Philadelphia Eagles

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first.  The Eagles are my and most people’s favorites to win the NFC in 2011.  This is largely due to the ABSURD amount of talent added in free agency over the past week, which includes Ronnie Brown, Cullen Jenkins, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (DRC), Nnamdi Asomugha and Jason Babin.  Jenkins is a wall of a defensive tackle with a particular talent for getting his hands up into the passing lanes and batting down short passes (he holds the Green Bay Franchise record for this statistic in a single season by a D-lineman with 9 in the 2007 season). Rodgers-Cromartie is a very solid Cornerback that has been getting better each year since drafted 16^th overall in 2008.  He has made a name for himself by coming up with big plays in crucial situations, namely a 99 yard INT return for a touchdown against the Rams in his rookie season which secured the division title for the Cards. Jason Babin was also brought back to Philly this offseason through free agency off the heels of a 12.5 sack season in 2010. The least attractive addition to the roster for the Eagles is the most recent, Ronnie Brown.  Don’t get me wrong, Brown makes the team better and will probably handle short yardage and goal line touches.  But, with all the blockbuster players picked up on defense, its easy to barely acknowledge this one. Lastly, the biggest surprise acquisition for Andy Reid’s ball club was Nnamdi Asomugha.  Asomugha is in most people’s eyes the 2^nd best cornerback in the entire league.  With three cornerbacks that are talented enough to be the top guy on any team in the league and a formidable pass rush the Eagles defense is, on paper, the best in the NFL for the upcoming 2011 season.  It is difficult to see what could stand in the way of this team’s success apart from a slew of injuries.

Kenny Britt

If we set aside all the off-field issues and pretend that Britt would play in all 16 games, I would have him as a top 15 wide receiver this season.  Now he will be facing some disciplinary actions and I expect him to see a four game suspension and have it reduced down to two.  He was not likely to crack my top 20 at WR given Jake Locker looked to be the starting QB for this seasuon but now that Matthew Hasselbeck is in Tennessee, Britt has a QB that can accurately and reliably hit an open receiver.  Last season, when Britt was on the field, he looked like a man among boys in what was otherwise a very pedestrian passing attack. Britt got hurt in week 8 and did not return until week 14, but despite missing all this time to injury, he still amassed 775 yards and 9 TDs.  Most impressive to me was how much more successful the Titans were with him on the field.  The first 7 games of the season were all played with Britt in the lineup and the Titans were sitting at 5-2.  Starting the week that Britt got hurt, the Titans slid on a 6 game losing streak.  This was more to do with poor QB play from Rusty Smith and Kerry Collins, but Britt is by far the best receiving threat the Titans have on their roster and defenses are forced to keep 8 in the box in an effort to contain Chris Johnson.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cards were in a tough spot this offseason.  They wanted to do everything they could to make Larry Fitzgerald happy, so that he would not leave the team after the 2011 season.  In order to do that, they needed to get him a QB.  The draft did not provide this for them, but a trade with Philadelphia for Kevin Kolb did.  He cost them Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a 2^nd round pick, but you don’t often get a potential franchise QB cheap, so it was worth the risk.  DRC was expendable after the drafting of Patrick Peterson and in the sub-par NFC West; the Cards are playoff contenders again.

Donovan McNabb

I don’t think the Vikings are going to be in the running for the division title, but with Adrian Peterson carrying the load and a solid defense to keep the offense on the field, McNabb is able to prove that he was not the problem in Washington last season.  Losing Sidney Rice hurts but with Roy Williams, Johnny Knox and Devin Hester at receiver, McNabb has a better receiving corp than many of his pro bowl seasons in Philly.  Fantasy owners shouldn’t expect McNabb to be more than a QB2, but Vikings fans can be happy to have someone who can potentially take them back to the playoffs.

Buffalo Bills

If you are familiar with me, you know I am a big Bills fan.  I might be just excited for my team here, but Buffalo made two very nice acquisitions this week in Free Agency. Unfortunately, Buffalo lost Paul Posluszny early in the Free Agency period to Jacksonville, but Pos is a better 4-3 middle linebacker than he is ILB in the 3-4 and since the Bills are still adjusting their personnel to suit the new scheme, this won’t likely hurt too bad.  Especially after drafting Kelvin Sheppard and signing Nick Barnett, they should be okay at ILB.  The Bills are also set up to take serious advantage of the new 3^rd-QB rule, or lack there-of.  Buffalo took an explosive playmaker from their division-rival New York Jets when they signed Brad Smith.  Smith can now be placed at the 46^th roster spot (3rd QB) and take snaps from under center.  Previously, using your 3^rd QB before the 4^th quarter meant that your 1^st and 2^nd string QB’s could not re-enter the game.  Buffalo needs excitement brought back to their football team badly and even the idea of CJ Spiller and Brad Smith in a Wildcat formation is pretty darn exciting.  I expect Buffalo to remain a losing football team next season, especially since they are still in the AFC East, but look for a lot more big plays and fantasy points in 2011.

Tavaris Jackson

After Hasselbeck left town for Tennessee, Tavaris Jackson signed a deal to reunite him with his old offensive coordinator in Seattle.  There will be some competition between Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst, but my guess is that his understanding of the offense and his relationship with fellow former Viking and newly acquired Seahawk Sidney Rice makes Jackson the heavy favorite to win the starting job.  Throw in the addition of Zach Miller to the receiving corp for good measure and now Seattle might actually have an offense.  Jackson has a lot of talent and play-making ability so if he was able to work on his down field accuracy and pocket-presence, he may be able to resurrect his career with this opportunity.  In my eyes, it comes down to how consistent Marshawn Lynch can be to take the pressure off the passing game.

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With the first weekend of free agency drawing to a close its time to look at how the moves that have been made so far impact next years Fantasy Football season.  Many big-names have changed teams during this week, and  will shake up next seasons pre-draft rankings quite a bit.  Here are the roster moves made so far during this free agency period that have an impact on fantasy football:

Anquan Boldin traded to Ravens – The biggest move of the free agency period was not a signing, but a trade.  With the addition of Anquan Boldin to the Ravens offense three different players all receive a bump in my rankings; Joe Flacco, Anquan Boldin (shocker!), and Ray Rice.  The biggest weakness of the Ravens last year was balance in the passing game.  They have been lacking a serious play-maker at the wide receiver position, and Flacco’s production was hurt the worst by it.  Mason is getting old and may not be back in a Ravens uniform next year, but with the addition of Stallworth and now Boldin the Ravens will finally have two polished receivers that can stretch the field AND get open over the middle.  The impact on Ray Rice will also be significant, with Boldin on the roster the Ravens will have a balanced offensive attack instead of the Ray Rice show that was last season.  Next year he wont be a surprise, people know what he can do now and without a balanced attack he would be vulnerable to being schemed against.  With game-breaking talent at wide-out defenses will need to respect the deep ball and Rice will remain a top tier back.

Antonio Cromartie traded to the Jets – Another trade tops my list of moves made during free agency week, and yes I know it was the day before but its so significant I’m sneaking it in!  This move will solidify the Jets as my #1 Defense for next season barring some unforeseen incident.  While Cromartie  is certainly no Revis, he is a very gifted player filling the area of biggest need for the Jets already number one ranked defense.  Oh, and the Jets were already first in the league in passing defense last year… 30 yards fewer per game than the number two Bills.

Bears sign Chester Taylor – I am really excited to see what Taylor can do outside the shadow of Adrian Peterson… but I do not think we will know his full potential until at least next year.  The Bears have no picks in the first two rounds, and have an offensive line that could use quite a bit of work.  Good news for the Bears however, this is a VERY deep draft class at offensive line and there is a real chance they could find a diamond in the rough.  Taylor is a very complete back and he will likely take over the primary role leaving Forte to handle third downs.

Lions sign Nate Burleson – Calvin Johnson finally has someone that could pull some double teams away from him… ok not quite. However,  Burleson has 7 years of experience and a fair few left in him.  His veteran leadership and experience at being on mediocre teams could go a long way to helping the Lions on the road to average.  And lets face it, with a tough and talented kid like Stafford at the helm they could get there pretty quick.  Burleson will likely see similar production as he had in his disappointing last season, but he could really help Megatron get open a couple more times per game… and that is certainly a good thing.

Bears sign Julius Peppers – The Bears make my list twice since they needed to use the limited free agent pool as their draft, and lets face it… you cant draft the best pass rushing defensive end and that is what the Bears got in Peppers.  The biggest weakness for the Bears defense last year was… well… their offense.  With Cutler throwing such a large number of interceptions as well as the Bears’ inability to extend drives and provide some rest for their defenders, just about every game the defense was worn out by the fourth quarter and unable to stop much of anything.  Hopefully Taylor and Manumaleuna help to extend drives and give those poor guys a break.  If the Bears find a good lineman or two, their defense could be a top5 fantasy defense again soon.

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I don’t think this matters much as you likely didn’t have a kicker that was about to lose his job. And If you did, you will have no issues replacing him.

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Have heard no specifics yet as to the direct severity of Turner’s ankle problem, however  the Falcons have signed RB Aaron Stecker to the squad dropping a reciever for him.  This furthers my suspisions that Turner is likely to be inactive for at least a few weeks.  We will need to watch closely! But Jason Snelling’s stock is rising, and he was already my pickup of the week.  One thing is clear, the Falcons aren’t playing their best with Turner so who knows what happens now.

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This morning ESPN’s Michael Smith reported that Larry Johnson is on his way to Cincinnati to speak with team officials.  Barring a setback LJ is expected to be sign with the team.  My personal guess is by the end of the day!  (Does this mean that Benson’s injury is more severe than we thought?!)

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