By Adam Nelson
There are a lot of must-have players if you want to succeed in your fantasy football league. Everybody has a different list of players that they want. Here’s my top-ten lists at a few key positions:
Categories
Category: NFL
NFL
Peyton Manning is a great quarterback, arguably the best in the game today. He has led a Colts offense that scored the most points in 2004 and the second most points in 2003. In overall team offense the Colts have been ranked second and third in the past two years. By contrast, the Colts defense has finished 19th and 20th in points allowed, and in overall team defense in 2004 they were 29th out of 32 NFL teams.
It all seemed to be going so well for them. First it was New Orleans, then Houston, and then on to Jacksonville. Then all of a sudden it was as though the bottom had fallen out on the defending Super Bowl champions. Everyone knows that the New England Patriots are all about playing as a team, something so many teams seem to fail at doing in the world of sports. But now some of the key ingredients that helped New England be adorned by so many are now gone to pursue other avenues. Those gone are mainly the geniuses behind the schemes the Patriots put together to win three Super Bowls in four years. However, there is an upside to all of this recent chaos. The genius himself is still ahead of the organization, that being Bill Belichick. To add to the drastic coaching changes, there have also been key players lost to free agency that helped keep the, “Team First” persona about the team. With the all of a sudden new-look Patriots in tact, could the honeymoon be officially over in New England, or is it still the Patriots of old so many have waited to see go?
Categories
No Sophomore Slump Here
Ben Roethlisberger lit up the league last year. While completing over 66 percent of his passes, Roethlisberger threw for 2621 yards and 17 touchdowns with only 11 interceptions, which lead to a 98.1 passer rating. These numbers, along with his 13 regular season wins in a row and one playoff victory, Roethlisberger was the runaway rookie of the year and the steal of the draft at number 11.
Categories
I feel a Brees coming on
By Alex Fitzsimmons, email [email protected]
It was only two years ago when Drew Brees was stinking up the field, throwing more interceptions that touchdowns, on his way to the 4th worst passer rating in the league. But it seems like a millennia ago.
‘No coach, I can only play if you are payin’ me 10 million bucks a year! Now excuse me while I go back to my fancy cars and ridiculously huge house so I can have my butler take phone calls from all the companies that are paying me millions of dollars to act in their commercials! Look, coach, you just have no idea how hard it is bein’ T.O.!’
So, tell me Terrell, how hard IS it bein’ you? Oh, your rear hurts from sitting around at home instead of going to training camp? I’m terribly sorry to hear that. What’s that? It’s Donovan’s fault? Oh, Andy Reid’s fault. My bad, I must have misheard you the first time. Ok, now excuse me while I go puke.
Categories
"The Triplets" To Be Immortalized
The decade of the 1990’s were a significant time in my life. I was maturing in a way to become able to form my own opinions, make decisions for myself, etc. Basically, I was growing from a child into a teenager. However, despite the many memories I encountered during this decade, and the many different things I saw or experienced, the image that stands out in my mind more vibrant than the rest is a big blue star. That big blue star is none other than the star of the Dallas Cowboys.
Categories
2005 NFL Predictions
2005 NFL Predictions
By Adam Nelson
Who will go from worst to first? Can Pittsburgh possibly win 14 or 15 games? Can the Patriots win a fourth title in five years? A lot of questions remain unanswered, but one thing is stuck in most fans’ minds- the dominance of New England the past four years. Although they should be a favorite to win it all again, they very likely won’t, and the absence of Tedy Bruschi will be a huge reason why. Here’s my predictions for how the standings will end. I may be far off, but this is how I see it:
Categories
Summer’s Annual Itch – Matt Waters
It’s a distant sound in the back of my mind, hibernating, but still resonating. My focus lies with Baseball, as it always has and always will during these scorching summer months, playing out as poetry in motion over the course of it’s 162 game climb to the play offs and beyond. But still, that itch persists. And as I begin to scratch, the memories come fast and furious comparable to a high -speed collision near the sideline during the fourth quarter of a tie game. My mind travels to the Leon Johnson half back pass and stills asks Why Bill Why? It looks mournfully at the Richie Anderson fumble and bemoans a lost Super Bowl dream. It surveys Vinny Testaverde’s Achilles injury on week one like a rubber necking motorist trapped in an endless traffic jam. It tours past Raiders and Ravens ending Jets’ seasons of the past, wrapped together in one dark collage. And then there’s Doug Brien. He owns a wing of torment all his own. Finally, escaping the past, my mind turns to the future, and one question stills continues to be asked, even in the heat of the most unpredictable Yankee season since 1995. Is this the year the Jets finally get it right? The punctuation is not usually a question mark, but rather a twisting football careening through the air off the foot of Doug Brien, destined to go laughably wide.
By Adam Nelson
Will New England make it four titles in five years? Will Philadelphia make it five straight NFC Championship appearances? Is “Big Ben” for real? A lot of questions remain to be answered concerning the 2005 NFL season. Here are my preseason rankings for the teams as they head into the new year: