Hall of Fame Game - Ravens vs. Bears Preview and Predictions in NFL
No team could have been more disappointed than Baltimore last season, as the Ravens gave up a last-minute touchdown drive to the Cincinnati Bengals to miss out on a playoff spot. There is some new excitement that has been generated entering training camp because of the addition of weapons that presumably will help Joe Flacco through the air. But the franchise may be coming to a crossroads regarding Flacco, whose production has been flat, at best, the last few years. Lamar Jackson enters the picture, and the first-round pick should jazz up the offense a little, at least in the pre-season, as coach John Harbaugh decides on what the former Heisman Trophy's role is going to be.
In some ways, we don't know what to expect from the Chicago Bears on the offensive side of the football. They ranked 30th in the league in that department last season, and new coach Matt Nagy, who is a proponent of the West Coast scheme, intends to add some twists to that with the help of a new offensive coordinator who is a disciple of Chip Kelly. Because quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who the Bears traded up to draft last year, is so early in his development, it remains to be seen how well he will click with a number of new receivers in the rotation. Chicago has a solid running back in Jordan Howard, not to mention a nice scatback in Tarik Cohen, so they have the foundation to do better things. And their defense is not to be sold short, although it would be nice to get their first-round draft pick into camp, which hasn't happened yet.
So it's a team trying to get back to where it thinks it belongs against an opponent trying to prove it belongs. The Hall of Fame Game is set for Thursday, August 2 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
TV: 8 PM ET, NBC. LINE: Ravens -2.5 (-115). O/U: 33
ABOUT THE RAVENS: Flacco has not performed up to the expectations generated by the monster contract he signed after this team's Super Bowl win. Last year he had the lowest yards-per-pass average of his career, and as most observers know, he is largely immobile. So Ozzie Newsome, in his last year as general manager, moved up 20 spots in the draft to nab former Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson with the last pick of the first round. Jackson is the polar opposite of Flacco in terms of his ability to move around and improvise, and he has been impressive in drills. Whoever throws the ball will have newcomers on the other end, as known quantities like Michael Crabtree, Willie Snead, and John Brown have been added. And this team should get production out of the tight end spot, with first-round rookie Hayden Hurst (South Carolina) and third-rounder Mark Andrews (the All-American from Oklahoma). Developing a dependable ground game is something Baltimore still has to do, so this is an area where Harbaugh is looking for some encouraging signs. The Baltimore Ravens not only drafted Jackson but acquired another Heisman winner in Robert Griffin III, who has been derailed by various problems, including injuries, the last several seasons. Griffin, when healthy, brings some of the same elusiveness to the table as Jackson and is actually ahead of him on the depth chart that was released in the past week. The Ravens, a 9-7 team last season (9-6-1 against the pointspread) are priced at +400 to win the AFC North.
ABOUT THE BEARS: Chicago, which was 5-11 SU last year but a respectable 8-7-1 ATS, had enough of John Fox and made the switch to new head coach Nagy, who had been the defensive coordinator in Kansas City. The major objective on tap for the offense is to accelerate the development of Trubisky, who stepped in after Mike Glennon provided very little. Toward that end they sought to improve a thin receiver corps, bringing in Allen Robinson (off an ACL injury), Taylor Gabriel and impressive rookie Anthony Miller (second-round pick from Memphis), not to mention tight end Trey Burton, who of course threw a touchdown pass to Nick Foles for the Eagles in the Super Bowl. They are also hoping that former first-round pick Kevin White, who has been on injured reserve each of the last three years, can finally contribute something substantial. Mark Helfrich, the former head coach at Oregon, is now the offensive coordinator, and Nagy fully intends to make RPO's (run-pass options) a staple of the offense. But many observers are skeptical that they have the kind of personnel on the offensive line that can make such a thing happen, so you might expect an adjustment period of sorts. Nagy did not bring in his own defensive coordinator but instead kept Vic Fangio, who led the Bears to a top ten finish in both points and yardage allowed. The Bears employ a 3-4 defensive front with a lot of unsung heroes, but first-round draft pick Roquan Smith, the linebacker from Georgia who is supposed to improve that unit, even more, is a contract holdout. The issue is that he does not want the Bears taking back some of his guaranteed money if he is suspended for leading with his helmet, a new rule is being implemented. The Bears are currently priced at +700 to win the very competitive NFC North division.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Baltimore's five-time All-Pro guard Marshal Yanda, who missed the last 14 games of the 2017 campaign with an ankle injury, then had shoulder surgery after the season, started camp on the PUP (physically-unable-to-perform) list and won't be available.
2. Chase Daniel, who the Bears brought in to be Trubisky's backup, has plenty of pre-season experience. He has completed 68% of his 295 attempts, with 13 touchdown passes and eight interceptions.
3. John Harbaugh is one of the NFL's absolute best coaches when it comes to success in the pre-season. His career record is 27-13 ATS, and his Ravens have won their last eight pre-season encounters straight-up.
PREDICTION: Ravens 21, Bears 10
No team could have been more disappointed than Baltimore last season, as the Ravens gave up a last-minute touchdown drive to the Cincinnati Bengals to miss out on a playoff spot. There is some new excitement that has been generated entering training camp because of the addition of weapons that presumably will help Joe Flacco through the air. But the franchise may be coming to a crossroads regarding Flacco, whose production has been flat, at best, the last few years. Lamar Jackson enters the picture, and the first-round pick should jazz up the offense a little, at least in the pre-season, as coach John Harbaugh decides on what the former Heisman Trophy's role is going to be.
In some ways, we don't know what to expect from the Chicago Bears on the offensive side of the football. They ranked 30th in the league in that department last season, and new coach Matt Nagy, who is a proponent of the West Coast scheme, intends to add some twists to that with the help of a new offensive coordinator who is a disciple of Chip Kelly. Because quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who the Bears traded up to draft last year, is so early in his development, it remains to be seen how well he will click with a number of new receivers in the rotation. Chicago has a solid running back in Jordan Howard, not to mention a nice scatback in Tarik Cohen, so they have the foundation to do better things. And their defense is not to be sold short, although it would be nice to get their first-round draft pick into camp, which hasn't happened yet.
So it's a team trying to get back to where it thinks it belongs against an opponent trying to prove it belongs. The Hall of Fame Game is set for Thursday, August 2 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
TV: 8 PM ET, NBC. LINE: Ravens -2.5 (-115). O/U: 33
ABOUT THE RAVENS: Flacco has not performed up to the expectations generated by the monster contract he signed after this team's Super Bowl win. Last year he had the lowest yards-per-pass average of his career, and as most observers know, he is largely immobile. So Ozzie Newsome, in his last year as general manager, moved up 20 spots in the draft to nab former Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson with the last pick of the first round. Jackson is the polar opposite of Flacco in terms of his ability to move around and improvise, and he has been impressive in drills. Whoever throws the ball will have newcomers on the other end, as known quantities like Michael Crabtree, Willie Snead, and John Brown have been added. And this team should get production out of the tight end spot, with first-round rookie Hayden Hurst (South Carolina) and third-rounder Mark Andrews (the All-American from Oklahoma). Developing a dependable ground game is something Baltimore still has to do, so this is an area where Harbaugh is looking for some encouraging signs. The Baltimore Ravens not only drafted Jackson but acquired another Heisman winner in Robert Griffin III, who has been derailed by various problems, including injuries, the last several seasons. Griffin, when healthy, brings some of the same elusiveness to the table as Jackson and is actually ahead of him on the depth chart that was released in the past week. The Ravens, a 9-7 team last season (9-6-1 against the pointspread) are priced at +400 to win the AFC North.
ABOUT THE BEARS: Chicago, which was 5-11 SU last year but a respectable 8-7-1 ATS, had enough of John Fox and made the switch to new head coach Nagy, who had been the defensive coordinator in Kansas City. The major objective on tap for the offense is to accelerate the development of Trubisky, who stepped in after Mike Glennon provided very little. Toward that end they sought to improve a thin receiver corps, bringing in Allen Robinson (off an ACL injury), Taylor Gabriel and impressive rookie Anthony Miller (second-round pick from Memphis), not to mention tight end Trey Burton, who of course threw a touchdown pass to Nick Foles for the Eagles in the Super Bowl. They are also hoping that former first-round pick Kevin White, who has been on injured reserve each of the last three years, can finally contribute something substantial. Mark Helfrich, the former head coach at Oregon, is now the offensive coordinator, and Nagy fully intends to make RPO's (run-pass options) a staple of the offense. But many observers are skeptical that they have the kind of personnel on the offensive line that can make such a thing happen, so you might expect an adjustment period of sorts. Nagy did not bring in his own defensive coordinator but instead kept Vic Fangio, who led the Bears to a top ten finish in both points and yardage allowed. The Bears employ a 3-4 defensive front with a lot of unsung heroes, but first-round draft pick Roquan Smith, the linebacker from Georgia who is supposed to improve that unit, even more, is a contract holdout. The issue is that he does not want the Bears taking back some of his guaranteed money if he is suspended for leading with his helmet, a new rule is being implemented. The Bears are currently priced at +700 to win the very competitive NFC North division.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Baltimore's five-time All-Pro guard Marshal Yanda, who missed the last 14 games of the 2017 campaign with an ankle injury, then had shoulder surgery after the season, started camp on the PUP (physically-unable-to-perform) list and won't be available.
2. Chase Daniel, who the Bears brought in to be Trubisky's backup, has plenty of pre-season experience. He has completed 68% of his 295 attempts, with 13 touchdown passes and eight interceptions.
3. John Harbaugh is one of the NFL's absolute best coaches when it comes to success in the pre-season. His career record is 27-13 ATS, and his Ravens have won their last eight pre-season encounters straight-up.
PREDICTION: Ravens 21, Bears 10