Historically speaking, the Chicago Bears are right up their with the Pittsburgh Steelers when you talk about teams with a history of defensive greatness. With former coaches such as George “Papa Bear” Halas, “Iron” Mike Ditka, and even Lovie Smith at the helm of the Bears, defense was their mantra, their school, and they taught it well.
However, with all the changes in today’s game that opens up the offense, it’s that side of the ball where the majority of focus has to be spent if you want to compete. With that in mind, Chicago went against their own tradition and brought in Marc Trestman to coach their team. Trestman is known around the league as an innovative offensive genius and he’s bringing his skills to a Bears team that is in harsh need of a wake-up call on that side of the ball.
With an established history of masterminding great offenses (most notably, the 1995 San Francisco 49ers that saw Jerry Rice set an NFL record with 1,848 receiving yards as well as the number one offense in 2002 with the Oakland Raiders), Trestman will undoubtedly prove a boon for all fantasy options on the Bears.
The two who should benefit the most is quarterback Jay Cutler and running back Matt Forte.
Since coming to Chicago in 2009, Cutler hasn’t been the quarterback that the Bears were hoping for. With a dismal 82 touchdowns to 63 interceptions and a staggering 148 sacks, Cutler has failed to provide the spark that both Chicago and fantasy owners were expecting. Of course, much of the blame for this lack of performance is that during this time Chicago has failed to provide an offense suited to Cutler’s abilities while keeping him in a better position to stay off his back. In 2013, expect major changes in both these areas under Trestman.
For Matt Forte, 2012 wasn’t a horrible year but it wasn’t great either. Rushing for 1,094 yards and adding another 340 yards through the air, Forte was a serviceable enough back. That being said, 2013 could prove to be a breakout year for the talented back as the new offense will look to find Forte more out of the backfield. In fact, NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks believes that Forte could be the first back since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2003 to run for 1,000 yards and catch 100 passes.
What this all boils down to is that both Forte and Cutler are sitting on the cusp of perhaps their greatest fantasy seasons ever. Cutler could easily eclipse 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns while 1,700 total yards for Forte isn’t out of reach. For the savvy owner come draft day who isn’t in position to grab from the A-list, keep these two names in mind because by seasons end you will be patting yourself on the back for your shrewd drafting.
And you might be celebrating your latest championship as well.
James LeBeau is a contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @Jlebeau76 or subscribe on Facebook.com/CraveOnlineSports.
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