Week 1 NFL Preseason Picks: August 9th 2012
Denver Broncos vs. Chicago Bears
Current line: Chicago (-3/34).

Denver and Chicago meet on Thursday from Soldier Field in Chicago at 8:30pmET. All eyes will be on new Denver quarterback Peyton Manning, who makes his debut with the Broncos.

Denver is coming off an 8-8 season that was highlighted by a 29-23 overtime win over Pittsburgh at home. They also went 7-8-1 ATS and were 9-7 Over. Last year, they went -2 ATS in the preseason and John Fox (Den, Car) is 21-19 SU, 20-19-1 ATS and 19-20-1 Under in preseason Chicago is coming off a 8-8 SU, 7-8-1 ATS and 9-7 Over. Last year, they went 3-1 ATS in the preseason while Lovie Smith is 16-16 SU, 13-17-3 ATS and 17-16 Over in preseason.

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The temperature is expected to be 71 degrees with 13mph wind and occasional showers.

All eyes will be on Manning and his debut. He goes to a pretty strong team that went 8-8 with Tim Tebow starting at quarterback last year. Tebow is off to the Jets to backup Mark Sanchez. The Broncos also added some defensive help as they acquired CB Tracy Porter and SS Mike Adams. Defensively, Denver struggled against the run last year, allowing 126.3ypg on the ground. Chicago needs a healthy Jay Cutler. When he went down last year, the Bears fell apart due to no depth (Caleb Hanie, Luke McCown). The Bears should return to the playoffs with a strong defense, running game (Matt Forte’) and the addition of WR Brandon Marshall to help Cutler. They also need more consistency from their offensive line.

Expect Manning to play a series or two; same with Cutler. At least Chicago has a solid backup now in Jason Campbell. Denver has Chicago’s backup from last year in Caleb Hanie along with rookie Brock Osweiler.

Chicago will likely be without LB Brian Urlacher (knee). Denver could miss RT Orlando Franklin (concussion) and will miss starting S Quinton Carter (knee surgery).

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