Finishing up the preview
Published 8:42 am Saturday, August 30, 2008
Interesting day today. Many fantasy drafts will be happening (I have two today) as teams cut down to the 53-player maximum. That means that sleeper you’re taking in the last round could end up off the team as soon as you get home.
Anyway here’s the end to my quick preview. I’ll list a sleeper and a bust for the final three positions. That’s about all K, TE and DEF deserve, right?
TE
Sleeper: Todd Heap. Don’t forget about Heap just because the Ravens look like one of the five worst teams in the NFL. Cam Cameron is running the O in Baltimore and he made Antonio Gates a star and tried to make David Martin (?) a star in Miami. Expect Heap to fall far in most drafts so pick him up on the cheap. If he stays healthy and Kyle Boller can get him the ball, expect Heap to catch 65 balls for 800 yards and a half-dozen touchdowns.
Bust: Tony Gonzalez. Gonzo will go too high in drafts on name recognition alone. Don’t pick him. He’s got Brodie Croyle throwing to him and the Chiefs are going to be possibl the worst team in football this year. Gonzalez nearly had 100 catches last season, but don’t expect that kind of production again.
K
Sleeper: Ryan Longwell. The Vikings have a stout D and a sputtering O, which is usually the perfect ingredients for a good kicker (teams get the ball in good field position a lot but can’t score touchdowns, leading to tons of FGs). Throw in the fact Longwell is a good kicker, he’l be kicking in a dome a lot and he has a strong leg, and you have a kicker you can get late that will score 125-135 points.
Bust: Stephen Gostkowski. Sure he hits a lot extra points, but he hasn’t proven himself to be a very reliable field goal kicker. Just ask Bill Belichick, who often chose to go for it on fourth-and-long instead of let Gostkowski kick a 40+ yarder. A lot of people will have him ranked as the No. 1 kicker; please. Don’t believe it.
DEF
Sleeper: Jacksonville Jaguars. With former Redskins def. coordinator Gregg Williams now calling the shots, expect big things from the Jags’ D. They also recently inked their No. 1 pick Derrick Harvey, who will be a pass-rushing menace off the edge. Tons of talent should provide plenty of sacks, turnovers.
Bust: New York Giants: A lot of people like the Giants’ D going into the season. But now with Osi Umenyiora out, it looks like they’ll have problems getting pressure on the QB. Plus it looks like the Giants might have the classic Super Bowl hangover this year, so just avoid here.
Hold on all you Kurt Warner afficianados. Apparently no decision has been made on whether Matt Leinart or Warner will start for Arizona in Week 1. (http://tinyurl.com/5b66s6) Especially after Leinart’s strong showing Friday night.
It looks like Philly’s is putting a lot of eggs in the DeSean Jackson basket. (http://tinyurl.com/6osyap) He looks like he’ll be the perfect draft/deal type of guy when Kevin Curtis comes back in six weeks.
This is good for all Brandon Marshall owners. (http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_10341223) The Broncos wideout will miss Week 1 and that’s all after NFL commish Roger Goodell decreased his suspension from three games to one.
I’m starting to think the Bengals RB spot – if not the whole team – is best avoided. (http://tinyurl.com/6brf5u). I talked about Chris Perry as a possible sleeper, but I think there are better guys out there.
