Love and Hate: Fantasy Football By: Nino Colla Published: August 24, 2007 Print
I got more of a response than I was expecting last time. With all the fantasy nuts here I'm expecting the same. I guess when you words so strong as Love and Hate you get some people riled up and ready to reply. Plus when I rip as many teams as I did It's bound to get people replying.
So without any further stalling here is what I Love and Hate in Fantasy Football this year!
Love: DJ Hackett, WR Seahawks
I love DJ Hackett because he got a lot of looks last year. I love reading KC Joyner's stuff in the Fantasy Preview every year because he compiles stats no one else has and they are all very telling. Hackett is a top the Attempts list which means Seneca Wallace and Matt Hasselbeck looked his way a lot. With Darrell Jackson gone and Bobby Engram just Bobby Engram it's wide open for him to bust out.
Hate: Steve Smith, WR Panthers
I started off with a few Wideouts here. Look I don't hate Steve Smith. I hate how some people look at him. I already got on Carolina in my NFL Love Hate and I'm down on Steve Smith as the best receiver fantasy wise. As far as total last year Steve Smith ranks 8 among all receivers. Taking one of the Indy guys may seem like you are taking a gamble because they have to split, but they were top three last year. You can't go wrong taking either one because they balance each other out. If Wayne has a good week then the next they focus on him more and Harrison will burn you. It's how it went last year. I'd take several receivers before I'd take Steve Smith.
Love: Owen Daniels, TE Texans
He will only go up. He caught 5 touchdowns last year which is more or equal to just about everyone past your studs of Gates, Heap and Shockey. Now with "a better QB and another year experienced line". He can only go up. Plus you wonder if the Texans have the running game to punch it in down in the goal line. That only makes Daniels more of a buy because Touchdowns are what you want from a TE.
Hate: Ben Watson, TE Patriots
I'm done. I thought he was going to have a breakout year last year. While he did have his best year in terms of yards, he went down in Touchdowns. Now with all the receiver additions the Pats got, his yardage will probably go down again. Someone made an argument somewhere I read that it will actually benefit Watson by leaving the middle open for him. I don't buy it. If he ain't getting touchdowns, he ain't worth it.
Love: Joseph Addai, RB Colts
Man I'm on this bandwagon. I was on it last year. My dad drafted him and dropped him in our money league. He dropped him right around the time he was starting to break out. I promptly went nuts and told him he should have just traded him to me if he didn't want him. Kid is good in this system. Had 7 TDs as a backup. imagine what he will do being the main guy now.
Hate: Chris Henry, LenDale White and Any other Titan RB
God Chris Henry is over hyped. LenDale White is over weight. That equals a big no no as far as depending on either of them as a fantasy RB. White is presumably the starter so far. Chris Henry dropped the jaws of scouts at the combine. I don't like either. Avoid both of these guys this year, not only are they nothing but trouble but they are primed to take time away from each other if neither of them produce.
Love: Jon Kitna, QB Lions and JP Losman, QB Bills
I've been down on JP Losman in the past. But Shoey has kind of open my eyes. Okay I lie. Lee Evans has. JP really has come along and a lot of people are sleeping on him as a legit fantasy option. Evans was one of the best WRs last year and JP did throw 19 TDs. For those of you keeping count thats more than or equal to the likes of Chad Pennington, Brett Favre, Tony Romo, Vince Young, Alex Smith, Steve McNair and Ben Roethlisberger. A bunch of other QBs who played at least 15 games last year.
Jon Kitna. Man he threw for 4 grand last year. Even though he threw more picks(22) than touchdowns(21), his production is something no one expected. Now with another year under Mike Martz, another big time receiver and the confidence to say the Lions will win 10 games, I'm a believer in the Kitna. Look he was top 10 as far as fantasy QBs. If you are in any league then someone has to have him as their starter. It might as well be your team if you miss out on someone like Drew Brees in the earlier rounds.
Hate: Eli Manning, QB Giants
Man he threw 24 touchdowns so it is kinda hard to hate him. But if you look at it his Yards went down. In fact his YPG went down by more than 30 yards!. He threw the same number of Touchdowns but he threw one more pick. Plaxico Burress is lazy, Jeremy Shockey always hobbled. The Line is a question and the running game is not the same without Tiki Barber. It's going to be a tough year for the younger Manning because it's all on him. No rock solid run game to lean on, no sure fire target to throw to.
Love: Defenses that are gamblers
I love the Eagles defense. I love Defenses that score. I've thrown out all rules with defenses and I draft based on one thing. Turnovers. Look at the Eagles last year. Top 10 Fantasy Defense. Sure they are not the stable week in and week out performer that the Bears or Ravens are. But who past them is? If you want to get a defense and you can't get your hands on the Ravens or Bears you go for a team like the Eagles. Stop trying to figure out who has a good defense. Get one that creates turnovers. The Eagles last year scored 11 defensive touchdowns. Thats more than every defense aside from the Ravens. The Vikings also had that man. Those are two defenses you want. The Eagles are flying around the field sacking the QB like no other. They are also tops in that. Those sacks lead to chances for the defense to score because the ball could be put on the ground. It's more possible for a fumble to occur from the QB than the RB. Especially when your defense is sacking at the rate the Eagles are. The Chargers are one of those teams. They have the opportunities. One team you look at is the Seahawks. 91 Sacks the past two years and they added Patrick Kerney.
Hate: Kickers early.
I picked Jeff Wilkins in every league I could because I believed the Rams offense and he was available late in every league I was in. Just hold back until the final rounds and take a Robbie Gould(who believe it or not after being the best fantasy kicker last year is still underrated). Pick a team who is offensively explosive or might have an offense that can't punch it in if you want to do the research. As good as Adam Vinatieri is and as good as his offense is, he wasn't top 10 last year. He simply doesn't get the FG chances the way the colt score and he isn't worth being taken first over all the other kickers. Let someone else waste a pick on him early.
LIGHTNING LOVE
Love: Jamal Lewis, RB Browns He is hungry and the line is better. I would watch out for this guy.
Love: Travis Henry, RB Broncos He is playing for the insane scheme that is the Broncos. He has rushed for 1,000 yards in other systems. So what's NOT to love?
Love: Drew Brees, QB Saints Forget any injury that he got. He is for real and he will produce.
Love: Philip Rivers, QB Chargers Only 9 picks in his first few years. You combine that with 22 touchdowns. LT may score a lot but Rivers is dependable week in and week out.
Love: Santonio Holmes, WR Steelers Man the offense is opening up and he showed last year he could be a deep threat. Big year for the 2nd year receiever.
Love: Reggie Brown, WR Eagles More help is on the way with Kevin Curtis and if Donovan has a repeat of what he did in the first half last year then Reggie Brown is the go to guy and he will only improve on 8 touchdowns.
Love: Kellen Winslow, TE Browns I hate his guts but I love him this year as a fantasy option. Obviously catches are useless in most leagues but I think if Charlie Frye is healthy and better than he was last year than Winslow's yardage and touchdown numbers can only go up.
LIGHTNING HATE
Hate: Tony Gonzlaez, TE Chiefs Recipe for disaster. No line like we saw last year prompted Tony Gonzalez to do a lot more blocking and a less more catching. Plus now the line is actually worse and they have no reliable QB. He will not be the top three tight end like he is every year.
Hate: Patriots WRs It is too a recipe for a disaster. Deep leagues can afford to take a guy like Moss or Stallworth. But some leagues should pick them up as backups and just hope for a big game during your real starters bye weeks. They just are going to get spread out like no other.
Hate: DeShaun Foster, RB Panthers I used to love him but with DeAngelo Williams breathing down his neck and the fact that he cannot stay fully healthy, that spells backup.
Hate: Chester Taylor, RB Vikings Another guy I've gone from loving to hating. I like Adrian Peterson a lot. Especially in the second half. The half that rookie backs bust out. He could end up like Dominic Rhodes ended up after Joseph Addai got a hold of the majority of the carries.
Hate: Vince Young, QB Titans Don't even get me started people. He threw more picks than TDs. The rushing is nice but it's not going to happen again. He doesn't warrant Number 1 QB status. Backup at best on your fantasy team.
Hate: Jake Delhomme, QB Panthers Dropped off considerably from the past two years. He will probably continue that fall. I just don't like him as a viable fantasy starter.
