2008 All-Pro FF Team

At the 14 week mark, most FF regular seasons are now over and it is time to prepare for the playoffs if you made them. There were a lot of surprise performances this year at almost every position, so without delay here is the Lionbacker 2008 All-Pro FF team.

QUARTERBACK

DREW BREES - Saints
The NFL's passing leader through week with 4,100 passing yards also is tied for the league lead with 26 TDs. Brees also leads the NFL in passes over both 20 (52) and 40 (15) yards. He also rarely gets sacks, just 10 times so far. Drew is connecting on over 65% of his passes and has a QB rating of 96.2

Honorable mention to Kurt Warner who might well be the NFL MVP once again in a tight race depending on how he closes out the season. He is second to Brees with 4,020 passing yards with 25 TDs and only 12 picks. His QB rating of 99.1 leads the NFL. You probably got a huge bargain where you picked Warner this year.

RUNNING BACK

MICHAEL TURNER - Falcons
No longer in LT's shadow in San Diego, Turner burst onto the scene this year and is a key reason for the Falcons dramatic turnaround. Turner is second in the league in rushing yards with 1,269 and leads the league with 14 rushing TDs. The workhorse has already reached 300 attempts, highest in the NFL and has only lost the ball once. The only downside is he isn't much of a threat in the passing game with just four receptions.

DEANGELO WILLIAMS - Panthers
Williams is fifth in the league in rushing with 1,141 yards for Carolina and his 5.4 ypc is by far the best among the top 30 rushers in the league. His 13 rushing TDs trail only Turner and LenDale White, both of whom have 14. DeAngelo has not had a fumble this year and also has another two TDs through the air.

Honorable mention to Thomas Jones of the Jets who is quietly having a great year sitting fourth in total yards with 1,144 and has also found the end zone 12 times on the ground and twice more through the air to edge out Brian Westbrook here.

WIDE RECEIVER

ANQUAN BOLDIN - Cardinals
No receiver has reached the end zone more than Boldin who has scored a career high 11 times. After busting up his face, he has missed 3 starts but is still tied for the team lead with 83 receptions, good for fourth best in the league.

LARRY FITZGERALD - Cardinals
You wonder why Warner could be the MVP, well just look to his set of bookend WRs. Fitz, just 25, is three years younger than his teammate but matched him with 83 catches and he is tied for second in the league with 9 touchdowns.

CALVIN JOHNSON - Lions
It is really amazing that anyone on the Lions makes this list. He has had Kitna, Orlovsky, Stanton and Culpepper all throwing the ball to him but still has 1,055 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns with an 18.8 ypc average.

Honorable mention to Greg Jennings of the Packers who fourth in the league with 1,131 receiving yards and has seven touchdowns as well.

TIGHT END

TONY GONZALEZ - Chiefs
While Kansas City is horrible, the 32-year old veteran keeps doing what he does best - catch the ball. Gonzo leads all TEs with 78 receptions (tied for 7th best in the league) and has 879 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

Honorable mention to Antonio Gates of the Chargers who has 534 yards and six scores.

KICKER

STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI - Patriots
Without Brady the Pats still score, just not as many touchdowns which benefits the kicking game. He has more FGs than anyone else (30), hitting 91% of his attempts. He is 1-1 from beyond 50, and 9 of 11 from 40-49.

Honorable mention to Ryan Longwell of the Packers who has made 26 field goals, five of five from beyond 50 yards.

DEFENSE

BALTIMORE RAVENS
You would think this defense is too old to keep it going, but here they are. They are 2nd overall in total defense, third best in the league in scoring defense, lead the league with 22 picks, have four fumble recoveries, and second in the NFL with six defensive touchdowns.

Honorable mention to the Steelers Steel Curtain who have the top ranked defense, the top ranked scoring defense, have 16 interceptions, nine fumble recoveries and two scores.

MVP

KURT WARNER - Cardinals
Brees certainly got some consideration, but he was a top five pick at his position. Those who waited and took Warner look like geniuses now and likely have a strong running game to compliment Warner. You could argue that his wide outs are the reason for his success, but who cares since it is all about production in FF.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

CHRIS JOHNSON - Titans
The rookie running back is currently 6th in the league in rushing with 1,094 yards has also scored 8 touchdowns, both higher than Matt Forte of the Bears, and Johnson averages nearly a yard better per carry while splitting time with LenDale White.

Players to Watch

You won't find your A-listers or untouchables here but whether you are looking for an injury replacement, a better back-up than what you have or just a little more production than what you are getting, you've come to the right place. The FF doctor is in to fix what ails your FF team....Let's go!

QB's:

J. Russell (Oakland) - Throw out his horrible outing Week 2 and he is not half bad.....keep him on your bench, for now. I think he may surprise a lot of folks the second half of the season.

J. Campbell (Washington) - He is certainly progressing well..,potential to be a Top 10 QB by the end of the season. Chris Cooley and Santana Moss are producing and the running game has been solid.

RB:

S. Slaton (HOU) - Though he only had 33 yards rushing, he had 83 yards receiving and has found the end zone the last 2 weeks.....you could do a lot worse (See Ryan Grant!)

WR's:

R. White (ATL) - Yes ATL! Even with a rookie QB, he has 209 receiving yards the past few weeks with 1 TD. A gamer!

D. Jackson (PHI) - I don't think he is available in many leagues, but if he is in yours or you can put a trade together, get him! Dude is a playmaker. (A few plays have been better than others but I digress...just get him!)

D. Bowe (KC) - Best WR on a bad team. A viable start week in, week out.

TE:

D. Keller (NYJ) - With Favre at the helm, he has found the end zone 2 weeks in a row!

Kicker:

M. Gramatica (NO) - Hey the Saints can throw up some seriouls points and move the ball effectively which all bodes well for Dramatica.

Defense:

Panthers and Saints - Both teams play fairly week offenses the rest of the way.....check it out!

Heros and Zeros Week Four

This weeks Heros and Zeros. Here we go!

(Monday Nights game not included.....)

Hero's:

QB's:

B. Favre (GB) - 6 TD's
D. Brees (NO) - 3 TD's, 363 yards
M. Schaub (HOU) - 3 TD's, 307 yards

RB's:

L. Johnson (KC) - 2 TD's, 198 yards
L.Tomlinson (SD) - 2 TD's, 106 yards (No mention until week 4? LT owners disapprove!)

WR's -

L. Coles (NYJ) - 3 TD's (see B. Favre above...)
M. Muhammad (CAR) - 1 TD, 147 yards on 8 receptions
G. Jennings (GB) - 2 TD's, 109 yards

TE's:

Z. Miller (OAK) - 1 TD, 95 yards on 5 receptions
J. Witten (DAL) - 1 TD, 90 yards on 7 receptions

K's:

M. Prater (DEN) - 4 FG, 1 XP
N. Novak (KC) - 4 FG, 3 XP

D's:

Jets and Bucs

Zero's:

QB's:

B. Griese (TB) - 1 TD, 149 yards, 3 INT's
T. Green ( STL) - 236 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (Does it really matter who QB's this team?! Maybe Coach Haslett can light a fire under these guys!)

RB's:

M. Lynch (BUF) - 57 yards on 19 carries
MJD and Fred Taylor (JAX) - 57 yards on 17 carries - COMBINED!
R. Grant (GB) - ZERO OF THE DAY AWARD! 20 yards rush, -4 yards rec, and 1 fumble lost (yours truly is benching this dude until he shows me something!)

WR's:

TJ Houshmandzadeh (CIN) - 50 yards on 6 receptions (Your owners expect more dude, but I don't know if they should lower their expectations in this horrible offense. Is Marv Lewis next on the chopping block? Stay tuned..,)
A. Johnson (HOU) - 38 yards on 3 recpts (very Johnson unlike...)
D. Driver (GB) - THE OTHER BIG ZERO OF THE DAY!) 8 yards on 1 reception!

TE:

Ben Utecht (CIN) - 2 receptions for 10 yards....not enough!

K's:

N. Rackers (ARI) - 0 FG (1 blocked), 3 XP (at least he hit the chip shots!)
M. Crosby (GB) - 0 FG, 3 XP's (ditto...)

D's:

Jags - No turnovers
Falcons - Ditto!

Week 3 - Hero's and Zero's

Hero's and Zero's:

Week 3 HERO'S:

QB's:

J. T. O'Sullivan (SF) - Another solid outing with 2 TD's, 0 INT, and 32 yards rushing...didn't I mention to pick him up?

Drew Brees (NO) - 39 of 48 with 421 passing yards, 1 TD and 0 INT (a nice recovery from last weeks outing)

RB's:

R. Brown (MIA) - What can he do for you? How about 4 TD's rushing PLUS 1 passing for a grand total of 5. (BTW- He was on the waiver wire in my league - Not for long!)

M. Turner (ATL) - Another solid outing with 3 TD's.

Frank Gore (SF) and M. Lynch (BUF) round out this category.

WR's and TE's:

B. Marshall (DEN), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (CIN), and A. Fasano (MIA)

Kickers:

J. Carney (NYG) and O. Mare (SEA)

Defenses:

Eagles and Ravens - Big Ben is still trying to get the license number of that truck...

ZERO's:

QB's:

Manning (IND) and J. Kitna (DET) - Manning is not producing Manning type #'s and unfortunately for Lions fans Kitna is producing Kitna like #'s...'nuff said...

RB's:

D. McFadden (OAK), R. Grant (GB) and (fast) Willie Parker (PIT)

WR's and TE's:

R. Willams (DET), B. Edwards (CLE) and Vernon Davis (SF)

Kicker:

P. Dawson (CLE)

And the zero of the week (as I got a Big "0" on my FF scorecard from this unit on Defense):

The (once) Mighty New England Patriots who laid a huge egg against Miami!

Week 2 - Hero's and Zero's

Hero's and Zero's

HEROS:

QB's: Cutler, (DEN), Warner (ARI), Rodgers (GB) and Rivers (SD)

RB's: Some rookies and old faces in new places really came through here: McFadden (OAK), Portis (WAS), Stewart (CAR), J. Jones (SEA), E. Graham (TB)

WR's: B. Marshall (DEN), Boldin (ARI), Jennings (GB) and Chambers (SD) - All their QB's are listed above, Coincidence? I think not....

TE: Scheffler (DEN). A fine graduate of Western Michigan University - yes, I actually went there and there really is a Kalamazoo, Michigan.

K: Longwell (MIN) - 5 FG's in one week should help your FF stat line.

D: Giants - 2 solid outings so far from the champs!

ZEROS:

Here are some guys who didn't help your stat line.

QB's: J. Russell (OAK) - Looks like he's still learning folks! Bench him until he shows some improvement......Brees (NO), D. Anderson (CLE) and C. Palmer (a who's who of stud QB's from last year who didn't help your stat line this week - all are proven commodities who will look to improve next week!)

RB's: Any Pat's RB - Even if their points were combined they would barely be considered a viable stat line - avoid at all costs for now!....R. Grant (GB) - 15 carries for 20 yards does not account for a good day....J. Addai (IND) - The only thing that saved his stat line was a TD.....

WR's: ZERO OF THE DAY.....Donald Curry (OAK) - 0 stats, thrown to 4 times.......Now the others: B. Edwards (CLE), C. Ocho Cinco (CIN), M. Harrison (IND)

TE's: Less that zero! Bubba Franks (NYJ) - minus 4 yards on 2 recepts.....Jeremy Shockey (NO)

K: S. Graham (CIN) - 0 FG on 1 Att

D: 'Fins, Rams - Both these defenses proved that Week 1 was no fluke!

Monday night madness:

Eagles: Westbrook, McNabb and keep an eye on that DeSean Jackson kid (even with the bonehead play!)

Cowboys: Romo, T. Owens, Barber (all the usual suspects...)

A couple players to keep a really close eye on....

QB: J.T. O'Sullivan (SF) - Would 321 yards, 1 TD, no INT's and 32 rushing yards help your stats? Thought so........if you lost Tom Terrific last week you could have done a lot worse!

RB's: Chris Johnson (TEN) - 202 yards so far....M. PIttman (DEN) - 3 TD's so far, very nice!.....Ahmad Bradshaw (NYG) - 1 rush TD, 1 Rec TD (but B. Jacobs is getting the yards)

WR's: Eddie Royal (DEN) - Eddie and Brandon Marshall could be the next true tandem to fear.....Chansi Stuckey (NYJ) - 2 TD's so far from Favre....D. Jackson (PHI) - He may be a bonehead, but do you see T.O. owners complaining?!

Week 2 - Studs and Duds

You won't see the names of the guys you should be playing week in and week out here but maybe there is a little advice you can use.......here we go!

STUDS:

QB's: Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) - he should have a solid outing against the Browns.
Aaron Rodgers (GB) - goes up against the Lions...'nuff said....

RB's: Brandon Jacobs (NYG) - the Rams D looks horrible.
Larry Johnson (KC) - should be solid against the Raiders.

WR's: Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward (PIT) - this duo that should have a good outing at CLE
Greg Jennings (GB) - see "Aaron Rodgers" above...

TE: Alex Fasano (MIA) - He could give the 'Fins a much needed boost this year.

K: Gostkowski (NE) - he could see a few more chances if the offense stuggles.....

D: Bills - (Against JAC) - Jags are starting 3 backups on O-line at center and both guards

DUDS:

QB: Marc Bulger (STL) - look for a repeat of last week verses the Giants

RB: Fred Taylor and MJD (JAC) - a banged-up O-line limits their production.

WR: Roddy White (ATL) - with a rookie QB, and going against a solid Bucs D

TE: Alge Crumpler (ATL) - see above.......

K: Kris Brown (HOU) - going against a tough Baltimore D, he should see limited chances

D: SD - Merriman out and Denver's offense clicking on all cylinders - + return of B. Marshall

Week 1 Studs, Duds and Surprises!

OK, It's about 11:00pm on the west coast and the Oakland/Denver game is almost putting me to sleep so we're going to make this quick.

Let's start with a couple of Week 1 Surprises:

Tom Brady's injury. Sorry if you drafted him with your first FF pick - sucks to be you! (Stay tuned to the Lionbacker FF blogspot for a follow up article.) Now that Tom Terrific went down, can we FINALLY stop talking about that Favre guy?!

A WR with the last name of Royal on the Broncos caught 9 passes for 146. Brandon Marshall who?

The pressure the Bears D put on Peyton Manning - Usually he has all afternoon to pick your Defense apart piece by piece. Nice job by the Bears. And Kyle Orton did a nice job of managing the game.

Chad Pennington had a nice outing (for Chad Pennington) going 26 of 43 with 2 TD's. The forgotten man in the Favre fiasco has a nice showing in Miami for only being in town for a few weeks.

Only 1 WR had more than 1 TD reception in game - Hines Ward (wasn't this supposed to be Santonio Holmes year.....relax, there's still time!)

The St. Louis Rams are this bad........

STUDS:

QB's: Donovan McNabb (PHI) and Drew Brees (NO) - 3 TD's a piece, 361 and 343 yards respectively

RB's: Micheal Turner (ATL), Willie Parker (PIT), and Frank Gore (SF)

WR's: Hines Ward (PIT) - target 6 times with 6 catches and 2 TD's - nice!
Reggie Wayne (IND) - target 17 times with 10 catches

TE: Kellen Winslow (CLE)

K: John Kasay (CAR) with 4 field goals.

D: Bears, Eagles and Bills

DUDS:

QB's: Jason Campbell (WAS) and Marc Bulger (STL) - not 300 yards and 1 TD between the 2 of them...EWW!

RB: Stephen Jackson (STL) - 14 carries for 40 yards with a 2.9 yard per carry average - 'nuff said! He gets this category all to himself based on that performance....

WR's: Tory Holt (STL) and Marques Colston (NO) - How can Brees throw for 343 and Colston only has 26 yards?

TE: Chris Cooley (WAS) - (7 yards receiving)

K: Shaun Suisham (WAS) - only 1 XP attempt won't get it done.

D: Vikings

A Few Players You Can Use For Week 1 (And a Couple You May Not Want To.....)

You won't see guys with names like LT, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady here but there are a few guys that might be able to help you get the Fantasy Season started.

The Good:

Quarter Backs:

Kurt Warner (CARDS): With his brilliant play in relief of Matt Leinart over 11 games last season, forced the club to open the competition for starting QB and then won the job outright this past week. Should be a great start against a weak 49ers team that gave up a heck of a lot of yards throught the air last season. Pick him up now!

Jon Kitna (LIONS): Should put up some solid numbers against a team that gave up more pass yards than 29 other teams last year. Time of possession should favor the Lions with Atlanta starting a new QB. Look for 2 TD's against only 1 Int for Kitna with 250 - 300 passing yards.

Running Backs:

Ricky Williams ('FINS): With Ronnie Brown injured, Williams should get about 25 carries and at least a TD against the Jets D.

Darren McFadden (RAIDERS): The Broncos gave up the second most rush yards in the league last season - 'nuff said.

Wide Receivers:

Calvin Johnson (LIONS): See Jon Kitna (above). CJ has all the skills necessary to break out his sophomore year. This could be the start of something big...

Chris Chambers (CHARGERS): Should pick up where he left off the last 4 games of the year last year against a weak Panthers pass defense. Look for 1 TD and 100 plus yards receiving.

Tight End:

Todd Heap (RAVENS): He should have a solid performance against Cincinatti.

Kicker:

David Akers (EAGLES): The Eagles should be able to put a big score against the Rams. The Rams may have some trouble moving the ball against the Philly D.

Defense:

COLTS: While this team is better known for the offense, they are a solid D. Look for Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeny to have solid outings in IDP leagues. The Bears and Kyle Orton will struggle on Sunday.

The Bad:

Quarter Backs:

Kyle Orton (BEARS): See above. With the departure of Berrian and Mohammad, the Bears offense should struggle the first half of the season.

Running Backs:

Ryan Grant (PACKERS): The Minn run D doesn't give up many yards......or TD's.

Reggie Bush (SAINTS): Has yet to score a TD against the Bucs in 2 seasons.........not too many yards either.

Wide Receivers:

Tory Holt (RAMS): Marc Bulger and Tory Holt need to knock off the rust the first few games. Look for improvement as the season progresses.

Laveranues Coles (JETS): No TD's in the past 2 seasons when playing in Miami. Look for him at home when Miami visits NY/NJ.

Kicker:

Robbie Gould (BEARS): With the return of Sanders and Freeney, Indy's D should be able to limit Kyle Orton and the Bears offensive production.

Defense:

FALCONS: I wouldn't count on these guys anytime in the near future.......'nuff said.