Letters to the Editor

Mark O. has received several e-mails in response to his most recent NFL and Fantasy Football post. To protect the innocent, I’ve provided my artistic interpretation of the original response letters, as well as change the names of the authors. Mark has provided his rebuttals below. Enjoy.

Dear Mark O.,

You’re smoking some of the high quality New Jersey herb is you think Rutgers is going to win the Big East. West Virginia is going to beat them down like Rutgers has stolen memorabilia and West Virginia is O.J.

Sincerely,
Mike from Annapolis

Rebuttal:
Mike from Annapolis says I’m nuts to predict Rutgers as Big East Champs. Well Mike, I am nuts that’s for sure, but lets look at the Big East situation. If Rutgers can beat West Virginia this Saturday then all they need to do is win out to take the title. That means winning @ UConn, home for Pitt and @ Louisville. Army’s thrown in there for good measure but really, how tough will that be? Greg Schiano obviously paid attention to how South Florida shut down the vaunted Mountaineers offensive duo of White and Slaton, and the Knights defense is probably the only other in the conference that has the speed to match up with them like SFla did. Schiano is saying he’ll likely use more underclassmen (like true freshmen Alex Silvestro) on D this week to continually rotate fresh legs into the game. As for UConn, Pitt and Louisville…nothing personal but the only game that worries me is the Louisville game because I don’t know if the scoreboard at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium goes high enough for the points that will be scored.

Dear Mark O.,

Javorskie Lane is too fat and too slow to be a feature back in the NFL. Forget about Larry Czonka and Earl Campbell, think Ron Dayne without all the college awards, and with a pissed off Jim Fassel.

Sincerely,
Gary, from Edison, NJ

Rebuttal:
Regarding Javorskie Lane, let me say this to Gary from Edison, NJ… The days of the “feature back” are ending. More and more teams are seeing the value in the running back by committee approach. Really now, it makes sense. There are few guys out there anymore who can carry the ball 25+ times per game for 16 games and still have anything left for the post-season. Finding two complimentary backs to split the carries and be situational guys is smart. Then, when the playoffs roll around your offense still has some firepower left. If you can get that one guy who can run between the 20’s, both with speed to the corners and acceleration between the tackles, and then another guy to pound it in the red zone or on 4th and short, you’ve got what it takes to have a great running game. Look at Maroney and Morris at NE, Peterson and Taylor in MN, or Jacobs and Ward for the Giants. And guys like Michael Turner for the ‘Bolts, Brian Leonard in St Louis, or Kenny Watson in Cincinnati are making cases for more playing time every week, if for nothing else than to keep their #1’s healthy. Javorskie isn’t going to be an every down back in the NFL but he can certainly help a one-dimensional running team like the Ravens, Bills, 49ers or Lions with some red zone power. Personally, I think he belongs in Arizona, but that’s just me.

Speaking of running back by committee, most fantasy drafts this year probably looked like this…

1. LaDainian Tomlinson
2. Stephen Jackson
3. Larry Johnson
4. Shaun Alexander

Then…Gore, Addai, Parker, Rudi J, Westbrook, maybe Travis Henry or Chad Johnson and then Peyton or Carson. But, with the explosion of passing TD’s and the expansion of the multi-back scheme, next year will probably look like this…

1. Brady (duh!)
2. Peyton
3. LT
4. Romo
5. Addai
6. Moss
7. Carson
Then…LJ, TO and Rookie of the Year Adrian Peterson. Just wait, you’ll see.