Fantasy Football Brothers 128 Burning Fantasy Football Questions Part 1 Of 8

The NFL kicks off for real Thursday night as the Saints are crowned champions at home in front of their loyal fans. No city deserved a title more than New Orleans, nor a fan base that needed their team to shock the world.

Here at the Brotherhood we will be watching some of the matchups very closely in week one. What we are looking for is potential. New players on new teams, new offenses, rookies, and changes in assignments for some players.

Who will actually start? Who was targeted where? Who received touches where? Even more importantly is who is on the field during crunch time and who is on the bench when teams enter the red-zone. All of these things are important for fantasy reasons and I will explain why. Actions always speak louder than words. There is a reason for coach speak. It is used to motivate players, it is used to confuse opposing teams and for our purposes in fantasy land. Make us nuts. I’m convinced that Redskins only brought Mike Shanahan back to the NFL was to make fantasy owners nuts each week when deciding between Portis or Larry Johnson, or some back he found in the scrap heap. I’m not paranoid. For fantasy purposes it gives us a good idea if someone was undervalued in drafts. Or if a player was just coasting during the pre-season or his injury was made a big deal by the media. This is a long one so print this out and read it in stages. To Read this article in its entirety Click Here

New Orleans  Vs. Minnesota Thursday Night

Vikings Questions

He Might Not Be A Polished WR But Speed Is A Great Equalizer

Can Harvin adjust to life on the outside?

Harvin made a name for himself destroying the middle of the field picking on slower linebackers and safeties while lining up in the slot. He was a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. Now this year with WR Sidney Rice out that means Harvin will be pushed to the outside and face opposing teams top corner backs. Harvin has blazing speed and great agility though he needs to work on his route running since he has always been used as a jack of all trades type of runner, even at the University of Florida. The Vikings are wise enough to put him in motion and expose coverages, his touchdowns might be on the lower side but his catches and yardage should go up.

How does Favre look?

Like him or not, how Favre goes so does the Vikings. As will your fantasy team. He already is playing on an injured ankle. This offense will suffer tremendously if Favre goes down, with the exception of Adrian Peterson of course.  The loss of Sidney Rice will have a trickle down effect as Harvin gets moved to the outside, and his slot spot will be filled by new addition Greg Camarillo.

Who will step up for the Vikes at WR?

The forgotten man in the Vikings receiving corp is Bernard Berrian or B twice as my girlfriend informed me after recently watching the Ochocinqo show. Yeah thanks for making my life fuller. Berrian had huge expectations when he signed with the Vikings but instead an injury hampered his deep speed and Sidney Rice emerged as the deep threat. The rest is history. Now healthy B twice has the potential to not only fill a huge void in the Vikes passing game, but also could become a waiver wire wonder. Yes that is a good thing.

We know it’s the AP show but who’s next?

Gerhart was drafted as Chester Taylors replacement but he has hardly set the world on fire during the preseason. Gerhart has the size and speed. He passes the eyeball test. The problem seems to be the game has yet to slow down for him in the NFL. Albert Young on the other hand hasn’t looked much better. Young was stuffed so often that he could be mistaken for a turkey. We will take Gerhart for now.

Saints  Questions?

Simple Math: More Carries = More Touchdowns

Which RB was on the field in the Red Zone?

Trying to figure out the Saints backfield rotation is as easy as figuring out their WR rotation. We know Thomas is going to carry the load while Bush gets the obvious passing downs and gives Thomas a breather. Both offer different skill sets that they can be used in unique packages once in the red zone. Bush tied a career high with 8 touchdowns despite playing in only 14 games and receiving only 127 touches.  That’s not too shabby considering he only had 70 rushing attempts. Thomas also had 8 TD’s in the same amount of games. With the anticipated increase in touches for Thomas, we think he could score 14 total touchdowns this year.  He’ll could be that explosive in this offense.

Who was on the field for each situation?

A very frustrating reality when you own a Saints offensive player. You can watch three red zone plays and never have the same combination of players on the field. The constants are Brees,Colston and Shockey if healthy, otherwise you have to make a sacrifice to play Saints roulette.

Did Sean Payton call a more equal amount of run to pass plays?

Ideally any coach would want a 50-50 split of running plays to passing plays. The Saints can move the ball effectively either way, the problem is they have to limit the amount of carries their backs get since they are both so brittle.

After Colston who was the highest targeted WR?

Personally, I think this is the year that Meachem makes his breakthrough. He has more talent than any other WR on the Saints. He actually had a better ypc (yards per catch) than there supposed deep threat, Devery Henderson. His 9 TD receptions tied Colston for the team lead.  The great thing about Meachem is, he was able to accomplish this while having 25 less receptions.  His improved numbers and high touchdown totals show us that he has become a legit target when they enter the redzone. He has prototypical  size (6’2″ 210) to go along with his blazing speed. He has come along way since being selected in the 1st round of the 07 draft.

Dolphins Vs. Bills 1 p.m.

Bills

Spiller Gets The Starting Nod Week One, But How Many Carries Will He Get?

Will Spiller only get 10-15 touches?

Spiller is a very talented back, who is best used sparingly. The rookie is super talented and is a legit home run hitter every time he touches the ball from anywhere on the field. The problem is the more he touches the ball the more his numbers start to decline. His body is not built to take a beaten between the tackles something a starter needs to do. He is best used as a change of pace back and thrown out of the slot. The Bills are beyond desperate at WR, and will try and get him in the slot and in the flats. In Spiller’s case less is really more.

Has the Bills Offensive line improved?

How can they not? The Bills grabbed rookies early last year as they began the rebuilding process of the Offensive line. The line is very young but has shown enough promise to at least give the Bills a potential run game. Even more important is keeping Trent Edwards uniform clean.

Is QB Trent Edwards the answer at QB?

Is he a long term answer? Probably not, but for this year he will have to do. Should I pick him up off of waivers. No, and shame on you for making me answer that. He is a talented guy and has some decent tools, but he would be better served playing on a team that had some talent at other positions. Like umm… I don’t know say maybe any team with a WR or TE. It would also help if his defense could stop anyone, speaking of defenses.

Is the Bills Defense transitioning to a 3-4 a good thing?

It depends, do you like linebackers? Seriously, the Bills will continue to struggle stopping the run though their linebackers rack up the stats for IDP purposes. The transition to a 3-4 defense will not be pretty as the team learns a new system.  Factor in all the missing pieces that the 3-4 defense really needs to be effective and you’ll see why we’re pessimistic.

Dolphins

Brown Returns From Injury.....Again

How does Ronnie Brown look?

Brown is a very talented guy who is obviously very tough as he rebounds from injury after injury. It is scary to see what kind of numbers he can put up if he could stay healthy. I just hope that owners get their 10 games out of him before inevitable ends up on the scrap heap.

What kind of coverage did Brandon Marshall face?

I think Marshall will do most of his damage this year in run downs since defenses have to account for the dual threat of Brown and Ricky Williams. I do think he will be double teamed every time there is an obvious passing down. Let’s just hope for everyone’s sake that he gets moved around like he was in Denver to keep the defense guessing.

How many passing attempts will Henne have?

As long as Brown and Williams are healthy, Henne will be asked to do a lot less than you think. The Dolphins will be a run first team as long as they can be, it’s the Tuna way. Henne’s stats will improve but he is nothing more than a QB2.

More or less Wildcat?

It has to be less. The Phins ran this because when pop gun Pennington was playing QB, it became painfully clear that he was not the answer in the big play department. Now that Henne has a full year under his belt as the starter, the need for it will be less this year. Using it less will actually make it more effective when they unleash it on unsuspecting defenses.

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