My Fantasy Football Team

At first glance, my fantasy football team was a power house - in spite of me getting to the draft 30 minutes late.  When I got there, my pre-draft rankings had already helped me automatically draft Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Vernon Davis, and Jermichael Finley.  Being late actually put me at a disadvantage though because I didn't get to settle into the process like I would have liked to.

I ended up drafting Sidney Rice and Santonio Holmes as a stater and backup respectively, but didn't realize that both of them were injured.  So, I had to pick up new free agents to replace them:  Kevin Boss and Josh Morgan.  I also moved a player out and picked up Correll Buckhalter.  These new players aren't probably on many people's fantasy teams, but here I am with them.  Hopefully I can trade Boss since I don't need 4 tight ends on my team and I also have Anthony Fasano of Notre Dame.

I was late picking up running backs, mostly an affect of drafting later in the first 2 rounds, but I did end up with decent picks:  Marion Barber and Pierre Thomas.  I also have Kevin Smith of Detroit, who could do well if that passing game and offensive line do well, and LaDanian Tomlinson of the Jets.

Here is a full listing of my team:

Starters
QB - Drew Brees
RB - Marion Barber
RB - Pierre Thomas
RB - LaDanian Tomlinson
WR - Larry Fitzgerald
WR - Joshua Cribbs
TE - Vernon Davis
TE - Jermichael Finley
D - Ravens
K - Janikowski

Other Bench Players
QB - Eli Manning
RB - Kevin Smith
RB - Correll Buckhalter
WR - Josh Morgon
TE - Anthony Fasano
TE - Kevin Boss
D - Tennessee

So, I have some very clear weaknesses:

1.  I'm too heavy at Tight End.
2.  I'm very weak at Wide Receiver (unless Cribbs blows up).
3.  Running back is iffy since Barber has to split time and Tomlinson - who knows?

My obvious strengths are:

1.  QB
2.  Fitzgerald
3.  Vernon Davis and Jermichael Finley are 2 of the top 5 TE's in the NFL.
4.  Janikowski is the only kicker that was a 1st round pick.
5.  Ravens and Titans defenses are strong.
6.  If my running backs hit, I'll be hard to stop.

Fantasy Football - Quarterbacks

In review, I've written some other articles about Fantasy Football Picks.  Those can be found at:

http://everynightfootball.blogspot.com/2010/07/top-nfl-fantacy-picks.html
http://everynightfootball.blogspot.com/2010/08/fantasy-football-top-20-wide-receivers.html
http://everynightfootball.blogspot.com/2010/08/top-10-fantasy-football-running-backs.html

This particular article is about Fantasy Football Quarterbacks.  Previously, I've said that my top 5 are:

1. Drew Brees

2. Tony Romo

3. Peyton Manning

4. Aaron Rodgers

5. Matt Schaub

NFL.com differs slightly from me in the Top 5 in that Schaub is #6 and Tom Brady is in their top 5.  NFL.com's top 20 Fantasy quarterbacks can be found at http://www.nfl.com/fantasy/rankings/qb.
 
They also have Cutler (CHI) at 9 and Kolb (PHI) at 10.  I don't think so, but we'll see.  I think I would put Matt Ryan (ATL) and Joe Flacco (BAL) ahead of those guys.  Phillip Rivers was a good choice for the Top 10 with over 4,000 passing yards in each of his last 2 years and an average of 31 TD passes per year during that time.
 
So, with all of that said, here are my QB picks 6 thru 10.
 
6.  Phillip Rivers (SD)
 
7.  Tom Brady (NE)
 
8.  Joe Flacco (BAL)
 
9.  Matt Ryan (ATL)
 
10.Brett Favre (MIN)

Dallas Cowboys 2010 Season Prediction

I just reviewed the Dallas Cowboys 2010 regular season schedule and I think the best they could do is 14-2.  The worst they could do is 11-5.  The NFC East is going to be a relatively weak conference with the Giants being the only serious competition this year.  Their complete regular season schedule is listed below.

@ WAS
CHI
@ HOU
BYE
TEN
@ MIN
NYG
JAX
@ GB
@ NYG
DET
NO
@ IND
PHI
WAS
@ ARI
@ PHI

The most likely losses would be to Green Bay and New Orleans.  Other possible losses could be to Tennessee, Indianapolis, and the Giants (@ NYG).  Green Bay will have a strong passing attack and it's at Lambeau Field.  New Orleans will have the momentum of just winning the Super Bowl, and as long as Brees is healthy, they'll be tough.  Tennessee has the best running back in football and Vince Young could be dangerous and unpredictable.  Indianapolis has a genius quarterback that could beat any team on any given Sunday.  Going to New York to play the Giants is always tough.  I think the Cowboys can win there, but if a loss is going to come, it could just be at New York.

What do you think about my prediction?  If you're a Redskins or Eagles fan, I'm sure you wrongly disagree.  So, aside from those guys, if you have a different opinion, leave a comment.

Top 10 NFL Hall of Fame Running Backs

Aren't Top 10 lists fun?  I like them because everyone's list is different.  If you follow sports, you have a Top 10 List of your own, probably several Top 10 lists.  This particular list is so much fun because it's a list of great running backs - the most exciting guys on the field - those who touch the ball more than anyone other than the Quarterback and the Center.  Because of that, the great ones become household names that younger backs have to live up to for all time.

The "modern era" of the Pro Football Hall of Fame consists of 27 running backs (halfbacks & fullbacks).  Many of those players are so old and have been retired for so long (and in some cases have already passed away), that many younger football fans have not heard of them, and that's really too bad.  Most of the names on the list, however, are very well known.  You'll find names like Doak Walker (SMU) and Paul Hornung (Notre Dame - Go Irish!), and everyone knows Frank Gifford from Monday Night Football.  But, like I said, so many of those names are of players that even I had to look up.  With that said, my Top 10 list of NFL Hall of Fame running backs is filled with "household" names and greatness.

1.  Walter Payton
2.  Barry Sanders
3.  Emmitt Smith
4.  Earl Campbell
5.  Jim Brown
6.  Tony Dorsett
7.  Eric Dickerson
8.  Marcus Allen
9.  Gale Sayers
10.Thurman Thomas

Players who were edged out of my Top 10 List were:  O.J. Simpson, Larry Czonka, Franco Harris, and John Riggins.  Czonka played on the famous Dolphins undefeated team.  Harris is known for "The Immaculate Reception".  John Riggins was a total bruiser (and too bad he was a Redskin).  And O.J. . . . .

You tell me - where did I go wrong with my list?  Who should be there and who shouldn't be?  Any arguments on who's number 1?  If so, provide feedback on my blog and let me know.

NFL Divisional Rankings Predictions

Today is the start of preseason in the NFL and I've put together my list of divisional ranking predictions for the end of the 2010/2011 NFL season.  First of all, I believe that the worst teams by the end of this NFL season will be (in order from worst to bad):  Rams, Raiders, Browns, Bills, Chiefs.  The best teams will be (in order from best to very good):  Cowboys, Saints, Colts, 49ers, Ravens.

With that said, these are my predictions for the NFL divisional rankings as of the end of the 2010/2011 NFL Season.

I think at this point, I'll hold off on giving playoff and Super Bowl predictions until I've seen at least a few games of the NFL regular season.