Atlanta Falcons vs. Chicago Bears Football Spread

Written October 9, 2008 by Jason Lowry

This weekend the 3-2 Chicago Bears head down South to take on the surprise team of the Atlanta Falcons, who are also 3-2. While the Bears are the leaders of the NFC North, the Falcons sit a game back of the Panthers in the NFC South. The Bears had no problems in taking their turn on beating up on the Lions, as they manhandled Detroit 34-7. The Falcons on the other hand had their best win of the season when they went into Green Bay and beat the Packers 27-24. Even with the big win for the Falcons last week the oddsmakers still have the Bears favored in this one, as Chicago comes in 2.5 point favorites over Atlanta at BetUS.com

The Bears continue to play solid football this season, and the offense continues to look like its headed in the right direction under Kyle Orten, who is completing over 61% of his passes this season. Orton had by far his best game of the season last weekend throwing for 334 yards and 2 scores, and if the Bears can just keep Orton from making turnovers this team will continue to win football games. The running game remains strongly in the hands of rookie Matt Forte who scored his 2nd touchdown of the season last week. Another good sign for the Bears is Devin Hester continues to make strides at receiver, as he is coming off a 5 catch performance and his 2nd straight game with a receiving touchdown. The Falcons defense has been playing tough this season, so it will be interesting to see what Bears offense we see.

Get a 50% Signup Bonus at BetUS!

The Bears defense had no problem shutting down the Lions offense last week, as they didn’t let the Lions get anything going on the ground, and were tough against the pass. Charles Tillman created one of the Bears turnovers when he intercepted a Detroit pass. The thing is shutting down the Lions isn’t that hard of task, and the Bears still come in giving up the most yards a game at 388 yards. They are 2nd to last in rushing and the 5th worst against the pass. If the defense doesn’t pick it up its hard to imagine the offense carrying this team over the course of the rest of the season. Bet Bears -2.5 at BetUS.com

Now getting to those Falcons who have really shocked everyone with more wins than losses over a quarter a way through the season. A win this weekend over the Bears and it just might be time to really start thinking about this team finishing at .500. For what they have went through this would be a remarkable turnaround and a very bright future for Falcon fans. Quarterback Matt Ryan hasn’t put up great numbers, but the fact that he is getting this offense moving is enough a reason to like the future of this guy in the league. Where the team is doing the most of its damage is on the ground with running back Michael Turner who is averaging over a 100 yards a game and has 6 big touchdowns. While Ryan hasn’t thrown for a ton of yards, he has had success throwing the ball in the direction of Roddy White, who leads the receivers with 454 yards and 2 scores.

Another big reason why the Falcons are having success this season is the fact that their defense really has played well this season giving up just 274 yards a game, and their pass defense has been lights out to start the season. Aaron Rodgers did quiet those talks last week when he threw for 313 yards and 3 scores, but we think things will return to form this weekend against a Bears team that is known for its passing struggles. Look for the Falcons to keep this one close, but whether they can pull off the win is still up in the air. Bet Falcons +2.5 at BetUS.com

Professional handicapper Jason Lowry is one of the best football handicappers in the business and make sure you get the best plays this weekend in both the NFL and NCAA.

As for keeping up with the the latest NFL odds and grabbing a few free football picks while your at it, head over to Betfirms, and get everything you need for games this weekend.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

No comments yet, but your thoughts are welcome!

Comments

Comments are closed.