It’s that time of year again.
After a long summer watching poor excuses for professional sport, like the ever-changing, never entertaining X-Games — or the Baltimore Orioles, for example — football is back.
And as the NFL season’s kick-off stands just a couple weeks away, fantasy football is back, too.
You may be in one league, playing just for fun. You may be in two leagues, because you’re popular like that. Or — if you’re like me — you may be in six to seven leagues with half of your last paycheck of the summer and your pride up for grabs.
Whatever the case may be, I can guarantee you didn’t decide to play because you wanted to lose.
The only people who do that are delusional elementary school gym teachers and mothers of five. This isn’t a charity, Mom — this is fantasy football.
It’s time to study the league, keep up-to-date on injuries, and take your best guess at who may bust and who may be that diamond-in-the-rough who will take your team to the promise land.
Here are just a few of my many guesses:
SLEEPERS:
Matt Cassell, quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs
If Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Matt Schaub are off the board, and you’re looking for a starting quarterback, take a look at Matt Cassell.
While it’s been hard to consider drafting anyone playing for the Chiefs in recent years, this may be the year for an offense that hasn’t cracked the top 20 since 2006.
Since joining the Chiefs last season, Scott Pioli, former New England Patriots vice president of player personnel, now serving as the Chiefs’ general manager, has gotten down to business.
Through this year’s draft, Pioli added the talented Dexter McCluster to the team’s backfield — a running and receiving threat who may soon take over full-time duty behind Cassell.
Pioli also hired offensive guru Charlie Weis to serve as the team’s offensive coordinator after Weis was fired from his head coaching job at Notre Dame.
Add a non-suspended star wide receiver in Dwayne Bowe to the mix, along with a talented receiver like Chris Chambers, who now has a year under his belt working with Cassell, and you’ve got an offense with weapons.
When was the last time you could say that about the Chiefs?
Projected Stats: 3,300 yards passing, 26 TDs, 13 INTs
Ahmad Bradshaw, running back, New York Giants
Everyone knows about Brandon Jacobs, the Giants’ larger-than-life, bruising running back who made a name for himself three years ago when the team won the Super Bowl.
Jacobs has been the first and last person thought of when discussing the Giants’ running attack ever since.
However, behind the scenes at practice this year, beat writers and fans have begun to notice a change in New York’s plans.
Now, Ahmad Bradshaw, a midget in comparison to Jacobs, standing at 5 feet 9 inches and weighing in at 198 pounds, is the man taking the first snap with Eli Manning’s offense.
To a stat freak, this isn’t shocking. In three years, Bradshaw averaged 5.2 yards per carry and, despite an injury-plagued 2009, ran for 778 yards and averaged 4.8 yards per touch. Meanwhile, Jacobs averaged just 3.7 yards per carry and had his most unimpressive year to date.
As the Giants offensive line has aged, holes along the line have become smaller, and a smaller running back fits the team better every day.
While head coach Tom Coughlin won’t discuss who is No. 1 and who is No; 2, it’s clear Bradshaw’s time has come.
With two surgically repaired feet, the smaller guy in the Giants’ backfield has impressed in two preseason games thus far and looks to be “the guy” in 2010.
Projected stats: 240 carries, 1,100 yards, 9 TDs
BUSTS:
A version of this article appeared in the Aug 27 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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I seriously doubt that Matt Cassel will throw 26 TDs. That's a huge leap for a team with a busted offensive line. That puts him in the company of Tony Romo, Ben Rothlisberger, Kurt Warner and Eli Manning from last year. All guys that I'd rather have way before Cassel. For a guy that only completed 55% of his passes last year and 16 TDs. That's a huge leap. Especially because the Chiefs did not add any huge offensive weapons. Who do you think is going to catch more 10 TDs? Not Chris Chambers (there is a reason he is no longer on the Dolphins or the Chargers, the guy leads the league in drops every year) Cassel may be a good bye week starter or maybe a second QB in some league formats, but if you draft him counting on him to carry your team from week to week you will lose. That I can guarantee.
And Brandon Marshall has very sticky hands and Henne throws a great deep ball, unlike Kyle Orton. Three years of 100 catches is amazing. If he catches 75 balls like you predict, he will have more that 7 TDs. The Dolphins will score points and Marshall is a focal point of that offense. Especially with Ronnie Brown and his injury history and Pretty Ricky getting older by the minute.
I disagree with your analysis.
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