|
|
-
-
 |
OUTER
BANKS LIGHTNING
|
|
|
strength
|
WR.
Lightning is impressive at nearly every position but
this might be their best mostly because of the starters.
Marques Colston and Anquan Boldin are both among the
very best and Santonio Holmes is a rising talent.
They also have possible breakout candidates Donnie
Avery and Earl Bennett as well as veteran Joey Galloway. |
|
weakness
|
RB.
Lightning does not have serious weakness here considering
Maurice Jones-Drew finished 3rd in scoring last year.
However they do have questions after Jones-Drew. Perhaps
talented young Kevin Smith could be the reliable #2
or maybe they will find an answer with one of the
five picks in the first two rounds of the upcoming
draft. |
|
summary
|
Lightning
is just a well balanced team. The consistency of Philip
Rivers as the season progressed last year truly ascended
this team into their dominance of the second half
of the year and into the postseason. Amazingly this
team only looks to be stronger this year not only
because Rivers is improving but they have young talent
throughout the roster and a whole slew of draft picks
to build even more. A repeat is not at all out of
the question. |
|
2009
prediction
|
10-4 |
 |
MACUNGIE
O'S
|
|
|
strength
|
RB.
Brian Westbrook has won the rb scoring title two
straight years and he's scored at least 150 points
in 4 straight season. Chris Johnson showed superstar
ability in his rookie season averaging almost 17 points
per game for the O's. Plus they have Frank Gore and
Lendale White both of whom are capable starters. |
|
weakness
|
TE.
If healthy Jeremey Shockey can still be a very good
player, but he is rarely healthy these days and his
production has slid in each of the past three seasons
since joining the O's. Ben Watson and Billy Miller
have not proven they can be reliable starters. |
|
summary
|
The
O's do not have any glaring strengths or weakness.
What they do have is remarkable consistency, finishing
the regular season 11-3 each of the last three years.
The dominance of the regular season has not translated
well into the Prestige Playoffs where they have a
current three game losing streak. Last year they scored
132 pts in Week 16 only to lose to an opponent that
scored 147. Can they find a way to win these games
like they did in the beginning of the decade? |
|
2009
prediction
|
10-4 |
 |
LAS
VEGAS 69ERS
|
|
|
strength
|
QB.
Drew Brees and Kurt Warner are both among the
elite scoring producers of the league. They can almost
single-handily win games and their production in 2008
is a big reason why the 69ers had their all-time highest
scoring season (finishing 3rd in the league). |
|
weakness
|
RB.
Clinton Portis started to struggle as the season went
last year but Thomas Jones started to excel. Jones
will have difficulty duplicating his 2008 production
but Portis should again be reliable as the teams starter.
Tim Hightower and Ray Rice are intriguing young talents
but right now there are question marks as to how much
they will carry the load this year. |
|
summary
|
Having
the best qb scoring production usually translates
into automatic Prestige Playoffs, which would make
it a 7th straight appearance for this impressive franchise.
They do not have a very large roster but they have
plenty of superstar elite talent throughout the starting
lineup, which on paper is more impressive then the
team that won the Prestige title in 2007. |
|
2009
prediction
|
9-5 |
 |
TOLEDO
TORMENTA
|
|
|
strength
|
QB.
Aaron Rodgers emerged as one of the elite qb's of
the league and Tormenta has some strong depth with
Eli Manning, Matt Hasselbeck and Derek Anderson. |
|
weakness
|
WR.
Roddy White is one of the top wr's but Tormenta lacks
a consistent #2 or flex. Donald Driver and Derrick
Mason are steady but aging and Bernard Berrian and
Lance Moore lack reliable every-week consistency.
Perhaps that could change or Steve Smith could have
a breakout season for them. |
|
summary
|
This
team continues to get better as they possess potential
superstar players at every position. If the WR depth
can improve this team easily matches up against anyone
in the league. This team is built strong under the
tradition 2 rb, 2 wr format but they have potential
to be even stronger if production can improve from
the WRs behind Roddy White. |
|
2009
prediction
|
8-6 |
 |
MYRTLE
BEACH 328'S
|
|
|
strength
|
STARTING
LINEUP. A starting lineup of Jay Cutler, Reggie
Bush, Brandon Jacobs, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Greg
Olsen, Kris Brown and Giants is a very impressive. |
|
weakness
|
DEPTH.
The depth behind their dominant starting lineup is
a bit shaky. Plaxico Burress may not be playing this
year which will hurt. Trading Joe Flacco leaves them
with two qbs. Ted Ginn is young and very talented
but they might not be ready to become every week starters
this year. |
|
summary
|
There
are questions surrounding what kind of impact Jay
Cutler and Terrell Owens will have this year. Because
of their talent you would think the production will
be there, but will it be as steady and explosive?
Those questions as well as a need to build some depth
prevents us from ranking 328's among the top three
teams entering the season. They should still be considered
the favorite to win the American League title but
there are certainly some question marks surrounding
this team. |
|
2009
prediction
|
8-6 |
 |
LOS
ANGELES LAKE SHOW
|
|
|
strength
|
QB.
Tom Brady is back this year and last time he played
was a record breaking 661 point season. Chad Pennington
and David Garrard give Lake Show nice backups. |
|
weakness
|
WR.
Lake Show seriously lacks a top WR. Santana Moss and
Chris Chambers are good but better #2 or 3 WR's. They
have a chance to build the position at the draft but
they'll most likely still have to wait a year or two
for a rookie WR to become great. |
|
summary
|
With
Brady back I do not think Lake Show is looking at
this year as a rebuilding year. They finished last
year red-hot and Brady could put this team back into
the Prestige finals for the 3rd time in the past 5
years. Rebuilding or not this is an important draft
for Lake Show who owns three first round picks all
within the top 7. It might not make or break the 2009
season, but if they draft well Lake Show could potentially
set themselves up to be a destiny for the next couple
years. |
|
2009
prediction
|
7-7 |
 |
PHILADELPHIA
H
|
|
|
strength
|
FLEX.
If we are saying Steven Jackson, Calvin Johnson
and Steve Smith are starters that leaves Matt Forte,
Braylon Edwards, Dwayne Bowe or Ronnie Brown as a
Flex option. WOW, that is an impressive wealth of
options! |
|
weakness
|
QB.
Tough to really call this a weakness since Matt Schaub
has shown ability to carry a team and the addition
of Joe Flacco gives them a potential franchise player.
Flacco inexperience and Schaub's injuries remain a
concern and that inconsistency has hurt H at this
position, especially in comparison to their ultra-competitive
National League foes (all of whom have steady and
explosive starters at QB). |
|
summary
|
This
team possess arguably the best and deepest all-around
roster in the entire league but they have only made
the Prestige Playoffs twice in the last six years
(though a lot of that was bad luck). A healthy Matt
Schaub could be what they need but until they get
some consistent stability at qb we have to rank them
here at this point. Of course this team has Prestige
Championship potential so it would not be surprising
if they at least reach the playoffs. |
|
2009
prediction
|
6-8 |
 |
FLIPPIN
UNITED
|
|
|
strength
|
RB.
If there ever was a team to use the traditional
2 rb-2 wr every week United is it. They are loaded
with RB options: DeAngelo Williams, Michael Turner,
and Darren Sproles are coming off breakout seasons
plus they have future Hall of Famer Ladainian Tomlinson
and last years #1 overall pick Darren McFadden. |
|
weakness
|
WR.
The offseason may have both helped and hurt United's
WR production for this season. Roy Williams and Anthony
Gonzalez should be much better but Lee Evans production
could drop and Marvin Harrison might not be back.
Kevin Walter may have been the teams most consistent
WR last year where they ranked last in the league
as a team. |
|
summary
|
Historically
strong on even-numbered years, United failed to make
the Prestige Playoffs last year and are currently
the only franchise in a two-year drought without a
Prestige appearance. A healthy Carson Palmer, Donovan
McNabb and Tomlinson could push this team back to
the playoffs for the first time since winning the
championship in 2006. The key will likely be finding
the right starting lineup each week (notably which
QB and RBs) as well as finding some steady production
at WR. |
|
2009
prediction
|
6-8 |
 |
TUCSON
A II P
|
|
|
strength
|
WR.
Larry Fitzgerald and Greg Jennings provide a great
starting combination and Chad Ocho Cinco, Eddie Royal,
Vincent Jackson, and Steve Breaston give them strong
flex and backup options. |
|
weakness
|
RB.
Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice are
impressive but they each hurt one anothers production,
and Jonathan Stewart also shares time. Larry Johnson
could be poised for an improved year but at this point
his production remains in limbo. |
|
summary
|
A
II P chase for a record 8th straight Prestige Playoff
appearance may be in jeopardy this year. They have
one of the leagues most explosive rosters (finishing
second in scoring last year) but they enter the start
of this year losing 8 of the last 9 weeks. Recently
they have started the season strong and then struggled
late (especially in December). A poor start to this
season could be a sign that A II P will miss the playoffs
for just the second time in league history. |
|
2009
prediction
|
6-8 |
 |
DENVER
TOMCATS
|
|
|
strength
|
RB.
Steve Slaton is the teams top player and he could
be even better in his second season. They also added
Ryan Grant this offseason to build depth alongside
aging but still capable veterans Jamal Lewis and Julius
Jones. |
|
weakness
|
WR.
The Tomcats have greatly improved their need for
younger players but they do not possess an true
top-end wr. Hines Ward is underrated and very consistent
but lacks the explosiveness you need from a #1 wr.
After Ward the Tomcats have some solid veterans
players but the problem is they do not have any
clear-cut starters. Every week they are forced to
make decisions and changes with the lineup and it
ultimately causes inconsistent scoring production.
|
|
summary
|
The
Tomcats have made all the right moves this offseason
to possibly return to the Prestige Playoffs for the
5th time in the past 7 years. Things can change quickly
in a year but the reality is that they enter this
season on an 11-game losing streak, which is tied
for the second longest in league history. The difference
between the first and tenth team in our league is
really not that great so the Tomcats could be a playoff
team. However when ranking the teams to enter the
year they have to be considered the biggest underdog
at this point. |
|
2009
prediction
|
5-9 |
-
|
|
|
