By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Randy Moss is at the top of most lists for one of the best receivers to ever play in the NFL. He came into the NFL with the placement tag of being a project with issues. None of that was seen from week one onward in 1998. He took the league by storm and had NFL franchise owners thinking what did I do not selecting him. Throughout it all though the issues that were highlighted on Moss negatively have bore existence throughout his NFL career. By him parting ways with his agent and his future with the Patriots in limbo, how will he perform in 2010?

For all three teams Moss has played with there has been a point where we have witnessed him slow down. Minnesota it came  With Minnesota it came with the unraveling of Culpepper and his injuries piled with his need to move on from the franchise. At Oakland he seemed to be in hibernation from the get go besides an opening day tease where he caught a long bomb against the Patriots. His 2006 season there will be like a great musicians lengthy career. Down the road they always release tracks that didn’t come out during their glory days because it just wasn’t top notch material then. That 2006 year was mixed in between twelve tremendous seasons thus far. When highlights of Moss are displayed of his illustrious career there will be few clips of silver and black footage.

With the Patriots Moss found the winning type of organization that brought him back to elite level. Last year though one game  was spotlighted that brought remarks out of Moss to shut down the media. A guy that is averaging well over double digit touchdowns on a yearly basis and pairs it with his yardage numbers deserves a downer of a game here and there. He is human, and expecting nothing but statistical excellence is what people have come to expect.

What ignites Randy Moss is winning not proving people wrong. He feeds off of winning as do most NFL players. We’ve seen Moss turn up an extra gear of speed to catch a deep ball, and we’ve also seen him short arm a throw and give up on routes. After last years disappointing season many believe the Patriots are an aged veteran team needing a reshaping. Moss surprisingly is entering his 13th year in the league and at this stage in his career it takes a concerted effort to be ready on a weekly basis.

The natural gifted abilities he has can not be turned off and on when he wants. He is in an eastern climate where it is even rougher on the body and muscles to get loose for a rigorous sixteen game season. He has on more than one occasion voiced that this will likely be his last season as a Patriot. The organization has not begun talks with him on extending a new deal and it appears that Moss may be right. Signing an athlete to a mega deal entering his fourteenth year would be hard pressed for a smart organization as the Pats. How will this affect Moss’s 2010 season?

Based on his past experiences signs are  not looking too good. In Moss’s last season with both the Vikings and Raiders they proved to be his worst seasons in the NFL. Those two teams were also the worst two teams he has had to play on in his NFL career. Even at that there are plenty of high profile athletes that have had great seasons on poor teams, just ask Andre Johnson. For a guy of Moss’s caliber a let down should not of occurred. Looking deeper into the situation those years was the fact that Moss simply tuned himself out physically and mentally. A deadly combo that turned him into a Jerry Porter.

When Tom Brady is your quarterback the excuses can not be formed. If Moss shuts down on a third team during his last year with hit than it will show his selfish nature. The Patriots will likely be a winning team unlike those other two franchise during those years so we do not see that happening at that type of level. Look out if the Patriots hit an unforeseen bump. When are projections for fantasy receivers come out Moss likely will be a bit further down on our list than most. Not drastically down but enough too make fantasy owners think.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

As the NFL and franchises keep facing the rise of dealing with troubling issues, teams are stepping up to the plate by going in other directions. Cutting lose from looming battles of investigations that destroy team chemistry, and allow a player to rejoin after serving a suspension. Talent level is too high to deal with such issues.  It has been a pattern too often plaguing offseason organizations and now teams are wising up.

Literally just after trading for Lendale White and supposed reunion with Coach Carroll it has ended abruptly. After another failed drug test White would now face suspension by the league. This may have been something an organization three or four years into a regime would sidestep. Not a team rebuilding with a new nucleus starting from coach to multiple position players. Tolerance of breaking the rules is not what Caroll will allow or showcase. What kind of example would that set for a team that has underachieved consecutive years?

The prior linking of White and Caroll at USC had to make the decision tough, but Carrol and the Seahawks made the right decision. White will have time to get the right people around him and rededicate himself. For the Seahawks they have chose to move forward. In an article only a few weeks ago we highlighted the Seahawks backfield as a primary battle for fantasy owners. With White out of the loop it gets even more interesting. Could the Seahawks possibly go after Brian Westbrook or bring in a free agent rookie to pose a threat of shaking up the backfield.

There are several red flags to the current Seahawks backfield situation. Julius Jones and Justin Forsett were part of the Seahawks bottoming out the NFL in productivity in the backfield. Upgrading by bringing in Lendale White and Leon Washington were glaring signs to both Jones and Forsett. All signs were that White would be their primary ball carrier. Can Forsett and Jones shake off the fact that the organization was not backing them only a few days ago?

It’s hard enough for players to compete at their highest of levels when trade talks are surrounding that player. As an NFL athlete you have to be prepared for any type of situation and hopefully these two guys are. Down the road their carousel of being misled will likely end with the typical closure of exiting papers. Before that happens though both can brighten their perceived value by making the most of their situations.

Jones looks to be the once again front runner. Leon Washington is a change of pace back that will bring excitement to Carroll’s system. When it comes to being an every down back though Washington has not shown enough capability to do that. Jones has not necessarily lit up the charts himself. Something will give as the Seahawks know they can not force a complete burden on Hasselback’s bad back and shoulders.

Looking from a fantasy value perspective we have too leave off both Forsett and Jones. Jones is on the downside of his career. He has not been getting a significant amount of carries. Running backs  just do not suddenly reemerge statistically. Forsett is a scat back type that could make a push but may not be the guy the Seahawks are looking for. That leaves Washington as the lone fantasy worthy back currently for Seattle. This is for early fantasy drafts that are happening in June. This will continue to be a hot topic based on what type of offense Carroll wants to tailor. He’ll be tinkering with all types of ideas and the debate could involve another back by the end of the summer. For now though Washington  is the main guy. He has been a blip of a fantasy performer that should only see a higher committed role than prior years as a Jet.

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.