The NFL Preseason kicks off on Thursday night, as the Chicago Bears take on the Baltimore Ravens in the Hall of Fame Game on NBC. Neither team will be playing their starters long; if at all, so the game will be a battle of the backups. The Bears have a new head coach and a new offensive philosophy, while the Ravens have a new backup quarterback in Lamar Jackson. Let’s look at this contest and Hall of Fame Game predictions.
Watch this preseason matchup live on Thursday, August 2, 2018, at 8 p.m. ET at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Chicago Bears +2
Baltimore Ravens -2
Over/Under 33
Odds Analysis
The Ravens are listed as 2-point favorites in this game, with the total at 33. The Bears are coming off a 5-11 season, but optimism is high for Chicago entering this season, as they have a new head coach in Matt Nagy and new offensive weapons surrounding second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky. The early results in camp have been positive for the Bears and Trubisky is excited about the changes. “This offense is going to be amazing,” Trubisky said to USA Today. “We’re going to spread the ball around, use all our playmakers, stretch the ball down the field as well as intermediate routes and we’re going to use the [run-pass option], run the ball and really just create mismatches with the personnel we got.”
Chicago signed wide receiver Allen Robinson to a 3-year, $42 million dollar contract to provide Trubisky with a good receiving option. They also signed Trey Burton who had been with the Eagles. The Bears are hoping that their defense is also going to be improved, but they don’t have first round pick Roquan Smith who has yet to sign.
The Ravens also have a new look on offense for this season. They still have Joe Flacco at quarterback, but they added wide receivers Michael Crabtree, Willie Snead and John Brown. They also have quarterback Lamar Jackson who they took with the No. 32 pick in the 2018 NFL draft.
Player to Watch
Most of the top players for both teams are not going to play, but we will see Jackson under center for Baltimore. Whether he starts or gets in the game following Robert Griffin III we don’t know, but we know that the spotlight will be on Jackson. He produced 119 touchdowns at Louisville and he has looked dynamic in training camp. "He likes to run, very fast," Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs said recently to the meida. "He's very exciting, a young talent, and he approaches the game with the kind of requirement that quarterbacks are held to in this league. He could have a promising career."
The Ravens have said that Flacco is the starting quarterback, but they are trying to get Jackson into the offense. He threw a pass to Flacco, who lined up as a receiver in a recent practice. "We're going to see what everybody's strengths are," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. "We'll try to use all of our players that are eligible, we'll try to use the whole field, we'll get it to our best players."
Free Hall of Fame Game Predictions
This game has some intrigue to it even though most of the starters are not going to play. The Bears have a new offense that should make them much more exciting and although Trubisky probably won’t play, the Bears have two capable backups in Chase Daniel and Tyler Bray who know Nagy’s offensive system well. The Ravens should also be better on offense, but Jackson and Griffin will need time to learn the Baltimore system behind Flacco. I give the Bears the edge in this game and think they are worth taking plus the points. I also think the over is worth a look as well.
NFL Odds: Bears 24, Ravens 17
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