NFL - HOF Notes - Bears vs. Ravens

HOF Notes - Bears vs. Ravens
August 1, 2018
By VI News

Chicago Bears

Head Coach: Matt Nagy

Quarterback Rotation: Mitchell Trubisky, Chase Daniel, Tyler Bray

The Matt Nagy era begins in the Windy City following a 5-11 finish in 2017. Trubisky is poised for a strong sophomore season after starting the final 12 games at quarterback in 2017 and leading the Bears to a 4-8 record.

Chicago has been an average preseason team over the years by compiling a 3-5 SU and 4-4 ATS record the last two seasons, while dropping each of its past two preseason openers.

For updated injury reports on the Bears for this contest, we suggest following Patrick Finley and Dan Wiederer via Twitter.

Baltimore Ravens

Head Coach: John Harbaugh

Quarterback Rotation: Joe Flacco, Lamar Jackson (Rookie - Louisville), Robert Griffin III, Josh Woodrum

The Ravens enter the preseason with questions at the quarterback position between the incumbent Flacco and first-round pick Jackson. Baltimore has been a great team to back in the preseason under Harbaugh by winning all eight exhibition games since 2016, while posting a perfect 8-0 ATS mark.

Baltimore has stepped up defensively in the preseason by limiting each of its last eight opponents to 19 points or fewer, while winning three exhibition games last season by double-digits.

For updated injury reports on the Ravens, we suggest following Jeff Zrebiec and Jamison Hensley via Twitter.

Preseason Coaching Stats

Matt Nagy, Chicago – First preseason game
John Harbaugh, Baltimore – 28-12 SU, 27-13 ATS, 18-18 O/U

Preseason Results - Last Two Years

Chicago

2017 (2-2 SU, 2-2 ATS, 2-2 O/U)

Chicago (-1, 36.5) 17 vs. Denver 24
Chicago (+1, 40.5) 24 at Arizona 23
Chicago (+3, 43.5) 19 at Tennessee 7
Chicago (-4.5, 35.5) 0 vs. Cleveland 25

2016 (1-3 SU, 2-2 ATS, 1-3 O/U)

Chicago (PK, 35.5) 0 at Denver 22
Chicago (+3, 41) 22 at New England 23
Chicago (+2.5, 41) 7 vs. Kansas City 23
Chicago (+5.5, 37) 21 at Cleveland 7

Baltimore

2017 (4-0 SU, 4-0 ATS, 1-3 O/U)

Baltimore (+2, 36) 23 vs. Washington 3
Baltimore (+2.5, 37.5) 31 at Miami 7
Baltimore (-3.5, 39) 34 vs. Buffalo 9
Baltimore (+3, 37.5) 14 at New Orleans 13

2016 (4-0 SU, 4-0 ATS, 1-3 O/U)

Baltimore (+1, 36.5) 22 vs. Carolina 19
Baltimore (+3, 39) 19 at Indianapolis 18
Baltimore (-2.5, 42) 30 vs. Detroit 9
Baltimore (+4.5, 38) 23 at New Orleans 14

Hall of Fame Game History & Trends

Recent Trends:

-- Baltimore is making its first-ever appearance in the HOF game.

-- Chicago owns a perfect 4-0 record in the HOF game with its last appearance coming in 2005 with a 27-24 victory over Miami.

-- The NFC has won the last five HOF games when facing a team from the AFC.

-- The 'over' cashed in last year's HOF contest between the Cardinals and Cowboys in spite of one touchdown scored between the teams in the final three quarters.

-- Three of the last four HOF games have been decided by four points or less.

Bears vs Ravens NFL betting picks and predictions: Action comes early in Hall of Fame Game

Aug 1, 2018 |

The National Football League returns to action this Thursday night as the Chicago Bears tangle with the Baltimore Ravens in the annual Hall of Fame Game at Canton, Ohio. The yearly spectacle has traditionally been light on offense – and oddsmakers are prepared for a similar result, as evidenced by that rock-bottom total. All eyes will be on the quarterback play, with the Bears eager to see improvement from Mitchell Trubisky and the Ravens finally securing a legitimate challenger to Joe Flacco's starting role.
QUICK-HITTER

These games don't feature much scoring, but that doesn't mean fans will be forced to sit through a mundane opening quarter. Four of the previous five Hall of Fame games have featured a first-quarter touchdown, while last year's game inexplicably featured three major scores. Things get really ugly after the opening 15 minutes of action, but given how teams have performed in recent history, there's plenty of reason to expect either of these teams to put up a touchdown in the first quarter.

Prediction: Quarter of opening TD: first (-130)

HALFTIME BET

Few head coaches are better at preparing his team for preseason play than John Harbaugh. The Ravens' sideline boss is a sizzling 28-12 SU and 27-13 ATS in his preseason career, and should have his side ready from the get-go. Flacco will likely give way to rookie gunslinger Lamar Jackson after one or two series, and Jackson will be looking to make an immediate impact. Don't expect Baltimore to run away with this one at the half, but it should do enough to go into the break with a modest lead.

Prediction: First half winning margin: Baltimore 1-6 (+375)
TEAM/PLAYER BET

Much of the focus will be on Jackson, who electrified in college and caught the attention of the Ravens, who made him the final pick in the first round of this year's NFL Draft. It's unclear who Jackson will be throwing to, but if he's expected to see most of the action in the opening half, he should get plenty of opportunity to shine against Chicago's second-string defense. He should fare better than either of the Bears' backup quarterbacks, making Baltimore a terrific play to secure a second-quarter three-way victory

Prediction: Ravens second-quarter three-way (-111)
FULL-GAME SIDE

Preseason games can be incredibly difficult to handicap – but if you use Harbaugh's incredible exhibition track record as a basis for your wager, you'll ultimately save yourself a whole lot of effort. Harbaugh's teams treat the preseason as seriously as any in the league, which is made clear by his 70-percent SU success rate. And with Jackson and Robert Griffin III both looking to secure a backup role behind Flacco, bettors can expect both to be solid. Baltimore should easily cover the modest spread in this one.

Prediction: Ravens -2.5 (-120)
FULL-GAME TOTAL

The 33-point total is one of the smallest bettors will see in any game this season – but there's a good reason for the tiny number. Nine of 16 Hall of Fame Games this century have seen 30 or fewer points scored, including four of the previous six contests. Both teams feature offenses in progress, and opposing defenses should have no trouble keeping the scoring to a minimum. Look for the Ravens to slog their way to a low-scoring victory that won't win many style points.

Prediction: Under 33 (-105)

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
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