http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/1447 Recent articles about Nate Burleson en-us In this new top ten we look at sleeper candidates for the 2008 season. Our top ten sleepers are players that could breakout and most are also very safe bets to outperform their average draft position. Find out why Leon Washington is number one on our list and who else we believe will surprise in 2008. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:50:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291022 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291022 In exclusive interviews with various flies on the wall, The Frozen Tundra was able to piece together additional information to provide a background to determine how this trade developed. I have reconstructed the timeline of events based on those reports. March 1, 2008: Favre calls Ted Thompson to tell him he wants Randy Moss to be signed. "If not, I will know you are not trying to get me the personnel I need, and I'm not sure I want to stay in that situation," he declared. There are no reports out of flies in Green Bay, since at that time of the year it is still too cold and they are dormant. However, it is believed by one fly he could hear Thompson laugh in reply, "Are you serious?! Do you think we would take on that headache long-term just so you will maybe play another year or two? Even the fans wouldn't be on your side with this one–they hate him!" After that, the phone call abruptly March 4, 2008: After Moss re-signs with New England, Favre calls Thompson several times, always hanging up without speaking about ten seconds later. The last time he calls and says, "call me back and let me know what you will do to entice me to come back, or I'll have to retire by the end of the week." He then hangs up the phone. There are no return calls. March 6, 2008: Favre announces his retirement, and everyone publicly expresses sorrow that an era is coming to an end. It is reported by a fly in Kiln that Favre later tells his wife, "I know I heard cork pop in Thompson's office." April 26, 2008: Coach Mike McCarthy tells Thompson, "You better get me somebody else. Aaron is great and all, but he gets hurt at the drop of a feather. I need some insurance if I'm gonna be expected to win a title!" Thompson promptly drafts Brian Brohm. July 1, 2008: Favre contacts McCarthy, saying "Thompson won't return my calls. I'm sorry I made him mad by retiring, but I thought he needed to know I was serious when I threatened to quit. I didn't know he'd make me follow through on it. Will you talk to him?" McCarthy replied, "I'll see what I can do, Brett. You know I would like to have you under center, but your return would put us in a difficult place now. We've moved on, and sometimes you can't go back to the way things were." July 3, 2008: Brett has just seen a History Channel program on guerrilla warfare, and knowing ESPN will just die if they can't talk about Favre, he sends his mother and brother out to do his bidding. Both of them attempt to paint Brett as someone who has kept himself ready to help the Packers and the organization as not wanting the legend who won a championship for them anymore. July 4, 2008:After not hearing back from either McCarthy or Thompson, Favre is contacted by Roger Goodell, asking how his quest to return is going. "Ted won't return my calls," Brett says. Goodell says, "since you're the biggest star in the league, it's in our best interests to pay to have the call routed through New York. He'll have to answer it if he thinks it's the league office." Thompson does answer, but merely promises to call Brett back after he is done with his vacation. July 7, 2008: Thompson is done with his vacation. Brett stands by the phone, even saying at 8pm, "he just got back. He's probably got a lot of work to do, so he'll be there late." No call. July 10, 2008: Having still received no call and hearing Packers Vice President in charge of player personnel, Mark Murphy, say that as far as they know Favre is still retired and is not trying to return, he gets on the phone to his agent. "Pull out all the stops," he tells him. "What do you think it's going to look like if I make a public statement that you want to come back and they won't let you? Maybe they won't get all those sell-outs. Maybe no one's gonna buy your jersey anymore." July 11, 2008: Mortensen gets a call from Brett's agent stating that Brett wants the team to release him. I want to thank the flies in Kiln, MS and Green Bay, WI for their contributions. There were also two flies in New York, NY, reporting from the draft and league office. In some cases, it took generations of flies meticulously passing on this information from generation to generation, as it was accumulated over the last four-plus months, which is over 30 fly lifetimes! On Tuesday, July 15, we will have new accounts as this story, originally broken on Bleacher Report, develops. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:06:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290084 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290084 From: Pro Football Weekly Seahawks WR Nate Burleson, an increasingly key cog in the team's receiving corps with Deion Branch (injury) and Bobby Engram (contract issues) out of the mix so far this offseason, says he is definitely benefiting from what new receivers coach Keith Gilbertson brings to the table. "I'm learning a lot more from Gilby, even beyond what I learned under Nolan (departed WR coach Nolan Cromwell),' Burleson recently told Seattle Post-Intelligencer football writer and PFW correspondent Clare Farnsworth. "Gilby has a new vision and a new way of looking at things. I'm excited about what Gilby brings to this receiving corps." Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:18:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289840 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289840 From: Pro Football Weekly Seahawks WR Nate Burleson, an increasingly key cog in the team's receiving corps with Deion Branch (injury) and Bobby Engram (contract issues) out of the mix so far this offseason, says he is definitely benefiting from what new receivers coach Keith Gilbertson brings to the table. "I'm learning a lot more from Gilby, even beyond what I learned under Nolan (departed WR coach Nolan Cromwell),' Burleson recently told Seattle Post-Intelligencer football writer and PFW correspondent Clare Farnsworth. "Gilby has a new vision and a new way of looking at things. I'm excited about what Gilby brings to this receiving corps." Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:18:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289840 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289840 These four wide receivers stand out to me as representing the "first tier" of overvalued wideouts - guys whose names frequently leap off the page to me as I review power rankings from around the web. Someone in your league will draft one of these players far too early. Don't let it be you. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:20:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287684 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287684 The Seattle Seahawks found themselves in a familiar place at the end of the 2007 regular season, atop the NFC West standings, but the way they got there differed greatly from years past. In recent history, the Seahawks had been driven by their running game.That's what happens when you have an MVP type back lining up behind your quarterback. But, as Shaun Alexander's skills deteriorated, a change in philosophy was needed. And, in 2007, the Seahawks did a 180, deciding to hand the reins to quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and become a pass first team. The change worked as the Seahawks jumped from the league's 19th ranked offense in 2006 to the 9th best in 2007. Hasselbeck, who put up the best numbers of his career, completing 62.6% of his passes for 3966 yards and 28 TDs to 12 INTs, had no trouble becoming the focal point of the offense. The change of philosophy also made Seattle's wide receivers viable fantasy football options throughout much of the season.Like Hasselbeck, Bobby Engram had the best year of his career, which is saying something at the tender age of 35. For the first time ever, Engram topped the 1,000 yard mark with 1,147 receiving yards to go along with 6 scores. Nate Burleson, may have come up a bit short on the yardage side of things with just 694 yards on the year, but his 9 TDs led to 7 double digit fantasy performances. Even Deion Branch and DJ Hackett, who both missed time due to injury, were solid fantasy options. Branch tallied 6 double digit games in 11 played, while Hackett had 3 in 6 games, though he left the first one rather early because of an ankle injury. While the Seahawks' new offensive game plan aided the value of Hasselbeck and the team's wide receivers, it hindered that of the team's running backs as the team finished 20th in rushing offense on the year. Those low rushing totals led Maurice Morris (101 fantasy points) and Shaun Alexander (99 fantasy points) to combine for a total of just 200 fantasy points. Alexander had well above 300+ points on his own in his 2005 MVP Season. To read more about what Bruno Boys Mike Whooley has to say about the Seattle Seahawks, click the link below... Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:36:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285930 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285930 Why is Nate Burelson slowly becoming Matt Hasselback's #1 option at wide receiver? Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:35:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279859 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279859 Free agency is quickly approaching in the NFL and teams have been scrambling this week to place the franchise tag on marquee players, negotiate last-minute contract extensions, and begin to navigate the murky waters of the off-season. For fantasy football managers, there's a lot at stake. Let's take a look at the headlines of a busy week in the NFL: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:46:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/161921 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/161921 oh shaun. at the end of the season shaun alexander admited that there was problems in the running game. after a 2006 playoff loss to chicago i thought that he had turned a corner by breaking 100 yards in a playoff game. i was wrong. this year was marred with injury and #37 just didnt have his old drive anymore. he said that he needed to not get hurt and take some toumbling classes. it looked to me that last season he was affraid to get hit and arm tackles were making him hit the ground. he really needs to give up the hope that cutting back will help and just hit the holes, and hit them hard! now, we cant forget that shaun had 5 consecutive seasons with 15+ touch downs. that is legendary and shaun will most undoubtably be in the hall of fame, someday. for now regretably it will be holmgren's las year. we need to pull out all the stops to get a superbowl win. that would make mike the only coach in history to do that with two different teams. if the nfl is infact scripted then why not make history. in the upcomming draft it was mocked that rashard mendenhall of illinois would be drafted by the seahawks. he is a big hard hitting running back. it looks as though his stalk is rising wich means seattle is looking at second tier rb's or a first tier te. there is talk about seattle cutting shaun. this would be pointless before the draft. accually it would be pointless before june, because of cap penalties. if they did decide to cut shaun then all the fans at qwest field would be pleased. anybody that has gone to a game in the last two seasons knows what im talking about. there are many fair wearther fans there but that is another story. i think we should give shaun another year, with the addition of o-line coach mike solari and the signing of two time probowl gaurd mike wahle the seahawks look to get their running train back on track. with alvin pearman, leonard weaver, morrise morris, shaun alexander, plus any additions they might add in the draft, this year looks way more promising than last season. it shouldnt take much. seriously with mike solari there im really excited. he has coached with tom landry, george seifert, and now mike holmgren. the o-line is stronger and holds depth. matt hasselbeck is in the prime of his career. the d-line is in the top 5 in the nfl. there is a terrific trio at linebacker. the best defensive secondary around, rounds out a great d. the only questions that remain is the running back possition, tight ends, deon branch's health, and nate burleson's obiese contract. the seahawks as a whole have the best depth in the nfl and i am, as always, very excited for the up comming season. Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:39:38 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/158951 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/158951 The 2007 fantasy football season may be over, but it's already time to be thinking about 2008. The Fantasy Football Experts are already hard at work completing a 2008 Fantasy Football Mock Draft. Here are the contestants: 1. Rob Shaw, Lead Expert for FantasyFanatics.com 2. Dan Cypra, Marketing Director for FantasyFanatics.com 3. Phil Jean, Fantasy Football Expert for FantasyFanatics.com The rules are simple: 1. This is a standard Yahoo scoring league. 2. Each Expert is responsible for four teams, so there are 12 total teams in the league. 3. Rookies were not eligible to be drafted since their NFL teams and use are unknown. 4. Each roster consists of one quarterback, three wide receivers, two running backs, one tight end, one kicker, and one defense. 5. There are 13 rounds total. Here are the first three picks of Round 10: ROUND 10, 109TH OVERALL: BERNARD BERRIAN, WR, BEARS Bernard Berrian will be a free agent this off-season. He'll either be slapped with a franchise tag by the Bears or sent somewhere else. The latter would help his fantasy value tremendously as a home run threat. San Diego, Miami, and the New York Jets would make for good fits for this talented wideout. Don't let his 11 touchdowns in the last two years fool you. If you had Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton throwing you the ball, you would underachieve too. ROUND 10, 110TH OVERALL: MATT LEINART, QB, CARDINALS The 3rd QB to be picked up by this fantasy squad. He is a talent and you have to love the Cardinals offense with James, Fitzgerald, Boldin and Pope. He gained a big vote of confidence by the Cardinals coaching staff when they announced that he would start as long as he's healthy in 2008. ROUND 10, 111th OVERALL: ELI MANNING, QB, GIANTS An unbelievable post-season has this pick looking more and more like a steal. For three consecutive years, Manning has tossed at least 23 touchdowns. The flaws come with the interceptions, and his lack of mobility. This past season, Manning tossed 20 interceptions. The former Ole Miss Rebel seems to be forming a connection with former USC Trojans wide out Steve Smith. I believe that is a foundation that will be built upon in 2008. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:29:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/106782 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/106782 Can the Skins keep on hanging on to there hopes of going to the super bowl after surging after the death of Sean Taylor or will Hasslebeck and the Hawks denie them and go after the cowboys, here's my opinion. For the Hawks to have a chance to win they'll have to try to get the ball in the air with Hasslebeck, because Shaun Alexander isn't as good as he once was and ever since the death of the Meast the Redskins are 1st in running defense in 71.8 yards per game. When the skins have the ball they'll have some issues trying to beat the beasts like Marcus Trufant ,Julian Peterson and of course Lofa Tatupu so that will be a great battle between them and Clinton Portis and the skins passing attack. When I said that Hasslebeck needs to bring the passing attack by passing it to guys like Bobby Engram and Nate Burleson but man they'll be hurting with the hard hitter LaRon Landry and the great Shawn Springs protecting the attack and bringing the pain. So it'll be a good game and it'll be interesting to see if Todd Collins can keep this hot streak up and try to throw the ball to Santana Moss. For the game I got Redskins winning 21-17 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 03:03:38 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/59499 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/59499 Saturday's FIO weekly fantasy football column deals with the injury report for the coming weekend - co-founder & editor Matt Hinzpeter lists those players who may be in question for their respective games in Week 15. Check this article each and every week on Saturdays. Sat, 15 Dec 2007 21:52:58 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/44585 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/44585 This time around, instead of offering you a simple waivers article, FIO co-founder and writer Adam Allen has put together a fantasy playoff handbook to help lead your fantasy football team to domination. Included are a few waiver wire pick-ups, key match-ups, those players still hungry (in the playoff hunt), and some projected weather conditions. Everything you need to make some crucial roster adjustment to advance in your fantasy playoffs. Fri, 14 Dec 2007 03:31:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/43753 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/43753 I think that this is a very interesting list, but we all know who is number one. 1.Devin Hester 2.Josh Cribbs 3.Pacman Jones 4.Leon Washington 5.Darren Sproles 6.Roscoe Parrish 7.Jacoby Jones 8.Maurice Jones-Drew 9.Jerious Norwood 10.Nate Burleson 11.Allen Rossum 12.Yamon Figurs 13.Ted Ginn Jr. 14.Dante Hall 15.Steve Breaston Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:38:08 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/39277 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/39277 The most injury-laden NFL season in recent memory just kept on rolling in week 7, with top rusher Ronnie Brown going down for the remainder. That's an adequately depressing way to introduce the week 8 edition of our most depressing weekly column, Cut Your Losses - the players you really need to let go of, especially if you're clinging to them due to misguided hope or a disturbingly persistent man-crush. Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:49:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/32466 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/32466