By Steven Suarez

Jay Cutler and the Bears opened the new NFL picks season with an emphatic win over the Atlanta Falcons. They’ll look to keep the good times rolling over the next few weeks even though some powerhouses stand in their way.

Chicago fans could not have asked for much more from their team in Week 1 of the 2011/12 NFL season.

The Bears jumped on the Falcons from the get-go, racing to a 16-3 halftime lead and finishing up strong in a 30-12 beatdown of a team that went 13-3 last season.

QB Jay Cutler threw for 312 yards and two TDs, but the day belonged to running back Matt Forte, who accumulated 158 total yards on offense. That included a 56-yard reception that he took to the house.

Reliable kicker Robbie Gould was money on all three of his field goals and the Bears also were able to keep a potent Atlanta offense at bay. Brian Urlacher returned a fumble for another Chicago touchdown in the victory.

One week down, 15 to go

In a division that features the defending Super Bowl champs (Green Bay Packers) and an up-and-coming team (Detroit Lions), the Bears needed a good start to their season and did well to manage a Week 1 W, over a very strong team no less.

Up this weekend though will be a daunting trip to the Big Easy to take on the explosive New Orleans Saints.

For their Week 2 road game, Chicago is the clear underdog in the eyes of the top sportsbooks , listed as high as 8-point pups.

The Saints showed in their Week 1 loss to the Packers that they will be able to hang with anyone offensively, with QB Drew Brees making some phenomenal plays down the stretch to keep his team in it.

Getting out of New Orleans with another win would be a huge coup for the Bears, but perhaps it’s not as far-fetched as people may think. Lovie Smith’s crew did tie for second in the NFL last season with an admirable 6-2 road record.

Storied rivals take to the gridiron in the Windy City

After the Saints comes another enormous obstacle for the Bears as they must try to contain Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at home in Week 3 in what will be a rematch of the 2010 NFC Championship Game.

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli will surely try to come up with a viable game-plan to slow Green Bay down, but Rodgers has quickly become one of the NFL’s elite players and has plenty of weapons at his disposal on offense, so we wish Marinelli the best of luck with that venture.

Playing such a key divisional game at Soldier Field will be a significant advantage for the Bears, knowing that they won this corresponding matchup last season in a close 20-17 outcome, thanks in large part to a mistake-filled performance from the reigning champions.

The Bears then get a slight reprieve in Week 4 when they will host the Carolina Panthers as the favorites in the football odds. The Panthers have handed the reigns to Cam Newton and he came through with a record-breaking outing in his professional debut against the Arizona Cardinals.

Two easier matchups on the horizon in Week 4 and 5

Still, in terms of NFL picks this is a game that the Bears really should win. Look for their stingy defense to pressure Newton into making mistakes from the beginning and from there Jay Cutler should take care of business versus a susceptible Panthers defensive unit.

In Week 5 another tricky divisional game is on the schedule, this time a road game against the Detroit Lions.

Detroit could very well be a contender in the NFC North this season as evident by an impressive 27-20 road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. So long as Matthew Stafford stays healthy, the Lions will score plenty of points.

If last season is anything to go by then the Bears may be the NFL pick here, given they won both games over the Lions in 2010. However, the two meetings were decided by a combined total of only nine points and Detroit seems to be much-improved now.

As evident, the next couple of weeks (@ NO, vs. GB) are going to be a huge test for the Bears – they’ll be fortunate to win even one of those games – but they then have four winnable games (vs. CAR, @ DET, vs. MIN, @ TB) before their BYE in Week 8.

There’s no doubt it was an ideal start for Lovie Smith’s gang in Week 1, but we’ll see what this team is really made of over the next month.

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Tags: Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears