May 23, 2012; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) throws a pass during organized team activities at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

FantasyCPR, our fansided.com brethren, is hosting a series of team previews that should interest all National Football League fans.

They began the series with a Q&A with Keith Myers of 12th Man Rising, another fine site under the fansided.com umbrella.

Fantasy fans and fans in general will be interested in following this series diligently put together by FantasyCPR’s Zach Thompson.

This particular posting will be of interest to Green Bay Packers fans because it focuses on the Chicago Bears.

Anyway, you can go directly to the site here or you may just continue reading the posting below.

Chicago Bears – Fantasy Football 2012 Preview

The MLB All-Star break is always a good time to start your fantasy football preparations. We’ll have plenty of coverage  here at FantasyCPR leading up to preseason and  the highly-anticipated kickoff to the regular season.

Today we’re joined by Boomer from Bear Goggles On who helps us preview what we can expect from “da Bears” as they head into a tough season in the ultra-competetive NFC North.

Zach Thompson, FantasyCPR: Thanks again, Mike, for helping us with our season previews. We’ll start with the obvious one… The Bears looked good last year and appeared to be on their way to the playoffs before injuries completely derailed their season. Should we expect any lingering effects of either Matt Forte or Jay Cutler’s injury? And will the Bears O-line be able to keep Cutler upright

Mike Burzawa, Bear Goggles On: I don’t expect any lingering effects from the injuries to Forte and Cutler.  By all accounts, Jay has been zipping the ball around during OTA’s, showing no signs of damage from the broken thumb that ended his 2011 campaign.  Even though Forte has not been in camp with his contract status up in the air, he is always in top shape and I expect this season to be no different.

The offensive line question is another story.  The Bears didn’t make any significant moves this offseason, either in free agency or through the draft, to address one of their most glaring weaknesses.  This one still scares me a bit.

Z: Will Jay Cutler be a top 10 QB statistically this year?

Mike Burzawa, Bear Goggles On:  There’s no reason to believe Cutler can’t get to that upper echelon of quarterbacks now that the Bears finally put some weapons around him and scrapped Mike Martz’s offensive playbook filled with 7-step drops that the Bears offensive line couldn’t block.

Z: I’ve been surprised at the lack of love given to the newly-acquired Brandon Marshall. Do you think he’ll be a top-10 receiver this year?

Mike Burzawa, Bear Goggles On: No question.  Marshall and Cutler were an elite duo in Denver and I expect them to pick up where they left off.  The Bears added Jeremy Bates and quarterbacks coach and de facto passing coordinator, so hopes are high for Marshall in the Bears offense.  He’ll get a ton of targets and should catch 90+ balls if things go according to plan.

Z: Would you rather have Brandon Marshall on your fantasy team or Hakeem Nicks?

Mike Burzawa, Bear Goggles On: I’d take Marshall since I think he’s a better receiver and since there are fewer weapons around Marshall compared to Nicks, who has to compete with Victor Cruz for touches.

Z: Brandon Marshall or Jordy Nelson?

Mike Burzawa, Bear Goggles On: Marshall.  Nelson is 2^nd or 3^rd option in Green Bay.

Z: Brandon Marshall or Steve Smith

Mike Burzawa, Bear Goggles On: Marshall. I think the Panthers and Cam Newton come back down to earth this season.

Z: Just one more, Brandon Marshall or A.J. Green.

Mike Burzawa, Bear Goggles On: Marshall since he’s got a stronger track record than Green, who might suffer a sophomore slump in 2012.

Z: I agree with you on all of those. I might consider Smith over him, but I want to see what the Panthers are doing during camp, but other than that I’m liking Marshall over all those guys. Who do you think will be the #2 wide receiver in Chicago?

Mike Burzawa, Bear Goggles On:  That’s a great question.  Everyone in Bears camp has been pumping up Devin Hester now that he’ll be moved into the slot.  I think that Earl Bennett will emerge as the #2 in terms of targets.  Look for Alshon Jeffery to be a red zone threat as the season progresses.

Z: Will the Bears use the TE much as a receiver and if so who do you think will emerge as Cutler’s favorite target in that role?

Mike Burzawa, Bear Goggles On: Kellen Davis has been getting some preseason hype as a super sleeper TE for the Bears.  He’s 6’7”, so he should be able to get some red zone TD’s.

Z: Matt Forte seemed to wear down a little at the end of the year even before the injury. Who will serve as the Bears backup RB and will they use him in any kind of a rotation?

Mike Burzawa, Bear Goggles On: I expect Forte and Bush to be sort of a lightening and thunder attack.  For all his success that Forte has had, he hasn’t been good in short yardage and red zone.  That’s where Bush will excel.

Z: The Bears D/ST is always one of the top units in all of fantasy football. Do you think they’ll take a step forward or backward this year?

Mike Burzawa, Bear Goggles On: Their defense is definitely on the decline with their top stars on the wrong side of 30, but with a Lovie Smith defense, it’s always about takeaways.  The Bears will continue to be opportunistic and should still be a top fantasy producer.  When you add Devin Hester and special teams to the mix, I think they’ll still be a top fantasy option.

Z: Last one, give me your realistic expectation for the Bears this season, and then your perfect scenario. How far can Lovie Smith and Da Bears go?

Mike Burzawa, Bear Goggles On: Realistically, I have the Bears at 10 or 11 wins this season and making a strong run in the playoffs. In a perfect scenario, Cutler stays healthy and he and Marshall live up to the hype while the defense gets another year out of Urlacher, Briggs, Peppers and Tillman and the Bears return to Super Bowl glory.

For this Week 2 matchup, the Packers, fresh off of an emotionally draining 24-21 win over the Minnesota Vikings, travel southeast to the grand city of Detroit to take on the Lions. In recent years, the Packers have somewhat dominated the Lions, but they have had some close games as well. This should be a close game, as the Lions are young and developing (except for the quarterback position) and are hungry. Jon Kitna does think the team can win 10 games.

Matchups To Watch

Packers defensive backs vs. Lions wide receivers: Offensive coordinator Mike Martz is gone, but that does not mean the Lions don’t have the potential to become the next greatest show on turf. Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Mike Furrey, and Shaun McDonald can put up big numbers with Kitna at the helm. Al Harris and Charles Woodson will have their hands full in this game, as will whoever wins the battle for the third-corner spot, most likely Tramon Williams. This game could be an early test to show if whoever won the job really deserves it. Atari Bigby and Nick Collins/Aaron Rouse will also have to show their cover jones.

Packers defensive line vs. Lions offensive line/running backs: A week after having their hands full against a fantastic offensive line and running game, the Packers get to see how they will do against a mediocre offensive line and running game. They could have the opportunity to feast on rookie Kevin Smith and product of the Denver Broncos system Tatum Bell and this could be a confidence booster, depending on how Week 1 against Minny goes.

Lions defensive backs vs. Packers wide receivers: The Lions have long been looking to revamp their secondary and now have three starting-caliber cornerbacks on their roster in Brian Kelly, Travis Fisher, and Leigh Bodden, acquired in the offseason from the Cleveland Browns as part of the Shaun Rogers trade. This gives the Lions three good corners to line up across from the Packers three good wide receivers, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, and James Jones. The Packers wideouts can destroy on a good day, as evidenced by Driver’s Thanksgiving Day performance in 2007. The Lions have obviously worked hard in the offseason to try to combat this.

The Verdict: I’m taking the Packers again, 28-14. The Lions should keep it close at the beginning, but in the end, they are not quite up to the level of the Packers. Another 7-9 season for you, Kitna.

Packers record after Week 2: 2-0.

But now the two teams are in different directions.  Green Bay is breaking in a new quarterback, while San Francisco is still trying to find the successor for Young.  Ironically, Aaron Rodgers could be in San Francisco.  In the days leading up to the 2005 NFL Draft, the 49ers were torn between Rodgers and Alex Smith.  They chose Smith No. 1, letting Rodgers free-fall all the way down to #24 where Ted Thompson snatched him up.  Rodgers got the job of holding the clipboard for Favre for three years before getting his chance.  Smith was thrown into the fire Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles.  Smith has gone through three offensive coordinators in three years and is now on his fourth in Mike Martz.  Rodgers had to deal with the Favre debacle.  Smith is now competing with J.T. O’Sullivan and Shaun Hill for the starting quarterback position.  Rodgers is the man in Green Bay.

Yeah, tough cookies Alex.

Anyway, five things to watch for in tonight’s game:

1. The aforementioned storyline between Smith and Rodgers.  Yes, I know it’s preseason, but I’ll take any storyline not involving Favre I can get.

2. The battle for the backup running back.  As I mentioned yesterday, the battle for third-string running back is heating up.  Ryan Grant is not expected to play, so Brandon Jackson, Vernand Morency, and Noah Herron should see the majority of the carries and a chance to show what they can do.

3. The 49ers defense.  They’ve spent loads of cash on this lately, so let’s see if the cash will come through for them.

4. The Packers defense.  The Packers defense is going to have to do more work than they did last season with the offense in transition, so it should be interesting to see how they feast on a pretty weak offense.

5. The battle for backup quarterback.  Brian Brohm was thought to have this job locked up as soon as he was drafted, but fellow rookie Matt Flynn has impressed coaches and is expected to challenge Brohm.  Intriguing.

I’m not going to be able to watch this game, but good luck to the Packers.  I’ll have a report on it tomorrow.