Fantasy Football Brothers 128 Burning Fantasy Football Questions Part 3 Of 8

Part 3 Of 8

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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 when? 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. A player was just coasting during the pre-season or his injury was made a big deal by the media.

Bengals Vs. Patriots 1 P.M.

Bengals

For Better Or For Worse

Now that Palmer has legit weapons at WR will his numbers improve?

Career lows people. Career lows. His stats were the fewest in every category across the board. Attempts,Completions,Yards and touchdown passes. His numbers are almost identical to his rookie year, that season he only played in 13 games. The Bengals have a top 3 run blocking offensive line last season. There was just no need to throw the ball when the Bengals could just play conservative and pound it down the oppositions throat.  Now that Palmer has someone to throw to besides you know who, he won’t be forced to lock on one WR and can have confidence knowing Quan Cosby isn’t his second option.

Can Ocho and T.O. survive together?

As long as the team is winning, and they each get between 8 and 10 targets a game all should be fine. The Bengals face a ton of good cornerbacks this season and that is something to keep an eye out for. All bets are off if both guys have VH1 cameras following them everywhere.

Will Benson carry the load?

Should he? Absolutely I don’t think enough was made about how much he meant to the team last season. He put the Bengals on his back and when healthy he dismantled teams despite playing in a tough AFC North division. Benson enters the final year of his contract and the Bengals are more than likely hoping they don’t have to pay out a big contract to a back that will be 28 at the end of this season. The Bengals will insert Bernard Scott as a back up and try and work him in more and more as the season goes on. I know you don’t have to say it, Bernard Scott will be 27 but he is also still on his rookie contract.

Patriots

A Motivated Moss? Look Out!

Which Tom Brady will we see the 2007 version or the 2009 version?

Brady is now two full years removed from his devastating knee injury. The usual time table for a full recovery from this type of injury is two years. While the Patriots run game is led by nobody, it is still a very effective weapon. I still hate the fact that the Patriots load up the line to let everyone know they are running the ball. The Pats drafted two TEs this spring and both have been pleasant surprises. Randy Moss is playing for a contract, and appears to be super motivated this year to cash in another big check. I know we have him ranked high but a motivated Randy is worth an extra 3 or four touchdowns alone. Welker might not be a 100% but the Pats will gladly take him at 70%. Brandon Tate appears ready to take the leap into fantasy relevance(Waiver Wire Alert) and then there is the poor man’s Wes Welker, Julian Edleman. Brady has the weapons and the motivation to put up better numbers than 2009. By the way his numbers were better than you think.

Who is going to tote the rock for the Patriots?

The short answer is who cares. I’m being serious, the only way fantasy nation will care is if four of the five Patriot RBs get hurt. That way you at least have a 50% chance of being right. Maroney is the best option because he has the most skills if he could ever put it all together. Taylor is a dinosaur, Morris is good for a 3 or 4 game tease before inevitably going down. Kevin Faulk is only an option in deep PPR leagues. Like I said who cares.

Will Wes Welker return to his pre-injury form this year?

A Knee tear is not an easy injury to comeback from. Welker is not built for speed, he is built to make cuts which requires a healthy knee. The good news is Welker is a stud and has come back much faster than anyone should have come back. He has already said his knee doesn’t feel good, but that won’t keep him on the field. The Pats would be wise to use him sparingly in the early part of the season limiting his snaps as he regains strength. After all Welker is no good to his team or fantasy owners if he peaks by week 6.

How many touchdowns will Randy Moss have?

I can’t remember the last time Moss participated this much during the exhibition season. He is a man on a mission to get one last pay day. Whether he gets a contract from the Patriots or another team next year, he knows he has a ton to prove despite his super solid numbers. Randy appeared to Cadillac towards the end of the season and that is something no one likes to see. Now with a fire lit under his butt, we are expecting huge things from him this year. My final guess. 15

Panthers Vs Giants 1 P.M.

Panthers

Smith Clicked With Matt Moore At The End Of Last Season

Can DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart continue to thrive in this two back system?

Smash and Dash, Thunder and Lightning I don’t care what you call them. Just know that Williams is always playing for his job, and Jonathan Stewart is playing for Williams job. Despite the time share both backs have been borderline RB1s,very solid RB2s. JStew has averaged 10 touchdowns a season in his first two years. Both backs will see 200+ carries as long as both are healthy.

Is Matt Moore the answer at QB?

I’ll tell you what he isn’t. Jake Delhomme. Moore threw the same amount of touchdown passes despite attempting almost 200 less passes. I think Paul said it best last season. I would trust Delhomme to cut my lawn. No words have rung more true. Moore looks to benefit from an improved WR corps and two healthy stud running backs. Moore also has rookie Jimmy Clausen breathing down his neck. It’s Moore’s job to lose, and the expectations can’t be too high following up Delhomme’s impersonation of an NFL QB.

Is Steve Smith still a WR1?

Even though he has now become the “other” Steve Smith. He was the original Steve Smith in the first place until the other Steve Smith on the Giants blew up last year. All the while Carolina’s Steve Smith was held hostage by Delhomme and his gang of a thousand interceptions. No this isnt meant to make you dizzy. I did have to write and re-write that part about five minutes.Hold on I need to close my eyes.  Smith was the victim of brutal QB play and his number suffered as a result. Smith did his to not criticize his QB even though his frustration was obvious. With a new starting QB and better receiving options across from him I expect his number to return to above the 1,000 yard barrier and over 10 touchdowns.

Is there a legit option at the other WR spot?

Dwayne Jarrett is not the answer that is for sure. We like Brandon LaFell who was a victim of a new QB his senior year. His numbers suffered as did his draft selection. He is 6’2″ and a solid 210 pounds that can bloom under the tutelage of Steve Smith. Smith might have a temper but he is a hard working WR. Lafell has solid hands, good route running skills and decent speed for a big man.

Giants

What Is Jacobs Role?

Are the Giants going to pass as much as they did last year?

I know people don’t want to hear it but the Giants only threw as much as the did last year because they had to. The Giants defense was awful. The run game wasn’t much better. Yes Bradshaw was a breath of fresh air but Jacobs and his 3 yards and a cloud of dust constantly put the Giants 2nd and long and 3rd and long. None of these things got exposed because the Giants had a pretty cushy schedule the first five weeks of last season. In order for the G-Men to be successful this year they have to establish the run and their defense has to improve. I think the have done enough to this off season to make this happen. Sorry Eli I hope had you fun in the 4,000 yard club, maybe next year in 2011.

Will Bradshaw be the starter all year?

I like Bradshaw I think he provides a great change of pace to Jacobs smash mouth style. What he doesn’t bring is the ability to bring physicality (going to have to look that one up)to the run game.  Will Bradshaw have more touches than Jacobs? As long as he is healthy yes. More yards? Yup. Touchdowns? Probably not.

How will Brandon Jacobs respond as the back up?

Hopefully completely ticked off. Jacobs is important to the Giants and their success. He is a load to bring down and punishes the opposing defense for just trying to take him down. Jacobs was dinged up last year, and he wasn’t running with his patented high knees which made him easier to take down. If you fix those two items and add in a pinch of pissed off, Jacobs could be a 10+ touchdown beast.

Can Nicks take the next step?

I love Nicks a ton, I thought he was a stud at UNC and I was pleasantly surprised as his progress as a rookie. He was able to fully wrest away the starting job away from Mario Manningham for opposite Steve Smith. I like him to build on his impressive rookie year but a few things will dampen his stats. One the Giants will look to pass more. Two Nicks seemed to make most of his plays when he was on the field with Smith and Manningham at the same time, which of things go well for the Giants will occur less than they did last season. Will Nicks become a better WR? No doubt. Will his number jump up? Not as high as you are expecting.