Packers finish by routing Bears.(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Byline: Bob McGinn

CHICAGO _ How could the oddsmakers have known? Mike Sherman went to great lengths to make sure that his own players and coaches didn't know his intentions, either.

Las Vegas Sports Consultants were on their own last Monday morning when they established the Green Bay Packers as a 3-point underdog against the Chicago Bears 15 weeks after they were favored by 8 { points over them at Lambeau Field.

Sherman's a hard guy for anyone in the national media to read because he doesn't play that game. When his buddy, Philadelphia's Andy Reid, tanked in St. Louis that night, it undoubtedly strengthened the rationale of Roxy Roxborough's firm for favoring a bad team over a good one.

On Sunday, everyone got their answer. Sherman took a calculated risk, played his good people more than long enough to establish superiority and then reaped the multitude of benefits from a 31-14 pasting of the Bears at Soldier Field.

``That's how you're supposed to play,'' guard Marco Rivera said. ``It was a good offensive day, a good defensive day and it just carries over to next week. We …