FANTASY FOOTBALL: Brett Favre and Jeremy Shockey among the big names who could flourish in new uniforms
Change you can count on
Brett Favre isn’t the only big name who has changed uniforms. When the New York Giants traded tight end Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints, it made Kevin Boss –ready or not
– the man at his position. Boss, a fifth-round draft choice who caught 134 passes for 1,590 yards and
19 touchdowns at Division II Western Oregon, didn’t make his first NFL grab until last Nov. 11 after he replaced Shockey, who suffered a broken leg.
Thes 6-foot-6 Boss, who played at 253 pounds last season but reported to minicamp at 272, had nine grabs for 118 yards and two scores in the regular season. But he added five grabs for 90 yards in four postseason games, including a 45-yard gain –the longest play of Super Bowl XLII –against New England’s Rodney Harrison that set up a fourth-quarter TD.
Shockey caught 371 passes for 4,228 yards and 27 scores in his six seasons with the Giants but tallied just three TDs last year. In New Orleans he’ll be catching passes from Drew Brees, who has thrown 105 TD passes in the last four years, and that could vault his fantasy value.
“He has a passion for the game and those are all things that when you start matching them with the production and what he can do on the field, you look at as an asset,” said Saints coach Sean Payton, who was the Giants’ offense coordinator in 2002, when Shockey was named Rookie of the Year after catching 74 passes for 894 yards.
Regardless of his home base, there’s no reason to believe that Favre won’t continue to be the Cal Ripken Jr. of fantasy football.
Despite signing a “lifetime” contract with the Green Bay Packers on March 1, 2001, Favre took his streak of playing in 255 consecutive games (277 including playoffs) to the New York Jets.
The 38-year-old fired 28 touchdown passes during the Pack’s 13-3 campaign last season, which was just 10 less than his combined total in 2005 and ’06. Keep in mind that Favre’s totals over the past four seasons are 96 TDs and 79 interceptions but that’s a still a huge improvement over what the Jets have received during the same period: 62 TDs and 61 INTs.
The last time the Jets threw as many as 28 TD passes in a season was 1998, when Vinny Testaverde tossed all but four of the squad’s 33.
In addition to Shockey and Favre, here are five other veteran players whose fantasy values may change with their new teams:
• Michael Turner: Signing with the Atlanta Falcons is good news and bad news for the running back who caddied for La- Dainian Tomlinson so capably for four seasons in San Diego with 228 carries for 1,257 yards and six TDs. He’ll get most of the carries in Atlanta, but keep in mind that one year after leading the NFL in team rushing, the Falcons ranked just 26th last season with 95 yards per game.
• Jerry Porter: Moving to the Jacksonville Jaguars from the Raiders should help this receiver, who had 284 catches for 3,939 yards and 30 scores in eight years in Oakland. Jacksonville ranked 17th last season with 208 passing yards per game, much better the Raiders (164.4), who were second-worst.
• Isaac Bruce: After catching 942 balls for 14,109 yards and 84 TDs in 14 seasons with the Rams, Jerry Rice gave Bruce permission to wear his jersey No. 80 with the San Francisco 49ers this season. Instead, Bruce settled for No. 88 and will be reunited with offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who was his head coach during his most productive days in St. Louis.
• Julius Jones: Despite sharing carries with Marion Barber for the past three seasons in Dallas, Jones averaged 65.7 rushing yards per game, ran for 1,084 yards in 2006 and scored 18 times on the ground in 51 starts. In Seattle he’ll have a tough task replacing Shaun Alexander, who rushed for 9,429 yards and 100 TDs in eight seasons.
• Josh Brown: Kicker averaged 114.2 points in his five years in Seattle and moves on to St. Louis, where he takes over for Jeff Wilkins, the NFL leader with 163 points in 2003. Aside from the advantage of kicking indoors, Brown should also benefit because the Rams have led the league in field goal makes and attempts twice in the last five years.
Here are some position-by-position tips in preparation for draft day:
Quarterbacks
• Top 10: Peyton Manning, Colts; Tom Brady, Patriots; Tony Romo, Cowboys; Carson Palmer, Bengals; Drew Brees, Saints; Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks; Donovan McNabb, Eagles; Derek Anderson, Browns; Jay Cutler, Broncos; Eli Manning, Giants.
• On the rise: Jason Campbell, Redskins; J. T. O’Sullivan, 49ers; Aaron Rodgers, Packers.
• On the decline: Brett Favre, Jets; Jon Kitna, Lions; Alex Smith, 49ers.
• Sorting the Bills: Trent Edwards failed to throw a TD pass in seven of his 10 appearances during his rookie season. His passer rating of 34.2 in the fourth quarter ranked 22nd in the NFL. He’s a risk even as your No. 2 fantasy QB.
• Fast facts: Vince Young, Titans, has 21 TDs and 30 INTs during his first two seasons. . . . David Garrard, Jaguars, averaged 209 passing yards as a starter last year, up from 174 in 2006. . . . Marc Bulger, Rams, threw 15 INTs in 12 games last season after a total of just 17 in his 24 games covering the previous two years.
Running backs
• Top 10: LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers; Brian Westbrook, Eagles; Adrian Peterson, Vikings; Joseph Addai, Colts; Steven Jackson, Rams; Frank Gore, 49ers; Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars; Marshawn Lynch, Bills; Marion Barber III, Cowboys; Larry Johnson, Chiefs.
• On the rise: Ryan Grant, Packers; Kevin Smith, Lions; LenDale White, Titans.
• On the decline: Ahman Green, Texans; Justin Fargas, Raiders; Willie Parker, Steelers.
• Sorting the Bills: Lynch last season piled up 1,115 rushing yards and seven TDs. Since 1978, 42 rookies have rushed for 1,000 or more yards but only five of them increased both their rushing yardage and TD totals in their second season.
• Fast facts: Jamal Lewis, Browns, rushed for 118 yards or more in four of the final six games last season. . . . Darren McFadden, Raiders (1,830 yards/17 TDs) and Felix Jones, Cowboys (1,162/13) combined for 2,992 yards and 30 scores in the Arkansas backfield last season. . . . In 324 rushing attempts, Edgerrin James, Cardinals, had just four carries of 20 yards or more.
Wide receivers
• Top 10: Randy Moss, Patriots; Terrell Owens, Cowboys; Braylon Edwards, Browns; Reggie Wayne, Colts; Andre Johnson, Texans; T. J. Houshmandzadeh, Bengals; Marques Colston, Saints; Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals; Torry Holt, Rams; Roy Williams, Lions.
• On the rise: Greg Jennings, Packers; Ted Ginn Jr., Dolphins; Calvin Johnson, Lions.
• On the decline: Chris Chambers, Chargers; Darrell Jackson, Broncos; Michael Clayton, Buccaneers.
• Sorting the Bills: Lee Evans had 31 catches for 531 yards and four TDs in the nine games started by Edwards last season compared to 24/318/1 in the seven started by J. P. Losman. He averaged 3.4 catches per game in both cases. Look for rookie James Hardy to catch a lot of the balls that were directed at Josh Reed last season.
• Fast facts: Steve Smith, Panthers and Brandon Marshall, Broncos, both will be serving suspensions at the start of this regular season; Smith for two games and Marshall for one. . . . Counting the playoffs, the stats of Wes Welker, Patriots, were staggering: 19 games, 139 catches, 1,388 yards, 10 TDs. . . . Though the regular season stats of Vincent Jackson, Chargers, were pedestrian (41/623/3), he went for 18/300/2 in three postseason games.
The rest
• Top five tight ends: Jason Witten, Cowboys; Antonio Gates, Chargers; Dallas Clark, Colts; Kellen Winslow, Browns; Chris Cooley, Redskins.
• Top five kickers: Nick Folk, Cowboys; Stephen Gostkowski, Patriots; Adam Vinatieri, Colts; Mason Crosby, Packers; Nate Kaeding, Chargers.
• Top five defense/special teams: Vikings; Patriots; Cowboys; Bears; Chargers.
• Top 10 individual defensive players: Jared Allen, DE, Vikings; Patrick Willis, LB, 49ers; DeMeco Ryans, LB, Texans; Sean Jones, S, Browns; Patrick Kerney, DE, Seahawks; London Fletcher, LB, Redskins; Aaron Kampman, DE, Packers; DeMarcus Ware, LB, Cowboys; Julius Peppers, DE, Panthers; Kyle Vanden Bosch, DE, Titans.
• On the rise: Vernon Davis, TE, 49ers; Shaun Suisham, K, Redskins; Seahawks D/ST; Jon Beason, LB, Panthers; Michael Lewis, S, 49ers.
• On the decline: Alge Crumpler, TE, Titans; Neil Rackers, K, Cardinals; Broncos D/ST; Ray Lewis, LB, Ravens; Lawyer Milloy, S, Falcons.
• Sorting the Bills: Three of TE Donald Royal’s six TD receptions with Buffalo the past two seasons have come against the Dolphins. . . . KRian Lindell is an NFL-best 7 of 8 from 50 yards or more since 2005. . . . The D/ST have accounted for 22 return TDs during the past four seasons, including five in each of the last two. . . . S Donte Whitner had 68 solo tackles and an interception in both of his first two seasons.
• Fast facts: All of five of the TD receptions of Tony Gonzalez, TE, Chiefs came in the 10 games started by Damon Huard, who now backs up QB Brodie Croyle. . . . Rob Bironas, K, Titans booted at least two field goals in 11 games last year, including a league-record eight against the Texans. . . . The Raiders’ sack totals have decreased from 36 in 2005 to 34 in ’06 and 27 last year. . . . Lions rookie LB Jordon Dizon registered 463 tackles during his career at Colorado, the eighth-best total in NCAA major college history.
