So much for the fantasy prospects of Mark Sanchez.

Oh sure, Sanchez will still be the starting quarterback, and the higher placed of the two on 2012 fantasy football rankings. But between the Jets trading for Tebow, bringing in Tony Sparano to be the new offensive coordinator, and saying they are going to return to the “ground and pound” style of offense they ran a couple of seasons ago, it becomes clear that Sanchez is to be avoided in fantasy football drafts.

Sparano’s going to bring back the wildcat and have Tebow run it in New York. Rex Ryan says he envisions Tebow getting about 20 snaps per game. There will even be times when both Tebow and Sanchez are on the field together to create confusion for opposing defenses.

That’s good for an NFL team. That’s bad for a fantasy football team.

Santonio Holmes, Dustin Keller, and whoever else the Jets pass catchers may be this season are going to be bye week fillers at best for fantasy purposes. Shonn Greene, and either Joe McKnight, Bilal Powell, or whoever the Jets draft at RB (I’d be surprised if they didn’t draft one) will have some reasonable value. But that’s about it.

It’s going to be strange to see him in orange and blue to be sure.

But this is a good thing for the offensive skill position players in Denver. They certainly suffered with Tim Tebow at the helm most of 2011. To say they were inconsistent is to say that water is wet. But with Manning at the helm, DeMaryius Thomas and Eric Decker will have higher spots on fantasy football cheat sheets in 2012, while recently signed Andre Caldwell, and maybe even Brandon Stokley could have some value as bye week fillers.

And a guy to watch out for as a 2012 fantasy football sleeper is TE Jacob Tamme. Manning lobbied for the Broncos to sign the free agent (formerly of Indianapolis) and his knowledge of the offense Manning runs will give him serious consideration as a starting fantasy TE. Just be sure to pay attention to what happens during training camp as Denver also signed former Texans TE Joel Dreessen. And while Dreessen is considered more of a blocker, he has proven himself capable of catching the ball well. He could be a consideration in touchdown heavy scoring leagues.  

The one position where we do not know how well the fantasy prospects will be for are the running backs. Willis McGahee isn’t generally considered much of a pass catching RB. Knowshon Moreno has trouble staying healthy (and out of trouble). While there’s some super sleeper potential with Mario Fannin (who spent all of 2011 on injured reserve after making some buzz in training camp), his abilities as a pass catcher are unknown. There’s a very good chance the Broncos will draft a RB who fits what Manning has historical had his RB’s do: catch the ball, block, and get 12-18 carries per game.

And as for Manning himself? Well, he really can’t be considered amongst the elite fantasy football quarterbacks any more. Not at least until we see how he does with this new team. But he certainly should still be a top 10 QB in 2012 fantasy football rankings.

Barring any setbacks in that troublesome neck before the 2012 season begins.

FB Peyton Hillis- 1 year 3 million dollars to play for the Chiefs. Hillis is insurance for J. Charles if he is not ready to play at the beginning of the season. Peyton will be great on the goal line and should be a high draft pick in TD only leagues in 2012.

WR Laurent Robinson- 3 years, 32 million to play for the Jaguars. Not bad for a guy who could not make an NFL roster last year before the Cowboys picked him up. The Cowboys have no quality depth at the WR position.

Megatron- 7 years, 132 million. 60 million guaranteed. Highest paid receiver in the game. And Detroit broke the bank to keep him.

QB Kyle Orton -3 years and will be playing for Dallas- Great depth move to back up often injured Tony Romo. The Cowboys pulled off a great move here, but it cost them L. Robinson. He is an upgrade from retired Jon Kitna.

CB Brandon Carr 5 years, 50.1 million -Dallas Cowboys- Great signing  for one of the worst secondaries in the league. Carr will anchor and pair off with CB Mike Jenkins and fits in well with Rob Ryan’s press/blitzing defense. Now the Cowboys need to address the safety position.

John Carlson- 5 years, 25 million- Vikings- This is an odd signing unless the Vikings have plans to use Rudolph and Carlson in two tight end sets like the Patriots do. They way overpaid for him.

LG Cark Nicks- 5 year, 47.5 million- Tampa- The Bucs are making great strides with all of their salary cap money as Nicks is the best of the bunch for lineman out there. This will really help the running game.

QB Chad Henne- 2 years- Jaguars- Henne has never set the world on fire but Gabbert might get a quick hook if he underperforms starting the 2012 season.

DE Mario Williams- 6 years- 100 million- The highest paid defensive player in the league.The Bills will love his performance if he can stay healthy. The Bills now officially have a pass rush.

WR Eddie Royal- 3 years- 13.5  million- Can Royal turn his slumping catch total around with the pass-happy Chargers? I doubt if this will have a big impact. Look for Royal to be a marginal PPR # 3 option next year.

James

Update: 3/26- Peyton Manning has signed a multi-year deal worth around 20 million a year with the Broncos. Since they had about $40 million under the cap,  John Fox will abandon the run first mentality with pass catching TE’s Jacob Tamme and Joel Dressen just signed. Look for Tamme to play the slot-TE and rake up PPR points and is now a big sleeper this season. That is, if Manning is close to 100 percent by the time the season rolls around. Mark up  the value of  D. Thomas and Eric Decker’ if Manning can thread the needle once again and prove to everyone that he is one of the best ever at the quarterback position.

WR Brandon Marshall is now a Chicago Bear and Jay Cutler has his favorite receiver back from his Denver days. This elevates Cutler’s fantasy status since Marshall will be used to take pressure off of the Chicago running game  and free up some other receivers that should get the gift of man coverage all year long.

This move will likely increase Matt Forte’s PPR value as well because defensive coverage will have to pay special attention to Marshall rather than Forte on passing downs. This is a great move for the Bears and will cause me to take a stronger look at Cutler on draft day.

WR Josh Morgan and WR Pierre Garcon are the latest to join the circus called the Washington Redskins. The Shanahan’s are spending money they don’t have already since the club was just fined over 35 million dollars in salary cap dough from the NFL for front loading contracts in the uncapped year.

Garcon was way overpaid and is making almost as much money as Roddy White. That seems like a crime. Morgan is just depth dressing and no one knows just how good he really is. We will find out though since the Redskins mortgaged their future for RG #3 who they will have to pay boatloads of money to that the organization just does not have. In fact, things look really bad for the future of the Redskins right now since they traded away so many # 1 draft picks to get RG# 3 in the draft. This is a typical Redskin desperation move. Over the next two seasons they will have to gut the team of most of their vererans just to make the salary cap.

 Right tackle Eric Winston was cut by the Texans and surely will command a great price in free agency. He is very talented and was the anchor of that great offensive line that seemed to dominate almost every team they played in 2011. This was a salary cap move only.

The Arizona Cardinals should pounce on him but they won’t. You see, in Cardinal theory, you don’t need a good offensive line to compete in the NFL!

LE Red Bryant, the Seahawk’s best run stuffer was rewarded with a 35 million dollar contract to stay in Seattle. This is a great move to keep that tough Seahawk defense intact. Now, if they can just find a quarterback?

Update: WR Vincent Jackson just signed a 5 year, $ 50 million dollar deal with Tampa Bay.

QB Jason Campbell signed a contract with the Chicago. He will back up Jay Cutler.

CB Courtland Finnegan signed a 5 year $ 50 million dollar deal with the Rams. He was the top corner in free agency.

Reggie Wayne signed a 3 year deal to stay with the Colts. Look for him to be a risky play next season. Still might be worth a shot as a # 3 WR in fantasy drafts.

WR Robert Meachem signed a 4 year 25.9 million dollar contract with the Chargers. It should be very interesting to see how far his fantasy stock will rise. He should be the # 1 WR for Rivers, but can he handle the position of being a # 1 WR in a record setting passing offense? This is one to watch.

WR -D Jax- 5 years, 51 million to stay with the Eagles. This surprised me since he caused the Eagles so many problems in the clubhouse last season.

FB Peyton Hillis- 1 year 3 million dollars to play for the Chiefs. Hillis is insurance for J. Charles if he is not ready to play at the beginning of the season. Peyton will be great on the goal line and should be a high draft pick in TD only leagues in 2012.

WR Laurent Robinson- 3 years, 32 million to play for the Jaguars. Not bad for a guy who could not make an NFL roster last year before the Cowboys picked him up. The Cowboys have no quality depth at the WR position.

Megatron- 7 years, 132 million. 60 million guaranteed. Highest paid receiver in the game. And Detroit broke the bank to keep him.

QB Kyle Orton -3 years and will be playing for Dallas- Great depth move to back up often injured Tony Romo. The Cowboys pulled off a great move here, but it cost them L. Robinson. He is an upgrade from retired Jon Kitna.

CB Brandon Carr 5 years, 50.1 million -Dallas Cowboys- Great signing  for one of the worst secondaries in the league. Carr will anchor and pair off with CB Mike Jenkins and fits in well with Rob Ryan’s press/blitzing defense. Now the Cowboys need to address the safety position.

John Carlson- 5 years, 25 million- Vikings- This is an odd signing unless the Vikings have plans to use Rudolph and Carlson in two tight end sets like the Patriots do. They way overpaid for him.

LG Cark Nicks- 5 year, 47.5 million- Tampa- The Bucs are making great strides with all of their salary cap money as Nicks is the best of the bunch for lineman out there. This will really help the running game.

QB Chad Henne- 2 years- Jaguars- Henne has never set the world on fire but Gabbert might get a quick hook if he underperforms starting the 2012 season.

DE Mario Williams- 6 years- 100 million- The highest paid defensive player in the league.The Bills will love his performance if he can stay healthy. The Bills now officially have a pass rush.

WR Eddie Royal- 3 years- 13.5  million- Can Royal turn his slumping catch total around with the pass-happy Chargers? I doubt if this will have a big impact. Look for Royal to be a marginal PPR # 3 option next year.

QB Matt Flynn goes to the Seahawks and if he is even half as close to the hype he is getting out in the media, that might be the missing puzzle they needed to build a powerhouse. The pieces are in place. Now, can Flynn live up to expectations?

QB Tim Tebow was traded to the Jets which is a horrible move for him, but great for the Jets. Tebow has no shot to develop into a pocket passer in New York on a run first team and he will  learn little from  Mark Sanchez who might be a 10th to 12th round fantasy pick this year if Ryan is telling the truth pontificating that Tebow will get 20 snaps a game.

WR Mario Manningham signed with the 49er’s. 2 years, 7 million dollars. Good depth move only if Mario can get over his injury riddled head and knee problems. He will compete for a starting slot with Randy Moss. Michael Crabtree’s value soars next season now that there are players to take the double team away.

 QB Alex Smith re-signs with a 3 year, 26 million dollar deal to stay in  San Francisco. He has to like the fact that he finally has some decent recievers to throw to. Especially if Moss comes through. Which I highly doubt will happen.

RB Ben- Jarvus – Green- Ellis hooks up with the Bengals and rumors are flying around that he will get most of the carries. He could be a sleeper pick to finally achieve a good all-around back status in the NFL. He will now get his chance.

WR Steve Smith Signed with the Rams but I would be shocked if he has any real fantasy value left. However, Smith can play the slot if need be, and with the Danny Ammendola injury last year, and his lack of size, Smith might be a player to keep an eye on if he is healthy in PPR leagues.

CB Tracy Porter goes to the Broncos and now they have a very formidable secondary with an aging Champ Bailey and Porter on the other side. Be careful when you play your receivers against the Broncos next year. They might just shut down opposing passing attacks.

RB Michael Bush signed with the Bears to replace Marion Barber. This is a good depth move due to the season ending injury Forte suffered last year, plus a contract dispute with Bears management that still is not settled.  Bush is a true beast on the goal line and could handle a starting job if Forte gets hurt. The Bears have made some good moves in free agency so far.

RB Mike Tolbert goes to the Panthers. This signing has me scratching my head. It is obvious that RB James Stewart has fallen out of favor. But, Tubby Tolbert is no kind of replacement for Stewart, who can do it all except bang-it -in from the goal line. This might have been a money decision only for Tolbert. Look for Stewart to be moved soon.

 RB Brandon Jacobs joins Mario Manningham in San Francisco. The cat fight between he and the Giants about money issues are now over and he will now be a short yardage goal line back which is what he is really cut out to be. This dents Gore’s value for touchdown production and spells the end to A. Dixon’s short life as a 49er.

This is not a complete list. I will keep updating this blog.

James

When I first read it I thought to myself why did he not stop himself from continuing his sentence?

Thinking about how many Quarterbacks have played this game just over the last four decades in this league and to have only four accomplish a feat like this. I tried to say it and couldn’t; It was like the ‘Fonz’ trying to say sorry, Fletcher Reede trying to lie in court while defending his promiscuous gold digging client Samantha Cole the day after his son’s birthday.

Five-Thousand yards passing is nothing in the NFL!

Then I went back and read it again, slowly.  I was able to put into context what he was trying to say.  ‘Throwing for 5,000 yards ‘RIGHT NOW’ in the NFL is nothing’.  I keyed in on the ‘right now’ as I reflected on some analysis I had performed in preparation for my upcoming fantasy football drafts. I was noticing an upward trend in passing yards over these last few years and even wrote a few blogs to that effect. What was most notable was the increase in the 4,000 yards passers going into the 2011 NFL season. There was an upward trend in passing stats as we have seen more 4000 yards passers each year which we can attribute to the league trying to create more scoring via rule changes and placing more emphasis  on becoming a more quarter-back friendly league and  allowing more freedom to receivers running in the open field, with that notion and the numbers in black and white I could not imagine a decline, in fact I would go on to say that in 2011 I would expect to see more 4000 yard passers not imaging there were going to be three 5,000 in that same season. So at first it was easy to say his comment was less than intelligent but once put into perspective I can understand what he is trying to say.

So now here we are some thirteen years later, Ryan Leaf flamed out and Peyton Manning went on to a lustrous career that will garner NFL Hall of Fame recognition. We all know playing the game at this level is not for the meek, people get hurt and careers can be taken away in one play, it is well documented as is the post years of health when the neurological effects begin to surface and the body breaks down before your fifty. No need to name names we have a good idea of whom these people are, we see the stories all the time, one that is tangible to me is outside the lines and into the ring. I saw Muhammad Ali at the Sky Harbor Airport in 2010 and stood at arm’s reach for a moment in passing, watching him was difficult as the last time I actually talked to him was 36 years earlier when he was autographing a photo for me as I was only a child at the time. This time was not as much of a thrill; I found myself turning away as I wiped the tear from my check and went on my way as this was not what I wanted to remember. When you talk about head and neck trauma you talk about quality of life now and in the future. Why would you want to continue, why risk further detriment to your health? When I hear four neck surgeries, and muscle atrophy at the Thirty five years old it’s time to hang’em up especially if your job involves getting blindsided by 250 pound linebackers. You’ve bank rolled plenty and have accomplished more than so many of your peers. Go now! Go enjoy your family, your life and yes you can still play in Arizona, Just not football.

And there are also some free agents that you can expect to stay exactly where they are.

For example, on the 2012 free agent quarterbacks list, Drew Brees is the biggest name on it. But does anyone really think he is going to leave the Saints? Or that the Saints would let him get away? Extremely doubtful. Sure, it could happen, but it’s just a win-win for both sides if he stays right there in New Orleans.

Conversely, we can fully expect that Matt Flynn will be leaving Green Bay to become a starting QB somewhere else. Miami makes a lot of sense as the Dolphins hired former Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin to be their new head coach. Cleveland could be another place for Flynn as they run a very similar offense. In the right offense, Flynn could be a tremendous fantasy football sleeper in 2012.

The 2012 free agent running back list is a little harder to peg. Arian Foster is a restricted free agent and should be expected to stay in Houston. Ray Rice is expected to stay in Baltimore. But will Matt Forte, Marshawn Lynch, and Michael Bush be going on to new teams? It’s very possible. Forte should still place high on 2012 fantasy football projections wherever he ends up, but Lynch is a lot harder to peg as his unexpected great 2011 season was easily the best of his career. Was he motivated by free agency? He could be a guy who is complacent once he gets paid. If Bush moves on to a featured RB role with a new team he could find himself placing high on fantasy football draft software rankings. But if he stays in Oakland, his upside is capped by the presence of Darren McFadden.

Will Vincent Jackson be a top 10 fantasy WR in 2012 if he goes somewhere else?

The WR’s are a lot more interesting as it is loaded with talent. Imagine Dwayne Bowe or Brandon Lloyd going to New England and becoming the big play WR they lack? Both have had fantasy success despite suspect QB play, but in New England either would have Tom Brady throwing him the ball. Vincent Jackson has been up and down for fantasy purposes, but will he be more consistently good if he lands in a spot like St. Louis or San Francisco? Does anyone think Wes Welker would be anywhere near as good in another offense as he is with the Patriots?

Where free agents end up signing is possibly even more important than their individual skills. Matching players with the right system is what turns a good player into a great player.

Funny to think that 14 years ago I had to create one from my own imagination as no sites offered anything like it. I also had to reach into the way back machine and use pencils and paper to keep track of the team, their players, their stats, and add up the results by hand.

My, how technology has changed things since then!

But everyone is looking for players rankings, and depending on the type of league you play in, the rankings can vary. If you play in one where each round is a brand new slate, it makes life easier. If you’re in the type of league where you have to choose with an eye on who is likely to be in the Super Bowl, it changes the whole fantasy football draft dynamic.

For those in the latter types of league, the fantasy football draft analyzer software at FantasyFootballStarters.com has projected out each round of the playoffs thru the Super Bowl with the projected stats and rankings of each player at each position. Using its game prediction algorithm I have also written a commentary of the Power Analyzer Playoffs and Super Bowl predictions for each game. I was kind of surprised at the results the Analyzer had come to.

For those who prefer a little more human intuitiveness, I also have my own Super Bowl 46 and playoffs predictions posted at FFS as well. Even though they are my own predictions, I am a little surprised at who I picked, too. Usually Championships are won by playing great defense. But I see a matchup between two offensive juggernauts.

In my most recent fantasy football blogs post, I go over the Wild Card Weekend matchups and provide some extra commentary about each matchup. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the first round as every matchup finds itself having valid arguments to be made for either side winning each game.

As for fantasy playoffs player rankings for wild card weekend, here’s what our fantasy football lineup analyzer has players ranked based on a simple standard scoring system:

Quarterbacks

Drew Brees will also be a great playoffs league fantasy QB!

1) Drew Brees

2) Matt Ryan

3) Matt Stafford

4) Eli Manning

5) T.J. Yates

6) Ben Roethlisberger

7) Andy Dalton

Tim Tebow

No surprises here. The NFC teams are all stacked with great QB’s from a fantasy perspective while the AFC teams each have question marks. Kind of surprising Yates is the top AFC QB but he did have 300 yards and 2 TD’s in a week 14 matchup against the Bengals during the regular season.

Running Backs

1) Darren Sproles

2) Arian Foster

3) Ahmad Bradshaw

4) Isaac Redman

5) Kevin Smith

6) Michael Turner

7) Pierre Thomas

Willis McGahee

9) Brandon Jacobs

10) Cedric Benson

Sproles is a boom or bust #1 RB this week. Foster is a safer choice but he struggled for only 41 yards against the Bengals earlier in the year. Surprising Bradshaw is so high considering the Falcons run defense was top 10 this season. Redman’s a bit of a wild card but if Pittsburgh’s protecting a lead I can see it.

Wide Receivers

1) Marques Colston

2) Roddy White

3) Julio Jones

4) Calvin Johnson

5) Victor Cruz

6) Robert Meachem

7) Hakeem Nicks

Antonio Brown

9) Andre Johnson

10) Mike Wallace

Both Falcons WR’s making it in the top 3 isn’t surprising considering how poorly the Giants secondary has played and how hot both guys have been recently. Meachem at 6th is a boom or bust type of pick, but it helps him that Lance Moore isn’t expected to play. A little surprised A.J. Green didn’t crack the top 10 but his production since his shoulder injury has been down, Dalton’s play has cooled off, and the Texans are a top 5 pass defense.

Tight Ends

1) Jimmy Graham

2) Brandon Pettigrew

3) Tony Gonzalez

4) Jermaine Gresham

5) Jake Ballard

6) Joel Dreessen

7) Tony Scheffler

Owen Daniels

9) Travis Beckum

10) Heath Miller

No argument from me here at any spot. Dreessen over Daniels makes sense as Dreessen has been the preferred goal line target. No surprise at all no Denver TE’s are listed. Will Tebow complete more than 8 passes this week?

Kickers

1) Mike Nugent

2) John Kasay

3) Neil Rackers

4) Matt Bryant

5) Jason Hanson

6) Shaun Suisham

7) Lawrence Tynes

Matt Prater

Nugent as the top kicker but Cincinnati to lose the game? Guess the software program sees FG’s instead of TD’s in the Bengals immediate future.

Defenses/Special Teams

1) Cincinnati Bengals

2) Pittsburgh Steelers

3) Atlanta Falcons

4) New Orleans Saints

5) Houston Texans

6) Denver Broncos

7) Detroit Lions

New York Giants

Very surprised to see a team that gets sacks like the Giants do ranked 8th. Also surprised the Bengals place 1st overall despite not being predicted to win the game. To be fair, the Texans did have 4 fumbles in their regular season meeting so that accounts for something.