2011 Plain Dealer Fantasy Guide

Transcription

1 2011 Plain Dealer Fantasy Guide The Plain Dealer Top 200 Players, pages 2-4 QBs, RBs, WRs, TEs rankings page 5 Kickers, Sleepers page 6 Sleepers worth making Keepers page 7 Individual and Team Defense page 8

2 The Plain Dealer Top 200 *Denotes rookie RB Adrian Peterson MIN 1, RB Arian Foster HOU 2, RB Chris Johnson TEN 1, RB Ray Rice BAL 1, RB Michael Turner ATL 1, RB Jamaal Charles KC 1, WR Andre Johnson HOU 1, RB Rashard Mendenhall PIT 1, WR Calvin Johnson DET 1, RB Maurice Jones-Drew JAX 1, QB Aaron Rodgers GB 4, WR Larry Fitzgerald ARI 1, WR Roddy White ATL 1, RB LeSean McCoy PHI 1, WR Vincent Jackson SD QB Drew Brees NO 4, RB Frank Gore SF 1, RB Steven Jackson STL 1, WR Miles Austin DAL 1, RB Darren McFadden OAK WR Hakeem Nicks NYG 1, RB Matt Forte CHI 1, QB Philip Rivers SD 4, QB Tom Brady NE 3, WR Greg Jennings GB 1, WR Mike Wallace PIT 1, QB Michael Vick PHI 1, RB DeAngelo Williams CAR WR Dwayne Bowe KC 1, RB Cedric Benson CIN 1, RB LeGarrette Blount TB 1, RB Felix Jones DAL 1, TE Antonio Gates SD WR Mike Williams TB WR DeSean Jackson PHI 1, QB Peyton Manning IND 4, WR Reggie Wayne IND 1, WR Brandon Marshall MIA 1, QB Tony Romo DAL 1, WR Santonio Holmes NYJ RB Peyton Hillis CLE 1, WR Brandon Lloyd DEN 1, RB Shonn Greene NYJ RB Ahmad Bradshaw NYG 1, WR Marques Colston NO 1, RB Beanie Wells ARI RB Fred Jackson BUF 1, RB Tim Hightower WAS WR Steve Johnson BUF 1, TE Jermichael Finley GB TE Vernon Davis SF WR Anquan Boldin BAL RB Marshawn Lynch SEA TE Dallas Clark IND WR Dez Bryant DAL RB Ryan Mathews SD RB *Mark Ingram NO RB *Daniel Thomas MIA TE Jason Witten DAL 1, RB Jahvid Best DET 1, WR Percy Harvin MIN WR Wes Welker NE WR Kenny Britt TEN RB Jonathan Stewart CAR RB Knowshon Moreno DEN 1, WR Sidney Rice SEA WR Chad Ochocinco NE WR Steve Smith CAR RB Ryan Grant GB WR Pierre Garcon IND QB Ben Roethlisberger PIT 3, QB Matt Schaub HOU 4, WR Mario Manningham NYG WR Malcolm Floyd SD WR Austin Collie IND QB Matt Ryan ATL 3, WR Jeremy Maclin PHI 1, RB Joseph Addai IND TE Jimmy Graham NO RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis NE 1, RB James Starks GB RB C.J Spiller BUF WR Michael Crabtree SF TE Marcedes Lewis JAX WR Braylon Edwards SF WR Santana Moss WAS 1, QB Eli Manning NYG 4, RB Brandon Jacobs NYG 882 9

3 The Plain Dealer Top 200 (continued) *Denotes rookie WR *Julio Jones ATL RB Michael Bush OAK RB Mike Tolbert SD RB Ryan Torain WAS WR Plaxico Burress NYJ QB Josh Freeman TB 3, QB Joe Flacco BAL 3, WR Mike Thomas JAX TE Kellen Winslow TB RB *Roy Helu WAS RB Pierre Thomas NO QB Jay Cutler CHI 3, WR Lance Moore NO WR *A.J Green CIN WR Hines Ward PIT WR Mike Sims-Walker STL QB Matt Stafford DET WR Roy Williams CHI RB Willis McGahee DEN QB Sam Bradford STL 3, TE Owen Daniels HOU WR Lee Evans BAL TE Tony Gonzalez ATL WR Mike Williams SEA RB Reggie Bush MIA WR Johnny Knox CHI WR Steve Smith PHI WR Deion Branch NE RB *DeMarco Murray DAL TE Brandon Pettigrew DET TE Rob Gronkowski NE RB *Stevan Ridley NE WR Jacoby Ford OAK TE Chris Cooley WAS WR Davone Bess MIA WR Earl Bennett CHI RB Ronnie Brown PHI WR Jordy Nelson GB RB *Shane Vereen NE RB Ricky Williams BAL TE Aaron Hernandez NE RB Jason Snelling ATL WR Robert Meachem NO RB Montario Hardesty CLE WR Jerome Simpson CIN WR Anthony Armstrong WAS TE Dustin Keller NYJ WR Louis Murphy OAK WR Danario Alexander STL TE Zach Miller SEA RB Bernard Scott CIN RB LaDainian Tomlinson NYJ 1, RB Thomas Jones KC 1, RB Marion Barber CHI RB Rashad Jennings JAX WR Terrell Owens FA WR Jerricho Cotchery PIT WR James Jones GB RB Darren Sproles NO QB Matt Cassel KC 3, WR Jabar Gaffney WAS QB Kevin Kolb ARI 1, WR Donald Driver GB TE Greg Olsen CAR TE Heath Miller PIT TE Todd Heap ARI TE Jared Cook TEN RB Delone Carter IND R R RB Jerome Harrison DET DEF Packers GB QB Kyle Orton DEN 3, DEF Steelers PIT WR Brandon Tate NE RB *Ben Tate TEN WR Devin Hester CHI RB Justin Forsett SEA WR Danny Amendola STL WR Josh Morgan SF RB *Kendall Hunter SF WR Ben Obomanu SEA DEF Eagles PHI DEF Jets NYJ QB Mark Sanchez NYJ 3, DEF Saints NO QB David Garrard JAX 3, DEF Patriots NE WR Nate Burleson DET TE Jermaine Gresham CIN 471 4

4 The Plain Dealer Top 200 (continued) *Denotes rookie TE Visanthe Shiancoe MIN QB Jason Campbell OAK 2, TE Brent Celek PHI QB Colt McCoy CLE 1, TE Ben Watson CLE DEF Ravens BAL QB Ryan Fitzpatrick BUF 3, TE Kevin Boss OAK DEF Chiefs KC QB Donovan McNabb MIN 3, TE Tony Moeaki KC DEF Chargers SD DEF Falcons ATL DEF Lions DET QB *Cam Newton CAR DEF Giants NYG QB Chad Henne MIA 3, QB Matt Hasselbeck TEN 3, TE Travis Beckum NYG TE Ed Dickson BAL QB Tarvaris Jackson SEA QB Alex Smith SF 2, TE Anthony Fasano MIA DEF Bears CHI

5 QBs Ultimate Fantasy Guide RBs WRs 1 8 Aaron Rodgers GB 2 11 Drew Brees NO 3 6 Philip Rivers SD 4 7 Tom Brady NE 5 7 Michael Vick PHI 6 11 Peyton Manning IND 7 5 Tony Romo DAL 8 11 Ben Roethlisberger PIT 9 6 Matt Schaub HOU 10 8 Matt Ryan ATL 11 7 Eli Manning NYG 12 8 Josh Freeman TB 13 5 Joe Flacco BAL 14 8 Jay Cutler CHI 15 9 Matt Stafford DET 16 5 Sam Bradford STL 17 6 Matt Cassel KC 18 6 Kevin Kolb ARI 19 6 Kyle Orton DEN 20 8 Mark Sanchez NYJ 21 9 David Garrard JAX 22 8 Jason Campbell OAK 23 5 Colt McCoy CLE 24 7 Ryan Fitzpatrick BUF 25 9 Donovan McNabb MIN 26 9 *Cam Newton CAR 27 5 Chad Henne MIA 28 6 Matt Hasselbeck TEN 29 6 Tarvaris Jackson SEA 30 7 Alex Smith SF 1 9 Adrian Peterson MIN 2 11 Arian Foster HOU 3 6 Chris Johnson TEN 4 5 Ray Rice BAL 5 8 Michael Turner ATL 6 6 Jamaal Charles KC 7 11 Rashard Mendenhall PIT 8 9 Maurice Jones-Drew JAX 9 7 LeSean McCoy PHI 10 7 Frank Gore SF 11 5 Steven Jackson STL 12 8 Darren McFadden OAK 13 8 Matt Forte CHI 14 9 DeAngelo Williams CAR 15 7 Cedric Benson CIN 16 8 LeGarrette Blount TB 17 5 Felix Jones DAL 18 5 Peyton Hillis CLE 19 8 Shonn Greene NYJ 20 7 Ahmad Bradshaw NYG 21 6 Beanie Wells ARI 22 7 Fred Jackson BUF 23 5 Tim Hightower WAS 24 6 Marshawn Lynch SEA 25 6 Ryan Mathews SD *Mark Ingram NO 27 5 *Daniel Thomas MIA 28 9 Jahvid Best DET 29 9 Jonathan Stewart CAR 30 6 Knowshon Moreno DEN TEs 1 11 Andre Johnson HOU 2 9 Calvin Johnson DET 3 6 Larry Fitzgerald ARI 4 8 Roddy White ATL 5 6 Vincent Jackson SD 6 5 Miles Austin DAL 7 7 Hakeem Nicks NYG 8 8 Greg Jennings GB 9 11 Mike Wallace PIT 10 6 Dwayne Bowe KC 11 8 Mike Williams TB 12 7 DeSean Jackson PHI Reggie Wayne IND 14 5 Brandon Marshall MIA 15 8 Santonio Holmes NYJ 16 6 Brandon Lloyd DEN Marques Colston NO 18 7 Steve Johnson BUF 19 5 Anquan Boldin BAL 20 5 Dez Bryant DAL 21 9 Percy Harvin MIN 22 7 Wes Welker NE 23 6 Kenny Britt TEN 24 6 Sidney Rice SEA 25 7 Chad Ochocinco NE 26 9 Steve Smith CAR Pierre Garcon IND 28 7 Mario Manningham NYG 29 6 Malcolm Floyd SD Austin Collie IND 1 6 Antonio Gates SD 2 8 Jermichael Finley GB 3 7 Vernon Davis SF 4 11 Dallas Clark IND 5 5 Jason Witten DAL 6 11 Jimmy Graham NO 7 9 Marcedes Lewis JAX 8 8 Kellen Winslow TB 9 11 Owen Daniels HOU 10 8 Tony Gonzalez ATL 11 9 Brandon Pettigrew DET 12 7 Rob Gronkowski NE 13 5 Chris Cooley WAS 14 7 Aaron Hernandez NE 15 8 Dustin Keller NYJ 16 6 Zach Miller SEA 17 9 Greg Olsen CAR Heath Miller PIT 19 6 Todd Heap ARI 20 6 Jared Cook TEN 21 7 Jermaine Gresham CIN 22 9 Visanthe Shiancoe MIN 23 7 Brent Celek PHI 24 5 Ben Watson CLE 25 8 Kevin Boss OAK 26 6 Tony Moeaki KC 27 7 Travis Beckum NYG 28 5 Ed Dickson BAL 29 5 Anthony Fasano MIA 30 9 Jeremy Shockey CAR

6 Kickers Ultimate Fantasy Guide Sleepers Pts Pts 1 8 Sebastian Janikowski OAK Robbie Gould CHI Stephen Gostkowski NE Lawrence Tynes NYG Nate Kaeding SD Josh Scobee JAC Mason Crosby GB David Buehler DAL Neil Rackers HOU Jay Feely ARI Josh Brown STL Connor Barth TB Matt Bryant ATL Olindo Mare CAR Billy Cundiff BAL Jeff Reed SEA Rob Bironas TEN Ryan Succop KC Dan Carpenter MIA Graham Gano WAS David Akers SF Ryan Longwell MIN Adam Vinatieri IND Matt Prater DEN *Alex Henery PHI R 29 9 Jason Hanson DET Garrett Hartley NO Phil Dawson CLE Nick Folk NYJ Rian Lindell BUF Shaun Suisham PIT Mike Nugent CIN 62 Data provided by The Sports Xchange Pos. Player Team QB Jason Campbell OAK QB Josh Freeman TB QB Colt McCoy CLE QB Kyle Orton DEN QB Mark Sanchez NYJ RB Tim Hightower WAS RB Felix Jones DAL RB Stevan Ridley NE RB *Daniel Thomas MIA RB Beanie Wells ARI TE Jared Cook TEN TE Fred Davis WAS TE Ed Dickson BAL TE Jimmy Graham NO TE Tony Moeaki KC WR Jacoby Ford OAK WR Steve Johnson BUF WR *Greg Little CLE WR Mike Sims-Walker STL WR Mike Thomas JAX Rookies Position Player Team RB Mark Ingram NO RB Daniel Thomas MIA WR Julio Jones ATL RB Roy Helu WAS WR A.J Green CIN RB DeMarco Murray DAL RB Shane Vereen NE RB Ben Tate TEN RB Kendall Hunter SF QB Cam Newton CAR Browns Position Player Pos. Rk. RB Peyton Hillis 18 RB Montario Hardesty 51 QB Colt McCoy 23 TE Ben Watson 24

7 Find your sleepers, make them keepers Ladd Biro Special to The Plain Dealer This time of year, fantasy enthusiasts tend to obsess over their first-round draft pick. Do you go with Adrian Peterson or Chris Johnson? What about Arian Foster? Is the middle of the round too early for Aaron Rodgers? Should you grab an elite receiver at the end? While these decisions are important, you d be better served expending more mental energy on the middle rounds, where championship fantasy rosters are built. After all, while it s interesting to debate whether Foster merits a top three pick this year, many of those who stole him in the fifth round or later last season rode him all the way to a title. Fantasy veterans know the secret to great drafting is not simply selecting the best players available, but taking them no earlier than necessary. You may share my belief that Jacoby Ford is on the verge of a breakout season; but you re hurting yourself and, worse yet, begging for ridicule from your opponents if you pull the trigger too early. Who are this year s hidden gems? Let s take a look at my Sleeper Picks of 2011, broken down by position. (Note: ADP means average draft position, and indicates where the player is typically selected in standard leagues, according to mock draft websites. Compare this to the Plain Dealer Top 200 rankings and my Fantasy Fool Top 100 rankings.) Quarterbacks Josh Freeman, Buccaneers (ADP: 70, PD 200: 94, Fool 100: 33). There should be nothing sleepy about last year s seventhbest fantasy quarterback, but Freeman is still flying under the radar in many circles. With a sterling TD:INT ratio, and a talented group of young receivers, the third-year passer has elite status in his sights. Kyle Orton, Broncos (ADP: 148, PD 200: 159, Fool 100: 66). First he was headed to Miami, then to the bench in favor of Tim Tebow. Now he s locked into the starting job that made him a fantasy stud over the first half of last season. Though John Fox will run a more conservative offense, Orton should be money early on again, if not all season. Running backs LeGarrette Blount, Buccaneers (ADP: 33, PD 200: 31, Fool 100: 15). He had a breakout rookie season, but Blount still represents excellent value at his current draft position. He faces virtually no competition for touches now that Cadillac Williams is with the Rams, and he s a bruising runner who should find the end zone nearly every week. C.J. Spiller, Bills (ADP: 105, PD 200: 82, Fool 100: 92). He disappointed a lot of owners who wasted an early pick on him after his sensational preseason run last year. But with only Fred Jackson standing in the way, the Bills 2010 first-round draft selection will get every chance to earn a full committee share, if not a starting job. Bernard Scott, Bengals (ADP: 210, PD 200: 139, Fool 100: NR). Cedric Benson is not the runner he once was, and his understudy has been assured more touches this season. A changing of the guard is underway in Cincinnati, so Scott is more than just a handcuff. He s the future. Wide receivers Austin Collie, WR, Colts (ADP: 67, PD 200: 75, Fool 100: 27). He was sitting atop the 2010 WR rankings when he got a concussion in Week 6. The threat of another blow to the head has depressed Collie s value significantly, but those who take the risk could be rewarded with an elite wideout. Mario Manningham, Giants (ADP: 73, PD 200: 73; Fool 100: 58). With Steve Smith wearing an Eagles jersey, Manningham ascends to the No. 2 job in a passing attack that has consistently produced valuable fantasy receivers. Mike Sims-Walker, Rams (ADP: 113, PD 200: 104, Fool 100: 69). With the dearth of talent and experience amongst St. Louis receivers, Sims-Walker can easily become Sam Bradford s go-to guy. Given the young gunslinger s potential, that could be a lucrative job. Plaxico Burress, Jets (ADP: 122, PD 200: 93, Fool 100: 78). He is the presumed starter opposite Santonio Holmes, and he could quickly become the team s most prolific red-zone target. Burress should make an immediate impact in this offense. Lance Moore, Saints (ADP: 118, PD 200: 101, Fool 100: 79). While your competitors may be locked in on Robert Meachem, Moore is positioned to be the true No. 2 wideout in New Orleans. Marques Colston s gimpy knee could even give Moore a shot at the lead role on occasion. Jacoby Ford, Raiders (ADP: 112, PD 200: 121, Fool 100: 84). Ford showed flashes of brilliance last season, and he is the only Oakland receiver worth drafting. If he gets decent quarterback play, he could vault up the ranks. Tight ends Owen Daniels, Texans (ADP: 77, PD 200: 109, Fool 100: 40). Returning from his third torn ACL, the risk is obvious. But a healthy Daniels is clearly Matt Schaub s second-favorite target, giving him perhaps the most upside among second-tier tight ends. Brandon Pettigrew, Lions (ADP: 126, PD 200: 118, Fool 100: 82). If Matt Stafford could just stay on the field, he and his young tight end could put up great numbers together. Pettigrew has all the tools to be an elite tight end. Kickers Alex Henery, Eagles (ADP: 196, PD2 00: NR, Fool 100: NR). When perennial fantasy star David Akers became a 49er, he left his plum job to a rookie who set the NCAA record for career field-goal accuracy (89.5 percent) at Nebraska. Ladd Biro was voted the 2010 Football Writer of the Year by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. Follow all his advice at the Fantasy Fools blog (fantasy-fools. blogspot.com), on Facebook and via Twitter (@ ladd_biro).

8 Top 100 individual defenders Rk. Bye Pos. Player Team 1 7 LB Patrick Willis SF 2 9 LB Jon Beason CAR 3 5 LB James Laurinaitis STL 4 8 LB Curtis Lofton ATL 5 7 LB Jerod Mayo NE 6 5 LB Ray Lewis BAL 7 11 LB Lawrence Timmons PIT 8 9 LB Paul Posluszny JAX 9 8 LB Brian Urlacher CHI 10 6 LB Derrick Johnson KC 11 9 LB Stephen Tulloch DET 12 9 LB Chad Greenway MIN 13 8 LB Desmond Bishop GB LB DeMeco Ryans HOU 15 5 LB London Fletcher WAS 16 6 LB Barrett Ruud TEN 17 6 LB David Hawthorne SEA 18 7 LB Rey Maualuga CIN 19 8 LB Lance Briggs CHI LB James Harrison PIT 21 7 LB Jamar Chaney PHI LB Brian Cushing HOU 23 8 LB David Harris NYJ 24 5 LB Karlos Dansby MIA 25 8 LB Rolando McClain OAK 26 7 DL Justin Tuck NYG 27 5 LB D Qwell Jackson CLE 28 6 LB D.J. Williams DEN 29 5 LB DeMarcus Ware DAL LB Jonathan Vilma NO 31 6 DB Eric Berry KC 32 6 LB Daryl Washington ARI 33 9 LB DeAndre Levy DET 34 8 DL Julius Peppers CHI 35 7 DL Trent Cole PHI 36 9 DL Jared Allen MIN DB Troy Polamalu PIT 38 5 DL Terrell Suggs BAL 39 9 DL Ndamukong Suh DET 40 5 DB LaRon Landry WAS 41 5 DB Ed Reed BAL LB Gary Brackett IND 43 8 DB Charles Woodson GB 44 8 LB Mason Foster TB 45 5 DB T.J. Ward CLE 46 5 LB Kevin Burnett MIA 47 9 DL Charles Johnson CAR 48 8 LB Clay Matthews GB DL Mario Williams HOU 50 9 LB E.J. Henderson MIN 51 7 LB Nick Barnett BUF 52 7 LB Mathias Kiwanuka NYG DB Roman Harper NO 54 8 DB Tyvon Branch OAK DL Robert Mathis IND 56 6 DB Earl Thomas SEA 57 9 LB James Anderson CAR 58 5 DB Yeremiah Bell MIA 59 9 LB Thomas Davis CAR 60 9 LB Clint Session JAX 61 7 DL Osi Umenyiora NYG DB Antoine Bethea IND 63 8 LB Geno Hayes TB 64 8 LB A.J. Hawk GB 65 5 LB Bradie James DAL 66 6 LB Takeo Spikes SD 67 6 DB Eric Weddle SD 68 7 DB Patrick Chung NE 69 9 DB Louis Delmas DET LB James Farrior PIT 71 6 DB Michael Griffin TEN 72 6 DL Elvis Dumervil DEN 73 7 LB Kirk Morrison BUF 74 5 DB Joe Haden CLE 75 8 DL John Abraham ATL 76 7 DL Justin Smith SF 77 9 DB Charles Godfrey CAR 78 6 DB Cortland Finnegan TEN 79 9 DB Antoine Winfield MIN 80 6 DL Calais Campbell ARI 81 5 LB Rocky McIntosh WAS 82 5 DL Chris Long STL LB LaMarr Woodley PIT 84 6 LB Tamba Hali KC 85 8 DB Tramon Williams GB 86 7 DB Devin McCourty NE 87 6 DL Darnell Dockett ARI 88 5 DL James Hall STL 89 9 LB Daryl Smith JAX 90 9 DL Kyle Vanden Bosch DET 91 5 DB DeAngelo Hall WAS 92 5 LB Cameron Wake MIA 93 6 DB Kerry Rhodes ARI 94 8 DB Brent Grimes ATL 95 6 LB Stewart Bradley ARI 96 8 LB Kamerion Wimbley OAK 97 7 DL Carlos Dunlap CIN 98 5 DL Haloti Ngata BAL 99 6 LB *Von Miller DEN DL Ray Edwards ATL Team D Rk. Bye Team Top Defender 1 8 Packers Desmond Bishop 2 11 Steelers Lawrence Timmons 3 7 Eagles Jamar Chaney 4 8 Jets David Harris 5 11 Saints Jonathan Vilma 6 7 Patriots Jerod Mayo 7 5 Ravens Ray Lewis 8 6 Chiefs Derrick Johnson 9 6 Chargers Takeo Spikes 10 8 Falcons Curtis Lofton 11 9 Lions Stephen Tulloch 12 7 Giants Justin Tuck 13 8 Bears Brian Urlacher 14 5 Dolphins Karlos Dansby 15 5 Cowboys DeMarcus Ware ers Patrick Willis 17 5 Rams James Laurinaitis 18 8 Bucs Mason Foster 19 8 Raiders Rolando McClain 20 6 Broncos D.J. Williams Colts Gary Brackett Texans DeMeco Ryans 23 9 Vikings Chad Greenway 24 7 Bengals Rey Maualuga 25 6 Seahawks David Hawthorne 26 5 Redskins London Fletcher 27 7 Bills Nick Barnett 28 6 Titans Barrett Ruud 29 9 Panthers Jon Beason 30 9 Jaguars Paul Posluszny 31 5 Browns D Qwell Jackson 32 6 Cardinals Daryl Washington