Bullz-Eye released its list of the NFL’s most overrated and underrated teams. Among those listed as overrated are the Colts and Patriots, while the Cardinals and Rams were selected as underrated.
One of the reasons the Pats may be overrated this year is, with Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel now coaching elsewhere, Bill Belichick will have to prove he can win without his two superb coordinators. Read more about this here.
Bill Belichick is a football genius. That’s one statement that will generate very little debate among football “experts” or fans. After winning three of the last four Super Bowls with the Patriots, most agree that Belichick is the best coach in football, and some even say he’s the best ever.
Yet this wasn’t always the case. When he got his first head coaching gig in Cleveland at the young age of 38, Belichick showed tremendous promise but he had serious flaws as well. He was a terrible communicator, both with the media and his players. Like his mentor Bill Parcels he was determined to take control of his football team, but that made him bullheaded and led to unnecessary clashes with icons like Bernie Kosar. With his smug demeanor and the release of Kosar, many fans began to despise him. Kosar doesn’t hold a grudge, and correctly points out that Belichick’s biggest problem in Cleveland was Mike Lombardi’s personel decisions. Now, with the help of Scott Peoli, Belickick consistently finds great talent at bargain prices.
Belichick explains all this by saying that he grew as a coach. He worked on his communications skills, and he handed over the offense to play-calling genius Charlie Weis. Now, however, Weis is gone and the offense will be run by a group of coaches, including Belichick. It has also been reported that Belichick will be calling some of the plays. This will be really interesting to watch. In Cleveland Bill was known for his ultra-conservative style of play-calling. He was mocked for consistently running the speedy but small Eric Metcalf up the middle at critical moments. If he starts calling plays in New England (or influencing the play-calling), will his old, conservative tendencies creap back, or will he let Brady and the staff be aggressive like they were under Weis?
Belichick and the Patroits are still the class of the NFL, so it will be interesting to se how they live up to yet another challenge without Weis and Romeo Crennel.
Each week, we’ll highlight a few marginal starters that have good or bad match-ups. We’re staying away from the studs as you’ll probably want to start them every week. If this list doesn’t help you, post your match-up questions on our Fantasy Q&A and we’ll try to answer them.
START
QB – Tom Brady
Brady isn’t really a fantasy stud and many owners who have him on their roster used another middle round pick on a solid backup (or Brady is their backup). New England plays Oakland this Thursday so if there was ever a time to start Brady, Week 1 is it.
RB – Mike Anderson & Willie Parker
Denver plays Miami, who allowed 4.3 ypc and 144 rushing yards per game last season, so Anderson has a nice match-up. Pittsburgh plays Tennessee, who yielded 4.6 ypc and 120 yards per game on the ground. Staley and Bettis are both gimpy, so Parker should get a lion’s share of the carries. If either of these guys is on your roster and you’re looking for a #2 RB, they’d both be a nice play.
WR – Isaac Bruce
Bruce is a solid second or third fantasy WR, but you’ll definitely want to start him this week with St. Louis playing San Francisco.
BENCH
QB – David Carr
You couldn’t pay me to start Carr against a stout defense in Buffalo this week. Hopefully you have a better option. In fact, if you have another QB on your roster, you have a better option.
RB – Reuben Droughns / William Green / Lee Suggs
Unless you are desperate, you should stay away from this RBBC in the making until someone shakes out as the starter. The fact that they are playing a pretty good Cincy defense doesn’t make the match-up any more attractive.
WR – Rod Smith / Ashley Lelie
As bad as the Dolphins were against the run last year, they were as good against the pass. The Broncos should be able to run at will against Miami, so I’d be surprised if Denver’s passing game goes for more than 225 yds.
KEY INJURIES
For a more comprehensive injury list, click here.
Lee Suggs – D
Charles Rogers – Q
Joey Harrington – Q
Kevin Jones – Q
Domanick Davis – Q
Fred Taylor – Q
Trent Green – P
Michael Bennett – Q
Mewelde Moore – Q
Eli Manning – P
Jerry Porter – Q
Terrell Owens – P
Duce Staley – O
Jerome Bettis – O
Antonio Gates – O (suspended 1 game)
Drew Brees – Q
LaDainian Tomlinson – P
After learning that he would not be Denver’s third receiver this year and that he might not even be active for all of the Broncos’ games, wide receiver Jerry Rice decided to call it a career. The GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) will announce his decision during a Monday afternoon press conference.
I know I’m not alone when I say that I’m glad Rice is finally retiring. Nobody likes to see a player of Rice’s caliber wind down a spectacular career with several mediocre seasons. After seeing his production drop during his final two years in San Francisco, Rice enjoyed a mini revival upon arriving in Oakland, totaling 1,139 yards and nine touchdowns in 2001, and 1,211 yards and seven TDs in 2002. But the following year, Rice had just 63 catches, the second-lowest full-season total of his stellar career, and a career-low two TDs, and while splitting time between Oakland and Seattle last year, Rice was vastly unproductive, catching just 30 balls for 429 yards and three TDs.
It definitely was time to walk away from the game, and I for one am relieved that we won’t be subjected to shots of Rice standing on the Denver sidelines all year.
Now the question is: Is Rice the best player in NFL history?
So Cedric Benson finally ended his holdout and signed a five-year deal with the Bears. How does that affect your draft rankings and upcoming fantasy football season?
Well, for starters, Chicago RB Thomas Jones, last year’s starter and the biggest benefactor from Benson’s holdout, should be sliding down your lists. Jones will still start the first few games of the season, at least, but Benson’s the future and the Bears will hand him the job at some point this year. Jones should be the team’s third-down back because he’s a much better receiver than Benson, but most of Jones’ fantasy value goes out the window with Benson signing.
As for Benson, he should be drafted or claimed in every league since rookie runners have a much higher success rate than rookies at other positions. He’s so far behind at this point that you can’t expect a 1,000 yard season for Benson, but also keep in mind that Willis McGahee sat behind Travis Henry for the first four games in Buffalo last year and still totaled 1,128 yards and 13 touchdowns, while rookie Julius Jones finished with 819 rushing yards and seven touchdowns despite playing in only eight games last season. Don’t draft Benson in the third or fourth round expecting that kind of production but, with his upside, Benson certainly deserves consideration once the first 20-25 backs are off the board, maybe even earlier in keeper leagues. After all, there’s a reason the Bears chose Benson with the fourth-overall choice in last April’s draft.
As rookie runners go, I prefer Carnell Williams, J.J. Arrington and maybe even Ronnie Brown (depending on what the Dolphins do with Ricky Williams) to Benson this year but, going forward, Benson has just as much potential as any of his fellow first-year backs and he’s a great fit in the Bears’ offense. Just don’t expect to see big numbers right away.
Got your own questions on the upcoming fantasy season? Wondering if Randy Moss is a first-round choice or if Fred Taylor is a reliable #2 running back? We’ve got the answers, so let’s hear your questions. Post ’em here and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours with a response.
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