Week 1 Injury Report

A couple of big injuries happened, like every season, that will affect the fantasy landscape.

Brian Urlacher, LB; Chicago Bears: Out for season. This injury might not be of huge importance in traditional leagues, but it will still have an effect. The Packers were able to get the running game going while Urlacher was on the sidelines during Sunday night’s game. The Bears will have to find a new identity in Lance Briggs and Hunter Hillenmeyer. I’m not expecting the defense to crumble now, but losing one of the best linebackers can’t help a team. Urlacher’s talent for reading offenses will be sorely missed for the remainder of the season.

In Individual Defense Player leagues this could have a huge impact on a team. Luckily the LB position is very deep, but chance are Urlacher was one of your first IDP’s taken. Briggs is most likely gone as well, but Hillenmeyer should provide a decent replacement if your league is particularly deep. Hillenmeyer was the first LB off the bench, but without Urlacher he will undoubtedly play a larger role. And he has experience from the Super Bowl run a few years back.

Anthony Gonzalez, WR; Indianapolis Colts: 2-6 weeks. Gonzalez is probably Manning’s third target (after Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark) so this isn’t a huge loss. But many thought this would be a breakout year for Gonzalez with the departure of Marvin Harrison. He will return with half the season left, but he may not return to 100% immediately. This opens the door for Austin Collie in the Colts offense as that extra receiver for Manning. Collie will most likely be the hot pick-up this week if wasn’t already drafted in the final rounds of your draft.

Donovan McNabb, QB; Philadelphia Eagles: Questionable. It’s being reported as a ‘fractured rib’ and I can’t imagine that would be fun to play with. Even if he feels good enough to play next Sunday, I don’t see the Eagles choosing to do so. The Eagles offense will have to be firing on all cylinders when the Saints come to town because points will be scored in bunches. The good news is Kevin Kolb could be a sleeper play next week. With how bad the Saints defense is, Kolb might be able to steer the Eagles to victory with the talented playmakers he will have around him.

NFC West Predictions

Another horrible division. Kurt Warner does not play the whole season due to injury and the offense once again sputters under Matt Leinart. Seattle improves with the addition of T.J. “Championship” Houshmanzadeh, but the lack of a running game continues to hurt them. Steven Jackson’s back gives out while trying to carry the entire city St. Louis. Michael Crabtree eventually signs his contract and learns that doing so earlier would have ensured that he would be prepared. Instead Josh Morgan is the best wide receiver for San Fran.

San Fransisco 49ers 10-6
Arizona Cardinals 7-9
Seattle Seahawks 6-10
St. Louis Rams 3-13

Best QB: Matt Hasselbeck, SEA
Best RB: Frank Gore, SF
Best WR: Larry Fitzgerald, ARI
Best TE: Vernon Davis, SF

Other news: Kurt Warner retires due to a back/knee injury. Steven Jackson requests to be traded after week 8.

NFC South Predictions

The addition of Tony Gonzalez bolsters an already well-balance team and for those worried about Michael Turner’s workload will place less pressure on him to do all the work in the red zone. The Saints return the most potent offense in the NFL, but a very porous defense, the addition of Malcolm Jenkins at corner will hopefully help. Tampa Bay will not make the post-season as it tries to go younger and shed some of its aging veterans.

New Orleans Saints 10-6
Atlanta Falcons 10-6
Carolina Panthers 9-7
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8-8






Best QB: Drew Brees, NO
Best RB: Michael Turner, ATL
Best WR: Marques Colston, NO
Best TE: Tony Gonzalez, ATL

Other news: Jonathon Stewart outperforms DeAngelo Williams in Carolina. Jeremy Shockey actually catches a TD this season.

NFC North Predictions

In another horrible division, several story lines emerge. Brett Favre returns from retirement again to beat the Packers win a Super Bowl with the Vikings. Jay Cutler leaves Denver for the friendly confines of Soldier Field except this time his #1 WR is 5’11″. Calvin Johnson continues to get double and triple teamed, while Matthew Stafford keeps looking like a man that just realized he’s going to suck in the NFL.

Green Bay Packers 10-6
Minnesota Vikings 9-7
Chicago Bears 7-9
Detroit Lions 6-10

Best QB: Aaron Rodgers, GB
Best RB: Adrian Peterson, MIN
Best WR: Calvin Johnson, DET
Best TE: Greg Olsen, CHI

Other news: Chicago GM Jerry Angelo is fired for making this trade. Favre retires for real this time, but not by choice, his arm will require surgery to keep playing and won’t do it.

NFC East Predictions

A very tough, competitive league in 2008-09 will change somewhat with personnel changes. Dallas loses Terrell Owens to the Bills, Washington loses Jason Taylor but gains Albert Haynesworth, Philadelphia loses Brian Dawkins but gains some talented rookies and Michael Vick, and New York Giants lose Plaxico Burress to prison and a lot of cash to Eli Manning.

Washington Redskins 11-5
Philadelphia Eagles 11-5
New York Giants 8-8
Dallas Cowboys 6-10

Best QB: Donovan McNabb, PHI
Best RB: Clinton Portis, WAS
Best WR: Domenik Hixon, NYG
Best TE: Jason Witten, DAL

Other news: Jeremy Maclin returns a total of 3 kick or punt returns for touchdowns. Roy Williams is second to Patrick Crayton in Dallas. Washington produces a top-5 defense with the addition of Albert Haynesworth.

AFC West Predictions

Arguably the worst division in the NFL. One team has a 6-man running back platoon, Denver. Another team has a coach that values team-building exercises, Oakland. A third traded for a quarterback that has played one full season, Kansas City. The last team actually won the division last year with a record of 8-8, San Diego.

San Diego Chargers 9-7
Oakland Raiders 7-9
Denver Broncos 6-10
Kansas City Chiefs 4-12



Best QB: Philip Rivers, SD
Best RB: Darren McFadden, OAK
Best WR: Dwayne Bowe, KC
Best TE: Antonio Gates, SD

Other news: The Broncos will use one of their two top 10 picks (one from Chicago in the Cutler trade) next year on a QB, either Sam Bradford of Oklahoma or Jevan Snead of Ole Miss. Al Davis is still alive, fires Tom Cable and prevents Oakland from competing.

AFC South Predictions

Indianapolis will finally fall from its perch, mostly due to instability at the head coach, offensive and defensive coordinator and skill coach positions. The absence of Marvin Harrison will put more focus on Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Anthony Gonzalez. Tennessee will have to score more since their defense will be missing Albert Haynesworth. Houston finally has the pieces to make it to the post-season.

Houston Texans 11-5
Tennessee Titans 10-6
Indianapolis Colts 8-8
Jacksonville Jaguars 7-9

Best QB: Matt Schaub, HOU
Best RB: Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC
Best WR: Andre Johnson, HOU
Best TE: Dallas Clark, IND

Other news: Mario Williams will get more than 10 sacks. Peyton Manning will still throw 30 TDs and Vince Young will supplant Kerry Collins in Tennessee.

AFC North Predictions

In a division where teams are more apt to run the ball rather than throw, and a premium is placed on hard-nosed defense, the top two teams will again reign supreme.

Baltimore Ravens 12-4
Pittsburgh Steelers 11-5
Cincinnati Bengals 5-11
Cleveland Browns 4-12

Best QB: Ben Roethlisberger, PIT
Best RB: Jamal Lewis, CLE
Best WR: Hines Ward, PIT
Best TE: Todd Heap, BAL

Other news: This will be the final year for Bengals’ Marvin Lewis. Rashard Mendenhall will become the #1 RB in Pittsburgh during the season.

AFC East Predictions

Presuming there are no ACL injuries in the first quarter of the first game of the season, this is how I see the AFC East playing out.

New England Patriots 10-6
Buffalo Bills 7-9
New York Jets 7-9
Miami Dolphins 7-9



Best QB: Tom Brady, NE
Best RB: Thomas Jones, NYJ
Best WR: Randy Moss, NE
Best TE: Anthony Fasano, MIA

Other news: Chad Pennington will miss 3 or more games due to injury. Lee Evans will be the more productive wide receiver for the Bills.

Quarterbacks – 1-20

My picks for the top 20 fantasy quarterbacks go as follows.

1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints: This a no brainer. Brees has the best tools around him, a coach that LOVES to pass and a defense that LOVES to give up points. Playing from behind can equal a lot of interceptions, but it also equals alot of yards to, as evidence of the last 3 seasons.

2. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons: Wha?! This could either be brilliant, like the naked man or the worst thing since the College Years. Ryan has a quality running back to keep linebackers honest, a talented receiver in Roddy White, a great receiving tight end in Tony Gonzalez and a talented player like Norwood to use out of the backfield.

3. Tom Brady, New England Patriots: I’m skeptical about how well he will do coming back. Remember the first half of 2008 for Peyton after his knee surgery. I’m just saying that I would go elsewhere, but on the chance that he does come back stronger, he does have Randy Moss to throw to.

4. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers: This team is more of a passing team. Ryan Grant will not carry this team on his legs. In 2008, the NFC Central had some of the weakest secondary play. It will probably improve but by how much is yet to be determined.

5. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts: Why 5th? Not because of lack of talent, but more about the system. Here’s why I’m worried. His only offensive coordinator in his 11-year career is retired. His OL coach is retired. His head coach is retired. He still has talent around him, but a lot of questions linger.

6. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers: With teams starting to figure out LT in 2008, the Chargers will have to open up the air game. Gates, Jackson and Chambers should be an effective set of weapons for Rivers.

7. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals: I will NOT be drafting Warner this year for a few reasons. A) He’s 38 years old. B) In the last 4 years he hasn’t been consistently healthy. C) He threw 598 passes in 2008. How much longer can he hold up before his shoulder goes, or his knees, or his back. He has the best receiving weapons in the NFL but I don’t want to worry about my #1 QB going down early in the season.

8. Matt Schaub, Houston Texans: Having Andre Johnson is enough of a reason for a QB to be fantasy relevant. Having Steve Slaton too, is huge. IF he can stay healthy for the entire season, Schaub will be a top-5 QB at the end of the season.

9. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles: Eagles fans love to hate on McNabb for not delivering a Super Bowl yet. Remember the Bills in the 90s? Their fans would love to be that relevant again. McNabb should have more tools this season with Westbrook being an obvious receiving threat. The duo of Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, both young, could be just what McNabb needs.

10. Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs: He loses Randy Moss and Wes Welker and Tony Gonzalez, but Larry Johnson isn’t as effective at running and KC will likely be playing from behind. Dwayne Bowe is talented so at least Cassel has one weapon.

11. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys: Talented, but without a major weapon in T.O. I’m comfortable with Witten, but am I supposed to feel great about Roy Williams? The same Roy Williams that couldn’t be successful in Calvin Johnson or T.O.’s shadow. Shouldn’t playing opposite a talented receiver mean you get to line up against the #2 DB? Romo will put up yards and points, but I see fewer TDs and more INTs.

12. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers: The best QB at holding the ball and taking the sack. If only that was a fantasy category. He has options in Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes, and a talented running game should help the Pittsburgh passing game.

13. Eli Manning, New York Giants: Plaxico’s a mess. But luckily Eli has other options to turn to. Steve Smith and rookie Hakeem Nicks should help him out, but Manning’s success will be directly tied to how well he takes care of the ball. Only 10 INTs last year, but his career average actually higher.

14. Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears: Living in Chicago I can tell you most Bears fans thought they had the Super Bowl locked up with Cutler. What they have is a talented QB with a cannon for an arm and an arrogant persona. What they don’t have is a #1 receiver. Seriously, Hester can’t go to theme parks for this reason. Just kidding, he can. Barely. Cutler is a strong arm with nobody to throw to, except Forte in the flat.

15. Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos: Ironic that Cutler’s talent with Chicago’s lack of WR is about equal to Orton’s average talent and Denver’s abundance or WR talent. The difference Josh McDaniels is the coach in Denver. The same coach that coordinated Brady’s monster season in 2007 and Cassel’s breakout campaign in 2008. Orton will make fewer mistakes than Cutler which might make him more valuable considering who his options are.

16. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals: There are worse options here. Cincinnati hasn’t been the same team since they started trying to abide by the law. Housh is gone. Ochocinco’s production has been mucho nada. My Spanish is probably way off, whatever. He does have Laveranues Coles and Chris Henry as options, but he’s a backup for now.

17. Trent Edwards, Buffalo Bills: Not a fantasy starter now after his abysmal 2008 season. But with T.O. in town and Lee Evans he could have a great duo. If Lynch can get himself together the Bills offense could form some semblance of a success story in 2009.

18. David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars: Not a bad backup option. Not a starting option though. Jacksonville wins with defense and Garrard’s job is to score once or twice and limit turnovers. That doesn’t equal fantasy success, but if you need an option for your #1 QB’s buy week, he should be serviceable.

19. Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers: It was him or Hasselbeck and the presence of Steve Smith puts Delhomme over the top. Carolina loves to run the ball, see Williams and Stewart, but they will go deep to Smith every once in a while.

20. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks: Will he hold up? He does have T.J. “Championship” Houshmanzadeh now, so that helps, but Hasselbeck is nothing more than a quality back up for right now.

Honorable mentions: Brady Quinn, Matt Stafford/Daunte Culpepper, Mark Sanchez/Kellen Clemens