Fantasy Football 2005
by Last year, I did the first annual eZabel fantasy football preview thread. It's time for another. First, let's look at how I did last year.
2004 Pred's
QB: Peyton Manning.
RB: Clinton Portis.
WR: Randy Moss.
TE: Jeremy Shockey.
K: Mike Vanderjagt.
Hope you listened to me with Peyton. I ended up not having him on my team for the first time in three years. Good timing. He was drafted in the 2nd right before me, but I got McNabb which ended up OK.
I did draft Portis in the first round. Not as good as I had hoped. Turned it on at times but low TD total was disappointing.
This year is actually the least I know about fantasy FB in a couple years. After LT in the first I have no idea who I'd take next. But I'm a genius so I'll work it out and you should listen to my advice.
PLAYER PREDICTIONS
Quarterbacks
Top: Peyton Manning. Again. 4000 yards, 30 TDs basically a lock. More? Maybe. Honorable Mention: Donovan McNabb.
Will be drafted too high: Kerry Collins. Moss and Porter may be nice targets, but he just ain't that good to be a fantasy starter. HM: Michael Vick
Should be drafted higher than he will: Tom Brady. The consumate pro is a winner in real and fantasy football. I don't know if people notice that he is better than Aaron Brooks, Matt Hasselbeck, and Michael Vick in terms of fantasy points, but I guarantee those three will be drafted before Steady Tommy. HM: Chad Pennington
Breakout Player (Will be a top player at the position by the draft next year, but not at that level yet): Joey Harrington
Running Backs
Top: LaDanian Tomlinson. Reliable, durable, can run, can catch, can score. HM: Shaun Alexander
WBDTH: Reuben Droughns. Going from Denver's offense to Cleveland's sure won't get him as good a year as last. HM: Curtis Martin.
SBDHTHW: Ahman Green. He's been solid for years, but many will pass over him to get new flashy backs like McGahee and the Joneses. Not that that's a bad move, but he will be overlooked. HM: Kevan Barlow.
BP: Julius Jones. Averaged 102 YPG. HM: Willis McGahee.
Wide Recievers
Top: Terrell Owens. Jerk, yes. Great reciever, also yes. HM: Marvin Harrison. Normal awesome year.
WBDTH: Randy Moss. Collins isn't great, and Moss wasn't even spectacular last year with Daunte throwing the deep ball. HM: Muhsin Muhammad. Ugh, going to the Bears will KILL his stats.
SBDHTHW: Anquan Boldin. He will be top of the charts next year again. HM: Andre Johnson.
BP: Roy Williams. Great reciever with some awesome recievers in his lineup. Lions have some of the best youngin's in football. Harrington, Charles Rogers, Roy and Mike Williams, and Kevin Jones. WOW! HM: Mike Williams
Tight Ends
Top: Antonio Gates. Who can argue with those stats? HM: Jeremy Shockey. Still have faith that the Giants will use him better. Why? Don't know.
WBTDH: How am I supposed to know? Just say Dallas Clark and Bubba Franks, k?
SBDHTHW: Todd Heap. Back with a vengeance. HM: LJ Smith.
Kickers
Top: Mike Vanderjagt and Adam Vinatieri.
Best Defensive Player: Lawrence Taylor.
AI Summary
9 Comments
anyone doing fantasy leagues this year?
2 spots left, draft is monday night
Yahoo leage id #361989, password "football"
this is a great forum thread.... for me to POOP on.
as soon as i saw there was a new comment in the sports forum, i knew that it was mike saying something like this. soooo predictable schiano!!!!
why dont you predict THIS!!!!!
....
i thought i posted a comment in here? ok here it is again...
PLAYER PREDICTIONS
Quarterbacks
Top: I agree with JP, I think Peyton will repeat as the top QB in the league, although he probably won't quite match the gaudy stats he put up last year but it will probably be close.
WBDTH: Michael Vick - until he gets some better players around him and becomes more consistent, I won't ever want him on my fantasy team, but for some reason somebody always springs for him in the 2nd or 3rd round. HM - Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger
SBDHTHW: Agree with JP, for some reason Tom Brady just doesn't get the props he deserves. HM - David Carr, Kerry Collins, Kyle Boller
BP: I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say Eli Manning, sure I'm a biased Giants fan, but what do I care if Joey Harrington or Carson Palmer have great years?? HM - Harrington, Palmer, Byron Leftwich, Kyle Boller
Running Backs
Top: Can't argue with LT as the top running back and probably as the top pick in most drafts. The TDs, rushing yards, recieving yards, plus he's still young so he's pretty much a lock if he doesn't get injured. HM - Shaun Alexander, Willis McGahee
WBDTH: Priest Holmes - He may score 15-18 TDs this year but I don't see him playing 16 games this season, and I think the fantasy team that drafts him won't have him when it counts. Then again, with the line he has if he stays injury free he could be a good guy to have. HM: Droughns, Ricky Williams, Marshall Faulk,Clinton Portis
SBDHTHW: Tiki Barber could go either way, its going to be tough for him to match up to his breakout season last year, but with an improved O-line he might do even better. True, Brandon Jacobs will steal some goal line carries, but I think even so Tiki will come very close to his 13 TDs of last year. HM - Domanick Davis, Rudi Johnson
BP: I agree with JP that Julius Jones probably will have a great year, but I'm going to make another pick just to be different: Mewelde Moore, with Onterrio Smith out for the year i think Mewelde will be the main man and flourish in that offense. HM: Julius Jones, McGahee, Ronnie Brown
Wide Recievers
Top: Torry Holt - He's put up 1300+ yards for 5 straight seasons, and double digit TDs for the last two. Isaac Bruce is on the downside of his career so he's the main man on that team. with marvin on the decline and Owens having contract and teammate problems I think Holt will stand out as the best fantasy WR. HM: Randy Moss, Hines Ward, Chad Johnson
WBDTH: Terrell Owens - Great yes, but I don't think he'll stay on the field for 16 games. HM: Muhammad, Plaxico Burress, Desmond Mason
SBDHTHW: Anquan Boldin - I think he's going to bounce back nicely this year. HM: Andre Johnson
BP: Nate Burleson - with randy gone and one of the best QBs in the league here, I think Burleson will have an excellent year. HM: Andre Johnson, one of the Lions young guns (leaning towards roy williams)
Tight Ends
Top: Can't argue with Tony Gonzalez, I think he's pretty much undisputed. HM: Todd Heap, Jason Witten, Jeremy Shockey, Antonio Gates
WBDTH: Antonio Gates - He's a great athlete and just huge, but I think after last year's performance I think teams will gameplan to stop him more. also, he may be just a tad overrated, but we'll see. HM: Jeremy Shockey, Bubba Franks, Marcus Pollard
SBDHTHW: Jason Witten - He possibly could be the best tight end in the league this year, and when all is said and done I believe he will definitely be a top 3 fantasy TE this year. HM: Doug Jolley, Algel Crumpler
BP: Witten broken out last year, so I'm going to say Doug Jolley. I don't think he'll be a top 5 fantasy TE, but I think he'll be used more in the Jets offense to catch passes and should be a pretty reliable option for the whole year. HM: BROTHER JERMAINE NOLAN WIGGINSSSSSS!!!!
Kickers
Top: Kickers are always hard to predict, but I'm gonna go with Vinatieri. HM: David Akers
Best Defensive Player: Jonathan Vilma
Wow, JP u and I had a lot of the same picks... looks like we'll be stealing picks from each other in this year's draft!!
brees. nice pick for drafted too high. shoulda gone with him too. hes gonna be overrated.
darn it you guys. talk about football.