By MATT DOYLE Staff Writer on Jul 12, 2011, at 11:35 PM Updated on 7/12 at 11:35 PM
FANTASY WORLD
The playoffs are ready to culminate or already have concluded for virtually all fantasy leagues.
If you are lucky, you ...
Well, there is someone out there who feels I am worthy enough to dole out fantasy football advice – and accept it.
Greg ...
*** Thursday night NFL games are great for fans that cannot get enough of the game on Sunday afternoons and Sunday and Monday ...
Are you ready for some football? Well, yeah.
Are you ready for a new NFL labor agreement? Absolutely!
Until all of the i’s are dotted and all of the t’s are crossed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith on a new labor deal, uncertainty will continue to reign across the pro football landscape.
Once that new labor deal is finally signed, sealed and delivered, uncertainty will continue to reign.
Usually at this point of the summer, fantasy players are beginning to assemble their personal rankings of players for their drafts in late August or early September. But with all the uncertainty thanks to the lockout, it is impossible to gauge who is a sure-fire top-10 pick (I have only three), who is the rookie breakthrough player (Roll Tide!), who is a sleeper (many) and who is that likely bust (plenty of options).
When that new labor deal is executed, it will set off a quick and frenetic frenzy of player transactions before training camp commences. When NHL free agent signing period opened July 1, 58 players signed deals that totaled nearly $400 million in the first two days. The first two days of the NFL free agent signing period likely will trump that total the hockey players raked in considerably.
But it is uncertain (there’s that word again) how these transactions will impact team chemistry in reality football and someone’s team standing in fantasy football.
This year, unlike any other in previous years, will be a crapshoot fantasy wise.
Quick-hitting fantasy thoughts on a mid-summer’s night:
***Top 10 players: Arian Foster, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and………your guess is as good as mine. Normally, running backs rule the roost at the top of many draft boards. Many projections will list six, seven or eight running backs before the first quarterback. But, from this perspective, Foster is clear and away the top running back play, while quarterbacks Rodgers and Brees are more dependable than guys like Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson (both of whom will deal with new QBs this season) or Ray Rice and Peyton Hillis (more hype than value).
***Rookies to watch: Last April’s NFL draft was not littered with much skill-position talent in the early rounds. With the lockout, it could be difficult envisioning many rookies with breakout seasons fantasy-wise. Never, ever, draft a quarterback. Cam Newton, Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick aren’t going to win you many fantasy games, much less a fantasy title, this fall. The best bets for success come from Alabama. Receiver Julio Jones (Falcons) and running back Mark Ingram (Saints) will not be the initial focus of their respective teams. But both should be strong complementary components for clubs that will vie for the NFC title.
***Sleeper: So many options. Keep an eye on Packers receiver Jordy Nelson, who emerged in Green Bay’s run to the Super Bowl title. With Donald Driver literally on his last legs, Nelson will become a more viable option for Rodgers.
***Bust: Again, so many options. Right now, the lean here is to Peyton Hillis. Can he do it two years in a row, or will he break down now that he is a marked man (and dealing will the curse of being this year’s EA Sports Madden cover boy)?
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