WesDawg
'Burghapologist
In the third installment of Man vs. Magazine, I'm taking NFL.com's 2009 Fantasy Football Preview magazine to task regarding their rankings and projected statistics for a pair of notable wide receivers. One is an extremely influential wideout, and one is more of a sneaky sleeper type. Don't be shy about taking ME to task, whether you agree or not.
WR's:
Reggie Wayne, IND - #7 - Projected 98 receptions; 1335 receiving yds/8 TD's (too high)
-I'll give Wayne the 8 TD's, but his reception and yardage numbers are in for a slight hit for a few reasons. Marvin Harrison is finally gone, we all know that. Conventional wisdom dictates that Wayne's numbers will explode due to more looks. I say he gets more double coverage which will increase the production of 3rd year man Anthony Gonzalez and incumbent TE Dallas Clark. Add to that the fact that Indy now has a 2-headed monster at RB (Joseph Addai and Donald Brown) who are both proficient pass-catchers, and you have a more even distribution from Mr. Manning than we've ever seen before.
The Dawg says: #11 - 82 receptions; 1145 yds/8 TD's. I took the easy way out and gave Reggie his catch and yardage total from last year with an uptick in scores. Watch for Gonzalez to come close to equalling these numbers.
Kevin Walter, HOU - #41 - Projected 62 receptions; 815 receiving yds/6 TD's (too low)
-If I told you Houston sported a top-5 overall offense last year, would you be surprised? This despite talented starter Matt Schaub only playing 11 games. Walter also has the luxury of lining up opposite perennially double-teamed superstud Andre Johnson while TE Owen Daniels is cleaning out the underneath area. He gets plenty of looks all over the field in all situations, and with a healthy Schaub, the scraps he gets from the Johnson table will be more impressive than ever.
The Dawg says: #24 - 69 receptions; 975 yds/8 TD's. This projection could go even higher if RB Steve Slaton takes another step and consistently commands an extra defender in the box. Funny how only an extra 76 yards from last season vaults Walter into solid WR2 status.
WR's:
Reggie Wayne, IND - #7 - Projected 98 receptions; 1335 receiving yds/8 TD's (too high)
-I'll give Wayne the 8 TD's, but his reception and yardage numbers are in for a slight hit for a few reasons. Marvin Harrison is finally gone, we all know that. Conventional wisdom dictates that Wayne's numbers will explode due to more looks. I say he gets more double coverage which will increase the production of 3rd year man Anthony Gonzalez and incumbent TE Dallas Clark. Add to that the fact that Indy now has a 2-headed monster at RB (Joseph Addai and Donald Brown) who are both proficient pass-catchers, and you have a more even distribution from Mr. Manning than we've ever seen before.
The Dawg says: #11 - 82 receptions; 1145 yds/8 TD's. I took the easy way out and gave Reggie his catch and yardage total from last year with an uptick in scores. Watch for Gonzalez to come close to equalling these numbers.
Kevin Walter, HOU - #41 - Projected 62 receptions; 815 receiving yds/6 TD's (too low)
-If I told you Houston sported a top-5 overall offense last year, would you be surprised? This despite talented starter Matt Schaub only playing 11 games. Walter also has the luxury of lining up opposite perennially double-teamed superstud Andre Johnson while TE Owen Daniels is cleaning out the underneath area. He gets plenty of looks all over the field in all situations, and with a healthy Schaub, the scraps he gets from the Johnson table will be more impressive than ever.
The Dawg says: #24 - 69 receptions; 975 yds/8 TD's. This projection could go even higher if RB Steve Slaton takes another step and consistently commands an extra defender in the box. Funny how only an extra 76 yards from last season vaults Walter into solid WR2 status.
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