The 2010 NFL Fantasy Football Season Begins Now. [ 06/16 Edition ]

Now let’s not all get TOO excited all at once.

It’s the middle of June, about the time I start preparing for the next season of NFL fantasy football. Most of my friends, no, all of my friends are still reading the newspaper, casually perusing over the sports section for the stray NFL article.

For me though, this is the time where sleepers, underrated players and trade options are found. This method of careful preparation, combined with reading just about every article, topic or note on just about anything NFL, has propelled my NFL.com and neighborhood fantasy teams to 2 wins and 2 2nd-place finishes in the past 3 years.

Some of my faithful readers are wondering curiously as to why I posted a picture of Minnesota Vikings-RB Adrian Peterson. Well just to clear things up, here is my NFL.com drafted line-up in 2010:

 

QB

Starter: PHI Donovan McNabb – ridiculous & awesome, I <3 PHI & McNabb.

Back-Up: MIN Brett Favre – curious pick, Think I might trade him b4 the reg. season.

RB

Starter: MIN Adrian Peterson – OMG, I’m not usually this lucky and w/ with a platoon.

Starter: CHI Matt Forte – OMGx2, I think I’m set @ the RB-position this year…

Back-Up: DAL Felix Jones – underrated, especially w/ M. Barber moving back to closer.

WR

Starter: GB Greg Jennings – one of the best young WRs in the game. great pick.

Starter: BUF Terrell Owens – I won’t deviate from him until he finally fails @ age 40.

Starter: PIT Hines Ward – consistently earns 1000 yds & 5 TDs. good 3rd-option.

Back-Up: JAC Torry Holt – late round-flier on him. perhaps will pan out. if not, trade.

TE

Starter: TB Kellen Winslow Jr. – good, ultra-talented TE with rookie QB = production.

Back-Up: DEN Tony Scheffler – underrated TE who will be used more in DEN this year.

K

Starter: SD Nate Kaeding – has been one of the best K options past 3 years in SD.

DEF

Starter: MIN Vikings DST – hopefully Williams twins will come back. if not, still all good.

 

Overall, my all-star RB/QB/WR’s will earn me a ticket into the playoffs. I got lucky picking up both Peterson and Forte, and McNabb is just a bonus in the 3rd round, especially with perhaps the best offensive line in the league this year.

As for the uncertainty with some of my depth, as well as at the TE, K and DST positions, I have always maintained that as long as you properly prepare your team on a weekly basis, free-agent additions can be found and made that will give you at a minimum a fighting chance to win every time.

This means that when you are choosing between 10-15 inconsistent or just bad statistically performing DSTs, make sure your hapless choice isn’t playing against the Colts, the Patriots, Chargers or Saints that week. You have a MUCH better chance of earning some points in a low-scoring affair against the Bengals or the Lions.

As it is still pretty early for any major injuries or trading options, I don’t really have too much to report in terms of teams, players or defenses I have my eye on for a trade/addition. The only ones I kinda are interested in…don’t read this if you are in my fantasy league-cough, David, cough-are the Redskins DST and PHI rookie-WR Jeremy Maclin.

Both of these options are available as a low-round draft pick (6th-7th), or in my case actually went undrafted, and have a great chance at good-fantasy production this season. The Redskins defense ended up 4th overall last season and will only be better this year with the addition of 100-million dollar DT Albert Haynesworth.

Jeremy Maclin is built to play in a spread offense with smaller faster receivers, which is exactly what is already in place in Philadelphia. Although some of Philly’s earlier receivers drafted in the same mold haven’t exactly panned out, last season DeSean Jackson came in as a rookie and caught 62 passes for 912 yards, 2 TDs and rushing for 96 yards and another TD.

Jeremy Maclin is built almost exactly like DeSean Jackson, only a bit taller, and comes into an even better offensive situation than before. The offensive line is better, McNabb just got a restructured contract w/ more guaranteed money and it seems that everything is finally in place for the offense to click all season since TO left for Dallas.

Other then that, it’s still too early to say. Perhaps in a few more weeks, perhaps a month, things will start to fall in place for another run at a championship for AFC North Destruction.

 

-Michael, Wong_83@hotmail.com

 

Got any questions for Michael about the upcoming season or fantasy football? Need some tips on starting or finishing a line-up? Feel free to use the email link or send a message via. Bleacher.

 

 

 

Examining Michael Vick’s Dogfighting: 2009 Edition

[Before anyone goes gung-ho and barrages my email with hate-mail, I just have to clarify that I personally did not make or have any part in making this particular image. In any case, I have been saving this picture for just the right occasion. -M]

 

How many times in the history of the NFL has there been a star-quarterback of Michael Vick’s caliber indicted on serious criminal charges? How about how many times has that same person actually done time in prison for his actions?

I personally can only name a handful of players who make up a vast minority when compared to the number of humane and law-abiding citizens that make up the rest of the NFL.

Anyone remember Lawrence Phillips, the talented halfback from Nebraska? He basically threw away most of his entire career in favor of committing criminal activities. All I can say about him is, ‘Thank God, I’m so, so glad that Ozzie Newsome picked Jonathan Ogden instead of Phillips in the first round.’

More recently, let me see here, we’ve got CB Adam ‘Packman’ Jones, the sixth-overall pick out of West Virginia. His rap-sheet just during his professional career is so staggering, I’ll just leave it at this. It started off with a contract dispute with the Titans and at this point is up in the air since his off-season release from the Dallas Cowboys.

We’ve also got Chris Henry and basically the entire Cincinnati Bengals organization, Brandon Marshall, Marshawn Lynch, and Donte Stallworth. All of these players mentioned have done something to damage the integrity and reputation of the NFL and thus have earned themselves either fines, suspensions or both.

I personally don’t think that it’s that far off to believe that professional football players are out there breaking the law. This is part of the reason why we’re speeding through the before-mentioned players and not taking the time out to go into each with details.

None of these players besides perhaps Lawrence Phillips has done anything that earned them any considerable jail-time. The laws broken by NFL players typically are the same ones that are broken by some of our friends: drinking and driving, assault and battery, domestic abuse and speeding.

They might make good periodical headlines on NFL.com, but honestly none of these players hold a candle to what ex-Atlanta Falcon star-QB, Michael Vick, did in 2007.

We all know the story, or at least part of the story. Michael Vick was at the top of his game in 2006, having just signed a spanking-new contract that season, worth somewhere in the range of 10-years, $135 million. In 2004, Vick led his team all the way to the NFC championship game, where they eventually lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Somewhere along the way, after being selected first-overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL Draft, Vick got caught up in a string of dog-fighting rings. Personally, I think it was his family and friends that got him into it but in reality the only person that really knows is him.

In the early part of 2007, the dog-fighting rings were discovered after weeks of investigation, eventually leading to the seizure and police-raid of one of his beautiful mansion-style homes in Virginia.

After posting bail and eventually pleading guilty to federal charges of animal cruelty and gambling, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell handed down perhaps the harshest punishment in the past 20 years, suspending Vick indefinitely from playing in the NFL.

In addition to this suspension and the 23-month prison-term he was given by the federal judge, Falcons owner Arthur Blank released a press-statement in which he stated he would be seeking to get back around 20 million of the $37 million signing bonus they had just paid Vick the previous season.

So basically this left Vick pretty much in debt, in prison and suspended indefinitely from the only profession he had ever known. This to me was not only extremely harsh but completely ridiculous considering that he was a first-time offender.

Regardless of whether you feel it’s fair or not, Vick is about to be released today, to finish out his prison-sentence in home-confinement. He’s got another two months left to do, during which he’s already lined up a construction job worth a staggering $10/hour.

Yes, you heard clearly, for the first time since perhaps ever Michael Vick will be doing real work at a normal job for normal pay.

Besides the construction work, Vick has already said that he’s going to seek a return to the NFL. He’s got a ton of college and former-NFL players who have already agreed to help him get back into football shape, possibly for a return to the NFL as soon as this or next season.

My personal opinion might be different from the average NFL fans, seeing as how I am more than happy to give Vick a second-chance. I am not a zealous-Christian/PETA activist, screaming for his head over killing a few pit bulls.

Was it wrong of him to have a bunch of dead, murdered dogs buried in his backyard? Without a doubt. I currently own a two-year old beagle whom I take care of and spend time with every single day. For me to say I wasn’t sad to hear that an NFL player had done this would be a lie.

At the same time, I have a number of friends who live either in or below the Maryland-Virginia state line. Some of them have been involved in dog-fighting at one time or another. This is not to say that the average ‘southern’ inhabitant is out to break laws and doesn’t care about their pets.

It just means that things are different, the way of life and the way they do things are often different in Virginia and the other states below the Mason-Dixon line then they are in other states.

To make a long story short, yes, I believe Vick should have been punished. The magnitude of his first-time offense was so severe that he definitely deserved some jail-time, a lengthy suspension or both. Did he get that? Again, yes he did.

He got both of things, got his NFL money and endorsement deals taken away, his family shunned and booed at every turn and his reputation forever dragged through the dirt. Michael Vick has done his time, and I believe he has sincerely shown that he is a changed man.

I think what it really comes down to is what a long stay in prison has done to his considerable football skills. If he can get back into football shape and show that he can still pass on the run/pull the ball down when necessary and gain 5-10 yards, he deserves to get another chance at playing in the NFL.

If Vick can show NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that he’s sincerely remorseful and contrite for the horrible things he’s done, there is a strong possibility that he will play somewhere as a back-up QB this very season.

He has the time now, over the next three-and-a-half months before training camp begins, to prepare himself for both the meeting with the commissioner and to find a team that will give him that second chance he’s looking for.

In the worst case scenario, he will find himself as a backup QB, perhaps making the minimum for a player who’s been in the league for seven seasons (I am only counting the six seasons he was with Atlanta, and one season with whichever team signs him -M).

Even if he ends up not ready for the ’09 season because of his home confinement and/or the fear of media or fan backlash/reprisal, Vick will certainly get his shot either midway through the season or at the end of the season at the very latest.

Out of 32 total teams in the NFL, I cannot for certain say that there are currently 32 starting QBs that are better than he is. Certainly there are not 64 QBs better then him, even if you lower his value because of his non-orthodox playing style.

I mean look at his statistics. Three Pro-Bowls and three NFL records owned by perhaps the greatest running-QB to have ever played in the NFL. Even after his almost two-year stint in prison, Vick is still only 28 years old, arguably giving him between five and 10 more years in the league.

Especially with the wildcat formation being so trendy right now, Vick is almost the perfect match for that offensive scheme. If it weren’t for the crimes he committed, Vick would probably be entering his ninth season in the NFL and be the idol that all running-QBs would look up too for guidance.

The cannon for a passing arm is probably still there, something that a lot of people don’t even realize he ever had. I watched him air it out against Tom Brady of the Patriots, going blow for blow with one of the best QBs in NFL history through the air.

The lack of hits over the past two years, minus perhaps a few shank wounds and some rectal damage, will also help to make him a more attractive option. As long as he can still run and juke like the Vick we have all seen breaking Troy Polamalu’s ankles, he will continue to have my support in regards to playing in the NFL.

If you still have any concerns or doubts about Vick’s possible return to the NFL, I suggest you just take it with a few grains of salt.

Just remember that Donte Stallworth of the Browns is about to go to court over DUI and Manslaughter charges, Pacman Jones, previously of the Cowboys, was suspended for an entire season for assault and weapon charges and even my favorite player of all time, Ray Lewis of the Ravens, was charged with double homicide at one point in his career.

Jamal Lewis of the Browns was convicted and served time for, in my opinion, a bogus charge of federal cocaine trafficking. Chris Henry of the Bengals will probably never go an entire season without getting at least one new charge.

Even NFL greats like Joe Namath, famous for winning Super Bowl VII, were involved with gambling while playing for the NFL.

In summary, Michael Vick is not the arch-villain he is made out to be. He is not the first NFL player to have committed a serious crime nor is he the first to have been imprisoned and/or suspended for an extended period of time.

In my opinion, he has paid his debt to society, has done all the right things since his arrest and is now starting from scratch since he’s pretty much bankrupt.

If you need any more reasoning to show that he deserves at least one more chance to be a solid, stand-up citizen and NFL player, just go to any search engine, look up his career statistics and prepare to be amazed.

All he does, at least on the playing field, is win.

 

Career Statistics for Michael Vick:

1. Games played: 74

2. Passes completed/Completion %: 930, 53.8%

3. Passing yards/yards per att: 11505, 6.7

4. Passing TDs/INT: 71, 52

5. Rushing yards/yards per att: 3859, 7.3

6. Rushing TDs: 21 

7. Fumbles/Fumbles lost: 55, 27

[These kind of stats are incredible for a running QB. Combining for 92 total TDs and only 52 INT is almost a 2-1 ratio over the course of 6 seasons, averaging 15.33 touchdowns/year vs. 8.66 interceptions/year. To put that in perspective, current Buffalo starting-QB, Trent Edwards, is averaging 10.5 touchdowns/year vs. 9 interceptions/year.

I am sure someone, may it be Buffalo, Denver, Carolina, Tampa Bay, San Francisco or some other team with questions at the QB position, will be glad to take on the risks and rewards of signing Michael Vick.]

 

-Michael, Wong_83@hotmail.com, believes in Vick and his entire family and is partially biased because he has lived a number of years in Virginia. In Virginia, especially near Blacksburg, the Vick family is still considered a hometown hero, even if the PETA activists are probably going to assassinate him someday.

CBS Mock Interview: Ed Reed, the Soul of the Baltimore Ravens

Notice how Ed Reed’s left hand is resting gently upon Ray Lewis’s shoulder. This picture was taken during last year’s AFC championship game.

To me, there is no greater display of team unity than the two leaders of the vaunted Raven’s defense leaning upon each other in times of need.

The first person ever mentioned when asked the question, “which Baltimore player would you interview if you were given the chance,” is almost always Ray Lewis. It’s not that I wouldn’t jump at the chance to do exactly that.

It just comes down to a personal choice. I believe that although Ray-ray is the heart and the face of the Raven’s franchise, Ed Reed, the captain of the defensive backs and perhaps the single best safety in the NFL today, is often overlooked when it comes down to who people want to interview.

Just like he was overlooked for the Defensive Player of the Year award last season.

Well If I was given the chance to interview Mr. Reed, which would be about the best present someone could ever give me, this is along the lines of how it would go.

Interviewing Ed Reed

Me: A pleasure to meet you Mr. Reed, it’s been an honor to watch you play for the Baltimore Ravens for the past seven seasons. I have been given the great pleasure of interviewing you for BleacherReport.com.

ER: Thanks, you can call me Ed.

Me: Ok, Ed. Shall we get right down to the questions?

ER: Sure, fire away. Uh.. what was your name again?

Me: Michael, sorry about that. Sometimes I just get a little bit flustered when I’m in the presence of a hometown icon.

ER: Ha ha, it’s alright. I love playing for Baltimore and have been blessed to play with so many great athletes, especially on the defensive side of the ball. It’s not just me, you know.

Me: Yeah, I noticed. Well I don’t want to take too much of your time, so I’m going to dive right in.

1. First of all, I took a look at your game statistics last season and was just staggered by it all: 41 tackles, 16 passes def., 9 int., 1 sack, 1 fumble and 2 TDs . Why is it, at least in your opinion, do you believe you were snubbed for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award?

ER: Honestly, I don’t really pay attention to those kind of things. Anyone who is playing in the NFL today has won a bunch of awards along the way. It’s just up to some vote that I don’t understand to decide who deserves the award in any given season.

Me: Understandable, I just don’t see how you didn’t even finish second in the voting.

ER: The guy wasn’t even drafted and look at where he is today. He’s considered one of the best defensive ends in the league and showed his big-play ability in the Super Bowl. He deserved it.

Me: I think that’s just being incredibly humble but yeah, maybe he does deserve ‘some’ recognition for all the hard work he’s put in. It’s just hard for me as a Ravens’ fan to come to terms or even acknowledge anything coming out of the Steel City.

ER: Ha ha, yeah, I get it.

Me: okay, let’s move on to the next question.

2. Often when people think of the Baltimore Ravens, the first person to come to mind is Ray Lewis, your close friend and one of the best LBs of all time. He is often mentioned as the heart and soul of the franchise, how do you feel about that?

ER: Well, again, I can’t say that Ray doesn’t deserve all that he has gotten. Think about how he entered the league. He comes from the same college as I did and was also picked in the first round.

The major difference is that he was considered a high risk draft-pick, a ton of people said he was either too small or too slow to play in the NFL.

Now look what he has become. Now people are saying he is getting slower. I think, if anything, he’s just getting bigger and stronger. I’m glad that I don’t have to play against him and even happier that he decided to re-sign during free-agency.

As for being the heart and soul of the franchise, I don’t think anyone of us is exactly that. We work as a team and we win and lose as a team. Without him and the rest of our incredible defensive line/linebackers, we wouldn’t have nearly as much success.

Me: I totally agree. His entire career he’s been scrutinized and told that he was just not fit the prototypical mold of a middle LB. That didn’t change a thing, just look at his incredible production.

Even at the age of 34, look at his production last year: 117 tackles, 9 passes def., 3.5 sacks and 3 int.

ER: Yeah, he just turned 34! His birthday was May 15, I think we’re supposed to go out and celebrate sometime this week.

Me: What do you guys think your gonna do to celebrate it?

ER: It’s all up to him. Personally, I’m probably just gonna take him out to eat somewhere, spend some time just hanging out and talking about things other then football.

Me: Sounds good. Let him know that I said happy birthday and that I’m glad he came back to Baltimore. Anyways, let’s move on.

3. Before you were drafted 24th out of the University of Miami in 2002, you were born and raised down south. Whether it was in Louisiana, where you were first named to the All-State team, or in Florida, where you won a National Championship with the Hurricanes, all you ever knew of the country was living in the south. How is it different living up here, near the Eastern Shore and straddling the Mason-Dixon line, far away from the only home you’ve ever known?

ER: Actually, it’s not ‘that’ different. The adjustment period wasn’t too long, Miami was just a lot warmer but still was near the shore. I spend a lot of time just working on extending my professional career by training and watching film-sessions so I don’t usually go sight-seeing, except for our annual team trip to Ocean City.

Me: That’s right, now I remember, some good friends of mine actually do the catering for you guys, the barbecue stand, while you all are up 50 in Ocean City.

ER: Really? That’s crazy, I never really thought about who did the team’s catering. Anyways, I really like it up here. It doesn’t really get too hot or too cold throughout the season, which helps us stay consistent on the field.

Me: Yeah but at the same time, wouldn’t harsh weather, either like the burning hot sun of Miami or the near polar temperatures up in Buffalo, actually be helpful? Kind of like home-field advantage.

ER: We don’t really need the weather to give us an advantage.

(At this point, Ed Reed smiles widely.)

We’ve got you guys, perhaps the loudest and most devoted fans in the entire world.

Me: I know, we’re pretty loud and according to other team’s fans, obnoxious. We don’t play when it comes to cheering on our team. Sometimes you just feel like you can actually affect the play single-handedly with your voice.

ER: Two things. One, keep up the good work. We really appreciate yo guys each and every game. Two, you should encourage your friends, the guys sitting in your section, to at least try to limit yourselves while the offense is on the field. Joe’s just a rookie, you know?

Me: You got it. Anything for you, Ed. Alright, moving on.

4. You have been a part of some of the best defenses ever to grace the NFL. You have practiced and played with Chris McAllister, who left the team this year and Samari Rolle, both of which have been and perhaps still are great NFL corners. If anyone in the league knows talent in defensive backs, it would probably be you. How do you see the Baltimore corners and safeties shaping up this off-season and of all of them, which player or players do you think will be the most productive?

ER: This is a very difficult question to answer, Michael. First of all, I am just like any other player in the league. C-Mac is still capable of playing at a very high level, I was just as sad as the rest to see him leave the team.

Samari is a good friend and a great player, I think that as long as he doesn’t get injured, he’s still got a lot to offer on the field and in the locker room.

As for our current roster of defensive backs, I really enjoy watching Fabian Washington on the field. He always seems to play with a chip on his shoulder and makes up for his lack of size and height with excellent quickness and recovery speed.

If he continues to work on his tackling and learning the playbook, he will certainly be a great asset to the team this season.

The rest of our defensive backs are athletic, young and willing to learn. Besides myself, I am excited about Dawan Landry returning to the starting lineup.

Hopefully his injury will be a thing of the past, allowing him to continue his productive career. If not, we have great depth at safety, even with Leonhard deciding to go to the Jets.

I’m also glad we signed Domonique Foxworth. He is extremely talented and his world-class speed and excellent coverage skills will hopefully mesh well in our defensive scheme.

Chris Carr, signed from Tennessee will hopefully be an upgrade from recently-released corner Corey Ivy…at least in coverage.

Even if he doesn’t pan out in the nickel and dime packages, his Pro Bowl talent returning kick-offs and punts will certainly provide a boost to our special teams.

Me: Wow. You sure had a lot to say about the current and former Baltimore defensive backs.

ER: Yeah, I guess you can say I’m very passionate about my teammates.

Me: Well, I think that’s all the time we have today, I can’t thank you enough for helping us answer a few questions, Ed.

ER: Not a problem, Michael. Good luck with your website.

 

-Michael, Wong_83@hotmail.com

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