Here are some random thoughts as I look back at the first 14 games:

- There are some train wreck offenses, St. Louis, Washington, and Cincinnati come to mind.

- We knew the Atlanta defense could be your get-well defense for fantasy owners. Add Detroit’s.

- It’s hard to tell how well Michael Turner will do this season since he should be a on a bad team but as we told you many times, they are a power rushing team so he’s going to get the ball plenty. He’s off to a great start and is carrying over his fine play from the preseason.

- Calvin Johnson is ready for a breakout season. Sure the Falcon secondary is weak but he moves so well despite being as big as he is.

- Jacksonville lost both starting guards to injury so we have to see what they do to get by.

- You’ll be thanking us for Chris Johnson at some point–he’s that good. It’s only one game but he carried over his great play from training camp and the preseason. He runs with surprisingly good vision for a rookie and no back has better speed than him.

- We’ll see if Jericho Cotchery can continue what we saw against a weak Dolphin secondary but he’s going to get the ball down field this season, that much we know.

- The Miami RBs are in a true RBBC, could get ugly.

- I’m glad I drafted Kurt Warner–he could help save my season in RotoBowl since I drafted Tom Brady with my second-round pick. As we’ve said many times, you won’t lose your season because of one player. It certainly doesn’t help your cause but the waiver wire is also a life saver. Trust us, if you pick the right players off there, you can save your season–I’ve done that many times.

- When will Tampa Bay actually get a quarterback who will plant and throw the ball to an open receiver?

- Good to see Drew Brees off to a strong start. He could put up huge numbers this season if they can continue to run the ball well. He works great off of a strong running game.

- Donovan McNabb is headed for a career season if he can stay healthy for 16 games. The way the Eagle passing game works, you don’t have to have great WRs. They just have to find a way to get open. He’ll get Reggie Brown back soon and Kevin Curtis by mid season. DeSean Jackson really is a playmaker and L.J. Smith is finally healthy.

- The Houston game went exactly like we thought it would. Thank goodness for GTP.

- Watching Carson Palmer yesterday was very difficult. Could it get worse for him?

- You have to be encouraged if you’re a Jake Delhomme owner based on what he did against a usually solid Charger defense.

- Strange game for Philip Rivers. He’ll never get high grades for style and watching him could be detrimental for your health but he has lots of talent around him to work with.

- The Dallas offense seems almost unstoppable. Just pray Owens or Witten don’t get hurt.

- Cleveland ’s offense is a work in progress. They have no depth at WR as we saw on Sunday.

- The Arizona defense is one of the most underrated fantasy Ds this season. They’re a great backup or starter depending on the matchup.

- The Colt offense is also going to be a work in progress. They’re without two starters on the OL for at least the first six weeks.

- Matt Forte is another rookie back that has it going on like Chris Johnson. He can do it all.

The Rotobowl is pure challenge. Regardless of where you draft, it’s extremely tough to get a balanced stable of studs because you’re picking against a group of knowledgeable people who aren’t afraid to get “their guys.” I was given the #10 overall selection, so I threw caution to the wind, ruled out Brady and the lower-end #1 RBs, and made it a point to focus on assembling an intimidating receiving corps. I achieved that, I added a heck of a QB platoon, I landed a legit TE, and I got the two defenses I coveted. My RB situation is paper thin, as has been the case in most of my drafts this summer since the position this year officially scares the daylights out of me and features so many question marks. But you can’t have it all in the Rotobowl. Here’s my squad.

Terrell Owens – Passed on Brady and some lower-end #1 RBs for him, but I think Romo’s going to make him unstoppable again this year. And 3 TDs in Week One against the Browns should get his season started with a bang.

Maurice Jones-Drew – Having him as my #1 is upsetting. Still, I locked down Freddy later, so the Jag backfield is all mine. I’ll take that.

Calvin Johnson – Play-to-win pick in a WR-heavy format. This guy makes Roy Williams look tiny when he’s standing next to him and I believe he’ll have the type of year Braylon Edwards had in 2007.

Santonio Holmes – Big Ben loves him, Hines Ward isn’t getting any younger, and I love the fact that he spent the off-season fine-tuning his craft. This guy wants to be elite and he’s showing it with his actions.

Tony Gonzalez – Could have gone a million different directions with this pick. I settled on Gonzo for his reception capabilities. It is a PPR league, after all. Plus, some dude took Kellen Winslow waaaaaaaaay out of line and threw the TE run completely out of whack. If I passed on Gonzo, I would have wound up with some hit-or-miss guy as my #1. No thanks.

Chris Johnson – Caplan, Hansen, and I all were thinking alike in the AC Convention Center, as we all drafted this physical speedster. Johnson will be the ROY.

Jay Cutler – I wanted him all summer and in every league he was snatched from my grasp just a few picks in front of me. I had to get a piece of Cutler in 2008, as he’s ready to fully blossom.

Fred Taylor – Man, I couldn’t believe my competition let him fall into my lap. He gives me peace of mind with MJD and some weeks I’ll be able to use him with Jones-Drew for double the pleasure. The Jags love to run, keep in mind.

Derrick Mason – PPR gold if you ask me. And when I called his name the entire draft table sighed. Guess that’s what you call a value.

Dallas Cowboys – Defenses can really carry you in this format, believe it or not. I think this unit will hit the QB a ton and pick off a lot of passes. And their TD total could be gaudy.

Kurt Warner – Paired with Cutler, I shouldn’t have to worry about my QB position all season. I can play the matchups and rest easy knowing the yardage and TDs will be there.

L.J. Smith – Homer pick. I bleed green. Still, he’ll be needed with Philly’s WR corps looking thin and he was missed last year in the red zone. Oh yea, and he’s a franchise player looking to get out. That bodes well for a big L.J. year.

Seattle Seahawks – Nobody was aggressive in targeting their defense, so I felt like making people pay for waiting. That’s just the killer instinct in me. At this point, it was reach city anyway and people were calling some questionable names.

Sammy Morris – I needed someone I could plug in at RB in a pinch, so I went with a guy who’s tied to a sick offense.

Lorenzo Booker – Westbrook’s owner inexplicably slept on him and I actually believe this guy could catch 50 balls this season.

Randy McMichael – Super sleeper. Al Saunders should get the most out of him. He was dangerous not too long ago with Miami, too.

Jason Hill – I’m feeling Hill as the Shaun McDonald of the Niner offense this year. It’s just a hunch, so he may be dropped before too long.

Adam Vinatieri – The Colts are Bowl bound and the points will be plentiful this year.

Andre Davis – Total trash left, so I invested in a guy that could explode if Andre Johnson continues to be Mr. Softee.

Michael Jenkins – Should be the possession guy for Matt Ryan, at least early in the season. And Ryan’s not bad, folks.

Week One Lineup

Kurt Warner

Maurice Jones-Drew, Chris Johnson

Terrell Owens, Calvin Johnson, Santonio Holmes, Derrick Mason

Tony Gonzalez, L.J. Smith

Adam Vinatieri

Dallas Cowboys

Saturday was my first foray in RotoBowl and it didn’t quite go as planned.

Here’s a look at my draft and what I was thinking on each pick.

Round 1

Frank Gore: I had the fifth pick. It came down to the upside of Gore or the safety of Marion Barber. I chose the upside with Gore in perhaps the best offensive scheme in the NFL where the backs put up huge numbers.

Tom Brady: Those footballinjuries.com subscribers who have followed my drafting habits over the years know that I rarely take a QB before the fifth round. This pick came down to Marques Colston or Brady. I knew neither play would be there for me in the next round. I had targeted Braylon Edwards who went right before me. I just couldn’t get around what Brady did last year. But I also looked ahead, as I always do, to see who might be there for me with the next pick. You have to always plan out what might happen if you take a player here. The plan would be to go with Brandon Marshall or Steve Smith or even Santonio Holmes in the next round.

Santonio Holmes: Interestingly, Marshall went off the board after I picked in the second round and Smith went before me in the third round. I didn’t really have much choice here. I would have loved to wait another round for Holmes but I couldn’t take that chance. I paid for the selection of Brady instead of Colston. I knew that was a risk.

Jason Witten: There was next to nothing to take here. Any receiver that was a strong value was off the board. I just went the best value and that was either Witten or Kellen Winslow. Because we have two flex starters, I planned to actually take Winslow in the next round.

Kevin Smith: I wanted Winslow badly here, he’s kind of like a high-end #2 WR in this scoring and that would have really made my draft. He went right before I picked. When things don’t go as planned, you should always try to be creative–Winslow would have made up for not getting Brady. There wasn’t really anyone of note left here on the board so I went with Smith as my #2 RB.

Chris Johnson: You all know how we feel about Johnson and he’s perfect here as my #3 RB.

Joey Galloway: I really needed to get him here and I started to get nervous but he dropped to me. Easy call here.

Felix Jones: I needed WR depth but there was nothing really worth looking at here at that position so I went with Jones for depth at RB. There were some strange picks in this round like D.J. Hackett. Maybe the guy who picked him thought it was the 18th round instead of the 8th?

We also had a bunch of subscribers drafting in this league–one guy next to me took Kevin Walter here. I had planned to go with him in the next round.

Sidney Rice: I wanted to wait for him for 1-2 more rounds but I couldn’t really see anything else worth taking here. Way too early for a defense.

Eddie Royal: Again, would have waited for a few more rounds but I couldn’t see any player remotely worth taking other than Royal. It’s really about upside here in the middle rounds.

The first 10 rounds didn’t go as I wanted so I would have to really make up for it in the final 10.

Justin Fargas: Off to a great start here. He was terrific last season after taking over the starting job. He may be in a RBBC this season but you can’t do much better with him as depth.

Devin Hester: While consistency will be an issue for him he’ll have at least four to five big games this season based on the way they plan to use him. I went with his upside here. Why not?

Kurt Warner: I was shocked he didn’t go earlier based on what numbers he produced last year. Not a bad insurance policy for Brady. So far, so good in the second half.
 

Round 14

Derrick Ward: I couldn’t believe the Brandon Jacobs owner didn’t take him earlier. This is a value selection for sure.

Kevin Curtis: I needed depth at WR and Curtis could be that and more later in the season.

Philadelphia Defense: I wanted Seattle badly but they went a few rounds earlier.

Ben Utecht: I was looking for my backup TE and he’ll be that with some upside.

Andre Davis: There was total skank left and being that I don’t like skank much, I went with Davis. You saw what he did last year when he started.

Mason Crosby: He’s one of the best fantasy Ks.

Arizona Defense: They should be one of the better sleeper Ds this season.

Week One Lineup

Tom Brady
Frank Gore/Kevin Smith/Justin Fargas/Chris Johnson
Santonio Holmes/Joey Galloway/Eddie Royal
Jason Witten
Mason Crosby

Roster

QB: Tom Brady/Kurt Warner
RB: Frank Gore/Kevin Smith/Chris Johnson/Felix Jones/Justin Fargas/Derrick Ward
WR: Santonio Holmes/Joey Galloway/Sidney Rice/Eddie Royal/Devin Hester/Kevin Curtis/Andre Davis
TE: Jason Witten/Ben Utecht
K: Mason Crosby
D: Philadelphia/Arizona

Here are some quick thoughts in regard to this week’s matchups:

- First of all, be sure to listen to the podcast we did with Greg Cosell on Tuesday. If you’ve never heard him before, you’ll learn something every time you hear him break down matchups.

- On Detroit, how could Jon Kitna not throw two TDs this game against two young Falcon CBs?

- I’m very interested to see how the Eagles use DeSean Jackson this week. It could be telling.

- I think Dallas will easily score over 30 on the revamped Brown defense. Don’t be surprised if Terrell Owens scores twice on the young Brown CBs.

- The Redskin offense is a work in progress and it could get ugly Thursday morning. If you plan on watching the game, hide the family if you’re a Redskin fan.

- We’re interested in seeing how Matt Forte does Sunday night against an average Colt run defense. Forte is the most versatile back out of the 2008 draft. Think a younger Dorsey Levens with a little better speed.

- It could get ugly for the Seahawk passing game on Sunday. We do want to see how they use the RBs. How could Maurice Morris not deserve to start?

- Scalpers day off in Atlanta. Who would want to go to that game?

- We have a suspicion that Brett Favre will be throwing the ball down field plenty this season. His timing may be off with his receivers at first but we’re interested to see how they do.

- How will Kansas City score on Sunday? Free free to give us your gameplan and we’ll forward it to the Chiefs.

- All the hype we’ve given Chris Johnson will start to play out on Sunday. Jacksonville has a good defense but expect him to do something special at least a few times on Sunday.

- Joey Galloway owns the Saint secondary so expect him to BE the Buccaneer passing game as usual this season. It’s funny how teams know exactly where the ball is going yet he still wins more battles than he loses.

- Who is a bigger train wreck, the Rams or Dolphins?

- This isn’t the week to play Matt Schaub but if you’re patient he’ll pay off later.

- The only way Carolina will move the ball on Sunday without Steve Smith is on the ground and expect both top backs to get a lot of carries. They have to try to wear down San Diego’s front seven. This should be a good week to play the Charger defense.

- The 49er secondary can be had so even though the game is on the road, the Cardinal passing game should be strong–good week to get Kurt Warner in your lineup.

- On the other hand, it’s not a good week to use our boy Jay Cutler. No Brandon Marshall and an aging Darrell Jackson and rookie WR Eddie Royal, who we like, are slated as starters. Not exactly what you want going to the Black Hole.

I’ll be back later in the week but feel free to tell me I’m nuts or agree if you will…..

Here are some quick thoughts with the pre-season behind us:

·         After Donovan McNabb lost Kevin Curtis, we originally thought that he might be in trouble. After watching him play in his last two pre-season games especially, he seems to be in a zone. He’s still a great value in rounds 6-7 as your starter.

·         As for DeSean Jackson, he’s going to play a lot until Curtis comes back. Pick up Jackson for roster depth but who knows, you may wind up using him. He has special talent.

·         The Washington passing offense is a work in progress so Chris Cooley and Santana Moss owners will need to be patient.

·         The hype on Devin Hester has subsided somewhat which is a good thing. While consistency might be a problem, can you find many more players who have more upside than him in rounds 12-13?

·         I think Roddy White will be up and down this season due to Matt Ryan being the QB.

·         I’m very interested to see how Jake Delhomme does once Steve Smith does after he gets back from his two-game suspension. Delhomme was on fire last season in their new offensive scheme before he got hurt.

·         As for their RBs, we’re pretty certain Jonathan Stewart will be the main ball carrier before mid season hits. It’s just a matter of time before he takes over. Keep in mind they drafted him to handle the role.

·         He’s moving up to rounds 5-6. Just be patient in the first few games as they figure out his role.

·         We still are miffed at why Devery Henderson is seeing more time in the #2 WR role for the Saints than the others there. We have to think Robert Meachem will eventually take over that job. When is the issue.

·         Pierre Thomas’ role still is up in the air. Not surprising as that’s what we expected if Deuce McAllister would still be on the team.

·         The #2 WR role for the Buccaneers is still a mess. You could actually win it if you’re at least 6′3″ and were a high draft pick. Think I’m joking? How could Antonio Bryant be out of the league and now be pushing for that job.

·         I’ll be very interested to see how the coaches use Tim Hightower is Edgerrin James struggles at all.

·         It’s a shame that Josh Morgan has been sick all week. He’s done nothing to lose the #1 WR job with SF. Now Bryant Johnson is coming back so we could see what we feared, a rotation of both players. We’ll see how this shakes out.

·         Ronnie Brown’s role is still not clear other than he’s backing up Ricky Williams for the time being. The good thing is Brown played in the fourth pre-season game and looked good so we’ll see what they do with him going forward.

·         It will be interesting to see what the Ravens do at QB. Joe Flacco is the only healthy one they have of the top three. Flacco isn’t ready to play but he has the mental makeup to handle the ups and downs. It’s the speed of the game that he’ll struggle with.

·         Keep an eye on Demetrius Williams now that he’s back. He has value for deep depth.

·         I’ve gotten a lot of QBBC questions on the message board and I’m one who likes to use them.

·         The ones to target are: Warner/Schaub/Cutler/Garrard. The best mix probably is Warner and either Schaub or Cutler.

·         Kevin Walter is starting to get a little respect but he should still be there in rounds 11-12 for you as your #3/#4 WR. Jacoby Jones never challenged him. Walter is a supreme possession WR who is good with RAC.

·         Watching David Garrard may be detrimental to your health but the bottom line is the numbers always seem to be there in the end. I have no idea how he will average 1.5 TDs/game but he always seems to come through.

·         The Titan passing game is going to be an abomination, how much of one remains to be seen. Justin Gage and Justin McCareins as starting WRs? Is this the CFL? Gawd.

·         But the upside is they will run the heck out of the ball. We’re telling you that Chris Johnson is the closest thing the league has seen since Brian Westbrook. If you haven’t seen him play, you probably have no feel for him like we do.

·         Eddie Royal is probably the closest thing to Greg Jennings that we’ve seen this summer (props to the guru for that comparison).

·         Royal is an excellent route runner, has solid speed, and can play inside or outside. He’s also very coachable.

·         It may be ugly at times but Larry Johnson is back where he was two years ago. He had an outstanding training camp and looks fresh and not worn down. Their offensive line is a major work in progress as is their passing game. That’s why he’s a lower end #1 RB and not better.

·         Expect the Raiders to run the ball a ton this season. When they throw it on intermediate routes, most likely it’s going to our boy Zach Miller.

We’ll be keeping an eye out of the roster cuts so I’ll be back Sunday with comments…..

I have to tell you, I’m sick of the pre-season. It feels like the Hall of Fame game was about 3 months ago. How many days of camp do these guys need? They train year-round, for crying out loud. Injuries abound. We’re deluged with information that’ll be completely irrelevant by Sept 14^th. Enough already! But I need to get in on this meaningless speculation, so here’s my ALL IDP TEAM for those of you in comprehensive and tackle-based scoring systems this season.

Comprehensive Leagues:

DE: Super Mario

DT: Double Yuck – I’ll go retro with Kevin Williams
DE: Julius Peppers

LB: Karlos Dansby
LB: Patrick Willis
LB: Demeco Ryans
LB: Kirk Morrison

S: Kerry Rhodes – big bounce back gives him a slight edge over A-Wilson, who needs to stay healthy
S: Sean Jones
CB: Richard Marshall
CB: Antonio Cromartie

Tackle-Based Leagues:
DE: Justin Tuck
DT: Jovan Haye
DE: Aaron Schobel

LB: Patrick Willis
LB: Demeco Ryans
LB: David Harris
LB: D’Qwell Jackson edging Paul Posluszny

S: Gibril Wilson
S: Adrian Wilson
CB: Darrelle Revis
CB: Nate Clements

- DL I have high on the projections that I’m a bit worried about: Tamba Hali - I doubt I’d have him this high (No. 14) if he weren’t a guy I thought would be an impact player since college).
- LB I have high on the projections that I’m a bit worried about: London Fletcher (has to get old sometime).

- DB I have high on the projections that I’m a bit worried about: Atari Bigby (recent bad vibes you probably shouldn’t listen to) and Eric Wright (fear of a future benching).

DL I’d love to list higher, but know better: Julius Peppers
LB I’d love to list higher, but have no proof: Justin Durant
DB I’d love to list higher, but am scarred by ‘07’s scathing message board responses: Kerry Rhodes

10 Guys That Would be Listed Higher but They Play with a Lot of Dudes That Make Plays

LB Thomas Davis
LB Chad Greenway

LB Curtis Lofton
LB LeRoy Hill
DL Derek Landri
DB Reggie Nelson
DB Tanard Jackson
DB Brandon Meriweather
DB Antoine Winfield
DB Will Demps

More to come until we kick-off next Thursday Night …

I drafted in a 10-team expert league this past week, but I didn’t get a chance to share my results, as we’ve been knee-deep in preseason analysis and developments at Guru Headquarters. Since I just did a write-up on my personal 10-team plan of attack, I thought you might be interested to see how I put it to use. I was handed the #6 draft spot in what is a PPR format.

The roster requirements: 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1FLEX, 1TE, 1PK, 1DEF

The results:

1.06 Moss, Randy NEP WR

2.05 Lynch, Marshawn BUF RB

3.06 Holmes, Santonio PIT WR

4.05 Johnson, Calvin DET WR

5.06 Harrison, Marvin IND WR

6.05 Roethlisberger, Ben PIT QB

7.06 Forte, Matt CHI RB

8.05 Jones, Felix DAL RB

9.06 Clark, Dallas IND TE

10.05 Rice, Ray BAL RB

11.06 Jackson, DeSean PHI WR

12.05 Morgan, Josh SFO WR  

13.06 Miller, Zach OAK TE

14.05 Seahawks, Seattle SEA Def

15.06 Royal, Eddie DEN WR  

16.05 Jackson, Fred BUF RB  

17.06 Rodgers, Aaron GBP QB  

18.05 Crosby, Mason GBP PK

I pretty much went into the draft targeting Randy Moss at #6. There’s a certain amount of risk to it because I passed on several viable #1 RBs. But nobody could stop him last year and my thinking is why would it be any different in 2008?

Marshawn Lynch fell further than he should have and I snatched him up. I passed on Braylon Edwards, which took some serious discipline.

I reeeeeeeeeeeeeached for Santonio Holmes. But I don’t care. Man crush.

The 4^th round was where things got interesting. I felt like playing to win, as John Hansen always advises, so I rounded out my starting WR corps with a potential breakout beast in Calvin Johnson. If he stops landing on his back when he leaps for the ball, 12 TDs should be no problem.

After Calvin, the “sameness” started to set in at wide receiver and the RBs weren’t going very fast, so I gambled on another grizzled veteran pass-catcher in Marvin Harrison. I believe he’s healthy. I really do. And I think he’ll make an excellent FLEX this season. Call me gullible…

Big Ben was sitting in my wheelhouse and I didn’t feel like waiting any longer for my starting QB, so I called his name.

In the 7^th, I snapped out of my online draft trance and realized I went a little overboard at WR. Oversight, yes, slightly. But I was drafting in the moment and I wanted to leave the draft with a receiving corps to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, I had to sacrifice at RB with Matt Forte as my #2. That hurt, but at least he’s a natural talent and an every-down back. And I can always work the waiver wire when injuries set in across the league.

I added some RB depth with Felix Jones next because I’m not buying that Marion Barber can hold up for 16 games running like a lunatic. Plus, Jones is silky smooth, in case you haven’t seen him this preseason.

In the 9^th, I saw great value with Dallas Clark. Don’t like him so much since he drops a lot of passes and is an injury risk. But he’ll do.

When we got to the 10^th round, I was feeling really good about my draft (and my explosiveness), so I got aggressive and targeted three rookies I firmly believe will make a very large impact in 2008. I’m talking about Ray Rice, DeSean Jackson, and Josh Morgan. I took them all a few rounds earlier than I should have, but sometimes you have to shirk conventional wisdom to get the guys you want. And I want Rice, Jackson, and Morgan any way I can get them this year.

The rest of the picks were made to fill out my roster depth and simply reflect my personal tastes. Seattle’s a hell of a defense at home. Zach Miller is PPR gold (read the article). Eddie Royal “with cheese” catches passes from a guy with a cannon for an arm. Fred Jackson’s my stud RB handcuff. Aaron Rodgers has some upside for a backup. Mason Crosby actually seemed like a value.

Looking back, I see I’m thin at RB and perilously so if Lynch doesn’t step his game up this year. Yet I gander at my deep and talented wideout stable and think of all the TDs and big plays that can be generated there, which makes me realize I’ll be competitive in this league.

I’d love to hear what you’d have done differently.

Week Three is widely regarded as the most meaningful and telling week of preseason action and rightfully so. Starters play almost the entire game, teams begin game-planning, and coaches solidify their depth charts.

For fantasy, it’s even more important, as we get a clear glimpse at how training camp position battles stand with the regular season looming. I just wanted to let everyone know that it’s probably a good idea to visit NFL.com this weekend after the games and examine the “Game Books” for each game that’s played, which can be found when you access each “Game Center.” These Game Books tell you who’s technically starting, who’s coming off the bench, and who’s inactive. Viewing them is a good way of predicting who will line up with the first team when Week One of the real season arrives.

Many of you are drafting very soon and some teams won’t announce their official depth charts until after you’ve made your selections. So do yourself a favor and sift through the Game Books after this week’s games. It’s a worthwhile exercise that could give you a leg up on the competition.

I’ve seen both preseason games the Raiders and Titans have played thus far and I have an intense fantasy impression that I thought I’d share. Both backfields feature strong, young backs and look like they could go off as units in 2008.

Both Oakland and Tennessee are committed to the running game and they’re both defensively stout, so we should see a lot of carries out of their RBs in a ball-control style of football. With that said, I’m endorsing these two tandems as good buys on draft day, at the right price of course.

LenDale White/Chris Johnson and Darren McFadden/Michael Bush

I know, I know. Justin Fargas is the “starter” at this point. He just hasn’t looked nearly as dynamic as McFadden and Bush this summer. And he’s not a household name for a reason. He’s limited to being pretty much a straight-line runner who relies on his high motor to make plays. McFadden has much better north-south speed and Bush can do what Fargas does and more (make people miss now and then and get to top speed before contact).

White, I bought into last year, as he helped me win a championship. And he actually looks improved this summer, flashing enhanced speed and some of the best vision from a RB I’ve seen this preseason. Johnson has the speed to embarrass defensive fronts.

I’m not saying to go aggressively reach for these RBBCs on draft day. I’m simply predicting they’ll be more productive than most backfields in the NFL in 2008. How you respond is up to you.

It was bound to happen, given the dearth of fine, top-tier talent at the quarterback position around the NFL. But fantasy owners across the nation are starting to panic and pay too much for their starting QB. In fact, it’s gotten to the point where the QB has officially become the new WR in terms of appeal. I’ll admit that I fell into this trap when I did an early expert draft in May and selected Peyton Manning with the #12 pick.

But the more and more I break down the trend of Tom Brady, Manning, Tony Romo, Drew Brees, Carson Palmer, and Ben Roethlisberger going higher and higher in drafts and examine the reasoning behind it, it becomes clear that overpaying for your QB for the sake of “stability” is nothing but a sexy idea based on faulty, short-sighted thinking. There are potentially huge rewards to be reaped, of course, but there’s significant downside involved too.

After all, the majority of fantasy leagues require you to start 1 QB each week, whereas you normally need to start anywhere from 4-6 RBs and WRs. Wouldn’t basic logic dictate that ALL of your early picks (which are obviously the most valuable ones) fill the roster spots where you have the greatest number of spots to be filled (RB and WR)?

In my eyes, it’s a no-brainer. Those who wait for their starting QB in 2008 will be rewarded because you’ll have the advantage in terms of studliness and depth at RB and WR. And you’ll certainly be able to find some potential diamonds in the rough at the QB position after you’ve solidified your RB and WR spots. Plus, you won’t have to execute a perfect draft, like the guys who go early for their QB will, in order to find success.

With that in mind, I’ve taken the liberty of concocting a few good-looking QB tandems that you can get on the cheap while others mutter to themselves: “I have to get a top QB. I just have to. I have no choice. I’ll look stupid if I don’t.”

Brett Favre /Aaron Rodgers

Matt Schaub/Matt Hasselbeck

David Garrard/Jake Delhomme

Jay Cutler/Philip Rivers

Donovan McNabb/Jon Kitna

All of the aforementioned guys, aside from Rodgers and Schaub, have air-tight job security and have shown in the past that they can put up useful numbers for fantasy. They may throw in a clunker here and there, but what NFL player doesn’t?

One last point I have to mention to drive my stance home. I finished 11^th overall in Rotobowl last year and guess who I drafted as my QBs? I selected Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman. I’m completely embarrassed to admit it, but it goes to show you that you can win consistently and stay competitive without overpaying for your starting QB.

How do you feel about the newly accepted notion that it’s “the right thing to do” to aggressively go after the top guns at QB, even if it means sacrificing a stud pick at RB or WR?

I know how I feel about. It’s the wrong way to go. What’s your view?