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 2010 fantasy football questions regarding their team. We feel this approach will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway). The 2010 Carolina Panthers Fantasy Football Preview comes courtesy of Cat Crave.

1. There has been some talk of Jimmy Clausen competing for the starting job or possibly coming in later in the season.  Matt Moore finished the season strong and got the new contract.  Is there any way Clausen sees the field this season as long as Moore stays healthy?

I don’t see Jimmy Clausen taking over as the starting quarterback at any point this season, unless Moore and Cantwell get hurt — that is, if Cantwell can stave off Clausen throughout training camp and keep the No. 2 job backing up Moore. The only way Clausen might see time as the starting quarterback, is if Moore’s performance is equal to or worse than Jake Delhomme’s was last year, which considering the defenses he played against, most notably Minnesota’s, I don’t see Moore’s production dropping that much, if at all. In addition, Moore has been touted by many fantasy experts as a sleeper pick for this year.

2. Many fake football players are trying to read the tea leaves when it comes to this year’s production from the Panthers’ two outstanding backs, Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.  How do you see the workload being split this season?

I see the workload being split the same way as it was last year, as close to 50/50 as possible. I’m a little concerned about Stewart’s mysterious injury, two weeks after Stew stated he was 100%, but this Achilles heel has been an underlying issue every training camp, and I don’t think there’s anything to really worry about there.

3. Steve Smith put up better numbers with Moore at the helm last season than Delhomme.  Do you believe he will continue that trend this season?

So long as Smith can stay healthy, I definitely think he can put up better numbers than he did last season. Smith is the bell cow receiver on offense. A lot of experts say that because the Panthers are a heavily run-oriented team, that it affects Smith’s draft value. I think it makes Smith more of a steal in the second- and third-rounds, as he always seems to put up solid numbers when he’s healthy, regardless of the offensive attack.

4. Coach Fox has been known not to start rookies if he can help it.  Does Brandon LaFell start the season across from Smith or does Dwayne Jarrett hold him off?

That definitely depends on Jarrett’s progression in his fourth year with this team. Until now, Jarrett’s not really been given a real chance, having Muhsin Muhammad to compete against for the No. 2 job. Which makes sense, because I’d definitely go with the older, proven receiver over a guy who hasn’t really shown enough drive to seriously be considered a contender for a starting spot. Now there are no excuses for Jarrett. It’s his job to lose, and thus-far rookie wideout Brandon LaFell has been building a strong case against Jarrett for the No. 2 receiver job. If Jarrett’s serious, he’s going to really have to try a lot harder than he has been the first full week of training camp.

5. Armanti Edwards is intriguing.  His conversion from quarterback to wide receiver seems to be going well.  With the state of the Panthers’ receivers do you see him making an impact this season?

Edwards is definitely intriguing. He’s been compared to a second-coming of Steve Smith because of his size and dare I say, incendiary speed (shown in college). But he’s also a rookie and so far he’s not really latching onto the receiver plays and tasks. Plus, the heat in training camp is getting to him as well. I don’t think it’s anything to get too worried about, because when you consider he’s a rookie, then you have to figure the nuances of learning a new position, playing at the next level, and all the pressures and stress that go with it, will wear him down some. I don’t see him making much of an impact early on, but as the season wears on, I say by early-to-mid October, we’ll see a different player than we saw at training camp in Spartanburg.

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 2010 fantasy football questions regarding their team. We feel this approach will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway). The 2010 New England Patriots Fantasy Football Preview comes courtesy of Pats Pulpit.

1. Last season Laurence Maroney had a nice stretch of six games where he scored 8 touchdowns, but his yards per carry didn’t top 4 and he lost some of Belichick’s trust with fumbling issues.  Will we see Maroney given the chance to be the lead back or will there be a committee approach?

I think we will see Laurence Maroney get one more shot as the lead back for the Patriots.  I believe that his fumbling issues were an overplayed story line, and they won’t be a problem in 2010 (he hadn’t fumbled since his rookie season).  He was finally able to stay healthy in 2009, and he got rid of his “dancing” style that plagued him his first three seasons in the league.  I’m probably in the minority, but entering a contract season, I think that Laurence Maroney may finally break the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in his career.

While there will be some semblance of a committee, I think Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris are going to become less effective, while Kevin Faulk will retain his role as third down back.  Down the stretch, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Maroney carrying the ball 15-20 times a game, which should make him a good #2 back, at the minimum.

2. Wes Welker surprised a lot of people by participating at OTA’s and making hard cuts.  Do you believe he’ll end up on the PUP list or start the season on the team?

If you asked me two weeks ago, I would probably say that I thought Wes Welker would start the season on the PUP list.  However, now, I think he’ll be ready for the start of the regular season.  You can just never doubt this guy.  That being said, I would expect a slight drop-off in production from Welker in 2010.  With targets like Torry Holt, Taylor Price, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Alge Crumpler, and a healthy Brandon Tate in the mix, there’s only so many catches one man can make.

3. The receiver situation isn’t very clear with Julian Edelman, Torry Holt, Brandon Tate and the uncertainty of Welker.  How do you see the receiver pecking order playing out?

Stemming off the last question, the Patriots added a lot of new targets at the receiver position.  Moss is your number one outside receiver and vertical threat.  After that, it’s a bit unclear.  I think Welker will be back, so he immediately becomes your slot receiver.  After that, the Patriots need another outside target.  Based of mini-camp and the start of training camp, it looks like that player could very well be second year man Brandon Tate.  Julian Edelman would be your #4, or backup slot receiver.  If Welker isn’t back to start the season, Edelman immediately becomes the #2, top slot option.  After Edelman, you’ve got veteran Torry Holt, rookie Taylor Price, as well as Sam Aiken as the top options at the position.  The Patriots could keep seven, but the only lock for a spot is rookie Taylor Price, who was a third round pick.  Torry Holt adds value as an experienced veteran who can do a lot of things for the offense, but his spot may be challenged if the young receivers can step up their games.  Sam Aiken is a very valuable special teams player, but may be tough to keep around considering all of the draft picks the Patriots brought in who may hold special teams value as well.

4. The Patriots drafted two good tight ends in Hernandez and Gronkowski, but it looks like Alge Crumpler will be the starter. Do you see either rookie making a contribution this season?

Actually, to the contrary, I believe that Rob Gronkowski is going to be the starter.  I like Alge Crumpler as a blocking tight end in short yardage packages, but I believe that Gronkowski will be the in-line starting tight end from opening day on.  With his tremendous size (6’6″, 265lbs), he looks like he will be a solid goal line tight end.  I also think that Aaron Hernandez will have a big impact his rookie season.  While the comparisons are certainly premature, there has been a lot of talk that Hernandez could be a Dallas Clark-esque weapon for Tom Brady, and he should certainly see some run this season.  He will have a variety of roles, from fullback, to h-back, to tight end, even to a big wide receiver.  He could also become a threat near the goal line.  While it’s still early, I would expect big contributions from the Patriots’ rookie tight ends this season.

5. Two years removed from his surgery Tom Brady should be ready to move back to elite status, but he still isn’t going as high in drafts as he once was.  How confident are you in Brady and the Patriots’ ability to return to their passing dominance?

I believe that now, two years removed from knee surgery, Tom Brady will be back to form in 2010.  With the weapons the Patriots have added, as well as the boost in confidence Brady has gotten the last few months as his knee regains strength, the sky is the limit for Brady and the Patriots’ offense in 2010.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brady put up 35-40 touchdowns this season.  After all, in his first year back from his injury, he threw  28 touchdowns with Sam Aiken and Joey Galloway as the outside receivers.

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 2010 fantasy football questions regarding their team. We feel this approach will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway). The 2010 Buffalo Bills Fantasy Football Preview comes courtesy of Buffalo Rumblings.

1. Is there a real competition at QB between Edwards and Brohm?  What does Brohm bring to the table that Edwards doesn’t?

There supposedly is a real competition between Trent Edwards and Brian Brohm, with Ryan Fitzpatrick sprinkled in for fun.  Whether or not Chan Gailey has already picked out the starter in his head or if he’ll allow a full fledged battle royale for the job is something we’ll just have to wait to find out.  He’s spoken about developing a pecking order for camp all off-season, but I’m not sure if that’ll include a predetermined starter.  Right now it’s really difficult to figure who might be the favorite, but I’d have to go with Edwards based on experience.  We haven’t seen enough out of Brohm to know what he can or can’t bring to the table.  One thing he does possess that neither Edward or Fitzpatrick have is intrigue and a sense of the unknown.  We’ve only seen Brohm play in one regular season game, albeit a horrible performance against the Falcons last year, so there is still a glimmer of hope that he can step forward.  One thing many Bills fans can agree on is that none of these guys have looked like a long-term solution.

He better. He has to.  I hope so!  The Bills offense has been one of the worst in the league for so long now that any minor improvement will be welcomed.  He will be the third play caller (Curtis Modkins is the official Offensive Coordinator) the Bills have had in the last year.  The constant influx of turmoil hasn’t helped the young players on the Bills offense, so hopefully a steady hand with a plan and some job security will help this unit develop a little bit of consistency.  Gailey’s history seems to indicate the avoidance of a running back by committee approach, so that could be helpful for Fred Jackson or Marshawn Lynch.  There won’t be one RB garnering the majority of the touches, but there will be a significant chunk of the work up for grabs this preseason.  I am of the opinion that CJ Spiller will see carries and touches no matter what this year, but he’s not an every down back.  Jackson and Lynch will have the opportunity to seize control of the starting job and likely the 15 or so carries that will come with it.  I just don’t see Gailey splitting carries between these two.  One will get a large dose of work, while the other is likely to languish as the 3rd RB.  Right now, I’d have to believe Jackson has the advantage and will be given every opportunity to keep the job.  As a result, I think he might benefit most from the hiring of Gailey, at least in the sense of remaining productive and the lead horse at RB.

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 2010 fantasy football questions regarding their team. We feel this approach will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway). The 2010 New York Jets Fantasy Football Preview comes courtesy of The Jets Blog.

1. Shonn Greene put on a show in the playoffs last season and had most fantasy players salivating.  How and how much do you foresee LaDainian Tomlinson impacting Greene’s numbers this season?

It was great to watch Greene down the stretch of the season and into the playoffs, you could see him emerging as a player. Sadly though, the Jets offense derailed in the Colts game when Greene was sidelined due to a rib injury.  As Greene has an exciting but punishing running style durability issues could be a concern during his career … which is why the Jets wanted to find another player who could help carry the load, as Greene’s workload will increase, and Thomas Jones best days are behind him.

I think that it will bear some watching out, but I do imagine that Shonn Greene will average around 20 carries a game, and they’ll work Tomlinson in as necessary .. but due to the “Ground & Pound” style of this team, Tomlinson still might get 10-15 carries a game himself.

2. After Santonio Holmes’ 4 game suspension how do you see him fitting into the offense?  Whose numbers are hurt the most with him in the lineup?

I fully expect that the Jets will throw the ball more than they did last year, but the offense will still center around the running game.

Holmes will be a great addition to the offense, and while there will be more opportunities for the team’s receivers in 2010,  I think Santonio could take some focus away from Edwards and Cotchery both, but Edwards more than Cotchery as Holmes and Edwards have are more similar styles than either do with Jerricho Cotchery, the trustier possession target for this offense.  Once Holmes is back, it sounds like OC Brian Schottenheimer plans to use him all over the field, but that Holmes should see most of his time in the Split End spot as he learns the offense.   As the season progresses, he might be more apt to move around, but as he gets comfortable, it might limit his time on the field.  I do think that Holmes is the team’s most versatile receiver though, so while he’ll have a low value at the start of the season, patience and/or an opportune mid-season trade might be a smart strategy for a fantasy owner before his value jumps come November/December.

3. Dustin Keller made some big plays in the playoffs last season.  Where was that during the regular season? Is there any chance he keeps that playoff juju going this year and becomes a #1 tight end?

Believe it or not, Dustin Keller was the very first TE or WR taken in the 2008 NFL Draft, and he is the exact type of Tight End / H-Back that Brian Schottenheimer had always wanted since arriving in New York back in 2006.  Keller was a favorite for a time of Brett Favre, and as we saw during the playoffs that Keller became a favorite target of Mark Sanchez.  After just 2 TDs all season in 2009, Keller exploded with 3 TDs in as many games in the playoffs.  Keller is still working on refining his blocking, but over the course of his first two years in the league, he’s been a good target, but I think consistency with his QB will pay off now in his third year.  he could be a nice sleeper TE for fantasy owners this year.

Just to note, I don’t think that Keller’s statistical absence during the 2009 season was entirely his fault.  Mark Sanchez was playing terribly for much of the season, and was making some very ill-advised throws.  More than anything, I think that Sanchez learned to play it safe as the season wore on, and I think that the rookie QB also learned to be content in taking some shorter gains over longer ones, so Keller became a big beneficiary of that lesson from his QB.

4. Joe McKnight has ability, but of course he isn’t slated to get much work this season.  Who would you rather have backing up Greene on your fantasy team, LDT or McKnight?

I would have to go with LaDainian Tomlinson.  While McKnight will be the team’s quick “change of pace” running back, I don’t think he’s going to be the go-to guy should Greene face an injury during the course of the season.

5. The Jets’ defense is easily the first D going in most fantasy drafts.  That seems like a no brainer.  But in IDP leagues what Jets defensive player do you think will give you the most bang for your buck?

It’s been a while since I’ve been in an IDP league, but as I recall, it’ really comes down to tackles, tackles and more tackles.  If that’s how your league scores, then David Harris would be a must.  In Year One of the Rex Ryan regime, Harris was more often the guy who handled the majority of rushing tackles on the defense, while Bart Scott generally used his kamikaze style on the lead blockers.  Harris and Scott do “pass the MIKE” during a game, but in the end, it’s Harris job to corral the ball carrier more than it is Scott’s.  In addition to his tackles, with  2 Forced Fumbles, 5.5 Sacks, and 2 Interceptions, Harris should also provide a few extra points on a semi-regular basis.

The one caution I would add is that the Jets defense plays to get OFF the field, so readers might be better suited with someone who’s going to be on the field a little more based on the competence level of the entire defense (see Carolina Panthers’ Jon Beason).

6. I haven’t seen any pics of Coach Ryan since his surgery.  How is he looking?

No one is going to mistake him for Kate Moss, but he’s definitely looking thinner.  You can see some recent footage of him from the recent Hard Knocks preview commercial for HBO, he looks downright svelte!

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 2010 fantasy football questions regarding their team. We feel this approach will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway). The 2010 Houston Texans Fantasy Football Preview comes courtesy of  Stephanie Stradley of Texans Chick and FanHouse fame.

1. The biggest question for fantasy players revolves around the running back situation.  Who ends up winning the the starting position or at the very least, who ends up with the most touches?

The running backs who get through camp the healthiest and practicing best will see the field first.  If it is roughly the same, Gary Kubiak will reward veterans over rookies, so I can see a combo of Arian Foster and Steve Slaton.  I could see Slaton taking the role that was first envisioned for him when he came to the team–third down back.  I’m concerned for Slaton’s health over the course of the season because of his off-season neck surgery (x-ray’s here).  The Texans didn’t draft Ben Tate in the second round because they wanted him to sit but they will want him to earn his time.  They want their high round picks to contribute.  I’m seeing him getting more touches as the season progresses.  Both Clinton Portis (2nd round pick) and Steve Slaton (3rd round pick) had monster seasons as rookies after getting more time as incumbents ahead of them got injured, and the coaches felt they were ready.

By the end of the season, I think Ben Tate gets the most touches, and I think new offensive coordinator Rick Dennison will make it a priority that the run offense complements the rest of the offense.  Pre-Alex Gibbs work with the offense, it looked like the Texans could either run the ball well at times in the game or pass the ball well but not make both work together.  In Slaton’s first season, there were times where the offense looked like it was working together.  Last year, due to injuries on the line and at running back, just from observation it looked like the run and pass offense weren’t working well together again.  When the running game and passing game work together in this offense, it can be very difficult to stop.  I think Dennison will help in doing this.

2.  I like Jacoby Jones and was wanting to see more of him last season as Kevin Walter did little to nothing with Owen Daniels out for the season.  Coach Kubiak has been heaping praise on Jones, but will that translate to playing time this season or is Walter’s veteran stability going to keep him in the #2 position?

I see Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones as being co-#2s.  Walter is more the receiver you use when you want a key possession catch, and Jones will be more used in a playmaker role.  This is a key year for Jones.  He has had some maturity issues with a past DWI, and being late to meetings, and this is a critical year to see if his maturity has caught up to his undoubted physical skills.

3. Owen Daniels was on a wicked pace when he went down once again last season.  He needs to prove he can stay healthy so he can get paid.  I know you can’t say if he’ll stay healthy or not, but if he does, do you see him getting back onto the pace he was last season or will the number of injuries finally start to slow him down?

The tight end position is very important to the Texans offense, and at the time Owen Daniels went down, they had a series of injuries to their other tight ends and really had to juggle a bit.  The Texans used a combination of players to pick up the receiving targets and actually, the offensive efficiency didn’t go down by Football Outsider measures.

The Texans expect Owen Daniels to not work much in camp but that he will be ready for the season.  I think they believe he will be ready, but that they drafted a tight end again reflects the uncertainty with his injury and contract situation.

You should carefully watch the TE situation through camp and the preseason. The Texans tight end coach is very good, and Owen Daniels had a nice rookie season.  If OD is not ready to go, whoever is his replacement could have a big season.  I’d put James Casey as a good candidate–he has very very good hands, can catch some crazy passes, and Kubiak has talked about settling him down at just the tight end position.  He’s a really hard worker and tough, and Kubiak likes rewarding that.

4. Coach Kubiak doesn’t tolerate fumbling it seems.  Is that just his MO or was last season a special case?  Will he yank whatever RB is in there if he fumbles again this season?

Running backs have two primary rules with the Texans: 1. Always get positive yards; 2. Don’t fumble.  Their philosophy is that the defense usually has better athletes on the line but by keeping the defenses off-balance by disguising whether they are going to run or pass, it takes away from that athleticism. To help do this, it is a priority to keep down and distance reasonable so that they have few obvious passing downs.  Dancing in the backfield getting negative yards or putting the ball on the ground takes the offense out of their game.  But this is not just a running back issue:: the only game where David Carr got benched by Kubiak was when he was having issues with ball security. Last year, they had no clear favorite to be the running back of choice so when players had issues with fumbling, Kubiak sometimes changed backs.  Slaton has suggested that some of his ball security issues may have had to do with his neck problem. I think the quick hook on running backs in 2009 had some to do with overall effectiveness, and timing of when fumbles happened in games.  They were trying to find any running back who could be consistent. I think that Kubiak would prefer not to have to do this.

5. What is the newest on Andre Johnson wanting more money?  Is there any chance he holds out?

I don’t see Andre Johnson being a contractual problem.  I believe he wants to get to the playoffs more than he wants extra money this year.

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 2010 fantasy football questions regarding their team. We feel this approach will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway). The 2010 Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Football Preview comes courtesy of  The Falcoholic.

1. Last season the Falcons passed the ball 59% of the time, whereas the season before they passed 44% of the time.  This seems mainly due to the loss of Michael Turner.  Was there any other reason behind that?  And now with Turner back do you see that number moving down near 44% again?

I think you’re going to see a very near 50/50 split between passes and carries this season, with perhaps a slight tilt toward the ground game. With healthy backs, this is a running team first and foremost. That said, Coach Mike Smith’s confidence in Matt Ryan appears to be growing by the week here in the off-season, and he could be in line for a big season.

In the end, you’ll see balance.

2. Harry Douglas looked poised to compete for the #2 wide receiver position, but has had trouble recovering from his torn ACL. Does Michael Jenkins hold the #2 slot again this season?

We’re all excited to see Harry Douglas return to the field. That said, I’d be stunned if he took the #2 slot away from Jenkins. Fair or not, Jenkins has developed a reputation as a top-flight blocker, something advanced metrics strenuously disagree with. I think the prototypical #2 in this team’s system is a tall guy with good hands. We’re still looking for the long-term solution there.

3. If you were to draft Michael Turner who would you want to back him up? Jason Snelling or Jerious Norwood?

I’ve always been a big fan of Jerious Norwood, but in this stage of their respective careers, I’d prefer Jason Snelling. He’s a classic big back who demonstrated in 2009 that he can carry the load, and his goal-line struggles can be improved with a little conditioning. Norwood is a great home run threat, but injuries have been hurting his production and there are serious doubts about his ability to handle 15-20 carries a game.

4. Is there any reason to think Matt Ryan won’t have a productive comeback season?  Now that he’s in his third year do you see coach Smith giving him more ability to change plays at the line of scrimmage?

He’s going to get every opportunity to succeed. He’s spent a significant portion of his off-season watching tape of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, and the team is really opening up the playbook and focusing on the no-huddle offense. That should give Ryan a chance to really take over games. This will be the season where we see if he’s an elite or merely a good quarterback.

5. If an offensive starter was injured and out for the season, what position would you feel most comfortable with the backup taking over the starting role?

At this point, the single position where I’d feel most comfortable would be at guard. If we lost Justin Blalock or Harvey Dahl, rookie Mike Johnson looks like the real deal at the position. He’ll probably have a learning curve, but Blalock has been only semi-effective anyways.

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 2010 fantasy football questions regarding their team. We feel this approach will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway). The 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Fantasy Football Preview comes courtesy of Arrowhead Pride, a Kansas City Chiefs blog.

1. Dwayne Bowe seems to have the ability to be an elite receiver, but had an extremely disappointing 2009 season.  He had a lot of changes and problems with, a new coach, new quarterback, a 4 game suspension and scrutinized work ethic.  Will his second year with Haley and Cassel and now Weis bring a turnaround or is he just not cut out for eliteness?

Well, it depends on who you ask. There are two schools of thought with Dwayne Bowe.

First, there are the folks that think he’s immature, lacks the work ethic and motivation to succeed beyond what he’s already done in the NFL. These people are validated by Bowe’s 2009 season where he came into camp out of shape, consistently lacked concentration, was benched by the coach and ultimately suspended for taking a diuretic (he claims).

Second, there are folks who believe he’s got the talent and he’ll “get it” this season and turn it on. Many people don’t realize how successful Bowe was in his first two seasons with 2,000 yards receiving. That’s not common with receivers. Those are good numbers. Bowe has demonstrated he can play.

Whether he puts it all together and gets back on track, it depends on who you ask.

2. Last season we at Razzball kept deriding coach Haley for not giving Jamaal Charles a chance earlier.  And now Thomas Jones enters the scene.  Did Charles’ shoulder surgery have anything to do with bring Jones in, or do they just not trust Charles to hold up to 20+ carries a game? And how do you see the two being used?

I think it has less to do with Jamaal Charles and more to do with Thomas Jones. Todd Haley and Scott Pioli have said that they’re all about bringing in good football players and Jones is a good football player. Just as importantly, he’s a team leader and the Chiefs can’t go light on team leaders at this point. I don’t think Charles’ offseason shoulder surgery was a major factor. It was an injury that has been going on since high school and he told me after one game that he has to pop it back in throughout the game occasionally.

Jones is just a good football player and the Chiefs aren’t in the business of passing up good players, regardless of where they play.

As for how they’ll be used, I suspect you’ll see something in the neighborhood of a 60/40 split in favor of Charles. Jones will be your grind-it-out guy — something the Chiefs had trouble doing when holding a lead in the second half. And Charles will be used a lot of different ways. This gives them an opportunity to create more situations for Charles to get into space and show his biggest advantage — his speed.

3. Matt Cassel was a disappointment last season, was it due to a lack of skill, the poor offensive line or both? Do you think Charlie Weis can help turn Cassel around? If not, is this his last chance with the Chiefs?

Tough to tell at this point. I don’t think it was a lack of preparation because Matt Cassel was always called the hardest working guy on the team. Was it a lack of skill? I don’t think so because he demonstrated in New England that, when in the right situation, he can put up very good numbers. Was it a poor offensive line? That’s a big part of it, at least the first half of the season. He got knocked around a good bit and rushed. Cassel has a tendency to hold onto the ball a little longer than usual and when your offensive line isn’t top tier, that can be a problem.

Charlie Weis can turn Cassel around. There is no reason to think he won’t when you look at Weis’ last decade of work: Tom Brady, Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen. When those players were with Weis, they were among the best in the country. Cassel has the work ethic, Weis has demonstrated he has the coaching ability so, frankly, it’d be a disappointment if Cassel didn’t take a fairly significant leap in 2010.

4. Dexter McCluster is getting some rave reviews already.  Where do you think he’ll have the most impact in his rookie year?

He’ll have the most impact at receiver, in the slot. He’ll be battling Jerheme Urban to be the third receiver. Urban may get it after it in the early going because he’s a veteran but McCluster will come on. He’s smart, listens to his coaches and is willing to work. That’s a good combination.

Here’s a big reason why I think McCluster could see significant action: One of the biggest things Weis and the Chiefs have been working on with Cassel is getting the ball out quicker. What’s quicker than a target like McCluster in the slot? After watching him in drills in OTAs this spring, I can tell you no one makes cuts like this guy. It’s like a video game watching him do simple drills.

(Note: In two years, once Madden takes notice, McCluster will be one of the better video game players. Think Darren Sproles but as a legit receiver.)

McCluster will also see some time at running back in special packages but at this point we’re not quite sure what those are or how often they’ll be used. But he’ll be in the backfield. You can also expect him to return some kicks (along with rookie Javier Arenas).

5. I have to go back to Charles since he’s a favorite here at Razzball.  We have him ranked 10th overall and feel like his ability to work in space will keep him from getting squared up, while Thomas Jones can take the brunt of the swinging gate o-line hard hits.  Are we too optimistic?  What stats do you think he will end up with?

Yeah, I think you’re too optimistic. It’s nothing against Charles but the system.

The Chiefs pay attention to trends in the NFL. They know they have something special in Charles but they also know running backs — when used as the feature back — don’t last that long. A few years, tops. They’ll want to preserve Charles and they’ll do that by splitting the carries with Jones (though Charles will get more). My guess is that you’ll see Charles pass 1,000 yards because he’s got big play ability and Jones won’t be too far behind.

Here’s something you should know: Todd Haley loves Thomas Jones. Loves him. He won’t be afraid to give Jones plenty of carries, which ain’t a good thing for Charles fantasy holders (but good for the Chiefs!). Only Adrian Peterson has more yards than Jones in the last three seasons so the Chiefs feel he still has significant carries left in him.

I know Charles had a pretty sick second half of the season but beware fantasy owners: This won’t be a breakout, 1,700 yard season from Charles. Expect similar numbers to last year. It’s not his ability, it’s the system.