Fantasy Football Advice

There is no off season here at Razzball (except for that 48 hour bender right after the Super Bowl). We’ve already got ourselves a slow mock draft happening to kick off the beginning of the 2010-2011 season.  Yes, there will be a lot of changes as the so-called off season moves players around and brings in new, younger ones, but doing mocks is a great way to see how others value players and helps solidify where you value players.  Here are my co-conspirator mockaletes.

1. Matt Schauf – RapidDraft.com

2. Melissa Jacobs - TheFootballGirl.com

3. Melissa Greenhawt – GoGameFace.com

4. Chet Gresham – This Guy

5. Jim Day - FFWhiz.com

6. Charlie Tourtillotte — Tourinct

7. Mike Clay – FantasyDC.com

8. Steve Adler - FantasyDaddy.com

9. Paul M. Bourdett – BaseHeads.com

10. Drew Silva – Rotoworld.com

11. Bryan Fontaine – RookieBlitz.com

12. Knox Bardeen – Fanhouse.com

We’re still mocking each other so I’ll keep you updated on our progress.  My picks are in bold.  Here are the first three rounds for your amusement:

Round One

1. Maurice Jones Drew

2. Chris Johnson

3. Adrian Peterson

4. Ray Rice

5. Michael Turner

6. Andre Johnson

7. Frank Gore

8. Steven Jackson

9. Jamaal Charles

10. Matt Forte

11. Aaron Rodgers

12. Ryan Grant

– The first round had most of the usual suspects in it, but MJD at #1 was a little surprising. He’s in my 1st tier and I can see him being a #1 pick, but I’m a little worried about Garrard getting him to the goal line as much as he needs. Matt defends his pick here.

– I felt good about getting Ray Rice 4th.  If I had to choose a draft position it would be one of the top 4 or at the turn at 11/12.  I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the top 4 picks and if you get 4th you don’t have to decide!

– Drew went with Forte at #10 which is within the realm of where his ADP will be, but I will probably pass on him unless it’s a ppr league.  Martz likes to use his running backs in the passing game, a lot.

– Aaron Rodgers will be in the running for the #1 quarterback off the board, but after last year’s ten 4,ooo yard passers, I’ll be waiting on a quarterback.

– Since I’m pro Chris Johnson, getting him at #2 is good value, but no picks really stood out to me as steals.  I have Jamaal Charles ranked higher than he went, but that second tier is pretty fluid with Gore, A.J., SJax and Charles.

Round Two

13. Drew Brees

14. Larry Fitzgerald

15. Peyton Manning

16. Rashard Mendenhall

17. Calvin Johnson

18. Reggie Wayne

19. Pierre Thomas

20. DeAngelo Williams

21. Chris Wells

22. Philip Rivers

23. Tom Brady

24. Miles Austin

– The second round saw a big run on quarterbacks.  Once again I just can’t grab a QB with the first 2 picks.  It’s against my code of fake football ethics.  Running backs or wide receivers for me please.  My options at RB were dwindling fast, but I had a difficult time choosing between Beanie, Moreno and Benson.  But for my money, Beanie has the highest upside of the 3.  Whisenhunt won’t put as much of the game in Leinart’s hands, especially with a back as talented as Wells showing his worth toward the end of last season.

– I am a little worried about DeAngelo Williams after Jon Stewart went crazy after D. Willy went down toward the end of the season.  I could even see Stewart out playing him this year, but any way you look at it he isn’t guaranteed the bulk of the carries.

– The same could be true for Pierre Thomas, but I am a little more concerned about him staying healthy than being the primary back.

– I think one of the best picks of round 2 was by Matt who grabbed Miles Austin with the last pick.  I thought about snagging him, but just liked Wells too much.  Austin could easily be a top 3 wide receiver with a full season as the #1 WR in Dallas. Witten will be his only real rival for looks unless Jones gets an itchy finger and tries for a Boldin/Marshall trade.

Round Three

25. Randy Moss

26. Brandon Marshall

27. Ronnie Brown

28. Vincent Jackson

29. Greg Jennings

30. Roddy White

31. Matt Schaub

32. Tony Romo

33. DeSean Jackson

34. Steve Slaton

35. Knowshon Moreno

36. Marion Barber

– It’s interesting to see how far Randy Moss fell.  Even in a not great season he was a fantasy stud with his ability to get into the endzone, but he is also starting to show his age whileWelker could be gone for a big chunk of time which will get Moss a lot of attention if Edelman doesn’t go nuts.  I like Moss here, but I’m still trying to decide if I like him earlier as well.

– I felt good about Vincent Jackson in the third.  The Chargers will once again have to rely on the passing game and VJax should continue to improve.

– Brandon Marshall’s value is still up in the air since we aren’t sure where he’ll end up, but if he can have a big year with Orton, he has a shot of having a big year anywhere.

– I think both Slaton and Barber went too early as they don’t have the starting job wrapped up for next season.  I won’t own a Texan’s running back this season unless they trade for Purple Jesus or his like.  I also won’t own a Cowboy running back unless Felix Jones really slips.  Jones could get the most touches next season, but his injury history is worrisome.  I’ll pass.

– My favorite pick of round 3 is probably Knowshon Moreno.  The Broncos are a bit of a question mark with Josh McDaniels taking multiple power trips, but Moreno is their back and Buckhalter, though awesome last year, isn’t getting any younger and should continue to pop up on the injury report.  And Moreno will have a full off season and preseason compared to his holdout last year.

Another weekend of playoff games, another blowout fest until the very last game, but even that game wasn’t really in doubt toward the end.  Hopefully next week we’ll get a little more excitement with Favre in the bayou and Manning navigating around Revis Island.  Here are my thoughts and postulations and consternations on the divisional games.  Read at your own risk:

Brett Favre: No matter what you think of him he will always be remembered for his “pants on the ground” locker room celebration, which should automatically disqualify him from Canton.  Favre threw for four TD’s and 234 yards while humiliating the Cowboys and gets to play in another dome on Sunday which he seems to like.

Sidney Rice: He’s just getting stronger in the big games and will continue to be Favre’s favorite receiver.  He tallied 141 yards and 3 touchdowns and is slowly rising on draft boards.  Much of his value is tied to Favre so if you want him on your team next season you’ll have to put up with Favreageddon this offseason.

Tony Romo: The Vikings absolutely demolished the Cowboy’s offensive line and pillaged Tony Romo’s manhood.  For as often as he was running from Flash Dance Headbanded Mullet Man it’s amazing he didn’t throw more than one interception.  There is no reason to think he won’t be a top fantasy QB again next season.

Felix Jones: Watching him run in comparison to Marion Barber was a bit like watching a remake of the Tortoise and the Hare, but in this version the hare’s wife is being held hostage by terrorists and he must beat the tortoise or his wife gets it.  Barber has beaten his body to death with the way he runs and looks like he’s lost a step.  Jones has given us some hope that he can stay healthy while getting 15 carries a game.  I am not going to feel good about taking either, but Jones will get his opportunity next season.

Jason Witten: With no time to pass Tony Romo had to get it off quickly to Witten so his 10 receptions for 98 yards isn’t too surprising. He started off slow this season, but finished strong.  He’s not as athletic and fast as Gates, Davis, Finley, etc, but he’ll continue to be productive in the Cowboy’s dynamic offense.  Thankfully you’ll be able to get him later in the draft next season.

Mark Sanchez: He’s doing his best Trent Dilfer impersonation, but I’m still sticking to my prediction that the passing game will prevail and that Peyton Manning will pick them apart, but as Sanchez develops he’ll have a great running game and defense to compliment his skills.

Shonn Greene: He ran for 128 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and has seemingly taken over as the lead back and is making a strong case for starting camp as the #1 running back next season. It’s going to be hard not to push Greene on you next season, but there is a good chance Tom Jones will be back and Leon Washington should be ready to go as well.  It will be extremely hard to get Greene in a position of any value.

Philip Rivers: It felt a little like the Bolts took the Jets too lightly.  I could be wrong, but Rivers had only thrown 9 interceptions all year and threw 2 killer INT’s in this all important game.  Nate Kaeding didn’t help the situation, but Rivers just didn’t look sharp or ready for how well the Jets played.

Vincent Jackson: The Jets tried to confuse the Bolts by not shadowing VJax with Revis, and even though VJax finished the game with 111 yards they kept San Diego off balance. He was a great value pick this year, but will probably go higher and be drafted about where he should be next season.

LaDainian Tomlinson: Even though he was a TD machine once again this season he has lost more than a step.  Sproles clearly outplayed him against the Jets.  He will have to take a big pay cut to be the goal line back next year or he’ll be released.

Reggie Bush: In the rushing matchups article I wrote, “Reggie Bush will either have 10 touches and 3 touchdowns or 5 touches and a big fat Kardashian butt zero.” Nice riding of the fence Doc! Yeah, well, that’s what I do.  He ended up being much closer to the first prediction than the second with 2 TDs and around 200 total yards.  Hopefully this will keep people drafting him somewhat early so you can take someone who will get more than 5-10 touches a game and can stay healthy.

Drew Brees: He accumulated 247 yards and 3 touchdowns on his way to yet another great game.  You can’t say enough good things about Brees so I won’t try. He gets the Vikings suspect pass defense next week and his O-line should be more stable than Dallas’.  In the last 8 games the Saints have allowed 1.1 sacks per game which is second in the league.

Marques Colston: He looked like the elite receiver he should have been all year.  He’s just too tall and athletic and as long as he’s getting the opportunities I think he’ll have a good playoff run.

Jeremy Shockey: The grease from his hair was shipped in special from The Jersey Shore, but his doucheness was all his own.  He caught a TD while limping around, which I have to believe was done to bang more drunk chicks.

Kurt Warner: I guess Kurt didn’t pray hard enough or God just loves New Orleans more.  Wait, what was the whole hurricane thing about?  Whatever the reason, the Saints just destroyed the Cardinals.  Warner had to leave the game before halftime after getting blindsided and then he left the game again because his team had also been blindsided.  Will Warner retire? I think it’s probably 50/50 right now, but Cardinal’s fans better hope Leinart isn’t their QB next season.

Larry Fitzgerald: Tony Siragusa made an extremely astute observation when he said the Cardinals need to throw it to Larry Fitzgerald more. After they were getting killed they finally started throwing to him and he ended up with decent stats, but it was way too little too late.  Fitz is still an elite receiver and will go early in drafts, but keep an eye on that QB sitch.

Beanie Wells: He scored a TD, but that was about it. Beanie will be the main back going into next year, at least by a small margin, but he still isn’t trusted to block.  If he can get that squared away and take over on the goal line he could be a top RB next season, but don’t bank on it yet.  Hightower is trusted and that goes a long way.

Peyton Manning: Not since Australopithecus began to walk upright have we seen such evolution in the passing game. Or maybe it’s just that the NFL doesn’t let defenders touch receivers or quarterbacks, but whatever the reason, Peyton Manning can take over a game unlike any player in the NFL  I’m having maybe a bit too much love for Peyton’s skills, but he seems to have taken his game to another level.  The Ravens played extremely well on defense, but Manning took what he was given and didn’t try forcing the ball and it never really looked to be in doubt.  He gets to actually play the Jets this weekend and I bet you can guess who I think will win.

Reggie Wayne: He’s an elite receiver and showed it by catching 8 balls for 63 yards and a touchdown against a tough Ravens defense.  Now, as long as he doesn’t go bustin’ caps in random asses he could someday be the most beloved Indy receiver of all time.

Donald Brown: He split time with Mike Hart while backing up Joseph Addai, but on a couple runs showed some burst and moves that Hart just doesn’t have.  Expectations were fairly high for him this season, but hopefully his poor year will drop him into a manageable draft slot where he could have some value next season.

Joe Flacco: He was completely out played by the Colts, but I still think he has the ability to be a very good QB in this here league.  His injuries, lack of explosive wide receivers, and the emergence of Ray Rice made this season a running game centric one, and if they give him some help at receiver Flacco could easily balance out that offense.

Ray Rice: The Colts contained him, but “containing” him equals 127 total yards. I’ve said it before, but if McGahee is let go, Ray Rice will probably be my #3 overall pick ahead of MJD.  Unlike Matt Forte, Ray Rice can make his own holes and break long runs.  Forte and Slaton have left me a little gun shy of young running backs coming off big years, but Rice will not disappoint.

I amazingly predicted yesterday’s games correctly so there is a good chance I will go o-fer today.  But I’ll give the old MFA in Poetry from a small art school try! I’ll take a look at all four of the playoff games on Monday, so for now get your game face on (not your O face please) and get ready for some hot NFL on FOX and CBS action!

Dallas @ Minnesota 1:00 ET

Fox Announcers: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman

There is a good chance that one of the QB’s in this game will look like a little kid out there, be a gunslinger, or heal blind children with his incredible pocket presence, but only one can move on to the NFC Championship game.  Will it be the Viking Song or Tony Romo?  Amazingly there are other players in this game and they also will have some bearing on the outcome.  The teams matchup well, both have good quarterbacks, a good running game, the ability to pressure the quarterback, a good run defense, and a somewhat suspect pass defense.

It’s hard to discount the roll that the Cowboys have been on so I won’t try too hard.  Yes, the Eagles aren’t as good as they appeared to be, but the Cowboys made extremely short work of them and looked great on the road in New Orleans who just dismantled the Cardinals.  That’s my round-a-bout way of saying the Cowboys are for real, but are the Vikings?  They slumped hard toward the end of the season and righted the ship against the towel throwing in Giants.  So both teams have a winning taste in their mouth and should come into the game with confidence.  But which team will end the game with confidence? I don’t know! Answer your damn question already!

Ok, ok, I’m taking the Cowboys.  Favre has avoided making poor decisions this season, but DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer are good and should force him to make throws he doesn’t want to.  And I no longer doubt Tony Romo.  I probably should, but the guy has made good decisions this year, and even in the games that count.  Yes, Jared Allen was supermulletman early in the season, but with help he can be stopped, run at him and double him, and don’t let him play the Packers in which he tallied 7.5 of his 14.5 sacks. Adrian Peterson has had trouble breaking 100 yards rushing this year and can’t seem to take over games and I believe that is more the o-line’s fault than his.  The same o-line that will need to protect Favre.  The Boys have the offense to beat any team, but I believe it’s their defense that wins this one for them.

NY Jets @ San Diego 4:40 ET

CBS Announcers: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms

I’d like to have some crazy shamanistic insight into how and why Vincent Jackson will be able to escape from Revis Island, but I don’t.  It probably won’t happen, and if it does there will be plenty of casualties.  The good thing for the Chargers is that VJax isn’t their only offensive weapon.  Gates, Floyd, Sproles, LT, and Naanee can all catch the ball.  Does this mean the Jets will get blown out by the Chargers unstoppable offense? No. The Jets pass defense is good, but just as you saw a good Ravens defense get picked apart by Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers can do the same to the Jets.

The Chargers averaged 26 points a game whereas the Jets gave up a measly 12.  Something has to give and I think it will be the Jets D.  Why are you so confident? Good question, but stop bothering me! I believe the Chargers will force Mark Sanchez to throw the ball, and not those out routes and little roll out misdirection high school routes, some real honest to Betsy passes that he has to decide, ok, who do I throw this thing to? And if what we’re hearing about Shawne Merriman and his health is true, then we could see Sanchez scrambling for a hot dog.

As I’ve said over and over again, I believe the run and D way of winning championships is over.  Yes, you need some semblance of a defense to win a game, but the Colts’ defense isn’t why they won yesterday.  Yes, it was good, but it went against a team where the engine (as Ray Lewis likes to call the QB) wasn’t up to code.  Is this game The Jets’ defense vs. Philip Rivers? No, it’s Rivers vs. Sanchez. That’s the way the NFL wants it. They want their marquee names to have the most impact on the game so they’ve made it nearly impossible to beat their heads in.  The Chargers should win at home.

Last week I included a little “What to Watch” question with each game. I started to do the same this week, then I realized that I would mostly be watching the same thing in each game — will the team that had a first round bye week exhibit any signs of rust? Especially the passing games that rely on timing and game experience — will the QB’s be throwing behind crossing routes and overthrowing deep posts?

Saturday 4:30 EST

Arizona @ New Orleans

What’s left to say about Kurt Warner? He’ll occasionally take too many risks against a good pass defense, but then we thought Green Bay was a good pass defense, and he shredded them. Boldin is more likely to play this week, but his presence may actually hurt the available fantasy value here — Breaston and Doucet excelled in Boldin’s absence, but if he plays a significant portion of the game, the looks will be spread out more. Fitzgerald remains a top option. Other than Darren Sharper’s ball-hawking skills, the Saints’ secondary hasn’t been great in the last half of the season, so expect another shootout.

ARI: Warner +1, Fitzgerald +1, Boldin -1, Breaston -1 (+1 if Boldin sits), Doucet 0

The question here, of course, is the same question that applies to any of the teams that enjoyed a Round 1 bye. How rusty will Drew Brees and the Saints’ offense be after taking a full 2 weeks off? The Cardinals defense certainly didn’t shut Aaron Rodgers down, so at least the Saints don’t have a tough matchup. And, those 2 weeks should be enough for players to recover from most minor injuries. Coming in rested and healthy could be a factor against a team that played an overtime game last week.

NO: Brees +1, Colston +1, Meachem +1, Henderson 0, Shockey 0

Saturday 8:15 EST

Baltimore @ Indianapolis

Yeesh. When a team is so committed to (and successful at) running the ball, it makes it hard to rely on their passing game. I think the Colts defense is in much better shape than the Patriots were last week, so I think Flacco will have to pass more than 10 times, but still…it’s clear that the Ravens feel no compulsion to throw any more than they absolutely have to. Heap continues to have issues with his back, so I’d avoid him.

BAL: Flacco -2, Mason -2, Heap -2

Tough call here — the Ravens have been putting up excellent defensive numbers for the last half of the season, and repeatedly forced Brady to throw underneath for limited yardage. I don’t expect them to keep Manning in check like that, but it’s at best an average matchup for the Colts, and probably a mild downgrade is more realistic. My feeling is that Ed Reed will spend more time helping cover Wayne and Garcon and that there may be room for Dallas Clark to rack up some yardage.

IND: Manning -1, Wayne -1, Clark 0, Garcon 0, Collie 0

Sunday 1:00 EST

Dallas @ Minnesota

Romo is rolling right now, and unless Jared Allen and the Vikings line can put a lot more pressure on him than the Eagles did, I expect continued success. I was surprised that Witten wasn’t more involved last week. Miles Austin remains the clear #1 option. Roy Williams was decent but he’s too risky to rely on. Don’t forget that Crayton gets a little boost in return yardage leagues.

DAL: Romo +1, Austin +1, Williams 0, Crayton 0, Witten +1

Hard to argue against what the Vikings did in Week 17, but I’ll try — the Giants were getting worse each week and gave up on that game before it even started, and the Dallas defense has been steadily improving. We know that when Favre is unhurried, he can zing it with the best of them. I’m a believer in the Cowboy’s D-line, though, and I expect at least one or two mistakes from Favre. Slight downgrade.

MIN: Favre -1, Rice 0, Berrian -1, Harvin -1, Shiancoe 0

Sunday 4:40 EST

New York Jets @ San Diego

Cotchery isn’t a bad play in PPR formats, but apart from him, there isn’t much here. There’s basically 2 outcomes for Sanchez right now — failure (which looks like 100 yards and 2 or 3 int’s), or success (which looks like 160 yards with 1 TD and no picks). The difference between those 2 matters a lots to the Jets, but the upside is so limited for fantasy purposes that it’s better just staying away. Keller is a long-shot TE option just for his big play ability as evidenced last week, but don’t be surprised at a 2 catch, 28 yard week.

NYJ: Sanchez -1, Cotchery 0, Edwards -1, Keller 0

The unfortunate situation here is that V-Jax may just get erased by Revis. I don’t see any situation that doesn’t involve a serious cut in his production. Fortunately, Rivers still has Gates (who presents a huge matchup problem for the Jets), as well as Floyd, Naanee, Tomlinson, and Sproles. A mild downgrade just for losing V-Jax as a serious weapon, but don’t feel too bad about it.

SD: Rivers -1, Jackson -2, Gates +2, Floyd +1

In July and August we were so young and unspoiled.  Then, September rolled around and we could barely contain our naughty parts.  But the season brought with it some harsh realities.  One being that you have no control of what happens on the field!  Now, it’s January; cold and dark and even if you won your league, there were times this season you doubted who you were, questioned your faith, and felt the taint of bad decisions. Well, today we’re going to take a look back on the 2009 season without malice or bias. Oh, wait, WITH malice and bias, a lot of it.  We’ll use the standard ESPN scoring for the official final rankings and see where we had them in preseason and then make excuses as to why we were wrong.

This was the year of the quarterback. A total of 10 QB’s had over 4,000 yards which smashes the record of 7 in 2007.  I’m sure this has nothing to do with new rules that cart quarterbacks around in Pope Mobiles.

1. Aaron Rodgers: ARodg was sacked over and over until he thought he was a defective weeble.  But he took his lumps and the Pack Attack finally turned things around.  His 3rd down prowess was unreal and his scrambling ability boosted his stats once again with 5 rushing touchdowns.  Now, if he could just stop doing that Freddy Mitchell championship belt move.  Preseason Rank #5, 2009 Projections:  4000/29/13 – 2/125, Final Numbers:  4434/30/7 — 5/316

2. Drew Brees: He is by far the most reliable QB year to year for fantasy right now.  I don’t usually recommend taking a QB in the first round, and I probably never will, but I did give this little tidbit, “Will Rivers or Rodgers give you comparable numbers in the 3rd or early 4th round?  Maybe, possibly, and could be, but will Brees give you top 5 overall fantasy numbers? I think so.” And that’s me quoting me, stealing from Grey. Rodgers did give you the numbers so it was worth waiting on him, but Brees is not going to disappoint.  Preseason Rank #1, 2009 Projections:  4650/36/14, Final Numbers:  4388/34/11 — 2/33

3. Brett Favre: Um, yeah, Favre wasn’t around when I made the projections, but I’m not going to blow smoke up your arse and tell you we’re going to a Charlie Weis welcome to Kansas City BBQ party.  My reaction to the signing was, “This should help most of the fantasy prospects of the Vikings, at least until Brett’s arm flops off his torso and shimmies down a Metrodome drainage pipe.”  His arm stayed attached and he forgot how to throw interceptions.  His season really was nothing short of miraculous. Preseason Rank DNR,  Final Numbers:  4202/33/7

4. Peyton Manning: It’s Peyton Manning, what can I say.  The guy is too good to be real.  If there were Stepford Quarterbacks he would be their leader. He’s not slowing down.  He threw a few more picks than we are used to, but he also had his most attempts since ‘02.  This all came after Anthony Gonzalez went out early in the first game of the season. He took two green receivers in Collie and Garcon and made them a cool shade of (whatever color denotes good). Preseason Rank #3, 2009 Projections:  4300/32/9, Final Numbers:  4500/33/16

5. Matt Schaub: I invited Schaub to a couple of my teams and was glad to have him at my party.  He led the league in yardage, which was partially due to the Texans anemic running game/Kubiakian mind games, but also due to Schaub’s ability.  He lost Owen Daniels which hurt, but Andre Johnson picked up the slack.  If the Texans get Daniels back and maybe grab another WR in free agency, Schaub will be worth a top pick (and even if they don’t do those things). Preseason Rank #9, 2009 Projections:  3550/26/12, Final Numbers:  4770/29/15

6. Tony Romo: I wrote back in the day, “He has his BFF Witten, a good receiver in Roy (I play offense) Williams, a deep threat in Miles Austin and good running backs, with good hands.  A great season in Big D isn’t a lock, but Romo has the skill and the team to shut up his detractors.”  Looking back I have two regrets, using the term BFF and calling Roy Williams good.  Preseason Rank #7, 2009 Projections:  4000/26/14 – 1/50, Final Numbers:  4483/26/9 — 1/105

7. Tom Brady: Lady and gentlemen, your comeback player of the year!  Huh?  I think a comeback player of the year should be someone you expect to be in jail, a mental institution, or an infirmary instead of scoring touchdowns (think Cedric Benson, Vince Young or Cadillac Williams).  I expected a lot more from Brady this year.  Wes Welker’s injury early in the season didn’t help, but the Patriots never really hit on all cylinders.  Preseason Rank #2, 2009 Projections:  4550/35/13, Final Numbers:  4398/28/13 — 1/44

8. Philip Rivers: Rivers did about what I expected of him, but LT vultured a few of his touchdowns while pretty much being horrid otherwise.  Rivers looks like my 6 year old nephew throwing the ball, but unlike my nephew he doesn’t hit himself in the head with the ball.  Preseason Rank #4, 2009 Projections:  4150/34/13, Final Numbers:  4254/28/9 — 1/50

9. Ben Roethlisberger: For an ADP of around 100 Big Ben was a good value pick.  This year was the year of the quarterback when 4300 yards and 26 TDs gets you ninth in the fantasy books.  I didn’t foresee the Steelers turning to a throw first attitude and as soon as Big Ben starts moving up the draft board next year, the Stillers will probably get back to running first and second and throwing third. Preseason Rank #14, 2009 Projections:  3450/21/14 — 1/50, Final Numbers:  4328/26/12 — 2/82

10. Donovan McNabb: If Donovan hadn’t missed a couple games with broken ribs, he would have lifted his numbers above my projections, but still wouldn’t have gotten to the 6th best fantasy QB.  Like I said, the competition was fierce this year.  I thought we had gotten rid of Favre!  McNabb was up and down as usual, but he is still solid and his young receivers should keep him in the fantasy cash monies for a few more years.  Preseason Rank #6, 2009 Projections:  3750/25/12 – 1/125, Final Numbers:  3553/22/10 — 2/140