A look at the Bears (fantasy football style)

[knightni]

Fantasy football preview - with Bears Qs

 

(From yahoo.com)

 

Q: Marty Booker landed in Miami in a trade this past week. Does he gain or lose value now that he is out of Chicago and in the Dolphins' fold?

 

Brandon Funston:

 

It sure would have been nice to see Booker dealt to, say, Arizona. Dennis Green would have made better use of him than the Dolphins will. Let's see, what does Miami have to offer: no running game, conservative offense, suspect offensive line. It doesn't add up to big things for Booker. But, then again, I wasn't counting on much from him in Chicago, so it's likely that his value won't change much. Either way, I've done a good job of not having to make a call on him on Draft Day. The one positive outcome from the deal could be that it'll free up Chris Chambers a bit from extra defensive attention, as Booker has a fairly proven track record and defenses aren't likely to ignore him completely. I'll put Booker down for 900 receiving yards and five trips to the end zone.

 

Matt Romig

 

I wouldn't move Booker at all. Sure, he was a No. 1 in Chicago, but the Bears are trying to revamp one of the five worst passing offenses in the league and they have an inexperienced QB calling the signals. Granted A.J. Feeley and Jay Fiedler won't be starring in any Isotoner commercials in the near future, but they have every reason to air it out this year. A 1,000-yard, eight-touchdown season is certainly not out of reach.

 

Mike Harmon

 

I don't think his value moves tremendously based on the change of address. He was already rated fairly high among receivers. Booker fought injury and "The Kordell (Stewart) Experiment" in Chicago last season and watched his numbers drop off a cliff. I didn't like him in Chicago's offense this season, particularly with the emphasis on younger receivers (even though Booker is merely 27) and Lovie Smith's infatuation with Thomas Jones.

 

He'll get a better chance to live up to advance billing as the clear No. 2 receiver to Chris Chambers, who will face double and triple teams until they find a suitable running back. It's no longer Dan Marino or Bob Griese under center, it's not even Jim Miller, but Booker's ability to run clean routes and fight off secondary corners should lend support to Miami's signal callers. He'll top 1,000 yards and haul in 8-10 touchdowns.

 

Q: In Booker's wake in Chicago there remains Justin Gage, Bobby Wade and David Terrell in the receiving corps. Who among these three merits the most fantasy consideration and what is your expectation for that player?

 

Brandon Funston:

 

I'm not sure any of them warrant fantasy consideration. It seems conceivable to go through a draft without hearing any of their names called, similar to what befalls Kansas City receivers on Draft Day. To that point, Chicago's offensive coordinator, Terry Shea, comes over from the Chiefs and plans on running a similar spread-it-around passing game where five receivers are expected to be rotated through fairly liberally. QB Rex Grossman backed this assertion up recently, saying: "I think it's going to be spread around quite a bit. In that circumstance where you can pick a receiver over another one, I'm not really at that stage yet. I think they're all pretty good." Fantasy isn't some child education program where sharing is encouraged. It's a game where selfishness is applauded. Sans a go-to guy, Chicago is not a pool I'd fish for receivers from.

 

Matt Romig

 

I'm not sold on any of the quarterbacks in Chicago's camp, so the prospects for this trio are pretty bleak. Terrell is running out of chances to prove he wasn't a huge bust at No. 8 in the 2001 draft and I don't think he has it in him. That leaves Gage and Wade – and Gage has the bigger upside as a deep threat. There are worse guys to take a flyer on in the speed rounds. Around 700 yards and six TDs for Gage are realistic with slightly better numbers in reach if Grossman clicks.

 

Mike Harmon

 

Apart from Thomas Jones, you can take a wait and see approach on every Chicago skill player. Other than people making homer picks, Rex Grossman isn't flying off draft boards. In fact, I participated in a draft just yesterday and not one of these players was selected save Jones. After last season's train wreck, Grossman and the Bears will need to put something together to make fantasy owners take notice.

 

With that said, I would add Justin Gage to the list of sleepers. At 6-foot 4, he creates some matchup problems on the wings. Watch to see how many balls fly his way in the opener against Detroit. Talk is that Bobby Wade will slide into Booker's vacated No. 1 spot, leaving David Terrell on the outside looking in yet again. This is likely his final shot to make an impression in Chicago before he's jettisoned to the magical land of Bust City.