Articles

Overall Fantasy Impact: Above Average

Offensive Outlook: Fantasy players shouldn’t be asking the question, “Will Brett Favre return?” They should be asking, “Does it matter?”

The Packers were 2nd in yards and 4th in points last year, and if Aaron Rodgers takes over, he inherits the powerful running attack, bruising offensive line, and a deep and talented receiving corps.

Whoever is under center should be directing one of the league’s finest offenses, and that’s really all fantasy players need to know.

QUARTERBACKS: Favre had an amazing season in 2007, cutting back on the mistakes that had dogged him the previous few seasons.

He was among the league’s best in yards passing (4th) and TDs (tied for 6th), and he would be worthy of a Fantasy starting spot if he returns.

Rodgers is an unknown commodity, although he played well in a relief appearance against Dallas last year. After three years of watching the offense, he should be more than ready to go. But, since fantasy players have little to go on, anyone who drafts him would be wise to take another solid option at the position as insurance. Continue Reading »

Overall Fantasy Impact: Below Average

Offensive Outlook: How could a team that was in the Super Bowl two years ago be this hapless offensively?

The truth is that even in that 2006 run, the Bears were fueled by defense and special teams, while the offense just had to stay out of the way.

It’s likely the Bears will try that formula again, meaning that their Fantasy prospects are just this side of atrocious. Don’t expect much help at all here.

QUARTERBACKS: It’s almost not even worth it to debate the relative merits of Rex Grossman vs. Kyle Orton, because neither will be of any help to you fantasy-wise.

Grossman wasted any goodwill he had amassed during the Super Bowl season with an awful performance last year. Orton, replaced by Grossman late in the ‘05 campaign, might get the chance to prove that he’s improved since then.

Whoever wins the job should be no more than a 3rd fantasy quarterback; whoever doesn’t should remain in the free agent pool. Continue Reading »

Last year I had Maurice Jones-Drew pegged as the guy that was going to be a sure-fire number one fantasy running back.

I was positive that the traditionally injury-prone Fred Taylor would go down early, and that Jones-Drew would build upon a very impressive rookie season.

I didn’t count on Taylor having a Pro Bowl season, and Jones-Drew winding up in the definition of a running back by committee situation. However, the Jacksonville dynamic duo still managed to both put up decent fantasy numbers.

Taylor led the way with over 1,200 rushing yards but only five touchdowns. Continue Reading »

Overall Fantasy Impact: Average

Offensive Outlook: Whenever a new coach enters the scene, all fantasy bets are off until it becomes clear how that coach prefers his offense to look. With Jim Zorn on board in Washington though, it seems a safe bet that the former gunslinging quarterback will open the offense up in contrast with Joe Gibbs’ conservative run-first approach.

The Redskins draft seemed to point in a more pass-happy direction, as the second round brought two receivers and a tight end as weapons for work-in-progress quarterback Jason Campbell. Whether Campbell can take advantage and how all this new firepower affects Clinton Portis, the offense’s usual focal point, are the two big questions for fantasy owners this season.

QUARTERBACKS: It’s hard to ignore the fact that Washington was 5-7 with Campbell at the helm and 4-0 down the stretch when he went down with an injury and veteran Todd Collins took over. While there may not be a controversy, any owner who takes Campbell should be prepared to feel a little uneasy when he has a rough outing. Add in the fact that he threw just 12 TD passes in 13 games last year, and you’re better off taking him as a back-up and then hoping that Zorn’s new offense brings out the best in him, thereby giving you excellent depth at the position. Continue Reading »

In fantasy football, regardless of your league’s specific structure, quarterback is a position you must get solid production from. The good news is- a productive starting QB is relatively easy to find. Aside from Tom Brady, who played out of his mind in 2007, there was surprisingly little separation between QB’s like Peyton Manning, drafted in most first rounds- and undrafted players like Kurt Warner and Derek Anderson. Manning finished ’07 with 268 points in a standard scoring system. Warner and Anderson finished with 199 and 243 respectively. Certainly Manning’s additional points were useful, but from a pure value standpoint- players like Warner and Anderson offered season changing value.

The MonsterDraft draft guide can customize your draft board with player values based on your league’s specifications- including number of teams, starting line-up structure, points awarded per yardage/scoring play, and various other critical factors. That numerical value will be useful on draft day when you’re trying to decide between players at different positions.

Here are the top 5 quarterbacks the tool produced after entering specifications of a ten team league with 4 points for a passing TD, 1 point for per 50 yards passing, and 1 point deduction per interception. Some scoring systems may place more importance on passing yardage- while others may not penalize a QB for throwing interceptions. As a MonsterDraft member, you can enter your specific scoring system- and receive a draft guide with player values calculated just for you.

#5- Carson Palmer- Bengals. 2007 was not the best season for Carson- because he cares mostly about winning and 7-9 was not the record he was looking for. But his fantasy numbers were solid- and he passed for the most yardage of his career (4,100 yards). Word on the street is that Rudi Johnson is in the best shape of his life. If the Bengals RB could just stay healthy- Palmer will power one of the best passing attacks in the league- and pile on the fantasy points. Continue Reading »

Overall Fantasy Impact: Average

Offensive Outlook: The Eagles had little trouble moving the ball last season, but getting it in the end zone was another matter entirely.

Lacking a bruising goal-line runner or a consistent possession receiver in the red zone, Philly finished 17th in the league in points despite a 6th-place finish in total offense.

There weren’t a lot of changes made on the offensive side of the ball in the offseason, so any improvement will have to come from within.

Outside of dynamic, muti-purpose runner Brian Westbrook, the Eagles could have a hard time filling up the fantasy stat sheet, especially in such a rugged division. Continue Reading »

After a strong 10-6 season, The Cleveland Browns have added a couple of elements and are starting to get noticed for more than just the masks worn by their forever barking fans.

The emergence of Derek Anderson coincided with Braylon Edwards’ breakout season, and the Browns are suddenly the “sleeper pick” that professional guessers are hoping will give them Told-Ya-So rights come January. If they do arrive at their first ever Big Game, they will need the aforementioned duo to be as dynamic as they were last year.

But will they be?

To quote the magic 8-ball, all signs point to yes.

Braylon Edwards showed steady improvement for the first two years of his career, and the TDs started coming with regularity in the latter half of year 2. We all know what happened in year 3: he reached the end zone 16 times, with over 1,200 yards as well. He was an elite receiver who made some fantasy owners giggle like schoolgirls (my brother had him in my friends and family league – oh, the hideous giggling). Continue Reading »

At the beginning of 2007- Quarterback Vince Young was a hot fantasy prospect. His flashes of spectacular playmaking as a rookie created high expectations in everyone, even John Madden, who put Young on the cover of the worlds most popular football video game.

Confident fantasy owners waited to select a QB- letting the likes of Manning and Brady go by- and then grabbing Young- quietly hoping that he would emerge to lead the league.

Then came the reality- the actual games- and for Young it was a dismal vision.

He topped 300 yards passing in one game. One. He only topped 200 in three others. He finished about as low in the Quarterback rankings as a full season starting QB could. 24th in touchdowns (9). 26th in QB rating (71.1). 28th in yards per game (169.7). And despite significantly lower passing attempts than much of the league- he finished just three picks behind the league leaders in interceptions. Young had 17- Palmer, E. Manning, and Kitna had 20- but all 3 of them had at least 150 more passing attempts. And one of them won a Super Bowl. Continue Reading »

Overall Fantasy Impact: Average

Coming off an improbable championship run last season, it will be tempting to fantasy owners to grab Giants players this draft day in the hope that their momentum will continue.

But can you trust their postseason success? Don’t forget that the offense was only mediocre in the regular season, ranking 16th in yards and 14th in points.

The other problem is that the Giants are very deep at the receiver and running back positions, which translates into success on the field and headaches for owners trying to determine who’s going to get the bulk of the playing time. So it’s conceivable that the first three rounds of your draft will pass without one member of the Super Bowl champs being selected. Continue Reading »

Wide receiver is perhaps the most difficult position to target in fantasy football. Even with the top gems- it can be difficult to know when to pull the trigger. The MonsterDraft draft guide can customize your draft board with player values based on your league’s specifications- including number of teams, starting line-up structure, points awarded per yardage/scoring play, and various other critical factors.

Here are the top 5 wide receivers the tool produced after entering specifications for a league that allows 6 points for rushing and receiving TD’s, 1 point per 25 rushing or receiving yards, 1 point per reception. This league weights TD’s and receptions while discounting yardage a little. Is your scoring format different? That’s the beauty of the MonsterDraft tool - plug in your format and your draft board is revised to match.

#5- Marques Colston- Saints. In this scoring scenario, MonsterDraft puts Colston above some bigger names like Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, Torry Holt, and Steve Smith. Is this a computer glitch? No. If you look closer, you’ll see that Colston finished above Holt and Smith in fantasy scoring last year- and that was while battling injuries. The NFC south is not the league’s best division, and at 6 foot 4, Colston is hard to miss, and hard to take down when he gets a head of steam. Brees often looks for him in the red zone- and that means something on a team that passes almost 70% of the time. A strong o-line and a strong running game means Colston will have every chance to repeat- or even improve upon- his ’07 effort of 1200 receiving yards (8th best in the NFL) and 11 TD’s (tied for 7th). Continue Reading »