CHICAGO BEARS

NFL Futures Odds:

To Win Super Bowl +4000
To Win NFC Championship +1600
To Win NFC North +550
Regular Season Wins -- Under 8.5 Wins -155, Over 8.5 Wins +125
To Make Playoffs -- No -190, Yes +155

Every off-season, there is an assistant who emerges as the new "flavor of the moment' as far as the search for head coaches is concerned.

It may be fair to say that Ben Johnson has been that guy for a couple of off-seasons.

He's actually turned down some jobs. But now he thinks he's found the right fit.

Johnson, who had been the coordinator for the Detroit Lions' explosive offense for the past three seasons, assumes the reigns of the Chicago Bears, and one of the reasons is that he has the opportunity to work with Caleb Williams, the first pick in the 2024 draft, who flashed potential as a rookie but still has some issues to work on.

Chicago finished 5-12 last season, and head coach Matt Eberflus got a one-way ticket out of the Windy City right after Thanksgiving. It seems there's always something dysfunctional going on with this franchise, so what makes anyone think that Johnson, along with general manager Ryan Poles can get this ship moving strongly in the right direction, particularly with capable teams like the Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers occupying the same division (the NFC North)?

I'm not so sure we have the answers here, although we know what THEY think the answers are.

What can Caleb Williams do as a sophomore?

Let's start with Williams, who had flourished under Lincoln Riley's system at both Oklahoma and USC. Many people figured Williams would be going through some growing pains, but other first-year quarterbacks like CJ Stroud found success early.

What Williams did was throw for 3541 yards and twenty touchdowns. He also went through a period of 353 attempts without throwing an interception, with only six for the entire season.

That's good, right? Well, there's a flip side to the whole thing.

Williams held onto the ball too long. That much is clear, as he was sacked 68 times. Of course, sometimes it's better to take the sack than to throw an interception. Russell Wilson can tell you that.

But the idea is that maybe Williams doesn't have to get sacked so much. Toward that end, they have made improving the offensive line a major project.

And they most likely have done the OL rebuild

Joe Thuney is a four-time All-Pro guard who moved out to tackle for the Chiefs late last season as a patchwork solution. He'll go back to his natural position here. Jonah Jackson came in a trade for a sixth-round draft pick. he has been a member of the NFC Pro Bowl squad in the recent past. So those are the two guards.

Another big pickup was Drew Dalman, who became one of the league's best centers while with the Atlanta Falcons.

What we're saying is that there are fewer excuses for Williams not to be able to bring a turnaround.

We could say that with more conviction if the Bears had anything resembling a playoff-level running back room. But they don't. D'Andre Swift was supposed to be an upgrade, but after averaging 3.8 yards a pop last year, no promises can be made. Do they think they have something substantial with seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai? They can only hope he's a major surprise, the way another seventh-rounder out of Rutgers, Isiah Pacheco, was for Kansas City.

Johnson should implement double TE's

It's likely that Williams will be working in a scheme with two tight ends much of the time, because that's something Johnson liked to do when he was in Detroit. That explains their selection of Colston Loveland of Michigan in the first round. He'll join Cole Kmet when the Bears line up that way.

Wide receiver Keenan Allen departs, and he was a positive veteran presence. But the bears know they can get more out of Rome Odunze (54 receptions, 734 yards), and DJ Moore fell just short of 1000 yards. Second-round draft pick Luther Burden III has a chance at big upside.

There may be nowhere to go but up for this offense that gained fewer yards than anyone else in the NFL last year.

Bet on NFL Futures at one of these Elite-rated sportsbooks!

Bears' Defense gets a new look

The name Dennis Allen should be familiar to most people in the NFL. That's because not only has been a heasd coach with the Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints, but he's also been the defensive coordinator in Denver and an assistant at the college level. All told, he's entering his 24th year in the NFL. Johnson has definitely hired an experienced hand.

Allen's plan in Chicago is to employ different looks along the defensive front, whether it's a 4-3 or 3-4, and to move the secondary into more man-to-man coverage.

One big objective is to take some of the pressure off edge rusher Montez Sweat. But we are skeptical as to whether the acquisition of Grady Jarrett helps them enough, because we haven't seen evidence that he can get back to form after an ACL injury in 2023.

Dayo Odeyingbo may be able to provide a few answers. The youngster out of Vanderbilt had eight sacks for the Indianapolis Colts last year and signed for $48 million over three years as a free agent.

Tremaine Edwards and TJ Edwards will be expected to deliver in a way they missed on last year, and it's going to be hugely important for Allen, because they represent the veteran presence in the linebacker corps. As we alluded to befiore, the secondary will have something of an adjustment, but two things should be close to certain: Pro Bowler Jaylon Johnson has a chance to be a shutdown corner in this scheme, and Keith Byard, in his tenth year now, will know where he has to be. There are other potential standouts, like Kyler Gordon, a nickel guy out of U-Dub, and even Tyrique Stevenson, who likes the man-to-man assignments and may yet live down the embarrassing Hail Mary play against Washington last season.

2025 Chicago Bears Prediction

No matter what scheme Allen uses on the defensive side of the ball, he's going to have to tighten things up on the interior, as the Bears allowed opponents to rush for 4.8 yards per carry last season. There is a real chance that Chicago will lose the battle at the line of scrimmage, even with the impressive offensive line additions. That is, unless a running back emerges to start making a difference.

It's quite possible that Williams will have to put the ball in the air a lot once again. In 2024 the Bears threw it almost 60% of the time, and though Johnson would like to balance things out, he won't enjoy the luxury of having Jahmyr Gibbs and ex-Bear David Montgomery like he had in Detroit.

These guys have to build something. They are in the early stages of it. No, I do not think they are a threat to win the division. The value play here on total wins might be UNDER at -155.

Ben Johnson is the +550 favorite to be the NFL Coach of the Year at BetOnline, where you've got plenty of NFL Futures wagers to look through in advance of the 2025 season...... It's very easy to sign up for an account; use your debit or credit card, or choose any of sixteen different cryptocurrency options they have available, including Bitcoin!