Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.Meet The ...
Adam Sandler movie of the NFL: always entertaining, yet never really winning anything notable. Whether it's drafting a WR in three consecutive first rounds (slapstick/unrealistic comedy like Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore), putting together a highly productive offense in terms of fantasy football (funny, yet quasi-legit Big Daddy or Wedding Singer? Maybe?), or guaranteeing ten wins ("I'm gonna go legit with Spanglish!"); you'll always be entertained and they'll always avoid the playoffs. This year is no different. The former laughingstock of a division is now somewhat of a powerhouse, and the Lions are still a step behind even the obviously third-best Bears. If you want entertainment, though, they won't disappoint.
The Breakout
Calvin Johnson is ready to take the next step after becoming acclimated to the NFL in his rookie season. I love it when people proclaim a rookie to have freaky mad skills and then if he doesn't perform to expectations he's an afterthought one year later. That's a year of experience, man. Never a bad thing. He's ready to make the leap into fantasy stud-dom. You'll see.
The Bust
Roy Williams. The name carries much more weight than production in '08. Talk of a contract year increasing his usual numbers will only fan the flames of hype, inflating his value even more. He's not going to suck by any means, but the transition of the offense to more balance and the emergence of Johnson will make Williams a low-end 2 or high end 3 ... and he'll be drafted in the top 20 wideouts. Remember, a bust is someone that fails to meet drafted value ... not someone who is a bad player.
The Depth Chart
QB1 - Jon Kitna
RB1 - Kevin Smith
RB2 - Tatum Bell
RB3 - Brian Calhoun
RB4 - Aveion Cason/Artose Pinner
WR1 - Calvin Johnson
WR2 - Roy Williams
WR3 - Shaun McDonald
WR4 - Mike Furrey
K - Jason Hanson
The D/ST
Unless you can play two at once, this unit shouldn't be on your list. They did seriously revamp the defensive backfield with Brian Kelly, Leigh Bodden, and Dwight Smith; so you have to like their potential for some picks and the occasional defensive TD. On the other hand, the defensive front is awful. They'll struggle against the run (bad news in the NFC North) and won't pressure the QB at all. We haven't compiled our staff rankings yet, but I'll guess when we do they sit around 20th.
The Skinny
Expect a sharp drop in passing for the team as they transition from Mike Martz to a running-oriented coordinator (Jim Colletto). Kitna threw for over 4K yards last season. Of course, the 18/20 TD/INT ratio was not tasty, so he's a low-end backup QB. Williams is still a starter for most weeks (I just think he'll be overvalued in drafts), and Johnson is a weekly starter. The real difference from '07, though, is that Furrey and McDonald won't be especially ownable and certainly won't be startable, save for a few bye-heavy or injury-heavy weeks. Kevin Smith will be a useful third RB or flex guy as he grows throughout the season, while Tatum Bell is a necessary handcuff. No TE is ownable at all, while the defense and kicker are marginal.
