The only real bright spot coming out of last season was return man Devin Hester who some now claim is the best return man to ever play the game. Besides Hester there isn’t much to celebrate in Chicago after such a lackluster season. More questions arose than were answered last season and now as Urlacher and the Bears are having contractual issues its hard to imagine this Chicago Bears team getting anywhere near as far as they did 2 years ago.
The Bears defense should continue to be a good fantasy defense, however considering they will most likely be overated by your fellow drafting buddies, it will be hard to pick them up at a good value. And yes Hester should be good for a decent number of return touchdowns, however the Bears defense hasn’t been as reliable as of late and is a gamble to draft too early. The Bears also have some major issues on offense which could help make a good defense look bad this upcoming season.
The Bears had a good draft but failed to address the quarterback issue which will come back to haunt them. If the Bears have learned anything these past few years trying to win despite your quarterback is not how you have success in the NFL no matter how good your defense is.
Update 6/10: After a second arrest in a month the Bears have cut starting running back Cedric Benson
2008 NFL Draft Picks (Mel Kiper’s Grade - B)
1. OT Chris Williams Vanderbilt
2. RB Matt Forte Tulane
3. WR Earl Bennett Vanderbilt
4. DT Marcus Harrison Arkansas
5. CB Craig Steltz Louisiana State
6. CB Zachary Bowman Nebreaska
7. TE Kellen Davis Michigan State
8. DE Ervin Baldwin Michigan State
9. G Chester Adams Georgia
10. LB Joey LaRocque Oregon State
11. OT Kirk Barton Ohio State
12. WR Marcus Monk Arkansas
2008 Schedule
- Week 1- Sep 7 @Indianapolis 8:15pm
- Week 2- Sep 14 @Carolina 1:00pm
- Week 3- Sep 21 Tampa Bay 1:00pm
- Week 4- Sep 28 Philadelphia 8:15pm
- Week 5- Oct 5 @Detroit 1:00pm
- Week 6- Oct 12 @Atlanta 1:00pm
- Week 7- Oct 19 Minnesota 1:00pm
- Week 8- BYE
- Week 9- Nov 2 Detroit 1:00pm
- Week 10- Nov 9 Tennessee 1:00pm
- Week 11- Nov 16 @Green Bay 1:00pm
- Week 12- Nov 23 @St. Louis 1:00pm
- Week 13- Nov 30 @Minnesota 8:15pm
- Week 14- Dec 7 Jacksonville 1:00pm
- Week 15- Dec 11 New Orleans 8:15pm
- Week 16- Dec 22 Green Bay 8:30pm
- Week 17- Dec 28 @Houston 1:00pm