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Cincinnati Bengals +1 win

TO stretching the field is exactly what this team didn’t have last year and now that TO has looked significantly better than the player we saw in Buffalo last year, the Bengals don’t have many weaknesses on either side of the ball. The have a strong defense, led by one of the best cornerback tandems in the league, a strong running game with Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott, field stretching receivers, as well as solid possession ones like Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham, a quarterback who can make all the throws needed, their only two potential downfalls are their offensive line and their ridiculously tough schedule.

Cleveland Browns +3 wins

I’ll admit I thought Delhomme was done as a solid signal caller, but he has proven me wrong this preseason. They have a lot of holes, but if Delhomme can be decent, they won’t be horrible this year as I once thought they would.

Green Bay Packers +1 win

A healthy Donald Driver only adds to Aaron Rodgers weapons. You would have a hard time finding a more explosive offense than this one and that defense isn’t too bad either.

San Francisco 49ers +2 wins

Despite missing key players with minor injuries, the 49ers have looked great this preseason, especially because of the strong play of Alex Smith at quarterback. Once those players are back, as they should be for the season, they could definitely win double digit games in that weak division.

Pittsburgh Steelers +1 win

Big Ben’s suspension  was cut from 6 games to 4 by commissioner Roger Goddell, which should mean at least one more win for the Steelers this year. If they go 2-2 in the 4 games Ben misses, and the defense stays healthy, they could win 10+ games and go back to the playoffs.

DOWN

Minnesota Vikings  -1 win

First they lose Sidney Rice, now there are major questions about the health of Brett Favre’s ankle. This team is a clear 2nd to the Packers in that division.

Arizona Cardinals -1 win

Matt Leinart can’t lead a successful drive, 7 points in 9 drives, and then bitches about losing his job because he has a great completion percentage on short throws that get you nowhere and because he’s being blitzed and he feels that’s not fair and because he feels his receivers can’t run routes. Derek Anderson has been better, but only by default as this team doesn’t look like one that’s going anywhere offensively this year.

San Diego Chargers -2 wins

Key holdouts Marcus McNeil and Vincent Jackson may hold out the entire season. Jackson is replaceable by Malcom Floyd, but the Chargers have yet to find a halfway decent replacement for McNeil, guarding Rivers’ blindside.

New York Jets -3 wins

Revis is still not in camp, in fact the Jets have admitted that they don’t even know where he is, and also Calvin Pace could miss the first month of the season. Mark Sanchez is not progressing at quarterback the way he was supposed to in his 2nd year in the league, really struggling this preseason to lead drives. 

Power Rankings, Season Preview, Mock Draft all to be updated this weekend

Imagine if real NFL drafters competed in a fantasy draft. Now imagine if some of the more colorful NFL drafters competed in a fantasy draft. Now were talking.

Brad Childress- RB Chester Taylor

You’re probably expecting me to take Adrian Peterson here, but I have it from a good source that Peterson won’t be getting the goal line carries, instead it will be Chester Taylor because Minnesota’s coach is an idiot…oh wait that’s me.

Josh McDaniels- QB Matt Cassel

I love Matt Cassel! I’d trade any quarterback for him even if it went destroying my franchise! I love his ability to complete 5 yard passes and how he is as immobile as a tree in the pocket! Matt Cassel!!!

Jerry Jones- A flat screen TV

You’re probably expecting me to take a player here, but a football team is not all about the players and the same goes for fantasy football. Giant TVs make the fans come to games and fans make teams money. And if punters hit the TV with the ball, even better.

Al Davis- WR Darrius Heyward Bey

Darrius Heyward Bey is the greatest player who ever lived!!! With him, my team will lead the league in dropped passes and 40 times. On a side note, thanks for allowing this draft to be conducted by nightfall, sunlight and me don’t get along so well ever since my…incident.

Mike Singletary- Forfeit

I’ll tell you who I’m not picking, Vernon Davis. Vernon Davis sucks. Vernon Davis is awful. Can not play with him, can not win with him, can not coach with him, can’t do it! He makes me want to rip off my pants and yell at my teams. Vernon Davis is awful!!! I’d rather play with 10 guys on the field than play with Vernon Davis!!! (Singletary runs out of time and forfeits pick)

Eric Mangini- K Phil Dawson

I don’t believe that quarterbacks win games. I don’t believe that wide receivers win games. I certainly don’t believe pass rushers win games. I believe talented centers win games. I believe mediocre middle linebackers win games. I believe subpar defensive ends win games. I believe borderline starter free safeties win games. Unfortunately, I can’t draft any of those in this fantasy draft, so I’ll go with my 5th favorite thing in the world, kickers.

Bill Belicheck- RB Adrian Peterson

(Belicheck will draft the best available player here and take Peterson. I had to put one sane drafter in here…so what if he’s been spending the whole draft reading everyone’s draft boards)

Matt Millen’s ghost- WR Larry Fitzgerald

I may no longer have my job as President of the Lions, but I am still ruining the franchise through my former assistant. Now I must draft the best thing ever, a wide receiver.

Ted Thompson- RB Matt Forte

I normally just take the best player available in real drafts, so why wouldn’t I do that here. (side note: while this isn’t the best strategy in real drafts, in fantasy drafts, it is the best strategy and Forte is the 2nd best player available this year).

Jon Gruden- QB Brett Favre

Brett Favre is the best quarterback ever. I don’t care if he’s 40 years old and has a huge ego. I think he’s the best quarterback ever. Quarterbacks only get better with age, look at Brad Johnson, Rich Gannon, and Jeff Garcia…well maybe not Jeff Garcia.

Guess who’s back! Brett Favre! Now I know what you’re thinking, didn’t he retire? Yes, he did, actually several times. I know what you’re thinking, didn’t he just 2 weeks ago say that he was done with football? Yes, but apparently that means nothing. Brett Favre has signed a 2 year deal with the Minnesota Vikings today and is expected to be the starting quarterback week 1, extending his record for most consecutive starts by an NFL player.

            If I were the Vikings, I’m not so sure I would have given him a deal. Yes, they needed a quarterback, but you’re getting a 40-year-old one who led the league in interceptions last year. On top of that, and possibly more important, he has a huge ego, like to the point where he thinks he’s above the team. He retires, wants to come back, is unsure about coming back, says he’s not coming back, and then 2 weeks later, comes into Viking camp where they had their own little quarterback battle going and expects to be the week 1 quarterback.

            What’s worse is that he’s right. He will be the week 1 quarterback. He’s just too damn talented to put on the bench, even if he is an asshole who thinks he is above the team. However, if he fails, he’s going to get yet another coach fired. It was likely Brad Childress’s idea to bring in Favre, even after he said no. It was Childress’s idea to throw out all of the franchise dignity and sign Favre. If the Vikings can’t make a deep playoff run, Childress will be gone.

            I wouldn’t be surprised if Favre only said no 2 weeks ago, because he didn’t want to go to training camp, which he does not like, knowing that the job would still be there for him in 2 weeks. That’s just the kind of guy Favre is.

            From a fantasy perspective, Favre is a decent QB1. I’ll update my official quarterback rankings later, but you can feel safe with him as your starting quarterback. He had surgery on the arm that caused him all of the problems the last. He is playing 8 of his games in a dome and we all know that Favre has struggled in the cold since turning 37 or so. He has Adrian Peterson at the running back position to open up passing lanes for him, but he’s going to be overdrafted because of his name, though I am operating from very little data about the average draft position of Favre. He has very little time to gel with his team and learn the playbook, which was supposed to be a crazy wildcat offense with Percy Harvin, Tavaris Jackson, and Adrian Peterson, which would have been deadly. Now we’ll probably see Favre just gun sling it 30 times a game, but still. He’ll have less than 3 weeks to gel with his team.

            Adrian Peterson should see a significant increase in his YPC this season, maybe up to 5 per game, with a true quarterback to open up running lanes, but be careful of Favre changing the offense to a pass heavy offense to suit himself, cutting down on Peterson’s carries, which would be very bad from a fantasy perspective. Bernard Berrian, Favre’s #1 option, is going to get a little bit of a bump up in my wide receiver rankings the next time I update them.

            As for Favre’s future, he has now ruined his reputation even more. In the past 18 months, he has thrown his old team under the bus, putting them in an awkward situation to start last year, gotten Eric Mangini fired, and now essentially barged into Viking camp expecting a starting job, not to mention the fact that he will now play for his former team’s biggest rival (Packers vs. Vikings just got a whole lot more exciting). He’s probably going to get Brad Childress fired in a few months and repeating this will he won’t he thing again next offseason. In the minds of many, he has gone from Hall of Famer to asshole. That’s not to say he’s not a Hall of Famer. He’ll get in 5 years after he finally stops playing, whenever that is. He will also have this whole will he unretire thing follow him probably until he dies. I won’t believe he’s retired until he’s dead (that may or may not be an exaggeration). 

Want to buy Favre's jersey?

Brett Favre Minnesota Vikings Jersey

It is May the 2nd 2009, approximately 3 months into the NFL's off season, and more than 2 and a half months after Brett Favre's retirement. Yet, for some reason, I am still writing a blog about Brett Favre. Why, you may ask. Let's see what's happened in the last week.

Brett Favre was released by the New York Jets, seemingly because the Jets drafted quarterback Mark Sanchez's and needed room on the roster. However, 2 days later, reports came out that Brett Favre asked not once, but twice, to be released by the Jets. Why would a retired quarterback be that persistent in getting out of his contract? One day later, a plane from Minneapolis, whose Vikings are in need of a quarterback, to the small town of Hattiesburg, which Favre resides, which almost gets no planes coming in. Today, Minnesota coach Brad Childress has said that they will discuss the possibilities of Brett Favre, or rather that they won't not discuss Favre, which is code for, we are considering Brett Favre.

"We talk about everything," Childress said almost sarcastically. "So yeah, I'm sure we'll talk about that," in response to a question about Brett Favre on the Viking's first day of minicamp. Brett has remained quiet, but with more than 4 months to go until the season starts, I have to talk about the possibility of Brett to the Vikings.

First, I'll start by saying that it can't hurt the Vikings. Favre is better than Tavaris Jackson, Sage Rosenfels, and John David Booty and, most likely, their isn't a quarterback in that group that is the future franchise quarterback of the Vikings, whose growth the addition of Favre could stunt. The Vikings have a great defense, especially if Kevin and Pat Williams don't get suspended. They have a phenomenal running game which gets better with the addition of right tackle Phil Loadholt. They even have good receivers, with Bernard Berrian, 3rd year player Sidney Rice, and rookie Percy Harvin. They just don't have the quarterback.

Imagine how good those receivers get if someone like Favre comes in. Imagine how good Adrian Peterson gets if he no longer has to deal with guys stacking the box against him, along with the addition of a true right side blocker in Loadholt. Imagine how dangerous that offense is when combined with their excellent defense. They don't play in a good division. The Bears have a new quarterback who will have to learn the system. The Packers still have defensive issues. The Lions still suck. The addition of Favre could make this Vikings team a true title contender.

While the Vikings would be making a great move by bringing in Favre, Favre would be making a fool of himself by coming back again. He does this every year, if you want people to not get annoyed with you, shut up and stay out of the game. Now, let me say, if these are all rumors with no merit, then Favre I apologize for that statement (as if he actually reads my blog). Favre still has fans in Green Bay, why alienate them by coming back with your team's archrival? People still respect you despite the fact that you can't make up your mind, why risk ruining that? Favre will be a Hall of Famer as soon as he is eligible, but if he's wants people to still respect him when he finally does retire in 2010, or 2011, or 2015, then he needs to make up his mind.

Obviously, there is going to be a lot of Favre talk over the next few months, and even if he doesn't come back with the Vikings, or another team, remember the Browns have publicly said they will welcome him, before the season, the Favre talk isn't going to die until he sits a whole year. What happens if Tony Romo, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, or (hopefully not) Tom Brady gets hurt early in the season and has to miss the year. Could Favre pass up those opportunities? My gut now says no. It's up to him to prove me wrong.