Who will win the Jay Cutler Sweepstakes???

Man. am I tired of being right!!!!!! Jay Cutler has skipped a workout with the Denver Broncos and is demanding a trade (although the Broncos have not yet allowed Cutler’s agent to negotiate with other teams). So if we subscribe to the mindset that it is never a good idea to set the future of your team on a player who has put his house up for sale and said publicly that he does not want to play for your team anymore, it begs the question, which team will land one of the most promising young QBs in the NFL? Well there are a couple of obvious possibilities. Both Detroit and Tampa Bay were negotiating for Cutler prior to him catching wind of it all and pitching a fit. I mean really, this is a business, get over yourself you petulant child! Sorry, i am digressing.

Detroit Lions- This is a very interesting scenerio…Cutler to Johnson for 14 or 15 years, i can almost hear the boners in Detroit growing. Detroit has 2 first round picks after trading Roy Williams to the Cowboys at the end of season last year. So even if they decide that knowing what they do about Jay Cutler, he would be their first pick in the draft today if he was coming out of college this year, they would still have a late pick in the first round. If they get him for their 20th pick, it is a steal. They would have a serious head start in rebuilding their record setting horrible franchise. (All this is mute because these are the Lions after all, they will never close this deal).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Let’s face it, Tampa has been in QB trouble for about 20 years. Even when they won the superbowl, they did it with a “has been” who was released the next year. Chris Simms, Brian Griese, Jeff Garcia, Josh McCown, Bruce Gradikowski, the rights to Jake Plummer??????? need I continue? I am not sure what they are offering but whatever it is offer more!!! Get this done!!

San Francisco 49ers- With the ghosts of Steve Young and Joe Montana looming large in San Fran and the bad taste of Alex Smith in their mouth, this is another team that needs a QB they can be happy with. Sorry guys, Shaun Hill and Damon Huard are not the answer, but Jay Cutler could be.

New York Jets- With the Brett Favre experiment safely behind them, with the carnage of a fired head coach, a tarnished legacy and broken locker room in its wake, the Jets find themselves exactly where they were last year around this time….staring down the barrel of a Kellen Clemens future. Insert Jay Cutler and possibly Torry Holt and say hello to the playoffs.

The Broncos are saying they do not want draft picks for Jay Cutler, they want a quarterback in return.  If the teams had a quarterback why would they be trading for a quarterback?  I think if that is all Denver will accept we are probably looking at a 3 team deal adding a team that has an under performing young QB, ie Vince Young/Matt Leinhart/Brady Quinn/Derek Anderson.

Wide Receivers for 2009 Fantasy

It is time to start getting ready for the 2009 fantasy football season (if you haven’t already).  Standard philosophy for success is get running backs and get them early however with more and more teams going to a running back by committee wide receivers are becoming more and more crucial to winning the championship.  If you look around at the champions from last year you will be hard pressed to find one that did not have at least one stud receiver on their team when in the past you would be able to get by with mediocre WR as long as you had decent running backs.  Not anymore.  Here are six questions to help you with this years season.

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1. Several big-name wideouts have either changed teams or may soon do so (Boldin, Edwards). Which of these players are you most interested in this season?

Anquan Boldin. I am interested to see the drop off in production when he leaves the pass happy offense with the best WR in the league on the other side of him.

1. Who is the most overrated wide receiver?

Antonio Bryant. This guy has had one good season after 6 of almost nothing. Needs to show me more then that.

1. Who is the most underrated wide receiver?  (15-25 words)

Steve Smith (CAR) – He averaged over 100 yards per game last year and some lists still have him out of the top 10 receivers. He should be top 3.

4. Which rookie do you like best, in 2009 and long-term? (25-35 words)

Jeremy Maclin -  With Curtis more suited to the slot and Jackson being a pure burner, Philadelphia needed a playmaking WR2.  Philly’s QB has proven he can deliver the rock.  Long term will depend on the Bay Area teams developing a QB.

1. Which projected No. 3 wideout are you most likely to use a late-round pick on? (15-25 words)

Steve Breatson – If Boldin does stay Breaston will get more looks then most No. 2 WR

6. Who is your nominee for comeback wide receiver of the year? Why? (15-25 words) TJ Houshmandzadeh. One of the most productive fantasy WR in the last 3-4 years, traded to a passing team as WR1.

T.O. is on the Move….Again!

It doesn’t seem to matter who he plays for or how well the team does or how productive he is, Terrell Owens cannot find a team that will put up with his immature petulance. Let’s just take a quick look at his History:
San Francisco 49ers 1996-2003:
Averaged over 1000 yards, 10 tds per season
Relationship ended with Owens angry that he was not given the ball enough in critical situations. It was his believe that if he was more involved they would win. Owens also openly criticized his QB Jeff Garcia in the media about his arm strength. He also hinted about Garcia’s sexual orientation. At least he kept it professional.

Philadelphia Eagles 2004-2005:
Averaged 100 yards and 1 td per game. Almost super human numbers for a receiver. He spent the first season talking about how great it was to have a quality quarterback throwing to him. The team went to the superbowl and T.O. was Philly’s favorite son! He spent the second season talking about how “his team” would be better if they had a quarterback like Brett Favre. Relationship with the eagles ended with T.O. doing sit ups in his driveway for the media while telling them that he would do better in a place where he was appreciated. He was cut.

Dallas Cowboys 2006-2008 Dallas Cowboys:
Averaged 1100 yards, 13 tds per season 2 play off appearances
All things looked great, T.O. was best friends with his QB Tony Romo. They bunked together on the road and Terrell even started crying while defending Romo in front of the cameras when the vicious reporters hinted that Romo was unfocused because he spent his bye-week in Cabo with his Bimbette Jessica Simpson before the playoffs. T.O. tearfully told reporters that they were not being fair and they should leave him alone. Last season Terrell Owens shockingly started to become upset with what he considered a diminishing role in the offense. He even went so far as to hint that it was racially motivated that Jason Witten was getting more looks than him. He again started to publically air his grievances……..He was cut.

2009……
Enter the Buffalo Bills.
So, Pro bowlers, Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, and Tony Romo were all not good enough to get him the ball properly, but, TRENT EDWARDS IS THE ANSWER?????!!!!!!!!! Terrell Owens is like that person who tells you about having 14 different roommates in the last 2 years and tells you how they were all impossible to live with. Do you think that all 14 are crazy, or do you think that maybe you are the crazy one?

So, what does this mean to your fantasy team if you are “lucky” enough to have him on your roster???? It means great things for at least next year. If you look at Owens’ history everytime he goes to a new team the first year is a monster. He is playing to prove that the last team was wrong about him. He works extra hard in the offseason and generally has 1200 yards and 13TDs during the year, that is what we would call a top tier WR. So if you have him on your team you will never get what he is worth in a trade so just sit back and get prepared for a good year. If you do not have him trade for him. At least a couple of the guys in your league are too stupid to read this site so you can probably get him cheap. The possible gold nugget at the end of this rainbow is he is only signed to a 1 year contact so if Buffalo doesn’t pay him off next year, which they won’t(small market teams generally don’t spend a ton), you could ride the TO hurricane for a second big season. As a note of caution if the next team that signs him does it for more then one year make sure you fire sale his ass before then end the that first year.

Players on the Move (week 1 pt. 2)

This is only the second half of the first week and there has already been so many big moves i am bursting…I am literally bursting…hold on…flush….much better. Where was I, oh yeah free agent moves.

QB
Chris Simms, Denver Broncos-On the surface this is just the Broncos signing a decent, young back up QB. But if you look closer there might be more to this. Jay Cutler, although very productive last year, has been making some noise about wanting out of Denver since rumors swirled about the Broncos tossing his name around in trades. Chris Simms has had some medical problems the last couple of seasons but has show some flashes of brilliance when he was on the field (and had a spleen) this might actually matter in the near future, keep an eye on this.~Doyadoya

This may have some relevance if Cutler was going anywhere.  He’s not!  You do not trade a talent like Cutler regardless of what he demands (see Cardinals/Anquan Boldin).  At fines of $14000 a day it is just far too expensive for players to have any leverage against the ownership.  This means nothing.~Pretzel

Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals- This is the most important free agent signing of the off season, for the Cardinals and for fantasy owners everywhere. Warner on the 49ers would have spelled doom for Warner’s owners, Fitzgerald’s owners and Kurt’s road to Canton.~Doyadoya

Okay, slow down.  I don’t think anyone is rushing Warner into the Hall of Fame.  That being said he was a fantasy stud last year and assuming he doesn’t need a walker on the field this year, it should mean another productive season for all the weapons around him. ~Pretzel

JT O’Sullivan, Cinncinati Bengals- This only has any bearing on your fantasy life is if Carson Palmer doesn’t recover well from surgery. Even if that is the case, this still will not matter unless your QB in on a bi-week and Seneca Wallace is not available.~Doyadoya

Since JT can only play in a Mike Martz run offense, look for better options if Palmer is not ready.  I suggest the Bengals do the same. ~Pretzel

Damon Huard, San Francisco 49ers- Huard may actually start in San Fran but if he is your starting QB, you had better have some really good RBs and WRs.~Doyadoya

Huard couldn’t out play Brodie Croyle or Tyler Thigpen, don’t count on him taking the job from Shaun Hill.  Again look for a better option.

WR
TJ Houshmandzadeh, Seattle Seahawks- This move actually helps several players. TJ now has a consistant QB to throw to him in a prolific, pass first offense (good for him). Matt Hasselbeck now has a healthy, trustworthy and wildly productive receiver to throw to in a prolific, pass first offense (good for him). This signing….good for you.

It seems as though every receiver turns to glass as soon as they sign a contract with the Seahawks.  Look at Burleson, Branch, Engram, Jackson . . . I wouldn’t look for TJ to have a monster year.  More likely he will have 2 or 3 monster games at the start of the year, just long enough for you to offer you entire team for him in a trade, and then go down with a season ending injury. ~Pretzel

Laveranues Coles, Cinncinati Bengals- Although Coles is not the same type of receiver Houshmanzadeh was, he actually might be a fantasy sleeper this year. Before falling out of favor with his 2 previous QBs Coles was one of the premier WRs in the league and with a change of scenery and a healthy Carson Palmer, he should emerge as a very adequate WR2.-Doyadoya

Premier what?!?!?!?!? Coles has only ever cracked 1200 yards twice in his career and the last one was 6 years ago and has never had more then 7 touchdowns.  He has never been a premier WR in the NFL or any fantasy league.  He should not be anything more then a very late round pick. ~Pretzel

RB
Correll Buckhalter/Lamont Jordan, Denver Broncos- I think the Broncos are carrying 15 RBs right now and with Shanahan’s magic RB formula gone…..I would not touch any of them.~DoyaDoya

I think the 15 RBs is probably correct and I definitely would not touch any of them but if you had the displeasure of owning any Broncos RBs the past 2 or 3 years you probably don’t have any hair left.  The problem with the Shanahan magic is it did not matter who he had back there so he would just grab the 10000th fan to enter the stadium for every home game and put them back there. ~Pretzel

Derrick Ward, Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Ward was a pleasant surprise for the Giants and all of the waiver wire vultures last year. With a +5 ypc average he should challenge Ernest Graham for the starting role in what may end up a runningback by committee in Tampa. If the ghost of Cadillac past shows up this year, look for a definite RBBC. ~Doyadoya

This will definitely be a time share with Graham.  Ward’s upside is he should get the 3rd down yardage, if there is any, unless they sign Warrick Dunn again, for the 8th time.  Then you’re screwed. ~Pretzel