Fantasy Players Moving Up & Down Your Draft Board Week 2

Well the teams have broken camp and are in the swing of the preseason. One thing that is becoming abundantly clear is that players are continuing to slide up and down the depth chart as well as on our UberRank Fantasy Cheat Sheet.

The Good:
Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings- It is becoming a theme, let’s start the week off with a Vikings QB! Even though Brett has told us 4 different times that he is absolutely done playing football, he appears to be, yet again, not done playing football. Favre seems to be stepping into a perfect situation to put up a good fantasy season. He will be playing in a very familiar west coast offensive system, he is going to a team with an amazing defense and a ridiculous running game and to top it off, he is playing 8 games in a dome at home, and 7 either indoors or warmer weather states. For the first time in several years, Brett is not going to be asked to win games, he will a great supporting cast to help him along the way. Just keep in mind that Favre has had a recent history of not helping his fantasy owners come playoff time.

The Bad:
JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders- Rumor has it that Russell threw three picks in a scrimmage with his own team. In case you have not watched many football practices, the quarterback wears a red jersey and in not allowed to be hit. When you know you will not be hit, you do not really feel too much real pressure…and he still threw three interceptions!!! I know that JaMarcus look respectable with moments of decent at the end of last season, but I am not buying what he is selling. Plus, with the coaches beating the hell out of each other and Jeff Garcia trying to poach his job, stay far away from anyone on the Raiders.

The Ugly:
Brandon Marshall, Denver Broncos- Marshall has been projected as a top 5 fantasy wide receiver for the last few seasons, that streak is going to end. Marshall’s issues started with his ongoing, off the field legal battles. It continued with the departure of his quarterback Jay Cutler. It has now culminated with Marshall thinking he can pitch the same childish fit that his buddy Cutler pulled and demand to be traded. This has not been very effective and he is now reported to be practicing with the scout team. In case you’re confused, it “is” what you think, one step up from the practice squad. The scout team is where Eric Crouch’s career went to die. If the once promising career of Brandon Marshall continues down this road, you could see him bagging groceries at an Albertson’s near you very soon.

Fantasy Players Moving Up & Down Your Draft Board

With the first week of camp behind us, there are some stories coming out that are having an impact on the team depth chart as well as on our UberRank Fantasy Cheat Sheet.

The Good:
Sage Rosenfels, Minnesota Vikings- With Brett Favre staying retired, for now and Tavaris Jackson seen hobbling off the practice field on several occasions, Sage Rosenfels looks to be in the driver’s seat for day one starter. Rosenfels showed some real heart (if not brains) in his support role for the injured Matt Schaub last season. As I have said on different posts, he would have been the early lock for the starting job in Minnesota from day one if he had not tried to stretch for extra yards and subsequently fumbled a bunch of times in a single game last year. Since Rosenfels is a pure pocket passer with a big arm, Bernard Berrian should be upgraded on you board. More good news for Rosenfels is that the Vikings signed their first round pick, playmaker Percy Harvin. Sage has cracked the top 25 on the UberRank, watch for him to crack the top 20 before week 1.

The Bad:
Chris Wells, Arizona Cardinals- After holding out due to contract negotiations Chris “Beanie” Wells finally made it on the field last weekend, only to be carried off on a cart in his first practice. Although the extent of this injury has been downplayed, it can’t be a good sign that he has been unable to get or stay on the field. This mild injury only knocked him down one spot on the UberRank, you can bet that his slide will be quick if next week is anything like last week.

The Ugly:
Michael Crabtree, San Francisco 49ers- Crabtree has been a hold out since he was selected in the first round by the 49ers. Whether you like or dislike the current state of the NFL rookie salary scheme, the truth is, it operates pretty easily. You get paid, more than the guy that got picked in your spot last year and more than the guy who got picked after you this year…but less than the guy who got picked before you. Apparently Crabtree did not get the memo. Now he is saying he wants top 5 pick money, even though he is not a top 5 pick. To make things worse, there is a report that Crabtree’s cousin and advisor (that sounds like a good idea) is saying that Michael is willing to sit out the whole year and re-enter the draft next year if he does not get the money he wants. Michael Crabtree comes from a college program that has put up incredible offensive numbers but only produced one NFL starter (Wes Welker). He did not workout at the combine because of an injury and he is smaller than listed…and now he is holding out for more money. Michael, talk to Mike Williams and Cedric Benson and JaMarcus Russell and even Maurice Clarett to find out what happens to your career when you play games and don’t get into camp on time or worse, sit out a whole year.

QB in Round 1?? Are you Nuts?

Thinking Quarterback First Round?

I know that this sounds crazy…but so did the idea of a round earth that orbits the sun! But, with the changing of the offensive mindset in the NFL, it might not be so crazy.

The NFL has fallen in love with a few things in the last few seasons. The first is running back by committee. This trend is great for the team and definitely prolongs the career of the team’s “franchise” running back, if there is such a thing. But it is terrible for fantasy football. Nothing is worse than having a running back in your fantasy stable who would have been a 1500 yard back 7 years ago, but now gets 35 yards on a drive but gets taken off the field in 3rd down situations and has someone else take all the short yardage spots. You are not going to draft his 3rd down partner and you are not going to rely on just the goal line vulture because he will get you 4 yards a game and maybe a td if you are really lucky. So, the guy you have to draft is the one who gets 65 yards a game and no TDs. He may get 3 touchdowns a year when he breaks one from 20 yards out (think Willie Parker). So the question is…is he a first round pick???

The second thing that the NFL has fallen in love with (more recently) is the “wildcat” single wing…whatever. This trend is single handedly changing the way teams are looking at the quarterback position. I know that this sound a little hyperbolic but think about it, if Eric Crouch were being drafted today, it would not be an automatic that he would have to change positions. The same could be said for Matt Jones (if he could stay clean) Kordell Stewart, Michael Robinson and the obvious conversation piece Michael Vick. All of a sudden the quarterback can now possibly be a hybrid who scores receiving touchdowns, rushing touchdowns and of course passing touchdowns.

The last object of the NFL’s offensive coordinators desire is the notion of throwing first to open up the run. The Patriots and the Eagles have done this most successfully in the last couple years. The idea is that if you throw successfully, the safeties cannot cheat the run by stacking 8 in the box. These types of offenses actually consider swing passes to the running back, running plays. The thing is…they are not running plays, so if the running back catches a pass in the backfield and takes it to the house, it counts as a touchdown for the quarterback! Thus the value of quarterbacks in these systems is at a premium.

So, this begs the question, is it completely ridiculous that you would draft Drew Brees’ 5000 yards and 30 TDs before you draft Marion Barber? The argument could be made that in most leagues you are able to have more than one running back on the field at a time so it is more important to stockpile RB1s, but that argument could also prove the opposite. Since you can only play one quarterback (in most leagues, there are some that have started allowing more than one QB on the field but I would never play in those leagues) it is more important that you gain a sizable material advantage at the quarterback position than any other. For example, if you have Tom Brady, Chris Johnson and Ryan Grant and your opponent has Ladanian Tomlinson, Clinton Portis and Jason Campbell, who has the better team. I know which team I would rather have.

The answer may not be clear and there will always be conventionalists who say you have to go RB, RB, QB/WR in your first 3 rounds. But, the truth is, with the changing face of the NFL offences that have decreased the sure money on betting on running backs and increased the value of wide receivers and mobile quarterbacks, it is not crazy to consider a top tier QB in the first 5 picks. Like all things in fantasy football, sometimes you have to buck conventional wisdom and pick a playmaker.