The first week of NFL preseason games have come and gone, and with that it has left some topics that are burning in the back of everyone’s minds. There is so much to talk about that there was no way we could condense this all into one column! During this two-column edition we have chosen the following topics to debate about; The Chicago Bears' fantasy football value for both of their TEs, Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark, the fantasy football impact that Marvin Harrison will have this year, the fact that WR Laveranues Coles is not talking to the media because he misses former New York Jets QB Chad Pennington, the impact that Bobby Engram’s injury will have on the Seattle Seahawks and their fantasy values, Willis McGahee’s exploratory surgery and the impact that Chad Pennington will have on the Miami Dolphins offense and whether he was really worth a solid 2-year contract?
So nestle snugly into your computer chair, close the doors and turn off the phones! It is time once again for another edition of Bruno Boys Newz & Fantasy Viewz from two whacky, insane Detroit Lions' fans, Bruno Boys Larry and Bruno Boys Ziza!
-------------------
Newz: New York Jets WR Laveranues Coles has said that he misses the connection that he had with former Jets and current Dolphins QB Chad Pennington. As a result he has been avoiding talks with the media.
Bruno Boys Larry Viewz: Are you kidding me? This is a joke right? We are talking about the NFL, right? This is a game, but more importantly it is a billion dollar business and in the business world tough decisions are made everyday. Everyday top executives from Fortune 500 companies make decisions that their employees might not like, but have to deal with. You usually have two choices; suck it up and do your job or be miserable and don’t perform up to the standards that have become expected of you. Brett Favre and Coles have been seen on the field involved in what appeared to be friendly conversation and when Favre was asked about it he said, “I said, Look, I am not trying to replace him (Pennington). I am here to help you guys win and I hope you respect me for that”. Once again, are you kidding? Is he his new step-dad? Did he have to assure him he is not trying to replace his father. Once again, this is the NFL. Players change teams all the time. Now Coles should be man enough to suck it up and play up to his expected standard. As much as he likes his good friend, he has to realize not only is Favre a future Hall of Famer, he is coming off a season in which he threw for 4,157 yards and had 28 TDs. Pennington played in only 9 games last year and has only played in all 16 games in a season once in his 8 year career. Coles still has some fantasy football value; he had 55 catches for 646 yards in 2007, but he should not be targeted higher then a WR3.
Bruno Boys Ziza Viewz: Larry I couldn’t have said that better myself, but I am about to attempt to because I agree completely with your sentiments! Come on Laveranues Coles, give it a break! I know you had a good deal going with Chad Pennington, but enough of the man love already. The only thing that you are truly known for so far in your eight year NFL career is having been traded to the Washington Redskins for Santana Moss and then being traded back two years later for the same exact person. You have never had more than seven touchdowns in your career and only three times have you gone for 1,000 or more receiving yards! You are 30 years old and this is your first opportunity to play with a true, Hall-of-Fame caliber QB! Brett Favre has made it a career of making good players better and this is your time to shine! So instead of worrying about the next time you can have some hot cocoa with Mr. Pennington, why don’t you worry more about coming back completely healthy this season and bringing in your first 1,200 yard, 10 touchdown campaign?
-------------------
Newz: Willis McGahee is now going to miss 2-4 weeks after undergoing a successful arthroscopic procedure to clean out his knee.
BBZ Viewz: Willis McGahee had a procedure to clean out his knee, and although this probably won’t cause any need for concern, this is still something that in my mind should be addressed. He had knee problems that caused him to miss his whole rookie season and although he has played all but 3 games the past four years, he touched the ball nearly 340 total times last year for the Baltimore Ravens. And to be quite honest, McGahee has never really impressed me all that much in the first place; at least not in fantasy football terms. In his last three seasons for total TD output he has had were 5, 6 and 8, respectively. He had never had a season in which he has averaged more than 4.0 yards per carry except for last year when he had 4.1 and now the Baltimore Ravens have drafted Ray Rice. Rice is a back that compliments exactly what the Ravens were trying to do with McGahee last year, and that is to rush their backs as well as send them out on pass routes. Expect Rice to cut into McGahee’s touches this year, and if the knee remains bothersome, maybe even more than expected. And with the way today’s NFL works it wouldn’t surprise me if Rice shows that he has the skills to pay the bills, that he will work himself into the rotation, and at some point possibly make McGahee expendable in the off-season.
BBL Viewz: Now Ziza, I agree with you from the standpoint that Rice will get some chances this year. This surgery for McGahee means Rice gets a lot more reps with the number one team in the preseason. This does not mean he will steal the job from McGahee anytime soon, nor will he get more then the 5-10 touches a game he was going to get before the injury to McGahee. He is not playing for the Rutgers and he is not in the Big East anymore. He is playing with the big boys now. When he goes to Cincinnati this year, it will be to face the Bengals not the Bearcats. Plus this isn’t a major surgery McGahee is having, this is routine now a days and when he comes back (and he will) this is his team. If you draft McGahee you should draft Rice as a handcuff, but Rice is no more then a RB4, with some upside.
-------------------
Newz: Marvin Harrison’s knee problems seem to be a thing of the past and he is expected to lined up across the field from Reggie Wayne come opening day.
BBL Viewz: Ok, ok. Marvin Harrison was able to play in the Indianapolis Colts second preseason game and this is great news! Let’s just not get too carried away. Now I am a fan of Harrison, but thats of the Marvin Harrison that played from 1996 to 2006, not 2007. I drafted Harrison as a rookie in 1996 in a TD only league and he surprised me with 8 TD's and was a nice sleeper. He scored 10-15 TD's in each season from 1999-2006 and finished the ’06 season with 122 career touchdowns. During last years injury plagued season Harrison played in only 5 games with 20 catches for 240 yards and 1 TD.
Go ahead and call me a pessimist, but I think we are going to see more of the same. I am not trying to insinuate that he is or will be injured, but I am saying that he is no longer the Marvin Harrison of old. Yes, I realize that I did just point out that he has only had one bad statistical / injury plagued season over the last twelve seasons, but what happened over that one season? He went from being the first receiving option on the team to possibly the fourth. While Harrison missed most of 2007, Peyton Manning continued to click without him. Reggie Wayne stepped up as the teams new number one receiver with 104 catches for 1,510 yards and 10 TD's. Wayne wasn’t the only one to step up though! TE Dallas Clark came into his own with 58 receptions for 616 yards and 11 TD's and rookie receiver Anthony Gonzalez chipped in with 37 receptions for 576 yards and 3 TD's. The much younger Gonzalez might just move ahead of the 36-year old (on August 25th) Harrison. The 8 time pro-bowler may have something left in the tank, but I don’t believe he will even come close to being the receiver he used to be and he may even be more of a WR3 then a WR2.
Be careful in giving him too much value. Don’t draft him before the 6th round and that may even end up being a stretch. Plus, remember he still has that strange incident from a shooting outside his Philadelphia nightclub in May (possibly with his gun) hanging over his head.
BBZ Viewz: Damn Larry, you must really hate Harrison to have gone on and on about every fricking theory on why he won’t excel this year. Heck, I finished two beers just waiting for you to stop talking! Just kidding brother! But I do totally disagree with you on a few things. There is no way that Marvin Harrison will be the fourth option once he is healthy enough to be in the starting lineup and able to play regular snaps. He is just too damn good!
Peyton Manning and Harrison have both made a career out of connecting with each other. And with the amount of time that the two have spent on the field, it is just hard for me to believe that because of one injury filled season that Manning will all of a sudden forget about all of those years of great plays and start trying to hit Dallas Clark and Anthony Gonzalez ahead of Harrison.
Now I am not saying that Harrison will play like his old self. That would put him in top-WR1 range. But if healthy, and after having rested his legs last season due to the injury, I find it hard to believe that he has lost so much in his step that his fantasy football value completely plummets. In fact he might come out rejuvenated and become a slimmed down version of what he was in 2006. I can see him still going for 800-1,000 yards and 7-10 TD’s, and that is being very safe here. And to me, that deserves WR2 ranking in larger leagues!
The one thing that I will agree with you on here though is that Gonzalez, sooner or later, will start seeing more and more balls thrown his way and that will affect not only Marvin Harrison’s numbers, but as long as Harrison is playing, Reggie Wayne’s numbers as well.
-------------------
If you have enjoyed this edition of Bruno Boys Newz & Fantasy Viewz, or even if you didn't (ya right), check in later this week as the second part will have Bruno Boys Larry and Bruno Boys Ziza practically getting into a fist fight while debating whether or not Polka Dots is the new Pink! Ok, fine, fantasy football will be discussed too.