By Burton Meahl
Throughout
the year, this article will provide insight on many different aspects of
fantasy football. The articles in The Red Zone are mostly
event-driven. We also try to provide a guide for participation with tips and
tricks for managing your team, administering your league if you are a
commissioner (or an aspiring commissioner), and addressing many situations or
concerns that readers take the time to write us about. Please feel free to share
any thoughts or requests to be included for consideration in future articles.
The Dust has Finally Settled
Today, I am a grumpy football fan. I am tired of preseason
football. I am tired of hearing about Matt Leinart, Javon Walker and Vincent
Jackson. Will the Bears trade Greg Olsen? Will Brett Favre retire (again)
when he realizes he has a bunch of chumps at WR after Harvin? Is Seahawks
receiver Mike Williams for real - finally? Is Arian Foster a beast? Will
Indianapolis go 16-0? Is Tom Brady back to 2009 form? Will the Raiders
offense finally have someone worth drafting for your fantasy team?
The preseason doesn't provide any certain answers either, unfortunately. We
are teased from the very first game where our starters put in about 30 seconds
total work. Then we are forced to watch 3rd and 4th-string players
who will likely not make the final cut. Just as we see our starters more, they
get ripped away in the final week of the preseason to keep them healthy for the
season opener. Preseason football is the grounds for the most popular
love-hate relationship in all of sports. We love our professional football so
much that we will watch Week 4 preseason games instead of the first week of
NCAA games, but we still walk away dissatisfied and empty. These games only
succeed in making the first kickoff in week 1 seem like a painful eternity
away.
No more mock draft studies for me. No more signing up for fantasy leagues. No
more late-round fliers or first-round risks. No more late-round value. No
more decisions between a RB and WR late in the first round. No more changing
the rules and repopulating the Fantasy Insights draft tool. No more waving to
the Fantasy Insights subscribers and putting on the "Preseason makes me
happy!" face. It is time to move on. My teams are ready and waiting for
kickoff on Thursday night. My starting lineups are ALREADY set in all of my
leagues.
It is ALL about to change. I know I will all fall in love with the NFL again.
I do every season. All of the questions we have had in the offseason will be
answered quickly. We will all know exactly how effective our drafts have been
in a few weeks. We will finally know who Favre will throw to in Sidney Rice's
absence. We will finally get to see Kevin Kolb in action as the starter in
Philly. We will get confirmation that Larry Fitzgerald is still a stud even
though Derek Anderson is his QB. So many questions will be answered in less
than a week that our heads will be spinning by the time the games on Monday
night are even close to ending.
However, I guarantee you that there will be some
uncertainties, even after the first week of the season. In week 2, you will be
inundated with reports that there are new players to target and a whole new
outlook for the season. If you have been a subscriber to the weekly report for
a while, you know that I always tell you to hang in there and not to be
disappointed if some of your studs did not produce in the first game of the
season. It happens every year, so get ready. There will be a highly-regarded
running back which will not have a positive impact in week 1. There will also
be a few receivers who will pop up with great statistics, yet they never even
got drafted. Just remember that you will not need to make any sudden moves in
that first week of action.
Don't get me wrong. I look forward to the season with every bit of
anticipation that I always have. I want to see what Donovan McNabb looks like
in a Redskins uniform. He may not have anyone to throw to, but I'm still very
curious. I really want to see what Jahvid Best, Ryan Matthews and C.J. Spiller
have to offer the world of fantasy football. I really do want to see if
Seattle's Mike Williams is the real deal now, after all this time. I really
want to see Lee Evans FINALLY have a break-out year. Favre needs to put
another young receiver on the map while Sidney Rice heals from hip surgery and
Percy Harvin gets past his awful migraine headaches. I know Harvin has a
history of migraine issues dating back through his collegiate career, but do
you think that maybe his pain multiplied every time he considered whether Favre
was returning to the team? I know I had some headaches that were started by
off season Favre discussions.
I want to see Orton go out and become a fantasy stud. Then I want to see Josh
McDaniels insert his rookie QB Tim Tebow on the goal line, just because he
can. I want to see Charlie Weis figure out how to insert Dexter McCluster into
the Chiefs' offense the way the Vikings figured it out with Harvin. I want to
see Chad Henne succeed as a pro QB, even though a few years ago, most of us
never suspected he could do it. I want Josh Freeman to prove everyone wrong
with his arm strength and great head on his shoulders so he can make his young
receivers relevant in fantasy lineups. I look forward to seeing Aaron Rodgers
enjoy success at the same level of Manning, Brady and Brees. While on the
subject of Green Bay, I look forward to a break out year for stud tight end,
Jermichael Finley.
My list goes on. I really want this season to start - NOW!
Enjoy our first edition of the 2010 Weekly Report. See you on the field!
-Burton
