Posts Tagged ‘John Beck’

Fantasy Losers of the 2008 NFL Draft

April 30th, 2008

My apartment management decided that I was so excited about the NFL draft this weekend that they needed to shut off the hot water this morning to calm me down. That’s okay though. I’m not bitter. I’ll just take those lemons and…

…and who am I kidding? I’m going to throw them at the door of the office in protest tomorrow.

In retrospect, there’s nothing like a cold shower to make you think about who really got the shaft in this year’s draft. For these players, the 2008 draft cooled off their fantasy value:

Willie Parker. Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers didn’t desperately need a running back, but when Rashard Mendenhall fell to them, they had to take him. Parker immediately enters into the twilight of his career. Returning from injury and with a much less Steeler-smash style of play, Parker will probably shift towards a supporting role to Mendenhall’s “I break ‘em, I bought ‘em” running. Something tells me Parker will not get a lot of chances for TDs now — he only sealed the deal twice last season — and begins his decline out of fantasy popularity.

Tatum Bell. Detroit Lions.
“You are what we thought you were,” Tatum. Just when it seemed like Tatum Bell was going to get his shot, Detroit grabbed Kevin Smith. Now Bell will end up being the compliment back in another RBBC alongside the yardage monster in Detroit. Considering the number of yards Smith ran up last season, he warrants being a big part of this offense next year and looks to be the better fantasy play.

Vince Young. Tennessee Titans.
The Titans have a great need at wide receiver. While Chris Johnson might be able to split out occasionally and be a playmaker, the Titans weren’t concerned with bringing in any new weapons. While it’s possible they were hoping that Limas Sweed, Young’s big target at Texas, would fall to them in the second round before the Steelers snagged him one pick too soon, no drastic moves were made to get that receiver help. Young will have to work with what the Titans grabbed in the fourth round in Lavelle Hawkins. He’s got talent but will likely be another project just like the mix of young WRs and older veterans that VY has now. It’s not looking very good again for Young in 2008.

Cedric Benson. Chicago Bears.
Coming off injury and a very weak showing in 2007, Benson’s likely to share carries with Matt Forte in 2008 and could even lose his starting role. The weak fantasy projections for Benson in 2008 just got weaker.

DeAngelo Williams. Carolina Panthers.
This year was supposed to be Williams’ time to shine with DeShaun Foster finally booted. When Carolina drafted Jonathan Stewart in the first, that all got thrown into doubt. Stewart is a big, power runner with a bruising style. Williams may start the season, but he is likely to lose carries to Stewart — especially in short yardage situations. That means less TDs for Williams and a knock to his fantasy value for 2008. Both RBs could have some fantasy impact this season, but Williams big chance is no more.

Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El. Washington Redskins.
Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly are now breathing down the necks of the two current WRs in Washington. Moss had a bad 2008, and Randle El wouldn’t be too upset to move to a slot role. The WR pool is not going to be friendly to a Moss bounce back in 2008 if one of these rookies breaks out. Pre-season will show how these rookies take to the game, but Moss might be one to avoid.

Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay Packers.
Oh yeah, Aaron, you just have to fill the shoes of this guy named Brett Favre. He didn’t break any big records or get much media attention with his retirement. Hey, he never even made the cover of Madden. Go ahead and take over his job in front of thousands of Favre-missing fans, Rodgers. If that shadow’s not big enough for you to overcome, we’ll put this guy Brian Brohm — possibly the most NFL-ready QB in this draft — behind you. That cool? Great. Oh, and this Matt Flynn kid from LSU is just hanging out here for a bit. He’ll keep your seat warm while your trying to win some games. Just don’t let those first-year jitters get to you. I don’t think Rodgers fantasy value is over and done, but it’s definitely on thin ice heading into his first season under center. The pressure is on, and pressure might not be what this young QB needs to get you fantasy points.

Amani Toomer. New York Giants.
With Mario Manningham under his wings and last year’s rookie WR Steve Smith already biting at his heels, Toomer’s days at the two spot in New York are numbered. Chances are he sees this one coming though, and I think he’s probably okay spending less time on the field. He’ll still start in 2008, but he won’t have much fantasy value once these guys get going and take his catches.

Dominic Rhodes. Oakland Raiders (until Monday).
It was hard not to see this one coming, but with Darren McFadden going to Oakland, someone had to get out of that backfield. The Raiders cut Rhodes Monday after he did a whole lot of nothing last year. They still have LaMont Jordan who seemed more likely to get bumped after the draft, but he might still be in danger of losing his job considering the Raiders now have McFadden, Michael Bush and Justin Fargas. Rhodes gets to go stand in line with Shaun Alexander and wait to be picked up by a team lacking in the veteran RB department.

Josh McCown and John Beck. Miami Dolphins.
Not that he thought he was a long-term solution in Miami — no one else did — but McCown became even more short-term with Bill Parcells snagging Chad Henne. Parcells obviously can’t trust his current developing QB John Beck. The starting job is likely to go to Henne before too long. McCown is just going to be a stand in until one of the younger guys is ready to go, and that’s never a good feeling. McCown and the loser will be left to battle for the backup role. Let the QB struggle begin.

Tarvaris Jackson. Minnesota Vikings.
You got some Booty behind you, Tarvaris. John David Booty has the potential to really threaten Jackson for the starting job if Jackson doesn’t show significant improvement this season. There’s no security in his fantasy value.

Chris Simms. Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With no spleen and no playing time last year, Simms is now on the cut list with Josh Johnson drafted into the pack of QBs already in Tampa Bay. Johnson is no sure thing — especially if you ask Jon Gruden — but he has some good stats even if it was just at San Diego. He’ll make the team, and at least one of Tampa Bay’s current QB collection will have to find a new place.

Losman to Dolphins? Samuel to the Saints? Foster to 49ers? More free agency moves [NFL Rumors]

February 25th, 2008

Asante Samuel may find his $100 million, 10-year contract in New Orleans. Fox Sports says that the Saints are willing to pay the ticket up to $10-11 million dollars a year for Samuel’s talents. Samuel is direly needed in New Orleans because their secondary was the wrong kind of holy last year. If they fork over the money, they could see significant improvement on defense next year–maybe avoid those shootouts with Kurt Warner.

The Cleveland Browns are a less likely candidate for Samuel’s services, but they are interested. It seems they want every free agent they can get this off-season. They definitely have the same shootout problem as the Saints though, so Samuel could help in Cleveland just as much as he could for the Saints. Time will tell who pays the highest price because we all know Asante is all about the Benjamins this off-season.

I know I said DeShaun Foster would be going to Tampa Bay to back up Earnest Graham, but now John Clayton is reporting he may be headed to the 49ers insteads to back up Frank Gore. Not sure which of these will come true. Either way, Foster’s fantasy value is likely to be very low next year.

The best advice I could give the 49ers is to pick up a decent wide receiver this off-season with Mike Martz coming into rework the offense. They currently don’t have any big threats in the receiving department. According to recent reports, Bernard Berrian is “interested” in the 49ers if an offer comes his way. He will be highly sought after this off-season and might get his pick between the Browns and the 49ers if both are serious about making an offer since the Browns have previously stated their interested. While Berrian’s value would increase if he moved to the Browns, it would skyrocket if he moved to the 49ers since he would definitely be taking a #1 receiver position with Martz directing the passing plays.

Rumors are rampant about Jerry Jones’ moves for the Cowboys this off-season. First, everyone said he would go after the Miami #1 pick to get Darren McFadden. Now, NFL talk is that Jones is after bringing Randy Moss or Javon Walker to the Cowboys. He has stated that he wants a big offensive addition this off-season. Both of these guys would be an impact–Moss more than Walker–but Moss is very unlikely to leave his beloved Tom Brady.

Expect more rumors about Walker move to circulate, but I expect Randy Moss and the Patriots to announce a restructured contract on February 29. If Walker jumps to the Cowboys, his fantasy value would depend upon how they utilize him versus Terrell Owens, but it would be about the same as if he stayed in Denver opposite Brandon Marshall. He wouldn’t be an elite wide receiver either way.

J.P. Losman might find a second chance as a starter for either Miami or Kansas City next year. Both have inquired about his services. I think he still has some juice left in the tank once he heals up and recovers from being prematurely replaced by Trent Edwards. He could immediately impact Miami as long as he can beat out John Beck if that is his destination of choice, but he would have to battle for the starting job in Kansas City–probably not to his liking. His value would be higher as a mid-tier quarterback if he ends up in Miami along with some free agent wide receivers that Bill Parcells lands this off-season.

For the Baltimore Ravens, if they don’t take a quarterback in th draft, their hope will be in Troy Smith to lead the Ravens to victory. They liked what they saw from him the last two games of 2007 and will look for him to prove himself in 2008.

Week 11 Pickups: Keep your eye on QB swaps, injuries

November 13th, 2007

nazi wire

I’ll make this week brief because, frankly, there aren’t too many players worth grabbing in leagues that aren’t probably already grabbed.  Here are a few notes gathered from suggestions around the Web.  If they are available, go after them, but don’t be too hopeful that they will be there in the free agent pool.

Kellen Clemens, QB New York Jets

I have talked about him before, but if he is still available, grab him now.  He is coming off a bye week of practice as the starting QB and should have a nice core of healthy receivers to throw to in Week 11.

JaMarcus Russell, QB Oakland Raiders
John Beck, QB Miami Dolphins

I’ll lump these two together because they are purely speculative.  If you are mopping it up in a dynasty league, you should definitely have one of these two on your roster as a QB of the future.  If you are hurting so bad at QB that you don’t have tears anymore, use a roster spot for Russell he could–emphasis on “could”–have a big impact with the Raiders when they finally decide to stop bruising McCown week after week.

Chester Taylor, RB Minnesota Vikings

With “All Day” AP finally making those pre-season injury predictions a reality, Taylor could finally see some productive games and get some TDs, but Minnesota still has no QB to prevent defenses from piling up at him.

Justin Fargas, RB Oakland Raiders

Apparently, two talented RBs are not good enough for the Raiders.  Dominic Rhodes has barely seen the field since his arrival, and LaMont Jordan is out.  Fargas has been doing it all and could be a decent second RB to finish the season.

Ryan Grant, RB Green Bay Packers

I bet you feel like a genius if you picked up Ryan Grant.  Pat yourself on the back, and then smack yourself in the head.  He will be a productive back, but you aren’t that smart.  Just lucky.  No one say Grant breaking the Minnesota defense the way he did on Sunday, but if you keep the defense of the field, they are bound to give in eventually.  Grant should see some decent fantasy value late in the season as the Packers finally start a running game and keep defenses reeling with Favre’s remarkable arm.

LJ Smith, TE Philadelphia Eagles

LJ missed a lot of time with injury but had his first big game this week.  If you are hurting at TE, he is worth grabbing to secure you some supportive TE points to end the season.  Don’t give up an average back for him because he could still be inconsistent or get hurt again, but drop any TE not producing for you.

Chris Henry, WR Cincinnati Bengals

Apparently, Palmer remembers who Chris Henry is.  If you picked him up last week–or earlier–you deserve a cookie.