6. Mr. Andrea Carpcia

                Mr. Carpcia checks in at the #6 position.  With a little help from his good friend Evan Williams, the Carp put together a solid draft both before and after his disappearing act somewhere in the middle rounds.  Not to be confused with his golf game, the Carp usually drafts quickly with confidence, limiting any chance of 2^nd guessing himself.  Evan tends to disagree with him sometimes and likes to poll the rest of the room to get a review on a certain player. 

Draft Recap

pemeatmirtassondareg 1. (2) Adrian Peterson 2. (19) Reggie Wayne 3. (22) Philip Rivers 4. (39) Dwayne Bowe 5. (42) Wes Welker 6. (59) Vincent Jackson 7. (62) Derrick Ward 8. (79) Willie Parker 9. (82) Matt Cassel 10. (99) John Carlson 11. (102) Lee Evans 12. (119) Jamal Lewis 13. (122) Tim Hightower 14. (139) Minnesota 15. (142) Mark Clayton 16. (159) Muhsin Muhammad 17. (162) Adam Vinatieri

Roster

QB’s:  Philip Rivers, Matt Cassell

RB’s:  Adrian Peterson, Derrick Ward, Willie Parker, Jamal Lewis, Tim Hightower

WR’s:  Reggie Wayne, DeWayne Bowe, Wes Welker, Muhsin Muhammed, Vincent Jackson, Lee Evans,

            Mark Clayton

TE’s:  John Carlson

DEF:  Minnesota

Quarterbacks:

                Philip Rivers was one of the most overvalued picks in the draft, coming as the 22^nd overall pick in the 3^rd round ahead of QB’s such as Kurt Warner and Aaron Rodgers.  The Chargers defense should be extremely better this year so the offense won’t have to win games in the shootout fashion as many times as last year.  Look for Rivers’ stats to be slightly better than his first 2 years as a starter in San Diego, averaging around 3,300 yds and 22 TD’s.  Matt Cassell was simply a product of the Patriots offense last season as any QB would put up good numbers in that system.  Cassell does have his perks in KC though.  New head coach Todd Haley loves to throw the football and will incorporate plays designed for Cassell to get the ball down field.  DeWayne Bowe is a big time receiver but outside of him the Chiefs have a bunch of randoms.  However, they should be behind a lot, further improving Cassell’s opportunity for success.  There is no back-up currently on the roster and both Rivers and Cassell will have games in tough match-ups where they won’t find the end zone.

Running backs:

                Outside of AP, the running backs on this team are very questionable.  Derrick Ward is stuck in the middle of a 3 headed time share with Earnest Graham and Cadillac Williams, while Willie Parker is barely hanging on the starting gig in Pittsburgh.  Jamal Lewis is still the main back in Cleveland and is incredibly only 30 yrs old, though it seems like this is his 25^th year in the league.  Regardless of who gets the most carries in Arizona, Hightower (or any other Cardinals RB) takes a back seat to the prolific passing attack of the redbirds. 

Wide Receivers:

                Without a doubt, one of the top receiving cores in the league.  Reggie Wayne has a chance to lead the league in just about every receiving category and DeWayne Bowe should only improve on his terrific #’s from last year when he had the 3 stooges throwing him the ball (Moe, Larry, and Curly).  Wes Welker will get a ton of catches as usual but typically struggles to find the end zone a great deal.  Vincent Jackson gets better and better each year and Lee Evans should be the recipient of quite a few open looks due to extra attention on Owens.  Muhsin Muhammed and Mark Clayton are about as average as you can get and shouldn’t see much playing time throughout the year.

The Rest:

                John Carlson should be in for a fine year with Hasselbeck under center.  The Vikings defense has one of the best front fours in football and is superb at both stopping the run and rushing the passer.  The secondary is the weak link and tends to give up quite a few big plays through the air. 

Ratings 

Quarterbacks:      C+           83

Running backs:    C+           84

Wide Receivers:   A             94

Tight End:             B             88

Defense:                B             N/A

Overall:                  B-            87

Season Outlook:

                Carpcia will look to his receivers to put up huge numbers week in and week out.  Peterson needs to average at least one score a game to make up for his lack of production in the passing game.  The resurgence of Tomlinson and the return of Merriman to bolster the defense could prove costly for Rivers’ total numbers this year, but he will definitely have his share of games to light up the scoreboard.  Cassell will be better than most QB’s drafted after the 9^th round, but is still several tiers away from the game’s elite.   Between Parker, Ward, Lewis and Hightower, one back needs to emerge as a guy that can be counted on every week.  As of now, none fall under that category.