Titans vs. Bears – Who Will Win More?

BetUSFootball," and take a gander

Today we're going to examine another of these head-to-head matchups, this time between teams with some quarterback questions - the Chicago Bears. In this case, the teams DO play each other, on November 9 in Chicago.

First, let's present the BetUS odds on who will have more wins at the regular season's end:

BetUS NFL Football Futures Odds

Most Regular Season Wins
TITANS -.5  (Even)
CHICAGO  +.5  (-140)

Usually when I analyze these propositions I take a look at the respective schedules of the teams, and take a rather surgical look at what the result of those schedules might be. But I am not going to do that here. Sure, I will stipulate that the Bears are in a division (the NFC North) where they will have more winnable games (against Jacksonville, two of whom went to the playoffs last year.

But that is the only possible advantage I can attribute to the Chicago Bears. What I prefer to do in this analysis is look at the sheer quality of the teams and how they will do this year. Tennessee is a team that has a legitimate chance to make the playoffs in the deeper and more difficult conference. Chicago, in my mind, is not a bonafide contender, even in the weaker NFC. The Bears are in trouble at the quarterback position. Rex Grossman is so mistake-prone that it was surprising they did not make a deal to bring in someone who could compete for the job. What they did instead, and I am convinced this was sincere, was to flip a coin to see who, between Grossman and Kyle Orton, would be the QB who would take the first snaps with the first team on the first day of drills. John Clayton, the analyst for ESPN, went so far as to say that he thinks Orton is the favorite to come away with the starting job when the season gets underway. Orton may throw fewer interceptions, but with him at the helm, this team will be much less dynamic offensively than with Grossman, who can at least throw the ball down the field a little.

It's also going to take a while for the Bears to work out what is going to happen in their running game. Cedric Benson has never worked out since he was drafted out of Texas in the first round, and this team won't get far ahead with three yards and a cloud of dust. On top of that, Benson has shown the Bears an attitude problem in the past, and can't stay out of trouble off the field, so it would be wildly optimistic that he could provide answers for the long term, or even this season. Garrett Wolfe and Matt Forte will be two young players who should figure more prominently in the Bears' plans, but even though both ran for over 2000 yards in one season in college, they were not projected as thoroughbreds at this level.

Vince Young is in a developmental process, that's for sure. And he had an off-year throwing the football last season, as he tossed nine TD's and 17 interceptions. Some think he'll never be that capable as an NFL passer. But he does know how to help his team win games; they were written off when he took over the position in the 2007 season, and he brought them into playoff contention right up to the end. last year the Titans made it to the post-season, where they lost in San Diego. But this year they can be more secure in the running game, as LenDale White, who established himself as a regular back, will be joined by a cat-quick big-play threat in Chris Johnson. Young, who doesn't have super-scary wide receivers, has a great outlet coming aboard this year in Alge Crumpler, who came over from a Pro Bowl career in Atlanta.