Though most had the Minnesota Vikings as the favorites to win the NFC North heading into the season, nearly everyone agreed that either the Chicago Bears or Green Bay Packers -- or both -- would at least pose a challenge to the Vikes' second straight division crown. Instead, we're taking this division race off life support and putting it to rest after Week 9. The 2009 NFC North champions will be the Vikings. They can now focus on securing home-field advantage in the playoffs.
The reason for the above sentiment is that both the Bears and Packers were abysmal, in different circumstances, Sunday afternoon. The Pack went into Tampa Bay and lost to the formerly winless Buccaneers, while the Bears were absolutely manhandled for the majority of the afternoon by a fickle Arizona squad.
Bengals 45, Bears 10. It was 45-3 before the Bears finally got into the end zone, but the game had long been over at that point. It was one of those games that makes you wonder -- were the Bengals that good or the Bears that bad? As is usually the case when you ask that question, it was a combination of both. You have to give the Bengals credit, especially Carson Palmer for his precision passing. Well, really, the entire team deserves loads of credit.
Still, this game was more about how pathetic the Bears played. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, that was a simply despicable attempt at playing football on nearly every front. More games like that, and the playoffs won't even be a possibility come late November.
Tuesday afternoon, the Chicago Bears announced via press release they have agreed to a one-year contract with cornerback Roderick Hood. In and of itself, this isn't terribly huge news, considering Hood was recently cut from the Cleveland Browns. The issue at hand, though, is the overall health of the Bears' secondary.
While those truly following the Bears' every move this offseason know the defensive backfield is a much greater concern than wide receiver, the masses are left trying to figure out who newly acquired quarterback Jay Cutler will be throwing to (the sheep can now insert, "no one!" and feel good about themselves).
After all, the leading receivers -- in terms of catches -- last season were running back Matt Forte and tight end Greg Olsen. Devin Hester was the top wideout, with 51 catches and 665 yards. Rashied Davis caught 35 balls, but no other wide receiver in training camp caught a single NFL pass in 2008.
The Chicago Bears have added the quarterback they think they need to contend. Now, it's up to the defense to stay healthy and improve on a poor (by its lofty standards) 2008 season.
That "healthy" bit is not off to a good start. Cornerback Charles Tillman had shoulder surgery in January, then had to undergo a procedure on his back two weeks ago. The latter that will leave Tillman a candidate for placement on the physically unable to perform list to start the season.
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.
With the departure of Mike Brown from the Bears, a hole was left in the Windy City secondary. Adding Josh Bullocks via free agency and drafting Al Afalava in the sixth round of the draft don't appear to be answers. With the roster seemingly set for the 2009 season, the Bears will have to find a free safety starter in-house. They have many cornerbacks, so moving one to safety could work well.
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've taken time to check out many message boards and comments sections across the internet. What I'm finding, for the most part, is that fans of teams other than the Bears think this is a terrible deal. Their "evidence," though, is usually incredibly flawed. Here are some of the reasons people think the deal is poor for the Bears, followed by my rebuttals.
The news that Orlando Pace paid a visit got most of the headlines, but the other free agent who visited the Chicago Bears on Monday, cornerback Ken Lucas, is the one who strikes me as exactly the type of player the Bears need to sign.
Like Pace, Lucas has some downsides: He's a veteran on the wrong side of 30 who was released by his former team in a salary-cap move. But I believe Lucas would be a better signing for the Bears because he's younger (he just turned 30 in January) and less prone to injury (he started all 16 games for the Panthers in each of the last two seasons).
Though most had the Minnesota Vikings as the favorites to win the NFC North heading into the season, nearly everyone agreed that either the Chicago Bears or Green Bay Packers -- or both -- would at least pose a challenge to the Vikes' second straight division crown. Instead, we're taking this division race off life support and putting it to rest after Week 9. The 2009 NFC North champions will be the Vikings. They can now focus on securing home-field advantage in the playoffs. 
Tuesday afternoon, the 
While those truly following the Bears' every move this offseason know the defensive backfield is a much greater concern than wide receiver, the masses are left trying to figure out who newly acquired quarterback 
The Chicago Bears have added the quarterback they think they need to contend. Now, it's up to the defense to stay healthy and improve on a poor (by its lofty standards) 2008 season.
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. 
With the departure of 
After the Bears made the announcement of their 
The news that 
