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How Does Jay Cutler affect the Chicago Bears Offense in 2009?

Jay Cutler has the ability to completely transform the Bears offense.

On April 2, 2009, the Bears offense was instantly upgraded with the additions of Pro Bowl Quarterback Jay Cutler and former pro bowler left tackle Orlando Pace. Though they paid a steep price to get him (2 first round picks, a 3rd round pick, and Kyle Orton), he could prove to be worth it this season. Not only does Cutler have excellent tangibles, like a rocket arm and surprisingly nimble feet, but he has also proven that he has the intangibles like field awareness and leadership. A lot of people question Cutler’s leadership after everything that happened which led to the Broncos trading Cutler, but ask anyone who has played with Cutler and they will tell you that he knows how to be a great leader and how to get the best out of all his teammates. Bears GM Jerry Angelo has been saying for years now that the quarterback makes the receivers, and this year is Angelo’s year to prove that what he said is true. Cutler has the arm strength to throw Devin Hester the deep ball a lot better than Kyle Orton did last year. It entirely possible that Cutler could transform Hester into the next Steve Smith. Hester is still a work in progress, but he’s been working hard this offseason, and its beginning to show. Bears receivers coach Darryl Drake says that Hester “continues to make strides” this offseason, but he needs to continue to work on “reading coverages”. Hester is definitely going to surprise some people this year and he’s well worth drafting in the mid to late rounds.

Matt Forte should also benefit from Jay Cutler’s presence. Forte faced 8 man fronts all season and was still able to post great numbers. With teams having to respect Jay Cutler’s arm, Forte should be facing far fewer 8 man fronts. Look for his rushing totals to go up next year. Forte will likely be a top 5 pick in most drafts.

Greg Olsen is another person who’s numbers should shoot up next season. He posted strong totals with 574 yards and 5 touchdowns in only 7 starts last season. This season, Olsen will be a lot more involved in the offense, as we already know Cutler loves to throw to his tight ends. Olsen is a big and fast target who is capable of dominating games at times.

Someone that seems to be forgotten a lot is Earl Bennett. Bennett was Cutler’s favorite target at Vanderbilt before he was drafted in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Bennett had trouble memorizing plays last year and didn’t get any playing time until the last few games. In those games, he had no receptions. So its easy to see why so many people are down on Earl Bennett. But in OTAs, Bennett has stopped thinking and started playing. He’s a lot more comfortable with the offense and catches anything near him. He will make an impact next year if he can win the starting job in camp.

Rookies – The Bears drafted 3 rookie Wide Receivers (WRs) in the 2009 NFL Draft: Juaquin Iglesias in the 3rd round, Johnny Knox in the 5th round, and Derek Kinder in the 7th. Of the trio, Johnny Knox performed the best in OTAs. Knox wowed the coaches with his game-breaking speed and his sticky hands. If Knox can learn the offense quickly, he has a chance to make an impact in his rookie season. Iglesias has also shown coaches why they drafted him. He’s a crisp route runner with good hands and could make an impact as a 4th or 5th receiver.

The wildcard of the Bear’s receivers is little known (outside of Bears fans) Brandon Rideau. Rideau is the biggest receiver the bears have at 6 foot 3″ and 200 pounds. He was spotted working with the first team offense in OTAs and if he learns the plays on time, he could win the starting job ahead of Bennett. The problem is that Rideau has struggled to make it the roster in recent years despite looking good in the offseason. Last year in the preseason, he tied the lead for touchdown (TD) catches with 3, but didn’t make the active roster until midseason. He’s a big play threat, so if he is able to learn the offense and continue to play well, he will get playing time.

Time will tell if Cutler really is the Bear’s first franchise quarterback in the last 50+ years, but I have a feeling that he is.

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After his murder, should Steve McNair be inducted into the Hall of Fame?

Should Steve McNair be inducted into the Hall of Fame after his tragic murder at the hands of his girlfriend?

Vote and discuss here.

Update: McNair’s death has been officially ruled a murder suicide. It seems McNair’s girlfriend, 20 year old Sahel Kazemi, believed McNair was cheating on her (while at the same time cheating on his wife). Sahel Kazemi apparently was considering killing herself and according to close friends, her life was “spinning out of control”. Its a sad thing what happened, and it probably could have been avoided. Ironically, McNair filmed a Anti-Suicide PSA just a few months earlier.

Talk about a morbid coincidence…

Which NFL Team has the Best Receiving Tandem?

When you look at this question, there’s a few teams that stick out. In my opinion, some top receiving tandems in the NFL are

1. The Arizona Cardinals with Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin
2. The Buffalo Bills with Terrell Owens and Lee Evans
3. The Cincinnati Bengals with Chad Ochochinco and Laveranues Coles
4. The Green Bay Packers with Greg Jennings and Donald Driver
5. The New England Patriots with Randy Moss and Wes Welker

Out of those 5 talented receiving duos, the Patriots tandem and the Cardinals tandem stands out the most. When you break it down further, the Cardinals tandem has a slight advantage. Larry Fitzgerald can dominate games and Anquan Boldin very productive as well. That’s not to say that the Patriots duo of wide receivers aren’t great -they are- but they are a step down from the Cardinals duo. Randy Moss has been a top receiver for years now and he’s still capable of amazing people with ridiculous catches, but Larry Fitzgerald has done too great for him not to be considered the best receiver. Wes Welker emerged from nowhere last year to catch more than 110 passes in each of the last 2 seasons, but his Yards Per Catch (YPC) is a meager 10.5 yards. As of right now, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin form a better tandem than Randy Moss and Wes Welker, but in fantasy football, even a small injury can change everything.

Let me know which tandem you think is the best!

Top 15 Tight Ends in Fantasy Football

After hearing that the Falcons are going to have Tony Gonzalez block more and catch less, as well as news that some young players have been dazzling coaches in OTAs, I decided that it was time to make a top 15 list for fantasy tight ends.

1. Jason Witten, Cowboys – This guy has been consistent for years and he is in line to get more catches with TO gone from Dallas.
2. Tony Gonzalez, Falcons – He seems to be getting better with age. Don’t be too worried about the recent news that he’ll be asked to receive less often.
3. Antonio Gates, Chargers – Played injured last season and should improve on his numbers this year.
4. Chris Cooley, Redskins – Excellent receiver who can make plays after the catch. Needs to improve on his TD totals from last year (1). Cooley will likely be heavily involved with the Red Zone offense next year.
5. Owen Daniels, Texans – Very underrated TE. A very athletic pass catcher and a top target in an explosive offense. Could be a value pick.
6. Dallas Clark, Colts – Consistent and athletic. Should post solid numbers again this year.
7. Greg Olsen, Bears – Will quickly develop into Jay Cutler’s favorite target.  Fast and Tall pass catcher. Big sleeper.
8. Kellen Winslow, Buccaneers – Plays like a WR. Will produce no matter who plays QB. Injuries could be a concern, though.
9. John Carlson, Seahawks – Carlson quietly had an excellent rookie season. He will improve on those numbers this year.
10. Zach Miller, Raiders – The only reliable pass catcher on the Raiders. Needs to catch more than one TD this season.
11. Visanthe Shiancoe, Vikings – Developed into a great producer down the stretch last season. Has been working hard this offseason and it will show in his production.
12. Tony Scheffler, Broncos – Kyle Orton loves throwing to his TEs so Scheffler can expect a lot of targets this season. Should post numbers similar to last year.
13. Dustin Keller, Jets- You can be sure that Mark Sanchez will look to Keller as much as possible. Keller is a definite fantasy sleeper.
14. Jeremy Shockey, Saints – Injuries have been a concern lately, but Shockey should rebound this year with numbers that we expect from him. Catching passes from Drew Brees helps too.
15. Heath Miller, Steelers- Miller is very talented and is a solid fantasy TE. He’s a very consistent player.

Let me know what you think!

Visanthe Shiancoe

Top 25 Wide Receivers in Fantasy Football in 2009

1. Larry Fitzgerald
2. Andre Johnson
3. Calvin Johnson
4. Randy Moss
5. Steve Smith
6. Greg Jennings
7. Roddy White
8. Reggie Wayne
9. Anquan Boldin
10. Brandon Marshall
11. Marques Colston
12. Wes Welker
13. Terrell Owens
14. Dwayne Bowe
15. T.J. Houshmandzadeh
16. Vincent Jackson
17. Lee Evans
18. Braylon Edwards
19. Roy Williams
20. Antonio Bryant
21. Chad Ochocinco
22. Bernard Berrian
23. Santonio Holmes
24. Santana Moss
25. Jerricho Cotchery

Don’t agree? Then let me know what you think!

10 Fantasy Football Sleepers for 2009

Finding a fantasy sleeper is vital to being successful in fantasy football. If you draft the right players, its easy to win a fantasy championship. That said, I’m going to break down my 10 favorite fantasy sleepers, in no particular order.

1. Dustin Keller, TE Jets – Keller had a solid rookie season last year, catching 48 balls for 535 yards and 3 touchdowns. This year, with Mark Sanchez likely starting at QB, you can be sure that Dustin Keller will improve on those numbers. He’s a fast tall target and will likely be Sanchez’s security blanket this season. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 750 yards and 5 touchdowns should be realistic.
2. Domenik Hixon, WR Giants – Someone has to fill in for Plaxico Burress, and Hixon seems to be the best candidate. He’s tall (6’2″) and fast (4.36 speed in the 40 yard dash) and he was productive in limited time last year (Nearly 600 yards in 7 starts). Hixon should be able to post around 1000 yards and 4 touchdowns next year.
3. Kyle Orton, QB Broncos – Orton quietly threw for about 3000 yards and 18 touchdowns last year in a run first offense. Now with Denver and being taught by Josh McDaniels, Orton is throwing to Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, and Tony Scheffler and he is also playing behind an offensive line that gave up only 12 sacks last season. His numbers should go up a lot with those targets. He should post in the neighborhood of 3600 yards and 25 total touchdowns.
4. Anthony Gonzalez, WR Colts – Gonzalez didn’t have a great season last year, but this year he’ll be the number 2 wide receiver on the Colts offense. In addition to the fact that he catches passes from Peyton Manning, Gonzalez is loaded with talent and is entering his third year, where receivers often break out. He’s should post around 1100 total yards and 7 touchdowns.
5. Trent Edwards, QB Bills – Edwards is a better real quarterback than a fantasy quarterback, but with the addition of TO and reports that the Bills will be running the spread offense a lot more, Edwards should post some decent numbers. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 3300 yards and 20 touchdowns seems realistic. He’ll probably be better suited as a number 2 QB that can be started based on the match up. His offensive line could be a problem though.
6. Felix Jones, RB Cowboys – Jones played in 0nly 6 games last season due to injury, but this year he is without a doubt going to receive much more playing time. In limited time, Jones managed a very impressive 8.9 yard per carry average. Obviously, with more carries that number is going to go down, but Jones is still in line to post some good numbers. He’s probably going to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 150-200 carries and you can expect around 1000 total yards with around 8 touchdowns. He also has added value as a returner.
7. Donnie Avery, WR Rams – Avery had a good rookie season, managing 53 receptions for 674 yards and 3 touchdowns. He will build on those totals as he is going to be the top target in the Rams offense. He has excellent speed and will likely post around 70 receptions for 900-1000 yards and 5 touchdowns.
8. Greg Olsen, TE Bears – Now in his third year, Olsen is poised for a major breakout season. New Bears QB Jay Cutler loves his tight ends and will look to Olsen frequently this year. Olsen is a very tall target for Cutler and he is too fast for linebackers and safeties that cover him and too big for cornerbacks that cover him. He is a good receiving tight end and should post at least 800 yards and 8 touchdowns. He could be a steal if you can get him in the later rounds.
9. Devin Thomas, WR Redskins – Though his rookie season may have been a mess, Devin Thomas will post much better numbers in his second year. He has unlimited potential and is capable of posting great numbers if he can learn the offense. He is a big and fast receiver with solid hands but learning the offense has been his biggest problem. He seems to have dedicated himself this off season and could take over the number 2 receiving job from Antwaan Randle El. If all goes well, Thomas could have around 800 total  yards and 5 touchdowns. He’s worth taking a late round flier on.
10. Devin Hester, WR Bears – As the top receiving option in the Bears offense, Devin Hester is a definite fantasy sleeper. He has world class speed and is a great route runner. If he can improve his catching, Hester could post some impressive numbers. Last year he had 665 yards in 8 starts, so he can definitely have a 1000 yard season with Jay Cutler throwing to him. He probably won’t be too consistent, though.

As always, questions and comments are appreciated.

Power Rankings for the 2009 NFL Season

I created my power rankings for the 2009 NFL season.

Check it out!

Feel free to comment on it.

Can Anquan Boldin be a Number 1 Receiver?

With Anquan Boldin publicly asking for a trade, this question seems to pop up a lot. Boldin wants to be paid like a top number one receiver, while the Cardinals want him to finish out his contract before they give him a new deal. And this is where the questions arises. When you look at the facts, its not hard to answer this question.

Larry Fitzgerald is certainly one of the best, if not the best receiver in the NFL today. He has good speed for someone his size and he has extraordinary leaping ability. Fitzgerald is consistantly double teamed and still manages to produce outstanding numbers. Fitzgerald opens up things for the other half of the Cardinals tandem, Anquan Boldin. Boldin produces like a number one receiver, but would Boldin still produce if he was double teamed and covered by the teams top cornerback? The answer to that question is no. When you go back and look at Boldin’s play, you see that he gets many of his receptions from underneath routes and is often covered by big linebackers in the inside. Boldin is tough and he’s not afraid to catch balls in the middle of the field, but if he was covered by a top cornerback like Fitzgerald, Boldin would not be as productive.

Let’s look at the stats. In 2006, Larry Fitzgerald was injured for nearly half the season. And to no one’s surprise, Boldin’s numbers went down rather than up. Compared to the previous season, he caught 19 less passes, nearly 200 less yards, and 3 less touchdowns. And why did this happen? Because teams no longer had to double team Larry Fitzgerald.

Still think he deserves a new contract?