As we review the Chicago Bears AFC North Odds for 2008 we clearly know their defense is one of the best in the NFL, except last year when they had all those injuries.  The offense is always the problem, and they did nothing in the off-season to change that. 

In 2008 the Bears are facing a rebuilding project on offense.  They had the worst rushing in 2007.  They went to the Superbowl in 2006 and came back in 07' to go 7-9 on the season.  Surprisingly they won 7 games and most of that was do to special teams play.  There was a ton of injuries last season to the defense so you can't fault them for that.  This year's defense is similar to the one that took them to the Superbowl in 2006.

Running back Cedric Benson has just been horrible for the Bears, and that is why they drafted Matt Forte this year.  Forte is out of Tulane, he is a good fit for this power running game, but lacks breakaway speed.  The Bears like to run the ball; they really have no passing game.  Forte might do pretty well in this offense.  If he get's a lot of carries like he should, he could be up for rookie of the year.  Matt Forte is listed as 13/2 odds to win the rookie of the year at Bodoglife.com.  He was awesome at Tulane without anybody blocking so he should do very well when he has people blocking for him.  The coaches say he is an every down back, which bodes well for him.  He will be good, but he probably cannot carry the ball 350-400 times.  The NFC North Betting Odds at Sportsbetting.com currently have the Chicago Bears 40/1 to win the 2009 Superbowl.

We don't even know who is going to be the quarterback this year for the Bears.  It is still up in the air the coaches say, probably who does the best in the preseason will be the starter.  People always ask the same questions every year, is Rex Groosman going to have a breakout year?  This is his 6th season in the NFL and if it hasn't happen by now, and then it's never going to happen.  Grossman has a 21-11 record as a starter with the Bears and he helped lead them to a Super Bowl just a year ago.  But the offense looked terrible, the defense and special teams won all those games for them.  They were lucky to make it to the Superbowl in 2006 with that offense.  The other QB, Kyle Orton has a good arm but lacks experience on the field.  Orton was signed to a one-year contract extension that runs through the 2009 season, setting up a competition between him and Rex Grossman.  NFC North Betting Odds at Sportsbetting.com currently have the Chicago Bears 5/2 Odds to win 2008/09 NFC North Division.

The Bears got rid of most of their offensive players, like wide receiver Bernard Berrian; he led the Bears with 71 catches last season.  Then they go and sign back Mary Booker, he played for the Bears in 2001 and has been in the league for 10 years now.  They also released their #2 receiver, Muhsin Muhammad.  They didn't improve the offense at all this off-season.  There are just too many holes to fill this season on offense, so this might be a long season for them. 

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