Fantasy Football Profile: Brett Favre

Supposedly today is the day that we find out Brett Favre will join the Vikings.  If his shoulder holds up, he should still be able to produce.  He has some weapons to work with in WRs Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, Bobby Wade, and Percy Harvin, TE Visanthe Shiancoe, and RBs Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. 

The Vikings will have two new faces on their Offensive Line, but it still should be a solid unit anchored by Steve Hutchinson.  If Favre doesn’t try to force the issue, he could be a solid backup fantasy QB this year.

He faces Cincinnati, Carolina, and Chicago in the fantasy playoffs.  The Bears game is in Chicago so weather may be a factor.  His best matchups this year are Cleveland and Detroit in Weeks One & Two, St. Louis in Week Five, Detroit in Week 10, and Arizona in Week 13.

At this point in his career he is a fantasy backup so it may be wise to pair him with Jay Cutler, Aaron Rodgers (ironically), Dre Brees, or Philip Rivers who have byes in Week 5 or Eli Manning or Matt Schaub who have byes in Week 10.  Favre will be drafted in the later rounds. 

I’m not sure what kind of production to expect from  him.  I’m goign to low ball him initially at 3200 yards and 18 TDs.

Originally published at LestersLegends.com.

Fantasy Football Notes: Minnesota Vikings

2008 was a solid year for the Minnesota Vikings as they posted a 10-6 record—good enough to win the NFC North. Possessing one of the better offensive lines in the game, the Vikings were able to latch onto star running back Adrian Peterson’s back as he along with their defense led them to the playoffs.

Unfortunately, the team could not ride that combination any further, as the Vikings lost in the first round of postseason action to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Fantasy Football Info: Let’s Face It, Brett Favre Is a Viking

For all you Internet “trolls” out there, I’m sure you’re going to love to point out that I’m jumping the gun by saying that Brett Favre is a Viking.

But let’s face it, this guy is going to sign with Minnesota, and he will do it in the next week or so.

You might be wondering, when the heck did I become so sure he was going to sign? I’ll tell you.

It was when his doctor came out and said that Brett and the Vikings would make a good fit.

The reason I was 100 percent sold that Brett was signing after hearing that info was because Favre had been saying the whole time that him coming back would depend on whether or not his arm felt good.

Even last week, Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell personally worked with Brett.

Another reason I believe this is that Brett’s wife is rumored to be looking to buy a condo in the area. Let’s face it, Brett Favre is going to be a Viking.

Brett’s Impact on the Vikings

Once the Vikings officially sign Brett, he will become an instant help to this franchise’s (and fantasy football owners) chances to win a Super Bowl (sorry, Packer fans). With a legit quarterback that defenses have to respect and an arm that can get the ball down the field, the Vikings’ offense should run very well all season.

No doubt, the player in my mind that will benefit most from this move in fantasy football will be Adrian Peterson.

While Adrian didn’t have the best fantasy season for a running back last year, he did have one heck of a season for being on a team with no respectable quarterback. True, Peterson did only have 10 touchdowns (that is low for a runner this good) but he will improve on those numbers this coming year.

Heck even Thomas Jones had 15 touchdowns last season with Brett, so you know Adrian should be a lock for more production.

Beyond helping out Peterson, Favre will also be an instant boost for receivers like Bernard Berrian and Sidney Rice, as they both finally have a quality quarterback to work with. Look for both of these receivers to enjoy not only better receiving and touchdown totals but to have very strong yard per catch averages.

Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe will probably benefit most by having Brett when the Vikings are in the red zone. Brett loves to find his tight ends for touchdowns when he is inside the 20-yard line.

As far as the Vikings’ defense, they will also see a bump in production. With a good quarterback running the offense, they will be on the field for fewer minutes every game.

The reason for that is because when you have a great running game and a good passing game, your team tends to win the time of possession battle most weeks in the NFL.

With long, time-consuming drives by the offense, the defense will be fresh and ready to attack the opposing teams’ offense with more energy.

The one player that may be hurt a little bit by Brett’s arrival (other than Sage Rosenfels) is the Vikings’ kicker, Ryan Longwell. The reason for this is that with Brett they should now convert more drives into touchdowns rather than field goals. This means instead of fantasy football owners receiving three points, they will only receive one.

Also, when Longwell does receive his field goals, chances are they will not come from long distances. If you’re in a fantasy football league that gives points for distance, then this will hurt his value as well.

Fantasy Football Information for Brett Favre

While Brett will help just about everyone on the team be better fantasy players, Favre himself is probably only worth a backup spot in many leagues. The main reason for this is that the Vikings should still be a run first team and they have a very good defense.

With the ability to run and the defense not allowing many points, Brett will probably be handing the football off in many third and fourth quarters, as the Vikings look to drain the clock and win the game.

That being said, I do still expect Brett to have a few big fantasy scoring days throughout the season as he will feel the “itch” to throw every now and then.

On a Personal Note

I still remember going to the NFC Championship game in January of 1998 when the Packers beat my San Francisco 49ers to go to the Super Bowl (they lost to the Broncos).

While I was disappointed that the 49ers lost, I still remember those dumb cheesehead fans laughing at the 49er fans and dancing on the hollowed grounds of Candlestick Park.

I say all that to say this now: I am glad that Brett is going to be a Viking. I hope this signing crushes your dreams of all those great moments when your precious Favre was in Green Bay.

Go ahead and take those Favre pics off the walls at your restaurants and cry some tears.

I’m not a Vikings fan but…GO VIKINGS GO!

Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

Vikings Defensive Tackles Look To Play Week One

The Minnesota Vikings are known for having one of the most imposing run-stuffing defenses in football.

This success is due in large part to their big defensive tackles, Pat Williams and Kevin Williams. These two massive purple people eaters weigh in at a combined 628 pounds of man-tackling flesh.

In December, the NFL had intentions of suspending both of these men and three other players on the New Orleans Saints. The reason for the suspension was because they violated the leagues banned substance policy.

The substance they were taking, called StarCaps, contained a banned diuretic that contains a substance called bumetanide. Bumetanide, can be used as a masking agent for steroids and has been found in StarCaps, though it is not on the label. Pat and Kevin were able to avoid their four-game suspension last December when a federal judge issued an injunction to block the suspension.

Players Battle NFL in Court

In court, attorneys on the side of the players argued that the NFL’s hot line for players to get information on such issues as banned substances, gave out false information about the supplement (StarCaps), and told players it was not banned.

The players’ attorneys also argued that league knew the supplement called StarCaps contained a banned diuretic back in 2006 and did not notify players or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

NFL attorneys disputed that idea by saying their hot line operators warned players against taking any supplements. Attorneys also added that, in the end, players are ultimately responsible for what they put into their bodies.

 

Judge Blocks NFL’s Planned Suspension

This week a District Judge sided with the players’ request for a temporary restraining order to keep the NFL from executing it’s suspension on them until a later time.

With this restraining order, the NFL now will have to wait to dish out their expected four game suspension on the two defensive tackles. In light of this information, the players’ attorney called this restraint a great success and also noted the two players should play the first half or so of the season, without discipline.

 

Fantasy Football Information for the Vikings Defense

 

At this time the Vikings defense should be a top five defense on your fantasy draft board. For a team that now looks primed to have Brett Favre come on to the team, they should have a solid year.

As long as these to big men are on the team, they are one of the best defenses against the run in football. They also set the table for sacks by the rest of the defense.

As far as where you should take this defense in your draft, that will depend on your scoring structure in your league. Many leagues have different scoring structures and, for some, it will be better to grab this defense as high as the eighth round and some as low as the 14th. But at the end of the day in just about every format they are a top five defense.

Hopefully, these two big boys will play the entire season. If we all find out they will play the entire year then this defense could be the best in fantasy in 2009.

Fanntasy Football Running Back Breakdown: Adrian Peterson

So while I said I wouldn’t be doing this numerically, I’d be hard pressed to start anywhere than with this guy.

Adrian Peterson

What’s not to like about Peterson? Good runner, great offensive line, decent WRs. All he needs is a few more TDs.

He has few minuses—And now it looks like Brett Favre will be throwing the ball, in which case suddenly Peterson gets someone who can keep the defenses from stacking against the run.

Even Taylor isn’t too much of a threat for AP.

Safe and dependable, you know Peterson will finish in the top 5 every year. He needs to work on his fumble issues, and on occasion, Childress has almost appeared to underuse him – but honestly, these are minor details.

Even a few carries to rookie receiver Percy Harvin won’t hurt Peterson all that much. Aside from injury—and you can’t predict that with real confidence—Peterson is the bottom line, safest running back in your fantasy draft.

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