NFL Football Preview: Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions

The Chicago Bears are off to a cracking good start under first year head coach Marc Trestman. Trestman was the head coach of CFL powerhouse Montreal for years and there were no shortage of questions about his ability to translate the success he had with the Alouettes to the NFL Bears. So far so good-the Bears enter this contest with a record of 3-0 SU though have just gone 1-1-1 ATS. Detroit is 2-1 SU/ATS with wins over Minnesota and Washington.

There’s much to suggest that this could be a ‘flat spot’ for the Bears but we’re hesitant about doing anything with the home team. We’re not sold on Lions’ head coach Jim Schwartz-you have to think that a high level coach would get more production out of the considerable level of talent on hand in Detroit. Schwartz may be in a ‘make or break’ year-the long suffering Lions got a taste of success in 2011 (went 10-6) and aren’t going to be happy with another substandard year. The Lions went 4-12 last season and there’s a lot of pressure on Schwartz to get back on the winning track. We’re not bullish on his chances. There a few coaches in recent memory that has gotten so little out of so much talent as Schwartz. Give a top level coach the talent Schwartz has had on both sides of the ball and they’d likely be a Super Bowl contender. At the same time we don’t like this matchup for the Bears and have little interest in playing them. The Bears have a 2-5-1 ATS record in their last 8 on artificial turf and have had trouble in head to head action against the Lions.

The best wagering position looks to be the total-both teams have potent offenses and questionable defenses. Chicago is better at stopping the run but vulnerable against the pass. Detroit has a similar defensive conundrum. Look for a high scoring game and a final score that sails over the posted total. Both teams should be able to put points on the board and move the ball at will and we expect both quarterbacks to have big games.

BET CHICAGO/DETROIT OVER 47′