Vince Young? I can't believe all these "experts" who have VY finishing in the top 5 or 6 quarterbacks. Now, if you play in one of those ricockulous leagues that only award 4 points for a passing TD, then disregard this. But for the rest of you -- let me spoon feed you a quick dose of bitter reality -- he's not going win as many games for your team this year like he may have last year. Why? 1) Defenses know what to expect. He's not going to take the NFL world by surprise this year. If they force him to throw more often, how much do you like his chances of putting up 19 TDs like last year? 2) His supporting cast has gotten weaker in the offseason, not stronger. Travis Henry and the steady running game has been replaced by fatboy Lendale White and rookie question mark Chris Henry. His best receiver is... um... Brandon Jones. Where do you have those guys ranked on your draft day cheat sheets? It doesn't quite add up if Young is in your top 10 but the rest of those guys aren't cracking the top 20 or 30 at their positions. 3) I know the guy can run, and I know he'll rack up some yards and scores on the ground, but don't be fooled by a few big games in 2006 when the Titans were playing as if they had nothing to lose. Look for the coaches to pull in the reins a little this year. Give me Phillip Rivers or John Kitna any day (did I just say that?). They have better supporting casts and just as much upside. Oh yeah -- did I mention Vince Young is on the cover of Madden '08? Let someone else gamble on this guy, you have a championship to win.
Jerious Norwood? Yeah, I love the potential, but let's look at the current picture. I know it's hard to believe, but the Atlanta Falcon offense will be even more inconsistent without Michael Vick at the helm. Will he play half a season? All but four games? Too many question marks for me. Joey Harrington is not a horrible backup, but when you combine his limits with a group of receivers that drop more balls than a hooker with Parkinson's, I think Atlanta will find itself hard-pressed to move the chains as often this season. Bottom line: defenses will be keying in on the run game. Then, if you throw in a little Warrick Dunn, who at age 32 is still hovering around like a buzzard, I don't like Norwood's upside this year. I've heard him called a "sleeper" in many other places, but I think he'll finish the year outside the top 25 RBs. If Vick returns and Dunn goes away, however... that's a different story.
Anquan Boldin? There's not much to complain about when it comes to Boldin. That's why I can't figure out why he under-produces in the TD category every year. Sure, Larry Fitzgerald is lined up on the other side of the field, taking away a lot of looks. But if you can only post 11 TDs on 185 receptions in 2 years in a Denny Green offense, you underperformed (1 TD per 16 receptions). I can't argue with the yards, but his stats overall do not warrant top 10 WR consideration. And with Ken "why do we need to throw the football" Wisenhunt at the coaching helm this year, I expect a decline in those yardage numbers owners have come to rely on these past three seasons -- I don't care how much Wisenhunt claims to like the guy. If you want to draft Boldin in the third round of your draft, may I suggest going with Marques Colston or Lee Evans instead? Let someone else overpay for Boldin.
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