Buffalo Bills

Going into the draft the Bills had needs across their defensive front seven, namely at DE and OLB to provide a pass rush.  They also lacked a franchise QB, but with Ryan Fitzpatrick making their offense competitive at the end of last season, the Bills were firm in their stance that they did not need to reach for someone who is not going to the long-term future of the team.  Buffalo took Marcell Dareus with their third overall pick and it is a good one.  Dareus alongside pro bowl DT Kyle Williams should do wonders for the NFL’s worst rush defense. But when they went with Aaron Williams in round two, they lost their chance to get the outside pass rusher that this defense really needs.  To me the chance at a talent like Da’Quan Bowers in the 2^nd round was too good to pass up, but it looks like Donte Whiner is going to be replaced and Williams was a bargain in the 2^nd round after all.  In the third round, the Bills took a very complete ILB with Kelvin Sheppard.  He should help to further boost their run defense, but he won’t make a big impact rushing the passer on third down and that is what kept the Bills from getting an A+.

My Grade: A-

Miami Dolphins

I seem to be higher on what the Dolphins did in this year’s draft than most people are.  Many thought they were going to go after a QB, but they have been a run-first team for quite some time and I thought it was a mistake to get away from that last season.  In round one the Dolphins went with Mike Pouncey, likely to play Center and really bolster the middle of the offensive line and allow their running game to flourish once again.  Another reason why the Dolphins strayed from their traditional run-first attack was the age and durability of their backs.  Ricky Williams will be 34 by the end of this month and Ronnie Brown has been injury prone in the past.  Now Brown has just one season left before the dreaded age of 30 (at least its dreaded for RBs in the NFL) so, to solve this issue the Dolphins drafted Daniel Thomas. Thomas is physical between the tackles and has the ability to grind out the tough short yardage and goal line conversions to keep with the Dolphins’ theme of controlling the clock and pace of the game with their ground attack.  Lastly, in round 4, the Phins drafted speedster Edmond Gates to stretch the field after their running game has forced the 7^th and 8^th defenders into the box.  Bottom line, they made their team better at running the ball to keep Tom Brady and Mark Sanchez off the field and make it so that all Chad Henne has to do is manage the game.  I believe the Dolphins could potentially be in contention for a wild card spot, but that is up to Ronnie Brown’s health and Chad Henne’s game managing skills.

My Grade: B-

New England Patriots

I will never mock a team for picking up a franchise left tackle to keep Tom Brady healthy as he begins to approach the end of his career. I also can’t mock them for drafting a potential heir for Brady as he begins to approach the end of his career (sorry… can’t help myself, I just like saying that SOO much!), but I can dispute the other picks they made.  I’m certainly not a draft expert, but why are they drafting back to back running backs? If you aren’t confident enough in the first one, why did you draft him? Why not just pull the trigger on Mark Ingram if the position is that important to you?  I know they run a committee system in New England, but there is still little reason to burn two picks on such similar backs.  Lastly, I don’t think im alone in assuming that Ras-I Dowling would have been available considerably later, so since Aaron Williams was clearly not their guy, it seems to make sense for the trade-happy Bill Belichick to trade further back in the 2^nd round.  I will admit that they acquired more talent than most teams in the draft, but considering the number of picks they had in the first 3 rounds, I think they could have done MUCH better for themselves.

My Grade: C-

New York Jets

The Jets have had issues staying healthy along the defensive front and with Vernon Gholston being sent packing, the best thing the Jets could have done for their defense was exactly what they did do.  Muhammad Wilkerson is likely to play at defensive end in the Jets’ 3-4 front. Kenrick Ellis, drafted in round 2, was my top pure NT in this draft and he should hopefully provide stability at the center of Rex Ryan’s defense that Kris Jenkins was never able to provide.  After these two picks, the Jets picked only offensive players to help aid the development of Mark Sanchez and provide some depth at running back should anything happen to Shonn Greene or the aging LaDanian Tomlinson.  At the end of the day, the Jets made their football team considerably better with this draft and after making the AFC Championship in back-to-back seasons on the coat tails of their defense, they gave themselves a good chance to improve next season and make it into the Super Bowl.

My Grade: B+

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Rex Ryan is apparently a genius.  Every move he has made has been the right one and assuming nothing insane happens with the Revis contract talks or the development of Mark Sanchez; the Jets are my favorite to win the division.  They will have the best defense in the NFL as well as fantasy football due to the complex blitzing scheme of mastermind Rex Ryan. If they can keep the best rushing attack in the league as well… then they will be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time. LaDanian Tomlinson can be expected to pick up some goal line and third down work.

Top Fantasy Players

Shonn Greene – Given the level work given to Greene during the playoffs last year and the departure of all the other running backs on the team there is an immense amount of confidence in this young man.

Santonio Holmes – Sanchez needed a deep threat with better hands than Braylon Edwards, and that is exactly what Holmes will be… come week 5.  Shortly after being acquired by the Jets it was announced that Holmes would face a 4 game suspension due to violating the substance abuse policy.  This will make Holmes a great value in late rounds, but there is some risk that there is no chemistry between him and Sanchez so production could start slow as well as late.

Jets D/ST – If last year’s defense was any indication of what is to come then opposing offenses are in for some trouble.  The Jets were the best defense last year, and they added depth and talent to the roster.

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Welcome to the 2010 Fantasy Football preseason! I am officially declaring it started!  I will be previewing every team in the league. This week belongs to the AFC East and I am starting with the Buffalo Bills. This is not a biased decision, I promise.  I did it alphabetically.

This division is fast becoming the most competitive in the AFC.  Every team is getting better… except the Bills.  My favorite to take the division is the Jets but I would not be surprised if both AFC wild card spots were filled by the Dolphins and the Patriots.

Buffalo Bills

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Jets

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With the first weekend of free agency drawing to a close its time to look at how the moves that have been made so far impact next years Fantasy Football season.  Many big-names have changed teams during this week, and  will shake up next seasons pre-draft rankings quite a bit.  Here are the roster moves made so far during this free agency period that have an impact on fantasy football:

Anquan Boldin traded to Ravens – The biggest move of the free agency period was not a signing, but a trade.  With the addition of Anquan Boldin to the Ravens offense three different players all receive a bump in my rankings; Joe Flacco, Anquan Boldin (shocker!), and Ray Rice.  The biggest weakness of the Ravens last year was balance in the passing game.  They have been lacking a serious play-maker at the wide receiver position, and Flacco’s production was hurt the worst by it.  Mason is getting old and may not be back in a Ravens uniform next year, but with the addition of Stallworth and now Boldin the Ravens will finally have two polished receivers that can stretch the field AND get open over the middle.  The impact on Ray Rice will also be significant, with Boldin on the roster the Ravens will have a balanced offensive attack instead of the Ray Rice show that was last season.  Next year he wont be a surprise, people know what he can do now and without a balanced attack he would be vulnerable to being schemed against.  With game-breaking talent at wide-out defenses will need to respect the deep ball and Rice will remain a top tier back.

Antonio Cromartie traded to the Jets – Another trade tops my list of moves made during free agency week, and yes I know it was the day before but its so significant I’m sneaking it in!  This move will solidify the Jets as my #1 Defense for next season barring some unforeseen incident.  While Cromartie  is certainly no Revis, he is a very gifted player filling the area of biggest need for the Jets already number one ranked defense.  Oh, and the Jets were already first in the league in passing defense last year… 30 yards fewer per game than the number two Bills.

Bears sign Chester Taylor – I am really excited to see what Taylor can do outside the shadow of Adrian Peterson… but I do not think we will know his full potential until at least next year.  The Bears have no picks in the first two rounds, and have an offensive line that could use quite a bit of work.  Good news for the Bears however, this is a VERY deep draft class at offensive line and there is a real chance they could find a diamond in the rough.  Taylor is a very complete back and he will likely take over the primary role leaving Forte to handle third downs.

Lions sign Nate Burleson – Calvin Johnson finally has someone that could pull some double teams away from him… ok not quite. However,  Burleson has 7 years of experience and a fair few left in him.  His veteran leadership and experience at being on mediocre teams could go a long way to helping the Lions on the road to average.  And lets face it, with a tough and talented kid like Stafford at the helm they could get there pretty quick.  Burleson will likely see similar production as he had in his disappointing last season, but he could really help Megatron get open a couple more times per game… and that is certainly a good thing.

Bears sign Julius Peppers – The Bears make my list twice since they needed to use the limited free agent pool as their draft, and lets face it… you cant draft the best pass rushing defensive end and that is what the Bears got in Peppers.  The biggest weakness for the Bears defense last year was… well… their offense.  With Cutler throwing such a large number of interceptions as well as the Bears’ inability to extend drives and provide some rest for their defenders, just about every game the defense was worn out by the fourth quarter and unable to stop much of anything.  Hopefully Taylor and Manumaleuna help to extend drives and give those poor guys a break.  If the Bears find a good lineman or two, their defense could be a top5 fantasy defense again soon.

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Love

Santonio Holmes and Mike Wallace (PIT) – With a bad Browns team having a short week to prepare, and with receiver Hines Ward unlikely to play, Thursday night should be a big game for the two would-be starting receivers.

Drew Brees, Marques Colston and Robert Meachem (NO) – The Falcons have a pretty bad passing defense ranked 29th in the league and go against the best Offense in football lead by Drew Brees.  Brees’ favorite targets include receivers Colston and Meachem who will be creating mismatches in the secondary all day long.  Colston is a WR1 this week and Meachem is a great WR3 or flex play!

Andre Johnson (HOU) – Seahawks rank 25th against the pass and should be in over their heads on Sunday vs Johnson and the Texans.  Also a heavier emphasis will be placed on the passing game with Steve Slaton placed on IR.

Jamaal Charles (KC) – The Bills are dead last against the run and Charles has a 4.8 yards per carry average!  He is a must start at RB this week!

Terrell Owens (BUF) – Owens has been a part of the Bills offense since Perry Fewell took over as interim head coach.  The Chiefs are 28th in the league against the pass and wont be likely to contain TO and Evans.

Jets (D/ST) – The Buccaneers are pretty bad this year as you know.  Last week Freeman threw 5 interceptions against the Panthers.  The Jets will dominate this game on defense and play ball control on offense.

Vince Young, Chris Johnson and Kenny Britt (TEN) – The Rams are a great match-up for anyone, and the Titans are still red hot even though they lost last week (it was the Colts, you didn’t expect it anyways).  Rebound week for Vince Young!

Phillip Rivers (SD) – Rivers has been very productive and mistake-free the past few weeks even with the statistical absence of Vincent Jackson.  You cannot expect this lack of production to continue for Jackson and that only stands to improve Rivers’ production even more.

Larry Fitzgerald (ARI) – Best receiver in the league versus the 27th ranked passing defense.

Hate

Bruce Gradkowski (OAK) -You may have picked him up for a deep format but the Skins can only defend the pass, so this is not the week to try to use him.

Antonio Bryant (TB) -If Bryant was on a winning team with a real QB he would be a household name and he would really be something special to watch.  He’s not, he gets his passes thrown to him by a rookie and he plays the top passing defense in the league.  Sit him!

Jerome Harrison (CLE) -Like Gradkowski, you picked him up for other weeks, not this match-up sit him down this week.

Kevin Smith (DET) -Hard to imagine the Lions getting much done on offense against the Ravens.  I wouldn’t trust Smith enough for a playoff start this week.

Devin Hester and Matt Forte (CHI) – You got a decent week from Forte so don’t think it’s the start of something.  You need to have multiple productive weeks to get trust in fantasy football, not one versus a squishy match-up.  The Packers have been playing pretty well as of late and should roll right over the Bears.  Oh, and Hester was on my dump-list a couple weeks ago…. please do yourself a favor and ditch him!

Matt Cassel and Chris Chambers (KC) – The Bills passing defense has been about the only bright spot throughout the season.  If the Chiefs are going to win it will be on the back of Jamaal Charles and not the arm of Matt Cassel.

Frank Gore (SF) – The 9ers offense has gone the way of the pass as Alex Smith matures in that offense.  The Cardinals looked like Super Bowl contenders last week and the 49ers are struggling.  I don’t like any 49ers this week.

Brandon Jacobs (NYG) – Jacobs has been terrible, the only game he was any good for you was when he had a 74 yard screen pass.  It’s time to find his replacment (it was time a month ago actually).

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STUDS

Drew Brees (NO) went 18/23 with 371 yrds and 5 TDs in what was the biggest chance the Saints had left to be beaten.  No team but Dallas has much chance of beating the Saints this season and Romo in December is a pretty good opponent to have.  If your in the playoffs with Brees your only concern is him sitting out in weeks 16 or 17 if its relevant.

Brett Favre (MIN) – All season I have been warning people of what would happen at the end of the season, and it sure wasn’t this!  We are at the end now and he tallied 392 yards and 3 TDs, I can no longer advise anyone to not trust him till he gives you a reason not to.  You gotta have a short memory in fantasy football so forget last season already!

Justin Forsett (SEA) – This was a big game, and Forsett owners will be using him again, but maybe not this week as apparently the Seahawks don’t want to start him over Jones once he is healthy.  I cannot see the reasoning here as Jones is elusive and explosive and Jones is not so much of either any more. 130 yards and 2 TDs, break out game!

Fred Jackson (BUF) – The Lynch injury was kept really quiet and we knew he would be active but they made Jackson the feature back and Lynch the backup given his shoulder.  The Bills appear to be keeping this dynamic even as Lynch gets back to full strength.  Jackson proved he gets better with more carries and that he can be a very productive part of the offense when given the feature role.  He ran for 73 yards and 2 scores while also catching all five throws that came his way for another 43 yards.

Jamaal Charles (KC) -Despite losing pretty big Charles was still able to rack up 93 yards rushing and a TD. He also added 54 yards on just 3 catches making for pretty impressive output from a RB whose team lost 43-14.  His point totals over the last three weeks have been 18, 17, and 18.

Donald Driver (GB) – Driver beat out Jennings for the majority of the workload on Thanksgiving again this season, he has been a big surprise for the Packers at his age. He pulled down 142 yards and a score.

Miles Austin (DAL) – The return of Austin this week was very good for the Cowboys offense, same with Felix Jones who got him self a decent amount of work this week as well.  Austin had 145 yards and a TD Thursday evening and looks to be critical to their success.  If Romo can produce in December… big if… Austin will benefit greatly.

Percy Harvin (MIN) -146 all purpose yards Sunday as well as a receiving TD make the Vikings slot receiver tied for top fantasy WR in week 12.  a few more weeks with these kinds of numbers will give Harvin rookie of the year honors of Byrd or Britt.  Should the Bills somehow rally Byrd will give him a run for his money.

Terrell Owens (BUF) – Owens got 5 grabs for 96 yards and a TD Sunday in a solid victory for the Bills.  He’s starting to get exciting to watch again, he’s a low WR2 but a definite flex play for as long as Fitzpatrick plays like he has been.

Kenny Britt (TEN) – The Titans are for real and have a shot at making a playoff run.  They are on a tear and momentum is a powerful force.  Britt looked like his late 4th quarter fumble, but when the Titans got the ball back on their own one yard line 2 minutes and 37 seconds on the clock Britt redeemed himself by catching a 4th and 4 conversion from the 7 yard line as well as his last second TD catch to win the game.

Antonio Gates (SD) – Gates finally performed like owners have hoped for all season.  He caught all 7 passes Rivers threw to him getting  118 yards and two scores.  I said it in yesterdays entry, you play your most talented tight end regardless of match-up.  Since you didn’t draft Witten AND Gates then your playing Gates every single week.

New York Jets (D/ST) – Four INTs and a TD this week by Revis and the Jets in a win over the tough running Panthers.  Their fantasy value dropped off since the beginning of the year but they are still usable based on match-up.

DUDS

The Seahawks Passing Game – This is purely from a fantasy football sense, but we all expected at least one TD to go to Housh or Burleson.  Forsett got two and so did the return game putting them so far ahead they were able to just control the clock and get the win.  Good win for the team, but it was done in an unfortunate manner for plenty of fantasy owners.

Beanie Wells and Larry Fitzgerald (ARI) – Was a tough loss for the Cardinals who lost to a last second TD pass on Sunday while using back up QB Matt Leinart.  The offense didn’t have the rhythm it usually does and most all Arizona players suffered stat wise.  This should be fixed my Warner’s return next week.

Chad Ochocinco (CIN) -The Bengals won the game on the ground, and they really had no need to put the ball up in the air Sunday.  None-the-less he hurt some owners this weekend but he should be a viable starting WR in any format down the stretch.

Vincent Jackson (SD) – This makes three dud performances in a row for Jackson and it hurts but before that he’d been money ever week before that so deal with it he’s a stud and you have to start him.  Its not like shutting him down is working for these teams, they are still losing.

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