Fantasy Football Collective

Surprises!

There are a lot of surprises this year. The Titans and Bills are 4 and 0. The Giants are 3 and 0. Miami destroyed New England and the Redskins beat the Cowboys. There's a lot of good stuff to talk about, let's take a look at the surprises.

Jay Cutler – If the draft was held today, instead of before the season started, Cutler would be the 1st quarterback to be picked in a lot of drafts. He's having a break-out year and he's been on fire. He has already completed 102 passes for 1274 yards and 9 touchdowns. Jay Cutler to Brandon Marshall has looked un-stoppable. With Tony Scheffler and Eddie Royal to go along with Marshall, this offense should keep right on scoring. The way their defense is playing, they'll have to.
Brett Favre - Who would have thought, before the season started, that Favre would be playing for the Jets and be tied for the lead in fantasy points for a quarterback in a standard NFL.com league. He even threw for 6 touchdowns this past weekend. He looks to be finally in tune with the offense and his receivers. I look for Favre and the Jets to have a big year and for Favre to end the year as a top 10 fantasy quarterback
Philip Rivers - Rivers would also be drafted as one of the 1st quarterbacks in a new draft. He's currently tied for the most points for a quarterback in a standard NFL.com league. He already has 1024 yards and 10 touchdowns and a 109.8 quarterback rating. Rivers is having a break-out year and has a lot of weapons in San Diego. He'll end the year as a top 5 quarterback.
Michael Turner - Turner is the highest ranking back in a standard NFL.com league. He has 77 carries, 422 yards, 5 touchdowns, and a 5.5 yard per carry average. He had 2 huge games against the Lions and Chiefs, but 2 very average games against the Bucs and Panthers. The Falcons have looked very good when playing bad teams and very bad when playing good teams. That should not change. He should play average at best against the Packers and Eagles, but great against the Saints and Raiders.
Matt Forte - Forte is the 5th highest ranked back in my league. He has looked outstanding, especially for a rookie. He has all the tools to be a top back. He can run, block, and catch. He does it all. He already has 92 carries for 347 yards and a touchdown. He also has 18 catches for 187 yards and a touchdown. He should keep being the Bears main guy and end up a top 10 back at years end.
Chris Johnson - The Titans were criticized for drafting Johnson and not a wide receiver. So far, it looks to have been a good decision. He was billed as the fastest back in the draft and he's looked the part so far. He is sharing carries with LenDale White and does not get many goal line carries, but he's making the most of his opportunities. He has looked like the best back on the team so far and he should get more carries as the season gos on. He is currently the 8th rated back and should keep getting better.
Anquan Boldin - Boldin and the passing attack in the desert has been outstanding. Q is currently the top rated receiver in a standard NFL.com fantasy league. He took a big shot this past weekend and has a sinus fracture. He hasn't decided if he'll have surgery or not. It shouldn't keep him out too long. Look for Q to drop some in the rankings the next couple of weeks, but he should still be a top 5 receiver this year with the way Warner is slinging it.
Santana Moss - Moss is 2nd in wide receiver scoring in a standard NFL.com league. He has 27 catches, 421 yards, 3 touchdowns and a 15.6 yard per catch average. He's been targeted 43 times. The Redskin Offense has really looked good the last 3 weeks. They should keep getting better as they learn the West Coast offense and Moss should end up as a top 5 receiver this year.
Greg Jennings - Even though Favre is in New York and Rodgers is under center in Green Bay, Jennings hasn't missed a beat. He has 25 catches for 482 yards. He's 3rd in wide receiver scoring. He has a 19.3 yard per catch average and he has 2 touchdowns. As long as Rodgers' shoulder is OK and he can stay healthy, a BIG IF, Jennings should have a great year. If Rodgers is out for any length of time, the Packers are in trouble.

Disappointments!

There are a lot of disappoints this year. The Patriots losing big to the Dolphins. The Bengals and Rams are 0 and 4, and neither one has a passing attack or a defense. The Colts are only 1 and 2. The Jags are only 2 and 2. The Charges are only 2 and 2. The Browns and Vikings are 1 and 3. There's a lot of stuff going wrong that we can talk about. Let's take a look at the disappointments.

Tom Brady - I hate to put a person with an injury on the top of the disappoints list, but I have no choice. Brady was a consensus top quarterback and was even a top 5 pick in some leagues. To be ranked that high and only play 8 minutes before you're out for the year is a monstrous disappointment to a lot of teams. The teams that picked Brady and Moss in the 1st two rounds are probably not doing very well.
Derek Anderson - Anderson is the 25th rated quarterback. He's thrown for only 543 yards with 3 touchdowns, 6 picks, and a 49.9 quarterback rating. He almost got benched for Brady Quinn. Those are terrible numbers for a pro-bowl quarterback. His problems started at the end of last season when he threw 8 picks in the last 5 games and the Browns missed the playoffs. This year he is making poor decisions and having many dropped passes. There are also a lot of injuries and very strange play-calling. I think this offense will get better, but they won't approach last years stats.
Carson Palmer - Palmer was ranked somewhere around the 5th best quarterback in pre-season rankings. He now sits at number 29. Anyone that goes from 5th to 29th in 4 weeks is a huge disappointment. The whole Bengal offense has been out of sync and Palmer and Chad Johnson have been hurt. They traded Rudi Johnson and the offensive line has looked bad in pass coverage and run blocking. I just don't see Palmer even being one of the top 20 quarterbacks this year.
Joseph Addai - The Colts offense has Manning coming back from injury, but the most important thing for Addai and the running game is all the offensive lineman on the injury report. He was ranked in the top 5 in most pre-draft rankings and is currently the 24th rated runner in fantasy football. The early bye week was good for the Colts and they should do better as the lineman get healthy. If the line injuries continue, Addai will have a hard time rising very far up the running back fantasy ranks.
Laurence Maroney - With Tom Brady going down, the thought was that Maroney would be given more opportunities. The problem is the opposite has happened. Maroney only has 18 carries, 67 yards, zero catches, zero touchdowns, and a 3.7 yard per carry average. His touches should go up as he gets healthier, but it's not looking good for his prospects this year. I know he already had a bye week, but he's the 73rd rated running back. With Brady out, this offense will struggle all year.
Ryan Grant - Grant had a great second half last year and it was thought he would keep it going this year. He was ranked pretty high in most pre-season rankings and was a 2nd round draft pick in most drafts. He's been hurt and is currently the 54th ranked running back. As he gets healthy, he should start to put up better numbers. He's still a big risk though. He could get re-injured or Rodgers could get hurt. With he track record of holdout running backs getting hurt and Aaron Rodgers getting hurt, Grant is a risky play.
Randy Moss - Please see Brady above. Without Brady, Moss has little chance of being a top receiver this year. He has fallen from the top ranked receiver to number 42. The Patriot coaches should be able to get Randy more involved in the game plan as the year goes on, but Brady to Moss was a dominate pair and it won't be the same until Tom is back in the lineup.
Roy Williams - Calvin Johnson has been targeted 32 times and has 18 catches. Williams has only been targeted 18 times and only has 8 catches. Enough said! I think it's safe to say that Johnson is now the big dog in Detroit. Roy is only the 57th rated wide receiver and it won't get much better. He's been upset with not getting a long term contract and he's been dropping a lot of balls. I just don't see it getting very much better. This is Detroit you know.
Braylon Edwards - Edwards sits at just 60th in fantasy points by a wide receiver in a standard NFL.com league. He's been targeted 30 times, but only has 11 catches for 95 yards and an 8.6 yard per catch average. That's not what you're looking for in a top 5 wide receiver. He's been dropping a lot of balls so far this year. I expect him to get over the drops and get better as the year goes by, but he won't get anywhere near his totals from last year.