Offseason Report
Bill Aquaviva
March 2008
Fantasy Insights Off-Season Report – March 2008
The Fantasy Insights Off-Season Report is published the beginning of each month from February through August. Each month the information will be a little different depending on what is going on around the league and how much information about a specific topic is available.
For instance, the May report will have much more coverage of the draft than any other edition, and once all Head Coaching and Offensive Coordinator positions have been filled throughout the league, that next monthly edition will provide details on the changes, including their coaching styles / philosophies and what it means to your fantasy players.
The same is true with Free Agency; only a list of eligible “important” free-agents (offense only) were included until it kicked off on February 29th. Now the monthly editions will track and comment on the changes.
Naturally any interesting news, from rumors to off-the-field issues will be included as well.
New Head Coaches:
Washington Redskins – Jim Zorn (SEA QB Coach). When Steve Spagnuolo (NYG) took himself out of the running for Redskins Head Coach by signing a contract extension (for a nice raise) with the N.Y. Giants, the Redskins, under the brilliant management of Dan Schneider, had to scramble to minimize how inept they really are, so they hired their just hired Offensive Coordinator as Head Coach.
New Offensive Coordinators:
Washington Redskins – Sherman Smith (TEN RB Coach). With Jim Zorn getting promoted to Head Coach, the Redskins had to fill this position again, although Zorn will be calling the offensive plays.
Buffalo Bills – Turk Schonert (BUF QB Coach). The former backup QB, turned QB coach, now has his first coordinator position after several on-and-off QB coaching jobs since 1992.
Detroit Lions – Jim Colleto (DET OL Coach). Lots of experience as OL coach and college offensive coordinator. Last season his OL allowed 54 sacks – 2nd most in the NFL. He’ll share coordinator duties with Kippy Brown, former Lions WR coach, who will be the passing coordinator. Will things ever improve in Detroit?
Houston Texans – Kyle Shanahan (HOU QB Coach). At 28, the son of Denver Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan becomes the youngest coordinator in the NFL after replacing Mike Sherman who left for the College ranks (but unlike Bobby Petrino did it with class, integrity and respect).
Kansas City Chiefs – Chan Gailey (Ga. Tech Head Coach). Gailey’s short Head Coaching stint with the Cowboys certainly doesn’t excite anyone in KC, but he’s only expected to run the offense so it might not be so bad for the already conservative Chiefs.
Miami Dolphins – Dan Henning (ex-CAR Offensive Coordinator). Henning has been a coordinator and Head Coach before so his experience should help young Tony Sparano build and lead the worst team in football last year and one of the worst teams in NFL history.
Player News
Buffalo WR Roscoe Parrish was arrested for a DUI.
Kansas City has signed PKs Nick Novak and Billy Cundiff to contracts.
Jonathan Vilma was traded from the Jets top the Saints.
Houston WR Jerome Mathis was arrested, charged and then released on bail for assaulting his pregnant common-law wife. Another “real man” the NFL has to deal with. Hopefully Goodell continues his history of slamming degenerates with suspensions and fines.
Buffalo WR Lee Evans is expected to have off-season shoulder surgery and be ready for the 2008 season.
Miami has signed RB Ricky “Pothead” Williams for the 2008 season. He will either serve as insurance for injured starter Ronnie Brown or serve as trade bait for the upcoming draft.
Baltimore named LB Terrell Suggs their franchise player to keep him at least one more year.
The Cowboys have signed former Dolphins perennial Pro Bowl LB Zach Thomas.
In addition to cutting Thomas, Miami cut QB Trent Green and WR Marty Booker. Booker by-the-way, heard of his demise while watching ESPN; looks like the “Fat Tuna” already has a classy organization in place.
The Chiefs slapped the franchise tag on DE Jared Allen.
Keyshawn Johnson is contemplating coming out of retirement to play for the Miami Dolphins this year.
The Giants re-signed DE Justin Tuck to a 5-year $30M contract. Tuck will soon
replace Strahan as the starting DE.
Denver placed WR Rod Smith on the Reserve/Retired list as he continues to try and recover from multiple hip surgeries and play again.
Arizona slapped the franchise tag on LB Karlos Dansby.
Cleveland TE Kellen Winslow, Jr. will again have knee surgery this off-season.
Hula Bowl Review
QBs (FYI, no blitzing was allowed):
Kevin O’Connell (SDSU) showed a good release and mobility, but did little other than lose a fumble.
Paul Smith (Tulsa) displayed a strong arm and good timing.
T.C. Ostrander (Stanford) had a horrible game. He lost a fumble on his 2nd snap of the game, then fumbled again on his 3rd snap of the game, and for the trifecta, lost another fumble in the 4th quarter.
Bernard Morris (Marshall) proved he was still a raw talent by showing poor timing and running too soon, but also showed his strong arm and mobility.
Ricky Santos (New Hampshire) showed that he was tough, but his small size, weak
arm and lost fumble made this a forgettable audition.
RBs:
Marcus Thomas (UTEP) displayed his strong straight ahead style running but fumbled on his 1st carry and was inconsistent.
Keon Lattimore (Maryland) ran tough and showed good body control.
Andrew Pinnocks (Minnesota) played quick, tough, and caught the ball out of the backfield very well.
Yvenson Bernard (Oregon St) showed a great initial burst and ran well between the tackles.
Jalen Parmele (Toledo) made some nice cuts and showed patience.
WRs:
Josh Morgan’s (Virginia Tech) only memorable play was a dropped TD pass.
Jason Rivers (Hawaii) did very little and was a disappointment o his home turf.
Marcus Fitzgerald caught just 2 passes for 48 yards.
TEs:
Darryl Strong (Pittsburgh) was very physical, ran his routes very well, and showed great hands. He played more like a WR than a TE.
Ks:
Art Carmody (Louisville) missed a 32-yard FG attempt.
East-West Shrine Game Review
QBs:
Anthony Morelli (Penn State) should have stayed home. He finished the game 2-12 for 10 yards and 2 INTs.
Paul Smith (Tulsa) threw 2 INTs, one of which was returned for a TD.
Sam Keller (Nebraska) showed he has some issues with “locking in” on his WRs and also lost a fumble.
Kevin O’Connell (SDSU) showed off his arm strength and impressive versatility / mobility for his size, but his inconsistency is a problem.
RBs:
Thomas Brown (Georgia) showed how quick and strong he was, as well as his impressive vision and instincts.
Allen Patrick (Oklahoma) sprained his knee early in the 1st quarter and never returned.
WRs:
Dexter Jackson (Appalachian St) didn’t do much and failed to impress anyone.
Kevin Robinson (Utah St) lived up to his hype by returning a punt for a TD and catching a TD pass.
Marcus Henry (Kansas) didn’t help himself at all with 2 drops.
TEs:
Joe Jon Finley (Oklahoma) had an outstanding week of practice but didn’t do much in the game.
Ks:
Garrett Hartley (Oklahoma) missed a 29-yard FG attempt.
Senior Bowl Review (participation by invitation only)
QBs (no blitzing, no stunting, 4-3 defensive alignment only, and 1 safety had to remain high):
J. D. Booty (USC) lost a fumbled snap and threw an INT in his own end zone on a horrible throw.
Joe Flacco (Delaware) showed off his rocket, accurate arm, and showed he can handle snaps from under center, but also showed his footwork and pocket presence needs to improve. Although he did throw an INT in the red zone on his 1st series he was robbed of a TD pass by a blown call from the refs.
Chad Henne (Michigan) got the start for the North and responded with 2 TD
passes.
Eric Ainge (Tennessee) didn’t get to play until the 2nd half but was impressive leading a couple of drives and showing good rhythm, although his throws were all safe, short passes.
Colt Brennan (Hawaii) got the start for the South but failed to win over any scouts with his performance. He threw an INT on his 1st series and was sacked in his next two series. His arm strength was a concern, although his intermediate passes were better than his short passes, but his sidearm delivery could cause problems. Overall he was pretty unimpressive.
Andre Woodson (Kentucky) should’ve stayed home. He lost a fumble that was returned for a TD on his 1st series, and then was sacked for a safety. This rough game followed-up a poor week of practice and raised more questions than anything.
RBs:
Yvenson Bernard (Oregon State) was a late add to the roster due to an injury to West Virginia’s Owen Schmitt, and made the most of it. He got more playing time than any other North RB, displayed his quickness, and looked very good.
Tashard Choice (Georgia Tech) not only had a great week of practice where he opened some eyes, but he was very impressive in the game showing good feet, open field running and catching out of the backfield.
Matt Forte (Tulane) showed quick feet, power, strong finishes to runs, impressive catches out of the backfield, and despite a lost fumble his game was impressive enough to earn MVP honors.
WRs:
Adarius Bowman (Oklahoma St) was on the impressive receiving end of the blown TD call from the refs (on a pass from Joe Flacco).
Lavelle Hawkins (California) caught a TD and had an impressive low catch.
Andre Caldwell (Florida) had a quiet game until the 4th quarter where he had an impressive 18-yard catch on 4th-and-10 with under 2 minutes left in the game, then followed that up with a reverse run for the winning TD as time expired.
Harry Douglas (Louisville) had a great catch and run and showed poise by getting out of bounds with less than 30 seconds left in the game to save time for the South to win.
TEs:
Martin Rucker (Missouri) had some impressive catches throughout the game, including a TD.
Brad Cottam (Tennessee) had a TD catch.
Ks:
Alexis Serna (Oregon State) had a horrible missed FG on a short kick.
Brandon Coutu (Georgia) was 1-2 on FGs, missing a 32-yarder.
Draft News
A total of 53 underclassmen declared for the 2008 NFL Draft. 24 of these underclassmen (2 TEs, 13 WRs, 8 RBs and just 1 QB) are offensive players and are listed below:
POS Name College
QB Xavier Lee Florida State
RB Jamaal Charles Texas
RB Felix Jones Arkansas
RB Darren McFadden Arkansas
RB Rashard Mendenhall Illinois
RB Ray Rice Rutgers
RB Steve Slaton West Virginia
RB Kevin Smith Central Florida
RB Jonathan Stewart Oregon
WR Adrian Arrington Michigan
WR Earl Bennett Vanderbilt
WR Davone Bess Hawaii
WR Ryan Grice-Mullen Hawaii
WR James Hardy Indiana
WR DeSean Jackson Cal
WR Malcolm Kelly Oklahoma
WR Selwyn Lymon Purdue
WR Mario Manningham Michigan
WR Sean Penix Arkansas
WR Darius Reynaud West Virginia
WR Devin Thomas Michigan State
WR Mario Urrutia Louisville
TE Martellus Bennett Texas A&M
TE Jermichael Finley Texas
Below is a list of all college players (offensive skill position) invited to the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine.
QBs
Ainge, Erik 6'6" 225 Tennessee
Booty, John David 6'3" 213 Southern Cal
Brennan, Colt 6'3" 205 Hawaii
Brink, Alex 6'2" 212 Washington State
Brohm, Brian 6'3" 227 Louisville
Dixon, Dennis 6'4" 205 Oregon
Flacco, Joe 6'6" 232 Delaware
Flynn, Matt 6'2" 228 LSU
Henne, Chad 6'2" 225 Michigan
Johnson, Josh 6'3" 198 San Diego
Keller, Sam 6'3" 228 Nebraska
Morelli, Anthony 6'4" 225 Penn State
Morris, Bernard 6'4" 212 Marshall
O'Connell, Kevin 6'6" 228 San Diego State
Ostrander, T.C. 6'2" 221 Stanford
Ryan, Matt 6'5" 224 Boston College
Smith, Paul 6'1" 198 Tulsa
Woodson, Andre' 6'5" 224 Kentucky
Wright, Kyle 6'4" 220 Miami
RBs
Alridge, Anthony 5’9” 174 Houston
Bernard, Yvenson 5’9” 204 Oregon State
Boyd, Cory 6'0" 218 South Carolina
Brown, Thomas 5'9" 198 Georgia
Caulcrick, Jehuu 6'0" 258 Michigan State
Charles, Jamaal 6'1" 200 Texas
Choice, Tashard 5'11" 210 Georgia Tech
Dawson, Calvin 5’9” 205 Louisiana-Monroe
Forsett, Justin 5'8" 190 California
Forte, Matt 6'2" 222 Tulane
Green-Ellis, BenJarvus 5'11" 220 Mississippi
Hart, Mike 5'9" 195 Michigan
Hilliard, Lex 5'11" 228 Montana
Johnson, Chris 5'11" 195 East Carolina
Jones, Felix 6'0" 200 Arkansas
Little, Rafael 5'9" 194 Kentucky
Lumpkin, Kregg 6'0" 224 Georgia
McFadden, Darren 6'2" 210 Arkansas
McRae, Kalvin 5'9" 208 Ohio
Mendenhall, Rashard 5'11" 210 Illinois
Omon, Xavier 5’11” 226 NW Missouri State
Parmele, Jalen 6’0” 222 Toledo
Patrick, Allen 6'1" 195 Oklahoma
Rice, Ray 5'9" 195 Rutgers
Savage, Dantrell 5'8" 187 Oklahoma State
Simpson, Chad 5’10” 200 Morgan State
Slaton, Steve 5'10" 195 West Virginia
Smith, Kevin 6'1" 212 Central Florida
Stewart, Jonathan 5'11" 235 Oregon
Thomas, Marcus 6'2" 215 Texas-El Paso
Torain, Ryan 6'0" 215 Arizona State
Washington, Chauncey 6'0" 215 Southern Cal
WRs
Amendola, Danny 5’11” 179 Texas Tech
Arrington, Adrian 6'3" 190 Michigan
Avery, Donnie 5'11" 186 Houston
Bennett, Earl 6'1" 205 Vanderbilt
Bess, Davone 5'10" 195 Hawaii
Blythe, Todd 6’4” 210 Iowa State
Bowman, Adarius 6'4" 220 Oklahoma State
Bradford, Mark 6'1" 212 Stanford
Breazell, Brandon 6’0” 168 UCLA
Brown, Travis 6’2” 192 New Mexico
Bryant, Dorien 5'10" 169 Purdue
Caldwell, Andre 6'1" 200 Florida
Doucet, Early 6'0" 212 LSU
Douglas, Harry 5'11" 176 Louisville
Fagg, De'Cody 6'2" 212 Florida State
Franklin, Will 6'1" 205 Missouri
Garcon, Pierre 6’0” 209 Mount Union
Grice-Mullen, Ryan 5'11" 183 Hawaii
Hall, D.J. 6'2" 190 Alabama
Hardy, James 6'6" 220 Indiana
Harper, Justin 6'4" 198 Virginia Tech
Hawkins, Lavelle 5'11" 187 California
Henry, Marcus 6'4" 205 Kansas
Hubbard, Paul 6'3" 218 Wisconsin
Jackson, DeSean 6'0" 178 California
Jackson, Dexter 5’9” 178 Appalachian State
Jenkins, Darnell 5’10” 190 Miami (Fla)
Johnson, Jaymar 6’0” 176 Jackson State
Johnson, Steve 6'2" 200 Kentucky
Kelly, Malcolm 6'4" 218 Oklahoma
Manningham, Mario 6'0" 185 Michigan
McBride, Shaheer 6’2” 198 Delaware State
Monk, Marcus 6'6" 218 Arkansas
Moore, Kenny 5’11” 200 Wake Forest
Morgan, Josh 6'1" 215 Virginia Tech
Nelson, Jordy 6'3" 215 Kansas State
Paysinger, Brian 6’2” 205 Oregon
Pittman, Billy 6’1” 200 Texas
Purify, Maurice 6'3" 220 Nebraska
Reynaud, Darius 5'10" 205 West Virginia
Rivers, Jason 6'2" 194 Hawaii
Robinson, Kevin 6'0" 190 Utah State
Royal, Eddie 5'10" 182 Virginia Tech
Sam, Lorne 6’2” 215 UTEP
Shields, Arman 6’1” 188 Richmond
Simpson, Jerome 6'2" 190 Coastal Carolina
Smith, Marcus 6’1” 214 New Mexico
Smith, Taj 6’1” 185 Syracuse
Sweed, Limas 6'4" 212 Texas
Thomas, Devin 6'2" 215 Michigan State
Urrutia, Mario 6’6” 225 Louisville
West, Joe 6’1” 208 UTEP
TEs
Barnidge, Gary 6'6" 235 Louisville
Bennett, Martellus 6'7" 248 Texas A&M
Bishop, Adam 6'5" 245 Nevada
Carlson, John 6'5" 256 Notre Dame
Cottam, Brad 6'8" 271 Tennessee
Davis, Fred 6'4" 248 Southern Cal
Davis, Kellen 6'6" 259 Michigan State
Fine, Derek 6'3" 245 Kansas
Finley, Joe John 6'6" 258 Oklahoma
Finley, Jermichael 6'5" 236 Texas
Haynos, Joey 6'8" 262 Maryland
Kapanui, Kolo 6’3” 268 West Texas A&M
Keller, Dustin 6'3" 242 Purdue
Moore, Evan 6’7” 235 Stanford
Rucker, Martin 6'5" 248 Missouri
Santi, Tom 6'4" 248 Virginia
Stevens, Craig 6'4" 252 California
Strong, Darrell 6'5" 260 Pittsburgh
Tafralis, Adam 6’1” 223 San Jose State
Tamme, Jacob 6'4" 232 Kentucky
PKs
Carmody, Art 5'9" 168 Louisville
Longest, Shane 5'11" 176 St. Xavier
Mehlhaff, Taylor 5'10" 185 Wisconsin
Serna, Alexis 5'7" 168 Oregon State
League News
The league is already looking for ways to keep the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo. Longtime losses have current owner Ralph Wilson scheduling games in Toronto, and the current Buffalo Sabres owner is looking at purchasing the team to keep them in Buffalo.
Dallas WR Terrell Owens lost his arbitration hearing against his former team, the Eagles, and must re-pay them nearly $800K. I don’t know how the poor multi-millionaire who has a $3M roster bonus coming will ever manage.
The Cardinals are desperately trying to restructure WR Larry Fitzgerald’s contract, which costs them $17M this year and $19M next year. If the Cards are to take the next step they still need help and can only afford it if Fitzgerald agrees to restructure.
Baltimore Head Coach John Harbaugh has said there will be an open competition for the starting QB job, which will include Steve McNair, Kyle Boller, Troy Smith, and even possibly a rookie or free agent QB.
Denver is in desperate need of starting WRs. Between Rod Smith “retiring” and
the departure of Javon Walker, the Broncos have no starting talent other than
Brandon Marshall, and even less depth at this critical position for their young
QB.
Free Agents
|
Position |
Player Name |
Team |
Type |
Status |
|
QB |
Billy Volek |
SD |
UFA |
|
|
QB |
Brian St. Pierre |
PIT |
UFA |
|
|
QB |
Byron Leftwich |
JAX |
CUT |
|
|
QB |
Chris Redman |
ATL |
UFA |
Re-signed |
|
QB |
Cleo Lemon |
MIA |
UFA |
Signed with Jacksonville |
|
QB |
Craig Nall |
GB |
UFA |
|
|
QB |
Dan Orlovsky |
DET |
RFA |
|
|
QB |
Daunte Culpepper |
OAK |
UFA |
|
|
QB |
David Carr |
CAR |
CUT |
|
|
QB |
Derek Anderson |
CLE |
RFA |
Re-signed |
|
QB |
Drew Henson |
MIN |
UFA |
|
|
QB |
Gus Frerotte |
STL |
CUT |
|
|
QB |
J.T. O’Sullivan |
DET |
UFA |
Signed with San Fran |
|
QB |
Jake Plummer |
TB |
UFA |
|
|
QB |
Jamie Martin |
NO |
UFA |
|
|
QB |
Jared Lorenzen |
NYG |
UFA |
|
|
QB |
Jim Sorgi |
IND |
UFA |
Re-signed |
|
QB |
Josh McCown |
OAK |
UFA |
Signed with Miami |
|
QB |
Kelly Holcomb |
MIN |
CUT |
|
|
QB |
Ken Dorsey |
CLE |
UFA |
Re-signed |
|
QB |
Mark Brunnell |
WAS |
UFA |
|
|
QB |
Marques Tuiasosopo |
NYJ |
UFA |
|
|
QB |
Quinn Gray |
JAX |
UFA |
Re-signed |
|
QB |
Ryan Fitzpatrick |
CIN |
RFA |
|
|
QB |
Rex Grossman |
CHI |
UFA |
Re-signed |
|
QB |
Shaun Hill |
SF |
UFA |
Re-signed |
|
QB |
Tim Rattay |
ARZ |
UFA |
|
|
QB |
Todd Collins |
WAS |
UFA |
Re-signed |
|
QB |
Trent Green |
MIA |
CUT |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RB |
Aaron Stecker |
NO |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Anthony Thomas |
BUF |
CUT |
|
|
RB |
Artose Pinner |
MIN |
UFA |
Signed with New Orleans |
|
RB |
Aveion Cason |
DET |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Cedric Cobbs |
DEN |
RFA |
|
|
RB |
Chris Brown |
TEN |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Derrick Ward |
NYG |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
DeShaun Foster |
CAR |
CUT |
Signed with San Fran |
|
RB |
Earnest Graham |
TB |
RFA |
|
|
RB |
Fred Taylor |
JAX |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Jamal Lewis |
CLE |
UFA |
Re-signed |
|
RB |
Jesse Chatman |
MIA |
RFA |
|
|
RB |
Julius Jones |
DAL |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Justin Fargas |
OAK |
UFA |
Re-signed |
|
RB |
LaBrandon Toefield |
JAX |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Marion Barber III |
DAL |
RFA |
|
|
RB |
Maurice Hicks |
SF |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Mewelde Moore |
MIN |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Michael Bennett |
TB |
UFA |
Re-signed |
|
RB |
Michael Pittman |
TB |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Michael Turner |
SD |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Mike Anderson |
BAL |
CUT |
|
|
RB |
Musa Smith |
BAL |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Patrick Cobbs |
MIA |
RFA |
|
|
RB |
Reno Mahe |
PHI |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Rock Cartwright |
WAS |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Ron Dayne |
HOU |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Ryan Grant |
GB |
ERFA |
|
|
RB |
Samkon Gado |
MIA |
RFA |
|
|
RB |
Shaud Williams |
BUF |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
T.J. Duckett |
DET |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Tatum Bell |
DET |
UFA |
|
|
RB |
Vernand Morency |
GB |
RFA |
|
|
RB |
Verron Haynes |
PIT |
UFA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WR |
Aaron Moorehead |
IND |
UFA |
|
|
WR |
Andre’ Davis |
HOU |
UFA |
Re-signed |
|
WR |
Antonio Chapman |
CIN |
UFA |
Re-signed |
|
WR |
Az-Zahir Hakim |
MIA |
UFA |
|
|
WR |
Bernard Berrian |
CHI |
UFA |
|
|
WR |
Brandon Lloyd |
WAS |
CUT |
|
|
WR |
Brandon Stokley |
DEN |
UFA |