Kyle’s View

In the drama that is the Broncos offseason, Jay Cutler has received his wish and has been traded. The Broncos asked for 2 first round picks in exchange for Cutler and the Chicago Bears stepped up to the plate. The Broncos will recieve a first round pick this year and next as well as a third round pick and Kyle Orton who made strides last year and was a productive Quarterback. This trade makes both teams better. The Bears desperately need a QB and the Broncos can use the picks and Orton to build with new coach Josh McDaniels.

While listening to sports radio the other day an interesting question was posed. If you start a NBA franchise today, what player do you build your franchise. The hosts decided to take LeBron James out of the equation, both feeling that he was the clear cut favorite. There discussion came down to either Chris Paul or Dwight Howard. Based on these parameters i will start there. The key idea is to decide if you want to build around a guy who will have the ball around 80% of the time on offense vs a guy who can score, rebound and dominate on both ends of the court. Having a guy who controls the pace of the game, make other players better and be a floor leader is much more important to me that a guy who can score, rebound, and block shots. I feel like i can get a Sam Dalembert or Erick Dampier to block shots, rebound and control the paint. To find a Chris Paul is much harder to do. That said starting today i would choose Dwyane Wade over any player including Lebron James. D Wade has already won a championship. Granted it was with Shaq but D Wade carried that team in the finals, and had them one step away the year before with Lamar Odom and Caron Butler as his key weapons. I think Wade can lead a team, make players better and score at will with the game on the line. Wade is a close second to Kobe in key shots at the end of games and is right there with Steve Nash and Chris Paul distributing the ball. Some people may ask why the Heat are so terrible now then. The answer is in his teammates. He is working with some over the hill players, NBDLers, and rookies. If you put Wade in New Orleans or Toronto with Chris Bosh and they would be right there in there respective divisions.

In one of the most interesting and unforeseen match ups in recent History the Arizona Cardinals will be playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Steelers had looked polished, strong and clearly one of the best teams in the NFL the Cardinals are the exact opposite. Every week seemed to produce a different version of the team. The team that showed up for the playoffs has been dominant. Larry Fitzgerald is playing incredible and looking like the most dominant player in the NFL. That said the most impressive part of the Cardinals run is the play of the defense. They have made plays when it matters most.  While everything in my head says to go with the Steelers, I have the strangest feeling the Cardinals are going to win the Super Bowl. In one of the strangest playoffs in recent history, everything that should have happened hasn’t. The Steelers can win if they can keep the running game active and productive, as well as stopping Larry Fitzgerald. It seems like the Eagles would have seen what he did to the Panthers and make an adjustment. The Eagles seemed to make improvements in the second half, and if the Steelers can figure out what they did they might be able to slow him down. Cardinals win 27-24 with Larry Fitzgerlad as the Super Bowl MVP.

MVP

If you would have asked me 2 weeks ago I would have said Marion Barber, no questions asked. He was dominant and putting up exceptional numbers. However another NFC east running back has stepped up and ran to the top of the MVP race. Clinton Portis is not only putting up awesome numbers but running well at key points and late in the game to preserve leads on the road none the less. If the Cowboys get back to running the ball Barber will get back into the race. Another player to watch is Marshawn Lynch, who is playing very well and helped the Bills get to 4-1.

Rookie of the Year

Offensive

Chris Johnson and Matt Forte are my pick right now. Both of these guys have given huge lifts to their team and helped their teams win games. Johnson is splitting carries which is hurting his numbers but has made plays when it was his turn to play and running well late in games. Jeff Fisher is trying to save Johnson for late in the season when they are pushing deep into the playoffs. Forte has been exceptional and has allowed the Kyle Orton and the Bears passing attack to be effective. Others to watch as the season goes are DeSean Jackson and Felix Jones who have big impacts on their teams.

Defensive

: Chris Horton is the leader in the Clubhouse. He has been nothing short of stellar. He has 3 interceptions which is near the top in the NFL not just rookies. He also has 18 tackles from the safety position. Jerrod Mayo and Keith Rivers are also putting up solid number from the linebacker spot.

Coach of the year

Jim Zorn has made a huge splash. The Redskins have found a coach that meshes well with his players both scheme and personality wise. He led them to victory over the Cowboys and Eagles on the road. He has this team poised to make noise in the tough NFC east.

With a quarter or so of the NFL season in the books there are some very interesting things going and things worth noting. There has been a shift in the NFL elite. While the mantra of going to the top can happen from one season to the next has always given fans a reason to hopeful, the same can now be said for teams going to the cellar after being highly touted for many seasons. The Colts, Chargers, Seahawks, and Patriots have all fallen off the pace they are normally setting this time of year. While some of the problems stem from injuries to key players, there is also facts that prove some of the teams are getting old and not reloading. The Colts have looked dismal. They should be 0-4 right now squeaking out wins against the Vikings trailing 15-0 in the 4th quarter and this past weekend down 27-10 with 4 minutes in the 4th quarter. If not for Sage Rosenfels fumbling twice on 4 plays, the Colts are the most disappointing team in football. They still have the offensive potential and they have produced very little. As for the Chargers, they cannot seem to get on track. LaDainian Tomlinson has not been the same since getting injured last season. The defense has looked decent at times but with the offense having problems running the ball and controlling the clock; the defense is tired at the end of games. Even teams like the Bengals and Lions who are terrible overall cannot seem to produce on offense. With players like T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Calvin Johnson, points should be put up and be somewhat competitive. The Seahawks and Pats have been hurt with injuries at key postions, however their defenses are still intact and have not looked good. If they can get healthy or Matt Cassel can play well in the case of the patriots there’s still time to turn it around.

On the Positive side some teams have taken advantage of the draft and free agency and made strides. The effects are showing. Teams like the Bills, Falcons, and Dolphins have taken huge steps. The Dolphins have already won twice the games they won last year. Teams such as the Titans and Redskins have taken their teams from bubble playoff teams to legit contenders. With huge inter-division road wins in Dallas and Philadelphia in back to back weeks has the Redskins looking like a team that can make noise all season. Clinton Portis has really stepped up his game as well as Jason Campbell who is improving and managing the game better than most thought. Jim Zorn has made a huge difference with the Redskins. The offense they employ is similar to what Campbell ran at Auburn giving him some consistency after going through 2 coaches and 4 coordinators in his 4 seasons. The Titans have had consistency at coach giving a huge advantage as well as the emergence of Chris Johnson, who is trying to claim offensive rookie of the year honors as well as take his team deep in the playoffs. The Titans are running the ball and playing great defense which is keeping them close in games and giving them the edge to pull out close victories.

The rest of the season should prove to be interesting and have intriguing story lines.

Here we sit two weeks into the fantasy season and there are some questions that need to be answered and some players that are playing above draft position.Whats the deal with superstars not playing the way they should be. Players like Peyton Manning, Ladainian Tomlinson, Randy Moss, among others are no doing what they were projected and owners are starting to become worried.

Peyton Manning has a few issues to deal with in Indy, including the loss of his center Jeff Saturday who is not only a leader on the O-line, but also a key piece to his audibles and play calls at the line. He helps get the team set, makes great blocks and makes the line much stronger. Also not playing the preseason has hurt Manning. He needs to knock the rust off. That said the injury to Dallas Clark week one also did not help, as well as Marvin Harrison, who seems to not be the player he was before the injuries last season. All that said, I think Peyton will be fine and it seemed like the rust was coming off in the game against Minnesota.

As for LT, my optimism is not as high for him. He has an issue with his toe and that causes an issue for running backs. The inability to burst and make cuts can cause a running back of LT’s ability to not produce. I am worried about his fantasy value this season. He has not been the season since late last year going into the playoffs. Might want to look at Darren Sproles or Jacob Hester for the short term.

Randy Moss is a different story. Due to the injury of Tom Brady, Randy Moss’s numbers are down. He will be fine in a week or two. Week by week they will let Matt Cassell throw more and more. Moss will be fine. He wont be the Moss of last year but he will be up in the top 5 receiver.

As for the good news, the rookies this season have been a very nice surprise. Running backs like Matt Forte, Chris Johnson, Kevin Smith, and Jonothan Stewart have been amazing. The are proving to be guys you can not only count on but are starters an a almost every week basis. In addition to the running backs, the rookie wide receivers like DeSean Jackson and Eddie Royal who are putting 100 yard games and touchdowns in the first two weeks. These guys are starters on a week to week basis depending on the depth  you have at wideout.

After a devastating injury that will sideline Osi Umenyiora for the rest of the season the rumors started swirling of a return of another future Hall of Famer to the Big Apple. The Giants are in desperate need for a replacement for their Pro Bowl defensive end, and what better than to replace him with a New York legand in Michael Strahan. He has the skills to still play and compete at a high level. He already knows the system and will make the defense much stronger. Also his presence in the locker room will make a improvement. The coming days will show wether a comeback is going to happen.

The NFL teams not named Packers, Vikings, Buccanners and Jets should be thanking Brett Favre. When I was reading a really good column by Jason Whitlock today on www.foxsports.com called NFL Truths. Jason was talking about how teams really should be thanking Brett Favre. Think about it, before the Brett Favre Saga began there was talks about the Bengals and thier off the field issues and Chad Johnson’s demand to be traded. Also their would still be a barrage of  stories about Spygate, The Patriots, and Matt Walsh. Before Farvegate, Spygate was all of ESPN, Fox Sports, and any sports medai outlet was talking about.

There are some players that could prove a ton of upside and are draftable in the late rounds.

Antonio Pittman

Antonio has the potential to be a Kenny Watson type player this year in fantasy maybe even more. He is the back up to Stephen Jackson who has still not reported to camp because of contract negotiations. Also he missed a good chunk of last season due to injuries. Pittman could step in and play well. if he gets an opportunity look for him to take advantage.

Tight Ends

There is a laundry list of names that have the potential to be break out tight ends this year. The most common names are Mercedes Lewis in Jacksonville who had a solid rookie campaign, all the tools, and has looked great so far this preseason. Kevin Boss has also been impressive since stepping in for Jeremy

Shockey last season with the Giants. After trading Shockey this offseason, Boss is the starter and could be a value with the giants. Zach Miller and Dustin Keller are two players that have potential to be solid players much like Heath Miller and Todd Heap. Keller has been very impressive and is only helped by the addition of Favre. If JaMarcus Russell plays well then Miller could have a big season with a ton of red zone potential.

DJ Hackett

If Jake Delhomme can return to form Hackett has the potential to break out and be a solid third wide receiver. He could and probably will start opposite Steve Smith. Smith should take a lot of attention leaving Hackett with one-on-one coverage only helping his status. Something like 700 yards and 6 touchdowns is not out of the question, which is good for a third receiver in fantasy.

Chris Redman

Assuming Redman is the starter in Atlanta he could be a viable fantasy quarterback. He was a top 4 quarterback over the last 5 weeks. Only three quarterbacks threw more touchdowns than Redman. The Falcons will need to throw when they get down on the scoreboard and Redman will be chucking. This is why people need to also keep an eye on Roddy White this season.

Troy Smith

He will start for the Ravens and he knows how to win. He will get rushing yards and touchdowns which only boosts his value. Also Todd Heap will be back and help troy smith’s value.

Ricky Williams

Ronnie Brown is an injury waiting to happen and is returning from a torn achiles. These two things plus a focused Ricky Williams that has looked good in the preseason could lead to a good season.

Tavaris Jackson, Aaron Rodgers, and Jason Campbell

Not only will these three guys be fantasy starters by the end of the season but they will also have better seasons than Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Delhomme who are both drafted in every league.