FanHouse Fantasy Football 1

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Chad Johnson media circus. Seriously, dude, just shut up and play. Other than him -- though I doubt he thinks we're all aware there are actually other players on the team -- there's a decent crowd of players here with whom fantasy owners are quite familiar. Rudi Johnson and Carson Palmer are traditional high picks, and T.J. Houshmandzedah has really come on strong as an elite wideout.

The Breakout
As much of a punk as he is, Chris Henry put up numbers in this offense when he was actually on the field. Palmer doesn't utilize his slot receiver like Peyton Manning, but he does it quite well. So will it be Jerome Simpson or Andre Caldwell? Palmer's already raving about the maturity of Caldwell and is weary of the rawness to Simpson. That's enough for me. Andre Caldwell is your Bengals breakout for '07. It's gotta be late in a bigger league before you decide to take him, but he's still got a chance to hit it quasi-big this year in the slot.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Most balanced offense in the NFL. With the addition of Rashard Mendenhall the Steelers now have a talented between the tackles runner to go with Fast Willie Parker. This is thunder and lightning to a higher level with the single-back abilities each guy has. They can go deep to Santonio Holmes, or to the reliable possession receiver Hines Ward. Add the extremely athletic 6'4" Limas Sweed to the fray to catch jump balls, and the very solid over-the-middle TE Heath Miller. Oh yeah, and Ben Roethlisberger is coming off easily the most prolific season of his career.

The Breakout
Really tough call here. Did Santonio already have his breakout season last year? (YES) Is Sweed really ready to have a good enough season to call it a breakout? (HMMM ... ) Hasn't Mendenhall received enough hype that he's accurately "rated" (as opposed to underrated or overrated)? I guess if pushed I'll go with Mendenhall. Ward seems a lot less ready to yield his spot outside than Fast Willie is in the backfield to me, plus Nate Washington clouds things at WR. Mendy (yeah, just made that up) will at least vulture the goal-line TDs and has enough speed to fully take over should Parker go down via injury.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet the ...
The Shootouts (it sounds nicer than the "Aints"). Not that New Orleans can't be good -- they can. And they're a nice unit for fantasy football teams, because, in theory, they have a ton of offense. But theorizing is fine until you end up burning through three top 50 picks, which is what Drew Brees, Marques Colston and Reggie Bush will cost you.

The Breakout
Perhaps I'm being old fashioned, but Deuce McAllister seems to me like the best possible "breakout" option on this team. Sure, he's gone through more ACL's than Alonzo Mourning has kidneys, but the Saints can't function without a strong between the tackles runner. Oh, and he "don't cost nuthin'!" Which, to me, is the ideal scenario for finding a breakout -- cheap, easy and late.

The Bust
I thought that people had stopped sweating Bush, but judging from his ADP (30), I guess not. Seriously, he's going 30th. (30!!!) It just goes to show how much potential, upside, etc can drive someone's fantasy value. Anywho, I wouldn't draft Reginald with your pick, personally. What justifies taking him? The 3.7 YPC last year or the 3.6 the year before? Granted, the 80+ catches per year are nice, and he's a nice RB2 in PPR leagues but let someone else fall prey.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Personal nightmare for Donovan McNabb. Not only have the Eagles become the worst team in a loaded NFC East, but he can't stay healthy ... as much of the city of Philadelphia is now turning on him after learning of his shoulder tendinitis in mini-camp following bouts with a torn ACL, sports hernia, and bum ankle in the past few seasons. Oh, and the receivers aren't exactly All-World. Luckily he's got the ever-explosive Brian Westbrook behind him to provide stability to the offense.

The Breakout
It's tough to tag a rookie as a solid breakout candidate. They are just so unpredictable and the hype that comes with them makes them overvalued in so many situations -- I saw Calvin Johnson picked before Roy Williams last season, for example -- but DeSean Jackson is stepping into a good situation for himself here. Reggie Brown has disappointed more often than not in his three seasons, and Kevin Curtis can't be counted on as more than a big-play threat on the outside. We know Andy Reid loves the throw the football, and Donovan can still sling it with the best. Grab Jackson late and reap the rewards by midseason.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
New look offense! Out with Al Saunders and Joe Gibbs and in with Jim Zorn's high-powered west coast offense. The offense Zorn is installing is the one used in Seattle under Mike Holmgren and has made fantasy stars of numerous players through the years, including Brett Favre, Shaun Alexander, and Matt Hasselbeck. This has caused everyone to expect that Clinton Portis -- since he's arguably more talented and much tougher than Alexander -- to become an absolute beast. That's all well and good ... just remember that Portis isn't following Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson on one side of the line.

The Breakout
Jason Campbell has shown flashes of being a productive QB, but been derailed by injuries and inconsistency. He has plenty of tools and weapons to become a fantasy starter (top 12ish) in this offense. The Skins even tried to overload the receiving corps during the draft by selecting TE Fred Davis and WRs Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly with upper round selections. He did throw for 215, 348, 301, and 216 yards in the last four full games before he was injured. Be ready to pounce on Campbell as a quality backup with the chance to become a starter at some point in '08.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Team everyone is sick of hearing about. If not, give it some time. You already have the circus around The Artist Formerly Known as Pac-Man and constant updates on Tony Romo's social life ... mix in the storylines involving my personal least favorite player in the NFL (he wears #81), speculation about the head coaching situation, and anything involving Jerry Jones; and it's a cornucopia of maddening media attention.

The Breakout
Actually, most of the guys on this team are properly rated, but since I have to pick one I'm going with Patrick Crayton. He has been steadily improving since his rookie season in Dallas each year, and exploded once last year (7-184-2 in week 4). With Terry Glenn back in the fold some fantasy owners may downgrade Crayton's value. The thing is, he's still gonna be their second outside option. I like him to be a top-40 wideout for '08. He quietly set career highs in everything last year (50 catches, 697 yards, seven TDs) and will far exceed those.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet the ...
Super Bowl Champions. Look, people can claim they're not homers all day long, but the fact of the matter is, I read/watch/write re: the Panthers a lot. (Well, as often as I can anyway.) And maybe I'm a little biased, but they're going to win the NFC South this year and they're going to do it by scoring a ton of points. Of course, if Jake Delhomme goes down again, I may look stupid. But it wouldn't be the first time.

The Breakout
The bad news? Jonathan Stewart is already getting a lot of preseason love (check him dead center of the sixth round in an average 12 teamer). The good news? The love is warranted. Stewart was thought to be a top choice of plenty of teams in the draft, but a turf toe injury let him hang around for the Cats. Note that the Carolina team doctor performed his surgery

Seriously, no one works the day before our Independence Day. Just look at Devin's dance. That's his "Fourth of July dance."

Even your bosses know you don't work today. They accept it because it's a fact of life.

Why not come discuss some fantasy issues like -- but not limited to -- rookies that will/will not justify their hype, our previews, this year's Big Ben, this year's Braylon Edwards, or who is completely overhyped?

All this and more, at 1:00 on the day before a holiday ... at work ... you know you want to ...

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
David who slayed Goliath ... and you know how that goes in the world of fantasy football. At least you should. The residue of a strong post-season run by a team almost certainly means several players are going to be overrated the next fantasy season. I'm looking right at you, Thomas Jones. So the question with the Giants is, can you look past the post-season and judge flatly on what you think they'll do in this regular season? Imagine the Giants had lost in the first round at Tampa Bay. Now judge their fantasy players. That should be an accurate rating system. For example, settle down about Eli Manning. Sure, you can believe he's taken a giant (pun unintended, but I'm keeping the word choice) step forward in terms of maturity and taking care of the football. You also should remember that 13 QBs outscored him in fantasy points in '07. His last name doesn't do him any favors either. Hypnotize yourself into believing that Eli Smith lost in the first round to the Bucs. Now do you like him as a top ten QB? Me neither.

The Breakout
Brandon Jacobs ... I already covered him.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Team that needs to change divisions. How about going 8-8 and finishing last? The Texans are joined in the AFC South by three playoff teams, none of which is significantly worse entering the 2008 campaign. The problem for the Texans is that their offense didn't really improve itself and the rest of the divisional teams have stout defenses. Having Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub healthy for the entire season, though, is a start. Those two have a year under their belt working together and will be the key to this offense. You also know Gary Kubiak likes to run the ball, but it's tough to trust Ahman Green or Chris Brown.

The Breakout
ZZZZZ ... sleeper time. Steve Slaton, the rookie RB from West Virginia was the Texans' third round pick. I just mentioned how Coach K (is that blasphemy to say when it's not "him," by the way?) enjoys running the football. Again, do you trust Ahman Green to stay healthy? Do you trust Chris Brown at all? If you shook your head at both of the above -- I know I did -- enter Slaton. The best part is that he'll be dirt-cheap on draft day. Last round flier time, baby!