Andy Richardson

Watched a lot of preseason games over the weekend, leaving me with a whole bunch of thoughts. Some made it into the Weekly, but some didn't. For example:

1. Some No. 2 wide receiver battles have value. Some do not. Does it really matter who wins the job in Buffalo or Cleveland? How much value is that player really going to have?

2. Similar situation for some starting tight end jobs. Arizona, St. Louis, Jacksonville. There are too many good tight ends in the league to seriously chase after the starter for a team that either won't throw to the position, will likely use a committee, or won't throw the ball well regardless.

3. You can't underestimate the role that luck plays. In this year's dynasty draft I had Ben Tate and Montario Hardesty ranked about even. I selected Tate, then traded him away a few picks later when Hardesty was still available. I obviously didn't know at the time that Tate would wind up on IR for his rookie season. Maybe Tate still turns out to be the better pro, but regardless. Lucky.

4. Watching Dexter McCluster, I got the feeling that he might be better than anticipated. If Jamaal Charles should get injured, I could see Kansas City plugging McCluster into Charles' role and giving him a lot of carries and receptions. If everyone stays healthy, though, he'll probably just hurt Charles' value. One more Kansas City note: I wonder if the team regrets trading Tyler Thigpen? He might be better than Matt Cassel or Brodie Croyle.

5. You hate to root for injuries, but an unfortunate reality of fantasy football is you find yourself being happy when some guys get hurt. I drafted C.J. Spiller in multiple leagues. I wasn't wishing for a Fred Jackson injury, but it didn't make me sad that he got hurt. I'm sorry, Fred.

6. Basically, Brett Favre has to play. If he stays out now, he upsets quite a lot of Vikings players, fans, and the organization itself. The fact that he hasn't officially said "no" at this late stage means the answer will be "yes." He'll show up by Wednesday the 25th. I can't guarantee it, but I'm pretty confident about it. I admit I'm a little more swayed by Sage Rosenfels' huge game than Ian was. I wonder if the Vikings aren't at least thinking about having Rosenfels take the backup job from Tarvaris Jackson. That or he'll be traded the day after Favre reports.

7. You know how at the end of musical chairs one guy ends up without a chair and loses? That's an apt metaphor for Kevin Kolb in Philadelphia, Donovan McNabb in Washington, and Jason Campbell in Oakland. Kolb and McNabb look poised for happy, successful seasons. Campbell looks poised for a miserable season in Oakland. About all you can say is at least the home fans shouldn't boo him too much, since they've seen the alternatives the last few years.

8. I'm a believer in the Lions offense. Calvin Johnson is going to be huge this year. Huge. Jahvid Best will challenge Ryan Mathews as the best rookie running back. Matthew Stafford should be very good, and Nate Burleson is an underrated No. 2 wideout.

9. Defenses that look pretty good so far: Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas. Washington. Defenses I'm a little concerned about: Green Bay, New England.

10. Monday, Monday: Jets and Giants kick things off tonight. They're playing up the whole "Jets getting too much hype" and "Giants not getting enough respect" thing around here. I tend to agree that the Jets are overrated and the Giants underrated right now. Not that it will necessarily matter tonight with the starters only on the field for a quarter, most likely, but it should be interesting. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Shonn Greene and Ahmad Bradshaw.

• Comments [6]

Readers' Comments

Add a Comment

Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.

To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.