The Larry Fitzgerald Quagmire

Larry Fitzgerald is in the conversation for best wide receiver in the NFL. Calvin Johnson is actually the the best, but a carefully worded argument for Fitz can make any megatron fan slow their role. The fact is, they're both great. However this submission isn't about Calvin Johnson or why he is the best first round pick you can make....it's about Larry.

Bellow you'll find Larry Fitzgerald in a comfortable 5th overall position after the 2011 season...

Not a bad year, considering John Skelton and Kevin Kolb split time.

2012 was a different story for Fitzgerald. The third year in the post-Kurt Warner era proved to be Larry's fatal season. Below you'll find his dismal stats. Keep in mind, he went early to mid second round in most drafts in 2012....

So where does Fitz fall in 2013? It still remains to be seen. The biggest factor in determining his true worth will be who ends up being his quarterback. The skill set is there, the QB is not.

With that being said...If Arizona can find even a serviceable QB, Larry will resurge as a top 5 fantasy WR. Until then, I wouldn't touch this guy with a 10 foot pole. It's truly disheartening to say this. As I said, this guy has the ability to be just as game changing as Calvin Johnson, and he had been in the past.

If you look closer at the stats from 2011 and 2012, Fitz received the exact same number of targets. The only problem is he had 613 fewer yards and half the touchdowns. We'll be praying for you Larry. This guy deserves a good QB to accent his skills more than anybody. He is a hard worker,  good teammate, and a hell of a talent. Unfortunately, those qualities don't always translate into productive fantasy numbers.

Once again, thanks to ESPN's Fantasy Football Page for the stats....

Running Quarterbacks in 2013

Hello again everyone. Although the fantasy football and NFL season may be over, it is never too early to start looking at players for next years draft. With the recent re-signing of Michael Vick in Philadelphia, I decided to take a look at him and some of the other running QB's that are high-upside options.





1.) Michael Vick

Vick had one of his worst years in his career last year. He was plagued by a bad offensive line, poor play calling, and really a lot of poor play on his own. If you drafted him last year, odds are you had a pretty rough season. But now, there may be more positives for Vick. With new head coach Chip Kelly and his read option, up tempo offense, we are starting to look at Vick as a possible sleeper in next year's draft. Surely, you won't want him to be your only option at quarterback, but if he drops beyond the second round, he might be the pick that can change your league for the year.

2.) Cam Newton

We are very, very high on Cam Newton for 2013. Most people saw Cam have somewhat of a sophomore slump last year. Likewise, most of his fantasy owners griped about his lack of performance for most of the year. With that being said, Cam ended up as the 4th most productive fantasy football player in 2012. If that is a down year for him, then he can  only ascend higher on that list.

3.) Colin Kaepernick

Kaep emerged mid season as a very productive fantasy football player. San Francisco had that read option down to a science and Colin was the head scientist. He will be a very interesting person to watch for next year's draft. He did have very productive games, but often we see a new style of QB come in and dominate only to be discouraged the following season by opposing defenses. With that said, he will go early in your draft next year. We're just not sure you want to be the one reaching for him.

4.) Robert Griffin III

It was heartbreaking to see RG3 go out the way he did last year after being one of the most electrifying players in all the game last year. A blown ACL and MCL, surgery on both knees, and a long rehab ahead puts his fantasy value in question going in to 2013. We will have to watch to see how his rehab is coming along, but we suggest that reaching for him is not the way to go next year. While we saw Adrian Peterson make an incredible comeback from similar knee surgery last year, RG3 is not Adrian Peterson, and Adrian Peterson is not human. Don't expect a similar comeback.

Thanks for stopping by again. Don't forget to check out the Official Fantasy Football Bible in online retailers May 1.

Fantasy Football Book: Beware of Guys in Commercials

source

Hey everyone. I was watching some TV recently and noticed a stunning amount of commercials with products endorsed by NFL players. Not exactly something out of the norm, but then I started to look a little closer at what these players have done this year on the field.

OK, so we can take Peyton Manning out of the conversation. He is an extreme exception, as he is in almost any conversation when you are talking about NFL players and particularly QB's. But let's explore a few of the guys I'm talking about.

Sounds good, 2 million free pizzas.

Troy Polamalu---Head and Shoulders

I admit, I thought these were funny when I originally saw them. That was when Troy was a perennial defensive player of the year candidate. With just 4 games played this year with little impact, they don't seem as funny.

Greg Jennings---Old Spice

Greg Jennings was certainly one of the biggest disappointments this year in the world of fantasy football. He has missed a lot of time due to injury and has under performed in the games he has played. For a potent offense that has just been waiting for 1 solid constant #1 to emerge, Greg has really not done much to secure that role.

On the bright side, he has high smelf-confidence. And thank goodness. If his body stunk as bad as his fantasy output this year, he would be in some serious trouble.

Ray Lewis---Madden 13'

We've all heard of the dreaded Madden curse. With Calvin Johnson taking aim on the receiving yards all time record, I hear a lot of people saying "The curse is broken!!!".....That's incorrect. While Johnson escaped the inescapable curse (because he's a freak), it still took someone people thought was invincible.....Uncle Ray Ray (Ray Lewis). I see these commercials everyday, and I can't help but think if this is coincidence or more proof to this theory of guys who do a lot of commercial work in the offseason.

As always, thanks to ESPN for the stats and player info

Fantasy Football Book: Playoff Season

Welcome back to the blog for the fantasy football book, The Official Fantasy Football Bible. December is upon us and along with cold weather and loud relatives comes our favorite tradition, the fantasy football playoffs.

If you are reading this blog there is a strong chance that you are involved in your leagues fantasy playoffs. Usually when people are knocked out, they instantly stop reading any fantasy info and pretend like they never cared about it at all. So if you've made it, congrats!

Thursday night marked the start of week 14 in the NFL featuring a divisional match-up between the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders. While not the most glamorous game, it was filled with plenty of fantasy implications that will sure effect teams.

Jeff Gross/ Getty Images

Peyton Manning has been an incredible comeback story. Not only has he returned from injury without reoccurrence, he has played at an MVP level all season. Peyton's fantasy owners have a high percentage of playoff appearances. This is due to his great play, and his doubters in the preseason leading to low projected value before the season.

Manning slowed up on Thursday night, tying his second worst fantasy output of the season. While the Broncos won handily, Peyton only threw for one touchdown. While he should be allowed one of these mediocre/pretty good performances, this is a tricky week for him to pick.

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There was also some interesting running back implications as well. Darren McFadden returned to fantasy relevance with a score and 52 yards last night, while it may have been a little too late for this high draft pick. Knowshon Moreno had a huge night with 32 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown while adding 48 receiving yards. While Knowshon was expected to see a nice workload, not a whole lot of people could have projected such a big game.

This Thursday's game proved why so many people love fantasy football. A lackluster game draws major fantasy implications for the first round of the playoffs. Good luck to everyone who's still in this week as you try to move on to next week. Thanks again to ESPN.com/fantasy for our stats.

Fantasy Football Book: The Official Fantasy Football Bible (VIDEOS)

Hey there. Welcome to the Official Fantasy Football Bible blog. We're happy you're hear as we begin our journey to becoming the #1 source of everything fantasy football. This blog will help serve as a platform for some of the ideas in our upcoming fantasy football book, The Official Fantasy Football Bible, as well as giving some weekly updates and analysis. A special thanks to ESPN.com for providing our fantasy stats.

So what has happened so far this year in the world of fantasy football? A whole lot. We have seen the continuing emergence of the over-passing offenses, the decline of prosperous running backs, and rookies making a huge impact immediately.

The final week of the regular season is approaching this weekend. We figured this would be a good time to start looking at some of this season's MVPs. We'll start this week looking at our MVPs at the quarterback and running back positions.

Our MVPs

Quarterback, QB

In recent years, fantasy QB's have been targeted more and more often as high first round draft picks. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees were all major first rounders that were viewed as can't miss picks. While they all have had great seasons, we're focusing our QB MVP pick to the amazing rookie sensation Robert Griffin III. Check out this awesome highlight reel from this year, with some pretty dramatic music accompanying it.

We were extremely high on RG3 before this season and not to brag, but we were dead on. Through week 12 of this year's season, Griffin has posted an incredible 2193 passing yards with 12 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions while adding 624 rushing yards and 6 more TDs on foot. His powerful arm strength and break away speed have landed him with the second most fantasy points this year. Not bad for a guy who rarely went before the 7th round in most drafts.

Running Back, RB

What's the number one complaint I hear from other fantasy football players in this 2012 season? "I have no running backs!" While it's true that the NFL is still continuing to shift to a pass dominated league, a lack of RB presence can really hurt your team. This year has showed that having a stud running back is easier said than done. We have seen the likely characters like Ray Rice and Arian Foster continue to be dominant (while staying healthy) as well as an emergence of some big play rookies like Doug Martin and Trent Richardson. While these guys have all had great seasons, we elect Adrian Peterson for our RB President this year (see why below).

I just got a little choked up there....OK, so I'm a little bias when it comes to "All Day" because I've drafted him 3 straight years. But let's get real. Coming off a season ending ACL/MCL tear just 8 months before this season, few people had confidence in this long time stud. At this point in the season, AP leads the league in rushing (123 yards more than second place, Marshawn Lynch) and has put up some big numbers on just about everybody. We love this guy, and why not? With many wondering if he would even be healthy enough to make an impact this year, Adrian has shown what the true meaning of a stud running back is.

Thanks for stopping by. This blog will be updated weekly so don't forget to check in regularly and see what's new in the amazing world of fantasy football. Next week we will look at our wide receiver and tight end MVP's, as well as give you a little fantasy playoff preview. See you soon!

Dont forget to stay tuned for our upcoming Fantasy Football Book...The Official Fantasy Football Bible.