Monday, October 16, 2006

Chicago Bears at Arizona Cardinals @ U of P Stadium (Grass)

The Chicago Bears have truly been the “Monsters of the Midway” so far, sporting a sparkling 5-0 record this season. They pack a punch on both sides of the ball racking up 156 points for, while allowing a measly 36 points against. The Arizona Cardinals again look like a team with potential that just can’t get it together, with a 1-4 record. Will it be another Monday night slaughter? Let’s take a look.

Line: Bears -11½ (Opening: Bears -10)

Over/Under: 40 (Opening: 37)

Key Points: When you go up against a team with a top-notch defense like the Bears, you need all of your offensive weapons ready to go. That’s why the Cards were probably cursing when they found out that WR Larry Fitzgerald would be out two games with a hamstring injury.

Arizona could also be missing the services of LB James Darling (calf), DT Kendrick Clancy (ankle), and OG Milford Brown (ankle), who are all listed as doubtful on the injury report.

The Bears meanwhile, will definitely be without the services of S Chris Harris (quadriceps) and may be missing pass rush specialist Adewale Ogunleye (hamstring), LB Leon Joe (hamstring) and WR Mark Bradley (ankle), all listed as questionable.

Bears QB Rex Grossman will likely have TE Desmond Clark as a passing option and target in the red zone, as he is listed as probable.

University of Phoenix Stadium is generally considered an indoor stadium—it has a retractable roof—but unlike most closed roof stadiums, it also has a retractable natural grass field. Remember that when you are looking up field stats for both the Bears and the Cards.

Monday night numbers and trends

While the Bears are seemingly on their way to going 6-0, you might want to consider this before laying down money on Chicago.

Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green has a 14-4 regular season record against the Chicago Bears, dating back to his days with the Vikings.

In their last 14 tilts under the Monday night lights, the Bears have failed to pay out on 11 occasions. Three out of four times in that same span they failed to cash as road favorites as well.

Then again, the Cardinals, who have a history of mediocrity, don’t have good Monday night numbers either. Arizona has a 1-3 record against the number when dogged at home and on MNF.

To their credit, Da Bears have both the NFL’s best scoring offense (averaging 31.2 points for) and defense (averaging 7.2 points against).

When the Total is between 35½ and 42 the Cards have gone over nine out of 10 times, while the Bears have gone under 19 of 22 on the road.

Winneronline Opinion: The Bears definitely have more weapons than the Cards, but they also don’t perform well on Monday night, or against Dennis Green teams. The Bears will probably win this one, but not ATS.

Bye week up next.