FanHouse MarcusHarrison

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Expectations in the Windy City are sky-high, coming off an offseason in which the Bears acquired who should be their first franchise quarterback in ages: Jay Cutler. He's doing photoshoots, selling jerseys with ease and playing well in preseason games. Can it translate into a playoff run ... or more?

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet the ...
First Chicago Bears team with a franchise quarterback since face masks were invented. A message to non-Bears fans from Bears fans: Don't bring us down. If you want to make fun of us for being a bit overzealous about Jay Cutler, then maybe you should take a gander at the load of crap the Bears have been using at quarterback. From Cade McNown to Moses Moreno to Chad Hutchinson to Peter Tom Willis to ... whatever. You get the point. Let us also remember that having Cutler doesn't necessarily make everyone fantasy gold automatically. The tremors are more real than fantasy.

---

---

After the Bears made the announcement of their franchise-shattering acquisition of Jay Cutler, they didn't rest. Within a few hours, they announced they had also agreed to terms with venerable left tackle Orlando Pace. I'll admit, I was overly excited about the two new Bears, as were all my Bears fans friends -- which is weird, usually at least one of us disagrees about player movement. Make no mistake about it, though. We aren't delusional. This team is far from complete and the die-hards know it.

With the team still a decent amount below the salary cap and several holes left to fill for 2009, here's what I think the Bears should do.

I guess you can say Dusty Dvoracek was incredibly healthy this season, as long as you take the rest of his career into account. He missed his entire rookie year, and then proceeded to tear his ACL in the first game last year. At least this year he got 11 games in before the season-ender. Yeah, I said it's over. I'm speculating, but usually coaches aren't this up front about potential injury issues:

''It was a serious injury,'' coach Lovie Smith said. ''It isn't looking good.'' This time the malady is in the big man's arm.

The blow is a potentially devastating one to the Bears. They likely can't lose a game the rest of the way in order to make the playoffs, and Dvoracek is one of the primary reasons the Bears run defense has been stout this year as opposed to the sieve they ran out last year. He's a strong run-stuffer. Hopefully Marcus Harrison and Anthony Adams can fill his shoes.

It's sad that Dvoracek keeps having this sort of bad fortune.

Really, I'm just shocked Mike Brown has made it this far. His season-ending injury is likely on deck.

Update: Yep, out for the season. The injury, in case it matters, is ruptured biceps. Ouch. Dusty really gets his money's worth when it comes to injuries.

This season, FanHouse writers take their cameras to NFL stadiums to document what happens when you stop being polite and start getting real. Or something. We've cleverly titled it "FanHouse in the Stands."

Sunday night in Indianapolis, the colossal Lucas Oil Stadium was officially unveiled to the sporting world via Sunday Night Football on NBC, as the hometown Colts took on the Chicago Bears. I had already seen the stadium and field up close two days earlier -- having the pleasure of refereeing a high school game there Friday night -- but it's still so monstrous that you can't help but be impressed every time you step through those doors.

The concourses are so big that there is never any sort of real congestion. Sure, it's crowded right before the game, but you are always moving and never feel suffocated. For example, in the picture to the right ... this was taken about fifteen minutes before game time when the majority of the people were on the way to their seats.

The Funny Car Cafe, pictured here, illustrates the wide-variety of food and drink around the concourse.

During the game, it couldn't have been more comfortable for me. The seats are as spacious as they need to be, while it was a beautiful night. I do think with the roof and side window open the air flow is much more pleasant than the old RCA Dome, but they also killed the sound. It wasn't near as loud in this game as it has been in Indy in the past.

Chicago Bears 2008 Draft Picks:

Round 1 (14): Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt
Round 2 (44): Matt Forte, RB, Tulane
Round 3 (70): Earl Bennett, WR, Vanderbilt
Round 3 (90): Marcus Harrison, DT, Arkansas
Round 4 (120): Craig Steltz, S, LSU
Round 5 (142): Zack Bowman, CB, Nebraska
Round 5 (158): Kellen Davis, TE, Michigan State
Round 7 (208): Ervin Baldwin, DE, Michigan State
Round 7 (222): Chester Adams, G, Georgia
Round 7 (243): Joey LaRocque, LB, Oregon State
Round 7 (247): Kirk Barton, OT, Ohio State
Round 7 (248): Marcus Monk, WR, Arkansas

The Good: The Bears did a great job of actually selecting players. It would not be the least bit surprising to see Williams, Forte and Bennett all starting come Week One. Bennett, in particular, looks like a steal. He caught 75 or more balls every year in college, makes up for being short by running great routes and has great hands. Harrison's talent is much higher than a third round grade as is Bowman's in the fifth but character and injury concerns, respectively, pushed them down. The others were all productive college players at successful programs and you could do worse than 6'4" wide receivers that run 4.45 40s with the 248th pick.

The Bad: Where's the quarterback? I like Forte a lot and think he will be a contributor from the get-go but is the difference between him and Cedric Benson really greater than that of Rex Grossman/Kyle Orton and Brian Brohm/Chad Henne?