Are The Saints Marching To The Cross Roads State?

My freshman Geology professor at the University of Connecticut, Robert Thorson, once wrote a piece in the Hartford Courant proclaiming that rebuilding New Orleans after Katrina was useless and that no matter what improvements they planned to make there was no way to fully protect the city. Obviously he tried to keep all emotional attachment people have to the city out of his analysis and just give an objective, safe diagnosis. Here is an excerpt from the abstract of that piece written back in 2005:

“Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and rock avalanches are relatively easy to comprehend because only one earth process is dominant and because the energy is released dramatically. More chronic and complicated hazards, such as the one facing New Orleans today, are much more difficult to comprehend. Resorting to analogy, the so-called war to save New Orleans is less a series of pitched battles against hurricanes than a protracted siege. Four natural armies are camped outside the dikes that wall in the city: the army of the sinking land, the army of the rising sea, the army of the retreating shoreline and the army of the rising river bed. Their patience is endless. Their victory is certain. It’s only a matter of time.”

Now fast forward to today. Hurricane Gustav, originally a Category 4 storm, was downgraded to a Category 2 (out of 5) storm prior to it reaching land in New Orleans. Despite the reduction, despite the millions of dollars spent on rebuilding and fortification after Katrina, the levees of New Orleans were still tested. They passed this test, so I guess all is well that ends well, but how long can this last. If I learned one thing from Professor Thorson and his Geology 105 class, it was that you should never go to war with Mother Nature. There isn’t a weapon or a shield in existence that can withstand her wrath.

Now I’ve never been to New Orleans, regrettably. I have a strong appreciation for the culture and tradition and just the overall mystique that surrounds that city. I have a strong appreciation for the support the citizens give to the athletes that represent them, even in the wake of disaster. But is all of that worth the lives of thousands? Is the spirit of New Orleans lost if moved a few miles up the coast? What is the price in human currency of the New Orleans tradition? I can’t answer these questions, but someone should. Gustav came and went with a relative whisper, but now Hurricane Hannah, the next wave in Mother Nature’s attack on the Big Easy, will try its luck on the levees.

Not to get political, but if we are going attack the government for their handling of Hurricane Katrina, if we are going to demand that the citizens of a city that seems to be first on Aeolus the Greek God of Storm’s s*** list be protected, perhaps we should start looking to ourselves for answers. Someday we may find that we are paying too high a price for the Big Easy. Perhaps it isn’t so easy after all.

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20 Answers To 20 Fantasy Football Questions On Draft Day

1.Should Adrian Peterson be drafted before LaDainian Tomlinson?
George: As good as AP is, let’s not forget this is just his second season. LT is the cream of the crop when it comes to fantasy running backs. Not to mention, he doesn’t have to worry about Michael Turner taking away some of his carries, where as Chester Taylor will indeed take away carries from AP. The Chargers will also play a much easier schedule then Minnesota. LT at number one in a standard league is a no brainer to me.
Terry: Football is a young man’s game, and historically, running backs have their best years in their early to mid twenties. I’m not saying that LT is old, but Peterson has undeniable talent and is on his way up. Keep in mind that he totaled 1,341 rushing yards and missed two games with a knee injury. He returned in week 13, but he was clearly not 100% the rest of the season. He plays behind a great offensive line and the passing game now has a deep threat with the addtion of Bernard Berrian to keep defenses from stacking the box with safeties. If he plays in 16 games, 2,000 rushing yards is attainable. AP will have more yards and TDs than LT - draft him first.
2. Is Larry Johnson still a top 10 running back?
George: Hard to believe I’m going to say this, but I think the answer is no. In no particular order, the backs I would take ahead of Johnson are as follows: LT, AP, Addai, Westbrook, Jackson, Barber, Portis, Lynch, Grant, and Gore. I have Johnson in the next group with about three or four others. The Chiefs are a bad team with not much of a threat in the passing game, which will force Johnson to see a ton of eight man fronts. I also see KC being behind early and often, forcing them to pass the ball instead of running it.
Terry: I think that LJ sneaks into the top ten, just ahead of Grant. Yes, the Chiefs are a bad team, but they know where there strength is - running a smashmouth style, power rushing attack, mixed with a short passing game. I think that Tony Gonzalez and Dwayne Bowe will do enough to give LJ space to be effective. Ten TDs and 1,300 rushing yards is achievable, which will also make him a great value if you get him after the first ten running backs.
3.Will Derek Anderson repeat his breakout season or is he a one year wonder who may lose his starting job to Brady Quinn if his struggles?
George: I truly do believe in Derek Anderson, but anytime you have a young backup quarterback who was drafted in the first round, you know you don’t have much room for error. With that being said, Quinn is not having that good a camp, which should give Anderson some breathing room. Anderson holds on for the season.
Terry: Anderson’s emergence was real, and so was his excellent connection with his talented receiver, Braylon Edwards and TE Kellen Winslow. His TD total of 29 will be tough to repeat, as teams will no longer be surprised by his ability, but he should be picked at the top of the second tier of QBs. The job is his as long as his interceptions don’t get out of control, an area which was a problem last season. His 19 picks were tied for second most among NFL starters.
4.Can Willie Parker triple his total of two rushing touchdowns from last season?
George: This will not be as easy as it sounds. Rookie first round running back Rashard Mendenhall is sure to get his share of carries, and most pundits believe he will be the goal line back, although the Steelers did state that Parker would also get the ball close to the goal line. My answer would be no. I think Mendenhall and Parker will pretty much split the number of touchdowns, and since the question was rushing touchdowns and not touchdowns I�m going to be on the negative side of this one.
Terry: Last season was a shock for fantasy owners who drafted Parker as one of the top running backs, based in part on is 13 rushing TDs in 2007. I don’t see him reaching 13 again, with the presence of Mendenhall as a power back to balance Parker’s speed. But just on the high number of carries he gets (his 321 were the highest in the AFC, despite missing the last game), he’ll find the end zone at least six times on the ground.
5.Should Donovan McNabb be drafted in the top fourth of the 32 starting quarterbacks?
George: Pretty easy one for me here - absolutely. I think Donovan could be in store for a big year. This is his second season back from major knee surgery, so his mobility should be much better. The Eagles have a limited window to compete and they will go for it this season. Plus, who would you take over him? P. Manning, Brady, Brees, Romo, Roethlisberger, and Palmer. After that your decision probably comes down to McNabb or QBs like Hasselbeck and Garrard, and maybe Bulger. McNabb is a safer bet to me.
Terry: I would not consider McNabb a safe bet at all, based on his penchant for injury. In addition, his stats were not overly impressive in the 14 games he started, totaling just 19 passing TDs, 0 rushing TDs and averaging only 237 passing yards per game. He also does not have a premier receiver to throw to, like many others in the top tier. In addition to the aforementinoed quarterbacks, I’d take Anderson, Favre and even Schaub before McNabb, leaving him outside the top eight.
6. Who’s more likely to register 2000 total yards from scrimage - Reggie Bush or Brian Westbrook?
George: I’ll go with Westbrook. Neither player is a lock to play all 16 games, but we know Bush is more of a receiving threat than a running one. That would eliminate him from this conversation. Plus the Saints are loaded with weapons; Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey will need their share of touches, whereas Westbrook is the main man in Philly.
Terry: While the Saints will use Bush frequently as a pass catching threat, Westbrook has delivered both on the ground and in the air, averaging 2,010 yards from scrimmage each of the last two years. Steven Jackson and Frank Gore will also get close, but Westbrook is the king in this arena.
7.Is the Mike Martz offensive system going to help or hurt Frank Gore’s value?
George: In touchdown driven leagues I think it will hurt, while in yardage driven leagues I believe it will help. The 49ers are not loaded with many offensive weapons and are having a training camp battle at quarterback, so Martz is going to have to get the ball to Gore whether he wants to or not, but I don�t see the 49ers lighting up too many scoreboards.
Terry: Gore is a super talent and Martz will find a way to utilize him as the focal point of this offense. There have been some comparisons with Marshall Faulk, when he was putting up eye-popping stats with the Rams, but I don’t think Gore will meet those lofty expectations. However, he should be in double digits for total TDs and among the league leaders in touches and total yards.
8.Who should be drafted first (in standard scoring leagues) Maurice Jones-Drew or Fred Taylor?
George: Taylor is getting up there in age and has always been an injury risk. Don’t get me wrong - he’s a great back and I wouldn�t mind having him, but I like Jones-Drew more. He’s a beast to stop in short yardage situations and you just know he’s going to get the ball near the end zone.
Terry: Taylor has put together two excellent seasons in a row, averaging 78 yards rushing per game, starting 15 games in each of them. However, he has only reached the end zone on the ground five times in each of the last two seasons and is a non-factor in the passing game. While Jones-Drew may not compile as many yards on the ground (he averaged 55 yards per game the last two seasons), he has superior receiving skills and is a force near the goal line. Jones-Drew should be drafted first.
9.Which Jets player will benefit the most from the addition of Brett Favre - Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery or Thomas Jones?
George: Both Coles and Cotchery will both benefit greatly. Pennington was a consistent quarterback, but could only throw the ball 20 or so yards downfield. Clemens has a rifle for an arm but pretty much didn’t know where the ball was going. This made it pretty easy for the defense to defend the Jets. With Favre now at quarterback, defenses are forced to plan for the deep ball. Not only will this open up passing lanes for the Coles and Cotchery, but it will give them room to run after they catch the ball. Favre’s ability to spread the field will give the explosive Coles the most upside.Terry: The upgrades the Jets made to the offensive line made Jones a better proposition than last season, even before the Favre acquisition. Now with Favre forcing teams to spread the coverage on defense, it will give Jones more room to run out of the backfield. He is one of the top sleepers for this year and should have stats similiar to his 2005 season with the Bears, when he posted 1,335 yards and 9 TDs.
10. Is drafting a running back with your first two picks still a good strategy?George: Fantasy football has generally been dominated by the running back position since the early 90’s. First it was Emmit Smith, then Marshall Faulk, then Shaun Alexander, and most recently LaDainian Tomlinson. They would dominate their leagues by scoring over 20 touchdowns and rushing for more than 1,500 yards. Nowadays however, most teams use a two back system, believing that no running back can take the pounding of rushing the ball 30+ times. Where in the past I was a big believer in grabbing RBs in the first two rounds, I no longer swear by this strategy. If Tom Brady or Peyton Manning fall into your lap late in the first round or early second round you certainly have to think about grabbing them. Teams are passing the ball more and more and as Ron Jaworski of ESPN states, “points come from the passing game”. There are quite a few QBs now who could throw for more than 30 touchdowns. Brady, P. Manning, Brees, and Romo are among those. Where there may only be one or two running backs who have a shot at 20.
Terry: This answer certainly depends on if you play in a league which rewards three, four or six points for quarterback touchdowns. But even in the leagues which do not reward six points, it is foolish to pass up on a top five QB to take a second RB, because there are so few of quarterbacks who offer every week consistency. Is there a very big difference between selecting Marshawn Lynch, who many believe will be a top ten RB over Jamal Lewis, who can be obtained a round or two later? Stastically, the answer is no. However, there is a huge difference in a QB like Drew Brees and someone like David Garrard or Jason Campbell, guys who you may end up with after all the better QB are gone in the first two to three rounds. Make sure to secure a top notch QB in one of the first two rounds.

Are you ready for some football?

Are You Ready For Some Football?
It’s late July and that means that one by one training camps around the league will open up and the buzz of the upcoming season will fill the air.
Teams will hit the weight room, attend meetings, play in scrimmages and probably take on some two-a-days.
Multiple daily practices in the mid-summer heat are the worst part of the year for the players, but it’s one of the best times of the year for fantasy players.
For the next several weeks, we can sit back and consume every morsel of goodness that is training camp news. What rookie has a shot at starting? What vet seems to be losing his skills? What QB will start for Chicago?
Ok, so no one besides Rex and Kyle’s moms really cares about that last question, but the fact remains that training camps go a long way in shaping the NFL Season, as we know it.
The 2 big trades that we’ve seen in the last week will start to take effect as camp begins.
In Washington, Daniel Snyder wasted no time in acquiring Jason Taylor after being hit with the injury bug early in practice. Taylor appears to be ready to play at least 2 more years after originally telling Miami that this would be his final year. Taylor will make an instant impact on a team that had only one player record more than 5 sacks last year. Taylor has averaged 10.5 sacks a year throughout his 11-year career.
Jeremy Shockey also changed addresses this week as he was traded to the New Orleans Saints for draft picks. Shockey immediately boosts the Saints offense by giving Drew Brees another weapon. Last year, the Saints sent out a platoon of Eric Johnson and Billy Miller, so obviously Shockey is a major upgrade.
Kevin Jones wasn’t traded but he has found a new home after spending much of the off-season without a job. The Chicago Bears added the former Virginia Tech RB to compete for the starting tailback job left vacant by Cedric Benson. Jones joins Matt Forte, Garrett Wolfe and the other Adrian Peterson in the crowded Chicago backfield. Jones has more experience, but he’s also recovering from a torn ACL.
You may have also heard that Brett Favre is re-thinking retirement.
In a story that you can’t get away from no matter how hard you try, Favre appears to be intent on forcing the Packers to make a move. If the phone calls to Vikings coaches are any indication, Brett would love to follow Darren Sharper and Ryan Longwell and trade in his green jersey for purple. It’s too bad for Brett that there is no chance of that happening.
Green Bay is ready to move on with the Aaron Rodgers era and in doing so, must decide what to do with #4. They certainly can’t release him and risk him going to Minnesota where they would face him at least twice during the year and they can’t bring him in to back up Rodgers. Favre’s selfishness will ultimately end in a trade, possibly to Tampa Bay, where Jeff Garcia is in the doghouse. Coach Gruden has a history with Favre and likes older quarterbacks.
We will continue to follow training camp battles in the weeks to come, but right now we just have to be on the look out for who shows up and who holds out. The All American Touchdown Derbywww.passitdeep.com