Of course, Manning is Manning. He is by far the best QB in fantasy sports mainly because of his consistency each and every year, not much negative to say about having the best QB on your team. Steve McNair is a nice option at #2 because he has plenty of options in Baltimore this year. The biggest concern there is his health, he has really struggled to stay healthy in recent years and it could continue in Baltimore. Brian Griese is a nice #3 if he ends up starting. I think Griese could do very well if he started for the Bears with targets like Muhammed and Bradley but it depends on how well Grossman plays.
Overall: A-
RBs: Cadillac Williams*, Curtis Martin*, Ron Dayne, Cedric Benson, Marion Barber III, Derrick Blaylock, Michael Pittman
This is an area that is somewhat concerning....Caddy is a solid #1 RB this year but there are many questions surrounding the RBs following him here. Martin is reportedly considering retirement because he is having a tough time getting back to playing again. Dayne has lost his starting job and with the turf toe it is unlikely he will win it back. Benson had the starting job but proceeded to get injured and now will have to fight for it again and prove he can stay healthy. Barber is a nice option because Parcells will probably use him frequently and if JJ gets hurt then you have the starting RB for Dallas. Blaylock is a nice pickup because if C-Mart isn't going to be able to play, Blaylock is currently the top option to replace him. Although it is looking like they want to bring someone else in to compete for the starting job. Pittman is nice insurance for Caddy.
Overall: B-/C+
WRs: Darrell Jackson*, Plaxico Burress*, Koren Robinson*, Joe Jurevicius*, Brandon Lloyd, Mark Bradley
The first 2 WRs are very solid with D-Jax and Plax. I like Jackson this year as Seattle's #1, he put up excellent numbers last year before he got hurt and after he came back. I expect big things from him this year. Plax is the #1 WR on an up and coming offense in New York, the downside there is that Plax can only be as consistent as Eli Manning, which concerns me a bit. K-Rob was looking like a great #3 until his arrest recently which really hurts his value, if he can get back to starting he could be a solid fantasy contributor but right now his value is very low. I like Jurevicius as a #4 WR, he has excellent hands and will be a great target for Frye to throw to this year. Lloyd and Bradley both have plenty of upside but Lloyd has a lot to compete with in Washington for receptions (Portis, Moss, Cooley, Randle-El) and Bradley is on a run first team and it depends more on the QB situation for him.
Overall: B
TEs: Alge Crumpler*, LJ Smith*
Very nice starting TEs here. Crumpler is one of the best seeing as how he is the only person Vick will throw the ball to. LJ Smith is also a very good TE option for this year especially when looking at the lack of WRs for McNabb to throw to. LJ should have a good year, the downside with him is that he has been somewhat injury prone in the past, mainly with concussions.
Overall: A
K: Jeff Wilkins
Wilkins is always a solid pickup at kicker. He kicks at least half of his games every year indoors so you know he'll have good conditions to kick in and he kicks long FGs pretty accurately which is also good for fantasy.
Overall: B+
DEF: Chicago Bears
Obviously the top fantasy defense. They have a pretty weak division offensively for the most part although Detroit did get much better the moment they got Mike Martz as their OC. Regardless, Chicago is still easily the top fantasy defense going into this year.
Overall: A+
RBs and WRs are both a big concern to me. There is definitely potential at RB, but it's tough to go into a season with so few clear cut starting RBs on your roster. At WR you have a couple very nice WRs, but there is a huge dropoff after that with the whole K-Rob thing.
Overall Grade: B
Last edited by mattb47 on Sat Aug 19, 2006 2:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
Great job in all the analysis matt - you really have a great insight into the positions and players. I really enjoy reading your stuff and you've helped me build a much better fantasy knowledge base.
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QBs: Kurt Warner*, Mark Brunell*, Alex Smith, Billy Volek
Warner and Brunell have the potential to be very good this year as starters if they are able to stay healthy. Age is obviously a concern for both of these guys, but if they can stay healthy they are both very nice fantasy contributors. Alex Smith is a risk because he was just plain awful last year, getting a couple good receiving targets in Vernon Davis and Antonio Bryant will help him but that team is still just so bad that it's tough to expect much. Volek is a good option as a backup but what concerns me is that if the Titans start to do poorly, you could very well see Vince Young getting some time.
I think you have some solid RBs here. Edge is a very good #1 RB.....contrary to what most people believe, I think that he will do just fine in Arizona this year even with the shaky O-Line. Dillon is an injury risk, but having Maroney makes it a solid #2 RB. Addai defintely has good value if he's able to land the starting job this year in Indy, even if he splits time he has decent value. Deuce will likely get goal line type touches and a decent number of carries on a weekly basis, so as your #3/4 RB he's a pretty solid option.
Overall: A-
WRs: Terrell Owens*, Santana Moss*, Joe Horn*, Rod Smith*, Nate Burleson, Marty Booker
I'm not big on TO personally, I think he has too high a chance of being a huge problem in Dallas and I know Parcells will have none of that. There is no doubt that he is great when on the field but I think that to expect the same types of numbers he had in Philly is a stretch because this is a completely different team. Dallas is a run first team, with plenty of other options in the receiving game (J. Jones, Witten, Glenn) and also a shaky O-Line which won't give Bledsoe much time to pass. Moss is a solid #2 WR, not sure if the Brunell/Moss QB/RB combo is what I would go for but if Brunell is going to do well, most of it will probably go to Moss. Horn is a very solid #3 WR.....if he was a top 5 WR for a while with Brooks at QB, he should be a very solid WR with a much better QB in Brees this year. I like having Smith and Burleson to use as a #4 WR here, I don't see Booker as really being in the same league as those 2 right now.
Overall: B+
TEs: Antonio Gates, Jermaine Wiggins, Joe Klopfenstein
Gates is of course the best TE available. He is just like having another WR which is great to have in a TE. Wiggins is a solid #2 TE, it is a bit concerning with the somewhat mediocre Minnesota offense but he is a solid receiving option. Klopfenstein is a rookie, you never really know what to expect there, but he has plenty of potential.
Overall: A-
K: Ryan Longwell
I don't really trust the Minnesota offense to get into a ton of scoring situations so I'm not really big on Longwell this year but kickers are unpredictable so you really never know. The additions of Richardson and Hutch could really help, but only time will tell.
Overall: B
DEF: Seattle Seahawks
I am a bit concerned about this defense this year. They are very talented, yes, but they are also in a division with some very good offenses (St. Louis and Arizona). They are still a very good Defensive option and should put up a good number of turnovers, because with a high powered passing offense comes interceptions.
Overall: A-
I see QB as the biggest weakness for this team. There is just a lot of risk with the QBs you currently have (all 4 of them) and so it could turn out either very good or very bad for you. I am a bit concerned with TO at WR because he is a big risk just to let your team down completley but if he can keep in line your receivers are looking good.
QBs: Daunte Culpepper*, Trent Green*, Brad Johnson
I would be a tad concerned here with Culpepper as my #1 just because I don't have complete faith in a QB like Culpepper who runs a decent amount coming off a tear of all three of his major ligaments in his knee. That is not an injury you just bounce back from, and I just question his ability to perform well early on especially. Trent Green is a great #2, but he could end up being the #1 if C-Pepp can't play for you. Johnson is a mediocre option as a backup but he probably won't put up huge numbers in that offense, it is more likely that the Vikings put a bit more focus on the run.
Overall: B
RBs: Rudi Johnson, Reuben Droughns, Chris Brown, Mewelde Moore, Mike Anderson
I would be concerned here at RB just because you don't really have much depth. Rudi and Droughns are a couple of solid starters at RB but Chris Brown has been requesting a trade and who knows how long he'll hold off White anyway. Moore is a backup for Minny right now and Anderson is a backup for Baltimore. Just not much depth.
Overall: B
WRs: Chad Johnson, Hines Ward, Joey Galloway, Muhsin Muhammed, Kevin Curtis, Brandon Stokely, Jabar Gaffney
Very nice looking WRs here. CJ is a very good #1 WR and Hines is an excellent #2 WR as well. Galloway has had good chemistry with Simms and could be in for another good season as a starter for the Bucs this year. Clayton may become more of an option for that team this year though which may eat into Galloway's production a bit. Muhammed is a very nice #4, with either Grossman or Griese at QB this year, Muhammed should have solid production with some consistency at the QB position there. Curtis and Stokely are nice sleeper types as decent backups. Curtis will get some production all season and if Bruce goes down again, then his value goes way up.
Overall: A
TEs: Tony Gonzalez, Jerramy Stevens
Tony is a fantastic TE. The problem may become that he may need to stay in and block more this season (like he had to do early last season) since Roaf may not be coming back. Without Roaf they need some help with blocking and Gonzo was forced to help with that last year and it is a big factor on why he had a down year. It worries me a bit this year, but he should still have a better year than last year. Stevens is injured I believe so you only have one starting TE.
Overall: B
K: Neil Rackers
Great fantasy Kicker option of course with the year he had last year. The concern comes in when you look at the fact that they added Edgerrin James which could me fewer stalls in scoring position but it could also mean more time in scoring position, so that could go either way. Also last year could be just a random good year because if you look at his previous years he was very ordinary.
Overall: A
DEF: Pittsburgh Steelers
Ok, I need to try to leave my Steeler bias out of this. They are a top 3 fantasy defense on most lists I've seen and they have always been a very solid fantasy defense. They normally give up very few points and get plenty of sacks and fumbles. Solid fantasy defense.
Overall: A
The QB, RB, and TE situations concerns me a bit with injury concerns with C-Pepp at QB, lack of depth at RB, and the injury to Stevens at TE but the rest of your team is rock solid
QBs: Drew Bledsoe*, Aaron Brooks*, Chris Simms, Chad Pennington
I am a bit concerned here, moreso with Aaron Brooks as a 2nd starter. Bledsoe is a decent starting QB fantasy wise, has potential to be good, but has a very weak O-Line, is old, and is on a run first team. He could take a beating this year with that O-Line and the older you get the fewer of those you can take before getting hurt. Brooks has the talent around him in Oakland, but Art Shell will want to run the ball a lot and I've never been impressed with Brooks at all. He is a downgrade there from Kerry Collins in my opinion and I don't see him doing well this year. Simms is a pretty decent guy to have as a #3, he has a good RB in Caddy and a couple good receivers with Galloway and Clayton. He should be in good shape this year. Pennington is a good QB option if he can stay healthy, he is a smart QB who will get you consistent numbers if he is able to keep from getting hurt again.
Overall: B-
RBs: Ronnie Brown*, Jamal Lewis*, DeShaun Foster, Thomas Jones
Ronnie and Jamal are a couple of very good starting RBs. Ronnie could explode this year with Ricky out of the picture....there is also some concern there just because he has never carried the full load like this but if he can do it he'll be great. Jamal is probably my favorite for comeback player of the year this year. The signing of Steve McNair might have helped him more than anyone, because it will open things up in the running game for him having a threat at QB. Foster could be very good if he stays healthy, which may be asking a lot since he has really never been able to do so. He has proven to be very talented when healthy though, so if he is able to do so he could be a very nice #3. Thomas Jones could end up being the starter again this year with the injury to Benson, if that's the case then he becomes a great #3/#4 RB. I think at the very least he will split time with Benson.
Overall: A
WRs: Steve Smith*, Reggie Wayne*, Derrick Mason*, Eric Moulds*, Chad Jackson, Charles Rogers, Ashley Lelie
Very nice looking group of starting WRs here. Smith, Wayne, and Mason should all have very nice years this year. Mason would be a very good #2 WR this year with McNair and as a #3 he is an excellent guy to have there. Moulds is a solid option this year playing opposite AJ for the Texans. The rest of the WRs are somewhat of question marks when you look at the rookie in Jackson and then Rogers who has always underachieved as well as Lelie who is currently holding out. Jackson could be good if he is able to get some solid playing time, but as with all Patriots WRs, his production will vary greatly from week to week with the way Brady spreads it around. If Rogers can get his act together he could be a solid option this year because getting Martz as the OC is a huge boost to that offense.
Overall: A- (the minus is because of depth)
TEs: Jason Witten, Kellen Winslow II, Jeb Putzier
Very nice looking TEs here. Witten is a solid option for the Cowboys this year, the drafting of Fasano isn't a great thing for him however because Parcells wants to run more 2 TE sets which means there is another target at TE on the field for the Cowboys this year. There are so many offensive weapons there that Witten may not be as great of an option as recent years. Winslow has tons of potential and could end up having a big year with an inexperienced Charlie Frye at QB. As a #2 TE he is a great option. Putzier has always been solid and now the Texans have a good TE receiving option for when Carr is being pressured (which is very often) so he could put up some very nice numbers.
Overall: A
K: Jason Elam
He has always been a solid kicker option because of his strong leg and the efficient Denver offense consistentl gets them into scoring position. He is getting up there in age, but he still has it.
Overall: A-
DEF: New York Giants
This defense could be very very good this year. They had a solid defense last year and have added onto that with players like LaVarr Arrington to the LB corps. It could end up being a big year for this defense fantasy wise.
Overall: A
The real only big weakness on this team is at QB. I don't trust Bledsoe and Brooks very much at all to be consistent productive fantasy players and if nothing else you want consistent play from your QBs, someone who may not win you games but wont lose them for you. These guys could both win some weeks for you with big performances but could also turn around and kill your team the next week.
GreatestShowOnEarth wrote:wow matt. very impressive. Youve put a lot of time into these.
Also wondering when we are going to get this league on yahoo. I would like to make some Add/drops. thanks.
I'll be inputting the rosters into yahoo within the next few days. Then I'll PM everyone and set a time for add/drops to start. I want to make sure that everyone knows that the add/drops are starting (and when) so that everyone has a fair chance to pick up the better players among the undrafted free agents.
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by mattb47 » Sat Aug 19, 2006 12:32 am 
