http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/3812 Recent articles about Reggie Wayne en-us Last year, fans and fantasy owners witnessed a veritable aerial assault across the NFL. Ten wide receivers corralled 10 or more touchdown receptions, led by Randy Moss' record-breaking total of 23. By way of contrast, only six running backs amassed 10 or more touchdowns on the ground. The proliferation of specialist roles akin to those of middle relievers and closers in baseball, as well as the growth of committee situations, has split up the carries and goal-line glory. That's not the case in the air. Your fantasy heroes continue to add to their trophy cases and your highlight-watching pleasure. I begin this review of touchdown heroes with the aforementioned Moss, who rewarded gutsy fantasy owners with a season for the ages in 2007. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:02:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295816 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295816 Over the past few football seasons, so many different wide receivers have either come out of nowhere, or had a severe drop in their expected production. While there is a class of wide receivers in the game today that do what they are expected to, there are so many others whose numbers fluctuate from year to year. Here are the top 50 WR's in fantasy football: 1. Randy Moss NE 2. Terrell Owens DAL 3. Steve Smith CAR 4. Reggie Wayne IND 5. Braylon Edwards CLE 6. Andre Johnson HOU 7. Marques Colston NO 8. Torry Holt STL 9. T.J. Houshmanzadeh CIN 10. Larry Fitzgerald ARZ 11. Anquan Boldin ARZ 12. Wes Welker NE 13. Brandon Marshall DEN 14. Plaxico Burress NYG 15. Chad Johnson CIN 16. Marvin Harrison IND 17. Roy Williams DET 18. Lee Evans BUF 19. Santonio Holmes PIT 20. Chris Chambers SD 21. Kevin Curtis PHI 22. Greg Jennings GB 23. Calvin Johnson DET 24. Roddy White ATL 25. Javon Walker OAK 26. Jerricho Cotchery NYJ 27. Bobby Engram SEA 28. Dwayne Bowe KC 29. Joey Galloway TB 30. Hines Ward PIT 31. Laveranues Coles NYJ 32. Derrick Mason BAL 33. Jerry Porter JAX 34. Donald Driver GB 35. Santana Moss WSH 36. Bernard Berrian MIN 37. Patrick Crayton DAL 38. Anthony Gonzalez IND 39. Donte' Stallworth CLE 40. Reggie Brown PHI 41. Nate Burleson SEA 42. Isaac Bruce SF 43. Drew Bennett STL 44. Reggie Williams JAX 45. Roydell Williams TEN 46. Ted Ginn Jr. MIA 47. D.J. Hackett CAR 48. David Patten/Robert Meachem NO 49. Kevin Walter HOU 50. Devin Hester CHI Though another record-breaking season is probably not on the horizon, expect Randy Moss to put up staggering numbers again, as the loss of Dante' Stallworth (who will be a viable option in Cleveland) means Brady must throw to Moss and Wes Welker even more. Panthers WR Steve Smith is not listed on too many analysts top 3 in WR. I have him here because i think this will be the year things finally click on offense in Carolina. Jake Delhomme has been throwing well and seems to be recovered from Tommy John surgery. The O-line has always been solid in Carolina and with Jonathan Stewart and Deangelo Williams in the backfield, there should be some punch in the running game. 2 receivers have seen changes in personnel that will benefit their performance. Marques Colston has seen the addition of TE Jeremy Shockey, that will help him stay away from double teams. Colston got off to a slow start last season and then was the number 1 fantasy receiver in the last 9 weeks of the year. Expect much of the same, perhaps even more from Colston with Shockey helping him out. Also, Bills receiver Lee Evans received some help with a change in the coaching staff. Bills Offensive Coordinator Turk Schonert has made it clear he wants to get the ball into the hands of Evans. Towards the end of the year, Evans and QB Trent Edwards, created an on-field connection, resulting in some good games for Evans. In addition, rookie WR James Hardy can show his talent and take some double teams away from Evans. It seems even in a division with the defending AFC champion Patriots, the Bills have a lot of swagger for a .500 team. 2 other receivers likely to see a drop in their production are both Green Bay Packers wideouts Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. Brett Favre loved throwing to these guys and won't be around to do that anymore. It's time for Aaron Rodgers to show what he is made of over a full season and I am not confident he will produce too much. Rodgers will most likely lean more on RB Ryan Grant for support and that may cause for some more touches to go his way, as opposed to Jennings and Driver. Here are 3 receivers to watch in the upcoming season: Devin Hester CHI- Hester is number 50 on my list and I can see him really shining as a receiver this season. Hester's speed makes him one of the scariest players on the field, no matter the situation. With no real QB in Chicago, there may be some desperate times, and desperate times call for desperate measures. Especially if Rex Grossman wins the QB battle, look for a lot of deep passes to go Hester's way. In the off-season, he has worked on his route running and his hands and has formed a relationship with both quarterbacks. Keep an eye on Hester and try to snag him as your last receiver. Jerry Porter JAX- 2 things come to mind when I hear the name Jerry Porter; Loads of talent, tons of issues. Porter was so unhappy in Oakland that he didn't even try to play in games. Does that remind you of anyone? (Hint: It rhymes with Candy Toss) Porter goes to a team with an efficient QB in David Garrard who can throw the ball to Porter in any way. With the explosive running game in Jacksonville keeping defenses honest, look for a happy Porter to help both his team and fantasy teams across the country. Terry Glenn DAL-Now it could be possible that Glenn doesn't even get a chance to start this season, but here is why you should keep track of him. Jerry Jones doesn't want to let Glenn play until he has an insurance clause on Glenn's knee so that if something goes wrong, Glenn doesn't make all of his money. At this point, Glenn has refused to sign anything but if in danger of not getting the chance to play in Dallas this season. If he signs that release, Glenn could return to his 2006-2007 form, which would put him in the top 50 WR easily. Keep track of the Glenn situation in Dallas and if he starts to get into workouts and such, grab him when you can. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:15:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295262 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295262 Big Dogs The beauty about the WR position is there are more Big Dogs than any other position. For that reason, many fantasy footballers are contemplating grabbing stud WRs in the middle-to-late first round and early second round rather than mindlessly taking the best RB available. With that in mind, let's take a look at who those characters are. Randy Moss - How can you start anywhere else after the historic season Moss produced last year? The thing that worries me about Moss is he looked vulnerable to physical play during the playoffs. If you're expecting another 23 TDs, you'll be disappointed. Terrell Owens - So far so good in Big D for MeO, I mean T.O. As long as he's happy, he'll continue to produce in bunches. I can see T.O. lead all WRs in scoring this year. Reggie Wayne - Well, he officially surpassed Marvin Harrison as the Top Dog in Indy, and I don't see that changing any time soon. You can pretty much pencil him in for 1300 yards and 10 TDs. How many RBs can you say that with? That's why he's a safer pick than a Clinton Portis or Willis McGahee. Braylon Edwards - Braylon finally showed why he was a 3rd pick last year scoring 16 TDs. I don't see him reaching paydirt quite as often, especially with the addition of Donte Stallworth, but double-digits isn't out of the question. Andre Johnson - He averaged close to 95 yards and nearly a TD a game last year. That translates to 1500 yards and 14 TDs. Will he reach those lofty numbers? I doubt it, but he'll come close if he gets a full season in. Larry Fitzgerald - I am a huge fan of Fitzy. He just seems to get it. Must be his Minnesota ties. Every other year he gets 1400 yards and 10 TDs. If he can avoid his even-year slump, he'll be worth his weight in gold again for fantasy owners. Steve Smith - Here's a guy who NEEDS his QB to stay healthy. He's had two down years (compared to his 2005 masterpiece), but he still has what it takes to be an elite WR in this league. If Delhomme goes down, he could easily lose his Big Dog status. Chad Johnson - Ocho Cinco had 1440 yards and 8 TDs last year. Unfortunately his TDs came in just 4 games last year. That's what bugs me about Ocho. His end of the year stats look great, but he's not as solid week-to-week like some of the Big Dogs. His contract situation is a little scary, but I think he'll play. T.J. Houshmandzadeh - Unlike Ocho, Housh likes to spread the wealth out during his season. He scored a TD in his first 8 games last year. He's not going to wow you with big yardage (only three weeks over 100 and none after Wek 6), but you'll be happy with his production. Marques Colston - I was tempted to put him a tier lower, but his improvement on an already outstanding rookie season was too hard to ignore. If the 3rd Year Rule applies to Colston, the league better look out because he's already blown up. He caught nearly 100 balls last year for over 1200 yards and 11 TDs. Those are solid digits. Torry Holt - Holt had a down year by his standards last year, failing to produce either 1200 yards or 10 TDs for the first time since his rookie season. I see Marc Bulger bouncing back this year though, and Holt will rebound with him. He's going to be a great value pick this year. Plaxico Burress - I wasn't going to put him in the Big Dog Club, but when you consider what he did last year despite knee and ankle injuries. He scored in his first 6 games last year and racked up 1025 yards and 12 scores for the year. It was his second straight double-digit TD year with the G-Men, and Eli's added confidence (and pressure from NY media and fans removed) following the Super Bowl victory should keep the success going. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:11:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294914 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294914 In 2007, not only did we see a rise in wide receiver production, which led to more depth at the position heading into 2008, we also saw a decline in everydown running backs. In fact, in '07 just 17 running backs topped the 1,000 rushing yard mark, while in 2006 we saw 23 different rushers achieve that feat. On the flip side, 23 wide receivers surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in '7, while just 19 went for over 1,000 yards in '06. With this in mind, we knew that the depth at the running back position would drop off after the 2nd round, so we went in targeting the best available option at the running back position. Plus, with the rapid growth in the Running Back By Committee approach in the NFL, we wanted to make sure that our top ball carrier was someone who is going to get 20+ touches per contest. To find out who Bruno Boys Fantasy Football took with their second pick, click below.... Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:05:23 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293615 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293615 Players report on Thursday, so this is one of the last days to do a roster prediction.  It feels like now is the best time for one, so here it goes.  53 players make it on the roster, 8 on the practice squad, and I will put 10 that should keep in touch if injuries take their toll. 53 Man Roster QB #18 Peyton Manning-I bet I caught you off guard with this one. #12 Jim Sorgi-Sorgi will get a chance to prove himself this upcoming year.  He better not blow it.  Adam Tafralis and Josh Betts are creeping up on him. RB #29 Joseph Addai-Another shocker. #33 Dominic Rhodes-Rhodes will be a change of pace back who should get somewhere between 100 to 150 carries per game.  He should prosper without all the pressure on him. #32 Mike Hart-I consider Hart a running back, although it seems like he will be used as a fullback/short yardage back. FB #47 Gijon Robinson-Robinson is a fantastic blocker, and he will also be able to catch the ball, as he is "officially" a tight end.  Look for him in the goal line. WR #87 Reggie Wayne-As long as he doesn't hurt himself in a meaningless basketball game, he will be Peyton's number one target, at least until Manning and Harrison get their connection back. #88 Marvin Harrison-Hopefully he can recover quickly and maybe get a few plays in a preseason game so he isn't too rusty. #11 Anthony Gonzalez-Gonzalez could have a breakout year.  Or at least I hope so.  He's on my fantasy team. #83 Roy Hall-Hall will be a surprise player and will be a major difference maker this year.  Mark that down. #14 Sam Giguere-Giguere could never make an impact in the NFL.  He could also be the biggest star wide receiver we've seen in a long time.  We know he has the talent, but can he produce on the field?  Let's give him a shot. TE #44 Dallas Clark-Clark should still be a redzone target even with the Rhodes signing and Marvin's injury recovery. #84 Jacob Tamme-Tamme is an athletic tight end who should help the passing game become even more prolific. #86 Tom Santi-It's all about blocking here.  Someone needs to take Utecht's place. LT #67 Tony Ugoh-If Ugoh would have stayed healthy last year, Joe Thomas may not have been named the unanimous best rookie lineman in the league.  Ugoh replaced a Pro Bowler, and most people would not have noticed Tarik Glenn left. #75 Michael Toudouze-We need some fillers on the offensive line after last year.  Toudouze is a fair lineman when called upon, but he shouldn't start. LG #65 Ryan Lilja-Kansas City made a bad move by waiving Lilja.  He's an unheralded star on this team who is versatile and tough at the same time. #61 Jamey Richard-Not much should be expected out of a seventh round pick.  Richard will see some action in the rotation, but he won't be a difference maker this year. C #63 Jeff Saturday-I hope we can find some legal medicine that can make him play forever.  He's the leader of the offensive line. #53 Steve Justice-In Polian We Trust.  I'm sure he had a plan when he took so many interior linemen. RG #78 Mike Pollak-I'll give him the nod right now, but maybe Charlie Johnson can be a better guard than a tackle (which shouldn't be TOO hard). #74 Charlie Johnson-I was disappointed in his play last year.  We won in spite of him.  He was hapless as a tackle.  Let's see if he can improve as a guard. RT #71 Ryan Diem-Diem needs to stay healthy so Addai and the rest of the backs can get positive yards. #76 Dan Federkiel-Like Toudouze, Federkiel is an insurance lineman. DE #93 Dwight Freeney-Freeney should recover well from his foot surgery and be drawing the usual double and triple teams play in and play out. #91 Josh Thomas-I'm not a big fan, but he can stop the run.  His pass rush is very weak, however. UT #79 Raheem Brock-Brock is unnoticed when he plays, but you know he's missing when you see mediocre backs running up through the middle and QBs having all day in the pocket.  Hopefully he can stay healthy. #96 Keyunta Dawson-Dawson is another 2nd year player who should make a big impact at defensive tackle.  He is now listed as a defensive tackle on Colts.com, so there is no doubt on where he will line up next year. #68 Eric Foster-Last year it was Ed Johnson.  This year it will be Eric Foster.  Foster was made for the Tampa 2. NT #99 Ed Johnson-Big Eddy was a magnificent signing by Polian last year.  Sexual assault, schmexual schmassault.  Ed Johnson can stop the run. #97 Quinn Pitcock-The young players run the nose tackle position.  Pitcock is ridiculously strong, and he played well last season when the offensive line was plagued with injuries. #95 Darrell Reid-This man was the last thing Chris Henry saw before his life flashed before his eyes. DE #98 Robert Mathis-With Freeney back, Mathis should return to his double-digit sack season shortly. #92 Marcus Howard-No he is not a linebacker.  And if he does well, no he is not a surprise.  I expect him to do great along with many other Colts fans. SLB #55 Clint Session-I was stuck between Keiaho and Session here, but Session is bigger and could be a better run stopper.  We've all seen what he can do in the passing game. #56 Tyjuan Hagler-He's hurt, but it won't cost him a roster spot. MLB #58 Gary Brackett-Brackett was up there with the Pro Bowl snubs last year.  He was the leader of a top-5 defense, and he will only get better. #50 Philip Wheeler-Wheeler can play anywhere at linebacker.  I expect him to be a starter in 2009.  It depends on how Session and Keiaho do this upcoming season. WLB #54 Freddy Keiaho-To be perfectly honest, I have no idea how anyone can pass on us this year.  The linebackers are all ballhawkers, and the secondary is one of the best in the league.  Keiaho is a great example of a prototypical Tampa 2 linebacker. #52 Ramon Guzman-He's here for special teams and special teams only. CB #28 Marlin Jackson-Like all Tampa 2 corners, Jackson is way underrated.  He can shut the passing lane for any QB on any team. #34 TJ Rushing-Rushing will not be a returner, but he is good enough to be a dime cornerback. FS #41 Antoine Bethea-Bethea is a breakout player who will contend for another Pro Bowl spot this upcoming year. #40 Jamie Silva-The team of dark horses and surprise players strike again with Silva.  Boston College has some good players in the pros. SS #21 Bob Sanders-70% of the Earth is covered by water.  The rest is covered by Bob Sanders. #43 Matt Giordano-After Giordano lacerated Bo Scaife's liver, John Madden had a funny quip.  "[Giordano] just knocked all of his [own] hair off!" CB #26 Kelvin Hayden-He's the same corner as Marlin Jackson.  I would love to see him get a long-term contract. #20 Dante Hughes-Hughes is expected to be a standout at nickel back.  Also, it's Dante, not Daymeion. #25 Michael Coe-Fitting that one of the fastest players on the team shares the same number as Rocket Ismail, my favorite football player of all-time. K #4 Adam Vinatieri-His leg will be better, and his accuracy will be as well. P #17 Hunter Smith-Not a big surprise he's over Adam Crossett right now. LS #48 Justin Snow-Longsnappers normally do not get any attention.  For obvious reasons. RS #35 Chad Simpson-Simpson is just the kind of player the Colts need at returner.  Someone who is extremely fast and may take a chance and not call a fair catch. Practice Squad QB Adam Tafralis RB Clifton Dawson WR Devin Aromashodu OL Corey Hilliard DL Colin Ferrell DL Curtis Johnson LB Jordan Senn DB Brannon Condren 10 Who Should Keep In Touch RB Kenton Keith WR Courtney Roby WR Pierre Garcon OL Mike Elgin OL Darren Marquez DL Jeff Charleston LB Victor Worsley DB Tim Jennings DB Brandon Foster RS Rudy Burgess Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:16:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293513 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293513 Reggie Wayne established career receiving marks last year, and Foxsports.com fantasy writer Mike Harmon expects him to be first in yards for 2008. A complete list of the top 15 fantasy wide receivers. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:23:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292329 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292329 Too much of a good thing is usually a bad thing. That's how AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams feels about Oreo cookies and touchdown leagues. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:02:53 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292275 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292275 If you're looking for a change of pace from the usual standard leagues, why not try points per reception leagues. Tim Williams gives you his draft strategies for each position in PPR leagues. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:58:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292273 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292273 Need fantasy football help? Want that edge over your competition? Want it all for FREE? Then make sure to check out the Bruno Boys 2008 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet Webazine... ...With over 100 pages of in-depth fantasy football analysis, 250+ player write-ups, cheat sheet rankings, tiered rankings, positional rankings from all 6 Bruno Boys writers, expert articles to help prepare one for draft day and more, it is something to be admired. Fantasy football owners everywhere need to be put on notice because this is their key to victory! Bruno Boys Fantasy Football "A Fresh New Voice in Fantasy Football" Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:05:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292020 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292020 A look into how to split the WR Rankings up into TIER. This will help you prepare for your draft. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:58:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291532 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291532 TIER 1 : Randy Moss Randy Moss is the only WR that you should considered in the first round. With the record for most touchdown receptions in hand, look for Moss to take less snaps this year, but be more efficient in the New England passing game. The AFC East looked to improve their defense this offseason, so Moss probably won't come close to last years numbers. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:10:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291219 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291219 Randy Moss is the consensus No. 1 receiver, but who goes after that? Reggie Wayne? Terrell Owens? Freddie Mitchell? Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:34:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290526 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290526 How to Spot A Fantasy Football Sleeper is a knack that could make or break your fantasy team. Daniel Kalles gives all you fantasy owners a "How To" locate and find fantasy sleepers and plenty of time to exam the players you feel could be sleepers this season. Best of luck this season. As Daniel Kalles, The first thing you need to know about finding a "sleeper" is figuring out what a sleeper is. Many people will have many different explanations as to what a sleeper really is, where to find them and how important they are, but they will pretty much agree that a sleeper is someone who doesn't have a big name, probably doesn't start, hasn't put up big numbers in the past, who now might have a chance to have a breakout season and be a difference maker on your team. Sleepers are usually either late round draft picks or waiver-wire pick-ups who went undrafted. Now how to spot sleepers, when to draft them, and how long you wait until you believe they are actually worth putting in your lineup are all a little different. Having one of the few sleepers who pan out and be a worthy starter can make the difference in winning your league or not winning. No one starts off the season knowing which sleeper will for sure breakout; all you can do is try and draft one or two and hope that a couple of things fall your way and your sleeper goes from nobody to somebody just like that. It's very hard to go into the draft focused on the guys who will be drafted in the later rounds, but the truth is many drafts are won in the later rounds. If you can have a good draft from top to bottom, it will help you down the line; having a deep team will help you in the event of an injury or to make trades. It's not very difficult to draft players in the first bunch of rounds, guys like Alexander, Tomlinson, Owens, Moss, these players have a history, they have done it before, we can look at their numbers and see where they should be drafted, but a sleeper is different. Most sleepers haven't played enough to accumulate enough stats to make decisions on, so you have to take a small sample (if one exists) to figure out who might be the sleepers of this year's draft. There are many different places and ways to find sleepers. One way is to look for 2nd or 3rd year players who had a chance to play near the end of the year before. At the end of most seasons, the teams out of the playoff hunt will look at some young players, giving them starts and letting veterans sit out. Watching these players can sometimes give you a hint into who might be a good sleeper the next season, if they play a good game or two. Look at Willie Parker who was undrafted out of college and was sitting on the bench in 2004 when the Steelers went 15-1. In the last game of the season, once they had already clinched home field advantage, they decided to rest veteran running back Jerome Bettis, and see what Parker could do. He went into Buffalo, on a cold January Sunday, to face the hottest team in football. The Bills were looking to get a victory and a spot in the playoffs. Well, Parker gained 102 yards on only 19 carries, to help the Steelers win the game, and give anyone who was actually paying attention to this Steelers backup a 1200 yards rusher out of nowhere in 2005. Now this doesn't mean things will always work out for you, but it's a good way of finding a sleeper. Another way of finding a sleeper is to watch the player and coach movement in the off-season, and see which players have been put in situations where they might be able to break out, with the help of certain coaches and their philosophies. A player who might have been going downhill in his career, or hasn't been able to find his way yet might be able to change that by being on a team whose system better suits their abilities. Koren Robinson is a good example. He's a former 1st round pick of the Seahawks, and while he had a couple of solid seasons with them (78 for 1240 yards and 5 TD's in 2002), he was let go at the end of 2004 because of off-field and poor behavior issues. He latched on to the Vikings as their top return man and part time WR. During the off-season they hired new head coach Brad Childress, who brings with him his West Coast offense, and they traded Nate Burleson, leaving the spot of #1 WR open. With those and many other changes the Vikings made on offense, they go into the season looking for players to step up and be leaders. Robinson has a good chance of doing that because he is a step ahead of most of the other WR's because he played in the West Coast offense while in Seattle. He could be in for a very big season. While all this looks good and could very well happen, many times it doesn't, and guys like Robinson will always be picked up for his potential, but might never realize it, because he can't control his other issues. These are just a couple of the many ways to find a sleeper. So, make sure to always pay attention to injury situations, and follow closely what players are doing at training camp. Doing this can help you find many sleepers. Lastly, don't forget that you can still find sleepers after the draft in the first couple of weeks of the season. If you see a player break out and do better then expected, don't sit on the sidelines and watch - make an effort to pick them up and see if they can sustain that output. Or if you know that a starting player has any injury at all, make sure you're the one to get anyone who might back that player up, because once a player goes down, whoever takes over can be a real steal. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:24:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290094 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290094 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 Here is my list for the top fifteen wide receivers in the league. This is not for fantasy but the total receiver. 1. Randy Moss- 23 tds and nearly 1500 yards makes you the top receiver in the league. Moss is on his way going to the hall playing with Tom Brady and the every year super bowl contending Patriots. 2. Larry Fitzgerald- When he is healthy, he is a lock to get 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns. Just look at his 2005 and 2007 stats. 3. Terrell Owens- TO always finds the end zone but is behind Fitz because of his drops. 4. Reggie Wayne- Peyton's new favorite target is a Top 5 receiver with or without Marvin Harrison. 5. Braylon Edwards- Third year breakout happened for Braylon, scoring 16tds. Can only get better for Braylon, with Stallworth coming in to be a solid #2. 6. Chad Johnson- 5 straight pro bowls...but gets out of hand way too much 7. Steve Smith- Never had the quarterback and a good supporting cast to be as great as he can be. With Delhomme coming back from Tommy John Surgery, could get closer stats to his 2005 dominate season. 8. Andre Johnson- Like Steve Smith without the good team, Andre is the face of the Texans and will be probably be top 5 when the season ends. 9. Torry Holt- 8 straight years with 1000 yards, but at age 32 your numbers only go down...Unless your TO 10. Anquan Boldin- One of the few complete receivers in the NFL, Anquan can do it all whether it is blocking, breaking a tackle, or catching the ball. 11. Plaxico Burress- Burress is a prime time player that always comes to play in the big games. 12. Roy Williams- Put Roy on any of the listed players teams ahead of him, he would be higher on the list. With a bad offensive line, running game, and quarterback Roy does pretty well. Should benefit with Gosder Cherilus and Kevin Smith coming in. A healthy Calvin will only help out Roy's #s. 13. Brandon Marshall- If Baby TO gets his act together, he can put up insane numbers. 14. Marques Colston- Will make the pro bowl if he continues his incline in numbers.. Not hard to have good stats, when your quarterback throws 652 times. 15. TJ Houshmandzadeh- Low on the list because he benefits with Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer on his team.. Stats are inflated Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:33:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289353 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289353