Injury News:

Jamaal Charles (ACL): He is showing explosiveness and said he “felt fresh” in the Chiefs preseason opener against the Cardinals.

Adrian Peterson (ACL & MCL): Has been activated from PUP and begun non-contact drills. Coaches told defense if you hit AP, you’re getting cut. On track for limited action in week 1.

Ryan Mathews (broken collarbone): It appears he’ll miss a week or two to start the season. Even though Mathews believes he will be ready for week one, head coach Norv Turners reminded reporters that “Ryan is not a doctor,” and the team will wait and see how his rehab goes.

Trent Richardson (knee scope): Rehab is going according to schedule and the Browns are hopeful he will be ready for the opener.

Isaac Redman (groin): Redman had an MRI yesterday morning and we are awaiting results. He is expected to be a fantasy starter, but if the results are bad, his value takes a hit, so keep an eye on him.

Guys I hate:

Darren McFadden – The guy took Ryan Mathews spot as the injury prone guy everyone loves with a top 10 pick. Why risk your first pick on a guy that has yet to play a full season? Most GP in one season is 13.

2011 stats: 7 GP, 113 ATT, 614 yards, 5.4 AVG, 4 TD; 19 REC, 154 yards, 1 TD

Ryan Mathews – He’s a fringe pick here. If you are still taking him to be your number one RB, it’s a terrible pick, but if he’s your #2, he could be a steal. It seems like a lot of stock to put into a guy that hasn’t played a full season of football since his sophomore year in high school.

2011 stats: 14 GP, 222 ATT, 1091 yards, 4.9 AVG, 6 TD; 50 REC, 455 yards, 0 TD

Marshawn Lynch – Beast mode was supposed to be the next big thing in his early days with the Bills, but got into trouble and was lackluster on the field. I just can’t buy into the hype after one good season. He only had a 4.2 ypc by the way and last year was his first time having double digit TDs, PLUS he just got a payday.

2011 stats: 285 ATT, 1204 yards, 4.2 AVG, 12 TD; 28 REC, 212 yards, 1 TD

Guys I love:

Ryan Williams – Beanie Wells has failed to produce in the past, which is why they drafted Williams in the second round last year. Coming back from injury he is showing the explosiveness from pre-injury and should be able to unseat Wells fairly quickly.

2011 stats: DNP

Chris Johnson – Johnson has a full camp and the Titans are switching back to the blocking scheme they used in 2009 when Johnson went for 2000 yards. This has bounce back written all over it.

2011 stats: 262 ATT, 1047 yards, 4.0 AVG, 4 TD; 57 REC, 517 yards, 0 TD

BenJarvus Green-Ellis – The Law Firm rated 3^rd of Pro Football Focus’ player rater among running backs and is going to get every down opportunities in the Bengals system, something he has yet to get in his career. No one is taking goal line carries away from this guy either.

2011 stats: 181 ATT, 667 yards, 3.7 AVG, 11 TD; 9 REC, 159 yards, 0 TD

3 Burning Questions:

1. Is Darren McFadden worth a first round pick? His ADP suggests he is 5^th off the board among RBs. No; McFadden is a fantastic talent, but you don’t want to spend your first RB, let alone first pick to be a question mark. He should put up great numbers, but I can’t see how it’s worth it to be on a week to week basis as far as health is concerned with your best player.

2. What can we expect from Adrian Peterson this year? We can expect the old AP after about week four. The Vikings are going to limit his carries initially, but I can’t imagine that would last long, considering how great AP is.

3. Is there a RB that can be usable in fantasy formats from the Patriots? I really like Shane Vereen even though he had limited carries last year. He can catch the ball out of the backfield and has moved up the depth chart with the departure of Green-Ellis. He should be a nice flex option by the end of the year, with RB2 potential.

For Full RB Rankings and Cheat Sheet, click here.

Make sure to check out the NFL Under Pressure show tonight with myself and Andy Erickson at 7:30 – 8:30 CST right here.

Guys I like:

Carson Palmer: He can be had for a great price in the later parts of your draft. He had fantastic stats to finish the season last year. In last eight starts, was 5^th in passing yards, 7^th in completion percentage, 9^th in completions, 4^th in yards per attempt and 12^th in TDs. Now has Heyward-Bey and Moore healthy with full offseason. He had 6 INT in first game and a half last year.

2011 stats: 10 GP, 60.7%, 2753 yards, 13 TD, 16 INT

Phillip Rivers: Rivers is an elite QB. Fell from those ranks last year with a sub-par performance, but arguably better weapons around him this year. He has Floyd, Meachem and healthy Gates with a great running game. 2011 was a first for INT problem.

2011 stats: 62.9%, 4624 yards, 27 TD, 20 INT

Jay Cutler: Keeping it simple, he has Brandon Marshall. He hasn’t had a playmaker like that in years.

2011 stats: 10 GP, 58.0%, 2319 yards, 13 TD, 7 INT

Guys I don’t like:

RGIII: People trying to catch Cam Newton in a bottle. Don’t do it, he’s being drafted as a starting QB in 12 team leagues.

Michael Vick: Same as other years, let this guy be someone else’s problems. Will rack up the points in any format, but will certainly be injured down the stretch. Has “reinvented” himself this offseason, but at age 32, may be too late.

2011 stats: 13 GP, 58.9% 3303 yards, 18 TD, 14 INT

Answer me this:

Can Cam Newton avoid the sophomore slump? No, he threw for over 250 yards just once in last 6 games and over 300 zero times in last 12 games after going over 300 in first 3 of 4. 91 of 152 (59.9) in last 6 games as well. He also will not rush for 14 TDs again.

2011 stats: 60.0%, 4051 yards, 21 TD, 17 INT; 126 ATT, 706 yards, 14 TD

Is Tony Romo a first tier QB in 2012? He finished 7^th last year in QB points according to ESPN standard leagues. The pressure is on yet again as this is another must win season for the Cowboys. He has performed to expectations, but I can’t put him in the same class as Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady just yet.

2011 stats: 66.3%, 4184 yards, 31 TD, 10 INT

What exactly can we expect from Peyton Manning this year? What sucks for Manning is that he plays 15 games outdoor this year, but he ultimately hasn’t played much worse outside than in a dome. He is an incredibly slow starter, so do not panic when he doesn’t come flying out of the gate. Buy low would usually make sense, but QB is so deep so it probably isn’t worth it. Formal prediction: 4,000 yards with 25 TD and 15 INT

2011 stats: Injured

2010 stats: 66.3%, 4700 yards, 33 TD, 17 INT

2012 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet Found Here

Make sure to check out the NFL Under Pressure show tonight with myself and Andy Erickson at 7:30 – 8:30 CST right here.

Simply click on the link and you will have up-to-date rankings, rather than picking from the help of a magazine that was published months ago.

FF2012Ranks (opens Word Excel Spreadsheet)

Make sure to check out the NFL Under Pressure show tonight with myself and Andy Erickson at 7:30 – 8:30 CST right here.

It may seem to be a somewhat risky approach to take a high number of high risk/high reward players, even late in the draft, but your chances for winning your league increase greatly by finding some gems. Couple that with scouring the waiver wire throughout the season and you should end up with a balanced roster with consistent players from top to bottom. Here are some guys that I am targeting in the mid to late rounds of my drafts and you should too.

Rivers has the weapons. He needs to perform or his future will be re-evaluated.

QB Phillip Rivers (ADP: 68.9*)

(*All ADP values come from fantasyfootballcalculator.com)

Phillip Rivers may be my favorite sleeper in this year’s draft class. Rivers ranked 9th among QBs in standard ESPN leagues last year, falling from the ranks of the elite and top 5 QB tag. We all saw last year with Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton among others, that quarterbacks can carry your fantasy team. However, Rivers is taken as the 10th QB off the board, rounding out the end of a very talented 2nd tier level of QBs.

As deep as the QB position is, coupled with the lack of workhorse running backs and the lack of depth at WR (from a WR1 level) you can separate yourself from other teams by drafting top tier talent at RB and WR, while still having a potentially elite QB still in your starting lineup.

While everyone bashed Rivers for his poor 2011 campaign (it indeed was poor), noisy wide-out Vincent Jackson has left town, opening the door for intriguing options like Malcolm Floyd, Robert Meachem and Eddie Royal to make their presence known this year. Rivers also has the best running game in years with projected top 5 back Ryan Mathews getting the bulk of the carries. There is plenty of talent around Rivers this year for him to return to form, potentially putting up top 5 numbers while being a low end QB1 option in a worst case scenario.

RB Isaac Redman (Standard ADP: 50.1; PPR ADP: 45.6)

In a year in which every down backs are very difficult to come by, especially after the first couple rounds, Redman may be the perfect player to target in the still early rounds of your draft. He is slated to take over the early down role with Rashard Mendenhall recovering from an ACL tear last year. Reports are coming out of camp that he will also continue to man the 3rd down plays. I’ll do the math for you; that’s an every down back.

The main concern is the type of cut in workload Redman will take when Mendenhall returns, likely somewhere around weeks 6-8, but the Steelers are expected to let Mendenhall walk when free agency rolls around at the end of the year, which tells you they are ready to move on without him. If Mendenhall gets significant carries at any point this year, it should be around week 10, so in a worst case scenario, you sell high on Redman.

Once you hit the middle of the second round, every down backs are off the board, so getting a potential workhorse in Redman in the 5th round figures to be a steal, especially when the guy has performed in the past (career 4.5 ypc.)

RB Ryan Williams (Standard ADP: 93.2; PPR ADP: 83.3)

With Beanie Wells’ injury concerns ongoing (he’ll hit the practice field for the first time sometime this week) and lack of production for that matter, the door is swung wide open for Williams, who suffered a season ending injury last year before the season even got started.

Early reports have Williams, who is still rehabbing from injury, retaining all the explosiveness that made him a Virginia Tech star and second round pick last year. Williams might not be a player that will burst on the scene to begin the season with Wells slated to be ready for the opener, but Wells has been lacking burst and is incredibly injury prone. That means Williams will get his shot at some point and it should be fairly early.

Take Williams in the 8th or 9th round and be patient, he should be a solid performer for most of the season, more than likely getting the bulk of the carries down the stretch.

The weights have been lifted off Mike Williams’ shoulders.

WR – Bucs’ Mike Williams (Standard ADP: 114.8; PPR ADP: 130.2)

There are a lot of reasons to be skeptical of Mike Williams bouncing back in 2012, but I take many of those reasons the other way, believing they can help him, starting with the acquisition of Vincent Jackson to bolster the receiving corps.

Instead of relying on a young Mike Williams to be the top WR, Vincent Jackson now handles that role, easing pressure off of Williams to perform and perhaps opening up the passing lanes for him as well. Josh Freeman is also another year older, I haven’t given up on him, with a nice one-two punch in Doug Martin and LeGarrette Blount running the ball.

In other words, the pressure is off of Mike Williams and he can just play his game. There also is the theory always floating around about 3rd year wide receivers, so you can take that for what it’s worth.

WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (Standard ADP: 99.2, PPR ADP: 110.6)

Another one of my favorites, perhaps thanks to my love for Carson Palmer this year, Heyward-Bey finally may live up to expectations. In the past seven games of last year, Palmer played pretty well, ranking in the top 10 for QBs.

In the last four games last year, he had 26 receptions for 433 yards and 2 TDs. Palmer and Heyward-Bey were definitely getting used to each other.

After a full off-season and promising training camp, Heyward-Bey has the potential to live up to his former first round pick status.

TE Jared Cook (Standard ADP: 140.2; PPR ADP: 130.1)

Cook has admitted that his inability to block has held him back in his first couple years in the league. In all fairness, Cook is a complete mismatch for any defense he faces, leading him to be an obvious passing down specialist, but his lack of run blocking experience in college lengthened his development in the NFL.

However, Cook looks to be getting a more of a chance at being an every down TE this year, which should only further his potential for the passing game early in drives on first and second down. He still had 49 catches for 759 yards in 2011, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets to 1000 yards this year.

I feel bad putting Cook on this list two years in a row, but could easily be an every week starter by the end of the year and is being taken in the last couple rounds of drafts. Oh, and I should mention he is in a contract year, with no extension talks to this point. We all know that can motivate players. His upside for a 14th round pick is insane.

Others to consider targeting: QB Carson Palmer, QB Jay Cutler, RB Willis McGahee, RB Jacquizz Rodgers, RB Shane Vereen, WR Antonio Brown, WR Stevie Johnson, WR Malcolm Floyd, WR Kendall Wright, WR Alshon Jeffrey, TE Jermaine Gresham

You can hear Brandon on radio every week on Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:00 CST on 1230 KWSN. You can listen online by clicking here.

You can also hear Brandon on the Under Pressure talk show every Thursday night from 7:30 – 8:30 CST. You can visit their Facebook page here.

Moss needs to prove that his head is in the game

Here are some facts about San Francisco 49ers WR Randy Moss:

• He hasn’t played since 2010 after taking a year off. And the verb ‘play’ is thrown around loosely. It was more of just showing up, really.
• During that drama filled campaign, he racked up 28 receptions, 393 yards and 5 TDs.
• He had 1000+ yards and 13 TD in 2009, just two years removed.
• His ADP, according to Fantasy Football Calculator is 81.

Basically, Moss appeared to be a shell of his former self as he flamed out a couple years ago. While it appeared on the surface that his diva days were over prior to 2010, they clearly were not.

However, he is still expected to produce as he returns to the league at age 35. The biggest question isn’t can he still play, but how much is left in the tank?

While that’s impossible for me to accurately predict, you have to believe he is going to be productive. He has to still have plenty of talent left. Heck, he practically hasn’t played in the past couple years. If he was happy and in a situation he wanted to be in during the 2010 season, he very well could’ve had 1000 yards again.

The biggest issue I can see is his declining speed, which we began to see a couple years ago. It would be different if he was a possession receiver or had a tendency to snag balls over the middle. He no longer can burn corners down the outside.

Diminishing skills aside, there is no doubt he will be able to be an asset to Alex Smith and the 49ers with a fresh set of legs and weapons around him to draw attention away. Moss should be able to still take advantage of single coverage. In real life, this is a great pickup by the 49ers. They took a small risk; if it pays off, great. If not, oh well, no harm done.

In fantasy football, what to expect is much harder to gauge. In ten team leagues, he is being drafted as a fringe WR2 or WR3 option. When you look at the options around him, you initially shouldn’t have much of an issue with that.

Reggie Wayne, Robert Meachem, Pierre Garcon, Denarius Moore and Malcolm Floyd are guys that are being drafted  very closely to Moss. And to be honest, I wouldn’t take Moss over any of these guys.

I suppose with the exception of Wayne, (who managed 960 yards last year with Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky throwing him the ball, mind you) the rest of these guys have the potential for great seasons. I’m not sure I could even hear you out if you pleaded a case for Moss to have that opportunity as well.

Either Meachem or Floyd could be benefactors of Phillip Rivers, Denarius Moore showed flashes of brilliance last year and has a Carson Palmer with a year in Oakland under his belt and Garcon is a very good receiver, in fact, could be the type of receiver that gets his yards no matter who throws to him (see last year.) RGIII figures to be a better passer than either of the Colts throwers from last year.

Moss, on the other hand, is playing on a run heavy team and has to fit into a receiving staff that already has Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham and newcomer A.J. Jenkins. Not to mention Alex Smith’s high in passing yards is just over 3100. Assuming he matches that or throws for slightly more this year at best, there certainly aren’t enough yards to go around with all the weapons on the team.

The ceiling for his potential just isn’t very high when you combine his age and the situation he is in.

I would give a projection of somewhere in the ballpark of 700 yards and 7 TDs, considering the fact that Smith doesn’t throw for many TDs either. The potential to be worse than that projection is much greater than the potential to be better.

All in all, in real life, I love the move. In fantasy football, there are better options available. The earliest I would draft him is somewhere around the 100th pick, the 9th round in 10 team leagues thanks to his knack for scoring.

I don’t believe you should be.

It seems to be that everyone is forgetting that Mathews hasn’t played a full season since high school. And I’m not talking about his senior year; it was before then.

It’s no doubt that Mathews is a spectacular talent. His 4.9 ypc last year can attest to that. However, he only had 222 carries and failed to appear in three games(he was active for one of those, but didn’t register stats), while having a couple other cut short. The previous year, his rookie season, he failed to make it into four games.

Not only that, but we can’t forget that he came into camp last year out of shape and failed a conditioning test. Remember that last notable player to fail one of those? Albert Haynesworth has since middled in mediocrity.

That’s where I begin to not understand why people love him so much. You don’t hear of star players with a poor work ethic. Those type of players don’t come into camp out of shape, lock-out or not.

People are infatuated with upside. That’s why people keep drafting Darren McFadden year after year. The problem arises when you draft a running back like Mathews when you could be taking a wide receiver in that late first-early second round and setting yourself apart at that position.

Honestly, I would much rather have Adrian Peterson or even Matt Forte over dealing with Mathews. AP is still an elite running back, but I’ll save that for another article and I know Forte is getting carries taken away, but especially in ppr formats, he warrants much more value than a guy with an injury history and a poor work ethic.

Now, I hear everyone. I know that the name of the game this year is to grab the workhorse backs while they are still there, since most NFL teams are employing a committee approach at the RB position. I get that and am fully on board.

I also do not like to bank on injuries with my fantasy football team, yet I can’t ignore the severe risk Mathews poses along with guys like Mike Vick and McFadden. Those are about three players that I will significantly drop in my rankings due to the injury factor.

Case in point, as with each of those three guys, but especially Mathews this year is that I’m not going to spend my first round pick on a guy that may perform admirably and be a player of the year candidate through the first half of the season, only to have his season derail down the stretch due to a plethora of lingering issues. Let him be someone else’s problem.

If it was the second round and I already have my top running back, I’ll take a shot, but at this rate, Mathews in ppr and non-ppr formats, his ADP is 6 and 7, respectively.

That simply is too much risk for me on a first round pick, I need a dependable stud, rather than a boom or bust guy.

I know, I know, I'm going to struggle for the next few months too..

Yep, the season has concluded. I know, it’s terrible. Heck you may even think that the Super Bowl failed to live up to the hype.

Well, my friend, don’t fret, it’ll be here next year. That’s right, no lockout here. And hey, the NBA is going right now. If you don’t like the NBA, spring training is starting up real soon. If you don’t like baseball, well, I think you’ll be just fine after all.

It was a crazy season, folks. It was chock full of surprises like we figured it to be. However, I don’t think anyone expected the 49ers and Bengals to be where they are. I’m not sure anyone predicted Matthew Stafford to play quite this well either, but here we are.

Let’s get down to business and hand out the coveted Fantasy Guideline Awards that we’ve all been waiting for.

MVP

Brandon Berg – Drew Brees

I was very tempted to go with the highly praised Aaron Rodgers, but let’s face it. The dude threw just as many TD’s as Rodgers and almost 1000 more yards. People may argue that Rodgers’ team fared better in the regular season, but look at the pieces around him. Jermichael Finley, James Jones, Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings, Donald Driver (yes, still) and Randall Cobb are all great targets. Brees has an oft-injured Colston, Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles as his top three receivers. Everybody else got plenty yards as well, but when you’re tossing for over 5500, everybody’s going to get their share. Even after that, just simply look at Dan Marino’s passing record that Brees broke. There’s no denying that Rodgers had a great season, but Brees deserves a little more respect than what he’s gotten.

Caleb Parkinson – Tom Brady

How do you throw 5,235 yards on a completion percentage over 65% without being a total stud? – You don’t. Tom Terrific also landed 39 touchdown passes to only 12 picks with Ochocinco doing pretty close to nothing. Let’s be honest here, who else would have won the AFC championship with that defense?

Offensive Player of the Year

Brandon Berg – Aaron Rodgers

I believe the two main things that warranted Rodgers the MVP this year was his low interception count (6), which is phenomenal by the way, and his team’s 15-1 record. I don’t feel that in this particular year that it warranted an MVP, but this seems like a pretty solid consolation prize. It’s hard to leave him out of an awards article.

Caleb Parkinson – Arian Foster

In only 13 games played this guy rushed for 1,224 yards and 10 touchdowns and received 53 catches for 617 yards and 2 touchdowns. This guy cuts like a knife and is in my opinion the single most dangerous offensive weapon in the quarterback-driven NFL of today. He is a superior pass-catching threat out of the backfield, and I haven’t seen cutting ability like this since…never.

Defensive Player of the Year

#Winning

Brandon Berg – Jared Allen

I would love to go for Justin Smith here, because he was a force to be reckoned with this year, but I can’t. Jared Allen went for 22 sacks on a hapless Minnesota Vikings team. After playing for the Chiefs to start his career and now the Vikings, I hope for his sake that he eventually ends up on a winner and wins something. I mean, come on, what’s not to love about this guy?

Caleb Parkinson – Jason Pierre-Paul

In just his second NFL season Jason Pierre- Paul accumulated 86 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 safety, 6 swatted passes, and 16.5 sacks. Not to mention the 2 balls he swatted in the Super Bowl, because that didn’t affect my vote at all. – wink.

NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year

Brandon Berg – Cam Newton

Cam Newton is Michael Vick 2.0. He can throw better, he’s bigger and stronger. He ran for over 700 this year and is hurting the guys trying to tackle him. We don’t have to worry about durability issues or any of that crap. Well, not yet anyways. Cam is going to have a long career in this league after throwing for 4000 as a rookie.

Caleb Parkinson – Cam Newton

Okay, so 21 passing touchdowns to 17 interceptions isn’t great, but just about everything else he did in 2011 was great, maybe even super? In his rookie season, the 22 year-old QB threw 4,051 yards along with a respectable 60.0 % completion rate. Oh by the way, he also broke the QB touchdown rushing record by taking it in the end zone 14 times on 706 yards rushing and even caught a 27-yard pass for good measure. Cam still has some developing to do as a passer, but I believe he will continue to improve right on schedule because he can make things that should be hard look relatively easy. Newton’s law – have a great work ethic and then have fun showing off in the end zone on Sundays. So go ahead and open up that shirt Mr. Newton, you had a super rookie season.

NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year

Brandon Berg – Aldon Smith

I simply can’t give it to anyone else after he shredded the league by posting 14 sacks in his rookie campaign. Navarro Bowman, Patrick Willis, Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks make for the scariest linebacking corps I have ever seen. As we saw the 49ers go 13-3 this year while reaching the conference championship game, I can’t help but wonder how they would’ve fared without Smith and his 14 sacks. I’ll spare you the math and let you know he was the difference between winning and losing a couple games.

Caleb Parkinson – Patrick Peterson

Okay, so this guy is probably not as deserving of this award in many people’s opinions as 49er’s linebacker Aldon Smith, and I am not here to argue that. But I am sure my friend Brandon will pick him so let me pick the guy who I believe was the most explosive rookie. I know Peterson only had 1 sack and 2 interceptions, but the four touchdowns he had were absolute game-changers and 64 tackles for a rookie corner is nothing to snooze at.

AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year

Brandon Berg – Andy Dalton

Many people may favor A.J. Green, and that’s understandable. However, Dalton came in and put up extraordinary numbers for a rookie with an average supporting cast. Green was a weapon and bailed him out, but he threw for almost 3400 yards with a poor running game and despite the Bengals losing their top two receivers from the previous season in Owens and Ochocinco ( It was nice to see them play so well this year. Ahahah.)

A.J. Green tore it up this year.

Caleb Parkinson – A.J. Green

In his rookie season with a rookie quarterback and a mediocre Cincinnati running-game, A.J. Green immediately became one of the most difficult receivers to man-up on in the entire AFC. In just 15 games played A.J. received 1,057 yards and 7 touchdowns. I expect more great things from this young man as he and rookie QB Andy Dalton continue to develop.

AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year

Brandon Berg – Von Miller

Not many other places I could go here. I suppose Jabaal Sheard of the Browns or Ryan Kerrigan of the Redskins would be decent choices, but nobody was as disruptive as Von Miller. The moment he stepped onto the NFL playing field, he was an immediate star and difference maker.  cxxNot only was he a difference maker, but he did so while fighting through injuries.

Caleb Parkinson – Von Miller

This young man was a key element in the Denver defense that basically carried their team all the way to the divisional round of the playoffs. Miller had 11.5 sacks in just 14 games played, and was relatively healthy for only about 11 of them. Hopefully for the Broncos sake, he can start staying healthy because he is an absolute stud.

Most Surprising Team

Brandon Berg – Denver Broncos

This team had the makings of a 2-4 win team. Everything was falling apart at the seams as the season started, but then in stepped Tim Tebow and the defense glued itself together, they came on to win many games down the stretch. I know the 49ers were outstanding, but the Broncos were as well.

Caleb Parkinson – San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers were 13-3 this year and ran away with their division with a month left to the season. Their defense was nothing short of outstanding, giving up just one rushing touchdown and sporting a turnover ratio of +28. – That’s bananas! Anyone who claims to have predicted these things for the Niners this season is an absolute liar.

Most Disappointing Team

Brandon Berg – San Diego Chargers

I know I’m probably not taking the optimal choice, but Caleb for sure will in this one. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t make the Chargers’ 2012 campaign any better. The division was won by an 8-8 team this year, which is pathetic. Phillip Rivers blew a couple games for them and a supposedly stout defense took a major step backwards. The Chargers should’ve gone 12-4 and taking the division by a landslide, but instead spent their time watching the playoffs from the comfort of their couch.

Caleb Parkinson – Philadelphia Eagles

That’s a whole lot of money to pay three cornerbacks just so they could lose eight of their first twelve games.

Coach of the Year

Brandon Berg – Jim Harbaugh

There’s no way around it. He took over a poor team and turned them into a powerhouse this year by transforming a 6 win team into a 13 win team. It’s hard to overlook that.

Caleb Parkinson – Jim Harbaugh

For all the same reasons the 49ers were the most surprising team. PLUS, Alex Smith didn’t suck. In fact, he was actually pretty good. Reason – Harbaugh. Who you think recruited Andrew Luck to Stanford? This guy knows quarterbacks, and knows defenses. Those are two great things to be good at in this league.

Cruz is a huge factor in this game thanks to big playmaking ability.

This year’s Super Bowl is a rematch of a classic that took place four years ago. Thanks to David Tyree’s magnificent catch in the waning moments of the game, the Giants came out on top.

Will this year’s game be a nail-biter too? The guys delve into it in Fantasy Guideline’s 2012 Super Bowl preview.

New England Patriots Offense:

Brandon Berg

The Patriots are a wrecking crew. Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski make up possibly the most dangerous tandem in the league. However, in the conference championship, Gronk injured his ankle, classifying it as a high ankle sprain and spent most of the past couple weeks wearing a boot. Still, Gronk is going to play on Sunday, I have no doubts about it. However, he needs to be at least 90% to be a threat. If he is combine him with Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker, and this team should be able to beat out the ferocious pass rush of the Giants.

Tom Brady was sacked 32 times this year, tying the second most he’s been sacked in a single season for his career. They likely aren’t going to have enough time to drop back and fire down the field, but the offensive line needs to be able to protect Brady long enough for him to dump off to one of his top three receivers. Expect the Patriots to keep Green-Ellis in the game quite a bit to help in protection.

Caleb Parkinson

We all know what the Pats offense is capable of. Tom Brady is a master of his craft, and will make any defense pay the price for making even the smallest mistakes. Wes Welker is a receiving beast in the slot, but I often argue that he’s essentially a product of Tom Brady. If you don’t believe me, go take a look at Welker’s numbers in his two seasons as a Miami Dolphin. But no matter what the cause of his success in New England is, Welker is dangerous. Even more dangerous than that could possibly be the Patriots tight-ends.

Gronk needs to be healthy to make an impact in this game.

Rob Gronkowski  was an absolute beast this year, and really the best tight-end in all of football. He recently suffered a high ankle sprain that is going to have a lot to do with how the Patriots can run their offense on Sunday. I expect the likes of Aaron Hernandez and Super Bowl 39 MVP Deion Branch to step up in this game. Whatever they can squeeze out of BJGE and Woodhead coming out of their backfield is really all just bonus.

Patriots Defense

Brandon Berg

The Patriots could be in trouble, but the concept is simple. The Patriots need to be able to stop the run with their front seven. The Giants have managed to get a running game going to lately, something they struggled with during the season. If the Patriots have to stack the box to stop the run, Manning will burn them. Luckily for the Patriots, one thing they’ve actually been able to do this offseason is effectively play the running game.

Caleb Parkinson

Typically I don’t comment on things that I am unaware exist. But I am sure that is what Vince Wilfork would like me to say. He is the key to their success on defense, as he’s really been the only true bright spot on that side of the ball for NE. I expect him to get double-teamed at the line often, so it will be up to everyone else to pick up the slack while playing 10 on 9.

Giants Offense

Brandon Berg

The Giants offense is crucial in this game. You can trust your defense all you want, but the fact of the matter is they’re playing the Patriots. You need to plan on scoring points to win. Luckily for them, if they can get the running game going early, they shouldn’t have any problem with the passing game. However, if they can’t get a run going early and the Patriots are able to pad their extremely young secondary, that might be too much trouble to Manning to handle.

In the past, Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz have had some crucial drops. They need to have sure hands this week. If they can get their running game going, expect the Giants to take plenty of shots down the field. Brandon Jacobs hasn’t been too effective lately, but he’ll need to get going and actually get some yardage this week as well.

Caleb Parkinson

The Giants need to figure out how to render Wilfork ineffective.

It’s getting harder and harder these days to try and spell the word elite without Eli. The younger Manning brother has beaten the Patriots in the Super Bowl once already. This time around he has a pair of receivers that are far superior to anything he was working with in their last Super Bowl. The salsa-dancing Victor Cruz has been a big-time playmaker for them all season long, and Hakeem Nicks has bounced back nicely after struggling a bit to make catches in the later portion of the regular season. Hopefully for the Giants, Nicks’ shoulder will not be bothering him too much.

The Giants rookie tight-end Jake Ballard needs to become a bigger factor than he has been recently. Even more importantly, the Giants dual running threat needs to rack up over 100 yards in order to keep NE from just resting back on their heels and leaving all their focus on the aforementioned downfield combo of Cruz and Nicks. Brandon Jacobs has been wasting a lot of time lately running side to side. Jacobs, you’re not quick, you’re 265 lbs. Run straight downfield! The Giants offense this year has averaged 385 yards per game, which is 43 yard less than the Patriots. However, I expect to see a very solid game from Ahmad Bradshaw.

Giants Defense

Brandon Berg

Tom Brady has one of the best pocket presences in the league, but I don’t care if you’re Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees, you are going to have a hell of a time if you are constantly under pressure and having to scramble. They need to get pressure on Brady early and often, because I’m not sure the Giants have anyone that can take out Gronk or Hernandez, let alone one of them. Another thing they need to be careful with is their kill the QB strategy. You don’t quite want to them to be over-aggressive. They can remedy that by paying attention to the screen to a RB by mirroring Woodhead and maybe even BGE as well.

Caleb Parkinson

We all know the recipe to success for this Giants defense, it’s the luxury they have of being able to put four premier pass-rushers on the field at the same time. Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka, Osi Umenyiora, and Jason Pierre-Paul are all defensive ends that can get to the quarterback. When Tom Coughlin decides to put this “nascar package” all on the field at once, it is imperative that they can get pressure up the middle to prevent Brady from being able to step up in the pocket and throw the ball comfortably.  This is how they won Super Bowl 42 against NE, and not a whole lot has changed since then.

Official Prediction

Brandon Berg

Brady has yet to be pressured in the playoffs this year.

At the beginning of the playoffs, I said I felt like the Patriots were a spitting image of last year’s team. That still reigns true. The Broncos were a pushover at that point in the playoffs and the Ravens were a team that failed to show up against poor teams and sported a 4-4 road record heading into Foxboro. To top that, the Ravens only sacked Brady once and got to him only three times out of 36 pass attempts. The Broncos did worse by sacking him once and getting to him only two times in 34 tries. The Giants got to Alex Smith six times with three sacks just a couple weeks ago. The Patriots simply haven’t been tested yet, but they will this week and will crumble.

The Giants have been able to get to the QB during the postseason at a highly successful rate. The Patriots line is certainly nothing special so I believe they won’t have much trouble putting pressure on Brady early and often. I think they’ll be able to get the running game established early, which should help them sustain clock-chewing drives and keep Brady off the field.

The Patriots, while great, are simply a one dimensional team, which gives the Giants the upper hand here. This is the Giants game to lose. The only thing that worries me for the Giants is that they are the team with more momentum and taking a week off may hurt that aspect. However, I don’t think it’ll hurt them enough for me not to pick them.

Giants win, 35-24

Caleb Parkinson

I think it will be imperative for the Giants defense to not allow Tom Brady to get into a rhythm early on, and that of course will be their main focus. I think as a result, Green-Ellis and Hernandez could scoop up a lot of yards through short passes and draw plays. But these guys are rarely the kind of players that are going to get into the end zone from outside the red zone. I believe that the Giants will stiffen up when defending inside their own 20-yardline and the injury to Rob Gronkowski could prove to be critical.

Let’s face it, any potential that the Patriots defense would have defensively all hinges on scheming over playmaking. They simply do not have much playmaking ability on the defensive side of the ball and I think that will cost them dearly going against a tandem like Cruz and Nicks. I have severe doubts about this Patriot defense being able to shutdown Bradshaw and those dangerous G-men receivers all at once. Eli is the type of guy that can struggle for three quarters, shake it off, and then bite you hard when it matters.

I do not think this is going to be a blowout in either direction, but football is a game of momentum, so anything is possible. With the momentum that the Giants appear to have right now, I believe they Cruz their way into a victory.

Giants win, 27-24

Earlier in the year, the Bears offered a contract worth about 6 million dollars per year with a guarantee of almost 14 million dollars. After looking at the contracts of similar RBs, this offer is quite a bit short.

Matt Forte’s career stats:

First glance at the stats might have you skeptical, but it shows that the Bears are saving Forte for the long haul. They give him a slightly smaller load for an extended career and so that he doesn’t wear down at the end of the season. Not to mention he also gets about 50 extra touches per year through the passing game anyway.

Forte is 26, entering his prime, and has a style of play that warrants a generally longer career. He has some power and he doesn’t have to rely on his speed alone to gain yardage. Throw in his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and that makes him a 3 dimensional threat.

Now I bet you’re wondering what kind of contract does that get him. Let’s take a look at some other RBs current contracts for that.

His play is probably most comparable to Jones-Drew or Darren McFadden, but he isn’t going to get McFadden money. Jones-Drew is probably the best comparison, but Jones-Drew is underpaid right now while being a better pure talent than Forte.

I rank Forte behind Peterson, not necessarily McFadden (Forte won’t get that kind of money) and Johnson. He has a brighter future than Jackson and Charles and Jones-Drew are working under early contracts. He’s obviously better than Williams, but he was overpaid during free agency and he probably isn’t going to get that kind of money even if he goes to free agency. He and the Bears both know that. However, his contract will likely be similar.

Expect Forte to rake in about 6 years with about 25 million guaranteed and about 50 million total.That equates to about 8.3 per year.

Some may be concerned after he was injured to end the year, but he hasn’t really had an injury history and like I said before, is entering his prime. I would expect about four years of prime left and a couple solid years after that.

I’m not sure whether he’ll be in a Bears uniform next year, but either way, he’s going to get his money.

I'm not sure Peyton Manning would give you a thumbs up anymore.

Peyton Manning may have played his final down in an Indianapolis Colts uniform.

In an interview with the Indianapolis Star, Manning said there is no way he’s retiring without trying to come back from his injuries. There are a lot of things that we don’t know about Manning’s future, but we do know a couple of variables.

The Colts are slated to select Andrew Luck with their first pick, with reports out that the decision has already been made and for good reason. Luck may be the best prospect to come along in ten years and with Manning nearing the end of his career, it wouldn’t make much sense to pass on the pick. Sure, they could trade it away, but what if Manning can’t recover?

That would be devastating for the franchise to lose out on a player that hasn’t been this highly touted in the past decade. It would also be devastating if they drafted Luck and he turned out to be a bust, not likely, but certainly plausible.

Anyways, this leave the Colts in quite a pickle. Do they trade their legend to start fresh or do they keep rolling with the guy that has rolled them into the playoffs more times than I can count?

Some folks like to say it wouldn’t make much sense for Manning to come back since they will be a rebuilding team. I beg to differ. I’ve said before this season started that they would be a pile of manure. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t go 10-6 or better with Peyton at the helm.

Heck yes, he makes that much difference.

This team has a ton of playmakers on offense. Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, Joseph Addai and Donald Brown are just to name a few. With Peyton Manning, this offense is a scoring machine yet again. With that scoring machine, the defense, while was bad this year, is more effective.

There is a concept where the defense is going to perform better as a result of not having to be on the field for 3/4ths of the game, which applies here. There were too many three and outs, too many stalled drives. The defense can’t catch their breath. It’s just putting two and two together, people.

My respect for Manning has skyrocketed throughout the season as well. Not only does the man make very funny commercials and is one of the most devoted students of the game we will ever see, but fans are realizing how important he truly was to the team. Not to mention how poor management was all of these years. The only year he had a decent defense to work with, he won it all. No wonder he only has one ring.

Even with me tooting Manning’s horn perpetually throughout the article, I feel it is probably best to part ways. In fact, he really should retire. His injury isn’t of the typical nature. It’s not an arm, leg or shoulder. It’s his neck. Re-injuring it could cause serious harm to his future not as a football player, but as a human being.

Add in the fact that Luck is a one-of-a-kind prospect that we don’t get to see everyday. It’s probably worth rolling the dice on another potential decade long starter at QB than pass and use Manning for a couple more years.

However, if Peyton Manning doesn’t retire, which seems more likely, he’ll definitely be in a different uniform come next year. Let’s be real. Manning is too much of a gamer to give up the game he loves playing at age 35, when it’s evident he has the game to play at a high level for a couple more years. Owner Jim Irsay has also sent his coaches, many of whom have been there for most or the entirety of Manning’s career, home. Manning is not going to come back at 35 and get accustomed to a brand new coaching staff. It’s just not going to happen.

At this point, I’m not sure where Manning is going to go, but he won’t be a Colt in 2012.