Off Season Moves

Last Updated on Friday, 11 June 2010 01:24 Written by Joe Truman Friday, 11 June 2010 01:19

While the NFL is plenty busy, between Free Agency & the upcoming draft, Fantasy stories worth discussing are harder to come by. Still, we have had some evolutions take place that will affect the 2010 Fantasy season. There has been no shortage of reminders that top line Fantasy numbers are finite. Several players key to recent success have been shown the door.

LT wasn’t brought back, as a Charger. Thomas Jones, despite a statistically successful ’09 campaign, wasn’t retained. Westbrook has gone from being the engine of the Eagle attack, to out of work & out of the off-season discussion. T.O. can still contribute to an NFL team & really wasn’t even that much of a pariah last season, in Buffalo. He’s still on the market.

It can be explained that the lack of a labor deal has some teams moving more judiciously. No doubt things will heat up as the

NFL Draft approaches. For now we’ll have to get by on speculation & lukewarm headlines.

THOMAS JONES IN KC: This is one of those moves that makes lots of football sense, but is potentially crushing to the Fantasy outlook to both Jones, & Jamaal Charles. The Chiefs have actually made some pretty exciting noise thus far in the off-season. Aside from the Jones move, they resigned Chris Chambers & reunited coach Todd Haley w/ former colleagues Charlie Weiss & Romeo Crennel. Assuming Matt Cassel makes progress, the Chiefs could have several useable Fantasy options. However, there is no getting around the fact that Thomas Jones’ presence will limit both his numbers, & those of budding star Jamaal Charles. Charles is cut out of the Chris Johnson mold. The hot, new backfield commodity is that versatile burner. While passing attacks are on the rise, & defenses are being spread out, the physical banger is being out performed by the more diminutive running back, w/ hands, that can take it to the house on any play. If Todd Haley is to be believed, both backs will see time, but Charles will still receive the lion’s share of the touches. It is doubtful that Jones can be counted on to return any semblance of the numbers he did w/ the Jets. It is, however, conceivable that he would inherit a short yardage role & vulture any number of TD’s from Charles. Charles is, by far, the more dangerous player, & was a sure fire RB1, prior to the Jones pick up. In the wake of the addition, however, expectations must be tempered.

LT JOINS THE JETS: Similarly, when Jones was sent packing, the value of Shonn Greene skyrocketed. Bolstered by a strong end to the ’09 campaign, & playoff run, Greene was positioned to launch into the RB1 stratosphere. Alas, that too was not meant to be. In a somewhat bizarre move, the Jets exchange one pricey, aging back, for another. Not that the Jets can be blamed for paying the 3^rd back (beyond Greene & Leon Washington), just that the difference between Jones & Tomlinson is negligible. In any case, LT gets a fresh start, on a new coast, in the backfield of a certified contender. So life is good for LT, post San Diego. Better than it could’ve been. Better than it stands to be for Westbrook. The Jets backfield situation is fairly murky. It remains to be seen how healthy Washington is when training camp opens. Because Greene didn’t establish himself until late in the season, he can’t be trusted in the same manner Jamaal Charles could be. Similarly, the wheels haven’t completely fallen off of Tomlinson, who put up decent stats last season (only 729yds, but 12TD’s). & a healthy Washington was on course to inherit the starting gig once Jones left. So there is a lot more still undecided about which Jet RBs to target when. At a glance, Shonn Greene is the most worthy commodity, given that he is young & has shown flashes. To be continued..

FLACCO EMERGES?: Having progressed significantly from a decent first year (2971/14/12), to a startable year two (3511/21/12, w/ 3 300yd games), Joe Flacco looks poised to take another step. Obviously Flacco has all the physical tools, but his decision making & gamesmanship have been above what is expected from a young QB. At the same time, the Ravens guessed right on Ray Rice (another diminutive, sure handed, speedy back), & currently still have McGahee & McClain. Derrick Mason is timeless. Todd Heap has talent. Now Anquan Boldin is added to this cast. The pieces are in place for a good return on Baltimore Ravens, in 2010. The Devil’s Advocate would argue that some believe Boldin is not a WR1, making the pecking order, in BAL, somewhat murky. Ideally, an offense w/ defined roles among its skill players is desirable for a young QB. So there is the potential that pieces do not fit & Flacco (& other Ravens, by default) become overvalued. Bottom line, Flacco is a mid level QB1, w/ upside. If things click, he, Rice, Boldin, & possibly McGahee or McClain, Heap & Mason, could all be worth regular starting roster spots.

RUNNING BACK CAPITOL: Much has to be made of the Redskins addition of Larry Johnson, mostly because there are so few other storylines worth following. Shanahan is in D.C. now, & that should be exciting. The trouble is, there are a lot of questions surrounding the Redskins. Yes, both Portis & Larry Johnson will report, for the Skins. Neither sets the world on fire. Nor does the perennially replaceable Jason Campbell. About the only things worthy of excitement, in WAS, are Shanahan & Chris Cooley (himself coming off a major injury). The bottom line here is that it will take some time & some tinkering for the Redskin offense to come around. That said Shanahan has a track record for turning out statistically relevant running backs, so it’s not impossible that somebody becomes somebody, in 2010. Hopefully you’re in a position to avoid the Redskin backfield altogether.

BRANDON MARSHALL SWEEPSTAKES: This is a plot line that I am particularly interested in. Marshall has the physical tools, & the moxie, to be the best WR in the league. We’ve heard a lot about his off the field issues, & his penchant for making waves in the locker room. We have also learned more about the Darrent Williams tragedy, & Marshall’s involvement in that evening. Brandon Marshall is a young guy who needs to be someplace other than Denver. Assuming that happens, Marshall is a game changer. The rumored destinations, over the past month, have been Seattle, New England, Dallas, the Jets, & the Redskins. Others, too, but to date Seattle is the only team to have hosted Marshall. The Broncos tendered him only to a 1^st round tender (as opposed to a 1^st & a 3^rd). He is a talent certainly worth the 1^st & 3^rd designation. Tendering him beneath that speaks to the Broncos willingness to move him. As most coverage has stated, the Broncos could elect to accept a trade for a value beneath the 1^st round tender, but have stated that they would not. This is a situation that will likely drag on until either the Broncos, or a suitor blinks. It makes nothing but sense, for a team that the back end of the 1^st round, to make a run at Marshall. The Jets, Cowboy & Patriots come to mind. Each has WR situations in need of resolution, & each team could contend. Obviously the money it will take to lock up Marshall is the X factor, that & his tendency towards discord. But often a change of scenery is exactly what a player needs, especially a player w/ some baggage. A squared away, motivated, Brandon Marshall is the best WR in football, so hopefully one of those contender teams opens up the checkbook & gets it done.

NEW REGIME IN THE EMRALD CITY: Newsflash: Pete Carroll has left USC to take the reigns, in Seattle. The Jim Mora Jr. experiment was apparently short lived, But he’s in, Carroll is. That’s old news. The chatter is that the new Seahawks brass are approaching 2010 w/ a win now mentality, which is obviously easier said than done. Similar to Washington, there are a lot of questions, for the Hawks. The recent acquisition of potential new cornerstone QB Charlie Whitehurst is interesting. Credit the Seahawks in being proactive in trying to think beyond Matt Hasselbeck Whitehurst has the physical tools & has had an opportunity to acclimate to the NFL w/out the pounding a starting QB endures. There in, of course, lies the problem. He hasn’t been tested, for 1 game, let alone 16. So we’ll see, but again, credit the Seahawks for being creative. Their history of drafting QB’s is not a good one. Hasselbeck is still in town, & may be the starter, in 2010. The running game also lacks definition. Julius Jones is not the answer. Is Justin Forsett? Who knows? He is cut out of the mold of the CJ/Rice/MJD/Charles type that is finding success. One would imagine that he’s also hungrier than Jones appears to be. Regardless, it is a murky situation best avoided when addressing your starting backfield. TJ Houshmanzedah was about the biggest disappointment in the league last season. Deon Branch has been vying for that title each year since he got to Seattle. Gone is Nate Burleson. John Carlson has sporadic promise, but the TE class is so deep, that even Carlson isn’t the guy you target. So a lot of questions, in Seattle. Invoking terms like “win now” seems a needlessly dangerous weight to add to an uncertain situation. Avoid the Hawks in Carroll’s first year (unless they land Brandon Marshall).