Yes, but this being the 3rd preseason game we can expect the starters to play into the 3rd quarter.
Not to mention the situation with Brandon Marshall and the team morale as of right now. Orton looks shaky at best, Moreno is out, Simms is out, Brandon Lloyd is questionable. I haven't read anything positive about Brandstater.
My question is not about the 2.5/3 point line rather, why DENVER the favorite and not the Bears?
Does vegas see this game as a coinflip and the line reflects homefield advantage?
Just wonder what everyone else though on this.
Alright Brandon Marshall and morale. I don't agree there. Have you been in the locker room, or are you basing your opinion on media reports, seeing the pathetic Brandon Marshall practice video, etc etc? That's a media contrived story line in my opinion.
As for what explanation I can offer,
"As for Chicago injuries, it is unlikely that Danieal Manning, Zackary Bowman, Jamar Williams, or Nick Roach will see the field on Sunday."
One thing I can offer is that McDaniels is already 0-2, plus all the crap he's been through this offseason, plus the fact they are playing at home against a very cynical and pissed off fanbase at the moment after the Marshall fiasco became official this past week. (Now I didn't say team morale would be affected). But my point is he might be under huge pressure tonight to show the fans and ownership ANYTHING. He didn't have to win the first 2, garbage was playing. But game 3, people know the product on the field this time may be a preview of what the regular season may look like. He might take this chance to try to take one off Chicago late in the 2nd half with some aggressive playcalling and personnel moves. Excellent/perfect situation to try to pull out a win to placate an angry fanbase - in a game where the other team may just roll over and die for you in the second half because they don't really care.
Letting your starters get trounced in probably the closest thing to a preview of the regular season - week 3 of the pre - will just add to the heat leading up to Week1. I think McDaniels may really try to win this one.
Well, no i'm not in the locker room but that guy is arguably their best receiver. Whether team morale takes a hit or not that is talent removed from the field.
You make a good point about Bears injuries though and that is something to take into consideration. Perhaps Bears injuries and Denver homefield is enough to warrant the Broncs being a favorite here.
I know there's motivation to win and that no headcoach in their right mind would "let" their starters get trounced. But the headcoach can't increase players ability levels. He can't MAKE Orton throw like top 10 QB. He can put his personnel in the best position to win, but in the end its up to them whether to throw a left handed pass into the endzone.
hno:A couple weeks ago it made sense with Dallas' first home game. That team has talent, they hadn't won, and for the sake of the new field and poor performance the previous week-- you had a feeling they would open it up a bit.
I just don't see Denver "opening it up" who's the deep threat? Can Orton get it there? How will the running game fare without Moreno against a pretty stubborn Bears defense? Will the Broncos be close enough at the end of the second half to close the game and win by a FG?
LOL whats funny is that for me, it seems everytime I look at a game like this and try to figure every angle it comes back to bite me. I like the Bears and the Over in this one.
this could be the ultimate false favorite, if your purely looking at this qb's, this is a home game for cutler he's intemately more familiar with the field, who he can throw against, and who he might not.
he might just want to shine...especially given the opponent and national tv exposure.
there's no hard feelings between orton and the bears.
both teams records(ats) for game 3 of preseason stink, it would'nt shock me to see a push if the spread went to exactly 3.
but if a gun was put to my head and i was forced to choose, i would take the former engineer of the broncos to get even, being surrounded by a better supporting cast vs a team with internal issues.
they do not meet in regular season so this is cutlers one "hit and run" crack at them.
"if you built the bomb, you can defuse it".
GAME.
he might just want to shine...especially given the opponent and national tv exposure.
there's no hard feelings between orton and the bears.
both teams records(ats) for game 3 of preseason stink, it would'nt shock me to see a push if the spread went to exactly 3.
but if a gun was put to my head and i was forced to choose, i would take the former engineer of the broncos to get even, being surrounded by a better supporting cast vs a team with internal issues.
they do not meet in regular season so this is cutlers one "hit and run" crack at them.
"if you built the bomb, you can defuse it".
GAME.
Hey Sonic. It's hard to imagine Cutler playing into the 2nd half (hence the popular CHI +0.5 or +1 1st half plays), but seems highly likely that the Denver starting offense and defense will play most of the 3rd quarter for some of the reasons other posters mentioned, rallying Denver in the 2nd half. The QB's behind Cutler haven't been able to score, so DEN as a bet in the 2nd half is probably a good play given a reasonable line. As for the game line, probably about right now that it's -1.5 and -2.
Thanks for your input cruncher. I do all my booking through a local so I don't get 1st half lines. I'm surprised that you think Cutler would be out at half-time. My initial thoughts on this game were Bears/Over, maybe I should fade that and see what happens
It really feels like a kneejerk reaction in liking the bears at plus points because the initial thought is "bears are the better team"My concern is the Bears building a large enough lead on these guys early and Denver never catching up.
Right? I thought I was golden when Brandtadter (however you spell it) muffed the handoff and Bears recovered. Then Heine puts together a TD drive in a little over 2 minutes. Looks like my initial read of this game was correct and thats good news heading into the regular season.
Seeya around crunchy
