Bears Spotlight

June 12, 2012; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) passes during Bears-Minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-US PRESSWIRE

Jay Cutler has thrown for over 18,000 yards in his first six seasons, but he has only been a top 10 fantasy quarterback once in his career when he threw for 4,500 yards in his last season in Denver.  Cutler hasn’t been higher than 17th while playing for the Bears due to poor blocking and turnovers.  There will be no excuses this season with the weapons surrounding Cutler.  Most mock drafts have him falling to the 11-13th selected quarterback which could and should prove to be a great value.  The past few seasons with Martz as coordinator it was way to risky to start Cutler on a weekly basis! With Brandon Marshall and rookie Alshon Jeffrey along with Earl Bennett and the Hester Package along with Matt Forte, this should be a huge season for Cutler and almost a shoe in for a top 10 quarterback season!

Fantasy Top 10 QB’S

1. Drew Brees-

Drew Brees -Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

In the post-Bountygate world in New Orleans, Brees is now the de facto offensive coordinator.  Brees has not thrown for less than 4,000 yards since arriving in Cajun Country, and without Sean Payton, you have to believe that the Saints offense will be even more pass happy.  There’s also a good chance that they will be trailing more than last year which will mean more Brees passing and #1 Qb in fantasy.

2. Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers-Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

If Rodgers didn’t sit out the last week of the year he would have easily been last season’s #1 fantasy quarterback.  Rodgers had 45 touchdowns to 6 interceptions last season and there’s no reason to believe his production will slip.  The Green Bay Packers still do not have an established running game and have named James Starks as starting running back which translated in fantasy football terms means Rodgers could be passing 50 times a games.  Rodgers has been a top 10 fantasy QB since taking over for Brett Favre, and 2012 should be no exception.

3. Tom Brady

Tom Brady- Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

The old veteran now of fantasy qb’s.  Except for his one pass injury season of 2008, having Brady on your roster has always been a good thing.  The Patriots offense is always adding new twists from The Randy Moss years, to the two tight end passing game, and now Brady has a new toy to play with in Brandon Lloyd.  Brady only threw for 5,200 yards last year, and with the new addition the sky is the limit in 2012.  Draft Brady early because he will not be available very long in any draft.

4. Matt Schaub 

Matt Schaub-Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-US PRESSWIRE

Schaub will be availble later in the draft then some other guys ranked lower in this ranking for one reason only—HEALTH.  Schaub and the Texans offense always put up great offensive numbers and they have some of the best weapons at ever postition in Foster, Johnson, and Owens.  Schaub has only completed 2 seasons which is alarming but when he’s on the field he puts up some great fantasy numbers.  He may be a red flag risk but the high end reward is there especially the later the round in the draft that he’s still available.

5. Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford- Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

It’s amazing what health and having arguably the best Wide Recevier in the league can do.  Stafford threw for over 5,000 yards in his first season where he played all 16 games.  Stafford had the luxury of Calvin Johnson which makes the QB job a lot easier.  Stafford will most likely be gone by the 2nd round at the latest in your draft.  The Lions early on will not have much of a running game and how well Leshore fits into the offense is still to be determined on Sundays so expect a lot of balls in the air in Detroit again this season.

6. Matt Ryan

Matt Ryan- Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

Ryan’s stats have been very consistent and improving every season since entering the league.  He leads a very boring offense which isn’t sexy but still puts up the stats every week.  This season could be a change from the vanilla to maybe neapolitan since Julio Jones after a very slow start came on at the end of the season and could burst on to the scene.  Jones could help Ryan become a top 5 QB like Johnson did for Stafford last season.  The Falcons are not going to abandon the run but it will not be surprising to see a lot more explosive plays from them this season and make Ryan and very good value as a fantasy QB.

7. Eli Manning

Eli Manning-Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

The good side of Eli is that his yards per season has increased the past four seasons and he’s very consistent in his TD’s per year.  The dark side of Eli is the interceptions! Everyone likes to harp on Jay Cutler for bad int’s but Eli has the same bad tendency.  In his Super Bowl season’s he has been able to steer clear of the turnover bug and put up good numbers.  He may be without Hakeem Nicks early on and will be missing Mario Manningham.  This could be a small decline in his numbers from last season but the decline shouldn’t be too drastic not to draft him in the t0p 4 rounds.

8. Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning-Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

The former #1 fantasy quarterback for years now has a new home and address.  Drafting him will be a huge risk with the neck injury, but the reward could be huge if he stays healthy for the entire 2012 season.  Manning will be in a new system with unfamiliar players, but he’s just too good of QB not to believe he will make all the adjustments needed through his endless preparations to be highly successful in Mile High City.  In mocks drafts his position has been very unpredictable so where he gets selected will depend on the fondness for him by you or your league mates.

9. Cam Newton

Cam Newton- Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

Cam Newton did something no other rookie quarterback has done in fantasy football…Dominate from day 1.  His turnover ratio does need to improve, last year it was 21-17 but he was unstoppable by the goal line rushing for 14 touchdowns.  Defenses seemed to catch up to Newton’s passing skills  late in the season, so you may want to keep an eye on him during the pre-season action to see if his accuracy has improved, but his natural talents and progression could lead to even greater statistics then his first season.

10. Tony Romo

Tony Romo-Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Forget the fact that Romo chokes in the playoffs or when a possible playoff spot is on the line.  This is fantasy rankings and Romo is a stat machine.  Romo routinely puts up 4,000 yards 30 touchdown seasons.  Dez Bryant could be the next big receiver in the NFL which will be an added plus to Romo owners.  He still has his security blanket in Whitten, and he should have a good running game with Murray and Jones.  There has been little chatter out of Dallas this off season compared to other years which could lead to a Dallas revival!

Breakout Fantasy QB- Alex Smith

Alex Smith- Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-US PRESSWIRE

Just like the Bears off season, the 49ers have added offensive weapons. Oldie but goodie Randy Moss and Super Bowl champ Mario Manningham have been added to a very average 49ers offense.  Smith had a rebirth under first year coach Jim Harbaugh throwing for 17 touchdowns and only 5 picks.  Smith may not leap into a top 10 fantasy qb this season but his stats could see a tremendous jump with the added offensive firepower surrounding him provided Moss plays at a high level for most of the season.

Bust Fantasy QB-Joe Flacco

Joe Flacco- Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

The bizzaro world of Tony Romo.  Flacco has tremendous playoff success but is a liability during the regular season in fantasy football. Flacco hasn’t missed a game and his stats are very similar the past three seasons but there has been no progression.  He has one of the top running backs in the league in Ray Rice, so you know the Ravens will force feed him as much as possible.  This is the season where no progression meets regression for Flacco.  They play the Steelers twice a year so that’s a guaranteed two weeks you won’t want to start him, and they will never go into a game with the philosophy of airing it out.  Steer clear of Flacco as your #1 qb this season.

The ball will be in the air more than ever this season! Who’s your top 10, sleeper, or bust?  Will Jay Cutler be a top 5 fantasy qb? I would be glad to see your lists in the comments section!!

Da BEARS!!!

Jay gets his payday

Jerry Angelo has had a hole burning in his pocket ever since he brought in a franchise quarterback.   He spent some of that money on Tuesday.  Jay Cutler has signed a contact extension with the Chicago Bears to keep him in the Orange and Blue through at least 2013.  According to the NFL Network, the extension adds about $20 million in guaranteed money to the $30 million extension.

People have been speculating about this extension ever since the Bears brought Cutler here in a trade from the Broncos back in April.  In the meantime, Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers have made rather large deposits to their local banks after signing extensions of their own. (more…)

On to week 6…the Bears are back and I hope my GOOD picks are too…

Stone Tablet Locks – chisel these guys in stone as MUST PLAYS this week. (more…)

I love how they get a parting shot in at Rex Grossman.  Poor Rexy!  It’s a really interesting discussion that they have to ruin at the end by talking about the Giants being the most dangerous team in the NFC.  Puh-lease!  You thought the Bears had no receivers?  Aside from Jailbird Burress, name a Giants receiver?   They’ve got a solid running back in Brandon Jacobs who will be broken by Week 8 and $97 million dollar QB Eli Manning with no one to throw to.  Sure they have a decent defense, but as we Bears fans all know, that only gets you so far.

BEAR DOWN!!!

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Phillip Rivers' new contract left Jay Cutler in awe.

First Eli Manning hit it big with a $97.5 million deal.  Now, Jay Cutler‘s former division rival, the Chargers‘ Phillip Rivers has money to burn.  The San Diego QB just inked a 6-year extension worth $93 million with $38 in guaranteed money. Here’s what Chargers team president Dean Spanos had to say on the signing:

“This is a great day for the Chargers and Chargers fans,” team president Dean Spanos said in a statement. “Philip has proven he has all of the necessary qualities to be a successful quarterback in the NFL. He’s a proven winner and an unquestioned leader for this football team.”

A great day for Chargers and Chargers fans?  Not unless Rivers plans to toss some of that cash back into the stands.  It’s a great day for Rivers, quarterbacks and players all around the NFL.

Cutler is under contract for three more years, but at the rate that these contracts are going through the roof, the Bears might be wise to get to the bargaining table before the price of poker goes way up.

Cutler gave the Bears and their quarterback-starved fans a sneak peak into what he brings to the offensive party on Saturday in the Bears victory over the Giants.  JC led three scoring drives in three attempts.  He spread the ball around well, showed great pocket presence and mobility, not to mention a certain zip on the ball that most Bears fans haven’t ever seen.  I suspect he’ll command a contract like Bears fans have never seen too.  Let’s hope he’s worth it.

BEAR DOWN!!!

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Similarly, when I went to bed on Thursday (Friday and Saturday too for that matter), I went to sleep believing that the Bears were actually going to make the playoffs thanks to a solid win over New Orleans.   It was all set up.  A Vikings loss here, a Giants win there and we’d be all set.  All of that changed on Sunday like the sudden change in the weather.  Everything went terribly, horribly, impossibly wrong.  Now, the Bears will be lucky to have a glimmer of playoff hope next time they take the field against Green Bay a week from now. 

Vikings beat the Cardinals- any time Arizona would like to stop anyone on the Vikings would be fine with me.  Bernard Berrian not only bit, but chewed off and spit out the hand that once fed him with an 82-yard punt return and another long TD reception from backup QB Tarvaris Jackson.  Arizona came out flat and never recovered.  They looked outmatched in all phases of the game and will certainly get destroyed in their first home playoff game since 1947.  Thanks for nothing Cards!

Dallas beats New York Giants – Dallas looks like the team that many people expected with a Sunday night victory over the NFC-leading New York Giants.  The Dallas D sacked Eli Manning 8 times and the Giants’ offense could never really get out of neutral.  Dallas still has two tough games remaining, but a loss to the Giants would have helped.

Tampa beat Atlanta.  Where has Tampa’s run defense gone?  Michael Turner went off for 150+ on the ground against the once-feared Bucs defense.  I was hoping that Tampa would ascend to the #1 wild card spot and run the table, doing the Beloved a favor along the way.  Tampa and Atlanta are now tied for second behind division-leading Carolina with matching 9-5 records.  Since they both have a tie-breaker against the Bears, they’ll both need to lose out for the Bears to have a shot at passing them.

And now, we pray as our “Four-Fodders,” Da Super Fans taught us:

The Giants got the better of the Green Bay Packers on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field mostly due to the inept Green Bay offense than anything else.  The Packers couldn’t establish a running game and when they relied on Brett Favre to create some magic, he conjured interceptions.  It was a great game to watch, but more importantly, what effect will it have on the Super Bowl?

I’m afraid a Giants victory has spelled a disasterous Super Bowl.  When you take the Packers and the Giants and match them up to the Patriots the Packers have the best chance of making the game competitive.  When the game is played in sunny Arizona, the Packers speedy offense with weapons like Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Donald Lee, and Brett Favre could give the Patriots trouble.  Instead we get to see Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress, Armani Toomer, and an array of back up tight ends and runnings backs.  Any team would love to have Plaxico Burress but the rest of the Giants offense is adequate at best.  Favre has a cool head in the pocket, but Eli has shown that he can be flustered in the pocket and make bad choices.  I already have images in my head of Eli running for his life from Mike Vrabel.

The Packers defense had shut down corner backs in Al Harris and Charles Woodson, along with skilled linebackers in A.J. Hawk and good pass rushers.  The Giants bring good corners and a great pass rush led by Michael Strahan, but I get the feeling like the Giants defense is a one-trick pony.  They put too much faith in their pass rush getting to the quarterback.  When they don’t they are picked apart.  The Patriots offensive line is too good and Tom Brady too relaxed to let Strahan and company get to him.

The Patriots have shown that they can put their backs up to the end zone and prevent opposing teams from scoring touchdowns.  After seeing Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes take three attempts to make a field goal you have to wonder if the Giants are in over their heads. 

I have been hoping for weeks for any team to come out of the NFC that can compete and maybe even beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.  First we lost the Dallas Cowboys, and now the Green Bay Packers.  The NFC now has to rely on the shaky arm of Eli Manning and an overachieving Giants team that is about to take on the Evil Empire. 

Eli Manning is no Luke Skywalker and Tom Coughlin is no Yoda. 

The Packers loss takes away any shred of hope the NFC had to take the Super Bowl.  Eli Manning will have to perform a miracle in the Arizona desert to get his brother Peyton’s trophy.  I love an underdog as much as the next guy but I just can’t wrap my head around this one. 

Of course, if I was a betting man I would have bet the Giants would have lost to the Cowboys and the Packers.  I have been wrong before and could be again.  Perhaps this Giants team has some sort of destiny that could follow them to the Super Bowl.  It could also just be life laughing in the face of Tiki Barber sitting at home wondering what Arizona is like in February. 

I would love to see the San Diego Chargers defeat the New England Patriots and get the AFC trophy, but with a banged up LaDainian Tomlinson and gimpy Phillip Rivers the Chargers may have to hope for another miracle from their back ups Michael Turner and Billy Volek. Although, if you told me the fate of the Chargers season would rest on a touchdown drive led by Volek and Turner I would probably tell you their season would end early. Somehow they managed to manufacture a game-winning drive in the face of the NFL defensive MVP Bob Sanders. Is it even feasible to imagine the same thing could happen to the Patriots? I’m grounded by the reality that the Colts defense was missing several key players and had been over performing down the stretch. The reality is with the amount of injuries on the Indianapolis Colts it should have been no surprise that they were ousted by a team using replacement parts.

Now the Chargers are thrust into the same role the Colts played this past weekend. They go into the AFC championship game banged up and possibly missing pro bowl players that are key to their team. When you take L.T. and Antonio Gates off the field, what do the Chargers have left on offense? Chris Chambers is going to lead this team past the Patriots?

Normally I don’t waste my time writing on the AFC but I make the exception because of how much I despise the Patriots. I despise the way they disregarded the old NFL unspoken rule against running up the score against opponents. I despise the way they managed to horde so much talent on one team much the way basketball teams were for many years and contributed to the drop off of the NBA. I despise that Tony Romo gets criticized for taking his celebrity girlfriend on a trip but there is no accountability for Tom Brady dating supermodels and having children with different women. I despise the way they play the game more like a video game than real football.

I already know what all the Patriots fan are saying, if you don’t like it then find a way to beat us. That’s the part that really disgusts me. Even with their bastardized version of football, no one has been able to find a way to stop them. It’s also the reason why it will never be duplicated. The main reason the Patriots offense has been so good is the matching up of a great receiving corps, mostly due to the horrible trade made with the Oakland Raiders to get Randy Moss. Shame on the Raiders for giving up Moss to the Patriots without making the Patriots give up some talent in return. It was a fluke that probably will never be able to be repeated by any other team. They also have a benefit of a defense made up of some of the best defensive players in the league. Somehow Junior Seau has been an ageless wonder and still manages to contribute. Eventually this team will get too old and too expensive to keep together and balance will be restored to the league.

So should I admire the Patriots for putting this team together? I don’t think so, that still doesn’t excuse the way they humiliated teams for their own ego.

The New York Giants played a great game against the Dallas Cowboys but you have to admit the Cowboys didn’t look like the Cowboys on Sunday. They looked confused and couldn’t get a balance on offense, mostly due to allowing the Giants pass rush to have their way with Tony Romo. Brett Favre has many more years under his belt on knowing how to avoid a pass rush, plus a Packers offense that has shown they can rely on the pass and spread the field. So as far as I’m concerned the Packers already have their place set for the NFC trophy.

That’s possibly what makes the Packers and Patriots match up so compelling. While the Packers have shown they can take over a game with running back Ryan Grant, it wasn’t too long ago they were winning games by passing the entire game, much the way the Patriots have been winning. The possibility of a shoot out Super Bowl will be exciting and fun to watch. If the Giants upset and get into the Super Bowl, the Patriots defense will be able to confuse Eli Manning and take control of the game. Favre is old, but has a lot of wisdom when it comes to playing the game and the Super Bowl.

So you tell me, do Bears fans root for the Patriots to run the table and make NFL history by mocking the league, or do you root for the hated, rival Packers, even though they may be the last saviors of the league by giving the Patriots their own style of pass happy offense and suffocating defense?