Fantasy Fives: Players Entering 2010 with Questions
1. Larry Fitzgerald – One of the NFL’s best receivers has had a tough preseason. Fitzgerald sprained his MCL during the Cardinals’ first preseason game, sidelining him until opening day. Oh, and in case you haven’t heard, Kurt Warner isn’t the quarterback in the desert anymore. In fact, neither is Matt Leinart. Derek Anderson will take over as the starter and while he may be better than Leinart when it comes to throwing the deep ball, he ain’t Warner. I worry that Fitzgerald’s stats will suffer in 2010 through no fault of his own. He’s still a top five fantasy receiver, but also take into consideration that Anquan Boldin used to make life a little easier on Fitz too. Bottom line: he’s going to earn everything he gets this season.
2. DeAngelo Williams & Jonathan Stewart – Did you know that I scored as many touchdowns as the Carolina Panthers offense did this preseason? The Cats became the first NFL team in 14 years to be held without an offensive touchdown in the exhibition play. Head coach John Fox is in the last year of his contract, I hope he’s at least trying! In all seriousness, the running game has been and will continue to be the Panthers’ bread and butter, which is why I’m a little concerned they weren’t able to punch it in at least once. DeAngelo Williams rushed nine times for 13 yards in the Panthers’ third preseason game, better known as the “dress rehearsal” for the regular season. Jonathan Stewart didn’t even play a snap in the preseason as he recovers from a heel injury. We should also mention that wide receiver Steve Smith has also been out the entire preseason, so this worrying about the Panthers offense could be all for not. But if they put up a goose egg against the G-Men next week…
