Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Chicago Bears

The Bears are coming off an extremely disappointing season in which they finished 7-9. This is not what the fans or organization expected when they made a huge off-season trade for franchise quarterback Jay Cutler. Head coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo are both on the hot seat. If this team doesn’t make the playoffs in 2010 the entire coaching staff and management team could be relieved of their duties. Thus far this off-season they are pulling out all the stops. They have added offensive coordinator Mike Martz and they landed this year’s top free agent defensive end Julius Peppers. There is a lot on the line for Chicago in the upcoming season, making this a very important off-season for the former Monsters of Midway.

Team Strengths:

- Julius Peppers (Chicago made a huge splash in free agency adding the perennial Pro-Bowl defensive end. The former Carolina Panthers standout will be a huge boost for the defensive line and will give the Bears’ Cover 2 defense a much needed pass rush)
- Jay Cutler (Even though Cutler threw 26 interceptions in 2009 and was not the quarterback Bears’ fans envisioned, he is still a very good talent with a lot of upside and new offensive coordinator Mike Martz should be able to help him improve)
- Kickoff Returns (Johnny Knox averaged 29.0 yards per return on 32 kickoffs, while Daniel Manning averaged 26.6 yards per return on 28 kickoffs. With these two returning kicks the Bears get very good starting field position)

Team Needs:

1. Offensive Line - The Bears and their fans were disappointed with the play of the offense last season. Much more was expected from both Cutler and second-year running back Matt Forte. Improving a woeful offensive line will go a long way into helping both players have a much better 2010 season. After already making a big splash in free agency with the signing of Julius Peppers and backup running back Chester Taylor, they should now focus on improving their offensive line.

2. A No. 1 Wide Receiver - Devin Hester, Devin Aromashodu and Earl Bennett all showed flashes of brilliance last season, but none of them played with any real consistency. Aromashodu proved to be Cutler’s favorite target down the stretch and he appears ready to step up into the No. 1 spot; however, he will have to prove he can do it over an entire season. They have talent and speed at the position and they don’t necessarily need to add another piece, but they desperately need improved play at the position. The addition of Martz and an improved offensive line could go a long way in helping this receiving core play at a higher level.

3. Improve the Secondary - The Bears allowed 3,382 passing yards against last season. Opposing quarterbacks were able to complete 64.2 percent of their passes, which included 29 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions. An improved pass rush with the addition of Peppers should help their secondary, but they will look to make changes at both cornerback and safety. Chicago doesn’t have a pick in the first or second round of this year’s draft, but with good depth at both cornerback and safety they will likely target both positions in the middle rounds of the draft.

Detroit Lions

Believe it or not there appears to be a reason to be optimistic about the future of the Detroit Lions. Sure this team has won just two games over the past two seasons, but you can’t overlook the massive improvements within the organization after the firing of former president / general manager Matt Millen. The new regime including head coach Jim Schwartz and general manager Martin Mayhew have brought some good young talent into the organization in just one year. Detriot is being aggressive as proved by early off-season additions, defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, defensive tackle Corey Williams and wide receiver Nate Burleson.

Team Strengths:

- Calvin Johnson (He has the physical tools to be one of the best wide receivers in the game. The addition of Nate Burleson as a legit No. 2 receiver should help keep teams from constantly double teaming Megatron)
- Young Defensive Players (Safety Louis Delmas, linebacker DeAndre Levy and defensive tackle Sammie Lee Hill proved to be solid additions to the defense from the 2009 NFL Draft)
- Matthew Stafford (He threw way too many picks in his rookie season and made a lot of mistakes; however, he showed guts and leadership as a rookie. It looks like the Lions may have found their franchise quarterback)

Team Needs:

1. Good, Physical Cover Cornerbacks - This team pretty much needs help across the board, but after releasing cornerback Phillip Buchanon this week they don’t have a single NFL caliber starting defensive back on their roster. This is one of many major holes they will look to fill this off-season.

2. Defensive Line - If not for signing free agent defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch and trading for defensive tackle Corey Williams this past week this would have been their number one need. There was such a lack of talent at this position that there is a good chance they still use the No. 2 pick in the upcoming NFL draft to select either Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh or Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy. They are both highly touted defensive tackles whom paired with Vanden Bosch, Williams and Sammie Lee Hill could have the makings of a solid front four.

3. Offensive Line - Improving the offensive line has been a need for this team for years. They even lost Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders years ago because this organization’s lack of commitment to improving the offensive line. Left tackle Jeff Backus and center Dominic Raiola both had solid seasons, while second-year right tackle Gosder Cherilus was a huge disappointment. They desperately need to add talent to this line, the only position they seem to be set at is center. Look for the team to add a guard via the NFL Draft or free agency and don’t rule out the possibility of Detroit adding a big time left tackle and shift Backus to guard. Either way they need to improve offensive line.

NFC Needs By Division:  NFC West  |  NFC North |  NFC South  |  NFC East

AFC Needs By Division:  AFC West  |  AFC North  |  AFC South  |  AFC East

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