for the Chicago Bears. There are holes galore on this roster and while I can’t see how they can be as inept as they were in 2014, the climb back to respectability looks to be a little on the steep side.
But the regular season projections have nothing to do with what takes place in the pre-season. These games count only for pride, and even that is a stretch for the most part. For most coaching staffs, the majority of the August games are all about evaluation and the actual results don’t mean very much.
Nevertheless, there are some situations that arise in the exhibition portion of the campaign that can provide an edge. That’s really all that one should look for, and I think we have such a case tonight in Chicago.
The media covering the Bears are a tough crowd. There are certain NFL franchises that get treated with what amounts to kid gloves by the local beat reporters. That is not the case at all in the Windy City, and the media tone there this summer has been more than just a little bit negative.
“Are the Bears the worst team in the NFL?” That was the very first headline I saw on the Bears this summer, courtesy of the Chicago Tribune. The accompanying piece, penned by Bernie Lincicome, was hardly one that would cause readers to feel even a small sense of optimism regarding this year’s entry.
“Trying to put together a respectable NFL team this Bears training camp will be like trying to rearrange a junkyard full of used tires.”
“Introducing the starting defense—Whozat, Howzat, Whatizname and Huh?”
Those are just a couple of snippets from what was the usual outstanding Lincicome read. Go search the Tribune recent archives if you want to read the entire piece.
“Bears scrimmage successful—at keeping expectations low.” There’s another reason Chitown headline. And the beat goes on and on.
So how does this play into tonight’s game against the Dolphins? No matter how often players talk about not reading the headlines or listening to the local sports radio, or viewing the local TV sports, the fact is they always seem to be 100% aware of what’s being said about them.
The Bears know they’re being insulted and dismissed before even one snap of the first exhibition game has taken place. I think there’s a little motivation to be gleaned from that. It’s also the first home game under new head coach John Fox, and while this result won’t count in the standings, it’s my belief that Fox would like to come away from this glorified scrimmage with something positive.
If this game mattered, and I had the opportunity to take points with what could be a decent Dolphins squad against what really is likely to be a bad Bears team, I would not hesitate to pull that trigger on Miami. But the pre-season is a completely different animal, and all I’m really looking for in Week One of the NFL pre-season is some kind of an edge. In this case, that advantage is merely perception on my part, but that’s going to be enough to get me to the window this evening with the Bears as small chalk.
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