Chicago Bears 2011-2012 Season Predictions and Super Bowl Odds

For the purposes of giving Chicago Bears fans a fix, let’s proceed under the assumption that there’s going to be a season and look at what 2011 might hold and the early season odds.

Usually the NFL draft is the unofficial start to the off-season and the time teams start charting their personnel path for the upcoming season. This year is different and thanks to the NFL lockout by the owners there are legitimate questions about whether or not we’ll have an NFL season.

The Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers, showed us that the way to win is by building through the draft and not try to buy a championship. The New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers are another pair of teams who have enjoyed enormous success doing it that way. And if you’ve got any doubt about the power of scouting consider that two-thirds of last year’s Pro Bowl players were third round picks or lower. Up and coming teams like the Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams have used recent draft success to start a nice foundation.

This year’s draft for the Chicago Bears could be the most important one in years for a team that is getting long in the tooth.

The Bears aren’t getting any younger. In fact they were the fourth oldest team in the NFL. Brian Urlacher and Julius Peppers are two of 15 players over the age of 30 on the roster.

Chicago has plenty of talent on both sides of the ball and to be generous have maybe a two year window to win the Super Bowl. After that it will be time to worry.

Like every team in the league the Bears have positions on their team that need to be addressed. They have an offensive line that can’t protect their franchise quarterback giving up a league high 58 sacks last season. They lack a true number one receiver to compliment Jay Cutler’s strong arm. Like him or not, he’s got a chance to be an elite QB. Last season he threw for 3,274 yards and 23 touchdowns but was rarely seen in an upright position. Running back Matt Forte rushed for 1,069 yards in 2010 so outside of a true No. 1 receiver, the Bears are solid at the skill positions.

They do have an aging defense that needs an influx of youth. It’s likely that the teams draft picks this season will be spent on the offensive and defensive line with a high-profile receiver being a high-priority.

Here are the Odds to win the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI compliments of Bodog.

The Packers are the clear-cut choice to capture the NFC championship against this but a group of four teams; The Bears Falcons, Saints, Giants and Eagles, might offer better value at +650 to win the NFC Championship. 

Arizona Cardinals +4000

Atlanta Falcons +650

Carolina Panthers +12500

Chicago Bears +650

Dallas Cowboys +900

Detroit Lions +2300

Green Bay Packers +275

Minnesota Vikings +1800

New Orleans Saints +650

New York Giants +650

Philadelphia Eagles +650

San Francisco 49ers +1800

Seattle Seahawks +4000

St Louis Rams +2500

Outside of April’s draft everything else NFL related is on hold. Hopefully both sides will hammer out a new CBA we’ll before the traditional start of training camp. If not, the Bears and their fans will have to make do with college football.