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Friday, Dec. 17, 1999
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Down the road
A fantasy perspective on upcoming issues
By Trent Modglin, Associate editor
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| Rest for the weary — The Rams have scored 52
touchdowns this season, far more than any other team in the NFL except the Redskins, who
have 46. But as the season winds down, fantasy owners run into a potential problem. St.
Louis has already wrapped up the NFC West title and can secure home-field advantage with a
win over the Giants this weekend. That could signal a perfect time for head coach Dick
Vermeil to start resting the key components to the Rams’ machine for the final two
weeks of the regular season. If you’ve reached the playoffs in your fantasy
league, keep an eye on the Rams and Jaguars, as those are the only two teams that could
nail down home-field advantage early. Many coaches are loath to push players with aches
and pains or run the risk of injury when the final few games are meaningless. And if they
do play their stars, they may not play them enough to make it worthwhile for you in
fantasy playoffs.
Decision 2000 — Speaking of the Rams, imagine the QB controversy that could
be coming next year in St. Louis. QB Kurt Warner should be the NFL’s MVP this year,
but he may not even have a starting job going into training camp next season. Vermeil has
said that he wants to keep both Warner and Trent Green and that players in his system
don’t lose starting jobs because of injury. If the high-priced Green is 100 percent
next summer following knee surgery and you have to draft a big-name fantasy quarterback,
which are you going to take?
Is that your final answer?
Give him the damn ball — Jets WR Keyshawn Johnson made me a happy man after
I acquired him in a midseason trade. He’s caught 77 passes for 1,025 yards and seven
touchdowns through Week 14, despite the Jets’ struggles and injuries on offense. With
QB Vinny Testaverde returning next season, Johnson should be one of the top four receivers
on the fantasy draft board. He’s already proven he can do it without Testaverde, so
the fantasy possibilities for Johnson in his prime on the receiving end of Testaverde
offerings are downright scary. |
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The Archives
1999 - 2000 Season |
| Online writers — features and
columns by our PFW staff, columnists, AFC reporters, NFC reporters and contributing
writers |
| College football — articles,
college notepad, key college game previews, PFW's college top 10 |
| Fantasy football — articles,
injury reports, weekly fantasy tips, weekly matchups, The Fantasy Doctor, mock drafts,
draft boards, "In our opinion" daily fantasy columns, player profiles |
| Free-agency |
| General features — Internet
features, features from our print edition, special reports |
| Handicapper's Corner —
staff selections, games of the week, PFW Players of the Week, NFL standings, weekly
handicapping columns, predictions |
| "A closer look" —
in-depth analysis of general football topics |
| "In our opinion" daily columns
— opinions on general football topics |
| "PFW spins" —
short-takes on current events |
| Joel Buchsbaum — college
player evaluations, NFL player analysis, NFL draft coverage, NFL notepad, NFList, Q and
A's, college game previews and other NFL articles by PFW's contributing editor |
| NFL Draft — player evaluations,
printouts, feature stories, commentaries, draft recaps |
| Ron Pollack — articles and
commentary by PFW's editor-in-chief |
| Season in review —
the 1999-2000 NFL season |
| XFL — a new football league begins |
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