Leftwich and other NFL analysis
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by Crixtopher
I admit it, I was flat out wrong about Byron Leftwich. Coming out of Marshall where he showed great poise and leadership, I figured whats not to like about this tall QB with a huge arm? I even predicted that it would be Carson Palmer the bust and Leftwich the perennial Pro Bowler. Whoops.
While it can be said he wasn't exactly set up for success in Jacksonville, with offensive coordinators switching yearly for example, his negative traits were on full display there. He is slow to move out of harm's way, holds on to the ball too long and when he is throwing as ESPN's Tom Jackson likes to remark, its like having Satchel Paige on the mound back there, i.e. he has an excruciatingly long release. Now the Falcons are taking a chance on him hoping he can offer some kind of hope for their offense this year, and I have to ask, why Leftwich? If the Falcons can't keep Joey Harrington's uniform clean then it would follow that they won't for Lord Byron either. How is this an upgrade? Is it just me or isn't it more than obvious that the QB they needed to sign over a month ago was Michael Vick's cousin Aaron Brooks. In my mind he would have been a perfect fit for this offense once Vick's season went out the window. If Brooks, who is mysteriously out of football entirely, still pays an agent he should be firing him right now.
I think we football geeks knew it would come sooner than later, that Tank Johnson would be swooped up by a playoff caliber team. That was a great move by the Cowboys who are already loaded with playmakers on defense. I expect the 'Boys to play better on defense each week and with the addition of Tank they just may be a Top 5 defense come year's end.
The Packers are playing great right now but one weakness was with their rushing attack. Enter the surprise appearance and success of Deshawn Wynn last Sunday. You'd be hard pressed to find many fantasy footballers who even knew Wynn was an NFL player before then. If you haven't already, it may be too late to take a flier on the rookie who could very well displace Brandon Jackson as Green Bay's feature back. Its hard for a coaching staff to ignore his two-TD performance that included a 38-yard scamper.
I have Houston WR's Andre Johnson and Lane College rookie Jacoby Jones on my fantasy roster. Andre has already matched his TD output for all of last year so its a shame he may miss some time with a knee sprain. The good news is it could give Jones a chance to shine, and if he is the real deal that he seemed to be with his 4 TD's in preseason this could be a blessing in disguise for both he and the Texans. Getting Jones more involved on an already playoff caliber team will force opposing defenses to game plan for both and that could provide huge dividends as the season progresses.
Is their anyone running the ball better than Marion Barber right now? Uh, no. The guy is an elite back.
Three fantasy players to bookmark and possibly pickup:
Arizona's TE Leonard Pope. He can't block but he has a good set of hands and is 6'8". Enough said. Tennessee's WR Roydell Williams. Many have already picked him up, it seems he may be upping the ante as Vince Young's favorite WR. Philly's WR Jason Avant. Sure looks like McNabb's favorite WR so far.
