NFL Training Camp Stories Week 1
With the first week of training camp in the books some stories coming out have significant fantasy football implications and will definitely have players moving up and down your cheat sheets.
Brett Favre – Favre decided to stay retired…. for this week anyway. This should make you upgrade Sage Rosenfels who should be the starter in Minnesota this year. With Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice and newly drafted Percy Harvin to throw to and Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor coming out of the backfield Rosenfels should be able to put up decent numbers this year for you fantasy team.
Michael Crabtree – Crabtree has decided to hold the 49ers hostage by demanding top three pick money. Not sure he aware of this but he was picked in the number ten spot. This should be a long hold out with no end in sight, crippling his fantasy value. Matt Leinhart tried this a couple of years ago and it didn’t go great for him, the difference is that quarterbacks get a premium during contract negotiations and wide receivers don’t. Shaun Hill takes a significant hit as it prohibits him to develop chemistry with the most talented wide receiver in the draft and his team….once he actually shows up.
Terrell Owens – T.O. decided to show up for training camp on time this year, his coach actually calls him by his name and he has received nothing but rave reviews. Is this a new T.O.??? Nah, just the first year with a new team. Wait until the team loses a couple of games or just next year. As for now T.O. has exactly what he wants, a quarterback that is alienating his other teammates to praise him. I believe the quote from Trent Edwards was that Owens dwarfed the other Bills wideouts with regard to work ethic and route running so I would move T.O. up a little on the board.
Braylon Edwards – Reports are Edwards failed his physical to start Browns training camp due to an ankle injury. If this is anything even remotely serious this would mean terrible things for all of the Browns fantasy players. One of the main reasons for the Browns surprising season two years ago was Braylon Edwards phenomenal play. The only way I see them getting back there is Edwards returning to that form, allowing holes to open up for the running game which will give whoever wins the QB job time to throw. Hope it is not a staph infection, but it is the Browns.
Willis McGahee – McGahee started training camp on the PUP list as a “precaution” so his knee doesn’t blow up on him. To add to this there are reports that he has struggled with his conditioning this offseason. This is awful news for a guy with a history of injury and conditioning/attitude problems and at least two guys chomping at the bit to take the starting job. I would watch this situation closely and start moving him down your draft list if he can get further down.
The second most talked about quarterback comeback in the NFL this year might be the most intriguing. With last year’s re-emergence of the old school single wing offense (which has been renamed in the modern era as the “wildcat”) many analysts are speculating that Michael Vick could re-enter an NFL that is tailor made for his skill set. There are a couple of compelling questions in this scenario. First, will NFL defenses spend some time in the film room during the off season and remember why teams stopped using the single wing in the first place? Will there be teams willing to take a risk on a quarterback who was arguably too one dimensional in his prime and is now 2 years removed from football (and who has obvious life decision making skill deficiencies)? Will “Big Daddy” Roger Goodell accept the debt that Michael Vick paid to society as the debt paid to the NFL as well? Of course the biggest question for us is how will any of this affect the fantasy landscape? Will Michael Vick have any fantasy relevance at all? 
