'O' my! Orton helping make Bears fantasy-relevant
Something strange is happening in Chicago, and it has nothing to do with the 97-65 Cubs being swept out of the postseason.
No, there's something happening at the Spaceship by the Lake that defies explanation and logic.
The Bears - coach Lovie Smith's grind-it-out, boring, snoring Bears - have come out of a long offensive hibernation and are scoring points, lots of points. Eighty-two in the last three weeks, and many of them are actually coming out of the air.
It's a bird, it's a plane - no, it's Super Kyle.
Yes, Kyle Orton, who yours truly ranked 28th among quarterbacks in August, is now a player fantasy football owners can actually consider using when the matchup is favorable.
While it's true Orton feasted on the Lions last week, he also threw 3 TD passes against Philadelphia and 2 against Tampa Bay. Over the last three weeks, only Brett Favre and Drew Brees have scored more fantasy points than Orton.
Despite this short-term trend and because of his below-average receiving corps, I'm still extremely hesitant to suggest Orton (7 TD passes, 1,100 yards on the season) is a better option than Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, Ben Roethlisberger or Jake Delhomme.
But Orton is certainly on par with, and perhaps a better option than, J.T. O'Sullivan, Jason Campbell, Trent Edwards or Matt Schaub.
Orton's emergence also makes it worth looking at three Bears receivers. Brandon Lloyd (15-249-1), Devin Hester (8-93-2 last two) and tight end Greg Olsen (7-122-1 last two) are all decent bye-week fill-ins at this point. Lloyd is still dealing with a sprained knee, though, and may miss Sunday's game with Atlanta.
As for the Bears' schedule, it isn't particularly daunting at any point. The most difficult matchups are probably Minnesota in Weeks 7 and 13 and at home against Tennessee in Week 10.
But here's the funny thing: Even though those dates with the Vikings look like surefire bad bets for Orton, they probably are the exact opposite. Minnesota stops the run extremely well, which means Orton will be forced to air it out. And teams seem to be figuring that out because the Vikes allow 230 yards a game through the air.
All of this, and I haven't mentioned Matt Forte. The Bears rookie, who is on pace for 1,776 all-purpose yards and 13 TDs, is a no-brainer start the rest of the season. He ranks fifth among running backs in fantasy points, ahead of LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson and the injured Brian Westbrook.
So, with plenty more points likely on the way, don't be too afraid to put a Bear in your lineup now and then.
My teams: A pair of winners this week with my unit-league team (2-3) prevailing 80-65 thanks to big games by Clinton Portis and Steve Slaton. In my regular league (2-3), I had a huge week and won 120-79 thanks to Kurt Warner, Michael Turner and Portis.
Good bets
• Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown and WR Greg Camarillo at Houston. Brown has turned into an every-week starter, but if you are weak at WR, consider Camarillo (17-214-1) this week against a struggling Texans defense.
• Vikings WR Bernard Berrian vs. Detroit. When the Vikings promoted QB Gus Frerotte, it breathed new life into Berrian (14-267-1 last three). He'll light up the Lions.
• Jets QB Brett Favre and RB Thomas Jones vs. Cincinnati. Jones figures to tear through a Bengals defense that's giving up 171 rush yards a game.
• Ravens RB Le'Ron McClain at Indianapolis. McClain's yardage has been iffy (86-66-63-51), but he's scored in the last three games and has a great chance to extend that streak against Indy's marshmallow-soft run defense.
• Seahawks RB Julius Jones vs. Green Bay. Maurice Morris may be back in the fold for Seattle, but Jones (4.8-yard average) has been impressive with his new team.
• Redskins QB Jason Campbell vs. St. Louis. This should be a gimme 2-TD game for Campbell.
Bad bets
• Raiders RBs Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas vs. New Orleans. One of these guys may have a great game, but it's tough to say which one. McFadden (toe) is still banged up, which may give Fargas more chances. But if McFadden's OK, he could be the man. Need an Excedrin yet? Unless McFadden is actually inactive, avoid this nightmare Sunday.
• Bucs RB Earnest Graham vs. Carolina. The Panthers haven't allowed a touchdown in nine quarters.
• Colts QB Peyton Manning and WR Marvin Harrison vs. Baltimore. The Ravens allow 192.5 total yards a game. A prediction: For the third time this year, Kyle Orton outscores Manning.
• Panthers WR Mushin Muhammad at Tampa Bay. As I said last week, the Bucs do a good job of shutting down a team's No. 2 wideout.
• Niners QB J.T. O'Sullivan vs. Philadelphia. Only Tony Romo has thrown for more than 200 yards against the Eagles.
• Browns RB Jamal Lewis and QB Derek Anderson vs. the Giants. Cleveland figures to score 6-13 points in this massacre.
• Read more from John at ffmastermind.com and catch him with on the Score (WSCR 670-AM) with Mike Murphy most Thursdays in the 1 p.m. hour.