Even if you're a Marion Barber fan, it's OK to like Felix Jones...

Going Up

 

LeSean McCoy, RB Eagles - If you don’t know the name “LeSean McCoy,” get to know it in a hurry because he will be the most hated man in fantasy football this year, especially for those people who draft Brian Westbrook early on.

 

I love college football. I haven’t missed a day of college football in 20 years. I watch it from noon until the Hawaii game is over with, so draft day in the NFL is like Christmas for me.  Over the last two years, I thought McCoy was the best RB in college football.

 

People who don’t watch a lot of college football may look at some of McCoy’s numbers and not be blown away (YPC). That’s a big mistake. McCoy played with some of the worst college quarterbacks in the country. Bob Stull and Pat Bostick would have trouble starting at good I-AA schools.

 

I watched games where opponents had nine men in the box to stop McCoy. Plus, it’s not like Pitt made any adjustments, seeing that Dave Wannstedt is the worst coach in all of college football. Most of the time McCoy’s yards came on determination and second effort.

 

Still, McCoy was able to rack up yards and touchdowns even with defenses totally committing to stopping him. This guy is the real deal and he was the best back in this year’s draft.

 

Now, people who don’t know anything will be rushing out to get the vastly overrated Beanie Wells. Let them make that mistake. If you are a long-time follower of mine, you know what I thought of overrated Big 10 backs Anthony Thomas and Ron Dayne coming out of college. I see Wells as the same kind of runner. Much like Thomas and Dayne, Wells needs huge holes to run through in order to get yards and you just don’t get that a lot at the NFL level. Plus, his toughness leaves a little to be desired. I have watched both Wells and McCoy play and to be honest, I don’t put the two in the same class.

 

Oh, and McCoy’s biggest strength? He’s a tremendous goal line runner. See where I’m going with this? What has been the Eagles single biggest weakness on offense the past two years? Scoring inside the 5-yard line. McCoy will put an end to that, which means he is going to steal a lot of short touchdown away from Westbrook.

 

McCoy actually reminds me a lot of the Cowboys’ Marion Barber with the way he runs down by the goal line. Once Barber gets that ball inside the five, it’s game, set, match. Anyone who watched a lot of McCoy in college knows he is the same kind of runner.

 

Westbrook is one of the best pound-for-pound players in the NFL but the Eagles do so many different things with him it allows for another back to be a factor in Philly’s offense. Look at what Correll Buckhalter was able to do. McCoy is much more physically gifted than Buckhalter and he’s going to be a flat-out stud with the Eagles.

 

A lot of fantasy writers are going to tell you to grab McCoy as a hand-cuff for Westbrook. I’m not telling you that. McCoy is going to be much more than just a hand-cuff this year. He will be a big part of the Eagles’ offense.

 

I fully expect him to score at least 10 touchdowns. The only thing that will stop him is sometimes Andy Reid’s playcalling near the goal line is downright laughable. But as long as Reid feeds McCoy the ball, he’ll get it into the end zone.

 

Make sure you take this kid a couple of round early. He’ll be well worth it. And make sure you remember who told you McCoy would be much more than a caddy to Westbrook way back in early July.

 

 

Davone Bess, WR Dolphins – It’s never easy trying to project college run n’ shoot receivers to the NFL. For the most part, I usually don’t like them. However, Bess was a guy I thought may have a shot because of his chances of being a slot receiver in the NFL.

 

But even I was surprised of the impact Bess had as a rookie for the Dolphins last year when he caught 54 passes for 554 yards. I like Bess to raise his reception total to around 75 this season, which will make him a very valuable fantasy receiver.

 

Now, Bess is a possession receiver, but I’m assuming all of you play in a league that gives points for receptions. I mean it’s 2009 for Christ sakes.

 

If you are still playing in fantasy football leagues that don’t award points for receptions than there is nothing I can do for you. It’s part of the game. It’s not 1994 anymore. I mean, go back to your dial-up Internet and your non-HD TV sets and stop reading this article.

 

There are a couple of reasons I like Bess. First, he is an excellent route-runner. Bess is one of those guys like Wes Welker and Bobby Engram that just knows how to find the open spots in a zone is always open.

 

And with another year in the Dolphins system, I expect him to be much improved overall as a receiver, especially when you consider that he played in the run n’ shoot at Hawaii.

 

The biggest reason to think Bess will rack up receptions like Charlie Weis comes up with excuses as to why Notre Dame still has less talent than Navy is the pop gun quarterback Miami has on its roster.

Chad Pennington is a solid NFL quarterback but he is limited by his lack of arm strength. Because he has to check down so often, that means a guy like Bess is primed to be a reception monster.

 

I really like what I saw out of Bess last season and think he’s on his way to becoming one of the best slot receivers in the NFL, especially in Miami’s offensive system. He will make a great No. 3 fantasy receiver this year, considering he may not even get drafted in some leagues.

 

That’s why if you listen to me you win league titles.

 

 

Felix Jones, RB Cowboys – Those who know me know that I have been a Cowboys’ fan for 30 years. They also know that I’m the furthest thing from a homer on this earth. I despise Jerry Jones for playing GM with this team like the NFL is some video game for his own childish amusement.

 

Any Dallas fan that thinks this team is going anywhere with Wade Phillips as head coach is so beyond help that there is nothing I can say or do to save you. After what you saw on that field in Philly last year for you to think this team is going to improve because they got rid of one player shows just how brainwashed and stupid you really are.

 

As a matter of fact, what happened to the Cowboys in their last game against the Eagles is what Jerry Jones and Dallas fans that support him deserve. That’s what you have been building towards for 12 years, so congratulations.

 

To me a fan roots for their favorite team regardless, like I will this year. However, that doesn’t mean they buy whatever they are selling. If you root for Dallas or Oakland and you honestly believe they are doing things the right way, you aren’t a real fan in my book. You are a mindless idiot and the type of person I think has our society in the trouble it’s currently in.

 

One player I am extremely high on in Dallas is Jones, which may surprise some since no one loves Marion Barber more than I do. I actually thought Barber should have been a first-round draft pick coming out of Minnesota (documented here in the FS) and I believe him to be of the 10 best players in the NFL at any position.

 

But Jones is the kind of player that can do a lot of different things for an offense. He doesn’t have to line up at running back and carry the ball 20 times a game to have an impact, so the presence of Barber doesn’t really kill his fantasy value.

 

Actually, I think because of Barber Jones is going to slip some in fantasy drafts. People will look at Barber and think how will Jones score touchdowns? It’s true that Barber will score all the short touchdowns. He’s the best goal line runner on the planet.

 

Those aren’t the plays Jones is going to make for the Cowboys. His touchdowns are going to come on longer, more explosive plays. Even when he was at Arkansas I noticed that Jones has one of the quickest first steps I’ve seen. That’s something you can’t teach. It’s God-given talent.

 

Any time this kid touches the ball, he has the ability, to make a move, turn on the afterburners and go all the way. I heard from a guy I know down in Dallas that Jason Garrett fell in love with Jones last year because he is so versatile and he spent the offseason putting in all kinds of packages to get him on the field more.

 

Jones won’t be the Cowboys primary back. They already have a guy to handle that job. However, expect Jones to be a big part of the Cowboys’ offense and to provide a lot of explosive plays this season. He will be a nice option at that flex position or to have as a reserve running back.

 

 

Brady Quinn, QB Browns – I have a short list of the worst football coaches I have ever seen. Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis is on it. It has nothing to do with his record. If you watch this guy on gameday and the decisions he makes, you will see he knows nothing about football. Every time I see him coach, I have a greater respect for Bill Belichick.

 

Unfortunately for Quinn, every single thing I said about Weis I can pretty much take his name out and replace with “Mangini.”

 

However, the fact that Quinn saved Weis’ fat ass so many times at Notre Dame and pulled out so many games late for the Irish shows just how good of a quarterback he really is.

 

Of course, Mangini being the jerk he is comes in and doesn’t give Quinn the job. Right, because Derek Anderson isn’t more than just a very good backup. I don’t know when these coaches are going to realize that unless you have an unbelievable defense, the best you can hope to do with a guy like Anderson is 9-7. Is that really what we are shooting for these days?

 

I am quite confident that Quinn will easily win the quarterback derby is Cleveland. Like I said, Anderson is a very good backup and a guy that can step in and lead a team for 6-8 games but I don’t see him being a 16-game starter in the NFL.

 

I like everything about Quinn. He has a strong arm, he throws a nice ball and he is a leader. I think once he gets out there and knows the Browns are his team, he’s really going to take off. The other thing to really like about Quinn is where you will be able to draft him: late.

 

Heck, in some leagues you may not even have to draft him at all. I see him rated as the 25^th best quarterback in most rankings. Plus, in those stupid two-quarterback leagues that make no sense, Quinn is really going to be valuable.

 

I believe Quinn is headed for a big year in Cleveland. The only thing I see stopping him is Mangini, who really is an idiot. Barring that, I expect Quinn to easily crack the Top 15 in most fantasy categories. It won’t even surprise me if Quinn ends the year as a Top 10 fantasy quarterback should the Browns have a better offense than expected.