1. Drew Brees : Even with Sean Peyton out last year and the merry go round at the helm, Brees still finished atop the points for QB’s in 2012. I think a repeat is in the making for this year.
2. Aaron Rodgers : Numbers wise Rodgers had a down year but with that being said he finished third in points last year and added a strong RB in the draft.
3. Peyton Manning : Bringing in Welker for the slot will amplify their offense even more than it was last year. Plus the addition of Montee Ball to the back field reminds me of when Fox had the bash brothers in Carolina.
4. Tom Brady : This is kind of high for me, but on shear talent Brady deserves to be here. Losing Welker to Denver, and the uncertainty of Gronk. I think Brady could have an off year. But I will reassess the situation closer to my next rankings.
5. Cam Newton : Third year in the league and I think it’s his time to shine. The rushing yards might dwindle a little bit if Carolina decides to run the RBs more, but inside 5 yards is Cam’s specialty. He gets you rushing TDs which other players aren’t, and I think his passing game will thrive this season.
6. Matt Ryan : With arguably the best WR duo, in Jones and White. Also added Jackson in the backfield, I’m a little cautious to see if it’s a big change from Turner.
7. Robert Griffin III : His second year in the same system, we will see how he comes back from his knee injury last year.
8. Matthew Stafford : Brought in Reggie Bush to assist their backs, should be a nice receiver out of the back. Still has Megatron, which would boost any QB.
9. Andrew Luck : Led the Colts to the playoffs last year, finished in the top 10 in fantasy. Don’t see much improvement from this year. Solid top ten QB.
   

   Jan 6, 2013; Baltimore, MD, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) during the AFC Wild Card playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens at M

10. Eli Manning : If they keep Cruz, Eli could move up. If Cruz leaves that would only leave Nicks as the proven WR. He will move further down the totem pole if there is no Cruz.
11. Tony Romo : As a professional QB, he has his moments that make you shake your head. But in the fantasy world last year he finished right above Luck. He can have a huge game, just no consistency, and had multiple games with multiple interceptions.
12. Joe Flacco : Winning the Super Bowl last year was a high, coming into this season he lost a big target in Boldin. Still has the down field threat, so I predict a couple big games this year.
13. Colin Kaepernick : San Francisco drafted WR, TE and RB in draft. But the biggest impact players were brought in through free agency with Boldin and Manningham.
14. Russell Wilson : One of the biggest moves in free agency this year was Seattle’s addition of Percy Harvin. Still have the beast in the backfield so the passing game can only get better for Wilson.
15. Andy Dalton : Got a TE in the draft, still has Green to throw to which saves Dalton as far as fantasy goes.
16. Sam Bradford : With the loss of Jackson, I think they will have a tougher time throwing the ball this year. But they did get two WRs in this draft that has played together for a while.
17. Josh Freeman : Still has some weapons to throw to, defense was helped a lot in this year’s draft, plus the addition of Revis. So I think Freeman will get more opportunities this year, I am just not sure what he is going to do with them.
18. Matt Schaub : Added Hopkins in the draft which I think will complement Johnson in the passing game, still a strong RB coming out of the backfield.
19. Michael Vick : Brought in a good TE in the draft. They have a new head coach, could have a great year this year. Might move up in later rankings.
20. Jay Cutler : Not the most consistent QB in the bunch, but he does have a plethora of talent around him. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally.

Tune in next week as I look over the top 20 RBs. I don’t think anyone in Carolina will make that cut… Thanks for reading.

1) Last year’s studs rarely are this year’s studs – Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew led the NFL in rushing. This season, he’s holding out…possibly even into the season. Hardly first-round material unless it’s resolved fast. Adrian Peterson is coming off an ACL tear in week 17. While he’s vastly ahead of schedule in his recovery, will he be the same player in week one as he was last season’s week one?

2) Even the best QBs rarely repeat a particularly good year – but the elite ones will always deliver. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, even Cam Newton should all be high-scoring fantasy players worthy of round one picks. What I’m talking about is don’t expect Matt Stafford to repeat his breakout year, although he should still be a top-ten fantasy QB. Just don’t expect quite the same big numbers in consecutive seasons from anyone…there always seems to be some variance.

3) Don’t even BOTHER drafting a kicker…from one season to another, kickers’ FP output seems random. Last year’s top kicker is rarely this year’s one, and with kickers the swings are even wilder than other positions. Instead, use that last spot to draft a sleeper. You can ALWAYS pick up a kicker off waivers just before the first game and you’ll have that last guy on the bench. Someone will eventually need to go but more often than not, it’s someone OTHER THAN the last guy you drafted. Unless there are 2 active kicker spots, in which case it’s a good idea to grab both – just do the math for your league. If there are more kicker spots open than teams in the NFL, you’ll have an advantage over those that didn’t get two. Depends on your league’s setup and rules

4) Don’t bother drafting Mike Shanahan-coached running backs. Nothing against Mike, but he uses running backs like paper towels…uses them, throws them aside when a cleaner one is ready. After Terrell Davis, he’s gone through lots and throw a dart to figure out who winds up the better fantasy player. Best just to avoid them all.

5) If you don’t get a top-6 or so QB, wait a few rounds and draft a second-tier guy. He’ll do better than you might think – after Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Rodgers, Newton, and possibly Phillip Rivers and the Manning brothers and Stafford, lots of teams have second-tier QBs that often score nearly as many FP as the big guys, or the difference isn’t worth picking them 4 or 5 picks higher. I’d take a Big Ben in round 6 or a Matt Ryan in round 5. Don’t neglect sleeper QBs either, like Chad Henne due to circumstance or a T.J. Yates in case Matt Schaub gets injured again, you just hit the jackpot. Trade bait if nothing else…but don’t count on trading to improve your team because guess what: ALL FANTASY OWNERS ALWAYS OVERVALUE ALL THEIR PLAYERS.

5a) Same for Tight Ends. The Elite ones will go in rounds 2-4, then there’s generally a bit of a lull before the “others” go – simply because of the perceived difference in numbers. Sure, it might be a good idea to get a Gronk in round 2, but again, he’s got a very high bar to reach again, and are a difference of 500 yards and 5 TDs really worth a 2nd round pick, where a 7th round pick could get you a Brandon Pettigrew? Maybe, maybe not.

6) This may be the most overlooked AND most important thing of all – READ THE LEAGUE RULES. Compare what QBs, RBs, WRs get for the same yardage gained, and how many FP for a TD. Usually it’s 4 for QBs, 6 for RBs and WRs. I won two leagues in two different seasons because I had noticed they had 2 QB spots and a hybrid QB/WR/RB spot. So my first 5 picks were QB, QB, WR, QB, RB. I picked up DeMarco Murray midway through the year and his big second half carried me to a championship, so you’ve gotta stay alert for the waiver wire. Sometimes others will waive players they have, not knowing they’re about to see a huge uptick in action. Keep an eye on that.

7) Keep in mind some players 2nd or 3rd on the depth chart that may be playing behind injury-prone guys – see the Schaub example above. Trent Richardson’s main backups may fall into this category, depending on his knee. Ryan Matthews of the Chargers, Jahvid Best of the Lions…injury-prone. So it’s a good idea sometimes to go ahead and draft a durable backup late rather than getting a fragile producer (Dez Bryant) early.

This is by no means all-inclusive, but it’s a general guide. Know your positions, know the scoring rules for your league. Draft with those rules in mind and consider the entire team as well. Offensive players on a team with a poor rush defense won’t see as many snaps as those on a team with a good defense.

Dec 18, 2011; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma (51) rests along the sidelines during the game with the Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome. The Saints win 42-20. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-US PRESSWIRE

Monday’s hearing on “Bountygate” obviously left a bad taste in some players’ mouths. A really bad taste.

Even tackle Eric Winston of the Kansas City Chiefs speaks of regrets in the collective bargaining process where the NFLPA didn’t push back against giving Goodell “absolute power” over league disciplinary matters.

“It seems like he’s (Goodell) running amok with it (his authority) and deciding to do what he wants and it really doesn’t matter what the evidence says. Unfortunately, we don’t have an alternative option to appeal to,” Winston said.

New Orleans players Scott “Steak” Fujita, Jonathan “Oh” Vilma, Anthony Hargrove and Will “Fresh Prince” Smith all left yesterday’s hearing roughly an hour after it began and the proceedings have since drawn ire from not only Saints players but others as well. The trio minus Vilma returned for the afternoon session.

The three players released a statement questioning if they were even active participants in the hearing.

Vilma’s attorney, Peter Ginsberg, called the process “a sham” because there has been no specific evidence submitted that implicates his client. Vilma is suing Goodell by name for Defamation of Character, saying his reputation has been irrevocably damaged. Fujita makes the same claim about his own, but as far as I know has not (yet) sued over it.

Fujita said Monday that he “yet to see anything that implicates me in some pay-to-injure scheme; not in the last three months, not in the last three days, not today. And perhaps that’s because there is nothing that could implicate me in some pay-to-injure scheme.”

“You know, throughout this process, it’s become increasingly clear to me that just because someone disagrees with the NFL’s interpretation of an incredibly flawed investigation, it’s assumed that he’s lying, and to me, that’s a shame. That’s a shame,” Fujita said.

“The NFL has been careless and irresponsible, and they’ve made mistakes, and at some point, I think they’ve got to answer some questions about that,” Fujita continued.

Drew Brees, ired over his own contract negotiations having stalled, still came to the defense of his own with a bizarre tweet: “If NFL fans were told there were ‘weapons of mass destruction’ enough times, they’d believe it. But what happens when you don’t find any????”

In politics, the first one to start the Hitler comparisons usually loses. The same can be said of such upstanding citizens as Saddam Hussein and comparing this situation to geopolitics is a very adolescent response. Drew, just stick to the facts next time, or better yet, just keep your trap shut okay? You’re not helping.

In fact, the same evidence presented by the NFL was given to a dozen NFL reporters covering the event as they were brought into a conference room where lawyers and security personnel presented it as it was presented to the players in the hearing. Assistant Head Coach Joe Vitt and former Defensive Coordinator were shown testifying that the bounty system did, in fact, exist according to at least one of the reporters present, NFL.com’s Steve Wyche.

His recollections can be found in this video where he explains what he was shown:

www.nfl.com/videos/auto/09000d5d829f028c/NFL-reveals-video-evidence-of-Saints-Bounty-program

They were also shown a Powerpoint presentation that detailed computer records. One of the items was a ledger detailing a bounty program that rewarded players for “big hits.” Wyche also said that players had pledged $35,000 for anyone able to “take out” Brett Favre during the NFC championship game in 2009. Vilma is said to have pledged $10,000 himself.

They also saw a picture of former reality star “Dog the Bounty Hunter” was used when talking about taking out Seahawk RB Marshawn “the Beast” Lynch. Next to the photo were typed comments like “Now it’s time to do our jobs…collect bounty$$$!” and “No apologies! Let’s go hunting!”

There’s also video of Anthony Hargrove telling a teammate to “give me my money” when it was thought Favre was injured in that game. The video I saw was in conjunction with the following article posted on NFL.com here:

www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d829f0155/article/nfl-saints-motivated-by-dog-the-bounty-hunter

If you are on the fence about the existence of the bounty program, I urge you to watch this video (the top link I shared) and see for yourself.

It seems to me that the evidence is crystal clear that this happened. We’ve got testimony from multiple coaches, computer records, and even video and audio DURING that 2009 playoff game against the Vikings as evidence – and there’s even more where that came from.

So far, those players that claim their reputations have been damaged are certainly correct, but it was of their own doing – not Roger Goodell’s. I think they’re just denying it for PR purposes, hoping that most fans won’t look any more deeply into things than sound bytes from players themselves.

I think once all is said and done, the players who are currently espousing lack of evidence, “unfairness,” and trying to fight the consequences of their actions will find that people won’t be taking their “word” for much of anything. The simple fact of the matter is they are lying.

Someone please let me know when the grown-ups arrive.