Chicago Bears

Coming off their conference championship season of 2006, the Chicago Bears looked like shoo-ins to win the NFC North again last year, and perhaps even make another trip to the Super Bowl. But just like six of the last eight teams to lose the Super Bowl, Chicago failed to even go .500 the following season, and struggled through a 7-9 and playoff-less campaign.

Injuries to QB Rex Grossman and several key members of the defense proved costly, as the Bears started 1-3 and never recovered. But they beat Green Bay twice, and that still counts for something around Chicago. Statistically, though, the Bears stank last year.

They ranked 27^th in total offense at 293 YPG, and a paltry 30^th in rushing at 83 YPG. That injury-plagued defense ranked 28^th overall at 355 YPG and 24^th vs. the run at 123 YPG. And when you can't run the ball, or stop your opponents from doing it, you're going to rank 30^th in time-of-possession at -3:04 per game. Add it all up, and Chicago ranked 30^th in the league last year in total yardage at -62 YPG. And they could only manage to go 7-9 against the spread on the NFL betting lines.

Then, over the offseason, the Bears lost WRs Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad as well as two starters from the offensive line. It only took Kyle Orton two preseason games to take the starting QB spot away from Grossman this fall, although he did little to earn it. So Chicago will start this season with a QB who, while 12-6 as an NFL starter, owns a career 62.2 passing rating and a 12/15 TD/INT ratio.

The Bears brought in WRs Brandon Lloyd and Marty Booker, but how much that will help is an unknown. Rookie second-round draft choice Matt Forte, who ran for 2,100 yards and 23 TDs last year at Tulane, has been handed the starting job at RB; while 5-foot-7 scatback Garrett Wolfe may get more of a chance to show off his skills. But while Devin Hester is improving as a receiver, Chicago cannot continue to rely on him to win games on kick returns.

The Bears defense should bounce back to a form closer to 2006 than '07, if some of those key contributors, such as LB Brian Urlacher, DT Tommy Harris and S Mike Brown, can stay healthy. But for a team just a season removed from playing in the Super Bowl, many questions surround Chicago. The Bears could win the North this year, or they could finish last again. The football odds can be hard to figure out sometimes.