FanHouse PeytonHillis

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Give Josh McDaniels this much: He's willing to make an impression. Before he's even coached so much as one regular season game, he's assured that he will either be remembered as a bold, brilliant leader who won because he had the courage of his convictions, or as an abject failure whose hiring set the franchise back by years because he had the courage of his convictions. Some of that has to do with Jay Cutler's career trajectory, but McDaniels needs to win and he needs to win quickly.

For those who may use a different term or are new to fantasy football, "handcuff" is the term used when you own insurance for one of your players in the form of owning his real-life backup. It's usually a running back, but you could conceivably handcuff a quarterback. The theory is that some or all of the production is automatically replaced should you lose a high draft pick to injury, meaning you need to insure a high draft pick by grabbing his backup.

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With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
Kyle Orton Dead Arm Syndrome: a condition characterized by a complete lack of strength in the upper arm. Despite hosting the NFL's second most productive offense in 2008, averaging just shy of 400 yards per game, and the third best passing offense in the league, the introduction of Orton as the starting quarterback puts the kibosh on the productivity. Orton has a weak arm, relies heavily on check-down passes and makes bad decisions. In terms of supporting cast, the receivers are a huge upgrade from his days in Chicago with Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, but Marshall wants out so be sure to keep a close eye on this situation. Also, new head coach and signal-caller Josh McDaniels runs a spread offense, so he'll need to rely on Orton probably more than anyone would ever want. I don't expect the offense to suffer immensely with a solid new batch of runners, but it definitely takes a dive from last season.

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Despite not being a great real football team in 2008, we always knew one thing about the Denver Broncos: They really matter in fantasy football. You're talking about a team who amassed the second most yards in the league. Only two teams passed for more yards, and -- despite the neverending assembly line of running backs -- they managed to average 4.8 yards per carry on the ground.

Heading into 2009, the team will have a different look. For of all, for the first time since I began playing fantasy football, their head coach will not be notorious alleged fantasy-hater, Mike Shanahan.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

It's a brave new world in Denver, where the Broncos will take the field without Mike Shanahan on the sideline for the first time since 1995. Josh McDaniels, their new coach, was 19 back then, and has one of the shortest resumes of any head coach in NFL history. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, but it was clear that Shanahan's system was no longer bearing fruit and the team may benefit just from the change of voice on the sideline.

Just in time for the fantasy playoffs, Week 14 provided fantasy owners with plenty of heart palpitations and an awful lot to think about. Going into Week 15, the most nerve-racking of all fantasy weeks in my opinion, we have no less than five superstar running backs with totally uncertain futures after suffering injuries.

At this point, we at Fantasy FanHouse do not know much more than you about these situations, but we will attempt to shed some light on how to approach them (with more definitive updates coming later this week).

Broncos: Peyton Hillis / Tatum Bell - You can't paint a turd. Sure, Peyton Hillis is officially on the injured reserve, which will inevitably lead many fantasy players to jump all over Tatum Bell, but the problem with this situation is you are still talking about Tatum Bell -- the same guy who got cut by the Detroit Lions. It is conceivable that cutting Bell was another event in a long line of boneheaded moves by the Lions, but I wouldn't stake my fantasy playoffs on Bell if I were you. He may have looked decent against the Chiefs, but temper the expectations against better run defenses in Carolina and Buffalo. In fact, if you insist on starting Bell, I have a red hot investment portfolio for you that includes sub-prime mortgages and Lehman Brothers stock that I'd like you talk to you about as well.

Like we always do just after Monday Night Football, it's time to recap the week that was in fantasy football. Hey, it's go time folks. That's right, it's playoff time. There's very little time to prepare as the games start coming at you four days a week. You've gotta be on your toes -- there's no more gambling, no more getting cute. You roll the dice with what you've got and hope for the best.

Let's touch all the bases and recap everything that happened in Week 14. And for many, that means the beginning of the fantasy football playoffs.

"Wow." That's one thing that can be said of what just took place on MNF. And here we thought those were supposed to be top-notch defenses? Well, for fantasy football purposes that's a dream game. A plethora of offense and all the usual suspects delivering epic stat lines. Yes, I'm referring to you Antonio Bryant, who killed any chance I had of winning a playoff game in one of my leagues. Thanks.

Just think, there was a time when the Broncos thought Travis Henry was the worst thing that could ever happen to their running game. Turns out the Henry era was only the precursor for the unit's complete collapse this season. Peyton Hillis will miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, which makes him the sixth Bronco running back to go down to injury this season.

Hillis became the latest name in the pantheon of "unknowns who Mike Shanahan plugged in successfully." He was a seventh-rounder on a team loaded with backs but ran for 305 yards and five touchdowns over the last four weeks.

Michael Pittman, Anthony Aldridge, Andre Hall and Ryan Torain are already out for the season. Selvin Young, the starter at the outset of the season, has played in just one of the last eight games because of a groin injury. Given all those players, its amazing that Hillis even made the team and lasted long enough to help them over the last month

That leaves Tatum Bell, one-time Bronco starter and scourge of the Lions locker room, and P.J. Pope as the only healthy running backs in the Rockies. The Broncos did give wide receiver Eddie Royal three carries yesterday, so perhaps they'll be creative in filling the need. Or, more likely, they'll just put even more on Jay Cutler's shoulders.

The Kansas City Chiefs had to be feeling pretty good about themselves nine minutes into Sunday's game with the Broncos. Jay Cutler had just gifted them a touchdown with a pass into coverage which Maurice Leggett picked off and took for six points. That made it 10-0 Chiefs and a replay of Week Four's 33-19 win looked like it was in the cards.

Cutler wouldn't let it happen, though. He was 30-of-36 with 270 yards and two touchdowns after that interception and did most of his best work late in the game when an injury to Peyton Hillis cost the Broncos any semblance of a running game. Cutler completed eight passes, including the winning touchdown to Brandon Marshall, on a 12-play, 95-yard drive that bridged the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters.

Then, backed up on their own one-yard line on third-and-10 with just under four minutes to play, Cutler hit Marshall for 19 yards for a first down. He followed that with an 11-yard strike to Tony Scheffler on another third down to ice the game and, barring a complete collapse, the AFC West for the Broncos.

Cutler is the reason why. Hillis was the sixth Bronco back to go down to injury this season and that's put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. He's inconsistent and brasher than he has any reason to be, but Cutler's put up strong performances often enough to keep a poor defense and mediocre running game from stopping the Broncos run to the playoffs.

The playoffs are either upon us or one week away in the majority of fantasy football leagues. With this in mind, Fantasy FanHouse is examining what you can expect from the fantasy relevant players on each team.

Denver Broncos

The opposing defenses: vs. KC (25th against pass, 31st against run), @ CAR (12th against pass, 18th against run), BUF (14th against pass, 17th against run)
The skinny: It's usually hit or miss with Jay Cutler and this offense. Just when you think they're a lock to have one of those monster afternoon's they crap out on you. However, with the division title on their taste buds and a mild schedule on the horizon...it should be all systems a go. That's right load up your Bronco's and put your faith in them. No longer a dark horse, the new flavor of the month Peyton Hillis just might be the key factor/ingredient this offense has sorely needed. Stay tuned.
The must-starts: Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Peyton Hillis
The likely start: Tony Sheffler, Matt Prater
The spot-start: None
The no-starts: Selvin Young, Tatum Bell, Brandon Stokley, Darrell Jackson
The D/ST: They haven't stopped anyone all season long and so there's no reason to believe they'll start now.