That's So Morgan!
Da Derrty Dawgs –
Offense – One of the best fantasy lineups we’ve seen in a long time. Could this be the year for the first ever EphrataFantasyStar to go undefeated? Manning, Ocho Cinco, Smith, Portis, Perry, Shockey, Marshall. That’s what happens when people get trade happy before the season starts. Overall Grade: A+
Defense/Special Teams – Lindell will have plenty of FG opportunities as this offense struggles to put it in the end zone, however the question is whether he will be able to make these FG’s in the inclement weather he will be facing on a weekly basis. Houston and Washington, they both will play tough offenses and will struggle to hold teams from scoring but the return game is where these teams will score their points. Overall grade: C+
IDP – D.J. Williams will decline drastically in his tackle numbers with his move back to weak side backer, however he could see a small increase in his sack numbers. Mike Vrable will not come close to his sack numbers from a year ago but his tackle numbers should stay about the same, another solid year from Vrable. Calvin Pace could have a breakout year this season while playing inside linebacker next to David
Harris. These two will be counted on to be runstoppers on this defense which means only one thing, a whole lotta tackles. Overall Grade: B+
Outlook – Could this be the year for the first ever EphrataFantasyStar to go undefeated? Sit back, relax, and watch history take place as Da Derrty Dawgs run away with the regular season title, and attempt to put a dent in the record books. Regular Season Finish: 1
Blackbirds –
Offense - Throw in some expertise in bringing back one of the best keepers in the modern fantasy era (Tom Brady) and a pinch of luck with drawing the first pick (LaDainian Tomlinson) and that’s a recipe for success in any good cookbook. This team has an interesting group of receivers with Torry Holt in place to mentor two young talents in Dwayne Bowe and Roddy White. The second running back spot still leaves a big question mark, hopefully tight end Jason Witten will be able to pick up the slack and squeak out some wins for this squad. Overall Grade: A-
Defense/Special Teams – Rob Bironas and Vikings DEF … has there even been a better couple? Very doubtful, Bironas established himself as one of the best fantasy kickers around these days in a game last season against the Houston Texans where he made 8 FG’s in one game. The Vikings DEF added a premier pass rusher in the offseason in Jared Allen to make a TD hungry defense even better. When you add that to a division that continues to worsen over the years and you got a buttload of points coming their way. Overall Grade: A+
IDP– This is a solid group of defensive players with Patrick Willis (Tackle Machine), Terrence McGee (Return Extraordinaire), and David Harris (Solid Tackler). Overall Grade: A
Outlook – Mo Money has lined up another star studded team (that was never a question) however due to his postseason performances over the past three years you never know how this team will finish. You can count on the Blackbirds to finish in the top 3 during the regular season but where they go from there is still a huge ?. Regular Season Finish: 2
The Mossinites –
Offense – Adrian Peterson has a whole lot of upside but will he get the reception numbers to truly make a dent in this league? Boldin, Cotchery, and Burleson could all be in line to have career years and with Kellen Winslow at tight end this team could put on an aerial assault that everyone should tune in for every week. Eli Manning and the second RB spot however could be a cause for concern. Overall Grade: B
Defense/Special Teams – Stephen Gostkowski will have more kicking opportunities this season than David Beckham. San Diego DEF should put up solid numbers every week but with Shawne Merriman’s injury will they still have the same production. Only time will tell. Overall Grade: A-
IDP – DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Trufant, Brian Urlacher, Dwight Freeney, Nick Barnett … could this be the greatest IDP team of all time … YES! This team will hold an advantage in close games all season with this group of IDPs! Overall Grade: A+
Outlook – A newcomer to the league … has a decent team but could be in for a rude awakening. The Mossinites will struggle early but will look to turn it around as they get used to the league. Will it be too little too late? Regular Season Finish: 3
Headbustas –
Offense – A great all around offense. All angles are covered. Donovan McNabb…has not been healthy in a very long time. Andre Johnson…injury issues but could put up huge numbers. T.J. Whosyamama will have a great season as long as he continues to suk Carson Palmers Dik every Saturday. Frank Gore injury issues but could do great things under Martz . Reggie Bush injury issues but will get his recepts when healthy. Todd Heap has he ever been healthy? Calvin Johnson…only player without serious injury issues. A lot of athletes that could do well but almost every player hasn’t played a full season in the last 3 years. Overall Grade: A-
Defense/Special Teams – two solid kickers but u better hope Rackers doesn’t throw any punches this year. Very week defense…Philly just plain bad and Baltimore is getting old. Hopefully DeSean Jackson will help with return yards. Overall Grade: B
IDP – Three tackle machines in Witherspoon, Dansby, and Briggs. The conservative route should work nicely here. Overall Grade: A
Outlook – Another solid draft from headbustas but the injuries are looming in the darkness and could pounce on them and crush their dreams early on in the season. Could we see another collapse from the headbustas like in the 2006 season when they went 3-10 with a last place finish….Probably Not, but I doubt we see another championship run from the headbustas. Regular Season Finish: 4
Nelms’s Niners –
Offense – Very solid players in Derek Anderson, Marques Colston, Steven Jackson, Marion Barber, and Dallas Clark but if any of these players get hurt there are not any viable backups in sight. With Greg Jennings (Aaron Rodgers) and Joey Galloway (Prehistoric) as his 2 and 3 receivers this team could have a few weeks where they post record low scores. Overall Grade: B-
Defense/Special Teams – Jason Elam, a solid kicker in Denver, now in a dome! Could put up great numbers. Green Bay DEF will be very solid playing against week offenses in division. Overall Grade: A-
IDP – A very solid group of IDP with Ryans, Fletcher, and Hawk. These IDPs could put up over 40 points on a regular basis. Overall Grade: A
Outlook – Could be another long year for Nelms’s Niners. Barring no injuries they could end up around .500 which should be enough for a playoff appearance. Regular season finish: 5
Tony’s Ponys –
Offense -Randy Moss and Plaxico Burress pack a powerful 1-2 punch but this punch could have been better had the Ponys not engaged in an ill-advised trade before Week 1. Addai and Lynch are another good tandem for this team, however it is still unknown how productive Lynch will be in a 4 points
per reception league. Hasselbeck, Cooley, and Ward are 3 solid players who will put up good numbers this year. Overall Grade: B
Defense/Special Teams – Nick Folk will have plenty kicking opportunities this season with the very potent Cowboys offense. However, the Giants DEF could be in a lot of trouble this season with only Tuck on the pass rush. A weak secondary with a weak pass rush is never a good combination. Overall Grade: C
IDP – Jon Beason, Roman Harper, and Richard Marshall … many wonder why? But not me Tony’s Ponys always has the best IDP’s every year one way or another. Overall Grade: A+
Outlook – Tony’s Ponys have a good team this year but their fate now rests on the shoulders of little Eli (Passing to Burress)…was last year a fluke or can he withstand the pressure? Could be a tough year for the Ponys Regular Season Finish: 6
Rump-ThumpinChinaman –
Offense – Romo to Owens hookup will be big all year. Coles should do well with Favre as long as he stays healthy. Ryan Grant could get a lot of recepts as a checkdown with a young QB. Besides these four players I see very few recepts which translates into only one thing…low point totals. Overall Grade: B
Defense/Special Teams – Very solid Kicker and Def, with Graham and Seattle, both could lead positions in total points. Overall Grade: A+
IDP – Another player going the INT and Sack route, but I don’t see the same results for this crew. Will struggle to put up 20 points on a regular basis. Overall Grade: D+
Outlook – With holes on offense and IDP will Graham and Seattle be able to make up the difference…NO! Could be a long season for a big name squad due to lack of recepts. Regular Season Finish: 7
Woolley’s Bullies –
Offense – After draft night, the bullies had a great group of receivers, two pass catching running backs, a pass happy qb, and arguably the best tight end football has ever seen. However, this wasn’t good enough for the bullies they immediately started throwing around trade after trade and eventually it led to them giving up a top 3 receiver and a pass catching starting running back for a 2nd string running
back coming off an ACL tear. The trade was Brandon Marshall (102 receptions last season) Chris Perry (51 receptions, 2 years ago) for Ronnie Brown (Torn ACL). This team could still be decent but never has anyone in fantasy history ever seen a team get this worse this quickly. Overall Grade: Dumbass
Defense/Special Teams – About as inconsistent as kickers can come with Shaun Suisham, could have mixed results from this up and down kicker. New England DEF will not give up any points but expect turnover numbers to decline with the loss of Asante Samuel and the aging defense. Overall Grade: B-
IDP – Vernon Gholston will not do much during his rookie campaign and Donnie Edwards isn’t getting any younger. But Adam Jones will do great things as a returner which goes a long way for quick points in this league. Overall Grade: B-
Outlook – Lets face the facts, this team is solid and only has a few set backs on the starting lineup with Stallworth and Ronnie Brown if he can’t recover from his injury. Suisham and the IDP will hurt down the stretch. And everyone will wonder what could have been? Regular Season Finish: 8
Las Vegas Slashers –
Offense – Two solid receivers in Wayne and Fitzgerald. Earnest Graham will be solid as long as he continues to get receptions. Favre will not hurt at QB. But Jacobs lack of receptions and McFadden at the flex spot will make it tough for the Slashers to win games this year. Solid at TE. Trades could improve team. Overall Grade: B
Defense/Special Teams – Kaeding will do well this year and having two solid defenses will help out on bye weeks and tough matchups. Overall Grade: A-
IDP – The Slashers decided not to go the reliable tackle route but instead the risky INT and Sack route which has tremendous upside. I like the move, however it would be nice if he had at least one tackle guy to offset the riskiness but still allow for upside. Overall Grade: A
Outlook – The offense will struggle to win close games this year due to the lack of the second RB and flex positions. This team could fight for one of the final two playoff spots. Regular Season Finish: 9
Da Winna Ninnas –
Offense – I see a lot of question marks when I look at this team. Braylon Edwards, severly cut foot; Larry Johnson, Broken Bone in foot; Ben Roethlisberger, motorcycle crash. If they all stay healthy could be a good team if not it could be disaster. Will Owen Daniels ever be the player everyone says he can? Overall Grade: C+
Defense/Special Teams – Jeff Reed has only hit one FG of 50+ yards over the last three years, that along with kicking in terrible weather late in the season is not good. Plus check out his picture on yahoo. The Dallas DEF will put up numbers all year, with Ware racking up the sacks, Newman and Pacman grabbing some INTs, and Pacman returning kicks this defense will do very well. Overall Grade: B+
IDP – Will we see the Adrian Wilson of old who put up great numbers or the one from last year who didn’t do a single thing all season? Champ Bailey and Lofa the Sofa will both put up decent tackle numbers with INT upside. And with Merriman filling in if he’s healthy this could be a very solid group of IDPs. Overall Grade: B+
Outlook – Another newcomer will take a while to get used to the league. At best I see this team fighting for a bye going into the playoffs…in the loser’s bracket. Regular Season Finish: 10
Birds of a Feather Flock Together,
Morgan Mo Money Bartholomew