By Vidur Malik

Last off-season, one of the biggest disappointments around the Bay Area was Raiders wide receiver Chaz Schilens injuring his foot. Schilens looked to be one of the few bright spots for the Raider offense after emerging as a dependable target late in the 2008 season, which made his injury a tough one. After sitting out most of 2009, Schilens had another solid end of the season, putting up 365 yards and two touchdowns.

If he can avoid the foot problems that made him miss most of last year, Schilens can be a dependable fantasy pick. With quarterback Jason Campbell coming in, Schilens should have an accurate quarterback throwing him passes, and with other consistent players complementing him, he should have opportunities to make plays.

Fellow wide receiver Louis Murphy put up over 500 yards and four touchdowns last year, and if he can improve those numbers, Schilens should be able to either be a solid number two receiver, or compete for the number one spot. Johnnie Lee-Higgins is a threat on offense and special teams, and could be a deep threat for the team. Darrius Heyward-Bey had a disappointing rookie year, but if he can use his speed to be another playmaker, the offense should have a good amount of weapons.

Schilens should benefit from being a bigger target in a speedy receiving corps. While most of the other Raider playmakers are dangerous because of their speed, Schilens is a powerful receiver, who can run short and intermediate routes while the other receivers go over the top. On the ground, Darren McFadden has yet to become the game breaker he was in college, but Michael Bush and Justin Fargas are bruisers who can both put up 500-600 yards and a few touchdowns each. Both are consistent runners who have had multiple productive seasons, and they should continue producing. If Campbell can give the offense any consistency at all, it will be an improvement from the JaMarcus Russell years. Bruce Gradkowski led the team to some wins last year, and can be another option as well.

If the Raiders can stay healthy, they might be able to improve from their recent struggles on offense. It will be a long time before they get the consistency and character that an organization needs to be successful, but several players could have breakout seasons this year. Their recent draft picks have been questionable, but bringing in Campbell was a smart move. If he can become the reliable leader the Raiders need, look for Schilens to have a good year. If he can be on the field for most of the season, a 1,000 yard year might not be out of the question.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Spread offenses with potent quarterbacks are love affairs to fantasy owners. Often times an owner with such a quarterback will try to double down their points by landing a receiver on that offense. Numbers used too evenly spread throughout the course of the year. In most of these offenses though getting consistency on a weekly basis from the second or third receiver has scaled back a bit. Out in Indianapolis is one of the more intriguing snapshots to try and figure out who will get the balance of Peyton Manning’s precision throws.

We know that Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark should be natural locks to stay of pace statistically of there prior years. Should we be so sure of that though? Receivers often decline out of no where and this is going to be Wayne’s tenth season in the league. At some point deterioration begins to happen and he will not be able to shake opposing teams number one corners with ease. For the Colts to allow Wayne to use his veteran tactics to stave off diminishing skills he will need to be able to rely on the Colts other receivers.

Folks have a little taste of what Pierre Garcon can do. He emerged last season when Anthony Gonzalez was unable to come back from nagging injuries. Garcon proved to be a big play target and was the home run threat Manning depended on. Speed is his best asset and he is currently slated as the Colts third receiver. We’d like to think that if Garcon improves on other areas as a receiver that he could surpass Gonzalez. Gonzalez is a steady possession receiver type that seems more suited for third down pass plays. When he was their third receiver a few years ago behind Harrison and Wayne, he was able to find space in zones for Manning to drop the ball into. As an every down receiver though that type of player is already on the field in Dallas Clark.

A good sign for fantasy owners that own the Colts receivers is that they’ll likely lead the league in combined trio production. The reason being is that their running game has been very poor over the last few seasons. Joseph Addai’s yards per carry continue to be dismal and last year was at 3.8. It’s hard to believe that the Colts running game has been this poor with the amount of audibles Manning is able to call at the line, and how he keeps defenses on their heels with play action. Their running game was towards the bottom of the league, but should spike up a little as the Colts will look to give Donald Brown more touches in his second year.

The battle for second receiver will be an interesting one. Austin Collie did fine in the third receiver role last year with over 700 yards receiving and 7 touchdowns. So those numbers will not be bad for either Garcon or Gonzalez, and should be upgradeable based on their talent. Fantasy owners want an every down threat though as you should.

We just can’t see the Colts keeping Garcon’s big play ability off the field. Gonzalez is coming off a year of injuries and is going to have to fend off Garcon who continued his great regular season with a monster playoffs. He caught eleven balls for over 150 yards and a touchdown in the AFC championship game against the Jets, and scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl as well. The situation is comparable to when a teams starting quarterback goes down and they find something better when that backup comes in and starts winning.

Of course the Colts could just use their spread offense more if the ground game stays stagnant, but they know their lack of a ground game hurt them in the Super Bowl. Garcon has better fantasy value currently than Gonzalez and it’ll likely remain that way. Look for Garcon who is in the third year of his four year deal, to build upon last year in hopes of working out a new deal before the final year of his contract.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Originally the mold of Brandon Jacobs looked like a linebacker just bulldozing over men his equal size. At around the same time Jerome Bettis was retiring, Jacobs looked like the guy too carry the big men can be brute crushing backs torch. Jacobs showed in his breakout 2008 year that he had the nimbleness and speed to go along with his punishing size. Going into the 2009 season the departure of Derrick Ward only brightened fantasy owners expectations for a strong season from Brandon Jacobs. Before even stepping onto the field owners at least thought strong numbers in the touchdown category were a lock.

He was coming off an astonishing breakout year in 2008 where he totaled 15 touchdowns and annihilated defenses in the second half of games. Stacking yards and easily moving the chains for the Giants. From week one though Jacobs looked as if he had lost two to three gears to his 08 self. Word would later come out that he played the entire year with knee “issues”. As backs get older in their carries playing through injury issues is just a common theme. Staying productive isn’t. Is Jacobs the type of back that can produce playing through the various types of typical injuries that seemingly don’t go away for a back?

In 2009 he just did not have the same shiftiness and quick feet able to get out of the backfield. He seemed to be in a standstill each handoff, and in a span of a year may have caught “Eddie George” syndrome. Even his usual knack to get short yards for the Giants was cutback. As the year went on it was apparent that he was not going to snap out of his funk. Was it the fact that he did not have Derrick Ward as a neutralizer to opposing defenses? The perfect back to offset his skillset for when he entered the backfield. We find that unlikely as towards the second half of last season you could see the Giants tinkering with getting Ahmad Bradshaw more involved. In fact, Bradshaw practically surpassed Jacobs yardage numbers with much less carries, and did in the touchdown department.

Whatever the case may be for Jacobs last season to go a whole entire year being ineffective stands out. Blame the year on an imbalance and growing learning patterns between a young core of receivers and Eli Manning; we just won’t. Jacobs lacked the explosiveness and hardly ever made it out of the back field. His typical way of barreling over defenders and tacking on extra yards just did not happen. Instead he was supplanted and cut down with ease. We will factor his knee issue into the equation but fantasy owners must realize his 08 form may never return.

It is odd though that the Giants decided to go forth without any signings or draft picks to get Jacobs worried. They still plan on trying the Jacobs/Bradshaw show again. The organization is banking on the fact that Jacobs was nicked up with knee injuries that he tried to play through. Jacobs underwent off-season knee surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus. An injury he admitted to trying to play through the entire season. Shouldn’t that be more of a red flag to the Giants?

Word around Jacobs conditions and recovery have been rather quiet. Even if he is able to come in fresh we do not see a back of his size able to sustain a beating for seventeen games. There is just too much wear and tear at that size and a huge target for defenders to drill into. It’s hard enough for most backs to stay healthy an entire season. Jacobs value is up and the air but we’d be safe with him as your second fantasy back, and a back with high upside as your third. Hopefully he can bring about numbers somewhere in the range of his 2008 and 2009 season. That would satisfy fantasy owners and bring a value that is hard to come by consistently for fantasy owners, which is touchdowns.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Stardom as an NFL athlete has shifted from the typical patterns of past greats. A superior athlete in previous generations could ride out that wave of talent for the majority of their career. The tail end truly was that and everyone knew it. Nowadays though teams increased training and aggressive regimens on top of youthful talent flowing in prime shape, careers are having interesting endings. Shaun Alexander literally went from MVP form too not able to run through an alley the size of Jamarcus Russell.

The NFL is a business and teams are going to ride a talented player as much as they can to try and secure that extra win. LT was that workhorse for the San Diego Chargers for a multitude of years and somehow never showed signs of wearing down. Signs weren’t there on the field but the projections based upon his numerous high piled seasons of carries and percentage of involvement in the teams plays was overwhelming.

In 2008, LT staved off injuries that were perceived to the media as slowing him down. Everyone didn’t look at LT’s play as true signs of him losing a piece of his top tier skills. Instead his mere 1100 yards with double digit touchdowns were seen as a warrior like type of year. A year most backs would have missed a string of games and burned disappointed fantasy owners.

The wake up call for the Chargers and everyone was when the keeping or letting LT go talks began. The organization has bit themselves before by letting elite athletes walk away after development had been done with them. Drew Brees and in the case of a running back, Michael Turner, ring a bell. If the Chargers had forked the deal they should of too Turner maybe the Chargers would have had the right mix of ingredients to get closer to a title.

Ownership wised up last year and thought they would not let a Turner type situation develop with a walk out the door and gone view for Darren Sproles. He added an extra spice to their 2008 team that shocked the world and stormed back for an 8-8 season and upset of the Colts. They franchised Sproles but underneath that franchise tag was the teams untrue thoughts on LT. They knew he was not the same back anymore but rather than say that they tried to hide through Sproles. Obviously the team shifted drastically from a pro-run offense in 2009 to a team that relied heavily on Philip Rivers arm.

This day and age that doesn’t work, and getting barely over 1,000 combined rushing yards between LT and Sproles was far below the teams expecations. The mere numbers were strong enough signs to the organization they had to move forward and reconfigure pieces to the puzzle. A shakeup had to happen and that meant letting LT depart. With the strong contenders in the NFL having backfields with seemingly two capable starters, seeing LT (3.3 ypc), and Sproles (3.7 ypc) wasn’t cutting it.

The move was the right move and LT now gets a chance to build a brighter ending to his legacy than foiling extra years in San Diego. He is going to be 32 once the 2010 season begins, but he is on a Jets team that has been one of the best in the league in the ground game. Even though LT will be behind Shonn Greene, it’s a suitable spot based upon the Mark Sanchez’s youth.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Jets try to rush the football upwards of 40-45 times a game. A number the team reached or passed on a weekly basis once they controlled Mark Sanchez’s pass attempts. Including fifty seven team rush attempts week seventeen.

Head coach Rex Ryan shifted the Jets season by turning the football into the hands of Leon Washington, Thomas Jones, and Shonn Greene last season. Two-thirds of that second half season resurgence are gone. One area LT hasn’t backed down a bit on is scoring touchdowns. He is still a double digit threat but there are variables to look at for LT as a Jet compared to being a Charger.

San Diego was a quick score high octane offense that never let up. Touchdown drives were plentiful and the team ranked near the top of the league in scoring. The Jets are more of a ball control style team. We think those are significant factors to look at for LT’s 2010 season with the Jets, but it should even out based on the fact that Rivers outdid Sanchez in touchdown passes by more than double. So when the Jets do score it’s typically going to be a rushing touchdown.

For 2010 LT should be a sharp fantasy producer. His value is still strong as he will probably get 10-15 carries a game and has a prime shot at getting double digit touchdowns once again. Being in New York they love to have the spotlight on stars. Don’t be surprised to see the Jets give him extra chances near the goal line to get the extra exposure of getting in the end zone.

By Vidur Malik

The number one storyline for the Minnesota Vikings has been whether Brett Favre will come back next year, but while the reporters and cameras might be focused on him, there are other Vikings who should get some attention. The team has a rising star and playmaker in second-year receiver Percy Harvin, who should have a great year no matter who throws to him.

After running wild against the SEC during his time at Florida, Harvin made an impact during his rookie season, with 790 receiving yards and six touchdowns, and 135 rushing yards. He ran for 1,156 kickoff return yards, with two touchdowns, making him an all-purpose threat. Harvin became a big part of the Vikings’ high-scoring offense, and established himself as one of the many weapons on the team.

If Harvin can stay on the field, he can become the type of football player everyone thought Reggie Bush would become when he got to the NFL. Bush has shown that he is a running, receiving, and return threat, but Harvin is in that triple-threat club as well. Putting up almost 800 yards and six touchdowns in a rookie season is a solid start for a receiver by itself, but if he continues to complement his receiving yards with a few rushing attempts every now and then, and also returns kicks, he can be a beast for many years. He may not be a guy who can get 1,000 yards through the air every year, but fantasy football doesn’t discriminate when it comes to how yards are earned, and owners should be just fine with getting points from Harvin any way he provides them.

With several big-play threats around him, Harvin probably won’t be the main focus of an opposing defense, and with his speed, one missed tackle could mean six. Playing alongside Sidney Rice, another receiver who looks to be a star in the league, and deep-threat Bernard Berrian, Harvin should get his opportunities. The great thing about Harvin is that those opportunities can come from anywhere on the field. He can be lined up out wide as a receiver, in the backfield for wildcat plays, and can also be a threat for reverses and trick plays. Running backs Adrian Peterson and rookie Toby Gerhart should run through the NFC North, making it possible for Harvin to run right past banged-up secondaries.

The concern with Harvin is his migraine headaches, which made it difficult for him to play towards the end of last season. Though they may have slowed him down last year, the migraines didn’t prevent him from putting his play-making ability on display. If anything, Harvin’s ability to manage them should earn him respect for playing through pain. Hopefully Harvin and the Vikings can address the migraines, so he can showcase his skills, which should only improve next year and beyond.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

The state of Arizona has enough national debate arisen of itself as of late. When it comes time for training camp another battle will loom. Kurt Warner’s decision to retire opened the door for former first round pick Matt Leinart to finally prove his maturity. After faltering early on in his career Leinart had the fortune of sitting back and grasping the learning curve of an NFL quarterback from the sideline. Anxious to get back out on the field Leinart could not surpass the precision and veteran chemistry Kurt Warner brought to the table. Now though he has a golden opportunity to take over on a team that is expecting to keep moving forward without missing a beat.

For someone such as Leinart you’d think the team would have full faith in their prized first round pick that they’ve slowly allowed to grow. Ken Whisenhunt has never been one to hand over the job unless it is warranted. The Cardinals did draft a quarterback in John Skelton from Fordham but the big move was acquiring Derek Anderson. Anderson was stricken by the Brown bug his last two seasons in Cleveland. Coaches there kept shuffling between Anderson and Quinn so much that it was comical. Neither could show production and was best on both sides too finally part ways.

Anderson may be written off as a solidified backup the rest of his career but don’t be fooled. Anderson will be given just as much of an opportunity to win the job as Leinart. It’s Leinart’s job to lose, but he has done that before when he went into training camp a few seasons ago ahead of Warner. Time too learn and mature can do wonders for a quarterback and we expect Leinart to prove himself. Similar to the way Vince Young stormed back, Leinart has no choice but to end any competition battle as quickly as he can.

Once training camp opens he needs to solidify himself as the Cardinals starting quarterback. Veterans on this team are likely rooting for him but they also want to keep building and winning as the team has the past few years. Any setbacks are unacceptable and it all starts who is under center. So if Leinart is not ready the veteran voices will shift sides quickly too Derek Anderson. It’s been awhile since Anderson has had a solid NFL game but in 2007 he was one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL. He is tall, at 6’6 and one of his best assets is his ability to survey the field and go deep with accuracy. A trait that receivers in Cleveland didn’t have the skills to do, but will be a force with the number one receiver in the NFL in Larry Fitzgerald.

Going into training camp this is going to be the most talked about quarterback battle in football. Leinart was the USC standout the was expected to easily transit his winning ways to the NFL. Learning lessons happen and did for Leinart. If he has truly learned underneath Warner than this could be a fantastic future and prosperous beginning for traction of a franchise quarterback for years to come. When can you say Arizona has had a quarterback than can build around for five to eight seasons? Jake Plummer is the only quarterback that comes to mind but that was an ugly overly done marriage filled with seasons of more interceptions than touchdowns.

Leinart will win this job and based upon how the Cardinals like too spread out their offense and pile up points, Leinart is a strong fantasy sleeper. He’ll likely be there in middle tier rounds when most fantasy owners are drafting their backup quarterback. Gamble and get your fourth running back or bench receiver and snag Leinart later. He’ll add more than enough value to keep you unworried about what you’re going to do if you’re number one quarterback goes down.