The Damn Mags and Pre-Season Rankings
So far I have bought every Fantasy Football mag I’ve come across. Seven so far, and I know that The Fantasy Index is coming soon. I’m hoping that the Index doesn’t fall into the same trap that the rest of these rags, er, mags have fallen into: Basing this year’s rankings on last year’s stats. Yeah, I know…it’s the most recent set of data that can be applied to this little endeavor of ours. At least the latest hard data. There are intangibles, of course: Coaching changes, player moves…retirements and suspensions, etc. But that info doesn’t seem to be factored in. Almost no imagination is used, it seems.
Here is my magazine stack of mediocrity:
- Pro Football Weekly and Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football Guide 2010
- Fantasy League Football
- Sporting News Fantasy Football
- NFL.com Fantasy Football 2010 Preview
- Fox Sports Fantasy Football (with scout.com)
- ESPN Fantasy Football 2010
- Lindy’s Sports Fantasy Football 2010
Most of these mags are filled with dreck, but the one exception is Lindy’s. While I questioned some of the rankings (no shock), I really enjoyed the article about how RBs are STILL the key to winning in Fantasy Football. The mock draft didn’t feature a QB pick until 2:10! If you are itching for a beach read, find this mag, and use the others for tp.
There are two QBs leading the way this year in the mags: Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. Turns out that AR had a great second half last year, and that helps him top more than a couple lists. Not mine. I’ll take some proven production, thank you…I’ll take Drew Brees as my top guy.
- Drew Brees
- Peyton Manning
- Aaron Rodgers
- Philip Rivers
- Matt Schaub
- Tom Brady
- Matt Ryan
- Tony Romo
- Brett Favre
- Joe Flacco
- Kevin Kolb
- Jay Cutler
- Donovan McNabb
- Eli Manning
- Carson Palmer
There is no way in hell that CJ posts numbers like that again. So there is no way that I can make him my top guy. Again…proven consistency gets my nod for the top spot.
- Adrian Peterson
- Chris Johnson
- MJD
- Ray Rice
- Michael Turner
- Rashard Mendenhall
- Cedric Benson
- Steven Jackson
- Frank Gore
- DeAngelo Williams
- Shonn Greene
- Pierre Thomas
- Ryan Grant
- Jamaal Charles
- Beanie Wells
Since Andre Johnson is ranked as the top WR in EVERY mag, I wanted to find a reason to push him to second. Couldn’t. He has the QB, he has the consistency, he has the intangibles.
- Andre Johnson
- Larry Fitzgerald
- Roddy White
- Randy Moss
- Reggie Wayne
- Miles Austin
- Vincent Jackson
- Calvin Johnson
- Brandon Marshall
- DeSean Jackson
- Sidney Rice
- Greg Jennings
- Steve Smith (NYG)
- Marques Colston
- Michael Crabtree
Last year, Dallas Clark was ranked somewhere near the bottom of the top 10 for TEs. I had no idea why. He was a huge target in the top pass offense in the league…so I ranked him #1. All he did was have a record-breaking year: He is the only TE to catch 100 balls for 1000+ yds and have 10 TDs. So, of course, he’s ranked #1 this year on every list so far. But not mine.
- Vernon Davis
- Dallas Clark
- Antonio Gates
- Brent Celek
- Jermichael Finley
- Tony Gonzalez
- Jason Witten
- Zack Miller
- Owen Daniels
- Chris Cooley
All of these lists are obviously incomplete, and are subject to constant change. I will discuss my reasoning for some of the seemingly outlandish choices during our pre-season shows (the first of which will be July 15).
I look forward to your comments.