GREETINGS PIGSKINNERS!

Well, the fantasy season is FINALLY HERE! This time of year is a kind of a football-yuletide (Fyuletide?) season to fantasy addicts. An entire nation of men AND women sitting around, making their lists, checking them twice, gonna find out who’s sleeper or bust…ok, you get the idea. Another behavior common to the fantasy addict is skimming through all of those magazines! There are literally hundreds of them out there at a magazine rack near you. They were all written in MAY, but they’re out there.

OK, so why do I bring this up? Well, one thing that makes a fantasy owner successful is access to fresh, up-to-date information; something most magazines can’t provide. That’s one of the reasons why I created my own football database. The Fantasy Freak Fantasy Football Database is in its second year of existence, though I’ve created similar spreadsheets for several years. My database is constantly updated long after the fantasy magazines hit the shelves, so you’re getting the most up-to-date info avalable. I’m also providing a free update on August 23rd. Some of the features include:

• UP-TO-DATE DEPTH CHARTS - SORATABLE AND PRINTABLE
• TEAM-BY-TEAM BREAKDOWNS BY POSITION (MS WORD).
• 2007 STATS BY POSITION - PLAYERS RANKED IN EACH CATEGORY
• 2007 TEAM STATS
• 2007 TEAM RANKINGS
• 2007 DEFENSIVE STATS
• WEEKLY SCHEDULE
• TEAM OFF-SEASON TRANSACTIONS
• 2008 DRAFT PICKS BY TEAM
• OFF-SEASON TEAM NOTES
• POSITIONAL RANKINGS (QB, RB, WR, TE, PK AND DEF.) W/COMMENTS
• OVER 200 PLAYERS RANKED
• 2008 TEAM FORECASTS
• SLEEPERS
• BUSTS
• HUNDREDS (IF NOT THOUSANDS) OF LINKS
• PRINTABLE PLAYER RANKINGS AND DEPTH CHARTS

Below is a sample team capsule from the database. You can find it on eBay by entering “fantasy freak” into the search box, or simply click on the link at the bottom of this page.
Thanks!

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS OVERVIEW:
The 2007 Chiefs made it to their Week 8 bye with a 4-3 record, but came back from the bye week and lost nine straight games. Running back Larry Johnson struggled behind an inefficient offense line and eventually succumbed to foot injury. Damon Huard began the season as the starting quarterback but took a seat in favor of Brodie Croyle, who looked every bit the part of a young quarterback behind a porous offensive line. A bright spot for the passing attack was rookie Dwayne Bowe, who flirted with a 1,000-yard season. Defensively the Chiefs showed a great deal of improvement, though the run defense was still quite lacking.

QUARTERBACK: It’s tough to gauge a quarterback’s performance when he spends a lot of time on his back, but that’s the dilemma the Chiefs have with Croyle in 2007. The Chiefs made attempts to address their offensive line woes in the draft when they selected Brandon Albert from Virginia. The Chiefs only returning starters on the line are guard Brian Waters and tackle Damion McIntosh, who is moving from the left side to the right in 2008. With an o-line this young, we strongly believe it will take time to gel as a unit. As a result, the Chiefs will likely go another year without truly being able to evaluate Croyle. A key for Croyle will be how he is able to respond to opposing defenses. Most defensive coordinators will likely design their game plans to stop Johnson and the running game while practically double-dog daring Croyle to throw the ball. If Croyle can make opposing defenses pay for playing ten-in-the-box, then KC’s offense has a chance to move the ball. If not, then it will be a long season in Arrowhead. We consider Croyle’s fantasy value among the lowest of all NFL quarterbacks. Huard was listed as the number two quarterback in the OTAs, but Tyler Thigpen has surpassed Huard in training camp. Still, don’t be shocked to see KC step in and sign a veteran quarterback following the final roster cuts.

RUNNING BACK: Going into 2007 Larry Johnson was considered one of the top players in all of fantasy football. By the end of the season, no one seemed to remember why he was worthy of such distinction. To be fair, after the huge season he had in 2006, it was justifiable that his fantasy stock would go through the roof in 2007. However, the afore-mentioned Chiefs offensive line woes coupled with a foot injury ruined Johnson’s season. Johnson finished 2007 after eight games, 46 rushes, 559 rushing yards and four total touchdowns and a lot of frustration. As bleak as Johnson’s performance was last season, there is still hope that he could bounce back and be statistically productive in 2008. Again, the team has made attempts to improve the talent along the offensive line and usually it takes less time to gel as a run blocking. unit Perhaps more importantly, while head coach Herm Edwards and new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey will still employ a run-first mentality, the workload Johnson should be given will likely be a bit lighter than his 416 carries in 2006. The club seems to realize that the 2006 workload could have indeed contributed to his subsequent injury in ’07. When Johnson was injured in mid-season, rookie Kolby Smith filled in and rushed for 407 yards and three touchdowns in relief. Furthermore the Chiefs drafted Texas speedster Jamaal Charles in the third round of the draft and he’ll likely get a shot as a third down back. So, in Johnson’s case, less could be more. Fewer carries could equate to more quality production and even more longevity. The summer mocks peg Johnson as the ninth to tenth best fantasy back, but he grades out as number eight on our running back board. Smith and Charles will be handcuffs.

WIDE RECEIVER: How can an offense that ranked 11th in passing yards feature a wideout who came within five yards of posting a 1,000-yard season during his rookie campaign? Simple: draft Dwayne Bowe. The rookie from LSU stormed onto the NFL and fantasy football scene with 70 receptions, 995 yards and five touchdowns. There is optimism in KC that Bowe will walk onto the field this season and prove to the world that last year was no fluke. He has excellent speed, great size and can make circus catches. Bowe has been considered in summer mocks in the 22nd to 36th wide receiver range, while we count him in around the 20th to 22nd range. After Bowe, the pickings get pretty slim. The training camp battle for the No. 2 spot will be between free agent acquisition Devard Darling, rookie Will Franklin, veteran under achiever Jeff Webb and former arena ball wideout Bobby Sippio. Franklin has shown signs of promise in camp, but there are no fantasy weapons other than Bowe in the KC receiving corps.

TIGHT END: Once the pinnacle of fantasy tight ends, Tony Gonzalez has seen his stock slip a bit over the last couple of seasons. This is not so much due to any lack of production by Gonzalez, but rather fellow tight ends such as Antonio Gates, Jason Witten and Kellen Winslow have emerged as productive players as well. Gonzalez recorded over 900 receiving yards for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, racking up 1,172 yards and five touchdowns. Keep in mind, Gonzo put up those figures while helping out with the blocking because the o-line was getting beaten quite often. Fantasy mocks have cemented Gonzalez as the fourth best tight end. While it’s tough to ignore the three afore-mentioned tight ends ranked above him, only Gates has displayed the consistency that Gonzalez has showed us over the years. We won’t rock the fantasy boat. Go ahead and take Gonzalez as the fourth tight end and don’t be surprised if he out-performs the others.

KICKER: The Chiefs wasted a draft pick last season on Justin Medlock, who is still presumably somewhere trying to kick his way out of a wet paper bag. Medlock’s performance eventually caused his release. The club brought in veteran John Carney, but the club failed to get him into very many positions to score. This year the team brought in former Saints and Cowboys kicker Billy Cundiff to compete with journeyman Nick Novak. If you’re looking for a fantasy kicker, stay out of Kansas City. Neither of these guys have any history of success. There’s a chance that the Chiefs could sign a veteran free agent kicker, such as Jay Feely.

DEFENSE: The Chiefs dealt fan favorite and all pro defensive end Jared Allen in the offseason. The club then drafted defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey with its first pick and cornerback Brandon Flowers in the second round. Dorsey could finally be the defensive tackle that the team hasn’t had since the days of Dan Saleaumua. The KC “D” was once the laughingstock of the NFL, but they showed a great deal of improvement last year. Many mocks consider the Chiefs “D” as the worst defense in the league. We disagree and think they should perform much better than these gloomy forecasts. Still, it would be silly to draft the Chiefs defense, but keep an eye on their performance as the bye weeks begin to roll around.

SUMMARY: This is a very mixed fantasy bag here. Croyle is not worth much, the defense is worth a bit more, Bowe should have a shot at another decent campaign and Gonzalez will still be near the top of the tight end pack. Johnson will see his value tumble from last year’s top three assessment, but could still prove to be a good value.

I hope you enjoyed this free preview!

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Terry Blount, who wants to be the Rembrandt of fantasy football coverage, but would settle for being the Charles M Schultz, can be reached at askthefreak@hotmail.com. Drop him a line today!