QB RB WR TE DEF Top 100

Why do I only rank the top 15? I do this because no one really plays in leagues of more than 14 or so players so these are the only players you should be considering as QB1s. As for QB2s, that’s another whole article. More on that later.

1. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay)

In 14 and a half games last year, Aaron Rodgers threw for 3922 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Spread that out over 16 games, and you get 4328 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, which might even be an underestimate based off of how well this guy played down the stretch and into the playoffs last year.

In the 2^nd half (6.5 games) and the playoffs (4 games), he threw for 3005 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 4 picks. Spread that over 16 games and you get 4579 yards, 38 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. If he plays 16 games, I think he gets somewhere in between 4328-4579 yards, 31-38 touchdowns, and 6-12 interceptions.

On top of this, he is mobile with rushing totals of 207 yards, 316 yards, and 356 yards in his first 3 years in the league, as well as 4, 5, and 4 rushing touchdowns. The issue is health. He plays a style of football that leads to a lot of injuries and though he’s tough and can play well injured, there are certainly no guarantees he plays 16 games.

Projection: 4400 passing yards, 33 passing touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 350 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns, 2 fumbles (345 pts standard, 411 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

2. Michael Vick (Philadelphia)

8/26/11: The Eagles offense looks out of sync right now. I don’t know if it’s Maclin being out or defensive coordinators having a whole offseason to figure out how to stop Vick, but this is not good for Vick’s fantasy value. Maclin should be back week 1, but he won’t be 100%. Normally I don’t like to overreact to the preseason, but Vick is being drafted as high as the top 5 as a quarterback. This has to be worrisome. 

Michael Vick was the leading fantasy scorer at quarterback last year despite missing 4 and a half games with injury. He’ll surely be the top fantasy scorer at quarterback this year, right? Not so fast. Vick really slowed down late last year. Teams were finally figuring out how to slow him down.

In his last 7 games, including the playoffs, he had 1960 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 367 rushing yards, and 6 rushing touchdowns. Over 16 games, that’s 4480 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 839 rushing yards, 14 rushing touchdowns. However, keep in mind, he’s only played 16 games once in his career. He’s a smaller quarterback who takes a lot of hits. He won’t be healthy for 16 games. I’d say 14 games is a reasonable estimate for him.

Projection: 3700 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 700 rushing yards, 9 rushing touchdowns, 5 fumbles (322 pts standard, 366 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

3. Tom Brady (New England)

Tom Brady played some of the best and most efficient football ever seen down the stretch last year, becoming the league’s first unanimous MVP, before it all came to a crashing halt against the Jets. In his final 7 games, he threw for 1875 yards, 20 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Spread out of 16 games, that’s 4286 yards, 46 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He’ll throw some picks next year, but with his two rookie tight ends now in their 2^nd season, one could expect those numbers to even increase.

There are a few issues. One, the Jets wrote the book on how to stop this Patriots offense in their playoff win. It’s unclear whether they were simply the first team to have the personnel to play in a way that can stop the Patriots or whether they were the first team to figure out if you clog the middle and leave their outside receivers one on one with your cornerbacks, it disrupts what they try to do.

I think it was a little bit of both. Not every team is going to have Cromartie and Revis on the outside to stick one on one on the Patriots’ outside receivers, but teams will try to do what the Jets did last year against the Patriots. This is a copycat league. Fortunately for Brady, Belichick is great at making offensive adjustments. Unfortunately for Brady, they won’t have a full offseason, thanks to the lockout, to make those adjustments.

Projection: 4200 passing yards, 38 passing touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 30 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 1 fumble (311 pts standard, 387 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

4. Tony Romo (Dallas)

There are several reasons to like Romo this year. One, he’s healthy. Before last year’s injury, he had played all 16 games in 3 of his past 4 seasons. Two, he was playing great fantasy wise in his first 5 games last year before getting hurt, throwing for 1566 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 7 picks. Stretched across 16 games, that’s 5011 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions.

Third, his coach is now Jason Garrett. Garrett was able to turn Jon Kitna into a passable fantasy option late last year. In 6 and a half games last year under Garrett, Kitna threw for 1616 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. Across 16 games, that’s 4650 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. I think that might be Romo’s floor if he stays healthy this year.

Fourth, their offensive line is much improved with Tyron Smith at right tackle. Fifth, their defense and running game are still a mess so he’ll throw a lot. Their defense actually got worse once Wade Phillips was fired and Garrett took over. Plus, it’s not like Romo is a stranger to throwing 4000+ yards, throwing 4211 in 2007 and 4483 in 2009. The only issue with him is his tendency to struggle around fantasy playoff time.

Projection: 4650 yards, 31 passing touchdowns, 18 interceptions, 100 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 5 fumbles (280 pts standard, 342 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

5. Josh Freeman (Tampa Bay)

In his 2^nd year, Freeman threw for 3451 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions, making him the 7^th rated quarterback in fantasy. Even more impressive was that he got better as the year went on. In the 11 games where LeGarrette Blount got 10+ carries (week 7 on), Freeman threw for 2408 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 3 picks. Over 16 games, that’s 3503 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. He also threw for at least 237 yards in each of his final 4 games. The only issue is he’ll have a stronger schedule this year and handle high expectations for the first time in his career.

Projection: 3600 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 350 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 6 fumbles (267 pts standard, 321 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

6. Drew Brees (New Orleans)

Like Manning, Brees had a down year in 2010 with 4620 passing yards, 33 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions. However, if you ignore those 22 interceptions, that’s a very good year. If he can get that interception total down into the mid teens, he could definitely be a top 5 fantasy quarterback again. That interception total was his career high by 4.

Between a Super Bowl hangover, a lack of a running game, and a bad knee, his down year was definitely explainable. He won’t have any of those 3 things this year, though a stronger running game with Mark Ingram could cut his attempts from 658, which he had in 2010, a career high. Expect his attempts to be closer to the 514 he had in 2009 with a better running game, but also his YPA to be closer to the 8.5 he had in 2009 than the 7.0 he had in 2010.

Projection: 4550 passing yards, 31 passing touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 10 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns, 7 fumbles (263 pts standard, 325 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

7. Philip Rivers (San Diego)

Rivers threw a career high 541 times last year after totals of 460, 460, 478, and 486 in his first 4 years as a starter and became a top 5 fantasy quarterback because of this. A lot of this had to do with an unreliable running game and a team that struggled to stay around .500.

With a healthy Ryan Mathews, they should run better this year and they can’t possible have worse special teams play this year than they had last year so that number should drop down to around 500. However, his YPA totals from his past 3 years are 8.4, 8.8, and 8.7 so he’ll make the most of his 500 or so attempts, all while limiting his interceptions. His 13 interceptions last year were a 3 year high.

Projection: 4300 passing yards, 29 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 60 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns, 4 fumbles (262 pts standard, 230 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

 

8. Matt Ryan (Atlanta)

Matt Ryan has improved as a fantasy quarterback every season in his 3 year career, ranking 8^th last year. I expect him to continue to improve in his 4^th year as he finally has someone other than Roddy White to throw to. Whether or not you agree with their decision to move up 21 spots to take Julio Jones 6^th, there’s no denying the impact that Julio Jones has on their offense will be a positive one.

Projection: 3800 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 110 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns, 3 fumbles (257 pts standard, 317 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

9. Sam Bradford (St. Louis)

Bradford had a great rookie year, but wasn’t a great fantasy player. However, there are three reasons why the latter will change this year. One, he’s no longer a rookie. Rookie quarterbacks always struggle, but Bradford didn’t. Two, his receiving corps will be better after they spent 2^nd-4^th round picks on receivers.

Three, he has a new offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels. McDaniels turned Matt Cassel and Kyle Orton into 3600+ yard and 21+ touchdown passers. Bradford could easily throw for 4000 yards in this scheme.

Projection: 4050 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 50 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 5 fumbles (241 pts standard, 291 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

10. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh)

In 12 games last year, Roethlisberger threw for 3200 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 5 picks. If you spread that over 16 games, that’s very impressive, but he’s only once played a full 16 game season in his career. Still, spread that over 15 games and you get 4000 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. You take that out of a QB1. The only potential downside is that the 2 worst seasons of his career came the year after making the Super Bowl, though we have yet to see how he responds after losing the Super Bowl.

Projection: 3950 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 150 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 4 fumbles (241 pts standard, 281 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

11. Matt Schaub (Houston)

Matt Schaub threw 583 times in 2009 and 574 times in 2010. I expect that number to be lower this season. Not only does Houston finally have a good running game with Arian Foster and 2010 2^nd round pick Ben Tate healthy to fall back on, Houston’s defense will be better this year with Kareem Jackson in his 2^nd year, the additions of JJ Watt, Brooks Reed, Brandon Harris, Johnathan Joseph, and Danieal Manning, as well as a healthy DeMeco Ryans and Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator. I expect Schaub to throw around 550 times this year instead so his yards will decrease.

Projection: 4250 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 30 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns, 5 fumbles (231 pts standard, 277 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

12. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis)

8/25/11: Peyton Manning is not expected to be ready for week 1 according to higher ups in the Indianapolis organization. The Colts have signed Kerry Collins as insurance. The last time Peyton Manning missed the preseason was 2008. It took him 7 games to get right. In those 7 games, the Colts went 3-4 and Peyton Manning was 162-265 (61.1%) for 1754 yards (6.6 YPA) 10 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.

Let’s say Manning misses one game, and then in his next 7 has numbers similar or slightly worse than what he had in 7 games in 2008 (remember, this is a more serious injury and he’s 3 years old) and then in the 2^nd half he has vintage Peyton Manning numbers only cut in half (180-270 for 2100 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions), that gives him this fantasy line for the season: 3854 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, 16 interceptions.

That gives him 226 fantasy points. That puts him right around what Eli Manning had in 2010 (221). Eli Manning finished 10^th in quarterback fantasy points. I don’t think that’s a completely unreasonable projection for Peyton this season. I really don’t. He has a great supporting cast on offense so I’m projecting him slightly higher than that, but not much. Stay away from this guy. He’s going to get over drafted in your league. 

8/20/11: Colts Owner Jim Irsay says that the team is preparing for the possibility that Manning misses week 1. My money’s still on him starting, but this hurts his fantasy stock. He could have a slow start to his season. 

Peyton Manning was absolutely terrible in 2010, throwing for 4700 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. Hopefully my sarcasm translates through the internet. Point is, last year’s down year for Manning was not even bad. He still finished 4^th in fantasy points among quarterbacks. There’s a lot of reason to believe he’ll be better this year.

The Colts added offensive linemen with their first two picks and they didn’t do a ton to fix their running game which means he could have to throw the ball a league high 679 times again. His receiving corps, by default, should be healthier this year as well. His YPA will be closer to the 7.9 he had in 2009 than the 6.9 he had in 2010 and his attempts will be closer to the 679 he had in 2010 than the 571 he had in 2009. Am I crazy for thinking he could pass for 5000 yards?

Projection: Projection: 3900 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 20 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns, 3 fumbles (228 pts standard, 282 pts 6 pt TD leagues)

13. Matt Stafford (Detroit)

8/28/11: Wow. I had questions with Stafford going into this season because he has never proved himself on the field at the NFL level. However, he’s looked amazing this season, especially in the Lions’ 3^rd preseason game. He went 12 for 14 with 2 touchdowns and 200 passing yards, good for a perfect passer rating. Detroit’s quarterbacks had 4001 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 16 picks last season even though Stafford only played 3 games.

Now add in the fact that Titus Young is replacing Bryant Johnson, one of the worst receivers in the league last season, in the slot, and that Stafford is much more talented than Hill and Stanton and Stafford could have 4200 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions if he plays 16 games. However, we have to take injuries into account so my projected stats for him are over 14 games. Still, he’s a nice low end QB1 with top 7-8 fantasy QB upside. 

8/17/11: I didn’t have Stafford ranked in my top 15 because there are questions about his healthy and there are still questions about his ability. He’s still never proven himself in the NFL. He could be very good, but there was a point when we though David Carr, and Alex Smith, and JaMarcus Russell could have been very good. However, Stafford did look very good in his first preseason game, for what it’s worth.

Projection: 3650 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 50 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 5 fumbles (223 pts standard, 273 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

14. Eli Manning (NY Giants)

8/21/11: Eli Manning will feel the loss of Steve Smith and Kevin Boss this season. 

With 4002 passing yards and 31 touchdowns, Eli Manning should have had a strong fantasy season. He didn’t and you can blame 25 interceptions for that. I think that number drops back down into a more typical 17-19 for him. He had never had more than 20 picks before last year and a lot of those interceptions could be blamed on their receivers. I think he has better luck this year.

Projection: 3700 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, 18 interceptions, 60 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns, 6 fumbles (214 pts standard, 268 pts in 6 pt TD leagues) 

15. Joe Flacco (Baltimore)

8/21/11: I should have done this update a while ago, but Flacco has lost two reliable targets in Derrick Mason and Todd Heap. Anquan Boldin is on the decline (30 catches for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns in his last 10 games last season, including playoffs) and Flacco never has looked comfortable throwing to Boldin. Mason was always the one he was comfortable throwing to and he’s gone. Lee Evans is in, but he won’t have a lot of time to learn the offense and both of his tight ends are inexperienced. He also has two rookie receivers hurt by the lockout. This will hurt his stats a bit.  

Like Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco has improved in every season of his 3 year career. Will he continue to improve in his 4^th year? Maybe, but it’s not as certain as it is with Matt Ryan, who now gets to play with Julio Jones. Joe Flacco gets two rookie receivers, Torrey Smith and Tandon Doss, but it remains to be seen what they can give as rookies. My money is on him having a very similar 2011 season to the season he had in 2010.

Projection: 3450 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 60 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 7 fumbles (204 pts standard, 250 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

 

 

Rush Linebacker/defensive end 

South Florida

6-3 252

40 time: 4.89

Draft board overall prospect rank: #215

Draft board rush linebacker rank: #19

Overall rating: 52* 

3/1/10:  I didn’t think his stock could drop anymore. After an amazing 14.5 sacks in 2007 as a sophomore, he has had only 9 in the two years past.  He looked awful all year and in the Senior Bowl, not giving any effort, and sucking against the run. Now, he has run an awful 40 time with a 4.89. He sucks against the run, doesn’t give any effort on the field, hasn’t had a good year in a long time, and now his future as a pass rush specialist looks in doubt after an awful 40 time.

1/30/10: He got destroyed by big blockers on run plays and made an ugly bite on a misdirection which went for a big gain. He also failed to make a fairly routine tackle. He’s not big enough to play in the trenches in the NFL and he didn’t show that he has the hustle or skills to be an elite pass rusher either. 

            10/2/09: George Selvie is in danger of being written off as a one year wonder. He was amazing with 14.5 sacks in a BCS conference in 2007. However, teams made adjustments to him and he has 7.5 sacks in the 1 plus years since. He only has 2 this year and he’s on pace to be as bad as he was last year when he had 5.5 sacks. He needs to get to the quarterback more because, he doesn’t do much else well. He’s too small to be an every down defense end. He’s fast and quick and athletic, but at 250 pounds, he’ll get destroyed on in the trenches. He projects as a rush linebacker or a nickel end and those players specialize in getting to the quarterback, so if he is struggling with double teams to get to the quarterback, his stock is going to fall. He has high upside, but his 40 time is not actually that good for his size. A mid 4.6 at 250 pounds is not jumping off the charts. His one trick in pass rushing in lining up outside and accelerating and using his quickness to get to the quarterback. He does draw double teams and that makes things easier for his teammates. He has a good motor, but he’s getting a reputation as an underachiever. He possesses an amazing initial burst and good closing speed. He has long arms and stronger than you would think. He has a good push off of blockers with his long arms, but he’ll still get knocked down far too often in the NFL trenches. He gets knocked off the line on clear running plays where he has to lineup inside in college so I expect the same thing will happen in the NFL. He needs to get his act together soon because he still has 1^st round potential, but he could very well fall into the 2^nd or 3^rd round if he doesn’t.

NFL Comparison: Jarvis Moss

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

By Kevin Harrison

It was right there almost a year ago.  It was the same stadium.  It was in the same month.  It was against the same team.  It was against the future Hall of Fame quarterback. And, now, after another regular season ended, the Jets were back to face the Colts.  

That eleven point lead in the first half still haunts me like does the ten point lead we had in 1998 against the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.  This may not be the Championship Game but it is still Mr. Manning standing in the way of the Jets mission of winning the Super Bowl. 

Rex Ryan has been telling us since he was hired that we are going to win the Super Bowl.  We fell 32 minutes short last year but are back in the hunt again and he still believes we are going to win the Super Bowl.  But, first we must seek revenge on that same team that ended the dream last year.

It’s been a crazy season so far.  Twelve of the Jets 16 games have come down to the last five minutes with the Jets winning many of them including some comebacks that us Jets fans will remember forever.  And, after this first round match-up to start the postseason, another miracle comeback gets added to the Sanchize resume.

Yes, Mark Sanchez is starting to become the next generations’ Mr. Comeback with his 53 second drive, on the road, to beat the Colts by a point after things were looking bleak.

Let me back up a little bit.  The Jets had the ball and a two point lead and basically needed two first downs to end the game.  It was third and 5 and we had been driving the ball nicely with a combination of short passes and some ground and pound running.  You would think that Schottenheimer would call a short pass for a sure first down.  Instead, Sanchez overthrows the ball deep for an incompletion.  Thus, the clock stops and we have to put the ball back to the Colts.  At the time, this was an utter disaster getting the ball back in Manning’s hands.

And, in true Peyton Manning form, he drove the Colts down to field goal position with the Jets finally stopping them on 3^rd down.  However, Mr. Clutch, Adam V, was coming into the game as confident as ever to boot a 50 yard field goal to give the Colts a one point edge.

Could Mark Sanchez, the 2^nd year wonder, lead the Jets down the field with two time outs, on the road, again as he’s done so many times this year?   The Colts kick off the ball with 53 seconds left and we have Cromartie doing the returns with Brad Smith slightly injured and this was a great move to put Cromartie in as he showed a nice burst of speed on his prior return.  And, Antoino took the kick about 40 yards to put the Jets in great field goal position.

The Jets ran a few plays and a call came in that Sanchez and Braylon Edwards waved off.  Braylon said he could get open and Sanchez voiced that to Schottenheimer who then basically said, “Go for it” and Sanchez hit him.  YES.  The Jets were in field goal position.

Now, kicking game winning field goals makes me extremely ill.  We all remember the Doug Brien game, whom I still do NOT blame as no one would ever make that kick in Pittsburgh, but the kicker still always gets blamed.

And here was Nick Folk who had had a decent year replacing Jay Feely after a rough few game patch a few weeks ago.  He confidently enters the field with three seconds left and boots a 32 yard field goal to win the game.  The Jets Win.  The Jets Win.  The Jets Win.

Rex Ryan had beaten a Peyton Manning team.  The Jets win ANOTHER road playoff game.  We came back.  We beat a good team.  The Super Bowl chances are still alive.

There were a few things that I loved.  We returned to our roots with the running game.  LT and Shonn Green were looking great and you could tell that last week’s rest paid off as they both had their legs. 

I loved the play of Darrelle Revis.  Hell, he just gave up one yard to one of the BEST receivers in the game and basically made him non-existent.  I guess it sucks to get banished to Revis Island.

The Defense was amazing in general.  The Colts could barely generate a running game and Peyton didn’t have a ton of open players for his throwing game.  You can’t complain holding a Peyton Manning team to just 16 points.

Sanchez was a bit rusty in the first half throwing high many of his targets and killed us with his interception in the end zone in the end part of the second quarter.  I know he was trying to do too much but we can’t afford those kinds of mistakes as the interception negated a field goal attempt.

Cromartie getting burned on a long touchdown was one of the low points of the game and he heard it from Rex Ryan.  He looked much better after that.

And the game almost changed on the first punt with Santiono Holmes letting a ball go through his legs that almost grazed him which would have been a fumble and that could have destroyed the entire game.  Luckily, the Colts reviewed and it never grazed him but Santonio…stay the F**K away from the ball next time!

So, it’s back to New England where the Jets suffered one of the worst loses in team history.  Can we stop Tom Brady?  Can we out coach Bill Belicheck?  I know Rex Ryan doesn’t want to kiss another of his rings so let’s hope we can figure out the Patriots mystique by next Sunday.  For now, I’m gonna enjoy this game for a few more days before I start getting nervous all over again for this next huge hurdle.

http://khbirdmantalkingjets.blogspot.com/

Go back to Jets Fan Spot

 

With all the injuries the Panthers had at linebacker last year, Anderson was forced into a larger role. He responded with 130 tackles, 101 of which were solo tackles. And yet the Panthers were able to resign him for 7 million over 5 years less than the 29 million over 5 the Buccaneers gave Quincy Black. This is a great, cost effective move for the Carolina Panthers.

Grade: A

 

 

Jermon Bushrod is not an elite left tackle or anything, but he’s solid at his position and guys like that don’t grow on trees. I have no idea how the Saints were able to resign this guy for 9.8 million over 2 years.

Grade: A

 

By Michael J Morris 

Change may not always be a good thing, but when your team is 0-3 and you’re the one staring down the barrel of a gun, the decision to make change may come a little easier.

49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye was fired by Mike Singletary early Monday. 

“I came back here and basically spent the night here looking at film,” Singletary said. “And just kind of looked at an overall view of where we are, and looking at where we need to go, and felt that I needed to make the change.”

Although Singletary continued to show support even after the 31-10 loss to Kansas City, it’s hard to ignore the numbers.

The 49ers have scored a lowly 38 points this season—their lowest total for the first three games in 33 years. In Raye’s 19 games as offensive coordinator, the 49ers have failed to surpass 300 total yards 12 of the 19 times. And the running team that the 49ers have entitled themselves to be has only run for 78 yards per game, half of what the league leading rushing teams have accounted for so far.

Singletary chose Raye in 2009 and hired him because of the hard-nose run game they both had imagined.  Confidence is a good thing but you can be too confident. 

The 49ers let the league know what kind of team they would be and they advertised that they would run the ball down team’s throats.  But you’ve got two problems.  One, you can’t run the ball consistently if the ball can’t be moved through the air, and two, you drafted (and started) two rookie lineman to shape your future offensive line.  Another change may be in order if Singletary doesn’t fix the motionless ways of the 49ers offense.

Some new ideas may be needed if Singletary wants to be a part of the change and not the reason for change.

Quarterbacks coach, Mike Johnson, will be stepping in as offensive coordinator. Johnson, 43, has been an assistant for 10-years in the NFL, coaching in Atlanta, Baltimore, San Diego and now the 49ers.  Even though he may not be as experienced as Raye (or as old, however you want to put it) the players respect him and look forward to playing under him. 

“I think Mike will help,” backup quarterback David Carr said. “He’s young. He’s got a lot of energy. He’s got some great ideas. I think just him being our quarterbacks coach, I think that we’ve got a pretty close relationship as far as him with the quarterbacks. So I think he knows how we feel about our offense and about how our personnel can be used. And he’s got some great ideas himself. So I think it’s only a positive.”

http://michaeljmorris.wordpress.com/

 

WR Donald Driver DOWN

Driver had two knee surgeries in the offseason and is still not practicing. This might not be a big deal if he was 25, but he’s 35. Driver already started to drop off in production late last season and now he’s pretty badly hurt, not practicing, and won’t heal like he used to. I can see him being pretty ineffective this year. He still is, presumably, a starter in Green Bay’s high powered offense, which gives him some fantasy value, but chances are, he’ll be overdrafted.

WR James Jones UP

It’s a stretch, but if Driver misses any time with injury, or gets benched because of ineffectiveness, Jones would be the guy to step into the lineup, which obviously gives him fantasy value, as Green Bay’s offense in one of the best in the league.

RB Cedric Benson DOWN

Cedric Benson is officially a true Bengal. Benson was arrested on charges of assault in Texas. As someone who thought he had his life back on track, this was a major facepalm moment for me. However, this is not a good sign for his fantasy prospects. Roger Goddell does not look kindly on repeat offenders so a suspension could very well be looming and, if history is any indication, it’ll be about 4 games. If you draft this guy in the first or second round and he gets suspended for 4 games, that’s about 1/3 of your fantasy regular season that you’ll be missing him for. That’s a good way to lose your league. Wait for someone else to snatch him early until this situation gets sorted out.

RB Bernard Scott UP

If Benson gets suspended, Scott looks like the go to back. He’s very talented and can put up numbers for you. Scott was already a fantasy sleeper of mine because of Benson’s history of injuries and arrestes, but now he becomes even more of a fantasy sleeper as Benson’s history rears it’s head again.

 

WR Torry Holt DOWN

Brandon Tate is getting the first team looks in New England. This is nothing official, but if Holt doesn’t win a starting job, he’s fantasy worthless. I might still draft him in the really late rounds because he has some upside, but I’m not too excited about him.

WR Brandon Tate UP

Tate looks to have the advantage to be the starter in New England, which gives him a ton of fantasy value, especially if Welker stays hurt. He’s worth a late round flier.

WR Steve Smith DOWN

Smith broke his left arm recently. He is expected to return for the regular season, but he’ll miss valuable training time with two quarterbacks, Matt Moore and Jimmy Clausen, who he doesn’t have an extensive history with. He also may not be 100% come regular season. He may be out of shape. His recovery may also run long and he could miss a game or two. I’m knocking him down just a bit.

WR Brandon LaFell UP

If anyone is going to benefit from Smith’s injury, it’s LaFell. LaFell hasn’t been seeing a lot of time with the first time in practice, but that’s because Carolina coach John Fox always gives veterans the first shot at winning a starting job and LaFell is a 3^rd round pick rookie. 4^th year receiver Dwayne Jarrett has been getting all the first team reps in camp opposite Smith, but with Smith out, Fox really has no choice but to give LaFell more work. If he impresses with the first team, he could take the job from Jarrett. There’s no question in my mind that LaFell is more talented than Jarrett, even as a rookie. Jarrett has been horrible in his first 3 years since being drafted in the 2^nd out of USC. He has, on many occasions, looked completely lost on the football field. If LaFell takes the starting job from him, he could have some fantasy value, especially if Smith doesn’t come back 100% opposite him. I’m not ready to make him a sleeper yet, but keep your eye on him.

 

 

Kroy Biermann had an underrated season as a situational player in 2010. Though he had just 3 sacks, he had 35 pressures on just 630 snaps. ProFootballFocus actually ranked him 18^th in pass rushing among 4-3 defensive ends. He played fewer snaps in 2011 with Ray Edwards coming with 3 sacks and 16 pressures on 536 snaps. However, with John Abraham gone and Ray Edwards struggling, they almost had to resign Biermann, who can be a worst case scenario starter for them at defensive end. I just feel like they could have gotten him cheaper than 3 years, 12 million (3 million of which is through incentives), with 3 million guaranteed.

Grade: C

 

By Dean Holden

Quarterbacks 

A very large percentage of Lions fans disapproved of the selection of Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick in 2009.

A very large percentage of that percentage changed their tune in Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns, when Stafford led his team to a victory from a double-digit deficit, shattering a number of rookie passing records and his left shoulder in the process.

This year, Stafford enters the season as the undisputed first-string quarterback, in the eyes of the coaches, the media, and even the fans. It has been a long time since the Lions were able to say that everyone agrees on who the starting quarterback should be.

Stafford has looked exceptional in the preseason, and it seems he needs only to stay healthy this year in order to make a huge leap forward in his progression.

Of course, if he doesn’t, the Lions have Shaun Hill, who was the starter for half the season last year in San Francisco. Hill met with moderate success, but his play style is really more compatible to that of the “just don’t screw it up” game-managing backup.

And still, Hill showed more promise in the preseason than most quarterbacks have in years. Last year, when Stafford was shut down for the year with injury, my heart sank as Daunte Culpepper took the field.

This year, while I of course have no desire to see Stafford start anything less than 16 games, I feel confident that the Lions field a backup of more than adequate quality.

Then there’s Drew Stanton, who is pretty much just playing out the string. At one point, I thought he was getting screwed, not ever getting to see the field. Then he turned in an atrocious preseason, and I realized it’s because he’s made no progression.

He continues to let guys cycle in and out of the depth chart ahead of him, with no notable increase in production or effort. This is his contract year, and I fully expect it to be his last year in professional football.

Given his record, Martin Mayhew is likely to find a project QB in the seventh round of next year’s draft who shows more promise in his first year than Stanton did in his career.

Running Backs

Jahvid Best has quite a task before him.

It is entirely possible that Best has managed to pull higher expectations onto himself than either Ndamukong Suh or Matthew Stafford.

50-yard runs against first-string defenses in the preseason will do that.

But more than just that, the rest of Detroit’s running backs seem to have waned (or maybe they just pale in comparison?) thus far.

Kevin Smith is clearly not 100 percent healthy, and it remains to be seen if he will actually be good when he is.

Maurice Morris is consistent, but no better than average. At 30, he is the Lions’ oldest running back by far.

Aaron Brown had a good preseason, but is the exact same type of back as Best, so he provides no change of pace. His primary value is as a kick returner.

Jerome Felton made the squad because he provides the only thing resembling a power running game. But he actually looks better in the open field than he does in short-yardage situations. He will have trouble moving a pileup at the line of scrimmage consistently.

In other words, a huge percentage of the Lions’ ground game success is going to ride on Best meeting and exceeding the lofty expectations set for him. He can do it, but for a back whose primary concern is durability, you have to wonder if it’s a good idea for him to try shouldering the load himself.

Wide Receivers

The Detroit Lions would be thrilled with the knowledge that they have upgraded their wide receiver corps from one major target and a bunch of overmatched scrubs to two major targets and a bunch of slightly less overmatched scrubs.

Honestly, that’s the best-case scenario.

We know Calvin Johnson will perform. The biggest question is Nate Burleson.

So far in the preseason, Burleson looks like a legitimate possession receiver. Problem is, he says he’s a deep threat. Certainly, if Burleson can prove himself to be the same home run threat that Johnson is, Johnson will have a much easier go of things (like consistent double teams, instead of triples).

However, I have yet to see any sign of it. Possibly, the Lions are holding his big play ability back for the regular season to take teams by surprise, but that might be too wishful of thinking.

Regardless of how, the Lions need Burleson to be productive this year, because the rest of the roster includes the decidedly mediocre Bryant Johnson, the mistake-prone Derrick Williams, and waiver wire return specialist Stefan Logan.

Of that trio, Bryant Johnson is the only one likely to compile any notable stats in the regular season. He was overmatched as a second option, but may fall into his comfort zone as a third.

Williams has been disappointing as both a receiver and a return specialist (which is primarily what he was drafted for), and is only being kept around in case he decides to show some upside.

Logan is a question mark, but shouldn’t factor in beyond being a candidate to run some punts back.

Tight End

Every tight end on the Detroit Lions’ current roster could be a starter somewhere in the NFL. It’s an odd position to have that kind of depth, but that’s what we’re looking at.

Brandon Pettigrew, the 20th overall pick of the 2009 Draft, started showing real signs of progression last year before tearing his ACL on Thanksgiving. He appears to have made a full recovery, and sits firmly atop the Lions’ depth chart. His blocking skills are already top-notch, and his receiving ability is coming along nicely, though he may never be a threat to stretch the field.

Tony Scheffler will carry high expectations into the season, given that the Lions gave up former first-round pick Ernie Sims to get him, leaving a Zack Follett-sized hole at weakside linebacker. Scheffler has looked strong in the preseason, and should be targeted quite a bit on intermediate routes.

Will Heller is still a good, well-rounded tight end, but will no doubt lose some reps on account of the talent in front of him. Still, his presence allows Jim Schwartz to run double tight end sets all day, and still have the freedom to spell Scheffler or Pettigrew without a huge drop in production.

If this bunch can produce good numbers on the receiving side, it will take a lot of pressure off the Lions’ paper-thin group at wide receiver, and give Stafford a number of large targets to fire at for first downs.

Offensive Line

The Lions’ much-maligned offensive line returns four of five starters from 2009. This, to most, sounds like bad news. But here’s the breakdown.

Gosder Cherlius is playing more consistently at right tackle.

Stephen Peterman is sorely underrated.

Dominic Raiola is still smaller than he needs to be, but he’s been a starter for nearly a decade, and is the vocal leader of the line, if not the entire offense.

Jeff Backus looks more confident and less mistake-prone, and there’s a very good reason why.

That reason is the new guy in town, Rob Sims. Sims takes up the left guard position next to Backus, and provides Backus with a reliable partner in shoring up the left side of the offensive line.

Last year, Sims’ position was filled, seemingly, by a different player each week. Backus had neither chemistry nor trust with whoever that man turned out to be, and both players’ performance suffered because of it.

In the preseason, the offensive line has actually looked like a strong point. Holes have opened up in the run game, and quarterbacks have been hardly touched.

On the second string, the key word is versatility.

Backup center Dylan Gandy would be a capable replacement for Raiola if the man ever missed a game, and adds to his value by also filling in at guard.

Corey Hilliard displaced veteran Jon Jansen with his strong preseason play and his ability to play at either tackle position.

Rookie project Jason Fox has a long way to go, but could also make a name for himself at either left or right tackle.

Manny Ramirez could play either guard position if needed, but hopefully won’t have to. He is assuredly the least-talented lineman the Lions have. Which is impressive, considering he was once a consistent starter.

Special Teams

This one’s easy.

Jason Hanson returns as all-purpose placekicker, Nick Harris returns as punter, and all is right with the world.

Both are among the top 10 at their positions, and while it’s true that Hanson is aging, since when did that matter for a kicker? At the rate he’s going, he has another five quality years in the tank. If he has another down year, I’ll be a little worried, but don’t bank on it.

Since nobody knows the name of their team’s long-snapper until he makes a mistake, let me come right out and say that it’s Don Muhlbach, and he rarely makes mistakes.

The Lions will go with Aaron Brown as kick returner, who showed good speed and decent vision at the position in the preseason. He had a couple of runbacks where one more cut would have broken him loose, so maybe he’ll learn where those are in the future. He’s at least much better than Derrick Williams, who just runs in a straight line until he gets laid out.

At punt returner, things get a bit muddled. Derrick Williams would have been the favorite in the role, but he was awful in the preseason. Dennis Northcutt was by far the Lions’ best punt returner statistically, but he’s now unemployed. Stefan Logan was picked up off waivers, presumably for this role, but he hasn’t done anything yet.

Expect punt return duties to be “by committee” until someone stands out.

Defensive Line

If nothing else, this group is going to be fun to watch. So much potential, peppered with seasoned veterans. Almost looks like a top-caliber squad.

Okay, maybe not yet, but very soon. Maybe by the end of this season.

Double team-drawing specialist Ndamukong Suh is the highest-profile player on the line, and so far it appears that the consensus among opposing offensive lines is to put two bodies on him, all day, every day. That’s good, as it will help his fellow linemen produce, and give him some valuable lessons about beating those doubles in the future.

Corey Williams fills the other starting role, and while he has performed adequately, he is getting a strong run for his money by 2009 draftee Sammie Hill. Hill has blown the Lions’ coaches away with his rapid development, and could be looking at a starting job as soon as mid-season (again), if he continues at his current rate.

Andre Fluellen fills out the roster at defensive tackle, which seems to indicate that the Lions have finally determined whether he plays tackle or end. Fluellen beat out the more productive but less disciplined Landon Cohen for the spot, but is miles from the other three in terms of talent.

Starters at end will be wild man Kyle Vanden Bosch, whose work ethic is well documented and will therefore not be mentioned in this space, and Cliff Avril, who is primed to either have a breakout season or bust completely.

But some of the most interesting stories here lie in the backup defensive ends. Turk McBride is not one of them, aside from some bemused surprise that he actually made the final roster.

But Willie Young and Lawrence Jackson? There’s some intrigue.

Young, a seventh-round pick this year, is a 250-pound defensive end who has shown Dwight Freeney-like ability to run around seemingly club-footed right tackles to get to the quarterback.

Jackson, on the other hand, is a former first-round pick brought in cheap. Pete Carroll was cleaning house in Seattle and decided to ship Jackson off because he didn’t fit his system.

He’s currently on the bottom rung of the depth chart in Detroit, mostly due to a lack of field time. But he’s only two years removed from being a first-round pick, so there has to be something there. It will be interesting to see what that is.

Linebackers

I’m guessing the Lions expected their linebacker position to work out a little differently when they traded Ernie Sims and allowed Larry Foote to walk away.

Since then, the linebacker position has consisted of injuries, setbacks, and Julian Peterson.

DeAndre Levy was drafted to fill the middle linebacker position. He stepped in on the weakside to fill in for an injured Ernie Sims, and shocked everyone by being quite good. So the Lions let Foote go back to Pittsburgh, and commissioned Levy to fill the middle linebacker position, as they intended. Jordon Dizon was to back him up in that role.

Only Levy is now battling a groin injury, and Dizon is lost for the season.

This leaves us with the very real possibility that the Detroit Lions will open the 2010 season with Isaiah Ekejiuba as the starting middle linebacker.

And you thought we might have been in trouble with Levy.

Zack Follett, for all our love of his hitting ability and quirky web videos, would have a difficult time covering Orlando Pace as an eligible receiver. Which makes him a fairly poor fit as starting weakside linebacker.

So who’s behind him on the depth chart? Landon Johnson, or possibly Ashlee Palmer. Either might actually be an upgrade in the coverage game. We at least know Palmer can make a wicked one-handed grab.

Julian Peterson is a bright spot here. The revival of the Lions’ offensive line has freed Peterson up to be the playmaker he is, and the gutting of the rest of the linebackers has made him far and away the strongest player of the bunch. And remember, the Lions got him from the Seahawks for a fifth-round pick and one Cory Bartholomew Redding.

Seriously. Bartholomew. Don’t tell me you don’t think that’s awesome, because you are a liar.

Cornerbacks

If there is a spot with more question marks surrounding it than linebacker, it’s right here.

The cornerback position has been one of the weakest the Lions have had ever since they lost Dre’ Bly. The Lions attempted to fix that partially by actually re-signing Dre’ Bly, but he ended up cut.

So the Lions’ current cornerback situation entails Chris Houston and Jonathan Wade as starters. Both are young, neither has looked fantastic. Wade looked better in camp, but he wasn’t covering Calvin Johnson, and he was injured for most of the preseason contests.

Houston is fast and agile, but mistake-prone. Even if he plays his receiver perfectly, his spotty ball skills could result in a lot of passes being caught right over his shoulder. Or pass interference calls. Maybe both.

Aaron Berry has recently been announced as the Lions’ new nickel back, taking the role over from Eric King, who is no longer with the team.

The Lions are still classifying Amari Spievey as a cornerback, despite playing him the second half of the season at safety (and to great effect), so he’s in there, too.

At this point, though, the focus has to be on Alphonso Smith, who was acquired from the Denver Broncos for Dan Gronkowski in a trade of two guys who were about to get cut. Smith was the 37th overall pick of the 2009 Draft, and could end up anywhere on the Lions’ depth chart, considering its tenuous nature.

One year is too soon to give up on any draft pick, much less a second-round cornerback. If the Lions can succeed in developing Smith where the Broncos failed, they will have walked away from this with an absolute steal, and a greatly improved defense.

Safeties

Where’s your O.J. Atogwe now?

In only a few short months, safety has gone from one of the Lions’ biggest holes to perhaps the area with the greatest potential.

From the start, Louis Delmas was starter No. 1. Period. No exceptions. But the spot next to him was a big dark silhouette with a giant question mark on it.

Who would it be? Marquand Manuel? Ko Simpson? Daniel Bullocks?

Who had Randy Phillips? Yeah, me neither.

And in fact, Phillips would have been the wrong answer, too. C.C. Brown is slated to start the season across from Delmas, but don’t expect that to last. Phillips is closing on the position fast.

Phillips might be the story of the preseason for the Lions. An undrafted free agent out of Miami, Phillips missed the combine and failed two physicals with an injury, before signing with the Lions and doing nothing but make plays in the preseason. He’s a bit inconsistent in pass coverage, but he can blitz and he is a beast of a run-stopper. That weakness in pass coverage is likely what’s keeping Brown in the starting role for now.

Granted that the sample size is only a couple games, Amari Spievey’s future appears to be at safety as well. He struggled at cornerback in his preseason games, even getting an earful of Gunther Cunningham after getting burned for a deep touchdown.

Then he played a couple games at safety and appeared to perform much better. Spievey’s strengths are zone coverage and tackling, so a move to safety seems natural, if eventual.

Then we have mystery man John Wendling, brought in after being cut by the Buffalo Bills. Wendling played safety at Wyoming, and like many in the Lions’ secondary, has fantastic athleticism and suspect ball skills.

But more importantly, he dispels some very prevalent stereotypes about white people.

http://bleacherreport.com/users/64307-dean-holden

 

By Vince Vitale 

With the 2010 NFL season only 6 days away the St. Louis Rams have traded for Mark Clayton from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for “late round” considerations. Mark Clayton was selected 22nd overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, and has caught 234 passes for 3,116 yards and 12 touchdowns in his NFL career. This is a great pickup for the St. Louis Rams who have the least experienced group of receivers in the NFL. Mark Clayton has 64 more receptions than the entire group of St. Louis Rams receivers currently on the roster. Earlier the Baltimore Ravens picked up T.J. Housmanzadah which made Clayton expendable. The Rams will look to get the Oklahoma connection of Bradford to Clayton out on the field together as soon as possible. Mark Clayton should replace Donnie Avery on the outside. Mark Clayton is a pure speed burner with 4.45 speed, he has averaged 13.3 yards per catch in the NFL. While at Oklahoma Clayton set the record for career receiving yards with 3,241, many of those coming after the catch. This is a huge pickup for the Rams and at just the right time. The St. Louis Rams need to continue to surround Sam Bradford with more and more weapons.

http://www.stlouisramfan.com/