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The NFL season is gone as you have no doubt noticed.  Your Sundays have gone from the nonstop thrill ride of the Red Zone channel to a snooze inducing CBS broadcast of Big 10 basketball.  (I would rather watch Red Carpet coverage for 24 straight hours than watch the Michigan/Michigan State pillowfight that passed as entertainment today. )  The offseason moved into full swing this weekend with Free Agency opening up on Friday.  There have been a number of moves that are going to change the fantasy football landscape as we head into next season and if you are in keeper leagues you need to keep track.  It’s been a good offseason if you are planning to keep Shonn Greene, not so good if you thought you were going to keep Matt Forte or Steve Slaton for the better part of the coming decade.   

Before we begin I would like to assure you, the reader, that I have “plenty of tread on my tires.”  Thank you.  I needed to get that off my chest.

QB’s: 

Arizona:  Kurt Warner-Flanders decided to hang up the spikes to preserve his health and spend time with his family.  That’s great for Warner but it leaves fantasy owners searching for some divine intervention.  Matt Leinart’s career highlights to date have occurred in and around roof-top hot tubs and not in between the lines.  Whether it’s Leinart, Brian St. Pierre ( a FA himself) or QB X from the pu-pu platter of Free Agents, the Cardinals high flying offense is bound to suffer.  This can’t help Larry Fitz. 

RB’s:

Time for LT to Electric Glide out of fantasy relevance.

San Diego:  The Honorary Team Captain of the “Players Who Screwed the Most Fantasy Seasons” LaDanian Tomlinson has been released by the Chargers.  Everyone should rejoice.  You will never make the mistake of drafting him again.  From my wife who spent her first pick on LT’s corpse, “I haven’t made a decision that damaging since I let my husband take me to see Rat Race. It took years to erase this film from my mind, and the same will come from L.T.’s dismal performance.  LT was like that sad, ill little cat who limped around the house begging to be put to sleep.  I wanted to keep him around hoping that he would turn the corner, but he never did and neither did the cat.”   Strong words from a woman who considers Golden Girls as one of her favorite shows.  The Chargers briefly toyed with the idea of releasing Darren Sproles but ended up offering him tender all but ensuring his return to the team.  Expect the Chargers to take a running back early in the draft and expect that rookie back to figure prominently next season.  It doesn’t appear as though the Chargers are going to give Sproles feature back status.  (You can see the entire Electric Glide here.)

Philadelphia:  Brian Westbrook has been a fantasy franchise player for five seasons now.  If you owned him in a keeper league (sigh) you had the feeling that you were going to keep him one season too long (sigh).  Well, last season was one too long.  Westbrook found the one injury that wasn’t questionable, the dreaded concussion and was cut by the Eagles this offseason.  Second year man LeSean McCoy stands to benefit the most and would seem to be a young shifty type of back to fill in Westbrook’s shoes.  The problem is that McCoy wasn’t all that productive this season, was bad in blitz pickup and had fumble issues.  Enter Leonard Weaver to steal carries at the end of the year and the Eagles moving to a nearly exclusive passing offense.  Weaver has re-signed for next season meaning this situation looks a little platoon-y headed into 2010.  If you are looking to keep McCoy you are going to need to watch this situation closely.

Thomas Jones is in good shape. He looks like an action figure.

New York Jets:  Finally some good news for Keeper Leaguers!  Shonn Greene, despite having only 7 carries in the first 6 weeks of play, has unseated Thomas Jones who rushed for 1400 yards and 14 TD’s despite being on the wrong side of 30 years old.  Ultimately, Jones age and salary structure along with Greene’s fresh-legged performance in the playoffs is the impetus for the move.  Greene looked outstanding in the playoffs running with power and game breaking explosiveness.  He’s an absolute keeper and should enter next year with Top 15 pick potential.  You have to feel for Jones.  The guy has put up five straight 1000 yards seasons and has had 27 TD’s in the past two years.  With numbers like these the guy has every right to think he’s earned the right to be the feature back despite his advancing age.  I hope he gets the chance unless…..

Kansas City:  ….it’s in Kansas City.  Jones is making a visit to the Chiefs this week in a move that can only serve to piss off fantasy owners everywhere.  Jamaal Charles was great last season.  The guy is a homerun hitter of the highest order and somebody with huge value in leagues that reward long TD’s.  He doesn’t need to paired with a player like Jones who wants 25 carries a game and will sulk if he doesn’t get them.  Let Jones sign where he can get 25 carries, places like Washington, Cleveland, San Diego, Seattle or even Houston (sorry Slaton guys).  Pair Charles with a capable backup who is fine being second banana.  Memo to the Chiefs, the Pats just released Kevin Faulk.  Call him up!

Chicago:   The Bears drunken, Nic Cage-esque spending spree was surprising on any number of levels.  Not the least of which included embattled GM Jerry Angelo willingly backing the truck over one of his only offensive draft successes (at least for a season) in Matt Forte.  On the surface Forte would seem to be the type of versatile back with receiving skills that would fit in well with a Mike Martz offense.  Apparently he didn’t fit well enough.  The Bears lavished a big contract on the equally versatile but considerably older Chester Taylor to complete with Forte for the starting gig.  For a team with gaping holes at safety, offensive line and wide receiver this was an interesting use of their free agent funds.  As far as fantasy goes we are staring down the barrel of a platoon here.  Chester will get every opportunity to win the starting job but Forte is good enough to ensure he won’t be buried on the depth chart.  Cross Chicago off the list of true feature back destinations and toss them into the pit of RB platoons. 

This unassuming running back on a bad team will be a divisive character come draft time.

Cleveland:  Jerome Harrison was a revelation in the fantasy playoffs, that is if you were desperate enough to start him.  A restricted free agent this offseason, Harrison has been tendered by the Browns and looks to return as the starting running back.  Expect the Browns to sign someone to compete with Harrison or to back him up as Football/Salad Bar Czar Mike Holmgren has openly questioned his durability over a 16 game schedule as a feature back.  It would seem doubtful that Cleveland would spend decent money on one of the big name FA’s, but regardless of who is brought in Harrison should be able to secure 15-20 touches per game.  This will be a high risk/high reward pick in 2010 drafts.  He’s not for the faint of heart.

Washington:  The ‘Skins obviously weren’t enamored with their running back corp after losing Clinton Portis to the dreaded concussion last season.  Since the end of the season they have parted ways with backups Ladell Betts, Quinton Gaither and Rock Cartwright all of which started games due to injuries.  Portis is still on the roster however and his presence looms large.  To steal from the most overrused phrase from this NFL offseason; Portis “doesn’t have a lot of tread left on his tires,” with 2176 career carries.  Yikes!  I have rented tuxedo shoes have more tread.  Willie Parker is in Washington as we speak for a visit.  Whether Parker is the RB the Redskins settle on it seems sure that they will entertain one of the big name FA’s (Westbrook, LT, Jones) because that’s what the Redskins do.  They pay for old free agents.  It’s anyone’s guess if Portis survives this offseason.  Mike Shanahan has traded him once already back when he was elite.  This looks to be an eventual platoon hell set up.

Houston:  The Treasurer of the “Players Who Screwed the Most Fantasy Seasons” Steve Slaton seems to have blown his shot to be a feature back.  The Texans finished 30th in rushing last year and Slaton put the ball on the ground waaaayy too much.  Durability was a concern with Slaton and last season didn’t dispel that notion with Slaton going on IR with a neck injury late in the year.  It appears that the Texans are going to address this position early in the draft this year.  Keep an eye on this situation.  If you thought you stumbled into a late round keeper gem with Slaton it appears you are S.O.L. 

WR’s:

Denver/Seattle/Cincinnati/Any other team that signs Brandon Marshall:  Marshall will excel wherever he ends up pending that he doesn’t go crazy.  The guy is a great talent.  His presence could help make a Matt Hasselbeck or Carson Palmer a QB with some value in the mid-late rounds next year.  Meanwhile Kyle Orton will continue to vacation off the face of the earth on fantasy draft day.  Right where he belongs. 

Baltimore:  Anquan Boldin is the latest to bail on the Cardinals basically forcing his way out through a trade to the Ravens.  It’s hard to determine how Boldin’s fantasy value will shake out next year.  On one hand he is leaving a high-flying but crowded offense to one with a young QB but no other WR’s of note.  The Ravens have proven over the past two years that they love to throw the deep ball and have been able to keep an ancient Derrick Mason fantasy relevant.    The problem is that Boldin isn’t a deep ball threat.  He’s a possession receiver and red zone ace.  In the end it’s probably a wash making this entire paragraph fairly pointless. 

Arizona:  As we discussed earlier the QB situation will no doubt hurt this offense.  In response to the Boldin trade the Cards will need to find a new 2nd receiver and primary beneficiary of Larry Fitz double teams.  The smart money is on Steve Breaston.  He’s a polished receiver and has been productive in this system for a couple of years.  Fantasy owners should track Early Doucet as he had a breakout performance in the playoffs.  Again, this all hinges on the QB.  I trust Matt Leinart to bring babes to a party or to make a good margarita.  I don’t trust him as a starting NFL quarterback.

Matt Leinart in a human chlamydia petri dish learning how to breakdown a quadruple team. Thank you TheDirty.com.