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.

Fantasy Football Rankings – RB 26-50

See the top 10 and 11-25.

26. LenDale White, Tennessee Titans: You’re drafting him hoping he poaches the goalline carries. 650 yards (7 TDs)

27. Willie Parker, Pittsburgh Steelers: Injury prone, but has the breakaway ability. Will most likely split touches with Mendenhall. 850 yards (5 TDs)

28. LeRon McClain, Baltimore Ravens: Remember, you’re not drafting him for yardage. He’s purely a goalline back, but that equals touchdowns. 550 yards (9 TDs)

29. Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants: The Giants open field runner and likely to split carries with Brandon Jacobs. Should Jacobs get injured, Bradshaw has the skills to be a successful primary RB. 900 rushing (4 TDs), 400 receiving (2 TDs)

30. Chris Wells, Arizona Cardinals: This is a bold pick and I realize that. Tim Hightower was a good goalline back for Arizona last year, but average in open field. Edge is gone and the Cardinals can’t let teams load up in the secondary and double- or triple-team Fitzgerald. Wells should be able to keep them honest and possibly have some breakaway runs. 850 yards (8 TDs)

31. Larry Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs: A bit of a prima donna that thinks he is better than he is. I wasn’t big on him for the past 2 years. 2005 (20 TDs), 2006 (17 TDs) 2007 (3 TDs), 2008 (5 TDs). You know what happened between ’06 and ’07? His offensive line retired or left to free agency. Johnson was a product of a system, but he’s still a starting back which means if you need points you could do worse. 750 yards (7 TDs)

32. Felix Jones, Dallas Cowboys: Will probably lose alot of touchdowns to Marion Barber within the red zone, but Jones’ athleticism can score some home run plays. 600 rushing (5 TDs), 350 receiving (3 TDs)

33. Jamal Lewis, Cleveland Browns: We’re into the part of the list where you compare starters for poor offensive teams, platoon backs and handcuffs. Lewis is aging but still able to score some fantasy points. 1,050 yards (7 TDs)

34. Darren Sproles, San Diego Chargers: A must have handcuff if you’re spending your first or second round pick on LT. Sproles has a similar build and style to the play of LT, but he’s younger and his legs are fresher. Like Bush, he’s a special teams threat as well. 450 rushing (4 TDs), 400 receiving (3 TDs)

35. Ernest Graham, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A goalline vulcher. His strength between the tackles will help him poach red zone carries from Ward, just like Jacobs did in New York. 750 yards (7 TDs)

36. Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals: Started coming on at the end of 2008, probably because he needed a contract. He doesn’t have the best hands for receiving but we’re talking about the Bengals here. If you’re picking Benson as one of you’re two starting RB the rest of your team better be damn good. At least Benson is a starter and will get some guaranteed carries. 800 yards (3 TDs)

37. Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos: Moreno will be entering a crowded backfield. The Broncos have Correll Buckhalter, Ryan Torain, JJ Arrington, LaMont Jordan and Peyton Hillis. In my opinion it’s between Moreno, Buckhalter and Torain. Moreno has the size and ability to get the lion’s share of carries. 650 rushing (6 TDs), 150 receiving (1 TD)

38. Fred Taylor, New England Patriots: New England is also crowded, but Taylor has Pro Bowl experience that he brings with him. I feel the most comfortable with Taylor, although Faulk and Morris will get there touches. How Maroney bounces back will have a large effect on the NE backfield. 650 yards (3 TDs)

39. Willis McGahee, Baltimore Ravens: McGahee is part of a 3-man platoon. McClain has the goalline touches locked up so McGahee will compete with Ray Rice for most of the open field touches. 550 yards (3 TDs), 150 receiving (1 TD)

40. Donald Brown, Indianapolis Colts: Brown will be splitting carries with Addai, but with Addai’s struggles he shouldn’t have a problem establishing a place for himself for a about 10 carries a game. 700 yards (5 TDs)

41. Fred Jackson, Buffalo Bills: What puts Jackson ahead of Chester Taylor is Lynch’s suspension. Taylor is a more important handcuff, but probably won’t have as large an impact as Jackson. Jackson is a talented receiving back and a solid rushing back. 750 rushing yards (4 TDs), 350 receiving (2 TDs)

42. Chester Taylor, Minnesota Vikings: If you draft Adrian Peterson and don’t draft Taylor when you have the opportunity in the middle rounds, don’t cry about injuries. If AP goes down, Taylor is a serviceable back that can provide quality fantasy stats. As it stands, he will have a minimal impact in 2009. 400 rushing (4 TDs), 200 receiving (1 TD)

43. Julius Jones, Seattle Seahawks: Will probably lose goalline carries to Duckett, but should get a vast majority of touches. 950 yards (5 TDs)

44. Jerius Norwood, Atlanta Falcons: A must have handcuff to Michael Turner, not that Turner is a big injury risk, but you don’t want to risk it. Norwood is talented enough too, that the Falcons will find a way to use him. 450 rushing (1 TD), 300 receiving (2 TDs)

45. LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles: Handcuff to Westbrook who is injury prone. 600 rushing yards (2 TDs), 300 receiving (2 TDs)

46. Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh Steelers: Mendenhall was holding his own in 2008 until getting injured. Expect him to shoulder half the load, possibly replacing Parker as the starter by season end. 550 yards (7 TDs)

47. Sammy Morris, New England Patriots: The likely candidate for New England in the red zone. As far as back-ups and platoon systems go, you could do much worse. Don’t expect a steady stream of points from Morris. That pretty much goes for teams that utilize 3 or 4 running backs. 650 yards (6 TDs)

48. Tim Hightower, Arizona Cardinals: A very good goalline running back. However, the Cardinals love the fade route to Fitzgerald in the red zone. 450 yards (7 TDs)

49. Correll Buckhalter, Denver Broncos: Showed promise in Philly filling in for Westbrook. Should get a share of the carries in Denver. 350 rushing (2 TD), 250 receiving (1 TD)

50. Leon Washington, New York Jets: Behind Thomas Jones, Washington stands a very good chance to get a decent amount of carries. To keep Jones legs fresh for the end of the season and post season, the Jets will rely on Washington to carry them part of the way. 300 rushing (2 TDs), 500 receiving (3 TDs)

Fantasy Football Rankings – RB 11-25

If you’re curious, check out my take on the top 10.

For the 11-25 picks on running backs, here you go.

11. Steve Slaton, Houston Texans: Not a between-the-tackles, back but quick, agile and good hands for catching in the flat. 1000 rushing yards (7 TDs), 500 receiving (3 TDs)

12. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins: Strong back who has had injury problems in the past. Should have another solid year like 2008. 1300 rushing yards (11 TDs), 150 receiving yards (1 TD)

13. Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants: With Plaxico gone, look for New York to focus on the run. With Jacobs’ past injury problems he will probably be more of a goalline back, with Bradshaw getting his fair share of open field carries. 800 yards (13 TDs)

14. Kevin Smith, Detroit Lions: I was tempted to lean towards a RB on a more productive team here (Barber, Brown, Grant), but I’d prefer having a #2 running back that won’t have to worry about splitting carries. Almost 1,000 yards last year on an offense playing from behind. Detroit will not go 0-16 again. 1300 yards (7 TD), 300 receiving (1 TD)

15. Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins: I don’t know how the Wildcat offense worked in the NFL, but it did. Brown should improve on his solid 2008 season with a productive 2009. 1200 rushing (9 TDs), 200 receiving (1 TD)

16. Marion Barber, Dallas Cowboys: Barber is a force in the field, but doesn’t have open field speed. Felix Jones does. Expect Barber to be reserved for the red zone where he is much more effective. 850 yards (13 TDs), 250 receiving (0 TD)

17. Ryan Grant, Green Bay Packers: I am NOT a fan of Grant. I strayed away from him last season because I wanted to see a second season of success before using one of my first 3 picks on him. He still broke 1,200 yards barely but only had 5 TDs, that’s including his 1 receiving TD. Green Bay is more of a passing team with Rodgers at the helm, but you would still rather have a starting running back rather than a back up. 1,050 yards (6 TD), 100 receiving (0 TD)

18. Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints What’s more valuable, TDs or yardage? Reggie Bush might get you 100 all-purpose yards a game but not score. Thomas is a goalline threat and performed well in Deuce McAllister’s absence in 2008. 850 yards (9 TD)

19. Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders: Will Oakland still be an irrelevant team? Yes. Will they be a passing team? No. McFadden suffered from turf toe in 2008. There are other starting RB I haven’t listed, some you could make an argument to go above McFadden. Call this a gut pick. 850 yards (7 TDs), 200 receiving (1 TD) while sharing time with Fargas and Bush.

20. Thomas Jones, New York Jets: He’s getting old. He had a solid year in 2008, but something about him makes me cautious. I still feel safer with him than others, like Larry Johnson. 950 yards (8 TD), 150 receiving (0 TD)

21. Jonathon Stewart, Carolina Panters: You’re probably thinking why put two running backs from one team ahead of several RBs that are the starter for their team. Would you rather have Stewart in a running system or Cedric Benson for the Bengals? What about Derrick Ward or Ernest Graham in the Tampa Bay RB-by-committee? He’s a compliment to Williams’ style in Carolina. For those that choose to draft DeAngelo Williams, I highly suggest you grab Stewart in the 4th or 5th round as a handcuff. Remember Williams’ career average indicates he will have a decline in fantasy production in 2009. 1000 rushing (10 TD), 50 receiving (0 TD)

22. Derrick Ward, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Part of a running back platoon in Tampa, but in my opinion the most talented than Ernest Graham. Graham may very well be like LenDale White and poach some goalline carries, but Ward should be moderately successful. 1050 yards (9 TDs), 350 receiving yards (2 TDs)

23. Marshawn Lynch, Buffalo Bills: Lynch is an intriguing pick. Could easily be a top 10 RB based on his yards per carry, but he is currently in legal hot water. He could appeal his 3 game suspension down to 1 or 2 games, but that depends on Commissioner Goodell’s mood. If he’s high on your draft board, monitor the situation. If he is one of your top 2 running backs, seriously consider drafting Fred Jackson as a handcuff in a later round. Projections with him missing 3 games: 900 rushing yards (6 TDs), 200 receiving (1 TD)

24. Joseph Addai, Indianapolis Colts: Don’t expect fireworks here, we’re into bench/utility spots now. Addai has the talent to return to form, but a lot will depend on the emergence of Donald Brown and the direction of the Colts’ offensive gameplan. 850 yards (6 TD)

25. Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints: Many will probably disagree here, but remember you don’t draft Bush cause he’s a running back. He gets you points through receiving and special teams as well. You could go with Larry Johnson here, but the Chiefs OL is in shambles. Willie Parker is injury prone. Bush also has the benefit of playing in a passing system with Drew Brees. 500 rushing (4 TD), 600 receiving (7 TD)