Fantasy Football Top 10 Lists, Sleepers, and the Saints Players Reactions to the Bounty Punishments

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	Topic: Fantasy Football Top 10 Lists, Sleepers, and the Saints Players Reactions to the Bounty Punishments
Russell_108 Admin Membership: Starter Joined: September 04 Total Posts: 16106 Favorite Team: Offline	Post Date: 06/22/12 11:52 Some thoughts for this week: Just finished up my examination of the Draft Analyzer's top 10 players at QB, RB, WR, and TE earlier in the week. Some initial thoughts on each: On the top 10 fantasy QB's for 2012, I just had a hard time looking it over and not seeing Peyton Manning's name listed in the top 10. Each of the last 12 seasons Manning not only has been in the top 10, but the top 5 and usually in the top 2. He's a big boom or bust candidate this year. In the 2012 top 10 fantasy football RB rankings I wasn't surprised so much by the names on it, but rather the quality of depth at the position which we haven't seen like this in decades. With so many teams ditching the typical "starter and backup" philosophy there is a chance that the difference between the 8th ranked RB and the 18th ranked RB won't be that great. The position is just deep this season. The WR's are deep too with plenty of potential candidates that could have been included in the top 10 fantasy WR rankings for 2012. Since the general scoring format used was not PPR, it wasn't a surprise that Wes Welker didn't rank in the top 10. A lot of other experts have Brandon Marshall pegged in the top 10 now that he's reunited with Jay Cutler, but the Bears don't have the feel of a team that is going to pass more often now that they have parted ways with Mike Martz. More likely they will be running more often. Within the top 10 fantasy TE's rankings, I was most surprised at Greg Olsen cracking the list while guys like Dustin Keller and Brandon Pettigrew didn't. But when I looked at the situations, I saw a bit more of a reason for it. But to think Olsen, who was pegged for greatness in Chicago, would instead find it more likely to happen in Carolina, I have to say I didn't see that one coming. I also put up an article with three 2012 fantasy football sleeper WR's. But two other names I also am keeping a close eye on include Oakland's Darrius Heyward-Bey and Cleveland's Greg Little. Heyward-Bey really looked different in 2012 and it seemed that the light bulb had finally come on for him as he was more willing to go over the middle and be more than just a deep threat. He has the size to compliment the speed and while Denarius Moore gets more attention from the media, I think there's a good chance DHB has the better fantasy season. As for Little, everyone seems to forget that he didn't play college football at all in 2010, so his 2011 rookie season was the first time he'd been in game action. Despite the deficiencies of the Brown's offense overall, especially at QB, he still managed to catch 61 passes for 709 yards. With a full training camp, a better QB, and a rushing attack that will be better with Trent Richardson, I think Little has high super sleeper capability. It's especially intriguing with DHB and Little that both have ADP's (average draft position's) as about the 40th and 41st WR's selected, usually between the 105th and 110th picks. They are both being drafted as WR4's and have very high upsides. On another front that has been in the news a bit this week… I'm sick of the Saints players who were punished by the league coming out and saying how they're being treated so unfairly and how it's costing them both in money and reputation. They claim to be innocent of participating in a system that provided incentives for big plays, some that could cause serious injury. I wish they would just confess to what they thought the bounties were all about if not for this type of compensation. And to go back just to the 2011 season, here are a few news items that popped up during the season about them and the suspected intent to injure: Week 2 vs. the Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler was hit in the throat. Luckily he didn't miss any time. However WR Earl Bennett wasn't so lucky. He was hit and suffered what was called a "chest bruise" that caused him to miss several weeks. Week 7 vs. the Indianapolis Colts TE Jacob Tamme suffered a concussion on a hit. In a game where the Saints were crushing the Colts the need to hit that hard raises eyebrows. Week 12 vs. the New York Giants WR Hakeem Nicks was drilled while attempting to catch a pass over the middle. He suffered what was believed then to be a head injury and the defensive player was flagged for a personal foul for leading with his helmet. Luckily Nicks only missed a few plays and was able to return to the game. Week 15 vs. the Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson was returning from a sprained ankle that caused him the prior 3 weeks. After the game, Peterson acknowledged that he expected his ankle to be targeted by the Saints defenders, but was unhappy on at least one play where he claimed they were twisting it after the play was over in a pile up. In response to this, Jonathan Vilma himself said that it's likely his teammates were grabbing at Peterson's ankle during the game, but that there was never any intent to hurt him. What did Vilma think grabbing his injured ankle was going to do? Tickle? With that out of the way, let me say that I believe professional football is inherently a violent game and that when any player takes the field, regardless of whether they are in full health or battling thru any type of injury, they are exposing themselves to the risks of injury. I also believe that it's the right of any player to take advantage of an opposing player's potential disability. That's only smart football. But you would think that this group of elite athletes would have enough respect for each other to not want to injure another. With free agency so prevalent, the guy you injure today could be your teammate next season. That's it for now. Training camps are about 1 month away and I can't wait! ---- On any given Sunday any fantasy team can beat another, only to still lose Monday night.
Throwball Heroes_118522 Moderator Membership: Starter Joined: June 10 Total Posts: 11015 Offline	Post Date: 06/23/12 06:08 I'll give you my quick takes on your lists. QB: I made the mistake of buying the hype and drafted Vick last year, which punched my ticket right out of fantasy playoffs. I don't buy him or Cam Newton to be ranked that high. Newton, sophmore season, gonna be a let down. I do agree that Stafford should be #4 overall. Rivers at 8, eh...we have seen him put up good numbers in the past with no WRs and an ill TE, at least he might have a healthy Gates. RB: I posted my opinion here, especially concerning Mathews at #4. WR: I do think we have seen a big swing in the direction of top WRs, while top RBs continue to decline. Maybe it's just the league I manage, but I doubt it. It does make me scratch my head when I don't see Roddy White and Mike Wallace there but Hakeem Nicks and Dez Bryant on the list. I do think you will have a high number of receivers with the potential to put up 1000/10 this season. So where they are ranked on this list might be a non-issue. Lastly on Julio Jones, don't we hear every year from the ATL they are going to throw more, which has been minor the last 3 years, yet I still see White as the top WR in the ATL until he is unseated by Jones, but Jones does have serious talent. TE: Much like WRs, good scoring TEs have been plentiful the past few years. I gotta go way back when we saw this many quality TEs in the NFL who can catch, run and score all in one season. While not sold on SF's quarterback, I do like Vernon Davis this season, he does have a good rapport with Smith and the system Harbaugh runs. Maybe that says I am not a believer the new WRs they brought in. Gates holds many questions for me. Will this foot injury hamper him this year? I do believe he is on the downside of his career, but if we look at at Gonzo, who is 35 with 15 years in the book, Gates could still be a viable TE for the next few seasons if Rivers remains productive. I have no doubt Gates will be his #1 reliable target. Good lists, not much I disagree with, but it's great to see we have lists running this year. Fantasy football is right around the corner. ---- Stephen http://www.the6thfloor.com/category/fantasy-football-2/ "Bringing confusion and contradiction to YOUR post!" "ISIYBITSI" -Russ Bliss
Robert The IDP Guru_9600 Moderator Membership: Starter Joined: September 06 Total Posts: 1617 Favorite Team: Offline	Post Date: 06/24/12 14:11 Russ, do you think the depth at RB is derived from the amount of stud RB's who had serious injuries last year? To be quite honest, I only see 4 tier 1 RB's in Arian Foster, Ray Rice, LeSean McCoy and Maurice Jones Drew. After that it's kind of a hit and miss... ---- Draft: 3QB's 4RB's 5WR's 3TE's 2K 4DL 5LB 4DB. Start: 1QB 2RB's 2WR's 1TE 1K 2DL 2LB 2DB. PPR League: 1PPR, 1 pt 10 yds rush/receive, 1pt 10yds pass, 6 pts TD
James_4852 Moderator Membership: Starter Joined: August 05 Total Posts: 6456 Favorite Team: Offline	Post Date: 06/24/12 17:57 Russ, Like your sleeper WR list. Crabtree is on my PPR sleeper list. I will start posting my articles in July. James ---- Full time Ghostbuster!
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