In this, the “year of the non-running back” in fantasy football, quarterbacks and wide receivers have been expected to play much larger roles for us than in previous seasons. Between excellent crops at both positions and the decreased work loads of NFL running backs, powerhouse fantasy backfields are becoming less and less imperative to a team’s success.

Problems are arising in this new draft theory as marquee quarterbacks battle injuries that have affected their preseason reps and conditioning. Should we be concerned about Peyton Manning (knee), Tom Brady (foot), or Matt Hasselbeck (back)? We think so, if anything because fantasy owners have placed so much faith in them to lead their teams to glory. Read more »

In fantasy, a sleeper is comprised of equal parts talent and opportunity. Some of fantasy owners’ biggest frustrations happen when young talent wastes away while veterans serve as mediocre starters. Before the season begins, it’s important to assess when and where the opportunities could come, and who’s in line to receive them.

Among those with the most immediate chance to prove himself as a fantasy contributor is Eagles rookie wideout DeSean Jackson. The Eagles’ already-thin group of receivers got even thinner when it was announced that Kevin Curtis could miss nearly half the season with a sports hernia surgery. Fellow rookie Ray Rice and Steve Slaton could also gets early opportunities because of injuries. Read more »

The Brett Favre Saga is not over, let’s just clear that up. His 2008 team is settled, but ESPN won’t stop showing highlights, making stories of this situation, or delightfully ribbing themselves about how often they talk about Favre. No, the Favre in Green Bay chapter is over, but the Favre in New York chapter should be even more saucy.

Finally, though, this thing becomes about football. And for our purposes, we get a little bit of closure on the fantasy side. Along those lines, this deal works out quite well for us, considering the only two scenarios left on the board: Favre ending up with either the Jets or Buccaneers. Read more »

As the start of the dreaded pre-season games looms closer and closer, fantasy owners are getting the first few indications on which players have come out of camp looking impressive which ones have been lacking.

Tradition dictates that at least one fantasy star per year will have his season ruined by a pre-season injury. But, beyond that, there are plenty of players who right now only factor in as bits and pieces on a fantasy bench, but could very well turn out to be the difference between the consolation bracket and gunning for the league championship. There are also trades to be dealt with, and there have been some very big ones as of late. Read more »

As year-long fantasy enthusiasts start to keep tabs about who’s looking good for 2008, we take a look at ten quarterbacks not named Peyton or Tom and try to analyze their fantasy potential this fall.

Some of these quarterbacks will surely have a jump in value, while many more will slide after mediocre efforts in 2007. On a whole, the quarterback position took a beating in 2007, meaning that there is rebound value to be had at if owners are patient. Read more »