Editor's note: This is a series of 10 predictions of things that will happen in 2008 Fantasy Football leagues according to Senior Fantasy Writer Jamey Eisenberg
Peyton Manning must have felt invisible last year. OK, that's hard to do when he's on almost every TV commercial, but 2007 wasn't exactly Manning's year.
Tom Brady broke Manning's single-season touchdown record, and Manning finished fourth in touchdown passes and third in most standard-scoring Fantasy leagues. The Colts were upset in the playoffs by the Chargers, and then Peyton was a bystander while his younger brother Eli won the Super Bowl.
It seems like people forgot Peyton was the best quarterback in the NFL before Brady's dominant year, and that's still the thought coming into this season. Brady is the clear-cut choice as the No. 1 Fantasy option, but it seems like Manning is a distant second. Some even think Tony Romo might be better than Manning this year because of Manning's knee injury, which could sideline him for most of training camp.
Well, get ready Fantasy owners, because Manning is going back to No. 1 on the quarterback rankings by the end of the season. His knee will be healthy, and he will pass Brady in production and hold off Romo and any other challengers to the throne.
To do that, Manning will have to overcome Brady's brilliance. Last year, Brady passed for 4,806 yards, 50 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. He also ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
|
|
|
Don't let a sore knee and Tom Brady circa 2007 fool you. Peyton will be the man again in 2008.
(AP)
|
|
It should be another great year for Brady in 2008. He returns his star-studded receiving corps of
Randy Moss and
Wes Welker, and Brady should again be motivated for success after not winning the Super Bowl. But Brady will not repeat his gaudy numbers from 2007. Brady never came close to the stats he posted last year in his career. His previous career highs were 4,110 yards and 28 touchdowns.
History, albeit a small sample size, also suggests his stats will dramatically fall off. The past two quarterbacks to break the touchdown record before Brady -- Manning in 2004 and Dan Marino in 1984 -- saw their touchdown total decrease significantly the following season. Manning went from 49 touchdowns to 28 in 2005, while Marino went from 48 touchdowns to 30 in 1985.
And if you watched the NFL playoffs in 2007, you realize teams figured out how to defend the Patriots passing game and limit what Brady was able to do. With Laurence Maroney healthy for a full season, New England will run the ball more in 2008, taking touchdown passes away from Brady.
All of those things combined will open the door for Manning to return to prominence as the No. 1 Fantasy quarterback. It's not like Manning was horrible last year with 4,040 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and also three rushing touchdowns. He finished third in Fantasy points behind Brady and Romo and fourth in touchdowns behind Brady, Romo (36) and Ben Roethlisberger (32).
Manning has passed for 4,000 yards in eight of his 10 seasons and has four years with at least 31 passing touchdowns. He also has seven rushing touchdowns the past two seasons.
| CBSSports.com Mock Drafts |
New for Fantasy Football this year, test your draft strategy in a mock draft so you'll be prepared when your real draft arrives. Mock drafts are absolutely free and available to everyone, no matter where you play.
Join a mock draft now! |
This year, Manning should have his full complement of weapons with Marvin Harrison (knee) expected back along with Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Anthony Gonzalez and Joseph Addai out of the backfield. You can argue Manning has a better supporting cast than Brady.
Don't be surprised if Manning passes for about 4,500 yards and at least 35 touchdowns. Throw in a couple of rushing scores, and he will be close to 40 touchdowns.
Those will be better stats than Brady, Romo and anyone else. Although Brady will have another outstanding season, and should be drafted ahead of Manning based on last year's performance, Manning will have the better year.
When the season is over, Manning will return to the top.
Do you have a Draft Prep question? Send your thoughts to DMFantasyFootball@cbs.com and we'll get to as many as we can. Be sure to put Attn: Draft Prep in the subject field. Include your full name, hometown and state.
