NFL Receiving Corps

We all know who the top receivers in the NFL are.  Calvin Johnson.  AJ Green.  Brandon Marshall.  Andre Johnson.  But how about these names?  Nate Burleson.  Mohamed Sanu.  Alshon Jeffery.  Keshawn Martin and DeAndre Hopkins.  Yeah you’ve probably heard of them, and maybe a couple of them are your sleeper picks.  But it is unbelievable how many NFL teams have maybe one elite receiving option, and then a whole lot of nothing after that.  Those first four elite receivers that I mentioned have absolutely no one to take pressure away from them, and except for possibly Megatron they don’t have really elite quarterbacks that could help them make up for lack of receiving depth.  That’s not to say they won’t be knockout star receivers this year.  They will (with the possible exception of Andre Johnson based on health issues), and it won’t matter if the whole defense is guarding them.  They are that good.  But whether you’re talking about maximizing receiver value in fantasy or just winning real-life NFL games, receiving depth is often the difference between a good team and a great team.  The Patriots don’t have it.  They’ll still be good.  But will they be great?  That largely depends on the health of Danny Amendola and Gronk.  As much as quarterback play and the ability to run and defensive toughness matter, a strong, deep receiving corps is really, really important and only a couple of teams in each conference have it.

Young Talent and... Excitement? In Baseball??

As the baseball season drags on and people start to get psyched about the NFL, I find myself completely amazed at how much super young talent there is in the Majors right now.  We all know that baseball’s popularity has dipped with the younger audiences when compared with football or basketball.  The games take longer and are more often meaningless, there is less excitement and suspense, star power doesn’t mean as much, the games don’t work as well on TV, ticket prices have gotten outrageously high, drug scandals… all these reasons and more have caused MLB to lose its undisputed spot as “America’s Sport.”  And yet between this year and last year, the number of young superstars that have broken into the league is astounding.  Just like the NFL had a ridiculous 6 out of 12 playoff teams last year helmed by a first or second year quarterback (including Christian Ponder despite his injury), really good and often playoff-bound teams in baseball are being led by rookies or sophomores throughout both leagues.  If you wanted to make a 25 and and under list, it would be unbelievably long with names like Stephen Strasburg, Jason Heyward, Craig Kimbrel, Matt Harvey, Matt Moore, Justin Upton, and countless others who are just entering their prime and have at least 8-10 years of superstar, face of the franchise play ahead of them.  But I’ll go even deeper than that.  The following list includes 10 players, count ‘em 10, that are 22 years old or younger.  That’s right, if not for ungodly physical and athletic talent, these guys could be getting ready to graduate from college and test the job market.  Instead they’ll be making millions sooner rather than later.  22 years old means that a decade from now, they will be right in the heart of their prime playing years.  They won’t even hit those prime years for at least another 3 or 4 years.  And yet right now, this season they are putting up ridiculous numbers and leading their teams to playoff berths and, in some cases, probably World Series titles.  I can’t remember a time when there was this much incredibly young talent in the Majors.  99% of players aren’t even in the Big Leagues at 22.  So if you are a fan of one of these 10 teams, with 10 young superstars, you are excited about the future.  And that bodes well for the sport of baseball...

NFL Preseason Week 1 Recap

   One of two possible thoughts ran through your mind as week 1 of the NFL preseason went by: either you recognize that it is really crappy football on the whole and has zero impact on the regular season OR, like me, you were giddy with joy to see any football that doesn't involve Canada, no pads, or lingerie.  Actually, just Canada or no pads.  Let's keep the lingerie football league around for now....Regardless, a week of games came and went, so there must be some fantasy notes to take from it, right?  I believe so.  Also, there's nothing else to write about, so deal with it.  Check out my thoughts from each game, analyzing ANY (emphasis on any) possible fantasy prospects.

How The Sophomore Quarterbacks Will Do In 2013 (Guest Article by fanduel.com)

The 2012 NFL draft class was hyped going in as one of the best ever for quarterback prospects. Despite some growing pains every rookie goes through, the class did not disappoint. Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill and Brandon Weeden all became starters for their respective teams. As people prepare for their fantasy football draft in 2013, how will the sophomores project?

Nappers and Wastes

    Sleepers and Busts isn't clever enough for this blog, so today I am going to present you with my nappers and wastes.  I know I know, maybe a little too clever this time, but I couldn't hold back.  We are witnessing the year of the torn ACL.  Every day we check ESPN, cowering in fear that one of our teams' players is today's news, and so far so good unless you're an Eagles, Ravens, Packers, Niners, Seahawks, or Patriots fan.  Okay, so something probably has happened to your team.  Sure that sucks for the real season, but your fantasy season still has hope! Players are going down left and right, but so far they haven't really been fantasy studs.  However, they are mid-level guys that actually will make a difference, even if they seem inconsequential.   Today I'm going to help you find undervalued players, or help you avoid overvalued ones.  Of course you then have to hope they don't get hurt, but hey, I can only do so much.  Let's start with the nappers.

Will's Winning Strategy

Since there’s not a whole lot else going on in the wide world of sports, I thought I would share my fantasy football draft strategy for this year, as Patrick recently did.  Mine will not be as extensive or well thought out, but I have done some mock drafts and this is what I have discovered.  It is by no means an all-encompassing strategy, since it depends on what position you are drafting from, what type of league, how many teams, and many other factors.  If you are in an annoyingly large 12-man league like I am with the first pick, you may not be able to wait all the way until the last pick in the sixth round, #72 to be exact, to get your starting quarterback.  Nonetheless, in the most typical 10-person standard league, here is how I think it breaks down.

NFL Injuries... Oh S--t

Injuries are always a problem in the NFL.  That’s part of the reason we love it.  And why so many people are on its case in recent years.  The sport is incredibly dangerous, especially at the highest level.  Despite all the safeguards that have ‘diluted’ the game, and made it easier to function as a receiver or a quarterback, if you play another position, it is really hard to stay healthy.  And even if you play one of those positions, you are pushing yourself so far physically that injuries are almost becoming more of an inevitability than a risk.  We’ve barely opened camps, and already key players are going down and hurting their teams’ chances, not to mention the many less-known players that we don’t even hear about.  It’s a tough problem and I’m not sure there’s a good solution.  But here are just a few of the most recent victims:

MLB Trade Deadline: NL Edition

This post sort of inadvertently turned into 2, so here is the NL half of my MLB Trade Deadline summary/homestretch prediction.  Some contenders (cough, Cardinals, cough cough, Pirates) were surprisingly quiet.  These clubs have insane amounts of talent in the minors, and yet decided not to make any major acquisitions.  There were rumors all over the place about whom they might go after, but nothing materialized.  I guess these NL Central powerhouses have the best records in the Majors, though, so if they think they can win from within who am I to argue?  All I know is that it made for a fairly boring Trade Deadline in the National League, but let’s look at what did happen.

MLB Trade Deadline: AL Edition

The MLB trade deadline – a lone beacon of hope in the otherwise barren sports landscape that is late July.  It wasn’t the most exciting deadline of all time, with a notoriously weak market for hitting, but there were plenty of important moves to keep fans on their toes.  As the calendar turns over to August 1^st, we are finally hitting that all-important homestretch of the baseball season.  However your team looks now, that’s pretty much how it’s going to look for the rest of this year and into the playoffs.  Sure there’s the potential for injuries.  And returns from injury.  And those pesky Biogenesis suspensions.  Ok, never mind, there is actually still a lot that could change.  But nonetheless, we can finally sort of maybe a little bit whittle down who is looking good going into the home stretch, who is not looking so good, and possibly make some sort of prediction.  Let’s break the big trades down…

Thoughts

   Reader(s), I want to apologize for being so quiet recently.  Aside from the fact that I divulged my fantasy strategy in roughly a week about two months before football begins, there just isn't too much going on in sports right now.  I hate to disregard the MLB as a whole, but nothing that interesting is happening other than the whole Biogenesis nonsense.  I don't have a particular topic I want to talk about today, but just a heap of thoughts that I need to put somewhere....probably right here.  Whether it be fixing my baseball predictions (some of which look so foolish right now), or discussing the imminent NFL pre-season, I have some thoughts you should read.