Feature Articles

5 Position Matchups You Need to Watch

By Jonathon Criswell

The preseason -- or as some call it, Groundhog Day -- is here. Camps league-wide have opened, giving the illusion that the NFL season is right around the corner. Wrong. There’s still five long weeks. Five weeks of dreary “highlights” from games that don’t count. Five weeks of hoping to heaven your top draft pick doesn’t pull a hamstring or pull a Ricky Williams and flee the country in search of himself.

At any rate, many of you have your drafts right in the midst of this awful time. Sure, the draft is exciting beyond belief. But the football, quite frankly, is wretched. Most of the playing time is reserved for guys fighting for 4th QB and 6th WR spots. These players have no impact whatsoever on their own teams, let alone your fantasy league. The superstars can do nothing except get hurt. And the ticket prices for these exhibitions? Please.

But the preseason can be very useful to the shrewd fantasy player. So, if you’re drafting soon, follow these five meaningful storylines up to and after your draft. And put the battle for your favorite team’s backup fullback spot on the backburner.

5. Rams backup RB spot – Let’s face it, folks, Marshall Faulk is heading down the NFL mountain. Top pick Steven Jackson and 3rd-year veteran Lamar Gordon will battle it out to replace him when (not if) Faulk is missing in action in 2004. Rams coach Mike Martz may not be the genius he thinks he is, but any spot on the Rams’ offense is a valuable one, and you’d do well to round out your RB corps with one of these guys.
Advantage: Gordon, due to experience and early returns from training camp, though it’s a very slight advantage.

4. Bears starting RB spot – Neither Thomas (it’s not unusual) Jones nor Anthony Thomas will or should be drafted to start on a fantasy football team. For some reason, some people think that career flop Jones will suddenly emerge as a force as he takes the same spot as Priest Holmes in a vaguely similar offense. (Mention Priest Holmes and everybody’s ears perk up, even if the discussion centers on the Bears.) But this Bear offense is triggered by an unproven Rex Grossman. And the Bears’ o-line is nowhere near the Chiefs’ line, even if it did lure John Tait away from Kansas City. When was the last time the Bears pass offense was described as “prolific?” This pass offense will be unable to loosen up the running game, and nobody on the Bears project as a fantasy starter except for perhaps Marty Booker. I actually like Thomas more than Jones, but not in this style of offense.
Advantage: Jones, just because he’ll get every opportunity to impress, which he hasn’t come close to doing elsewhere. Draft him only if you’ve exhausted all other options

3. 49ers WR spots – Nobody is high on the 49ers’ chances this year, so if that’s the case, they’ll be behind a lot. Somebody has to catch some balls between Cedrick (the Entertainer) Wilson, Brandon Lloyd, Rashaun Woods, and journeyman Curtis Conway. Tim Rattay is no Jeff Garcia, but he’s no Jeff Kemp, either. There are some balls to be had there, and some receiving totals to pile up. There is a very cheap #1 receiver out there that few people know about. Which one is it? That’s why you’ve got to pay attention to the pre-season.
Advantage: Lloyd, because all the 49ers love him; he has such soft hands. Woods set the world on fire at Oklahoma State and could be a strong factor. Wilson is ordinary, and Conway, overrated his entire career, is slipping further and further off the Relevance Scale.

2. Dolphins starting everything -- Did you hear Ricky Williams retired? Well, before that fiasco, there was a quarterback situation brewing. Normally, Dolphin quarterback derbies are as exciting and meaningful as 1980s Democratic primaries, but that could change this year. If the Dolphins fail to secure a workhorse running back, word out of Miami is that either Jay Fielder or A.J. Feeley could throw 10-15 more passes a game. This might actually make the Miami quarterback a viable fantasy player, the days of which we haven’t seen since the mid-1990s before Dan Marino fell apart.
Advantage: Feeley, as he’s ready to break out after not getting a chance sitting behind Donovan McNabb and Koy Detmer. Fiedler, never a good fantasy option, is gradually wearing out his welcome in south FLA, but still makes a decent backup.

As for that jumbled running back situation? Stay tuned. Right now, Travis Minor becomes the default starter, but like Quentin Griffin, won’t go the full mileage before breaking down. Sammy Morris never made it in Buffalo, but he gets a chance. Fred Russell from Iowa may also have a chance. I’ll confess to not knowing anything about Leonard Henry. Onterrio Smith may soon be imported from Minnesota, in which he becomes the clear favorite. Definitely worth your attention this summer.

1. Broncos starting RB – This is a gold mine. Mike Shanahan’s 1,000-yd. assembly line speaks for itself. The only question that remains is who will hold the pot of gold at the end of August.
Advantage: Quentin Griffin, for now, as he holds the #1 spot on the chart. It says here that Griffin won’t hold the full-time spot for a full season, however, as size and durability issues arise. Garrison Hearst may make a move in preseason and is my odds-on favorite to start Opening Day. But he’s not the long-term answer, and the Broncos may actually struggle with him in there. Former fullback Mike Anderson throws his hat in the ring and may again be a one-season wonder in 2004, which would be fine. Speed is his biggest concern. Tatum Bell is easily the most intriguing character of the quartet. He broke his finger on his first day of practice, but could find himself in there by Week 5 or 6, if Griffin doesn’t hold up and Hearst proves a liability. He was drafted in the same round as Clinton Portis and wears the same uniform number, and the expectations for him aren’t dissimilar, either.

Honorable mention:

Titans RB – Chris Brown/ Antowain Smith tie

Jets TE – Michael Ricks over Anthony Becht

Browns RB – Lee Suggs/William Green – flat-footed tie

Pats WRs – Nobody stands out, all will contribute...approach with caution.

Noticeably absent:

Cards WRs – Not sold on Josh McCown, not enough pie to divide up evenly between Fitzgerald and Johnson.

Giants QBs – Both will struggle, for different reasons. One is over the hill, other hasn’t climbed his first NFL mountain.

Any K battles – Never, ever take a kicker whose job is not guaranteed in training camp.

Editor's note: originally published 8/04

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