New England Patriots
May 30th, 2007 | by aaron |
Considering the New England Patriots are the favorite to win the AFC East I figure I may as well start with the most talked about off-season acquistition, Randy Moss.
Whenever you turn on the television or read your local newspaper, more often than not, you are bombard with negative press. Controversy is king in the world of journalism, especially in the world of sports. If you want to be considered a nice guy or you are one of those people who desires being liked by their peers, then journalism is not the career for you. Which is the exact reason why great coaches and players alike never read the paper or listen to the clowns reporting negative press.
Randy Moss! This entire situation reminds me of when Moss came into the league with nothing but criticism. He had an attitude problem, trouble with the law, and on top of all that, he enjoyed smoking weed (I might be the only person I know that doesn’t enjoy smoking weed). Am I correct in saying he was drafted 21st overall of the 1998 NFL Draft and he lit up the league for 1313 yards and 17 touchdowns while he played alongside all-pro Cris Carter, Jake Reed, and had a washed up quarterback named Randall Cunningham?
Moss has now played 9 NFL seasons and has averaged a modest 75 receptions per season. If you take his career average of 15.8 yards per catch his career average per season adds up to 1,185 yards per season.( high 1,632, low last season at 553 yards) Here’s the kicker, 101 career touchdowns and only 3 last season playing on the worst offense in NFL history.
If you have a heart 0f a warrior and know what it’s like to feel that competition, along with having critics consistently barrage you with negative press, believe me, you will return with a vengence. Moss is this person.
Randy Moss is an early 2nd round pick. You can get him as late as the third round if you talk him down and make others believe that the media and these brainless journalists are correct. While your leagues team owners are watching ESPN, listening to talk radio, and reading negativity based magazines, you can feast on my prophetic abilities.
Moss doesn’t need a lot of receptions to gain a ton of yards and score double digit touchdowns. With a great defense and an above average running game look for Moss to have a comeback year and remain on top for the next 3 seasons.
Tom Brady: Mr. Reliable, Mr. Consistent, Mr. Control, Mr. Destroy, and Mr. Win. What else can you say other than, he has an all-pro receiver these days. Brady is the prime reason why I never draft on the previous seasons results. If you are a person that watches the game and not the stat sheets and box score, you would realize that last year is last year. It’s history! If you’re one of these people that can relate to the heart of a champion, then Brady fits that description. If you’re in a league where the quarterback means something and their importance is similar to real football, then Brady is worth being your primary quarterback. If not, let him slip to the 3rd or 4th round. Brady will rank in the top 5 fantasy Quarterbacks this season.
Laurence Maroney: I’m not sure how durable Maroney is, but in the NFL there is never a guarantee at any position, especially running back.
What I see in Maroney is unparalleled intensity and an ability to wreak havoc on opposing defenses. Look for a big year from Maroney, and definitely a must in the first round.
DEFENSE: We have heard far too often that ‘defense wins games’. True in any major professional sports and true in Fantasy Football.
For the owners that realize fantasy football is played on both sides of the ball, you will also realize that this New England defense has the ability to make their offense better. How? It’s simple! smothering defense that is capable of scoring touchdowns, making the field short, and stopping opponents inside their red zone, will guarantee their offense a lot of snaps. I didn’t elaborate on Maroney because I wanted to implement him into this defense and show how he is an integral part of the Pats defense. Weird, I know! It makes sense when you think about it so I’ll make it really simple for the really simple readers. Defense gets offense the ball, offense runs Maroney the entire fourth quarter, Maroney keeps defense off field, defense doesn’t have to work the entire fourth quarter, defense appreciates Maroney(buys him a steak and a Rolex) Maroney appreciates the defense (buys them steaks and Rolex’s) getting him the ball, Maroney gains a ton of yards and scores touchdowns, Maroney goes to Hawaii, Maroney gets a Hawaiian girl, Maroney marries Hawaiian girl and they have little ‘Palamalu’s’, Maroney is happy, defense is happy and all the little Palamalu’s are happy.
The defense will work hard for 3 quarters, get a ton of fantasy points, and New England will pound the ball the entire 4th quarter after scoring 24 points through three. Prime opportunity to finish with a late ground game touchdown in the latter stages of the game.
Dante Stallworth: 2nd receiver, late pick, worth filling your roster. 52 catches 5 touchdowns.
Ben Watson: Stock has dropped due to Moss. Top 5 tight end. Do what you want.
Gostkowski. Kickers just aren’t my favorite subjects to talk about. I look at it like this, getting a decent kicker on a great team is better than getting a great kicker on a bad team that cannot move the ball.
