Team Previews
Many thanks to Buckeye Soldier for already compiling the list of players. Anyway, a lot of you will be wondering who the hell is this guy? I am just a lurker so far on BP, and someone who has participated in fantasy leagues for college for 8 years now that stumbled across this thread. My word is not gospel, but I do have a pretty good understanding of good fantasy players vs not. Take it with a grain of salt, I won't be intentionally picking on one team vs another if you don't like what I have to say. Also, I don't know much about tight ends, so don't feel disappoined when I don't say much about them. Also, I did not run spell check, so please excuse the typos in advance.
Methomps
qb - Cody Hodges, TT QB
qb - Kellen Clemons, Oregon QB
rb - Michael Bush, Louisville RB
rb - Damien Rhodes, Syracuse RB
rb - Justin Vincent, LSU RB
wr - Dwayne Jarrett, USC WR
wr - Jason Hill, Wash ST WR
wr - Dorien Bryant, Purdue WR
te - Joe Newton, Oregon St TE
k -
d/st - Alabama D/ST
Bench - Brodie Croyle, Alabama QB
Methomps has put together quite a good team and will be a serious contender for a bowl. Hodges is the next in line at Tech and should put up huge numbers vs that tough non conference stretch, plus Leach keeps starters in and piles it on. Clemons should improve last year from Oregon's addition of the spread offense this year. Brodie Croyle is a risk because he always gets injured. He should be fine as an emergency backup but has been very unreliable. The running backs are as good of a combo as you can expect to get. Michael Bush is the headliner as his numbers will increase with the loss of Shelton. If Rhodes can match Reyes numbers from two years ago, he and Bush will be deadly. Vincent's stock went up with Broussard out for the year, hopefully Miles won't rotate him with Addai or give Addai the starting job. Jarrett is a consistent scorer but not a top scoring WR, but for fantasy purposes you want a consistent guy. He'd be better, but Bush and Smith take too much away from him. Jason Hill is probably his best receiver, and if the QB situation at WAZU is more stable his numbers could actually improve. Bryant looks to be the next Stubblefield, but probably not this year as Kirsch really favors Ingraham and Ray Williams will take away some grabs. I don't know much about TEs since our league lumps them together wiuth WRs and hardly nobody takes them. I assume methomps knows some things about his fellow Pac 10 guy though. Alabama is a great defense to have, but not an elite. What they do give you is that southern scheduling where they will keep a patsy scoreless.
BuckyKatt
qb - Brandon Kirsch, Purdue QB
qb - Troy Smith, OSU QB
rb - Reggie Bush, USC RB
rb - Terrence Whitehead, Oregon RB
rb - Stevie Hicks, ISU RB
wr - Derek Hagan, ASU WR
wr - Andre Caldwell, UF WR
wr - Limas Sweed, Texas WR
te - David Thomas, Texas TE
k - Josh Huston, OSU K
d/st - Penn State D/ST
BuckyKatt has a team of potential, but one that could fall either way. The Purdue QB since the days of Drew Brees has been a top guy, but Tiller has stated that he plans on running Purdue more with Kirsch inlcluded. If he does run more, his numbers won't be anywhere near Orton's or Brees' and will have a more likely risk of injury. Tiller could be full of crap though, so who knows. No one questions Troy Smith's ability, but his off field issues are a distraction and become a pain in the ass for fantasy owners. Assuming he plays, he will be a good backup, but with so many weapons at OSU's disposal he probably misses out on being more than a reliable backup. Reggie Bush is a must have and will beat you everway possible. He'll rush for tds, catch td passes, and returns on special teams. The ultimate fantasy player that everyone wants, plus his value increases as he breaks long tds. Terrance Whitehead has to worry about Jon Stewart taking away carries, but should be better in the beginning of the year as Syweart develops. Hicks has all of the potential in the world to bust out, but his efforsts fantasy wise to date have been pedestrian. Hagan is a top WR that will pay huge dividends. Caldwell should benefit from the Urban renewal project, but he has never quite lived up to his recruiting hype. Someone on the Texas WR has to step, and maybe Sweed is the guy, with another year under his belt maybe he puts it together. Texas has a lot of competition at the spot as they search for the next Roy Williams. Huston is more than likely a what the hell type of pick. He should benefit from tOSU's improved offense, but no way he matches Nugent or even gets the same amount of opportunities. The knock on the Penn State D has always been the offense not being able to keep them off the field. If JoePa can revitalize the offense, the stock in the Nittany Lions D goes up. This team will take them as far as Bush and Hagan can carry them early on, but will need too many things to happen to be a serious bowl contender.
Oneshot
qb - Tyler Palko, Pitt QB
qb - Sam Keller, ASU QB
rb - Adrian Peterson, OU RB
rb - Selvin Young, Texas RB
rb - Pierre Thomas, Ill RB
wr - Courtney Taylor, Auburn WR
wr - Kyle Ingram, Purdue WR
wr - Derrick Williams, PSU WR (???)
te - Dominique Byrd, USC TE
k - Mason Crosby, Colorado K
d/st - GTech D/ST
Ultimately what you look for in a fantasy team is a top guy at each position, and Oneshot has that. The ASU QB has always been a top QB output, and this year ASU has more weapons than ever and expectations are high as they look to build upon their SunBowl victory. I believe Palko is a step down from Keller, but as long as Greg Lee recovers from his shoulder injury he should be fine. Peterson is a top RB, and even if Oklahoma is rebuilding, he'll single handedly keep Oneshot in most games. Selvin Young has a ton of ptential but has yet to last a full season. Pierre Thomas has to deal with Halsey, but look for him to get the ball around the endzone scoring the bulk of the Illini rushing tds. Halsey gets the yards, Thomas gets the tds. The best WR of the bunch is Ingraham of Purdue. Plus, he is Kirsch's favorite target. The best thing for Kyle was that Orton and his chum Stubblefield left. Just check Ingraham's numbers vs Indiana last year.... that's a major whoa! Auburn WRs have historically disappointed and just not produced top fantasy numbers. Derrick Williams is the X factor, just when he makes his splash onto the college scene is unknown. If it takes a few games, Oneshot will get disgruntled with him. The Byrdman should be fine as long as he avoids confrontations with Smith. Mason Crosby's stock increases if long field goals count for more, if not he's just an average kicker that come a dime a dozen. Supposedly Ga Tech is supposed to have a good D this year, but I have yet to see it from them. That is probably because they have not been on a starting roster and I just don't know that much about them. Keller, Peterson, and Ingraham will be the thrust of this team, but I believe it will fall short of a post season bowl.
BN27
qb - Reggie McNeal, aTm QB
qb - Drew Tate, Iowa QB
rb - Marshawn Lynch, Cal RB
rb - Cory Ross, Neb RB
rb - Cornell Brockington, UConn RB
wr - Calvin Johnson, GTech WR
wr - Tres Moses, Rutgers WR
wr - Travis Wilson, OU WR
te - Mercedes Lewis, UCLA TE
k - Arthur Carmody, Louisville K
d/st - Auburn D/ST
BN27 is a bowl contender, but questions at the RB position may be what keeps them from the bowl season. Reggie McNeal is a top dual threat guy that will post solid numbers as long as he does not play solid competition, so it is a good thing he is in the Big12. Tate is a solid, consistent guy, but will not set the world on fire. Realtic expectations from him are 200-250 yards passing and 1-2 tds a game. Marshawn Lynch is a top RB and will be in the running for a top 5 RB, and possibly the POY. Lynch breaks off long runs, and was an outstanding backup last year. Everyone thinks Cal passes the ball, but fact is they are a top running team, and that is the reason they give SC so many fits during regular season play. Adimchobe Echemandu, JJ Arrington, and now Lynch takes center stage. Corry Ross is an undersized RB that was used last year because Callahan had no other options. His workload may be cut by Malon Lucky or an other of Callhan's RBs brough in, so that is a concern. Brockington will have to deal with Caulley returning from injury. Caulley missed all of last year so Brockington's numbers went up. Two years ago the RB at UConn were log jammed, and I predict a similar situation to that this year (think Auburn last year). Calvin Johnson is a top WR and had outstanding production as a frosh. His numbers should be improved. I've never been sold on Rutgers for whatever reason, and there's no way I'd ever take A Rutgers guy... but that's just a personal bias. Wilson was the top receiver from last year's Oklahoma team and still the number one guy, but it can be rough going when you are breaking in a new QB and Jason White had been at Oklahoma for the past decade. Expect his numbers to drop. Marcedes Lewis is UCLA's most consistent receiver, and will probably catch the most tds out of any of the tight ends. Carmody is the top rated kicker heading into 2005, because of opportunites. You don't always want the Groza guy, you want the guys who will get their chances, and Carmodu will get plenty of looks. Auburn is a top D year in and out.
Bucknut319
qb - Xavier Lee, FSU QB
qb - DJ Shockley, UGA QB
rb - Marques Simmons, Iowa RB
rb - Darius Walker, ND RB
rb - Joseph Addai, LSU RB
wr - Ted Ginn, WR OSU (without his return stats i doubt his fantasy value)
wr - Skyler Green, LSU WR
wr - Noah Whiteside, USCar WR
te - Chris Brown, Tenn TE (i have no idea)
k - Richmond McGee, Texas K*
d/st - OU D/ST
Too many question marks for this team to be a reliable fantasy winner. Xavier Lee is fighting Drew Weatherford for the starting spot, and he's not guaranteed by any means to win out. If the job is Lee's Bucknut 319s stock will rise somewhat. DJ Shockley is flat out hit or miss. Georgia lost their top receivers of Fred Gibson and Reggie Brown from last year and the WRs have done nothing in spring ball. DJs not known for his passing so this is a big area of concern. DJ may end up being a Krenzel type winning and gutting it out, but fantasy numbers are a different realm. Darius Walker is probably the best of the RBs and Weis will infuse the offense for ND. He will be a reilable producer. Iowa RBs are very hard to predict, but if he can retain the go to guy, he will be a reliable starter alongside Walker. The thing to watch is for Ferentz to have a carroussel of RBs... bad for fantasy production. Addai has been moved from RB to WR back to RB and now could possibly step into the starter's role with Broussard out. Addai was given the chance to take that role under Saban, and never did take grasp with Broussard, Vincent, and Carey constantly taking away carries. This team lacks a go to guy at WR, meaning they have the role players, returners. While these type of receivers are exciting to watch, they are hot and cold week to week. One week they will light it up, the next you will wonder where the hell they are. Whiteside is interesting, but when Spurrier tones it down in practice about what to expect from his team, it makes you believe the talent level is way down. I don't expect much from the Tenn TE, nor K Richmond McGee. Oklahoma's D and special teams have been outstanding, but this is a rebuilding year for Oklahoma so it may not be up to par with the past. This team needs a strong finish to the draft to think about being a competitor.
BuckeyeSoldier
qb - Brian Brohm, Louisville QB
qb - Brady Quinn, ND QB
rb - Mike Imoh, VTech
rb - Tre Smith, Auburn RB
rb - Tyrone Moss, Miami RB
wr - Jarrett Hicks, TT WR
wr - Mike Haas, Oregon St WR
wr - Maurice Stovall, ND WR
te - Tim Massaquoi, Mich TE
k - Alex Trlica, TT K
d/st - Tenn D/ST
The main weakness of this team is the RBs, but everything else is solid. Brohm will be very consistent and produce top numbers, and Petrino won't be limiting his numbers like he did to LeFors last year. The time is now for Brady Quinn. If he's ever going to be anything more than a consistent guy with the offensive explosions against Navy, etc, this is going to be the year. ND has a tough go at the schedule though, and that usually contributes to keeping their fantasy production in check. The RBs are time splitters extraordinaire. Mike Imoh will battle Cedric Humes all year like Suggs and Jones did, and Tre Smith will battle Kenny Irons. Both Beamer and Tuberville are known for splitting too much time between RBs. Moss looks to be da man at Miami, but Charlie Jones will be nipping at his heels. Whatever question marks there are at RB is made up at WR. Hicks is going to be a stud, top 5 WR at the end of the year easily. Yes, Tech spreads the ball around, but Jarrett gets first look and refiuses to come out. Haas has always been a great WR to have that will complement Hicks well. The concern here is much like Wilson at Oklahoma, where a QB has to be replaced that was in the system for a while. Stovall has never lived up to his billing, but if he lives up to what he is capable of, he could really open things up. Call it a hunch, but I do believe his numbers will increase with Weis. Texas Tech kickers are notoriously rotated (see Keith Toogood) so there is the concern for the whimsical Leach to pull him at a moment's notice. None of the Tech kickers are accurate, and so they rely on the XP more than FGs. Tennessee has the best defense they have had in years, but the major concern is the schedule they face. The Buckeye Soldier needs to draft a difference maker RB, and hopefully something happens to release the pressure off of the time splitters.
ntd
qb - Chad Henne, Mich QB
qb - Erik Ainge, Tenn QB
rb - Laurence Maroney, Minny RB
rb - Deshawn Wynn, UF RB
rb -
wr - Steve Breaston, Mich WR
wr - Sonny Shackelford, Wash WR
wr - Sam DeSa, Cal WR
te - Ryan Hamby, OSU TE
k - Kyle Schlicher, Iowa K
d/st - USC D/ST
bench- Evan Moore, Stanford WR (never heard of him)
NTD needs someone to go along Maroney and fast! Wynn is out for the opener and his status in Meyer's doghouse is questionable. This guy may never be able to get out. Much is expected from Henne, but I am reserving comment until I see a few games without Braylon to bail his ass out. He just does not show he has what it take without Braylon. Once he gets rolling, I expect him to be a Navarre type producer, nothing special. Ainge is a star waiting to happen, but Clausen refuses to give up the starter's role after his end of season finish. Ainge more than likely will win out, and has plenty of options to work with as the Vol offense is loaded with playmakers. It is just a matter of time before he becomes the next Manning. The WRs are a major area of concern. Breaston is a good number one option and his value increases with his returning duties. After that, however, I would not expect Shackleford or DeSa to see much production. Backup Evan Moore is probably the number two guy as his stock increased with Walt Harris coming to reviatalize the Stanford passing game. Moore quit his stint on the basketball team to focus on football, and should be a main weapon like Ingraham of Purdue. At the very least he will be a fade route specialist and will see his fair share of balls thrown his way. I'm really surpised someone with a lot of knowledge of OSU and the possible use of Hall, Frost, Nicol, etc at TE would draft Hamby, but everyone is entitled to a pick of their fav team when they don't know or care who to take. Schlicher will be a good kicker, and USC is a top sack producing D. Always nice to have a known quality like that as defense is so hard to predict.
FKA
qb - Matt Leinart, USC QB
qb - Charlie Whitehurst, Clemson QB
rb - Lendale White, USC RB
rb - Leon Washington, FSU RB
rb - Andre Hall, USF RB
wr - Ryan Moore, Miami WR
wr - Dwayne Bowe, LSU WR
wr - Desean Jackson, Cal WR
te - Greg Olsen, Miami TE
k - Travis Bell, GTech K
d/st - NCSU D/ST
FKA joins methomps as a bowl contender that pops out at you. Leinert and Whitehurst are a great combo at QB. White will be a consistent scorer (most likely 120 yds 1 td a game) and gets the ball around the endzone. The only knock on Washington is that he can't separate himself from Booker, but he has been amazingly productive despite all of the time he splits. Andre Hall is the best RB you've never heard of until this year when you play FKA. Hall took no time to adjust to NCAA ball from JUCO last year, and this year looks to improve upon that as the Bulls main weapon. WR is the biggest area of concern as Ryan Moore disappeared last year. When Moore is on, he is unstoppable. Dwayne Bowe has a lot of competition in the LSU receving corps, but he expects to be the go to guy at LSU. The Cal receiving corps is depleted with the loss of many seniors, so the opening id there for Jackson to step in and take command for many years. Army All Star MVPs (Reggie Bush, Tedd Ginn) have been special and made contributions as FR and Jackson looks to keep that trend going. The main advantage he has is that he is a pure receiver. I don't know much about Olsen, but anyone that leaves ND is ok in my book. Travis Bell converts most of his opprtunites, and if Tech can wratch up the offense a notch, he could be in the top 5 kickers by end of the year. NCSU is finally becoming a good d with everyone's academic rejects and should be serviceable enough to carry their load of the team.
BestBuck36
qb - Chris Leak, UF QB (maybe)
qb - Reggie Ball GTech QB
rb - Maurice Drew, UCLA RB
rb - Chris Barcley, Wake RB
rb -
wr - Jonathon Orr, Wisc WR
wr - J. Hyman, VTech WR
wr - Montrel Jones, Louisville WR (could be elite)
te - Tim Day, Oregon TE
k - Alexis Serna, Oregon St K
d/st - OSU D/ST
bench - Devin Aromashadu, Auburn WR (again couldnt tell ya a thing)
BestBuck got off to a good start with Chris Leak and Maurice Drew, but then things seemed to fall apart a bit. Leak's numbers should improve dramatically now that Zook is gone and Meyer brings in his offense. He has adjusted well to the new system, but the question remains about his durability given the amount he will have to run to run the new Gator offense. Personally, I believe Leak will be ok, and he should be a top 3 QB. Reggie Ball is what I like to refer to as a Sports Center guy. He has one big play a game and somehow gets on ESPN and everyone thinks he is the man. But when you have him on a fantasy team, you can hear the crickets chirping. Ball has been overrated, but maybe this is the year he puts it together. Maurice Drew is a stud. He has the job all to himself, and the next 200 yd 3 td game is just around the corner in the Pac10. Barclay is probably a bit underrated on the national scale, but he is a great fantasy guy and a good complement to Drew. The picture at WR is not as good as RB. In fact, it seems as if BB36 is trying to locate a WR by committee type approach as it is surprising he took 4 wr and 2 rb. Of the bunch, Hyman is probably the safest bet, but Va Tech splits WR passes like they do the RB workload. Orr can flat out just disappear at times and he never took over the form that he had two years ago. There is no line between great pick or bust with Orr. Jones from Louisville adds value as a punt returner, but Louisville spreads out the ball a lot maybe decreasing his receiver role a bit. On the plus side, if you did choose to take a Louisville receiver, this would be the one to grab. Backup Aroshwhateverhisnameis has not ever lived up to his billing fantasy wise. Auburn receivers are disappointing, and he is not even the go to guy. K Serna became reliable after a shaky start to the season last year and looks to build upon that. Ohio State needs to work on defensive sacks and turnovers, but historically has always kept opponents to a low scoring output. The best scoring day by a defense ever was Ohio State vs Fresno State in 2000, see if you can locate the box score. Amazing. BB36 needs an impact receiver to complement Leak, Drew, and Barclay to make a move toward the post season.
Loky
qb - Vince Young, Tex QB
qb - Donnavon Woods, OKSt QB
rb - Mike Hart, Mich RB
rb - Ken Darby, Alabama RB
rb - Antonio Pittman, OSU RB
wr - Santonio Holmes, OSU WR
wr - Djuan Woods, OKSt WR
wr - Jason Avant, Mich WR
te - Jeff King, VTech TE
k - John Goss, MSU K
d/st - Iowa D/ST
Loky has a very dangerous team that you will not want to face during the season. Quite possibly a bowl contender, but like BN27 it may be missing a key ingredient or two to push them over the hump. Vince Young is an outstanding dual threat QB. His long runs like when he pulverized the Wolverines in the Rose Bowl will maul you. VY is essentially like having a top RB that also throws... outside of the passing QBs this is the top QB you want as a dual threat. Donovan Woods may be a great QB, he may be roatated all year, or worse yet may lose his job altogether to Bobby Reid. Only time will tell, but obviously Loky likes the running QB more than the passing. Darby is fully healed from being injured to end the season last year, and if he remains healthy should be a top 10 RB. Mike Hart more than likely will not get the same amount of carries as he did last year so his numbers may decrease especially with Kevin Grady coming aboard. Plus you never know what crusty ole Lloyd is going to do regarding playing time... before Perry was a senior he rotated the hell out of the RBs. Pittman falls into the same boat as you don't know how much Haw is going to take away from him. As long as Pittman is the man and refrain from ticky tack injuries that bug him, he should be fine. The call on Pitmman is tough, it is something that is going to have to be monitored as it is too early to call. Holmes is a stud that has high expectations for possibly his last year in the college game. When he is on, he's a 20 point plus waiting to happen. Avant seems to be the next Michigan go to guy, but I am not sold on him yet. If he retains his #1 status, he should see about 10tds and 1000 yards, but he'll have to step away from the pack for Lloyd to have that much confidence in him. Woods is a WR whose stock has gone up with Miles leaving, as Gundy is a former Cowboy QB and has already paid more attention to the passing game. New kickers are hard to project, and the Iowa defense can be stifling like tOSU keeping opponents to low scoring outputs. One player or two in the final rounds may separate Loky to a top 4 team, but as of now probably sits at 5-6.
Piney
qb - Brad Smith, Missouri QB
qb - Joe Ayoob, Cal QB
rb - Wali Lundy, UVA RB
rb - Taureen Henderson, TT RB
rb - Robert Meacham, Tenn WR
wr - Greg Lee, Pitt WR
wr - Steve Smith, USC WR
wr - Dallas Baker, UF WR
te - Leonard Pope, UGA TE
k - Mario Danelo, USC K
d/st - LSU D/ST
Piney has obviously done this before as he knows what he is doing. Smith was a top QB two years ago, but took a dip last year. Pinkel has installed the spread at Mizzou this year, and this is going to open things up for Brad. Smith like VY will beat you with his long TD runs. Ayoob is called the White Michael Vick, and Tedford looks to take the next JUCO to stardom. At last call he was battling Longshore, but that's probably just coach speak to motivate him. Lundy is a TD extraordinaire, but ticky tack injuries due to the amount he carries the ball wears him down later in the season. If you play Piney early on, watch out for Lundy, if it is later in the year, you have a shot as Lundy will more than likely be on the bench. Henderson is on the field at all times for Tech, and while not a rushing monster for TDs, his value increases as he is probably the top pass catching RB in the league. I am kind of suprised Piney only went for two rbs and four RBs, but it has to be one of two things. He either found out about Greg Lee's injury after he drafted him or pure greed. While Lee is the best WR on Piney's team, Meachem could take over that role if he can't perform. Smith and Baker may not be the first option on their respective teams, but they are a lot better than some of the first options on other teams as they play for a predominant pass offense. USC is going to score points, and Danelo is going to get plenty of chances to kick FG, while LSU is still loaded on D with Saban's boys. Piney looks to be a lock for bowl season.
Kinch
qb - Marcus Vick, VTech QB
qb - Drew Stanton, MSU QB
rb - Gerald Riggs, Tenn RB
rb - Courtney
Lewis, aTm RB
rb - Terry Caulley, Uconn RB
wr - Lance Legget, Miami WR
wr -Clinton Solomon,
Iowa WR
wr - Chad Jackson, UF WR
te - Zach Miller, ASU TE
k -
d/st - Miami D/ST
Bench - Ernest Wheelwright, Minn WR
The last two previews quite ironically have two of the better teams in the league, and quite possibly could be playing for the national title when it is all said and done. Marcus Vick has only matched his brother by name so far, but all indications is that he is ready to roll. At the very least he should be able to duplicate Randall from last year, but is he could be primed for a great year. Stanton needs to avoid the injury bug, but everyone saw what he is capable of vs. Michigan last year. Gerald Riggs is going to have a monster year. The logjam of Tenn backs that has kept them down fantasy wise in year's past is gone. Riggs is going to take the SEC by storm. Lewis is a great complement to him as A/M will look to feed him the ball often. Caulley is going to be fighting BN27's Brockington, and the chance is there for the split work load to affect both of them. Caulley, however, was a leading rusher before getting injured two years ago, so if he returns to old form it may be too hard to keep him off of the field. Chad Jackson is the top WR. He took to Urban Meyer's offense the best and had an absolutely large spring. As Athlon's stated, he and Meyer's offense meshed like BBQ and baked beans. He is going to flourish in the new offense. The leading TD receiver on Florida last year, watch out this year. Leggett will battle Moore for the go to responsibility at Miami, and Soloman is a fav target of Tate. Earnie Wheelright was very productive for the number of catches he had last year and could knock off ewither Leggett or Soloman as the #2 guy on team Kinch. Miami's D did not perform so well last year, but with all of the talent and speed in south Florida it is only a matter of time before they return to dominance. The ST factor will play a large role as well. Unless something drastic happens, Kinch should be a top 4 team by year's end and make the bowl season. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
Scoring:
</B>Lost Fumble - (-2) points
Return Yards - 1 point for every 10 yards
Missed FG any distance - (-1)
Missed XP - (-3)
Blocked Kick - 2 points
Unless you have someone watching all of the games, these stats may be VERY hard to find.