Fantasy Football

If anyone is interested in playing Fantasy Football with me, email me at anthony.mongelluzzo@gmail.com.

The Good (News) Bears

Chicago Bears- I watched the Chargers at Bears game last year and I saw Jay Cutler playing out of his mind. He was 18/31 with 286 yards, 2 touchdowns, with 1 interception (nfl.com). He chased down his interception, he threw a perfect strike to Johnny Knox for a touchdown. He threw Johnny open in between two defensive backs. Another touchdown was to Kellen Davis where he progressed through the play and pulled the trigger to Kellen. The interception was on a slant to Johnny Knox, where Knox slipped. An outside slant is usually a timing route, so both the quarterback and the wide receiver need to be on the same page. For people who haven't seen a timing route before, look at the film for the Seattle Seahawks at the New York Football Giants. Victor Cruz ran a slant at the end of the game, but tripped like Knox and left the quarterback out to dry. Knox like Cruz at the time was a young unproven receiver, so reliability is often low. Now with the acquisitions of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, Knox will play the slot once he returns from his spinal injury, which is to be determined as of now. Earl Bennett will be a nice substitute for now. Most of Jay Cutler's receivers from years before are number twos and numbers threes, ideally, Bennett a two and Knox a three. So Jay Cutler will likely have a full arsenal by at least 2013 and will likely have one in 2012 that was better than his in 2011. Also he will have Matt Forte back, I don't know what that means, since he has only produced big in his rookie season and a contract year. He looked great last year, until his injury. But now the Bears have a solid backup in Michael Bush, who was the starter last season for the Raiders when Darren McFadden, was injured. So he knows how to produce when someone is injured, or "holding out". Matt Forte has yet to say the word "hold out".
Now to the defense.
The defense ranked 14th in points allowed, 17th in total yards allowed, 28th in passing yards allowed, and 5th in rushing yards allowed (nfl.com). The Bears defense was anchored by Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs who both passed over the 100 tackle mark (nfl.com). Julius Peppers an aging defensive end topped the 10 sack mark for the 7th time in his career (nfl.com). Charles Tillman added in his 99 tackles in 2012 (nfl.com). I have always said a corner back who gets a lot of tackles is probably not the best cover guy, but Charles Tillman did make it to the Pro Bowl this season, so I guess it's ok. Actually I think many corners in this league are misjudged because of statistics. In order to judge a corner you have to watch every piece of film for him in a season. This will show you what he does against the most talented quarterbacks and wide receivers in the NFL. With that said I did see some of Charles' games from this past year and he did appear to struggle heavily when matched up on a top receiver, so in that regard, I think the Bears have major problems with their secondary. But they did draft a pass rusher in the draft in Shea McClellin, so they could rush to help their secondary. The 2007 Giants, did that and it seemed to work I think for the most part, because they kind of won the Super Bowl, so it is possible to make a run with a weak secondary.
The special teams I can sum up in about a sentence.
Devin Hester + 40.4 net yards (nfl.com) from Adam Podlesh + 4 field goals missed (nfl.com) from Robbie Gould = Best Special Teams in the NFL
I did say about a sentence.
I think the Chicago Bears can wreak some havoc in the NFC North this season, even if they don't make the playoffs. With an improved secondary the Bears are Super Bowl contenders.

Sleeper Teams for 2012

Here are some of my top Sleeper teams for 2012- Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals 

I know that is a lot of teams, but it's a preseason prediction, not even it's a post season prediction.

I'm Back

Long time no read. I apologize for not posting anything new in about a month, tomorrow I will have a new post up, Thank you for not writing me off, I will try my best not to disappoint.

My New Madden Blog

I have started a new Madden blog, at betterthanthemaddenexperts.blogspot.com. I will still make posts on this blog.

Browns select Brandon Weeden

I would love the pick if I didn't like Colt McCoy. I heard from Adam Schefter and Merril Hoge today that many coaches feel the same way. The door never even opened for Colt McCoy, it was shut the entire time. The Browns never gave Colt a chance, they did not give him any offensive play-makers, unless Peyton Hillis counts. Brandon Weeden is 28 going on 29, what does that tell me? He needs to start right away and get weapons right away. He needs receivers, or what happened to Colt will happen to Brandon. Trent Richardson is already projected to go in the 3rd round in fantasy drafts. I know its fantasy, but I've never seen a running back as great as him coming out of the draft. Brandon Weeden - Accuracy? The best in the draft Arm strength? He throws a 98 mile an hour fast ball. Footwork? Question mark because he almost always took shotgun snaps. Personally which ever quarterback they go with, the Browns will succeed. In order for them to succeed they need to go all in on quarterback.

Dolphins Select Ryan Tannehill No. 8 overall

This team will not, I repeat will not win more than 5 games this year. They traded their best receiver Brandon Marshall for absolutely nothing (two 3rd round picks). Most people will say that if Jay Cutler is getting a 100 catch receiver, it should be at least a second rounder. We all know that Brandon Marshall was not great in Miami, at least not what he was like in Denver.
Another argument Miami wasn't good last year is, that they allowed a 99 yard passing touchdown last year. The two teams that allowed a 99 yard passing touchdown, Jets and Dolphins missed the playoffs. The two teams that passed for a 99 yard touchdown, Giants and Patriots played in the Super Bowl. I know it's a dumb argument, but a dumb argument is only used for a dumb decision. Another thing is Miami has no play-makers, my apologizes Reggie Bush. All rookie quarterbacks need a play-maker in their rookie year, or first year starting, I had to include the second part for Aaron Rodgers. Peyton Manning had Marvin Harrison, Matt Ryan had Roddy White, Eli had Plaxico, Cam Newton had Steve Smith, Matt Stafford had Calvin Johnson, Tony Romo had T.O. and Jason Witten, Steve Young had Jerry Rice, Aaron Rodgers had Greg Jennings, the list goes on and on. 17, that's years of experience the Dolphins receivers have. They have twelve receivers on the roster. They do have quality tight ends and running backs. Dan Thomas did have some injury problems so his production seemed lackluster. Reggie Bush proved he was chosen second overall but the Saints. He rushed for over a thousand yards and averaged 5.0 yards per carry. If they can trade for a receiver or draft one in the next year or so, Ryan Tannehill can develop into a great quarterback. They do have some time before Tannehill does start, so if they trade or pick up a receiver in a few years it won't be as bad as drafting a receiver. If they want to draft one next year, it could take a few years to develop a receiver to help develop Tannehill. Another reason they shouldn't of drafted Tannehill is because if they got Matt Flynn or another quarterback then they could of gotten a defensiveback or a pass-rusher to help with their below horrible defense. Next time before you think about signing Peyton Manning either go ALL IN like the Giants or ALL OUT like the Redskins. Redskins have RG3 and many receivers from free agency. Dolphins have Tannehill and Reggie Bush. Who got the better deal?