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the over on this game is making a bundle today.

In a Bears-Vikings game? Huh?

Yeah, you read that right. BEARS!! I have, as you know, the Bears D on my fantasy team, but as the damn server seems to be down, I can’t check to see what my score is right now.

The Bears have let Cedric Benson go, a move that should have had as much to do with his poor production on the field as his foolish behavior off the field. (Hat tip: Prachee)

So this leaves Adrian Peterson as the go-to guy? With Garrett Wolfe as the backup? You have to be kidding me. And Brian Urlacher, the linchpin of the whole team, is in the midst of some acrimonious contract renegotiations. You’ll pardon me if I’m a bit alarmed at the current state of affairs.

Well, who knows—maybe rookie Matt Forte will step up and have a great year.

I guess we both called it: the Bears drafted an offensive tackle in the first round, and a running back in the second round (which is about halfway done now). More on the other teams’ choices later…

I felt like this. And since then, I have very carefully not thought about the f-word.

But like an oasis in a football-less desert, the NFL 2008 draft takes place this Saturday, Apr 26, at 2:30 PM ET, for those of you parched like I am for some pre-preseason analysis. Woo!

Other than the usual focus on building up the defense, which still needs doing (especially at safety), the Bears will need to do two things, IMO:

1. Trade for a good veteran running back, because let’s face it, Cedric Benson and Adrian Peterson are not getting it done. And Benson the prima donna has had his chance.
2. Draft a great running back, because Garrett Wolfe ain’t getting it done either.

I consider the running back problem the the most important part of staffing strategy, though the quarterback position remains an issue, and there’s the new concern over the aging offensive line. Not to mention the loss of Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad to free agency, leaving a gaping hole in the pass offense, which won’t be that much a problem unless we have a competent, consistent quarterback. Basically unless Lovie Smith makes some tough decisions this preseason, the 2008 season will be worse than the 2007 one. The picture looks grim indeed.

It may be late in the season, it may not matter in the playoff picture, but it’s supremely satisfying to see the Bears play like they care again. And how about that Brandon McGowan? Monster game from him today.

Oh, and a fantasy update. I missed 4 full weeks of football due to, first, a trip to India (more on this later), and then an unfortunately timed flight for a business trip, but the final result is that I was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. By two points. My final record was 10-5, third in the league, and second in points forced. Three of those five losses, by the way, were against the same team, the team which delivered the finishing blow to my season, and which went on to win the championship. The team with Tom Brady at quarterback. All in all, though, I had a great season, and will be doing this again next year. BEARS!

Almost all my players were in losing battles last week, and I had an exceptionally low-scoring game. In fact, I thought for sure my team was going to lose; before Monday night’s Pittsburgh-Baltimore game, I was down by 29 points, and while Big Ben has had a spectacular season thus far, 29 points for a quarterback is asking a lot. But he had a monster game—which, sadly, I missed due to working late—coming up with 5 TD passes and 38 total fantasy points, putting me over the top by a mere 9 points. It was a good thing—no offense to you Eagles fans out there—that Philadelphia (whose D my opponent had) got spanked by Dallas last week, because otherwise I would never have won my fantasy game.

This week is probably going to be tough on me, because I’ll be doing without three key players: Joey Galloway, Wes Welker, and the Patriots’ D. I’ve only got two receivers in play this week, but fortunately they’re Ocho Cinco and Bobby Engram. Less fortunately, my opponent has a fantastic team, including Tony Romo, TO, TJ Houshmandzadeh (who in my personal opinion has been more of a force for Cincinnati than has Ocho Cinco this year; he certainly seems to be getting all the TD catches, and therefore all the fantasy points), and Jeremy Shockey. My opponent is favored by a relatively small margin of 11 points, but this could get ugly.

The reason I’m writing about this earlier than usual, by the way, is that I won’t be able to watch much of the early or late games tomorrow, as I am going to see Da Bears play in Oakland tomorrow! Woo!

First, BEARS!!! It was ugly, but it was a win. And how about that last drive? 97 yards with no timeouts. The Bears? Yeah, you heard right. The Bears. Awesome.

In fantasy news, I’m tied up with my opponent, and I’ve still got 4 players to play: Ben Roethlisberger, Najeh Davenport, Jason Elam, and Dallas Clark. My opponent has the Steelers’ Heath Miller yet to play. After expecting to lose horribly this week, now I am cautiously hopeful that I’ll win. Woo!

I’m favored by 20 points in today’s matchup, partly because my opponent has two inactive quarterbacks: Jake Delhomme and Rex Grossman. In fact, as my opponent is a Bears fan and has most of their players on her fantasy team, including their DST—except for Desmond Clark, who I have at TE—rooting for them will mean rooting for her. But I’m willing to risk it. BEARS!

Speaking of Ds, I have the only defense, I think, that could compete with the Bears’: the Patriots’. It’ll be a good matchup…stay tuned for more.