Choosing wide receivers in fantasy football is not an easy task. There are so many options and available receivers at the beginning of year and choosing the absolute best one is basically a shot in the dark. Wide receivers are not like any other position in terms of fantasy. For starters, most fantasy teams start 3 wide receivers (or two and a flex), which is more than any other position. The reason it is harder to draft stud wide receivers or over a stud quarterback is because you need more of them. Many fantasy experts will say there are consistently 5-8 elite quarterbacks in the league and about the same running backs. As for receivers, there a only a handful.
Sometimes going into a season, there are only 3 top tier wideouts and having the best one is a huge advantage. Going into the 2011 season, many familiar wideouts graced the top of many fantasy owners list’s. Names like Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, Roddy White and Larry Fitzgerald are consistently the best and most reliable receivers in the world of fantasy football. But every year someone breaks through and provides that one lucky owner the fantasy spark that everyone hopes and wishes for, and this year, that player is Wes Welker.
According to standard scoring fantasy football leagues, Wes Welker of New England Patriots is the top scoring wide receiver. He is also one Read more »
The Denver Broncos are expected to have a larger emphasis on the defensive side of the ball with the hiring of John Fox as the head coach. This is direct contrast to the style of former head coach Josh McDaniels who was more known for his offensive pedigree. The signing of Champ Bailey at least should guarantee that the team will not reach even lower than their league worst defensive stats in many categories.
The team is going to have to get more production out of Elvis Dumervil off of the edge of the defensive line and many people are of course going to expect more production out of D.J. Williams and the linebackers. Williams has a lot of talent, but he also has a tendency to fade in and out of games and a certain level of inconsistency.
The Kansas City Chiefs are not expected to be as dynamic on offense this year without Charlie Weis calling plays so you may be able to see the Denver Broncos improve their defense enough to win the AFC. Most prognosticators like the approach that John Fox takes on
The 2010 season was a very disappointing one for San Fransisco 49er fans. The team finished with only six wins, their promising young head coach was fired, and the pass defense was less than stellar. On the bright side, in a weak division, the team finished only one game out of the playoffs.
In 2010, the 49ers finished 13th in the National Football League in total defense giving up an average of 328 yards per game. The San Fransisco rush defense was ranked 6th in the league allowing only 97 yards per game. The pass defense was abysmal. The 49ers ranked 24th in pass defense giving up more than 230 yards per game.
San Fransisco has not made any major roster changes so far this off season but look for them to be a major player on the free agent market as they seek to upgrade their roster. The two areas of great need for the team are in the secondary and along the defensive
The NFC South is one of the most unpredictable divisions in the NFL, but we’ll give it a go. Let’s first take a look at the teams in the division: New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Carolina Panthers. This is quite a range when it comes to talent levels.
The New Orleans Saints are only one year removed from a Super Bowl victory. There are two ways to look at this situation. The first way is to say that they won their Super Bowl, lost their motivation, and are beginning their descent. The other way to look at it is that they have all the talent in the world and that they took the Seahawks too lightly in the first round of last year’s playoffs. If you go for the latter reasoning, then you would expect them to avoid making the same mistake twice. The bottom line for the Saints is that they have one of the best QBs in the game, a great running game, and excellent receivers, but they’re way too soft on defense. This seems to be a common theme in the NFL these days. It’s not because of
Ricky Williams is a man who will either stay with the Dolphins or consider retirement again. Ricky Williams is the kind of guy who has a lot of interests outside of football. You are likely to see Ricky Williams open a holistic medicine business after he gets done with football.
He may also focus with the process of combating domestic violence in a place like Miami or New Orleans. He previously played for the New Orleans Saints before he was traded and signed to a big contract with the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins are going to have to decide what Ricky Williams can bring to them.
I was actually under the impression that Ricky Williams still has a year left on his contract, but he does like his relationship with Ronnie Brown as a backup for the Miami Dolphins and many believe that Ricky is just trying to recoup some of the money that he lost during his first botched retirement.
It could be possible although highly unlikely that Ricky Williams would be willing to sign a contract in order to be a backup for the New
James Jones is an interesting player. The purpose of the WR is to get open and catch the ball. Jones is excellent at getting open, but he’s terrible at catching the ball. Okay, maybe ‘terrible’ is a little harsh. He’s just not that great at it. On the other hand, when he does catch the ball, he has the potential to do a lot of damage. He’s strong, fast, and he’s great at breaking tackles due to good balance. He’s also young, which means his hands can improve. That said, a more likely factor is change of scenery.
James Jones wants to be a #1 WR. That is his top priority on the free agent market. In Green Bay, he constantly felt pressure to prove what he was capable of, which likely led to a lot of drops. If he’s in a situation where he knows he’s the #1 guy and he doesn’t feel pressure to constantly prove himself, the drops will likely disappear. This is the other thing with James Jones. We don’t know his ceiling. For all we know, he could become one of the top three receivers in the game. He believes it. Why shouldn’t we? It’s usually ultra-competitive
The Rams have the benefit of having one of the NFL’s finest running backs in Stephen Jackson. The team has relied heavily on him while waiting for their rebuilding process to play out. Though Jackson’s yards per carry and rushing yards were down in 2011, his touchdown totals were up a tick. The drop in rushing yards and per carry average can be attributed to the Rams leaning heavily on him in part due to rookie Quarterback Sam Bradford learning the system.
While serviceable, Kenneth Darby isn’t a fearsome number two back that many teams have. The Rams need an explosive change of back to ease the load when they spread out the defense. To expect Stephen Jackson to continue to carry the load at this stage in his career is unfair, and will inevitably break him down. The outside shot could go to Keith Toston. The undrafted Free agent was a beast in the Big 12 and finished second in rushing in the conference in his senior year.
The Rams may be best served by taking a chance on a player like Clinton Portis. If he has anything left in the tank, he could serve a role
The Indianapolis Colts, just suffered through one of the most disappointing seasons of the Manning era, and that season put their vulnerabilities on showcase. Receiver depth turned out to be a big problem for the Colts last season, however their biggest weakness seemed to be run blocking. Teams featuring prominent running attacks ripped the Colts again and again, being in a division which boasts some of the best running backs in the game, makes this the top priority as the Colts go on the clock.
While the got better about protecting against the run in the latter part of the season, they were regularly gouged by strong runners. When your in a division that includes some of the top runners in the game, you have to be able to stop the run. Look for Indy to pick up Stephen Paea, from Oregon state. He could go a long way towards stopping runners. Beefing up their offensive line should be the first and foremost thing on their minds.
They may however go the other route, and pick up an offensive lineman to help keep Manning safe. Mike Pouncey could be a possibility here. He defiantly takes up space, and he has a very good skill set,
In the playoffs the Saints fell short to the massive underdog Seattle Seahawks. The Saints are a team with most of the pieces in place, and despite the fact that they lack huge names in their receiving corps, they have guys who run routes well, and who know how to get open. The offensive line showed some where and tear this season, but for the Saints to return, and make a successful run through, the playoffs they must address their running back situation.
Reggie Bush shows flashes of greatness, but he is really only a big threat a few times during the game. Drew Brees airs the ball out more than most Qbs in the league, and that is because he lacks a full on running threat, that the team can trust in crunch time. The coming draft is very thick with defensive talent, which means that the Saints are going to be running into many new blue chippers, who have eyes on the former champions. If New Orleans can develop a consistent running threat, that can pull the pressure of the arm of Drew Brees, they will be lining themselves up well for another run at the championship.
New Orleans could also use some help on the defensive side of the ball. Last season they gave up big yards to teams like Carolina, which shouldn’t have had a chance against the Saints. Marshawn Lynch’s huge run in the playoffs highlighted the struggles on the Saints defense when it comes to containing big play makers. They should look to add speed on their pass
Troy Pomalu has got lucky, again. For the 6th time he has been voted, with 17 votes in his favour to win the Associated Press 2010 NFL Defensive Player Award. He has beaten Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers to it.
In less than a weeks time he will have to face Matthews again, this time on the field competing for the Super Bowl. And things might get nasty then, no doubt. Read more »
