The St. Louis Rams visit the Chicago Bears, both teams coming off different levels of play in Week 2. The Bears took on the Green Bay Packers last week and 
found their offense completely stall out while the Rams took it to the Washington Redskins, winning their first game of the 2012 season. Here is what fantasy football owners need to know about the Bears vs. Rams game .
Quarterbacks : Fantasy football owners expected Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall to light Chicago's offense on fire when they reunited in 2012, but after a first game where they did just that, they stalled hard against the Packers in Week 2. Cutler went from a 333-yard, two-touchdown game in Week 1 to a 126-yard, four-interception game in Week 2. While fantasy football owners want to see him repeat his Week 1 performance , the Rams remain strong in interceptions and have Cortland Finnegan in the secondary. Expect Cutler to have more problems with turnovers this week. He is a low-level starter at best.
Sam Bradford was the opposite of Cutler, going from a sub-200-yard performance in Week 1 to a 310-yard, three-touchdown performance in Week 2. While Bradford has all the talent and skills in the world, he still plays behind the Rams' offensive line and has unknowns at receiver. The Bears do not have the best secondary in the NFL and gave up 300 plus yards to rookie Andrew Luck. Bradford is a low-level starter as well, but might be the better choice between these two quarterbacks.
Running Backs : Matt Forte will not play in Week 3 due to an injured ankle. That is bad news for owners, because St. Louis is known for giving up lots of rushing yards. This puts Michael Bush into the starter's role in this game. Bush has 96 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the season. Bush was great in 2011 when he took over for an injured Darren McFadden in Oakland and is a must-start against the Rams.
Steven Jackson remains Mr. Reliable for the St. Louis Rams, but only has 111 yards in two games this season with no touchdowns. There is a chance he misses the Bears game, but if he does he remains a dependable starter. If he misses the game , jump on rookie Daryl Richardson, who ran for 83 yards last week after Jackson went down. If Jackson is out, Richardson is a solid flex player.
Wide Receivers : Which Brandon Marshall will fantasy football players see in Week 3, the man who caught nine balls for 19 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 or the receiver who caught two balls in five tries for 24 yards in Week 2? Expect a good performance. He is the only real receiving threat for Chicago and has a history of bouncing back big after a bad performance. No other receiver on the Bears' team is worth fantasy consideration.
Yes, Danny Amendola is a poor man's Wes Welker, but he is actually playing better than Welker in 2012. In two weeks, Sam Bradford has targeted Amendola 25 times and the receiver caught 20 of those passes for 230 yards. He only has one touchdown but, in PPR leagues, he is gold. Brandon Gibson is someone else to keep an eye on. He has six receptions for 104 yards on the season, but has a touchdown in both of the first two games and is a red zone target.
Tight Ends : The Bears used to have two of the best tight ends in the NFL. Now, they have Kellen Davis, who has caught one pass this season for a touchdown, despite being targeted seven times. Ignore him. Lance Kendricks has only four receptions for 41 yards on the season for the Rams. Matthew Mulligan only had two passes thrown his way in the Redskins game but had the touchdown. Neither man is even worth owning.
Defenses : When Jeff Fisher came to St. Louis, it was clear their defense would be overhauled. They sit tied for sixth in the NFL for interceptions with four and have a defensive touchdown and two sacks. Expect them to pick off at least one Cutler pass and pressure him all game. When it comes to the Bears vs. Rams, it is clear that the Bears defense should always be started. They remain tied with St. Louis with four interceptions, but also have eight sacks and three fumble recoveries. Fantasy football owners should start both of these defenses this week.
