Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

There are the things you think you know about Oakland Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell, and then there are the things you should know. The much-beleaguered quarterback never quite found his place with the Washington Redskins because he didn’t take the team to the playoffs (Todd Collins was the starter when Washington made the playoffs in 2007), didn’t have a big breakout season and wasn’t flashy. Washington won just 18 games in three seasons with Campbell as the starting quarterback and never more than eight in a season. Cue up the firing of head coach Jim Zorn, the hiring of Mike Shanahan to replace him and the trade for former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. Just like that, Campbell’s fate was sealed. He was traded to Oakland during the NFL Draft for a fourth-round pick in 2012.

So much blame was placed on Campbell for Washington’s struggles. Was that fair? Let’s analyze why it was not.

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Back in 2007, the Philadelphia Eagles made some interesting decisions on draft day. They traded away their first round draft pick (number 26 overall) to their hated archrival, the Dallas Cowboys, allowing them to select linebacker Anthony Spencer out of Purdue. Everyone wondered why Philadelphia would trade down, especially to let Dallas get a skilled player who would haunt them twice a year.

The decision will finally be made clear this season. After years and years of speculation, the Eagles pulled the trigger in trading their much-maligned starting quarterback Donovan McNabb (oddly enough to another rival in the Washington Redskins). The reason they could trade away McNabb is due to the maturation of their first pick of the 2007 draft in the second round (36th overall), Kevin Kolb out of Houston.

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With Aaron Rodgers at quarterback for Green Bay many people look at the Packers as a passing offense and when you consider the fact that Rodgers has passed for more than 8,400 yards and 58 touchdowns over the past two seasons it’s hard to argue that point. Except as many teams have learned over the past three seasons this team has one heck of a running back for opposing defenses to worry about. Ryan Grant has been the team’s primary back since the 2007 season after he was picked up from the New York Giants.

Over his three seasons as the primary ball carrier in Green Bay, Grant has racked up 3,412 yards and 23 touchdowns in 37 starts. His best season came last year when he rushed the ball 282 times for 1,253 yards and 11 touchdowns. Grant finished the year strong as he scored six of his 11 touchdowns during the final four weeks of the season, which provided excellent production for fantasy football owners during a playoff run. In 2009 he set career highs in rushing yards and touchdowns, while adding 25 receptions for 197 yards.

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All Donovan McNabb did on the field was lead the Philadelphia Eagles to the playoffs in six of the last eight seasons. However, McNabb always surrounded himself with plenty of controversy, and this past off-season, the Eagles had had enough, dealing McNabb for pennies to the dollar to division rival, the Washington Redskins. Most would agree that it makes no sense to trade a proven winner to a team in their own division, but the Eagles must truly believe in young, unproven quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Now, McNabb starts his second career (albeit probably a short one) in the nation’s capital. In years past, he has undoubtedly been a fantasy starter in the most shallow of leagues. The West Coast Offense has played a big part in McNabb’s fantasy prospects, but that era is over for the “Chunky Soup King.” The Redskins and new Head Coach Mike Shanahan are a team built on the run, as evidenced by their running back platoon of Clinton Portis, Willie Parker and Larry Johnson. Or in other words, three running backs that each have at least one 1,000-yard campaign under his belt.

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After leading the Baltimore Ravens to the AFC Championship game as a rookie in two years ago, quarterback Joe Flacco took a step forward last season from a statistical standpoint. Though the Ravens didn’t make it back to the conference championship game last season Flacco posted some impressive numbers, throwing for 3,613 yards with 21 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, a 63.1 completion percentage and an average yards per attempt of 7.2. Compare those numbers to his rookie season, when he threw for 2,971 yards with 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, a 60.0 completion percentage and an average yards per attempt of 6.9, and you see he has made improvements across the board. Looking at other numbers from 2008 to 2009 you see Flacco took more sacks last year but for less lost yardage, fumbled less and had a better quarterback rating.

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The 2008 NFL Draft was a golden one at the running back position. Two players taken at the position have been to Pro Bowls, and seven of the first 10 backs taken have already compiled at least one season of 1,000 rushing yards. But the first running back taken, Darren McFadden at fourth overall, isn’t one of them. He’s also one of just three running backs among the first 13 taken not to have scored more than five touchdowns, along with Tashard Choice and Ryan Torain. Those players are also the only ones with fewer career rushing yards than McFadden’s 856, and Choice is close, with 821.

So, what happened? Certainly, injuries have played a part, with McFadden missing a total of seven games over the last two seasons. He’s also had to deal with a poor offensive line and one of the worst quarterbacks ever to play the game in JaMarcus Russell, so his shortcomings on the field aren’t entirely his fault. But still, more was expected out of a player that was so dynamic coming out of college and that most figured a sure bet to be a superstar.

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Before the 2009 season even started, there were rumblings around the NFL that wide receiver Brandon Marshall would be traded from the Denver Broncos. The reasons? Marshall wanted a big time pay raise and was in no way chummy with new head coach, Josh McDaniels. But, holding onto Marshall, the Broncos rattled off 6 straight wins, and everything seemed heavenly. However, the downward spiral began yet again, and after missing the playoffs due to a late season collapse, the Marshall trade talks picked back up. After a lot of speculation all off-season, again, the wide receiver was finally dealt to the Miami Dolphins.

We all know the reasons why he was traded, and none of it was for his on field performance. After all, Marshall played some of his best football of late in 2009 with totals of 101 receptions for 1,120 yards and a career high 10 touchdowns. It was the 3rd straight year Marshall had over 100 catches and 1,100 yards. He is young (just turned 26 in March) and keeps getting better every year. But, the fact that Marshall wanted to be paid like the best wide out in the game and had an attitude that could ruin a locker room was too much for Denver to handle.

Now, Marshall goes to the Dolphins, a team that has had little semblance of a passing game in recent years - largely because they have missed the threat of a big play wide receiver. Still, the question remains as to whether Miami will now open up the offense and throw more, or if they’ll continue to hand the rock off to Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, who still remain in the backfield. The answer to that question will determine Marshall’s fantasy value for 2010.

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After two straight Biletnikoff Awards for being the best receiver in college football, Michael Crabtree took the leap into the NFL following only two seasons as a Texas Tech Red Raider. He compiled otherworldly numbers in the process with 231 catches, 3,127 yards, and 41 touchdowns. Those remarkable numbers had fantasy football owners salivating when he was taken by the San Francisco 49ers with the 10th overall pick in 2009. 

Expected to be immediately thrown in as a starting wide receiver, Crabtree failed to sign with the Niners until Week 5 of the season and therefore his 2009 numbers should be more of an asterisk on his resume than what to expect in 2010. With a full training camp and extra time with starting quarterback Alex Smith, Crabtree’s numbers can only improve from his 48 catch, 625 yard, two touchdown campaign. 

Even though Crabtree is not known for his blazing Darrius Heyward-Bey speed (the only WR drafted ahead of him in 2009), he is a polished receiver and route-runner, and has an outstanding work ethic (don’t pay any attention to the fiasco he caused prior to signing). 

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Running back Brian Westbrook was both tantalizing and frustrating to fantasy football owners during his years with the Philadelphia Eagles. When healthy, he was a true double threat who could rack up points running the ball or catching it out of the backfield, which only cause his constant nagging injuries to lead to much hair-pulling and consternation. And, truth be told, it was impossible to know when and if he was ever really healthy. So, some relief comes in the fact that Westbrook is no longer an Eagle, and our fantasy focus can turn to another multi-purpose running back in Philly – LeSean McCoy.

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After a fantastic 2009 season for Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, there was reason to believe he had once again risen to fantasy stardom. If you remember, in 2007, he threw for 3,154 yards and 32 touchdowns, leaving many to believe he was a top ten quarterback that was ready to explode onto the fantasy scene. He followed that up in 2008 with better yardage totals (3,301), but far worse touchdown numbers (17). Things, though, turned around again for Roethlisberger in 2009, when he threw for a whopping 4,328 yards and 26 touchdowns. It was his best season ever as a Pittsburgh Steeler and put him in the mix to once again be a top ten quarterback option for 2010 (he was 7th overall in passing yards in the NFL). Then, you see what Pittsburgh does in the off-season, allowing Willie Parker to walk and bringing in wide receivers Antwaan Randle-El and Arnaz Battle - moves that look to improve Big Ben’s situation. Things seemed like they couldn’t go better for Big Ben and fantasy football owners alike.

However, Roethlisberger found trouble and the kind that could ruin a season. He was accused of sexually assaulting a 20 year-old college girl in a Georgia night club. Although there were no charges formally laid upon Roethlisberger, due to the black eye it created for the Steelers and the NFL (plus yet another incident involving the quarterback), a suspension was going to be likely. After meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Big Ben was given a 6-game suspension with a mandatory behavioral evaluation. If he complies and nothing else happens, Roethlisberger can see the suspension reduced to 4 games. If he messes up or doesn’t cooperate, the suspension could be lengthened.

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