Though not as big a contest as it would be were it the regular season, tonight's Bears, Colts matchup in Indianapolis is still drawing extra attention after last season's Super Bowl. With preseason triumphs not all that important to Indy's Tony Dungy, Chicago fans are looking at this game as a chance to exact a little revenge.
The Chicago Bears won’t be content to call it even should they beat the Indianapolis Colts Monday night. But they’ll take what they can get.
Bears at Colts: Revenge, sort of
The Colts are listed as 2-point home dogs at press time with a total of 35½. If it seems strange for the Super Bowl champs to be getting points, welcome to the preseason. Indianapolis has won just one exhibition game since 2005, and dropped this year’s Week 1 trip to Dallas by a score of 23-10. The Colts went 2-8 against the spread along the way. The Bears were 6-4 SU and 5-4-1 ATS in the same span.
Winning preseason games simply isn’t on coach Tony Dungy’s to-do list. His first-string offense is nearly intact from the Super Bowl and will see about 20 plays on Monday night, according to the Indianapolis Star. That leaves Jim Sorgi and Josh Betts to take the bulk of the snaps against the Bears. Sorgi has seen limited NFL action in support of Peyton Manning, while Betts is in his second year out of Miami-Ohio and has yet to play a regular-season down.
Manning has proved to be as durable as he is talented. His opposite number, Rex Grossman, missed extensive action in his first three seasons, so Chicago is chock-a-block with experienced quarterbacks. Brian Griese and Kyle Orton both played very well in last week’s 20-19 upset win at Houston, as did Grossman.
The difference in quarterback depth hasn’t been lost on bettors. For most offshore books, the line opened Friday morning with the Colts laying one point; by nightfall, it had swung three points in the other direction. The shift was even more pronounced on the Strip, where the Colts were favored by as many as three points last Monday. The total has remained firm throughout.
Adding to the betting momentum, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday that offensive tackle John Tait is expected to make his preseason debut against Indianapolis, as are linebacker Brian Urlacher and defensive tackle Tommie Harris. That gives the Bears nearly a full roster for Monday night, and with coach Lovie Smith expressing his satisfaction with the bottom end of his depth chart, Chicago supporters have even more reason to feel confident.
Depth is the one area where the Colts have legitimate concerns heading into 2007. There were a handful of defections from the Super Bowl winners; LB Cato June bolted for Tampa Bay, while cornerbacks Nick Harper (Tennessee) and Jason David (New Orleans) also left town. The Colts also lost DT Anthony McFarland to a knee injury earlier this month at training camp. Combine that with an assortment of bumps and bruises on defense, and Indianapolis found itself waiving QB John Navarre just to create roster space for reinforcements.
The Colts are also thin at running back now that Dominic Rhodes is a member of the Oakland Raiders. Only three tailbacks are on the roster: Joseph Addai, DeDe Dorsey, and Clifton Dawson. Dorsey and Dawson combined for nine carries and 22 yards against the Cowboys as they compete for the No. 2 job behind Addai. The Bears, despite losing Thomas Jones to the New York Jets, have former Division I-AA star Adrian Peterson backing up Cedric Benson, as well as promising third-round pick Garrett Wolfe from Northern Illinois. All three will contribute to the Bears’ offense this season.
Chicago’s strong defense and running game, with an assist from the questionable Colts’ QB talent behind Manning, appear to have sharps lining up to pound the Under Monday night. However, the under is an even 5-5 for the Bears and for the Colts in preseason action since 2005.
Kickoff at the RCA Dome is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Eastern time; NBC is on hand with the television coverage.
I think you have to go with the Bears and the under here. Bears defense is deeper and the Colts starters wont see many plays. I don't even see them moving the ball on the Bears once Manning and company are gone.
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Bears at Colts: Revenge, sort of
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