Who is the next Michael Turner?

If you play fantasy football it pays to watch the talented RBs that come through at the college level, especially if you are playing in a keeper league or dynasty league. Personally, I wouldn’t play fantasy football unless it was one of those two formats. The game is way too luck based to play in a one year format. You can win a league by doing little or no research. It is not rewarding at all to me if I win a league. But in dynasty I get to bring my passion into it which is evaluating talent and how a player projects at the next level.

I was a big believer in LT (Tomlinson) two years before he went pro. I was a huge Marshall Faulk fan while he was still playing at San Diego State. I was also a big fan of Michael Turner every since I saw him play for two seasons at Northern Illinois. Last year, I was a big believer that Adrian Peterson was going to be the best back in the NFL long before he ever took his first carry for the Vikings. It may sound like bragging but I take a lot of pride in being able to do that. It’s the reason I have this blog. It’s the reason I love playing fantasy sports. I love scouting players and being right about them. That is my passion. With this blog I get to go on record (and you can too!) about it.

My point that I’m trying to make if you are going to play a dynasty fantasy football league it pays to be right on the rookies before they make it big. I was disappointed when Michael Turner was drafted by the Chargers because I knew he wasn’t going to get the carries. But I was sure he was going to be a very good RB if he ever became a free agent. So he finally got the call last year and I made sure that I drafted him. I took him around a round earlier than he had been going in most drafts. After one season on a young Atlanta team Turner is more than likely going to finish as the number 1 scoring RB in fantasy football. I waited some 5 years to put that scouting to good use. It paid off for me last year by way of Peterson and it paid off this year by way of Turner.

There are two RBs who I still hold in high regard like that. One is 3rd year RB out of Minnesota, Laurence Maroney and the other is rookie RB out of Illinois, Rashard Mendenhall. If you followed my blog neither of those names would be a surprise to you. In the case of Maroney, he will have to leave the Patriots in order to amount to anything. Bill Bellicheat is murder to RBs like Mike Shanahan. As long as Maroney plays for him I am not expecting much. Plus, Maroney is going to have to get that bothersome shoulder 100% healthy too. If he ever goes the Michael Turner route I will again be ready to pounce and take a chance on him.

In the case of Mendenhall, he is out for the year and forgotten because of the season ending knee injury he had early this year. He’s behind Willie Parker on the depth chart but I still believe in a year or two he’ll be the primary back for the Steelers. He was higher on my draft list at RB than super rookie RB Chris Johnson. I still believe in the long run, Mendenhall will be a better fantasy RB than Chris Johnson. It’s just going to take some patience for it to happen. The lesson here is Michael Turner. If you believe and you are patient you can reap the rewards. It’s easy to go after talent after you see the stats but it’s something special to actually have the foresight to go after or stash away talent before it happens. And just for the sake of being on the record, Ray Rice is also a RB I hold in high regard. If he ever gets 15-20 carries a game in Baltimore the kid will be good.

One last note on RBs in the NFL, It seems that more and more teams are taking the 2 RB system that most teams are using now to a 3 RB system. It’s a disturbing pattern and it’s only a more maddening thing to add to fantasy football owners. The Giants use it. The Ravens use it. I bet the Cowboys do it next year now that Choice has emerged.

Previously On LOST

I’m going off the path of sports and into the TV world for one topic. This subject is usually set aside for my good buddy Chris and his blog but let me explain why I am doing this post. About a week ago I completed re-watching the first four seasons of LOST, catching my wife up on the show. So I have had LOST on the brain lately. Well after having a very vivid LOST dream last night I decided I needed to talk about the show so I could get it out of my system. Call it therapy. I won’t talk about the dream because well I can’t even begin to tell it other than to say it was very supernatural. This is some of the stuff that’s been rolling through my head.

-Did Jin die in the explosion? I have to say I don’t think he is. In the Michael episode right before Michael is getting on the “rescue freighter”, we were told by Island resident Tom (Sawyer nickname: Zeke) that the island won’t let you die off of it. I though well maybe they are close enough to the island where those rules don’t apply. Then I think of how the gun jammed on the boat when the head soldier dude was trying to shoot Michael. He told the captain to fix his gun after the jam. The captain later used the gun and said there is nothing wrong with it. So in that way of thinking Jin is not dead.

-Of course that leads me to this. What happened to everyone who was on the boat, including Jin? There were other Losties on the boat. Are they floating in the ocean? If so, are they in the ocean where the island was or are they in the ocean to where the island moved to?

-In sense of trying to figure out what the island is, well what is it? We know there is time travel involved because of all the Desmond episodes. Plus it was confirmed 100% when they shot the test rocket from the boat and it arrived some 30 minutes after the boat said it landed. Confirmation number 3 is when the boat’s doctor washed up the shore and the Losties found him like a day before the event actually happened. Those two events make me think there is certainly a time paradox time thing going on. I am well versed in these types of scenarios due to my Star Trek watching days. A time paradox is very confusing but the short explanation is somehow the past, present, and future are all connected. The future can happen first and the past can happen last and so forth. It's like a circle that is all connected. No matter where you begin in the circle you end up in the same place. Why do I think this is the case? Well, let’s make the island the point of origin. The test rocket lands on the island 30 or so minutes from when the boat people said it did. It landed on the island AFTER it was supposed to. Then the doctor’s body washed up like a day BEFORE it actually happened. In perspective of the people on the island one event happened after the boat’s point of view and one event happened before. Two different time conclusions. Time paradox confirmed. Gotta headache yet? I do. This is also my theory to why you hear voices on the island. There are ripples throughout the island were instability in the time/space/dimensions are semi open. So you sometimes hear voices, see people, and sometimes, like in the case of Walt, they show up and speak backwards. I know that is not all of what’s going on but I am convinced it is a major explanation to part of what’s going on. Don’t forget this is a sci-fi show after all. They disguise it well with the storylines.

-I also think that new arrivals Daniel, Charlotte, and Miles are clues to what else is going on. Miles talks to the dead or sees other dimensions. Charlotte has been searching for the Dharma island for a while it seems and could have even been there before, based on her conversations. Daniel is of course the time travel expert. I got why he's there figured out. We gotta figure out what the other two are doing there. Charles Widmore knows about the island in great detail like Ben so there is a reason why he chose those specific people to be on the team from the boat. He obviously wants some answers though because he sent scientists. Ben seems to know first hand what Charles is still trying to figure out.

-Speaking of Ben and Charles, what the heck is up with with that storyline? They seem to have been going at this for a while. Charles wants the island and Ben has it. Not going to figure this one out for a while but we also figure out that the island is not only a when (as in time travel) but also a where because Ben ends up in the Sahara desert when he moved the island using that wheel thingy. But apparently once you move the island you can never go back. I think Ben has always had his self interests in mind along with the islands. He is using Sayid and Jack for his selfish reasons in the flash forwards. My theory is Ben is not the good guy or the bad. He just wants the island to himself. So whatever he is manipulating Jack and Sayid do is to somehow get order restored and get himself back on the island.

-The island has chosen another leader because Ben has fallen off his path due to his selfishness. That’s why he ended up with a tumor and no longer is untouchable. Locke is a great man who is selfless and is exactly what the island needs as a leader. He is the chosen one to take Ben’s place. He had to go through all the bad things that happened to him to make him become that person that the island needs to lead it. He is fulfilling his destiny. But as Ben said, “Destiny is a fickle bitch”. So I think Locke is only a caretaker of the island for the person who the island is really waiting for…

-That person is Aaron. Yes baby Aaron is being groomed to be the ultimate caretaker of the island. He can’t come yet because he has to go through his path of life to make him that person that Locke is now. That’s why Claire came to Kate in a dream to tell her she can’t bring Aaron back to the island. Also to why Jack’s dad came to him and said “you’re not supposed to raise him, Jack”. That’s why Kate doesn’t want to go back with Jack…because baby Aaron isn’t supposed to come back….yet. But Jack knows the island is haunting him so he feels they have to go back. Maybe they are but I do know that Ben has his own agenda to why he is trying to get everyone back on and I believe the island (or Jacob) has another plan to the one that Ben is trying to pull off. My theory is that Aaron is to be the island’s caretaker of the future. Ben is desperate to get back and well Locke is fulfilling his destiny of the present. There is so much more to this story and I could write for many more hours but really my brain really hurts so I’m ending it here. Please feel free to let me know what ya think.

Who's Fault Is It

So it's been a rough week or so due to me having some surgery. It's pretty hard to type because I have to lay on my side. I'm ok though but wanted to let ya know why I haven't been positing. Anyway now to my brief post that may or may not interest you.

I always liked Herm Edwards as a person and his press conferences are always good. He is kinda like Bill Parcells that way. However, I have always been a bit skeptical about his coaching abilities. He did a heck of a job turning the Jets around but when he went to KC the team kind of went backwards from the Dick Vermiel teams. I always thought it was Herm's fault. But I have to say after reading this article ( http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/938739.html ) I am not so sure now. It seems that Herm had a vision that was not supported by GM (now soon to be former GM) Carl Peterson. Herm wanted to blow up the roster and start fresh but Carl saw it differently. 3 years later the Chiefs are in full rebuilding mode and it turns out Herm knew what he was talking about. Not sure if the next GM will keep Herm but I no longer think Herm to be the blame for what is now the Chiefs. I just wanted to correct that because I was on record for blaming Herm for this mess.

Some College Football

Just wanna chat a bit about some of the young players I am going to keep an eye on next year in college football. Also want to talk about a few other things going on in CFB right now too.

Julio Jones #8 (Freshman WR) Alabama- I was skeptical when he was coming out of high school. He was the number 1 ranked player and there was a lot of hoopla about him. Usually when you hear so much hype before a player takes the field it screams of bust. Not the case with Jones. He was worthy of all the hype and will continue to get better. He stands at 6’ 4” and weighs in at 210 lbs. I compare him to WR Brandon Marshall of the Denver Broncos but he’s probably a little faster than Marshall. He doesn’t look like any freshman that I’ve ever seen at that position.

A. J. Green. #8 (Freshman WR) Georgia- Green is a special talent. As true freshman he’s already had some big games and has now become a huge weapon for QB Matthew Stafford. What stands out to me is his body control as he goes up after the ball. I see a little of Calvin Johnson in him. He has some filling up to do at 190 lbs but standing at 6’ 4” it will happen. He has a long ways to go to get there but keep an eye on him.

Russell Wilson #16 (Freshman QB) NC State- All I can say is wow and by wow I mean Michael Vick. He’s only 5’ 11” but I haven’t seen a guy weave through a defense at QB like this since Vick did. He may not be an NFL QB but he certainly is at the college level. You may not know who he is but you will because he will be mentioned as a Heisman trophy candidate in the next year or so. I will watch NC State’s crap bowl just to watch him play.

As far as QBs go, let’s talk about some NFL QBs. Talk all you want about Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell or Texas’ Colt McCoy. I won’t include Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford in this because he’s only a sophomore. But if I am the Detroit Lions, and I have the number 1 pick, the guy I am choosing to be my franchise QB is Georgia Bulldog’s junior QB Matthew Stafford. Of course he has to declare for the draft first. At any rate he’s the best NFL QB out of this bunch. He is this year’s Matt Ryan and my number 1 pick. Yeah it’s premature but I wanted to start this conversation before the Mel Kiper’s of the world get started.

I read today that Tim Tebow was going to petition the NFL to see where he would be drafted if he declared for the draft. That’s not unusual so it’s not that big of a deal. But I want to save TeBow some time. Dear Mr. Tebow, after careful consideration of where you will be drafted in this year’s class, we are pleased to inform you that we project you to go in the 5th round of the 2009 NFL draft and you’ll be playing TE. Good luck and we hope to see you on draft day.

Bama and the Gators will lock up for the big game this weekend. Gators are the favorite and most experts think the Gators will win. Heck I even said weeks ago that I thought the Gators were better. But the more I think about it the more this Alabama team reminds me of that Ohio State team of 2001. The team that wasn’t as good as their record and never really blew anyone out and even played the lesser teams close. They played my beloved number 1 Hurricanes who had won 35 or 36 games in a row. It seemed like a mismatch but somehow at the end they were holding the national championship trophy. I still feel pain from that game. But anyway, don’t be quick to dismiss Alabama. Florida hasn’t played any team that is going to play them as physical as Bama is about to. Should be a good game.

Kiffin is new Vols Coach

Not going to spend a lot of time on this but I did want to say that UT got it right by hiring Kiffin as the head coach. Kiffin is 33 years old and a very promising young coach that could be one of the best. At USC he was recruiting coordinator and offensive coordinator and won 2 national championships at those positions.

I mentioned a few articles back that I thought Butch Davis might get the gig but I think UT was wise not go that route. This was a cheaper and really the anti Rich Rodriguez way to go. We know what has happened to Michigan since Rich went there in that messy leave of West Virginia. Less controversy and just a cleaner transition all the way around. UT did the right thing.

Kiffin will be the coach at UT for many years to come. I have no doubt in my mind about his abilities as a leader and a terrific coach. The SEC got stronger today (as if they needed the help). The only thing UT has to worry about is when an NFL team comes back to knock at Kiffin’s door 3 or 4 years down the road. It remains to be seen if Kiffin’s passion is in college or the pros. All I know is he is the best young coach in football and if I were an athletic director he would have been at the top of my list.