With Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher expected back this week, much has been made about where that leaves Corey Graham, who has developed nicely while filling in for the injured starters. Immediately, antiquated suggestions of moving Tillman to safety and keeping Graham as a starter at corner have come up.

We need to stop trying to move a cornerback in his prime — Tillman — out of position at this point in his career. And moving Graham — or Vasher, for that matter — doesn’t make any sense, either. Tillman was having a successful season before he went down with an injury. And even if he and Vasher stay healthy for the rest of the season, it’s not like Graham won’t get any playing time. He’ll rotate in, giving the other two breathers in certain situations, such as running downs.

A team can never have too many good cornerbacks as we’ve seen the past few weeks with Tillman and Vasher missing time. What happens if the Bears were to slide one of their cornerbacks to safety and then suffered another injury at the position? This isn’t Madden Football. You can’t keep moving guys back and forth. As we saw last year with Danieal Manning — a man without a position — sliding a guy from one position to the next doesn’t happen like clockwork.

Later down the line, when Tillman’s career wanes and his skills decline, they can prolong his time in the NFL by moving him to safety as so many cornerbacks in the past have done. The only time I’d consider moving a cornerback to safety is if the Bears were in a pinch because they lost one of their safeties to injury in the middle of a game. And even then, it wouldn’t be an easy transition.

But you don’t rearrange guys in the middle of the season with 9 games to go, when injuries can happen in the blink of an eye. I know the Bears’ defense has struggled against the pass, but with Tillman and Vasher both missing time, and the front four not getting a lick of pressure on the opposing quarterbacks, and “Bullet” Bob Babich doing God knows what with the play-calling, there’s a reason why they’re ranked 29th against the pass.

Friday’s Injury Report: The Bears released their injury report on Friday and it definitely looks promising. Three players — Hunter Hillenmeyer, Brandon Lloyd, and Danieal Manning — are listed as questionable after three straight days of limited participation. The only other four on the report — Marty Booker, Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher, and Tommie Harris — all had full participation on Friday and are listed as probable.

Here’s this week’s look at good and bad fantasy matchups.

Note: I try to pick less obvious players. I’m not going to tell you to play Peyton Manning or LaDainian Tomlinson or Randy Moss. No kiddin’, Sherlock.

Warning: I’m not immune to accidentally suggesting a player that might be injured and out for the week — or even the season. As much as I follow the game, mistakes can happen. If it does happen, just give me a polite jab and I’ll correct myself.

The following players should have favorable matchups this week. Their chances of success are greater due to tendencies by the opponent’s defense.

Quarterbacks

Kyle Orton, Chi vs. Detroit
The Lions have one of the worst pass defenses in the league. It’ll be colder this game, but a month ago against Detroit, Orton had 334 yards and 2 TDs.

Kurt Warner, Ari vs. St. Louis
Warner’s been on fire this year and it should continue against a bad Rams pass defense.

Other favorable matchups: Jay Cutler vs. Miami, Marc Bulger vs. Arizona, Matt Schaub vs. Minnesota.

Running Backs

Earnest Graham, TB vs. Kansas City
There’s nothing but gaping holes anytime somebody plays the Chiefs.

Ronnie Brown, Mia vs. Denver
Brown struggled last week against a tough Bills team but should fine running lanes against a bad Broncos run defense.

Other favorable matchups: Matt Forte vs. Detroit, Maurice Jones-Drew vs. Cincinnati, Michael Turner vs. Oakland.

Wide Receivers

DeSean Jackson, Phi vs. Seattle
The Seahawks aren’t very good at stopping the pass, so Jackson could have a big game.

Calvin Johnson, Det vs. Chicago
Johnson is the Lions’ only legitimate offensive weapon and the Bears have had trouble stopping the pass all season long.

Other favorable matchups: Lee Evans vs. NY Jets, Cardinals WRs vs. St. Louis, Brandon Marshall vs. Miami.

Tight Ends

Anthony Fasano, Mia vs. Denver
One of the Dolphins’ top receiving options, Fasano should be targeted often.

Greg Olsen, Chi vs. Detroit
Olsen has been a much more integral part of the Bears offense this year than last year and the Lions are a great team to pass against.

Other favorable matchups: Owen Daniels vs. Minnesota, John Carlson vs. Philadelphia, Dallas Clark vs. New England.

Kickers

Stephen Gostkowski, NE vs. Indianapolis
The Patriots should be able to move the ball against the Colts’ defense, enough to get Gostkowski some field goal attempts.

Ryan Longwell, Min vs. Houston
Longwell should get plenty of opportunities at home in the dome in what should be a higher scoring game, at least for the Vikings.

Other favorable matchups: John Carney vs. Dallas, Matt Bryant vs. Kansas City, Jason Elam vs. Oakland.

Defenses

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, TB vs. Kansas City
A solid week to play the Bucs defense. They face the lowest scoring team in the league.

Jacksonville Jaguars, Jac vs. Cincinnati
Cincinnati just can’t seem to move the ball this year. The Jaguars should have a good game defensively in this one.

Other favorable matchups: Atlanta Falcons vs. Oakland, Chicago Bears vs. Detroit, Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland.

The following players should have unfavorable matchups this week. Their chances of success are worse due to tendencies by the opponent’s defense.

Quarterbacks

Jason Campbell, Was vs. Pittsburgh
Campbell has played exceptionally well this year but he faces the top pass defense in the league this week. Even at home, that’s a tall order.

Aaron Rodgers, GB vs. Tennessee
The Packers have been on a roll the past few weeks, but they face a tough test on the road against the undefeated Titans.

Other unfavorable matchups: Matt Cassel vs. Indianapolis, Derek Anderson vs. Baltimore, Ben Roethlisberger vs. Washington.

Running Backs

Jamal Lewis, Cle vs. Baltimore
Lewis had 81 yards and a touchdown last week, but this week’s matchup against Baltimore is a bit tougher.

Ryan Grant, GB vs. Tennessee
Not a good week for Grant against one of the league’s best defenses.

Other unfavorable matchups: Steve Slaton vs. Minnesota, Marshawn Lynch vs. NY Jets, Lions RBs vs. Chicago.

Wide Receivers

Braylon Edwards, Cle vs. Baltimore
The Ravens should be able to shut down the Browns’ offense this week.

Dwayne Bowe, KC vs. Tampa Bay
Not a good matchup against a tough Buccaneers pass defense for the promising young wide receiver.

Other unfavorable matchups: Wes Welker vs. Indianapolis, Santana Moss vs. Pittsburgh, Packers WRs vs. Tennessee.

Tight Ends

Heath Miller, Pit vs. Washington
The Redskins have a pretty good pass defense and should make things difficult on Miller.

Chris Cooley, Was vs. Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is one of the toughest teams in the league to pass on.

Other unfavorable matchups: Ben Watson vs. Indianapolis, Kellen Winslow vs. Baltimore, Bo Scaife vs. Green Bay.

Kickers

Jason Hanson, Det vs. Chicago
Hanson hasn’t kicked many field goals this year and that should continue this week in Chicago.

Shayne Graham, Cin vs. Jacksonville
Graham’s opportunities will be limited against a tough Jaguars defense.

Other unfavorable matchups: Jeff Reed vs. Washington, Phil Dawson vs. Baltimore, Mason Crosby vs. Tennessee.

Defense

Dallas Cowboys, Dal vs. NY Giants
The Giants are one of the highest scoring offenses in the league and have extra incentive against a divisional foe.

Houston Texans, Hou vs. Minnesota
After a bye week to rest, the Vikings should come out and put some points on the board at home.

Other unfavorable matchups: Green Bay Packers vs. Tennessee, Miami Dolphins vs. Denver, NY Jets vs. Buffalo.

Cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher had full participation in practice Thursday and should be ready to go for Sunday’s game against the Lions.

All players listed on the injury report participated in at least a portion of practice, including Hunter Hillenmeyer, who is expected to miss Sunday’s game.

Joining Tillman and Vasher in full participation was wide receiver Marty Booker, while Tommie Harris, Brandon Lloyd, Danieal Manning, and Brad Maynard joined Hillenmeyer in limited participation.

The full injury report — which lists the players who are out, doubtful, questionable, or probable — will be released tomorrow.

Bears defense vows improvement: In a similar manner to the one they made following a poor preseason, the Bears defense offered a promise to turn things around in the second half of the season.

“We’ve got to get some things cleaned up on defense,” said tackle Dusty Dvoracek. “We definitely don’t want to give up the yards we give up, but I think we’ve made those corrections and we’re going to see it this week.”

Fellow tackle Tommie Harris concurred.

“I don’t feel like we ended up where we wanted to and we have another chance,” Harris said. “To me, it really feels like the season starts now. We get another chance to go back out there and make up for the last time.”

Whatever the reason for the Bears’ poor pass defense through seven games this year — most likely the pass rush — the Bears are still tied with the undefeated Tennessee Titans for most takeaways in the NFL with 16.

This week’s game against the Lions ought to give the Bears some more confidence defensively in a lead-up to next week’s showdown with the Titans.

Lovie backs Obama: In a bit of non-football related news, Bears coach Lovie Smith addressed the media before leaving the practice field about his support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

“I’m a strong supporter of Barack Obama,” Smith stated, adding that he had already voted early. “I believe there’s a new day and I think there’s a time for new, fresh ideas.”

Offense getting it done without a superstar: In a good article written yesterday in the Sun-Times, Mike Mulligan points out how well the Bears’ offense has played up to this point — second highest scoring unit in the league — without having any “big name players” on that side of the ball.

In fact, it’s remarkable that all the money on this team is allocated to defensive players, and they’re the guys struggling to perform while the underpaid offense is excelling.