Fantasy Football Advice

We at Razzball realize that exporting our views across the country has damaging consequences on the blogosphere.  To help make amends, we are reaching out to leading team blogs and featuring their locally blogged answers to pressing 2009 fantasy football questions regarding their team.  We feel this approach will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway).  The 2009 Raiders Fantasy Football Preview comes courtesy of Just Blog Baby.

1) The Raiders seem to have taken the Gruden approach to the QB position by stockpiling QBs, two of which (Jeff Garcia and Bruce Gradkowski) played for Gruden in Tampa. Should fantasy owners see this as a sign that JaMarcus Russell is viewed unfavorably by the current coaching staff? Who do you think wins the starting QB job in ’09?

There is no truth to the rumors that there is a budding quarterback controversy in Oakland. This is JaMarcus Russell’s job to lose. He’s young and is going to make his share of mistakes, but he finished the 2008 season with three very strong games that included throwing for more than 700 yards, 6 TDs to just 2 INTs and completed 60% of his passes. Garcia is a veteran who was brought in to tutor JaMarcus and be ready to play should his number be called. With a young receiving core and a stable of running backs behind him, JaMarcus is poised to have a breakout year in 2008. I’m not saying he’s worth a high draft pick for fantasy owners, but he’s a solid pick as your second QB.

2) Probably the most surprising move of the 2009 Draft was the Raiders selecting the speedy Darius Heyward-Bey 7th overall, 3 picks before the much hyped Texas Tech WR product Michael Crabtree. Do you think this was the right move, and what kind of rookie season can fantasy owners expect from the speedster?

I can’t lie and say I liked the Heyward-Bey selection, though it had nothing to do with not selecting Michael Crabtree. To me, a guy like B.J. Raji or Eugene Monroe would have been the better pick, but the Raiders did need a major upgrade at wide receiver. Heyward-Bey will be given every opportunity to be the #1 receiver in Oakland as a rookie. He played in a pro-style offense in Maryland so he should make a smooth transition. All that being said, I don’t expect more than 600-700 receiving yards and maybe 5-7 TDs for Darrius during his rookie season. He’s capable of having monster games, but his consistency will be the major concern. For whatever its worth, I think Crabtree is going to be good, but Heyward-Bey will be better in the long run. That spread offense just doesn’t do any favors for either receivers or quarterbacks as far as it relates to preparing for the NFL.

3) The Raiders have a stable of talented, though injury prone, running backs in Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas, and Michael Bush. Are we looking at another RB-by-committee situation in Oakland this season, or can McFadden be the every down playmaker fantasy owners drool over?

The running back situation in Oakland is unlike any other in the league. Darren McFadden, Michael Bush and Justin Fargas each have very unique skill sets. Bush is the best pure runner. Fargas is a great downhill style runner but is not a red zone threat. McFadden is the X-factor who can line up all over the field. I don’t think Run-DMC will ever be an every down type of back, as far as getting carries out of the backfield. In this modern NFL, McFadden is the guy best suited for the “Wildcat” formation as evident from his career at Arkansas. While Bush could get 1,200+ yards rushing if he got 20+ carries a game, McFadden is the guy capable of 1,600+ total yards and 10+ touchdowns. I see a healthy McFadden as Brian Westbrook 2.0. He’s got that type of all around game and he can be used out of the backfield, under center and even split out as a wide receiver. It is impossible to know what the future holds, but I’m expecting big things from Darren McFadden in 2009. In a keeper league, this guy could be golden.

4) Johnnie Lee Higgins showed flashes of skill and playmaking ability last season, will he be the number one target for Raiders’ QBs in 2009? Can WR Javon Walker rebound from numerous injuries to be the player he was signed to be? Are there any other names in the Raiders receiving corp fantasy owners should be following?

Johnnie Lee Higgins might not be the Raiders #1, but he could develop into a poor man’s Wes Welker. Plus, Higgins gives fantasy owners the added bonus of being a return dynamo that can get you extra points in addition to his receiving duties. Javon Walker is the definition of a free agency bust. There is really no way to comprehend why Al Davis gave this guy a $55 million deal. Walker secretly had knee surgery this offseason and is still recovering from an ankle injury that cut his season short in ’08. I say stay as far away from Walker as possible. The guy who could be a real sleeper is Chaz Schilens. Schilens is a big target (6’4”/225) and since he’s a Raider you know he can run (4.3 40-yard dash). He showed some flashes late in the year and has looked good in the OTAs this offseason thus far. Schilens could emerge as the best receiver on the roster in only his second season after being a 7^th round pick.

5) Tight end Zach Miller put up a solid, if quiet season for the Raiders in 2008, racking up nearly 800 yards receiving and adding 1 TD. Should we plan on increased production from Miller during his first full season under head coach Tom Cable?

There is no reason why Zach Miller shouldn’t be playing in the Pro Bowl in the near future. He has the best hands on the roster and has developed some great chemistry with JaMarcus Russell as his go-to-guy. Miller also averaged 13.9 yards a catch in ’08, some truly amazing stuff for a tight end. What was most disconcerting was that Miller disappeared in the red zone. His only touchdown last year was a 63-yarder on a bullet from Russell. Perhaps it was just the scheme, but Miller’s lack of red zone production is the only thing holding him back from being in the same conversation with Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark and Tony Gonzalez in fantasy circles.

We at Razzball realize that exporting our views across the country has damaging consequences on the blogosphere.  To help make amends, we are reaching out to leading team blogs and featuring their locally blogged answers to pressing 2009 fantasy football questions regarding their team.  We feel this approach will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway).  The 2009 Chargers Fantasy Football Preview comes courtesy of Bolts From the Blue.

1) LaDainian Tomlinson’s 2009 season was rather pedestrian by LT standards, possibly due to nagging injuries. Is 1,500 total yards and 12-15 touchdowns the new expectation level for LT going forward, or do you think a couple more legendary seasons (2,000+ yards and 25-30 TDs) are in store for the aging LT?

Word out of Chargers camp is that it was all due to nagging injuries and he’ll be back to his MVP form, but I’m not buying that he can stay healthy through an entire season with 300+ carries. Your “new expectation level” for LT is dead-on, not because he’s losing talent but because he’ll lose carries and TDs to Darren Sproles and Gartrell Johnson. People that draft LT too high are going to deal with frustration similar to Tiki Barber/Brandon Jacobs a few years back, where Barber was doing a lot of the heavy-lifting with yards but Jacobs was getting all the TDs.

2) Philip Rivers exploded onto the last season with an amazing 4,009 yard, 34 TD passing performance. Was ‘09 the ceiling or can fantasy owners start penciling Rivers next to Manning and Brady at the top of their fantasy draft boards?

Rivers is one of the best QBs in the NFL and will continue to progress. Even with those 2008 numbers, you have to remember that he was coming off a torn ACL (which produced at least one down season for Carson Palmer, McNabb and others) and dealing with a banged up offense around him (Chambers and Gates had trouble staying healthy, Floyd was gone at the end of the year). Quite simply, Philip Rivers has finally reached his potential as a strong-armed, accurate quarterback with a great mind for the game of football.
If the Chargers running game comes back to where it was in 2007 or 2006, you could see a dip in Rivers numbers. Norv Turner would rather be a power running game with a good passing game than a team that relies on the pass, which is what the Chargers were in 2008. Besides the running game possibly stealing some of his numbers, you can pencil Rivers in as a top fantasy QB for the next decade or so.

3) Darren Sproles proved to be an exciting change-of-pace back and adequate fill in for LT 2008, what can we expect from the crafty returnman and backup this season? Do LT fantasy drafters handcuff their pick by snagging Sproles as well?

No. Chargers fans have known about Sproles explosiveness since the team drafted him in 2005. The only reason he wasn’t more well-known before 2008 is because he has a hard time staying healthy, which is understandable considering his size. Darren Sproles grabbed 5 receiving TDs in 2008, but only 1 rushing TD. He caught the ball 29 and ran it 61. He may be the league’s best 3rd down back and one of the league’s top kick and punt returners, but the Chargers saw during the playoff game in Pittsburgh that he just does not have the strength to be an every down back. If fantasy drafters are looking for a backup plan for LT, Gartrell Johnson is the choice.

4) Like LT, the always productive Antonio Gates struggled through injuries last season and posted solid but not spectacular numbers. Should owners be concerned with drafting Gates as the top fantasy TE?

I don’t think so. He injured his toe in the 2007 playoffs and had surgery on it. He struggled with the toe in 2008, which made him slightly slower and not-as-quick in his cuts, but he was still one of the top fantasy TEs (if not the top one). He only dropped off marginally, with his receptions going from 75 to 60, receiving yards from 984 to 704 and his TDs from 9 to 8. This offseason Gates has said that the toe is still not 100%, but it’s lightyears ahead of where it was last season. It looks as though Malcom Floyd may get even more chances in 2009, which means the Chargers will be making more of an effort to stretch defenses and that will leave big holes open for Gates. I don’t know that he’ll get 75 catches, considering there’s more talent in our receiving corps than ever before, but he’ll definitely match and possibly exceed 2008’s numbers.

5) Wide receiver Vincent Jackson lived up to the “3rd year player” breakout billing he was tagged with in ‘08 by racking up nearly 1,100 yards receiving along with 7 TDs. If Rivers maintains his passing prowess, is Jackson the main down field target, or should we see increased contribution from the Chargers’ other talented receivers, Chris Chambers and Malcom Floyd?

Chambers really struggled to stay healthy in 2008. He appeared in games, but did not contribute much. Because of that I think we’ll see more of Malcom Floyd than we did in 2008, and that’s a good thing. Floyd and Jackson are the main downfield threats and both have huge potential that they have not yet reached. Legedu Naanee is an intriguing project that has been getting better each year and could play a role. If I have to rank where I think the receivers will end up, stat-wise, at the end of the season it’d look like this:

1. V Jackson
2. A Gates
3. M Floyd
4. C Chambers
5. L Naanee
6. D Sproles

What will you be remembered by?  No, nobody will remember your ten Bacon Cheesy Potato Burrito night or that time you watched the extended Lord of the Rings trilogy all in one day, but if you come up with a fantasy team name that all your friends talk about over their mocha fraps it won’t matter how bad you suck, you will go down in the annals of your league’s history (no, I spelled annals right!).

Yes, Michael Vick’s canine abuse and subsequent incarceration is hilarious fodder for a team name, but here at Razzball we’re all about going that extra yard.  Yes, punning on players names is funny.  Breaston My Face is a worthwhile name, I’ll grant you, but do you really want to go through every name in the NFL and see how it might fit into a funny punned out situation? No, you have reports to write and celebrity dancing to tivo. So here at Razzball we, as usual, are going to make your life just a little bit easier with the Fantasy Football Team Names Generator.

Have you ever even thought of naming your team Feathered McNuggets or Pimply General Zods?  If you have, I bow to your greatness, but if you haven’t then you have to try the generator. You can choose from 80’s Villains to Items With Ground Meat to the ever popular Things That Sound Dirty But Are Not.  Besides making your life easier it will also give you something to do while waiting for your boss to get back from her meeting.  There are about 25 billion possible names (possibly a slight exageration) so have fun and post your favorites in the comments.  And I’m pretty sure Rudy in his infinite wisdom has inserted a variable into his Grand Champion Razzball Commenter League Super Secret Formula that takes into account team names and if you win and your team name is Favre From Retiring and the runner up’s name is Bearded Chimichangas, well, I just think it may be close.

We started with our Top Ten Fantasy Football Players and now we are moving on to our Top Ten Wide Receivers.  The amount of quality receivers is amazing this year.  And the good thing about receivers is they are consistent.  They don’t give you the same kind of numbers as a top 5 running back, but the odds of them getting injured or just tanking are much less.  It was pretty much common practice in the past to take a running back with your first pick and probably with your second as well.  Right now with this receiver renaissance there are many people going with WR with their first pick and sometimes their second as well!  Now I’m not one to thwart unconventional thinking, but after a few mock drafts using a few different strategies I just can’t justify going WR with your first pick this year.  There just aren’t enough solid RB’s, while, as you can see, there are plenty of solid WR’s.

1. Randy Moss: The leagues best corner, Nnamdi Asomugha, says Moss is the toughest receiver to cover while Moss says, Nnamdi is the toughest name he’s ever tried to say, even though he somehow wrote a paper on Things Fall Apart in college.

Even with a backup starting at QB all season Moss had 1,000 yds and 11 TD’s.  Now he has Brady back.  Will he catch 23 TD’s again?  No.  Can he split the difference?  Yes.  With 14 or more TD’s he will be the #1 receiver this year.    ADP: 10 Projection: 1450/14

2. Andre Johnson: He led the league in yards last season.  He only was held back from being the best fantasy receiver by his lowly 8 TD’s.  I see that number going above double digits this season. The Texans look to be a better team this year with a balanced offense.  AJ might not get quite as many yards, but the TD’s will keep him near the top. ADP: 9 Projection: 1450/13

3. Larry Fitzgerald: Fitz is a monster and right now is going as the first receiver in most drafts.  The wide receiver crop this year should have a tremendous yield and you can’t go wrong with these top three.  His numbers will be right up there with AJ’s, but Warner is old, like George Clooney old.  If Leinart is in there Fitz’s numbers fall. ADP: 6 Projection: 1350/12

4. Calvin Johnson: Megatron saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen during his summer break and felt that Shia LaBeouf’s acting was a bit one-dimensional and lacked a certain natural un-douchey quality.  But he plans on shaking his disappointment by catching around 12 TD’s and 1300 receiving yards.  His numbers last year are about as amazing as the box office Transformers took in.  On a team that did not win a single game, that is zero!, he still managed to be a top 5 fantasy receiver.  Even when he was the only true weapon, defenses still couldn’t cover him.  Stafford, Culpepper, it won’t matter; Megatron will conquer, save, or do whatever happens in that movie. ADP: 14 Projection: 1300/12

5. Roddy White: When “Rowdy” Roddy White steps into the ring you will not get out alive!  Oh wait, wrong Roddy, well, when you line up against Roddy you cannot stop him, you can only hope to contain him!  The Falcons came out of nowhere last year, but White was already a good receiver and now with Matt Ryan and his solid pocket presence anchoring the team, White can only improve. ADP: 24 Projection: 1300/10

6. Greg Jennings: There is no reason to think Jennings won’t continue to improve in his 4th season in the league and 2nd with Aaron Rodgers.  His TD numbers actually decreased by 3 last year even though his receptions increased by 27!  That’s a little unlucky and I see that number moving back up this year. ADP: 21 Projection: 1300/9

7. Reggie Wayne: Manning doesn’t have to feign interest in throwing to old man Harrison this year and Wayne will have the young and talented Anthony Gonzalez lining up opposite of him.  I see both those factors contributing to a bit of an uptick in production.  I owned Wayne last year and saw him get stopped at the goal line twice in one game only to get corngoaled by some less owned-by-me player! Look for his 6 TD’s last year to move back up to his 9 and 10 from ‘06 and ‘07. ADP: 18 Projection: 1200/10

8. Marques Colston: Injuries have kept Colston from being an every year top 5 receiver and that’s what is keeping him out of there once again.  The man is a machine, yes, one that breaks down once in a while, but when he’s going, he is unstoppable.  Brees gives out yards like they were AIG stock and all Colston needs to do is stay on the field to collect them. ADP: 25 Projection: 1250/9

9. Steve Smith: Jake Delhomme will continue to force the ball to Mighty Mouse which he will still somehow catch and if he doesn’t stop to punch someone in the face he will run around for a while, while people chase him.  With DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart becoming more and more prominent it should give Smith a little sliver of space and he really doesn’t need that much.  (Get it, because he’s tiny) ADP: 22 Projection: 1300/8

10. Anquan Boldin: I’ve been enboldened to put Boldin in bold to show you that he’s #10.  And to say that he has been one of the most reliable recievers in the NFL over the last four years.  He doesn’t like his contract, he always reminds me of Cuba Gooding Jr. and like Fitz, he needs Warner to stay healthy, but he will get his, just like last year, and the year before and the . . .  ADP: 26 Projection: 1050/9

It is time for football!  OTA’s are done and training camp starts in a few weeks.  Our old favorite ESPN has opened their fantasy doors and we will ransack and pillage their free leagues while mocking them relentlessly.  All leagues will be 12 team, head to head, 1 QB, 2 RB’s, 1 RB/WR, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 DE/ST, 1 K, and 7 Bench slots.  Scoring will be default unless there is a coup and then I’ll be taking asylum in Cancun and won’t really care too much.

We’re going to have a bunch of leagues and crown a winner from each, then we’re going to crown ONE winner from all of the winners, making a super excessively large winner.   We will be crowning the winner by taking each team’s points and multiplying it against a ‘league competitiveness factor’ (Rudy has developed a super secret calculus formula, so nobody, but he can understand). So we’re going to fill up as many fantasy leagues as we can before the season starts.

We’re going to start with five leagues and see how we do from there.  Each league will need an organizer.  The duties of the organizer will be to accept 11 other people into the league, set it up at ESPN at the most conducive draft time and during the season post pretty pictures of the league standings (example from the baseball side of things).  So we need four organizers (I’ve started the first one).

Our fearless leader Grey has used up all of the Taco Bell coupons and is currently mainlining wheat grass and echinacea, so we are looking for a suitable prize for the overall winner of Football RCL. Suggestions in the comments would be appreciated and mulled over by the Razzball brain trust.

1. The Razzball Originals — Doc — doc [at] razzball dot com ***FILLED***

2. Gridiron Gurus — steamer — ime15 [at] hotmail dot com ***FILLED***

3. Fantasy Virgins — IowaCubs — phil.james [at] gmail dot com ***FILLED***

4. Jessup County Lockdown — airlifting — scott.skillings [at] gmail dot com

5. “Chaos Conference” — johnwhorfin — iganderson [at] yahoo dot com ***FILLED***

6. “Project Mayhem” — Andrew — andrew_ausanka_crues [at] yahoo dot com ***FILLED***