The Bears followed up their Super Bowl season with a disappointing 7-9 tally in 2007. Neither the offense nor defense performed well last year, leaving Head Coach Lovie Smith and his staff with a lot of work to do this off season. Chicago will certainly need to make some significant changes if they are to keep pace with the Vikings and Packers. NFL Betting odds at BodogLife.com give the Bears 3/1 odds to win the NFC North division.

Most surprising for the Bears last season was the poor play of their once feared defense. While the squad did hold teams to a modest 21.8 points per game, they yielded big yardage in doing so. Teams managed to pile up 122.9 yards per game on the ground against the Bears and 231.8 through the air.

The roster did not see a whole lot of turnover in the off season and Chicago only took five defensive players with their 12 draft picks. Obviously the coaching staff believes they can correct last year's problems with largely the same group of guys. This is not a huge stretch considering the team is still anchored by the likes of Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, and Tommie Harris.

The Bear offense wasn't spectacular in their 2006 Super Bowl season but last year it was abysmal - especially the running game. Chicago clearly missed Thomas Jones in the backfield as they only produced 83.3 yards rushing per game without him. Cedric Benson could not handle the load and, due to his poor production and off the field issues, the team let him go this off season. It looks as though second round pick Matt Forte (Tulane) might get a chance to be the number one back in his rookie campaign.

Beleaguered quarterback Rex Grossman's poor play earned him a spot on the bench last season. However, it appears the team is poised to give him another shot in 2008. Brian Griese's signing with Tampa Bay opens the door for Grossman and Kyle Orton to compete for the starting job.

Whoever wins the battle will be looking at some new personnel. The team drafted offensive tackle Chris Williams with its first pick in hopes to reduce the number of sacks allowed to somewhere under the 41 they gave up last year. Also, the club brought in receivers Brandon Lloyd and Marty Booker to replace the departed Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad.

NFL Betting odds at BodogLife.com list Chicago at 40/1 odds to win the Super Bowl and 15/1 odds to win the conference championship. The Bears win total is set at 8 with the over a +110.

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