7/21/03
Once again it is the middle of July. For me, this marks the end of
the "silly season" and the beginning of the "fantasy
season." I am now recovered from last year's afflictions and
followed the bloopers and blunders of off season NFL action. There
was the usual number of drug arrests, infractions of NFL abuse policy,
domestic violence incarcerations and weapon's charges; same old, same
old.
The draft held few surprises as teams sought to fill holes and bolster
themselves for the 2003 run to the Super Bowl. There has also been
the usual number of free agents seeking to change addresses and increase
their salaries, but the player group with perhaps the most changes
of address have traditionally been the least noticed… fullbacks.
I already hear fantasy players saying, "So what? They don't carry
the ball so I never draft them." On the surface, this would seem
to be a smart strategy. After all, a sampling of the "best"
fullbacks in the league yields results that would hardly have the
least competent fantasy owner salivating. On the whole, these "ball
carriers" averaged a little over 100 yards for the season. (Yes
season!) They average one touch of the football every game and a half
and less than one touchdown scored for the entire season (.687 TD's).
On top of these less than dazzling stats, they are at the bottom of
the NFL salary ladder making well under a million a year. So, why
even look at these guys? The answer is... in front of every good running
back is a mammoth front line and a "moose" willing to give
up their body to spring an agile "squirrel" carrying the
ball.
In addition to this, fullbacks are the guys who are back there protecting
the quarterback from the ill intent of the league's linebackers. Reggie
McKenzie, along with the rest of the Buffalo line may have been the
power company to turn on the "The Juice," but Emmitt Smith
followed the "Moose" Daryl Johnson. The "Moose"
may be retired to the announcing booth, but the rest of the herd has
relocated to various parts of the NFL. It is no surprise their migration
has gone virtually unnoticed.
Last year's Pro-Bowl fullback, Lorenzo Neal, sought the greener pastures
of San Diego. Fred McCrary left warm San Diego for the cooler climes
of New England while their former full back, Marc Edwards headed for
Jacksonville. Fittingly, Oakland's Jon Ritchie left for Philadelphia
while Cecil Martin of the Eagles headed for Oakland. Former Buffalo
fullback Larry Centers left trying to get on with his former team
Washington, in the mean time former Bills back, Sam Gash, is once
again located in the ice box of northwest New York.
Despite this mass migration of "moose" around the league, two of the
best have stayed at home; Fred Beasley of San Francisco and Tony Richardson
of Kansas City. They are not staying there for the glory as they rushed
for a total of 75 yards and 81 yards respectively for the entire 2002
campaign. Between them they scored a total of four TD's; one for Beasley
and three for Richardson. (Even more amazing, they are both from Auburn
University) In fact, looking at the top 16 offensive teams in the
NFL, and their fullbacks, only four of them scored even a single rushing
touchdown with Oakland's back up, now starter, Zach Crockett leading
the pack. (8 TD's for last season) The point, if you missed it, is
all 16 of the top offenses has a fullback and even Jacksonville, who
did not list the position last year, decided to attain one of the
"beasts" to protect Mark Brunell and to spearhead the attack of Fred
Taylor. (#10 rusher in the NFL for 2002) Seems NFL owners may know
what fantasy owners ignore, an offense is only as good as their blocking,
moose can block.
Once the sumo wrestling has started at the snap of the ball, it is
the job of the fullback to take on the linebackers and clear a path
or pick-up the blitz. On paper it is a fairly even match. The average
NFL linebacker weighs in at about 237 pounds and stands six foot one
and a half inches. His adversary weighs in at almost 246 pounds and
stands at almost six feet one inches. Both of them get a running start
of about three steps before contact, here experience counts. The average
fullback has survived the thrashing for a little over six seasons;
his opponent has slightly less experience. The pending outcome of
this collision determines the effectiveness of the ball carrier. Last
season there were 16 rushers with over a thousand yards, fifteen of
them were led by fullbacks. (The lone exception was Fred Taylor and
this season he has more beef up front.) Out of the 16 top offenses
in the NFL last season, every team had a crushing full back and at
least 35 touchdowns for the year. (Okay, Minnesota lists Jim Kleinsasser
as an "H" Back, but at 6'3" and 274 lbs. he is a fullback.)
The top four offenses averaged better than 50 TD's for the season
with Kansas City and Priest Holmes leading the way to 26 rushing scores.
Actually, it was a moose named Tony Richardson who led the way for
a squirrel names Holmes. The value of the fullback cannot be under
estimated, there is too much at stake.
What impact the likes of Lorenzo Neal is going to have on the games
of Drew Breese and LaDainian Tomlinson remains to be seen. He sure
helped Corey Dillon to a few successful seasons on a largely unsuccessful
team. In the fantasy publications I have read, Tomlinson is rated
the number one running back this season, I don't think Lorenzo is
going to argue this point. With only 31 total yards last season and
eleven years in the league he certainly knows his position and who
to hit after the snap of the ball.
Jon Ritchie blocked for the leading passer in the NFL, Rich Gannon,
allowing Rich to throw for 4,475 yards and 26 Td's. He is not going
to hurt the performance of Duce Staley or Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia.
Zach Crockett may well give way to Cecil Martin, but he will still
be the battering ram of the Raiders when the ball is less than five
yards from pay dirt. There can be no question Marc Edwards will help
the production of Fred Taylor and perhaps prolong the carrier of Brunell.
This addition may even help him reacquire his position as one of the
NFL's elite passers after a less than spectacular 2002 season.
While some teams have acquired a new moose in the free agent market,
others culled their herd to find replacements for moose who have gone
to greener marshes. These replacements will have some large hoofs
to fill. In Cincinnati, Neal has been replaced by three year veteran
Chris Edmonds. At 6'3" and 250 pounds, Edmonds is typical of
his species have zero yards and the same number of touchdowns for
the 2002 campaign. In Atlanta "the glue" holding together
the offense was forced to retire. Bob Christian became concussion
prone after butting heads too many times; he is being replaced by
three year veteran George Layne. Standing at 5'11" and weighing
253 pounds he is a prototypical specimen of his breed. For the 2002
season he accumulated a total of five yards while failing to score
a single time. It remains to be seen how this change will affect the
respective backfields, but it should be minimal, both Edmonds and
Layne are home bred.
So the silly season is over... or maybe not. (Has Al Davis finished
all of this year's law suits yet? You would think the guy has more
to think about after last year's Super Bowl effort than pursuing copyright
infringements alleged by the winner of the game?)
Start preparing for the this season's draft by taking a look at the
guys who will be clearing a path for darting squirrels and protecting
the passer, it may be all the recognition they get outside of their
coaching staffs and team mates. (Don't include Mike Alstott in your
assessment, not only is he listed as an "Ace" back, he denounces
the title of fullback, moose are proud of their species). There is
nothing silly about drafting smart from being informed about the lesser
recognized species residing in the league. When asked why he plays
the position of "lead blocker" Detroit's Cory Schlesinger
said, "Sometimes they throw you a bone." Funny, I always
thought Moose were vegetarians.
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