This is my first ADP check coming into the 2009 Fantasy season.  For those who don’t know, the BEST (and FREE) mock fantasy football draft site is the fantasyfootballcalculator.com.  Their ADP based on mock drafts from June 27th to June 29th is here.  Below are my thoughts on the top 10 ADP RBs:

ADP #1 - Completely agree with AP being the #1 pick.  He’s another year wiser, a freak of nature, and on a team with a much better offense (with Favre, Harvin, and Marvin…more than likely).

ADP #2 - MJD at #2 was a surprise at first, but then looking at what’s happened in the offseason (No more RBBC with Taylor, adding Tra Thomas at LT, drafting O-Line in 1st/2nd rounds, and adding Holt at WR), I can see it.

ADP #3 - #5 - Agree with the three of them, but not the order.  My order: Forte,  Turner, S-Jax

ADP #6 - Chris Johnson is a play maker, but for some reason, I remember him being kinda fragile.  That, along with White vulturing TDs…I don’t agree with this one.  Move him to #10 on my list.

ADP #7 - From the consensus #1 pick last year to #7?!?!?  I believe the offense will still run through Tomlinson in 2010, but I haven’t found any hard evidence of that yet.  If so, I’d move Tomlinson to #6.  Except for the Chargers, that AFC West division is REALLY suspect this year.

ADP #9 - Is Deangelo Williams for real?  Jonathan Stewart will still be there to take some of the carries, which is exactly what Williams needs for motivation.  My fear here is with the QB position…if Delhomme can’t get it done, teams will stack the box and make it tough for both RBs.  I’d move Williams down one.

ADP #11 - There’s no way I’d have any Texans RB in my top ten…sorry Steve Slaton.  He did run well last year, but didn’t blow me away.  He’s out of my RB top 10 list.

ADP #13 - Oh baby…I am excited to see Frank Gore come back to 2006 form.  He has his favorite fullback back, and looks beast in practice.  Gore moves up to #7 on my list.

So, with Slaton moving off the list, who goes on?  ADP #15 Brian Westbrook does.  Losing Brian Dawkins to the Broncos is going to really hurt the Eagles defense…meaning the Eagles offense will have to gain more yards / get more points to win.  Westbrook is a proven stud that will be the center of the Eagles offense yet again.

My final top 10 RB list (as of June 29th of course):

1. AP
2. MJD
3. Forte
4. Turner
5. S-Jax
6. LT2
7. Gore
8. Williams
9. Westbrook
10. Chris Johnson

I’d also draft any of these RBs over a WR/QB in the 1st round.

The football season is slowly making its way to the forefront so it is now time to begin preparing for your fantasy draft.  Your draft should really go on how your league’s point system is set up but for the majority of leagues running backs are king.

Based on performances from last year and some hype coming in this year I’ve placed 8 names on the official watch list.  These names are all potential round 1 picks that definitely won’t make it past the second round.

DeAngelo Williams snuck up on a lot of people.  Lucky people, such as myself, grabbed him in the late rounds while everyone else was picking up Stewart.  It paid off well but he’s on everyone’s radar now.  He’s average 5 yards a carry over the last two years and the offensive line from last year is still there.

Michael Turner burned a lot of defensive schemes last year and his hype coming into the 2008 was well deserved.  People thought and would guess he’d have a good year and he did.   With a quarterback who has his rookie year behind him and the addition of Tony Gonzalez I expect Turner to put up the same numbers.

Adrian Peterson may possibly be sharing the backfield with one of the best quarterbacks to ever suite up. (I realize that’s debatable)  Favre improved Thomas Jones’ numbers last year when he played for the Jets so just imagine how the man child will benefit.  A.P. may very well be the consensus number overall pick this year.

Matt Forte is looking to improve and continue his success from his rookie year.  With the Bears obtaining a new pro-bowl QB it may take just enough pressure off the box where Forte can just explode.  Look for Forte to be huge.  He’s going to win you some fantasy game.

Chris Johnson shares the backfield with Lendale White but even with that he had 250 carries and he made everything he could with those with a 4.9 yard per carry average and 9 rushing touchdowns.  I don’t foresee Johnson’s workload declining so these types of numbers again this year isn’t unreachable.

Steven Jackson is a beast.  Simple.  The problem is, in the past, he was either injured or didn’t get worked into the game properly.  If he could play the entire season he’d top all fantasy points and will be WELL worth the first round pick.  His ability to stay injury free is the risk you’ll have to assess.

Marshawn Lynch.  I only place him on this list because of his ability and the arrival of Terrell Owens.  Keep in mind that Lynch is definitely suspended for at least three games though that may get reduced through the appeal process.  Freddie Jackson will be starting in place of Marshawn but has had recent fumble issues.  It would not be wise to draft this guy in the first round but by season’s end he’ll have round 1 numbers.

Pierre Thomas is currently going in the mid second round and that’s probably about average when the season comes along.  He may be this year’s last year DeAngelo Williams.

Even though it’s preseason, it’s still NFL football, and it’s back in two months.  Sunday, August 9th, on NBC at 8pm (EST), the Bills take on the Titans at the Pro Football Hall of Fame stadium in Canton, OH.

From a fantasy perspective, I’m hoping TO and Chris Johnson will get out there for at least two offensive drives.

The rest of the Preseason games begin Thursday, August 13th.  The complete NFL Preseason schedule is here.

Just like we know it’s morning because the sun rises, we know the NFL season is on the horizon when Brett Favre’s name begins to surface.  His indecisiveness has become the norm and each year the masses become more irritated.  Out of all the comments made by the fans across the globe I’d have to say that the “make up your mind” comment seems to be the most popular sentiment.

Great…  now we’ve become directors of how others should live.  Fantastic.  How many of you readers have had to make the decision to quit something you have been doing for 30+ years?  Sure Brett Favre could get into some type of coaching or commentary position but that isn’t the same.  Perfect example is when Michael Jordan tried to become an owner and then came back out of retirement to play.  It doesn’t work because it’s not the same.

Any of you true fans out there can see that Favre just doesn’t want to quit.  He plays as if he’s still a boy dreaming of the pros.  His passion for the sport is like no other and we want to get rid of that?

So he can be a little unpredictable with that rocket arm and his interceptions may come at inopportune times but so what.  So what!

Enjoy the ride while you can fans.  He’s rare and Favre from retiring.

Before I begin to travel down this road let me preface my thoughts with what I feel because what I feel and what is right may not necessarily marry up in this particular situation.

Yes, I believe what Michael Vick did was inhumanely wrong.  I despise his actions in so many ways and I can’t even fathom the idea of how he did what he did and even more so daunting..  why he did it.

Michael Vick broke a law, a felony at that, but he was tried, convicted and sentenced for his crime.  He went to prison.  He served time.  Should he not be allowed to continue his life just as it was before all this happened?  Are we not a generation of second chances as we seem to gravitate to the rise and fall of characters?

What I fear is that Vick will become a prisoner of our emotional attachment to how we feel about the crime that he committed.  And it’s because of that emotional attachment that our opinions will be the persuasive voice on how we feel Vick’s future should be decided.

Would you not want a second chance on your life if you messed up especially if you paid the price for it?

Don’t allow Michael to become a Vicktom of personal opinion.  It’s only right that we see Vick back on the field awing us with his elusive talents. 

It’s been a little over a week and a half, and so far 67 “fantasy significant” players have left their 2008 teams and moved onto new ones in 2009.  The only teams that haven’t added anyone are Colts, Panthers, Raiders, and Steelers.

Our 2009 Offseason Player Movement list will continue to be updated throughout the rest of the offseason.