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Brian Westbrook finally has a new home. After spending his first eight seasons with Philadelphia, Westy is headed West to San Francisco to join Frank Gore in the Niners’ backfield. Westy is an electric playmaker when healthy. He has dealt with an assortment of injuries in the past, but it is his string of concussions that have his career in jeopardy. Even when he was limited to eight games last year, he managed 25 catches as well as a 4.5 ypc on 61 carries. One more concussion could end his career so don’t expect him to be much more than an insurance policy should Frank Gore go down. Anthony Dixon had a strong showing in the Niners’ preseason opener, and will challenge Westbrook for the backup spot.
Westbrook wasn’t he only former NFC East runner moving westward. Ladell Betts also spent eight years with his first team, in his case the Washington Redskins. Betts only topped 100 carries once in his career, and isn’t expected to do so with his new club. Betts will essentially replace Lynell Hamilton as RB depth for the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. While Westbrook has limited fantasy value, Betts has even less. Even if Pierre Thomas were to go down, I would not expect Betts to even match the production Mike Bell had last year.
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Well, T.O. found a new home again. This time he won’t be the WR with the biggest mouth on his team. That honor belongs to new teammate Chad Ochocinco. The signing shouldn’t hurt Ocho’s fantasy numbers too severely. Antonio Bryant stands to lose a significant portion of his looks though. Rookie TE Jermaine Gresham could see fewer passes over the middle and in the red zone because of the signing. Carson Palmer’s fantasy value gets a little bump. The best thing to come of this will be the drama that ensues from having Ocho and T.O. paired up.

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Terrell Owens has a famous line “I love me some me”. NFL teams, however, have shown T.O. little love as the petulant WR (Wide ReDiva) has yet to find after his one year surprise stint in Buffalo.
He did not have a typical T.O. season catching just 55 passes for 829 yards and 5 TDs. He added 54 rushing yards and a TD. While 883 total yards and 6 TDs won’t turn any heads, it is good for about 7.8 fantasy points per game in non-PPR leagues.
Considering he played in Buffalo’s stagnant offense, those numbers were actually pretty good. Perhaps more importantly, T.O. did not have any issues with his teammate. He was in the worst situation of his career and he handled it like a professional. Is he a new person? No, not entirely, but he may have come to the realization that his career is winding down. If he wants to add to his numbers, putting him over the 15,000 yard mark, he has to play nice.
While he isn’t the same force that he once was, he can still help some teams. Here’s a look at some teams that would benefit from signing T.O.
Arizona – With Boldin gone, he can add the missing physical element. Fitz can still be Fitz. Breaston can remain the deep threat, and Doucet and company can wait a year for their chance.
Atlanta – Michael Jenkins is decent, but T.O. would be an upgrade at WR2.
Carolina – Steve Smith could clearly use some help.
Cleveland – They need to add talent. Period.
Denver – They could use his talent, though if they wanted a diva they could have kept Marshall.
Detroit – Imagine trying to tackle Megatron and T.O.? Nate Burleson is solid, but he’d make a better WR3.
Houston – Ditto Detroit, but substitute Andre Johnson for Megatron and Kevin Walter for Burleson.
Jacksonville – Mike Sims-Walker fell off the map in the latter part of the 2009 season. T.O. would help alleviate some of the defensive pressure on him.
Miami – Davone Bess could move to the slot and Marshall and T.O. would form a physical 1-2 punch.
New England – They can deal with characters. T.O.’s issue are football related, which is what Bill Belichick knows. He certainly has more left in the tank than Torry Holt.
Oakland – Jason Campbell could use one legitimate NFL WR.
San Diego – What better way to pressure Vincent Jackson into working on a deal than bringing in T.O. to let him know you’re willing to move on. Even if V-Jax signs, T.O. would still improve their WR corps. They essentially ruled him out though.
St. Louis – Sam Bradford could use T.O. as a safety net.
Tampa Bay – They are working on a youth movement, but T.O. could show the youngsters a thing or two about preparation.
Washington – Reunited and it feels so good. If McNabb and T.O. could truly put the past behind them, he would instantly become the Skins best WR.
I’d say the Bears, but I think he and Cutler would clash. Plus, he isn’t a major upgrade over what they had. Pittsburgh would be another decent option, but they are still trying to recover from Big Ben’s PR hit.
Of the teams listed, I think Atlanta is the best fit. Tony Gonzalez’s window is short. They have a QB that could handle T.O. He likes the South. I think it would work.
Larry Johnson signed a three-year deal with the Washington Redskins. He basically serves as Clinton Portis insurance. Honestely, with their aging line and age (LJ) and mileage (Portis) working against them, I don’t see either back being all that productive in 2010.
LJ’s character issues remain while his burst and ability have dried up. The signing truly makes no sense. That’s Washington for ya. You may want to take a flier on LJ at the end of your fantasy drafts. I’d probably just pass on him though.
In other news, Ben Watson signed with the Browns. Though a more low-profile signing, it has significantly more fantasy relevance. Watson is a gifted tight end that often got lost in the Patriots’ arsenal. In Cleveland there are fewer mouths to feed. Don’t be surprised if Watson becomes a top ten fantasy tight end for the Browns.
Chad Johnson doesn’t have much pull after all. Despite lobbying for the Bengals to sign T.O., they opted for Antonio Bryant instead. He’s a much younger option than T.O., but I’m not sure it’s a deal I would have done. Bryant got a four-year, $28 million deal. He’s had a couple of nice years, but for the most part has been underwhelming.
His fantasy value increases though. Carson Palmer is a major upgrade for Bryant. Assuming he’s healthy, he should be a nice #3 or #4 WR. I’m expecting around 1000 yards and 5-7 TDs.
Who says you can’t kill two birds with one stone…or in this case sink two players’ fantasy value at once. That’s exactly what happened when Thomas Jones signed with the Chiefs. Clearly any high that Jamaal Charles’ owners have been on following his impressive run at the end of the year came to an abrupt halt at the news of Jones’ signing. While I still think Charles will be a solid fantasy starter, I think I can put the Chris Johnson Lite moniker away.
Meanwhile Jones will take a back seat to Charles. I can’t comprehend why he wouldn’t go to a contender. He could have been a backup for Minnesota or Philadelphia. He could have been in a 50-50 split in San Diego. He could have been the lead dog in Houston. Even bad teams like Seattle, Detroit, and Tampa Bay would have been better options for he would at least be the lead back. Being a backup for a dismal team makes little sense to me.
Jones could have been a decent #2 or #3 RB depending on where he landed. Now I see him more as a low-end #3 or a #4. I’d put him lower, but he does seem to produce even when the odds are against him.
By landing Anquan Boldin, who’s fantasy value probably stays about the same given the upgrade from Matt Leinart to Joe Flacco, Baltimore is unlikely to take a WR in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
Because Boldin had such a brilliant rookie season in 2003, he seems to be older than he actually is. He’ll be 30 this year, and has plenty left in the tank. He can challenge Ray Lewis as the tougher player on the team.
The Falcons won’t be looking at cornerback early in the draft after signing Dunta Robinson to a long-term deal. They are more likely to turn their attention to acquiring a speed rusher.
I know Bill Parcels loves drafting linebackers, but the likelihood that he goes a different direction in the first round, perhaps DT Dan Williams, increases with the signing of ILB Karlos Dansby. He is a gifted player with a knack for making big plays. The AFC East, minus Buffalo, is shaping up to be an ultra-competitive division.
The G-Men could be looking at DT Brian Price or a speed rushing DE now that they hired the services of safety Antrel Rolle. Safety was a glaring need, and not that they addressed it, they will likely bolster their front four.
At least when he was backing up Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor was a pretty valuable commodity. You knew that the pieces were in place, name an impressive offensive line, for big time numbers if AP went down. He also brought something (pass receiving ability) to the table that wasn’t a strength for All Day.
After signing with the Bears, he finds himself in an offense where neither of those will be in play. First of all, Chicago’s line went downhill fast. Not only do the struggle to protect the quarterback, but they have trouble opening holes. The tried to put a band-aid on it with Orlando Pace, but that failed miserably. Plus, they are short of draft picks to add one in the draft. The odds of their line improving this year are slim.
Matt Forte has 120 catches in two years meaning Chester’s receptions (45 & 44 the past two years) will likely come down. He could be hard-pressed to reach the 762.5 total yards he’s averaged as Peterson’s backup.
To me signing with Chicago makes little sense. If I were Chester Houston or Philly would have been more ideal destinations. Not only would he have the opportunity for more touches, but he’d be on a contender.
Taylor is still worth having at the end of your draft, but he doesn’t have the upside he once did.
Looks like you can cross off Detroit as a landing spot for Terrell Owens. The Lions addressed the need to compliment Calving Johnson with free agent WR Nate Burleson. Burleson, if he can stay healthy, is actually a decent pairing with Megatron.
Coming off a torn ACL, Nate caught 63 passes for 812 yards and 3 TDs. He finished 2007 with a flurry averaging four catches for 62.4 yards, and a TD in his last five games. He had five catches for 60 yards and a score in Week 1 of 2008 before tearing his knee.
Switching to Detroit and second-year pro Matthew Stafford shouldn’t lower his value. Seattle has been a mess for a few years now. He’ll welcome playing with a strong-armed QB, opposite of a WR that commands a lot of attention.
Don’t go penciling him in as a #3 fantasy WR though. He’ll be a nice addition to your bench. He holds more value in PPR leagues as he figures to be Detroit’s possession receiver.
By now I’m sure you’re well aware that Terrell Owens will not be back in Buffalo. He was not very productive (55 catches, 829 yards, TD), but he did not have a lot to work with. He should be given a little credit for not having a typical T.O. moment.
The question is where does T.O. go next?
Baltimore seems like a logical choice given their needs. I just don’t think they’ll bring him in. They have a young QB in Joe Flacco that doesn’t need to deal with T.O.’s drama. They’ll address their deficiencies at WR elsewhere.
Carolina could use a WR opposite of Steve Smith, but I’m not sure their egos would allow them to play opposite one another.
The Bears could work possibly, but they have a stable of young WRs. Cutler has the arm strength to please T.O., but they would be bound to clash.
The Bengals could possibly work. They are open to any type of personality. It would be interesting to see Chad Johnson and T.O. on the same team, but the WR formerly known as Ochocinco could find a way to make it work for him, at least initially. I’d pity Carson Palmer.
Detroit is bad enough that they may be willing to take the risk. Matthew Stafford has a big arm. Trying to cover Megatron and T.O. would be difficult.
Could the Patriots add him as another reclamation project? If anyone can put T.O. in his place it would be Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Randy Moss would probably welcome the attention he’d get from defenses.
The choices are limited. When you consider he’s already worn out his welcome in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Dallas, that’s to be expected. He still has the ability. My best guess for his 2010 home is Cincinnati.
Where do you think he’ll surface?