FantasyFootball.com will not be charging for their Platinum Package in 2009.  All the tools and resources that used to go for a fee will be free this year.

The Bruno Boys offer up some RBs that may fly under the radar year when it comes to fantasy football draft time.  I have to say that I was just thinking about the lack of love for a couple of these guys the other day.

What to do with those breakout RB from last season?  Draft high?  One year wonder?  Frank Mazzola at Pro Fantasy Sports has some ideas.

KFFL’s “Characteristics of Succesful Wide Recievers” is an interesting read, looking at the catchers from different angels.

The Wide Receiver show for the New York Giants is going to be a toss up, as you know.  Rotoworld shakes the names up and pulls some out based on how mini-camps panned out.

More WR stuff.  Sons of the Tundra have some WR Dynasty Rankings.  They have been up a while but you can count on them still be good if these guys have not updated yet.

Without really planning it this is becoming a WR post today.  Here are some WRs that are heading into their third (supposed to be the breakout) year from FF Toolbox.

Seriously…Start/Sit is starting already over at Fantasy Football Xtreme.  You can just smell it in the air, can’t you?

Note:  The Fantasy Football Dynasty Rankings take into consideration starting status as you are drafting for a Fantasy Football Dynasty League now as well as the next three years.  You are in your Dynasty League for at least that long , right?

#1.  Drew Brees: That’s right folks.  Until proven otherwise there is a new sheriff in Fantasy Football QB Dynasty town, and his name is Drew Brees.  Yes, Tom Brady will be back this year…but he isn’t back yet.  Peyton Manning is consistent but will face some changes now and has not finished as the top fantasy back in years.  Brees is clicking and it appears it will keep clicking for at elast the next couple of years.

#7 Jay Cutler/#8 Matt Ryan: This is an interesting spot.  If there was more than one season to go by and more of a need to pass may have went with Ryan over Cutler here.  Both have a decent running game and should in coming seasons.  Ryan has by far the better group catching the ball but unless they are in a shootout in one of the two games with the Saints may run the ball more.  This will require further debate… VOTE ON WHO YOU WOULD TAKE HERE!

#12 Kurt Warner: What?!?  Kurt Warner way down here?  What a steal, huh?  Well, you have to consider if you want a QB in your dynasty league who may be retired in the next year or two as your top gun.  If you take Warner as your top QB you better spend another pick earlier than usual to have a good prospect behind him.  There are some that would put this too high for Warner but you do want to win right away too, right?

#18 Matt Cassel:  Something just doesn’t sit right with me for Cassel.  I think it’s because he was in a position last season with a lot of talent around him that he will not have in Kansas City.  He very well could prove me wrong.  For now I need a little more proof.  He will fit in as a nice #2 Dynasty QB on your squad.  After about halfway through 2009 you may know what you really have in him.

Continue on to the rankings—>

Drag, Drop, and Print

Old school spreadsheets.  That is what fantasy football draft prep is all about, right?    There will be people that will never stray from their spreadsheets, and there is nothing wrong with that (I use them).  For people that don’t want to deal with them or spreadsheet guys that don’t mind a little change, I have something for you today that can make your fantasy football ranking a little more fun and easy on the eyes.

Last season I told you about Cheatsheet Warroom.  Here you can create fantasy football rankings using a “drag and drop” feature and then print them out.  Here is where Spreadsheet Guy may say something like “Well, I can do that with my spreadsheet…”  Sure you can.  You can also copy and paste last seasons stats for every player and where they rank on a couple other sites…or you could use this tool that already has that in there.

Here are some of the appealing components of the Cheetsheet Warroom drag and drop rankings…

• Supplemental rankings from CBS Sports and NFL.com give you a little visual where the player ranks in comparison to your own.
• Years experience and bye week are listed directly under the player name.
• Handy little buttons for Sleeper, Bust, or Injured that can be toggled off and on.  Nice for updating through camp.
• 2008 season stats (adjustable 2007-2009 in settings) listed with player.
• Spot for creating notes.

When it comes time for your draft you can print your rankings out using two different options…

• Single sheet with an integrated roster box for you to write your players in.
• Two sheets with more players listed and the roster sheet on the second page.

As long as you are registered you can go back and edit/update your rankings as much as you like.  Someone gets injured in camp?  Go back and click that “injured” button, drag’em down the rankings, drop’em, and then jot a little note how long they will be out.

Spreadsheets offer a lot of sorting functionality and familiarity for those that use them.  They are not for everyone though, and Cheetsheet Warroom offers an appealing alternative for those fantasy football owners that want to be more organized.

Amazingly this video is still on YouTube.  Highlights of Super Bowl XXXIV.  The Scramble is at the 1:30 minute mark.  This is how I will remember Steve McNair.

“One of the good guys?

Two DUIs - one with a loaded 9mm on the front seat. You must consider Donte’ Stallworth right up there with the pope.

And Jesus Christ people. The plural of a noun ending in “y” is “ies”. Not “y’s”. Not “ys”. It’s hard to take you or your comments seriously when you show such a profound ignorance of basic grammar.”

Judge bobbysmith would be handing out the Death Penalty a lot this weekend as some everyday Joe’s that have a lapse in judgement get behind the wheel when they shouldn’t this 4th of July weekend.  We won’t debate Drunk Driving.  It’s stupid (been there), I know, but rarely does a Jury find that someone be put to death for it.

What gets me is imagining bobbysmith getting a smile on his face when reading this thinking, “This is my time to shine!”   Plotting his every word as clever as he is, using this as his opportunity to be witty and and have others finally see it for themselves.  You know…that almost wouldn’t be as bad as what I really think it is.  What I really think is going on is the guy uses the internet to say things to people he wouldn’t have the guts to say to them on the street.  He likes to see people get wound up over what he says and there is nothing they can do about it.  I’m sure that bobbysmith is an a forum somewhere right now cutting someone down for saying “seen” instead of “saw” and enjoying every minute of it. (Update: Nope.  bobbysmith is still leaving reply after reply on that page as of four minutes ago…more than three hours past his first reply…and really does appear to be enjoying the waves he is making.)

Enough…I’m not going to let bobbysmith get me wound up anymore than he has.  He does remind me of an article I read recently called 6 New Personality Disorders Cause By The Internet.  Seems to fit most of those.

I miss Steve McNair already, even if he did make some poor choices.

When I arrived at Fantasy Football Calculator I had about five minutes to pick my spot (took the number 6 pick) and pre-rank some players.  Didn’t have much to work off of but I did have an idea in mind.  The last mock I did I made a pick out of my own fantasy character and took Peyton Manning in the second round.  I have never really been a Manning guy but thought I should take him later on in the second.  Although my team came out pretty good I had an uneasy feeling when I didn’t get some of the people I would have loved to have that fell before my third rounder.  SO ANYWAY, this time I wanted to see how long I could go without a QB and wanted to do the old fashioned two RB in the first two rounds.

I was extremely pleased with how my two first picks panned out at the #6, Steven Jackson and Brian Westbrook.  I had a feeling of satisfaction at RB I did not have in the past Mock but things got weird in the next two rounds.   Ten WRs had went off the board by the time I was ready to pick in the 3rd.  Anquan Boldin is a stud, we know, but you still have an uneasy feeling with the whole thing in Arizona for the guy to be your #1 WR.  Then in the second the best WR available was Braylon Edwards.  Braylon and I did not get along last season.  Had Kurt Warner not been picked just before me I may have taken my QB then.  But this is for science anyway, we will wait!

I was able to add Antonio Gates in the 5th to round out my core starters outside of QB.  I would really like to see Gates pick it back up.  I had a really hard time between Gates and Gonzo.  I think Gonzo can be a big target for Matt Ryan.

So let’s get to that QB thing, shall we?  I almost took Donovan McNabb instead of Gates…but I was testing things, right?  Well, he went off the board three picks before my next pick.  Next target…Tony Romo.  Nope…he went the pick after McNabb.  I decided to hold off a round.  Matt Ryan and Jay Cutler go off before my next pick.  I was feeling good when it looked like Carson Palmer was going to fall to me in the 8th round but he went off two picks before me.  I pulled the trigger in the 8th round on Eli Manning.  Not really the guy I want leading my fantasy team.  Two rounds later I added David Garrard, who I was big on last year…until the season played out.

Moral of the story…if I had it to do over again (and I will next week) I would not wait past the 7th round, at least not where I was picking in the middle.  There were five QB’s taken in the 8th round so you could beat a run going in the 7th.   I’m really noticing that you cannot wait on WR these days either.  It was nice getting those two RB but I would have felt better getting a sure thing catcher.

Some other observations…

• The first round played out like:  Adrian Peterson, Matt Forte, Maurice Jones-Drew, L. Tomlinson, Michael Turner, Steven Jackson, Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Steve Slaton, Chris Johnson, Randy Moss, DeAngelo Williams.
• How often do you see two texans in the first round?
• Some Michael Turner fans are going to love seeing him still around at #5.
• Tom Brady (#14) and Drew Brees (#15) were the top passers taken.  None in the first round this time around.
• Greg Jennings went at #17, before the middle of the second round.
• Watching Joseph Addai, Willie Parker, and Larry Johnson fall to the 5th round makes you realize how much things can change within a couple years.  How far off are we before we see L.T. going in the 6th while he is playing for the Lions or something?
• Mentioned above, there were five QB’s taken in the 8th round.  Making the 7th round the latest you wait might make you the start of a run.
• I like to take note of when the first Defense was taken.  The Steelers went with the first pick in the 9th.

As we discussed in previous posts, FootballGuys.com has a FREE Rate My Team application that is pretty much awesome.  For the record they pretty much agreed that I was set with RB but lacked at QB and WR.

So kids, tune in next week as we do it again trying some other ideas on a whim.  You can always go do a Mock yourself at Fantasy Football Calculator and let us know how yours came out!

If you have been listening to Sirius you have more than likely heard of the new FREE application.  Personally, I have not carried a cell phone in two years (not since I was a therapist and HAD to carry a phone all the time, no desire since then), I do however have an iPod Touch and have it going right now.  Tell me of a better way to spend the weekend at the In-Law’s house.  I can sit appearing footballess, only to have it going in the headphones while tapping my finger to “the beat” and nodding at the wife.

It did not take the App long to shoot up the Free Applications chart, sitting at #4 as I type.  How does it work? If you are a subscriber you just enter your login info when you are near a wireless connection and you are HOOKED UP!  I hear there are some music stations available too but I have not got past NFL Radio.

On another note…for those that listen to NFL Radio, does Ross Tucker sound like Tommy Chong to anyone else other than me?

First stop is over at FantasyFootballCalculator.com (Weird…almost a year to the day I wrote on that last year).  It’s early in the season but it is already hopping!  I jumped in somewhat unprepared…well…a lot unprepared since I was just sitting on the couch when I decided to jump up and do one.  Within 2 minutes of landing on the site I had a draft starting.  Talk about instant gratification!  After my third round pick of Peyton Manning I realize things are already not going to go as planned.  I’m not usually a “Manning Taker” by any means.  Midway through the 3rd round it seemed the thing to do though.  Anyway, this is okay because I know that what I’m doing with this draft is using it to see how Part Two of our tasty fantasy football treat rates it.

Footballguys.com recently released their new “Rate My Team” application on the FREE page.  It’s pretty simple and straight forward.  Enter the players in and then adjust some scoring (which I put the scoring from FFC in since that is what I think the other owners would have been taking into consideration) and WALA!  No, it does not give you a “7 on a scale of 1-10″ type rating.  These guys go all out.  Here are some of the things they are going to give you…

• An overview of your team.
• Percentage of chance they give you for making the playoffs in your league.
• Summary on each position, how they feel about your starters and depth.
• A schedule analysis for each player, who should start which weeks.
• Possible free agents that may be better than the bottom feeders you have.
• Projections and player summaries.
• Player news for your players over the last seven days.

I have to say that the Football Guys were not nearly as hard on me as I was myself.  They gave me a 90% chance to make the playoffs (4 out of 12 teams make it) with great in season management (85% with good, 74% with average) and called my team the league favorite as long as I stay on top of my team.

I really like the Free Agent suggestions.  They even go as far as to grey out the players that won’t work with your current starters bye weeks.  It also shows where your depth players sit in comparison to players that may be available.

There you have it!  Fantasy Football Calculator FREE Mock Drafts + FootballGuys.com FREE “Rate My Team” application=FREE Fantasy Football Fun for the summer to hold you over as you wait for your drafts to begin!

Speaking of Free and Fantasy Football…stay tuned as Football Jabber throws all kinds of free resources to help you dominate your league in 2009!  Subscribe to the RSS feed or email to be sure you do not miss anything.

Thomas Boswell at The Washington Post has a look at how the Redskins are putting on a “How not to treat a QB” clinic for Jason Campbell.  After failing to get Jay Cutler and the temptation of Mark Sanchez in the draft, the Skins staff now can do some damage control.

“The Redskins’ brass can explain to him that, even though they tried to move heaven and earth to trade for airhead, pouting, party boy passer Jay Cutler three weeks ago, and despite the fact that they were still trying to trade up to grab USC quarterback Mark Sanchez on draft day yesterday, the team’s top executives still love him madly.”

The New York Jets WR’s will tell you they don’t need Plaxico Burress.  Just like Jason Campbell would tell the redskins they don’t need another QB.

There have been quite a few headlines that Donovan McNabb wants a Super Bowl now that he got his bonus.  Well…if that is all it takes I’m sure the Eagles would have forked over more cash rather than lose all those NFC title games.

Just what the rest of the NFL needed.  The Steelers young players are making huge strides.

The Dallas Cowboys Defense is taking on a new look in 2009.

Eric Mangini says that the QB’s for the Browns are heading into training camp even.  Does that mean Derek Anderson had the lead before injuring his leg and missing two practices?

The Vikings…nope, this is Favreless news so can’t talk the Vikings.  Nothing to see here…

Remember getting dumped in school and writing the pathetic “Take me back” notes?  No?  Um…me either…a friend told me about it.  Anyway, the Lions are doing the same sort of thing with season ticket holders.

Jim Mora is sending the playbooks home with the Seahawks players so they can study before training camp.  Bet that gets some mumbles in the locker room.

Vince Young was embarrassed by that whole Police hunt thing last year…

“All that type of stuff — it was embarrassing. I can’t stand when somebody jeopardizes my image and does things that are unnecessary. Especially if I’ve told you, out of my mouth like a man, that I’m fine. Can I please go home? For all the stuff that happened that night It was a sight to see,” Vince Young said.

The race for the starting QB position for the 49ers is still a tight one and will be heading into training camp.

Remember Mike Tice?  He is happy to be out of the spotlight THE HEADLINE says at Jacksonville.com…in the TOP STORY.

At the time of writing this The Rocky Mountain News does not have a peep that Kyle Orton has been named the Broncos starting QB.  The Denver Post is on it though.

Free Fantasy Football Mag

Every season I purchase at least one fantasy football magazine.  Used to be a lot more, but in the age of the internet you can get much of the info more current online.  Problem is they are all old news by the time they hit the stand.  FootballGuys.com are giving their annual mag away FREE in PDF format this year RIGHT NOW!  Perfect for the jonesing Fantasy Football fan.  You get the FBG take right after it’s finished instead of after the publishing process.  Something to hold you over and give you a head start on your 2009 Campaign!

Get your FREE 2009 Fantasy Football Magazine HERE along with some other free features from FootballGuys.com.  You can also get free emails with the latest NFL News and the fantasy spin on that news, as well as Free Podcasts.

To get the full Football Guys effect you should consider subscribing.  You don’t know how painful that is for me to say as a fantasy football owner myself who has to compete with people reading this.  It’s the truth though.  With all the applications that these guys provide to subscribers, you would be a fool to go anywhere else if you are going to subscribe to a fantasy football site.

For a breakdown on the Free Fantasy Football Mag, GO HERE.

For more free fantasy football info leading up to the season subscribe free to Football Jabber in an RSS reader or by email in the links in the upper right of the sidebar.

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!