Fantasy Football

Maurice Jones-Drew. That’s all I have to say. Maurice Jones-Drew. If you’re looking at any other bright spot on this roster, please let me know if you find anything. Right now we see a team with a young but renovated and talented offensive line, a quarterback they were to quick to extend a contract with, a defense that was a shell of its former self last season and a receiving corps made up of has-beens and busts.

That isn’t to say the team is completely hopeless. After all, they did goo 11-5 last season, Gerrard had as efficient of a season as a quarterback could realistically have (though a few more passing TD’s would have been nice) and the defense was dominant. I guess there isn’t any reason to assume they couldn’t return to form, but I don’t. Outside of losing a few key defensive players between 2007 and 2008 seasons (which they still haven’t replaced) and adding a couple inconsequential receivers (Troy Williamson and Jerry Porter), essentially nothing changed.

Yet amazingly, there are high expectations for this team, and it’s a bi-product of a parity-ridden NFL. What on God’s green earth would lead you to believe that a team coming off a 5-11 season that made no significant changes and plays in the same division as the team with the best record in the NFL (Titans), a 12-4 wild card (Colts) and a popular dark horse (Texans), would anyone expect this team to be in the playoffs? Let’s rundown the roster and see if I’m the crazy one.

Can’t Miss (for what one could reasonably expect): Maurice Jones-Drew, that’s all I have for you. And even he’s prone to injury. If you want a running back with weapons around him to draft for fantasy, then I have two other teams in this division I’d like to introduce you too. Actually, we should probably throw the defense in here. If anything they’re going to over-perform for where they tend to be ranked, so you can usually get decent value out of them,

Tread Lightly: None of their prospects are rated too highly, but I’d be skeptical of all of them. Why would Dennis Northcutt, Gerrard, Troy Williamson or Mercedes Lewis have a good season? Give me one good reason and I’ll reconsider.

Dark Horses: Torry Holt. We’re going to see just how irredeemable this passing game is with Holt, who still has plenty left in the tank but St. Louis is trying to move on, so he signs with this hodge-podge franchise. I suspect it will be a pretty lackluster year for the Super Bowl champion, but he’ll only be partly responsible for it. Chauncey Washington is another potential dark horse as Jones-Drew is prone to injury and Washington is their backup. Plus he went to USC, so we know he’s willing to perform for the right price.

So there it is, your 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars who are amazingly still in Jacksonville. I don’t really get the lack of support for this team. Jacksonville’s nice every time I go there, but I’m always there for the cocktail party so it doesn’t really count. If you take away the beach and The Lighttower restaurant I don’t think there’s much else to do in that city. They love college football, why the aversion to the pro game? I prefer college football myself, but certainly wouldn’t object or silently protest an NFL team in Columbus. Then again, there isn’t enough money in the world or a crime heinous enough to threaten me with that would convince me to watch NASCAR.

Tomorrow: Our lampooning of the AFC West kicks off. And man, what a lampooning it’s going to be.