Fantasy Football Week 1 - IDP Questions

As fantasy owners get ready for Week 1, there are several question marks surrounding individual defensive players. Can Mario Williams take over Jared Allen as fantasy’s number one defensive end? How will the Giants fare with Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka at DE? Can Jacksonville’s Mike Peterson and New Orleans’ Jonathan Vilma make comebacks? And, who will boom and bust? Read more

Stallworth Rocks In Cleveland

Our sources tell us that 27 year old free agent acquisition Donte’ Stallworth is fully recovered from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the early part of training camp. We’re now hearing that the career underachiever is fitting in very well in Cleveland’s offense and developing great chemistry with Derek Anderson. Read more

Fantasy Impact: Jonathan Vilma

Winning an IDP Fantasy Football league can be much easier that it sounds - if you develop a solid strategy. Don’t worry, this one won’t hurt your brain - it’s simple - let other owners waste early picks on high-priced individual defensive players, while you hoard invaluable offensive studs, and let IDP sleepers fall to you in the late rounds. Step one - identifying the best IDP sleepers. Read more

IDP Transaction Analysis

One huge misconception among fantasy owners is that defensive players who change addresses carry the exact same fantasy value with them to their next team. In fact, the truth is quite to the contrary in that off-season player movement can have a significant impact not only on the relocated player, but also on his former teammates and the IDPs on the squad he’s joining. Let’s look at some key guys that have switched uniforms this off-season. Read more

Jonathan Vilma Goes Through Drills…

IDP owners should be very excited about the fact that Saints head coach Sean Payton was very pleased with Jonathan Vilma’s performance in practice on Wednesday. Vilma reportedly looked good in 7-on-7 drills and other non-contact work.

We think he’s the comeback fantasy player of the year in 2008 in the Saints 4-3 scheme.

Looking For An IDP Sleeper In 2008?

Jonathan Vilma was the man in 2005, DeMeco Ryans was it in 2006, then Patrick Willis took the crown in 2007. Each of the past three seasons a first or second year defender has taken the title of top IDP. This season, we believe Falcons linebacker Curtis Lofton has a chance to follow in their footsteps. Read more

Hester, Vilma, Porter, Gaffney, Koutouvides Rising…

Rising - Devin Hester, Bears WR - There is a bit of buzz going around right now regarding third year 25 year old speedster Devin Hester. In his first two seasons in the league, he’s already established himself as the game’s premier return man and perhaps one of the best return specialists of all time. The Hester at wide receiver experiment in 2007 didn’t exactly light the world on fire, but he still caught a reasonable 20 passes for 299 yards and two TDs. Our eyebrows are officially raised folks, as Hester currently sits atop Chicago’s WR depth chart. Brandon Lloyd, Marty Booker and Mark Bradley aren’t likely to be fantasy studs, but Hester has Lee Evans type potential if he can fine tune his route running and hands. Read more

Vilma Visits Lions…

Jets LB Jonathan Vilma took a physical with the Detroit Lions and could be headed there soon.  We think he’d be a great fit there, as they really don’t have any serious weapons on defense.  Assuming Vilma recovers from ACL surgery, he’ll be a solid IDP sleeper in 2008.

Muhsin Muhammad, Panthers WR 
No-Offseason.com
Muhammad signed a contract with the Carolina Panthers and could start across from Steve Smith in 2008.  While he won’t be a fantasy starter, he’ll likely make a decent impact as a reserve in deep leagues.

David Carr, Panthers QB
No-Offseason.com
David Carr was released by his second team in two years.  Carr is likely to land a job as a back-up somewhere, but he has no fantasy value what-so-ever.

Randy Moss, Free Agent WR
No-Offseason.com
Randy Moss will hit the open market soon, and the word is that the Dallas Cowboys will make a run at acquiring him.  The Boys need another playmaker at WR, and we wouldn’t put this past Jerry Jones at all.  Moss pairing up with T.O. would be absolutely sick.

Troy Williamson, Vikings WR
No-Offseason.com
Word is that Troy WIlliamson will be traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars soon for a sixth round pick.

Brandon Lloyd, Former Redskins WR
No-Offseason.com
Lloyd was released by the Redskins.  Justin McCareins was released by the Jets.  Eddie Kennison was released by the Chiefs.  We wouldn’t be surprised if none of them make an impact in the NFL ever again.

Saints And Jags Intersted In Vilma…

Word is that the New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars are both interested in Jets LB Jonathan Vilma.  The Lions are another 4-3 team in need of a middle linebacker.  Vilma, if healthy and in the right situation, could very easily be the comeback fantasy defensive player of the year in 2008.

Zach Thomas, Cowboys LB 
No-Offseason.com
By now you know that the Cowboys signed Zach Thomas to man one of the inside linebacker spots in their 3-4 defense.  Thomas has a quick first step to the ball, and could be a fantasy flier, but we really worry about his health and only see him as a late round sleeper in 2008 IDP leagues.

Tatum Bell, Lions RB
No-Offseason.com
Tatum Bell plans to hit the free agent market at the end of this week, despite the Lions recent efforts to re-sign him.  Frankly, we’re shocked that the Lions even have any interest in re-signing him what-so-ever, as he was absolutely worthless for them last season.  Don’t expect Bell to do anything from a fantasy perspective in 2008.

Ryan Grant, Packers RB
No-Offseason.com
The Green Bay Press-Gazette is reporting that that Packers are likely to draft another running back in April.  We believe that this means DeShawn Wynn and Brandon Jackson aren’t really cutting the mustard as back-up options.  Grant is solidified as the starter and will get the bulk of the load regardless of who the Packers select.

Reggie Bush, Saints RB
No-Offseason.com
Reggie Bush did not show up at his deposition in the civil lawsuit against him.

Daniel Bullocks, Lions SS
No-Offseason.com
Bullocks, a third year safety, will likely start next to free safety Gerald Alexander in 2008.

SJax To Get Long Term Deal…

Scott Linehan assured the media that locking up Steven Jackson to a long term deal would happen sometime very soon.  The Rams are not believed to have interest in selecting Arkansas’ RB Darren McFadden with the second overall pick. 

Bryant Johnson, Cardinals WR 
No-Offseason.com
The Cardinals have not made a move to lock up UFA WR Bryant Johnson and likely won’t, meaning he’ll get a solid opportunity elsewhere.  If he lands somewhere like Carolina, Houston, Minnesota, Kansas City or Tampa Bay, he could play a solid roll in deep fantasy leagues in 2008.

Brandon Jackson, Packers RB 
No-Offseason.com
The Packers are hopeful that second year back Brandon Jackson can step in and be a solid third down back in 2008.  Don’t get us wrong, Ryan Grant is the guy and will still see substantial third down work, but Jackson could be a contributor.

Javon Kearse, Eagles DE
No-Offseason.com
The Eagles will reportedly cut ties with the oft-injured veteran very soon.  That could be the end of him.

Erasmus James, Vikings DE
No-Offseason.com
The Vikings don’t believe that former first round draft pick Erasmus James, who has undergone three knee surgeries since 2005, will make an impact in 2008.

Jonathan Vilma, Jets LB
No-Offseason.com
New York has granted permission for LB Jonathan Vilma to speak to 30 teams regarding a potential trade.  The Patriots are the only team that Vilma can’t talk to.  If he lands somewhere in a 4-3 scheme - like Detroit or Cincy - he could be the fantasy IDP comeback player of the year.

To Worry? Or Not To Worry?

In seasonal leagues, when a player goes down for a long period of time during the middle of the year, or finishes the season on injured reserve, owners must replace that player and almost forget he ever existed.  Dynasty and deep keeper owners are faced with a different dilemma, however.  Long term owners need to constantly pay attention to how their injured players and others bounce back during the NFL offseason. 

Read more