Can you smell it Bruno Boys Nation? We are one week closer to having all of our fantasy football seasons kickoff and it really doesn’t get much better than that! Sure, in years past when I was in Michigan this would be the time that I would sit down with fellow Bruno Boys Larry, sip on some cocktails and try to win our private drafts, but now that I am over 2,000 miles away, Larry and I have to do the next best thing, and that is to give all of you out there the most precise information on some of the hottest news around the Fantasy Football world! With us no longer in the same league there is no reason to hide any information from one another, and as a duo we hope to help give you that extra little boost to help you dominate your fantasy football drafts!
So nestle snugly into your computer chair, close the doors, and turn off the phones! It is time once again for another edition of Newz and Viewz from two wacky, insane, Detroit Lions fans, Bruno Boys Larry and Bruno Boys Ziza!
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Newz: After two preseason games DeAngelo Williams appears to have a big leg up on rookie Jonathan Stewart for the starting running back job for the Carolina Panthers. It is unsure yet how this will affect either of their fantasy football values.
Bruno Boys Larry Viewz: Ok Ziza, I am going to try and make this one easy on you. Now DeAngelo Williams is having the better preseason with 17 total carries for 87 yards and 2 TD's. He has played every single down with the first team offense. Jonathan Stewart has only played in three series (all in Week 2) due to lingering issues from his surgically repaired toe and has 4 carries for 3 yards. Williams is the front-runner to be the starting running back come Week 1 of the regular season. Now just about everything you read about this situation tells you that Williams will start the season as the number one back and therefore has more value then Stewart. I am here to tell you different. Now try and keep up with me here Ziza.
Williams was the Carolina Panthers 1st round pick (#27) in 2006 and came in highly touted after totaling 6,026 yards rushing at the University of Memphis. Those numbers put him in a class of college running backs that includes Ron Dayne, Ricky Williams and Barry Sanders, amongst others. He was given just about every chance possible to take the starting job the past two seasons from DeShaun Foster, who now plays for the San Francisco 49ers. He managed to start only two games and that was due to injuries to Foster. Williams may have increased his numbers over his first two seasons, but the Panthers didn't spend the 13th pick in the 1st round this year on Stewart because they feel that Williams is the back of the future. The Panthers drafted Stewart with the hopes he could be the type of running back Stephen Davis was for them in 2003 and 2005. Davis was a hard-nosed runner that fit great into head coach Jon Fox's offense and had 8 TD's in '03 and 12 (in 11 starts) in '05.
If healthy, Stewart is a rookie-of-the-year candidate and it shouldn't take long before Stewart and his power running style will be more to the liking of the Panthers brass. Even if Williams gets more carries, Stewart will be more of a red zone threat and could get 6-10 touchdowns in his rookie year. I consider both players RB3's and think their fantasy football value is closer then most people think and I would draft Stewart slightly ahead of Williams, based on the potential for more touchdowns. Either way if you target one of these backs, you should probably try and draft both, because if one of these two suffers an injury the others fantasy football value could skyrocket.
Bruno Boys Ziza Viewz: Larry, since you provided so much information about these two backs I am not going to bore the readers by throwing them the same stats at a different angle, but I still must say that I have to disagree with you. Not to the fact that Jonathan Stewart won’t be worth more at the end of the year, because that is hard to say, but I do think that you are wrong that the Carolina Panthers have given up on DeAngelo Williams being an impact player in this league.
This is the age in the NFL known as RBBC, or Running Back By Committee. They didn’t draft Stewart to replace Williams, they drafted him to change things up a bit. Of course Stewart will be getting the goal-line carries eventually, but for the time being he has to earn them! Stewart is still aching from his toe-surgery and most likely will be playing in pain the rest of the season. And with Williams’ good hands, he will be able to add some pop to what should already be decent stats, through the air. I don’t think this is the case of two extreme’s here. It works for Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor, why shouldn’t it work here? Not to mention that he only touched the ball 167 plays last year but still had 5 TD’s. I say for the 2008 season give me DeAngelo Williams all the way!
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Newz: During the Detroit Lions/Cincinnati Bengals game, Pro Bowl WR Chad Johnson was injured as he strained his left shoulder. He may miss the rest of the preseason and could affect his fantasy football value.
BBZ Viewz: This shouldn’t concern fantasy footballers too much yet, as missing preseason is not the end of the world when it comes to NFL vets. Chad Johnson has played in every single game since 2002. And, after all, he is Chad! Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis did say that Johnson’s shoulder popped out of its socket, but popped right back in on the field. He then added that many athletes play with this type of injury.
To that I was thinking, don’t wide receivers need their shoulders as healthy as can be when they are trying to extend their arms to make an outstanding catch? But as I said before, this shouldn’t be too much cause for concern, at least not at the moment. The bigger issue that could affect Ocho Cinco's fantasy football value at the beginning of the season is the hamstring injury to T.J. Houshmandzadeh. If Housh is not good to go, the coverage on Johnson during the games will make it tough for him to get open! He will need to brush off a few defenders just to wipe his own butt! None-the-less, Johnson should still be able to throw in his annual 1,300 receiving yards and 10 TD’s.
On an added note, the Bengals have just resigned wide receiver Chris Henry who Lewis said not even a month ago that he had absolutely no interest in bringing back. Read into it what you will, but the injuries to the two star wide outs must be worse than they are letting on or the Bengals just made fools of themselves! Or both?
BBL Viewz: Ziza my friend, you make some really good points. Johnson has been an iron-man, as you said, by playing in every game since 2002. That being said, the answer to your question is yes. Yes, a wide receiver does need a healthy shoulder to fully extend his arms to make catches. That makes this injury a concern.
What concerns me even more about Johnson are his numbers. If you look at the 2007 season stats as a whole, you will see a top flight wide receiver. But if you look deeper into the numbers you will see that he really is already a WR2. Now Johnson did have 93 catches for 1,440 yards and 8 TD in ’07, but those 8 TD’s were only spread over four games. Johnson has actually become kind of hit or miss. You want 10-12 points a game from your WR1, not 20 points one week then 4 points the next, that is not how you build a championship team. If that wasn’t enough to prove to you that Johnson stats are misleading, here is some more proof. Two of his 8 TD’s last season came in week 17, when most fantasy football seasons have ended. You should also note that in the last two fantasy football playoff seasons (weeks 14, 15 & 16 of the NFL) Johnson has a grand total of zero TD’s. Not only has T.J. Houshmandzadeh been more consistent spreading his 12 TD’s in ’07 over 10 different games, he also has 3 TD’s in the last two fantasy football playoff seasons, including one in each fantasy football championship game.
What I am telling you is if they are both healthy, Houshmandzadeh is a WR1 and Johnson is a WR2 and if you have Johnson, you may want to consider trading him when his value is at it’s highest. Not only is this injury a concern, so is the disappearing act he has had in the last two fantasy football playoff seasons.
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Newz: Calvin Johnson is having a good preseason and according to reports out of the Detroit area, he has been more impressive at camp then Roy Williams. So much so that he could become the more targeted receiver, which in turn could make him the more valuable fantasy football WR.
BBL Viewz: Ziza, being that we are both native Detroiters and die-hard Detroit Lions fans, we should be able to offer a lot of perspective on this subject. Now, Calvin Johnson was not necessarily a disappointment in his rookie campaign. He started in 10 of the 15 games that he played and had 48 catches for 756 yards and 4 TD’s. Solid numbers considering that he was slowed by a back injury and didn't get a chance to show why he was the number two pick of the draft in 2007. A man that was drafted by the great NFL draft guru himself, Matt Millen, who had also landed Pro Bowlers Joey Harrington, Mike Williams and Charles Rogers. Calvin Johnson was not the number two pick just because Millen is inept! All kidding aside, he was drafted number two because he has unbelievable gifts. He is tall, fast, strong and athletic, runs good routes and has an unbelievable ability to get to the ball in the air. He is similar to Roy Williams, but only bigger and more athletic.
Now Williams does have a couple things going for him. He obviously has more experience then Johnson heading into his fourth season. He also happens to be in the last year of his contract and this is always great motivation, as Williams is definitely motivated by money! This is the guy who admitted on a Detroit radio station that he did not tip the pizza guy and he would take dates to an all you-can-eat buffet. Williams was a disappointment to fantasy football owners last year. He was targeted as a top WR2 last season and ended up starting only 12 games due to injury and had 63 catches for 836 yards and 5 TD's; a far cry from his 82 receptions for 1,310 yards and 7 TD's he had in 2006.
Local beat reporters here in Detroit Lions territory have been raving about how good Johnson has looked in training camp and it has translated into 7 catches for a 154 yards and 1 TD in minimal action in two preseason games. Williams on the other hand has already had a confrontation with a fan (at practice) that had accused him of taking plays off during games and has only had two catches for 26 yards in minimal preseason duty. At my local draft here in Detroit, Johnson was actually taken three picks ahead off Williams in the fifth round and I believe that is about right. Williams will have a fine season once again, getting close to 1,000 receiving yards with 6-8 TD's, but I believe Johnson can achieve similar yardage totals with a chance for double digit TD's. Both players could be drafted as low end WR2's, but Johnson has more upside, even though Williams is playing for the all-mighty dollar.
BBZ Viewz: Larry I am so glad that you brought this subject up! As a matter of fact it kind of makes me wish that I was back in Michigan for one day so that we could talk about this face to face. Yes, Roy Williams had an off year last year, but he was playing through nagging injuries, missed some games and opposing teams knew that offensive guru Mike Martz was not going to call for a run play. All of these affected his stats. And now you say that he is playing for money because he doesn’t tip well? Come on man. Are you serious? The reason a man plays in the NFL does not translate from how much a man tips. All it does is show how cheap of a man he really is. And since you did not tell the whole story, I will. He was outed by one of the delivery guys, so Williams decided to be a pizza delivery guy for a night to see how hard of work it really was. After realizing that it's not an easy gig, Williams decided that he is going to start tipping. Also, even if I was a millionaire I would still eat at some buffets, as you get so much choice and usually it is good food! And last but not least on Williams, the argument with the fan, as you said, is because he was being heckled for taking plays off. With him reacting as he did, that shows me right there the passion that he has and the fact that that really struck a nerve! Guys that take plays off wouldn’t react that way.
Now onto Calvin Johnson; this guy is a man-beast! He was compared to Randy Moss but with even better physical skills! Can you imagine that? It can be argued that Adrian Peterson should have been selected there, but to be honest I think the Lions grabbed the right guy! He is going to be a difference maker for years to come and from what I have read so far, Williams wants him and Johnson to become the best receiver tandem in the league. Both of these guys are top wide outs and it does not surprise me that Johnson is outplaying him because he has the better physical skills and attributes. When it comes down to it, expect more from both this season as the defenses will now have to also focus on the Lions running game. I really don’t believe that one further ahead than the other, but if it were my team, especially in a keeper league, I would be going with Calvin Johnson all day long!
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Newz: Brett Favre just finished his first game with the New York Jets going 5-for-6, passing for 48 yards and one touchdown. The Favre era is running rampant all over New York as we speak!
BBZ Viewz: For the fans of the New York Jets, this was a very big day, and for the fans of the Green Bay Packers it was probably a very disappointing day, but for Brett Favre and the New York Jets team, it was a HUGE day as Favre came out and looked like his old-self. Even with rumors of a dead-arm, Favre came out looking very good against the Washington Redskins defensive first unit!
There have been some rumblings in which some Jets players, particularly on the offensive side, were not the happiest when Chad Pennington was released to make room for Brett Favre. This game should quite down the locker room some, particularly Laveranues Coles who will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of having Favre on the team. Using Favre’s career numbers as an example, he has always been one to throw a high amount of picks, but more importantly he is usually around the 4,000 passing yards, 30 TD range.
If those numbers and the fact that Brett Favre has come into the Jets camp hungry to win doesn’t shut up the players, maybe a Favre thrown football straight at their noggins will. It is amazing how some people who have never won will cry when a Hall-of-Fame QB enters the building! It is going to take some time, and the players should eventually warm up enough to Favre that they will be fighting over who can bring him his sweaty jock strap. Until that time though, we just have to grin and bare it as fans. One thing is for sure though, Coles’ and Jericho Cotchery’s stats are probably going to jump up a decent amount.
BBL Viewz: Of course this is a big day for the New York Jets. They finally have an answer to their quarterback situation. Chad Pennington has been a serviceable quarterback for the Jets and has many friends (especially wide receiver Laveranues Coles) on the team, but Pennington has only played in all 16 games in a season once (2006) in his 8-year career. Brett Favre on the other hand has played in every single game since 1992. He also brings his “gunslinger” mentality and I agree with you Ziza, he should help Coles and fellow wide receiver Jericho Cotchery improve on last years numbers. Favre is also quickly making rookie tight end Dustin Keller a potential sleeper pick this year.
What is lost in this whole situation is the person Favre may have the biggest impact on, running back Thomas Jones. Jones came to the Jets in 2007 from the Chicago Bears with high expectations, but disappointed fantasy football owners who drafted him hoping for a RB2. He did post 1,119 yards, but only managed 2 total TD’s. Now the Jets had already addressed this situation in the off-season adding Pro-Bowl guard Alan Faneca, and also adding tackle Damien Woody and fullback Tony Richardson. But the addition of Favre will force teams to respect New York’s passing game and will keep teams from stacking the box against the run. This should allow Jones to get somewhere between 8-10 TD’s this season. Therefore making Thomas Jones the happiest man to have Favre in New York and the RB2 that fantasy football owners hoped for last season.
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Fantasy Sports Matrix Expert League Draft Results (click to view)
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"Stinky Tee's" Mock Draft Results (click to view)
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