Now that the regular season is over, I could not wait to take a look back at all my bold predictions regarding the 2009 fantasy season.  Overall I’d give myself a solid B.  I was on the money with a few things, in the neighborhood of a few others and completely clueless on a few more.  Here is my version of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.


The Good:
From 8/17/09
In trying to forecast the “who’s gonna be who” for the 2009 fantasy football season, I’ve come to one realization and that is to not undersell the New York Jets.  I’ll say it now and I’ll back it with facts once the season starts, Mark Sanchez is going to be a superstar quarterback in the NFL for as long as he is healthy.  And the Sanchez era is already here (sorry Kellen).

The Jet’s have it right because they lead with the most important tool of any championship team and that is an amazing offensive line.  All of the runs, all of the pass protection, all of the play-action, it all starts with the big boys and in New York, they are big, they are good and this is the second year that this group will be together.  Simply put the rest kind of falls into place after that.


From 9/11/09
For as long as we have been involved prepping RapidDraft for the 2009 fantasy football season, there has been one underlying theme from countless pros and industry experts:  This is the year of the Wide Receiver.  With that being said, let’s take a look at some of the names that may not be in the top ten at the position, but are players that will score and may be available on the Free Agent wire.


Mike Sims-Walker   Jacksonville – A man that has registered over 100 yards receiving in an NFL game, Sims-Walker has been plagued by injuries but is seemingly ready to take on more responsibilities in the Jags aerial attack.
Pierre Garcon   Indianapolis – The departure of Marvin Harrison and the promotion of Anthony Gonzalez leaves a lot of balls up for grabs in Indianapolis, and Pierre Garcon could get in the way of many of those passes.  An All-American in Division III, Garcon has caught up to the speed of the professional game and could be a viable option for Peyton Manning.


The Bad”
From 8/24
Now usually when we speak about fantasy busts we are talking about the newest version of Pam Anderson’s chest, but this fantasy bust is a gray-haired old warrior who is going to raise the hopes of the Viking Nation and then fail to deliver.  Let me give you the reasons why.


To begin with, he is never going to be ready for game one on September 13th in Cleveland.  Considering how bad the Browns are you would think that Favre would be a fantasy dream-come-true, but there is simply no way that in this time frame the old man is going to have the necessary relationships with his receivers and offensive coaches to do anything but move the chains a few times and hopefully win the game.  This situation will continually repeat itself for weeks two and three.  And I predict that just when the necessary familiarity starts to develop, the Green Bay Packers will come calling.


The revamped Green Bay Packers defense will not worry one bit about what Brett Favre is capable of doing because they already know what he is capable of doing.  Guys like Charles Woodson and Al Harris and Aaron Kampman will bait him into being…well, being Brett Favre.  They won’t be running stunts to stop Brett Favre, they’ll be running stunts to take him right where he’s dying to go.  The first time he faces his old teammates, who are running a completely new defense these days, the Packers will record no less than three interceptions and one of them is going to the house!  This sounds a lot like something about an old dog and new tricks.  They will bring pressure from one end and have a defensive back standing in the very position that they know Favre is going to deliver the ball.  He may catch them once for a long TD, but overall they will win that battle going away.


The Ugly:
From 5/26/06
Now you wouldn’t think that a player who has done federal time would stand a chance to actually become a "renaissance player", one who can grasp a “breakout” role in the NFL.  But Michael Vick can be exactly that player.  He could “wow” the Madden crowd and still make Jim Brown proud.  He could still be the future of the sport while representing the amazing durability and adaptability of the past.  Simply put, Michael Vick could potentially be someone unique.  He could be that elusive “all inclusive” player.  He can be the "vacation resort you never have to leave" or the "holiday buffet that never closes".


Michael Vick needs to be the first two-way starter at TE/Wildcat QB and Outside Linebacker.  He needs to be on the punt and kick-off teams as a gunner, and he can return kicks as well (returning punts is too dangerous).  Michael Vick needs to be that tough.  If you spend a distinguishable amount of time locked down and you want some forgiveness, you have to come across with something stronger than an “I’m sorry”.  If you are going to front something as bad-ass as dog fighting, then you had better come with something more than “hey, I think I can still play QB”.  Mike Vick can redefine Mike Vick if he is tough enough to be as bad as he was acting before all this went down.  Otherwise he’s just a cruel punk.


Maybe I’ll get my renaissance player in Tim Tebow.  I give myself a B on my overall body of work and I give my loyal audience an A for continuing to read my stuff.  Check out RapidDraft Fantasy Playoff Draft-Style Game.  It is never too late to win money from RapidDraft.


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