Chicago Bears -3
Jaguars/Bears u 42
Last Saturday was bad NFLX day for me! Not the record is 5-7, going back to the old system this week. It works great in regular season for teasers, I am seeing how it does in SU pics now...
ripped, stolen, cut and pasted from the internets:
Gonna fade the line movement in tonight's contest and lay the points with the Bears. Chicago is bringing to much to the table versus low-scoring Jaguars and this trend is in our favor: Play On Favorites (CHICAGO) - after gaining 400 or more total yards in their previous game. (27-9 over the last 5 Pre-Seasons.
Yes this is the chalky popular side. That doesn?t mean it?s not the right side. The Bears are coming of a shootout win over the Eagles that involved the entire offensive roster from top to bottom. While the defense didn?t have many highlights, there is some expectation that a Chip Kelly offense will give you some trouble when you?re playing a lot of rookies and 3rd stringers. The Jags don?t have Chip Kelly in case you hadn?t noticed. The Jags did squeak by another disappointing team from Florida in the Bucs in week one but there was nothing pretty about that game.
Bortles showed that he may have some promise in the future but with so few weapons around him it may be awhile. Henne is supposed to play most if not all of the first half, and while he is experienced, he is far from effective. The entire Jags roster is scattered with rookies and first year starters, and while the Bears defense is far from being a veteran unit one you get past the 1st string, their offense is pretty deep and should have no trouble moving the ball again tonight. I know it?s preseason and all sorts of weird things happen but I am looking at a Bears win going away here. Lets look for 27-13 Chicago and cash that ticket.
Think the Bears will come out and score with Cutler likely, but from there, it?s a full-blown QB battle in Jacksonville. BOTH QBs will be looking to move the ball. Henne playing with starters for the 1H & Bortles 2H.
Blake Bortles threw very well in his start against the Bucs last week, finishing with a 99.4 QB rating. Whether that success continues remains to be seen, but Jag?s coach Gus Bradley is standing firm that Chad Henne will be the starter for the 2014 season. No doubt Jacksonville has high expectations for Bortles, but it?s likely we?ll see some regression here. Word out of camp is that Bortles? footwork is slow and he has long way to go before becoming the starter. He?s also faced with having to learn from Chad Henne, who is far from a desired mentor.
The Bears looked good on the offensive side of the ball while beating the Eagles 34-28. Jay Cutler was strong, going 9 for 13 with 85 yards and a TD. Big things are expected from Cutler this year, and he appeared focused and seemed to have good chemistry with the first team. Backup QB Jimmy Clausen also looked sharp.
Both Marc Trestman and Gus Bradley have strong track records for hitting the ?OVER? in their preseason games, so this one could turn into a shootout. I generally don?t like to lay more than 3 in a preseason contest, but given the talent disparity, especially with the 2nd and 3rd teamers, gives me enough confidence that the Bears will cover the number. Take the Bears.
Sometimes supposed battles for the QB rotations are merely a way for a coach to motivate a veteran to play hard, while holding on to a job that really is already his. It is a different story in Chicago, where the Bears have a genuine contest for the #2 spot between Jordan Palmer and Jimmy Clausen. Marc Trestman will give Clausen the #2 slot tonight, with Palmer following, flip-flopping the rotation used vs. the Eagles last week. And so far Trestman likes what they have shown - ?You see it every day out here ? They?re both making plays. They?re competing. I?ve talked to both of them that nothing?s set in stone from last week. We grade them every day. We?re watching all the tape. We?re making the corrections with each of them. It?s still a competition, and they know it. We?re repping them that way.?
Palmer and Clausen combined for 15-24-189 vs. Philadelphia, with three TDs and only one INT. QB competitions do not get decided by watching the participants hand the ball off, so as that situation heats up, Trestman may be even more aggressive with his play calling this evening. Given that the Jaguars are bringing an intensified offensive rotation (Chad Henne and 1st team offense get the entire first half, with Blake Bortles slated for the rest of the game and no plans for a #3 to appear), the dynamics call for a loose flow in Chicago this evening. Expect 43?s to become common in the marketplace.
The Chicago Bears will play their second home preseason game in less than a week when they host Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars at Soldier Field on Thursday. Chicago opened exhibition play on a positive note last Friday when tight end Zach Miller caught two touchdown passes and the Bears upended the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-28, in the preseason opener for both teams. Jay Cutler threw a 10-yard pass to Miller in the back of the end zone late in the first quarter, and Miller caught another touchdown pass from Jordan Palmer in the second.
Cutler finished with 85 yards on 9-of-13 passing for the Bears, whose backups also proved effective. Palmer completed 8-of-11 throws for 104 yards with an interception, while Jimmy Clausen tossed for two scores. Clausen connected with Chris Williams and Micheal Spurlock for TDs after Matt Barkley's scoring strike to David Fluellen had given the Eagles a 28-17 lead early in the second half. "It was a good win," Bears coach Marc Trestman said. "It took all 90 guys and all four quarters to win this game. I'm really excited about that. It's going to take all 60 minutes to win games all season."
The Jaguars, meanwhile, also started in the black thanks to Denard Robinson's touchdown run in the fourth quarter which lifted Jacksonville to a 16-10 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bortles, the third pick in this year's draft, went 7-for-11 passing for 117 yards in his first NFL action, leading the team on one scoring drive in about two quarters of action. Chad Henne started under center for the Jaguars and was 4-for-7 for 30 yards. "The main thing is we're all excited to be here," said Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny. "We just need to work on improving our communication and getting better each day."
Henne will get the nod again in Chicago but Jacksonville coach Gus Bradley indicated he might change plans and enable Bortles to take reps with the first team before the final preseason game, his original intention. "I wouldn't count on it this week," Bradley said before gushing about his young QB: "He's tough He'll stand in there. We believe that he'll have the poise in pressure situations when teams are applying pressure." Running back Toby Gerhart, who signed a three-year deal with the Jags as a free agent in the offseason, missed the preseason opener with a hip flexor but could return against the Bears. "I don't know what the whole process is to (be able) return to the field, but each and every day, the workouts we've done, I've felt good and (the hip has) felt better," Gerhart told the Florida Times-Union.
Both Gus Bradley of the Jaguars and Marc Trestman of the Bears are entering their second NFL season as a head coach, and neither seemed to care all that much about preseason games last year as Trestman went 2-2 and Bradley 1-3 in the early season scrimmages. This year may be a bit different, however, as both teams won their first preseason game with the Bears putting up 34 points on the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jaguars scoring 16 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bears were impressive in their first preseason game as they had two quarterbacks pass for over 100 yards, neither being starter Jay Cutler. The Bears offense is built to move the ball down the field, and against a rebuilding Jaguars defense they very well could repeat their performance against the Eagles and score a total of four offensive touchdowns. The only thing stopping the Bears from an easy victory will be their defense, which struggled at times last week but ultimately held an explosive Chip Kelly offense to just one touchdown. The Jaguars have a quietly good first-team offense, but it's not on the same level as the Bears' which is why Trestman should remain undefeated in the 2014 preseason.
Chad Henne (4-for-7, 30 yards) started in Jacksonville's first preseason game, but it was rookie quarterback Blake Bortles who made headlines in his pro debut. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft -- and the first quarterback off the board -- finished 7-for-11 for 117 yards and a 99.4 QB rating in the Jags' 16-10 win vs. Tampa Bay.
Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley remains adamant that Henne will be his starter in 2014 while Bortles soaks the game up from the sidelines in his first year. But he's also confirmed that Bortles will receive first-team reps at some point this summer.
Also worth noting is the potential Jacksonville debut of free agent running back Toby Gerhart, who has been out of action with a hip flexor injury. The ailment wasn't considered serious, but it still held him out for two weeks. He's returned to practice and could get on the field against Chicago.
The Bears were clicking -- offensively at least -- in their first taste of live football this season, outscoring the Eagles 34-28 in a preseason shootout. Big things are expected from Jay Cutler, who finished 9-for-13 for 85 yards and a touchdown, in his second year running Marc Trestman's offense. Backup Jimmy Clausen (7-for-13, 150 yards, 2 TDs) was impressive in relief last week.
Preseason records and trends: The strongest identifiable preseason trend related to this game is the Bears' 4-1 record to the OVER in Trestman's two seasons at the helm. The Jags were 3-1 O/U last preseason, Gus Bradley's first with the team, but last week's game with the Bucs stayed well UNDER the total. Jacksonville dropped its first three exhibition games last season, both SU and ATS, while the Bears are now 2-2-1 ATS in the preseason under Trestman.
The Linemakers' lean: If this were a Week 1 regular-season matchup, the Bears would be favored in the 12.5-13 range, and while the preseason is a different beast, the spread here still feels light to us. Sure, we noticed Bortles' performance last week, but Chicago's QB rotation is still superior. In terms of the total, despite the aforementioned trends to the OVER, we're not ready to trust the Jags' offense, so we'll stick to a play in the side. Chicago -4 is the play.
"This is the second year in the system under head coach Marc Trestman and after improving last season, things could be even more explosive in 2014. Jay Cutler had his best passer rating since his rookie season in 2006 and got a new contract to prove his worth. The defense can only get better with the additions of Jared Allen and D.J Williams."
ABOUT THE JAGUARS (1-0): For as much attention is being paid to the battle between Henne and Bortles, the Jaguars are also paying close attention to the running game. Offseason acquisition and probable Week 1 starter Toby Gerhart will see his first in-game action in a Jacksonville uniform, and will get some sense of what he's dealing with on the offensive line. That cast of characters - featuring a host of inexperienced run-blockers - struggled against the Buccaneers to the point where they asked for - and were granted - an extra series to work out the kinks.
ABOUT THE BEARS (1-0): It isn't enough that Chicago has one of the top wide receiver tandems in the league in Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey, but a new weapon may have emerged in last week's victory over Philadelphia. Tight end Zach Miller stole the show with a pair of touchdown catches versus the Eagles, and has looked sensational in practice leading up to the game against the Jaguars as he looks to provide Cutler with one more pass-catching weapon. Miller - not to be confused with Seattle tight end Zach Miller - was a sixth-round pick in 2009 who is now on his third NFL roster.
TRENDS:
* The Bears are 2-2-1 ATS in five preseason games under head coach Marc Trestman.
* The Jaguars have won two straight exhibition games SU and ATS after dropping their previous three.
* Chicago is 4-1 O/U in the preseason with Trestman at the helm.
* Jacksonville went 3-1 O/U in the 2013 exhibition season but was an Under in its 2014 opener.
Jaguars/Bears u 42
Last Saturday was bad NFLX day for me! Not the record is 5-7, going back to the old system this week. It works great in regular season for teasers, I am seeing how it does in SU pics now...
ripped, stolen, cut and pasted from the internets:
Gonna fade the line movement in tonight's contest and lay the points with the Bears. Chicago is bringing to much to the table versus low-scoring Jaguars and this trend is in our favor: Play On Favorites (CHICAGO) - after gaining 400 or more total yards in their previous game. (27-9 over the last 5 Pre-Seasons.
Yes this is the chalky popular side. That doesn?t mean it?s not the right side. The Bears are coming of a shootout win over the Eagles that involved the entire offensive roster from top to bottom. While the defense didn?t have many highlights, there is some expectation that a Chip Kelly offense will give you some trouble when you?re playing a lot of rookies and 3rd stringers. The Jags don?t have Chip Kelly in case you hadn?t noticed. The Jags did squeak by another disappointing team from Florida in the Bucs in week one but there was nothing pretty about that game.
Bortles showed that he may have some promise in the future but with so few weapons around him it may be awhile. Henne is supposed to play most if not all of the first half, and while he is experienced, he is far from effective. The entire Jags roster is scattered with rookies and first year starters, and while the Bears defense is far from being a veteran unit one you get past the 1st string, their offense is pretty deep and should have no trouble moving the ball again tonight. I know it?s preseason and all sorts of weird things happen but I am looking at a Bears win going away here. Lets look for 27-13 Chicago and cash that ticket.
Think the Bears will come out and score with Cutler likely, but from there, it?s a full-blown QB battle in Jacksonville. BOTH QBs will be looking to move the ball. Henne playing with starters for the 1H & Bortles 2H.
Blake Bortles threw very well in his start against the Bucs last week, finishing with a 99.4 QB rating. Whether that success continues remains to be seen, but Jag?s coach Gus Bradley is standing firm that Chad Henne will be the starter for the 2014 season. No doubt Jacksonville has high expectations for Bortles, but it?s likely we?ll see some regression here. Word out of camp is that Bortles? footwork is slow and he has long way to go before becoming the starter. He?s also faced with having to learn from Chad Henne, who is far from a desired mentor.
The Bears looked good on the offensive side of the ball while beating the Eagles 34-28. Jay Cutler was strong, going 9 for 13 with 85 yards and a TD. Big things are expected from Cutler this year, and he appeared focused and seemed to have good chemistry with the first team. Backup QB Jimmy Clausen also looked sharp.
Both Marc Trestman and Gus Bradley have strong track records for hitting the ?OVER? in their preseason games, so this one could turn into a shootout. I generally don?t like to lay more than 3 in a preseason contest, but given the talent disparity, especially with the 2nd and 3rd teamers, gives me enough confidence that the Bears will cover the number. Take the Bears.
Sometimes supposed battles for the QB rotations are merely a way for a coach to motivate a veteran to play hard, while holding on to a job that really is already his. It is a different story in Chicago, where the Bears have a genuine contest for the #2 spot between Jordan Palmer and Jimmy Clausen. Marc Trestman will give Clausen the #2 slot tonight, with Palmer following, flip-flopping the rotation used vs. the Eagles last week. And so far Trestman likes what they have shown - ?You see it every day out here ? They?re both making plays. They?re competing. I?ve talked to both of them that nothing?s set in stone from last week. We grade them every day. We?re watching all the tape. We?re making the corrections with each of them. It?s still a competition, and they know it. We?re repping them that way.?
Palmer and Clausen combined for 15-24-189 vs. Philadelphia, with three TDs and only one INT. QB competitions do not get decided by watching the participants hand the ball off, so as that situation heats up, Trestman may be even more aggressive with his play calling this evening. Given that the Jaguars are bringing an intensified offensive rotation (Chad Henne and 1st team offense get the entire first half, with Blake Bortles slated for the rest of the game and no plans for a #3 to appear), the dynamics call for a loose flow in Chicago this evening. Expect 43?s to become common in the marketplace.
The Chicago Bears will play their second home preseason game in less than a week when they host Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars at Soldier Field on Thursday. Chicago opened exhibition play on a positive note last Friday when tight end Zach Miller caught two touchdown passes and the Bears upended the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-28, in the preseason opener for both teams. Jay Cutler threw a 10-yard pass to Miller in the back of the end zone late in the first quarter, and Miller caught another touchdown pass from Jordan Palmer in the second.
Cutler finished with 85 yards on 9-of-13 passing for the Bears, whose backups also proved effective. Palmer completed 8-of-11 throws for 104 yards with an interception, while Jimmy Clausen tossed for two scores. Clausen connected with Chris Williams and Micheal Spurlock for TDs after Matt Barkley's scoring strike to David Fluellen had given the Eagles a 28-17 lead early in the second half. "It was a good win," Bears coach Marc Trestman said. "It took all 90 guys and all four quarters to win this game. I'm really excited about that. It's going to take all 60 minutes to win games all season."
The Jaguars, meanwhile, also started in the black thanks to Denard Robinson's touchdown run in the fourth quarter which lifted Jacksonville to a 16-10 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bortles, the third pick in this year's draft, went 7-for-11 passing for 117 yards in his first NFL action, leading the team on one scoring drive in about two quarters of action. Chad Henne started under center for the Jaguars and was 4-for-7 for 30 yards. "The main thing is we're all excited to be here," said Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny. "We just need to work on improving our communication and getting better each day."
Henne will get the nod again in Chicago but Jacksonville coach Gus Bradley indicated he might change plans and enable Bortles to take reps with the first team before the final preseason game, his original intention. "I wouldn't count on it this week," Bradley said before gushing about his young QB: "He's tough He'll stand in there. We believe that he'll have the poise in pressure situations when teams are applying pressure." Running back Toby Gerhart, who signed a three-year deal with the Jags as a free agent in the offseason, missed the preseason opener with a hip flexor but could return against the Bears. "I don't know what the whole process is to (be able) return to the field, but each and every day, the workouts we've done, I've felt good and (the hip has) felt better," Gerhart told the Florida Times-Union.
Both Gus Bradley of the Jaguars and Marc Trestman of the Bears are entering their second NFL season as a head coach, and neither seemed to care all that much about preseason games last year as Trestman went 2-2 and Bradley 1-3 in the early season scrimmages. This year may be a bit different, however, as both teams won their first preseason game with the Bears putting up 34 points on the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jaguars scoring 16 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bears were impressive in their first preseason game as they had two quarterbacks pass for over 100 yards, neither being starter Jay Cutler. The Bears offense is built to move the ball down the field, and against a rebuilding Jaguars defense they very well could repeat their performance against the Eagles and score a total of four offensive touchdowns. The only thing stopping the Bears from an easy victory will be their defense, which struggled at times last week but ultimately held an explosive Chip Kelly offense to just one touchdown. The Jaguars have a quietly good first-team offense, but it's not on the same level as the Bears' which is why Trestman should remain undefeated in the 2014 preseason.
Chad Henne (4-for-7, 30 yards) started in Jacksonville's first preseason game, but it was rookie quarterback Blake Bortles who made headlines in his pro debut. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft -- and the first quarterback off the board -- finished 7-for-11 for 117 yards and a 99.4 QB rating in the Jags' 16-10 win vs. Tampa Bay.
Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley remains adamant that Henne will be his starter in 2014 while Bortles soaks the game up from the sidelines in his first year. But he's also confirmed that Bortles will receive first-team reps at some point this summer.
Also worth noting is the potential Jacksonville debut of free agent running back Toby Gerhart, who has been out of action with a hip flexor injury. The ailment wasn't considered serious, but it still held him out for two weeks. He's returned to practice and could get on the field against Chicago.
The Bears were clicking -- offensively at least -- in their first taste of live football this season, outscoring the Eagles 34-28 in a preseason shootout. Big things are expected from Jay Cutler, who finished 9-for-13 for 85 yards and a touchdown, in his second year running Marc Trestman's offense. Backup Jimmy Clausen (7-for-13, 150 yards, 2 TDs) was impressive in relief last week.
Preseason records and trends: The strongest identifiable preseason trend related to this game is the Bears' 4-1 record to the OVER in Trestman's two seasons at the helm. The Jags were 3-1 O/U last preseason, Gus Bradley's first with the team, but last week's game with the Bucs stayed well UNDER the total. Jacksonville dropped its first three exhibition games last season, both SU and ATS, while the Bears are now 2-2-1 ATS in the preseason under Trestman.
The Linemakers' lean: If this were a Week 1 regular-season matchup, the Bears would be favored in the 12.5-13 range, and while the preseason is a different beast, the spread here still feels light to us. Sure, we noticed Bortles' performance last week, but Chicago's QB rotation is still superior. In terms of the total, despite the aforementioned trends to the OVER, we're not ready to trust the Jags' offense, so we'll stick to a play in the side. Chicago -4 is the play.
"This is the second year in the system under head coach Marc Trestman and after improving last season, things could be even more explosive in 2014. Jay Cutler had his best passer rating since his rookie season in 2006 and got a new contract to prove his worth. The defense can only get better with the additions of Jared Allen and D.J Williams."
ABOUT THE JAGUARS (1-0): For as much attention is being paid to the battle between Henne and Bortles, the Jaguars are also paying close attention to the running game. Offseason acquisition and probable Week 1 starter Toby Gerhart will see his first in-game action in a Jacksonville uniform, and will get some sense of what he's dealing with on the offensive line. That cast of characters - featuring a host of inexperienced run-blockers - struggled against the Buccaneers to the point where they asked for - and were granted - an extra series to work out the kinks.
ABOUT THE BEARS (1-0): It isn't enough that Chicago has one of the top wide receiver tandems in the league in Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey, but a new weapon may have emerged in last week's victory over Philadelphia. Tight end Zach Miller stole the show with a pair of touchdown catches versus the Eagles, and has looked sensational in practice leading up to the game against the Jaguars as he looks to provide Cutler with one more pass-catching weapon. Miller - not to be confused with Seattle tight end Zach Miller - was a sixth-round pick in 2009 who is now on his third NFL roster.
TRENDS:
* The Bears are 2-2-1 ATS in five preseason games under head coach Marc Trestman.
* The Jaguars have won two straight exhibition games SU and ATS after dropping their previous three.
* Chicago is 4-1 O/U in the preseason with Trestman at the helm.
* Jacksonville went 3-1 O/U in the 2013 exhibition season but was an Under in its 2014 opener.
