Bears Blitz

Published by Scott Pashley on July 17, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

In 2009, the Bears finished the season ranked 23rd in total offense averaging 20 points and 327 yards per game. QB Jay Cutler had a productive fantasy season despite tossing an alarming 26 interceptions.  

The Bears lack a true No.1 but have an intriguing receiving corps featuring two game breaking Devins (Hester and Aromashodu). Devin Aromashodu seems to headline most sleeper lists but at least one of our crew here at FFSpin.com thinks that Devin Hester represents the most value on this roster. 

TE Greg Olsen remains one of the more talented receiving options not just on the Bears roster, but perhaps among all tight ends. 

Unfortunately, the Martz system is not known as TE friendly. Olsen tallied eight touchdowns last season and should remain a focal point of the offense in the red zone. If the Martz offense holds true to form, however, he may not factor in to the game plan nearly as much as a player of his skill level should. 

The Bears backfield has gotten a little more crowded. The team added former division rival Chester Taylor to form a formidable duo along with Matt Forte. Where Cutler may not have a clear cut elite receiver he has two elite pass receiving options coming out of the—an essential component to the the Mike Martz system.

The Chicago Bears face the eighth most favorable schedule for quarterbacks in 2010 but the 25th ranked schedule for running backs. Even Mike Martz may be forced to acknowledge that the run may be the wise play some weeks.

The week 16 matchup (fantasy super bowl for many leagues) against the NY Jets and Revis Island is cause for concern. That concern can be countered with the fact that the Bears face weaker secondaries in weeks 14 and 15 when the line up against the Patriots and Vikings.  

FANTASY FOOTBALL SPIN:

The Bears appear to me to be a place where value can be had in fantasy football drafts. Forte, Hester, and Cutler all seem to present better upside than where they are currently being drafted. 

One of things that we will have to watch carefully for in training camp is who emerges opposite Devin Hester as the other starting wide out. Either Johnny Knox or Devin Aromashodu will be a decent No.3 WR this year.

Overvalued: TE Greg Olsen hauled in eight touchdowns last season and remains one of the better receivers in the Bears offense, but I would not draft him based on his 2009 production.

The Martz system is not know as TE friendly and the Bears have a bevy of emerging WRs which might put Olsen on the back burner. Vernon Davis managed just 31 receptions with Martz in 2008 and had a breakout season (78 catches) for San Francisco without Martz in 2009. Olsen is talented, but the change in offensive scheme makes him better drafted as a TE2.

Undervalued: RB Matt Forte (ADP 46 / RB21) Despite the off season signing of Chester Taylor, I’m fully expecting somewhat of bounce back from Forte (a consensus first round pick in 2009) as the Bears offense should be more explosive under new coordinator Mike Martz. 

New line coach Mike Tice has been given the unenviable task of improving the run blocking despite little turnover up front. The risk of a reduced workload has Forte still on the board in round five of many drafts which makes him a good value especially in PPR leagues (has averaged 60 catches per season in his first two NFL seasons). 

Forte should remain the main red zone option and makes for a decent RB2. After finding the end zone 12 times in his rookie season, Forte only hit pay dirt four times in 2009. I expect the touchdown total to fall somewhere in between and am forecasting eight touchdowns and 1,200 total yards.

Breakout: WR Devin Aromashodu (ADP 81 / WR32) – Mike Martz and QB Jay Cutler should know better than anyone which WR is primed for a breakout 2010 and both have nominated Aromashodu as the favorite. He’s likely to be as valuable to fantasy owners as he would be on a triple word score in scrabble.  

He actually has a chance at becoming the Bears No.1 WR despite a very small sample size (he only emerged in final four weeks of 2009). He has an ideal size/speed combo (6’2, 200) to be useful in the red zone as well as when the Bears are pinned deep in their own end. The Mike Martz system is likely to make the starting Bears receivers valuable commodities in 2010. We think DA should emerge as a WR3.

To see this full article with opinions from four other top fantasy football sites click here and go to FFSpin.com.

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