• While I have to wait until Super Bowl XLIV to accurately state that New England has held off Pittsburgh as the team of the decade, right now I can undoubtedly say that the Colts and the Ravens have had the decade’s best offenses and defenses, respectively.  But in their recent matchups, both the offense AND the defense of the Colts have overpowered the Ravens.  The teams have met each year since 2004 and Indy has gone 6-0 in those matchups.  The dominant defense in those contests has belonged to Indianapolis as they have allowed four offensive TDs to the Ravens while the Colts’ offense has scored 16 offensive touchdowns on the Ravens’ defense.

• Vince Young has won eight straight starts with the eight starts spread over three seasons.  Although unique, it’s not the first time a QB has won at least eight straight games with the starts spread over more than two seasons.  Trent Dilfer won 15 straight games (including playoffs) with two different teams earlier this decade.  He started the streak in November 2000 with the Ravens, was an undefeated part-time starter with the Seahawks the following year, and didn’t have the streak end until September 2002.

• Tom Brady has not quite been Tom Terrific away from Foxboro recently.  Brady is 0-4 in his last four starts played in American stadiums other than Gillette Stadium with losses to the Giants in the Super Bowl and losses to the Jets, Broncos, and Colts this year.  (The American part is used to distinguish the Tampa Bay game which was played in England and was more of a home game for the Patriots than the Bucs even though it was listed as a “home game” for Tampa Bay.)

• Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 98 yard TD pass to Terrell Owens was the first 98 yard pass completion since 1998.  It was only the third 98 yard TD pass since 1966 and during this 43 year span there have been eight 99 yard TD passes.

• With 103 rushing yards vs. the Patriots, Thomas Jones passed Jim Taylor and Terry Allen to move into 30th all time in rushing yards.  The 31-year-old Jones has averaged 4.6 yards per carry in his 30s as compared to 3.9 yards per carry in his 20s.  Of the 29 players with more career rushing yards than Jones, only four of them also had a better average in their 30s than their 20s (Tiki Barber, Warrick Dunn, Ricky Watters and the still active Fred Taylor).

• Speaking of old running backs; Ricky Williams is on pace for over 1,000 rushing yards despite starting just one game.  If Williams can maintain his current pace, then he will become only the 4th running back in the past 30 years to gain at least 1,000 yards at the age of 32 or older.  Both Walter Payton in 1986 and Emmitt Smith in 2001 eclipsed 1,000 yards at the age of 32 while John Riggins did it at 34 in 1983 and then did it again at 35 in 1984.

• The Kansas City Chiefs only have one rushing touchdown this year.  If they maintain their futility in scoring on the ground for the rest of the season, then they will tie the NFL record for fewest rushing touchdowns in a season.  The 1934 Brooklyn Tigers are the only team in NFL history to only score a single rushing touchdown in a season.

• If Chad Ochocinco can gain 360 more receiving yards by the end of the season, then he will become only the fifth player in NFL history to gain 10,000 receiving yards in that player’s first nine years in the league.  Ochocinco would join Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss, and Torry Holt who set the record with 11,864 receiving yards in his first nine years in the league.

• This current Broncos collapse is very similar to the one they had in 2006.  Three years ago the Broncos started off 5-1 thanks to their defense: they only allowed 7 points per game through those first six.  Then from the seventh game on their record was 4-6 and they allowed 26 points per game.  This season the Broncos again started off hot thanks to their defense: they only allowed 11 points per game through the first six.  Then comes game seven and since then Denver is giving up 29 points per game and gone 0-4.  That 2006 team didn’t make the playoffs and I don’t see this current Broncos squad making it either.

• The Raiders’ win against the Bengals was noteworthy for two reasons.  One, it was the game that Oakland had picked before the season even started to honor former player, Marquis Cooper, who died in a boating accident in March of this year.  The other reason that made it significant was the fact that the Raiders scored twice in the final minute for a win for only the second time in their franchise’s 50 year history.  The first time?  You may have heard of it described as the “Heidi Game”.

Rant of the Week

Before we get into the Child Please moments I have to
mention a couple things. I read Peter King’s Monday Morning
Quarterback every week and I absolutely hate two thing about
it. (Everything else I like). The first thing is that he
writes about politics, even though he gave his word that he
would never put politics in his article again, after fans
told him they do not appreciate him doing it. So much for
his word.

Second is he can not stop putting baseball in his column.
His article is called Monday Morning Quarterback. Honestly
if he wants to talk about baseball become a baseball writer.
He will do anything to include baseball in his article every
week. I guess I will file this under Factoid that will only
interest me. End of Rant.

Child Please Moments of Week 3

The Lions say Child Please to the Loss Column – After 19
straight losses the Lions should us that they did not forget
what winning was and topped the Redskins 14 to 19.
The Lions held the ball 22 of the first 30 minutes of the
game and converted 9 of 12 3rd downs. Controlling the game
helped them put the Redskins away. You think the Lions care
about Jim Zorn’s job security. Child Please.

Greg Lewis says Child Please to the Patriots – Greg Lewis
caught the game winning touchdown on a play that he wasn’t
even supposed to be in on. That was supposed to be Percy
Harvin, but he was too tired to go in. Well Lewis made an
amazing catch and managed to get both feet in. He stepped up
when needed. Brett Favre didn’t even know who he was before
that play. The Patriots are probably kicking themselves for
cutting Lewis earlier this month. Now they are stuck with
Joey Galloway. Child Please.

Mark Sanchez says Child Please to the Titans goal-line
defense – Sanchez became the 1st rookie QB to win his 1st 3
NFL games since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. He also scored
his first rushing touchdown on a 14 yard play where he met
the defender head on, bounced off of him and ended in the
end zone. No defender was going to stop him on that play.
Child Please.

Injuries say Child Please to Frank Gore – Gore seemed to be
picking it up after the 207 yard, 2 touchdown day last week.
However, injuries will always stop someone from performing.
It is stated that Frank gore has a high ankle sprain and
probably won’t be back until after the bye week in week 6.
Those who were riding the Gore train better pick up Glen
Coffee, and if he is not available, that owner picked him up
before you just said Child Please.

The 49ers say Child Please to Adrian Peterson – AD has been
a fantasy beast as expected for the 1st two weeks of the
season. He has had 4 touchdowns in the first 2 weeks.
Normally you would expect him to do well against the 49ers,
but the much improved unit kept Peterson to under 100 yards
rushing and no touchdowns. Child Please.

Pierre Thomas says Child Please to the passing game – If you
thought the Saints could only win if they air it out, I
guess Thomas proved us wrong. He came back with vengeance, I
guess he might have been mad that Mike Bell temporarily took
the spotlight. He had 126 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns.
All well Brees had a very normal day, many fantasy owners
are mad about that. Did I mention Thomas didn’t get any
carries until the second half. Child Please.

Pierre Garcon says Child Please to Marvin Harrison and
Anthony Gonzalez – Another Pierre is making some noise.
People thought the Colts would take a hit when Harrison was
released, but they had a good replacement with Anthony
Gonzalez. After Gonzalez went down they thought for sure
Manning and Co. would have problems. However, Garcon has
stepped up and is showing that he might be the better
option. Don’t hurry back Anthony. Child Please.

The ball says Child Please to Kerry Collins – Kerry Collins
tried to bring the Titans back but ended the game with 13
consecutive incompletions. Child Please.

Willis McGahee says Child Please to everyone – Many peeople
wrote off McGahee and went for the high potential Ray Rice.
Even McClain had more value in many fans eyes. Well McGahee
has a league leading 6 touchdowns and he doesn’t even start.
Child Please.

Trent Edwards says Child Please to Terrell Owens and Lee
Evans – Not that this is on purpose but Edwards is killing
the value of Owens and Evans. Both are big play threats, but
Edwards can’t seem to get it to them down the field. He has
to stick with the short dump off type routes, which in turn
is pretty much saying. This could cause problems if the
Bills can not get the ball to Owens. In which he might be
saying. Child Please.

Potential Week 4 Child Please Moments

The Jets D might say Child Please to Drew Brees – Brees will
get his first tough match-up. Jets are for real. Colston
better watch out for Revis.

The NFL Schedule might say Child Please to the Broncos –
What is given can be taken away. The Broncos enjoyed their
cupcakes early and got off to a 3-0 start. I have to give
them some credit. However their next opponents – Dallas, New
England, San Diego, Bye, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh. Child
Please.

Brett Favre could say Child Please to The Pack, or the other
way around – Either way neither one of them are missing the
other.

Winning and Losing Line-ups

You probably won with this surprising line-up

Kevin Kolb – 327 Pass Yds, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 1 Rush TD – We can
wait, McNabb
Willie Parker – 95 Rush Yds, 2 Rec, 36 Yds, 1 TD – He does
exist
Julius Jones – 98 Rush Yds, 0 TDs, 3 Rec, 38 Yds, 1 TD
Santana Moss – 10 Rec, 178 Yds, 1 TD – He exists too
Derrick Mason – 5 Rec, 118 Yds, 1 TD – Bounce back from
retirement
Vernon Davis – 7 Rec, 96 Yds, 2 TDs – Its about time

You probably lost with this star studded line-up

Drew Brees – 172 Pass Yds, 0 TDs, 0 INTs, 1 FL – He’s not
superman
Clinton Portis – 42 Rush Yds, 0 TDs, 1 Rec, 6 Yds – Hope you
chose the other Cane
Darren McFadden – 45 Rush Yds, 0 TDs, 2 Rec, 3 Yds, 1 FL –
Broncos run D, much better
Terrell Owens – 0 catches – Here comes the meltdown
Roddy White – 4 Rec, 24 Yds, 0 TDs
Tony Gonzalez – 1 Rec, 16 Yds, 0 TDs

The Week 1 Bears vs Packers game was a strangely awkward event with both teams clearly still finding their game legs and 2009 personalities.  The first half looked like a week 2 preseason game, with errant passes, wrong routes, and missed blocking assignments….not a quality NFL product. The Packers gradually started to pull out of their death spiral in the second half, stringing together some decent drives, enough to win the game…..but the Bears, as everyone could see, did not.

As a Denver Broncos fan, nothing pleases me more than to see Cutler implode under the weight of his own ego. He clearly failed to realize that without the supporting cast of pass oriented mastermind coaches and superstar receivers he had in Denver, he will not be the same Cutler we all knew.

What I can’t understand is how a Bears team so successfully focused around Matt Forte last year could have switched gears so dramatically to be fully focused around Cutler and the passing game, without any of the other required pieces, like WRs. It appears that the Bears coaching staff is not comfortable or successful in featuring the pass, but are too enamored with their new toy to know better.  If they were influenced by Cutler’s presence and personality to go away from what they do well, then I think they have made a grave mistake.  At least with Orton as QB, the coaching staff was forced to focus on the strengths of their shining star rookie Matt Forte. That approach seemed to suit everyone well, coaches and players alike.

I believe that the cure for these Cutler blues is to prescribe a heavy dose of Forte once a week for 16 weeks. The running game should allow Cutler time to find his bearings again and the coaching staff time to find ways to work the passing game more successfully into their attack. If they don’t, Cutler is going to suffer from unrelenting public blasts from the level 9 Chicago fans, which may cause yet another Cutler meltdown.

DENVER BRONCOS
The Denver offense looks terrible. They had lots of drive killing penalties, a bunch of 3 and outs, and no rhythm. They are not going to be a high scoring offense. Kyle Orton looked terrible, nearly had one picked off on his second or third pass. Passes off target. Not one pass longer than 15 yards. Hurt (cut) his finger late in the second quarter.  Correll Buckhalter had a few good runs.  Peyton Hillis looked ok.  Knowshawn Moreno did not play.  Eddie Royal looked like he hurt his elbow, returned to the game. He’s going to get a LOT of touches with Marshall out, but mostly screens and short passes. Brandon Stokley had a good catch. Denver defense looks improved, better than last year, but not great. The only way Denver is going to stay in games is if the defense keeps the opponents from scoring a lot.

CHICAGO BEARS
The Chicago offense looked a bit disorganized. Several 3 and outs to start the game. Finally got things going with some short passes and runs.  Jay Cutler looked ok. Got off to a rough start, but had some good completions.  Matt Forte looked ok. Didn’t get a lot of running room, but made good yards and scored on a short goal line run and a short TD pass. Kevin Jones looked ok. Devin Hester had a good punt return and nearly scored. Greg Olsen looked good and seems to be a favorite of Cutler. The Chicago defense looked good, but it’s hard to tell how good they are, since they are playing Denver, with a terrible offense.

• Green Bay’s first team defense has yet to allow a point this preseason and has nine takeaways.  It looks like the transition to the 3-4 is working out just fine.  On third downs and obvious passing situations, the Packers are running a Nickel 2-4-5 with only two down linemen.  The blitzers can them come from any of the four LBs or even the secondary.  Pittsburgh is the only other team that uses that alignment on a regular basis and I heard they had a pretty good D last year.

• Ricky Brown will start the season at MLB for the Raiders.  Brown was in competition with last year’s starter Kirk Morrison for the job but Morrison dislocated his elbow vs. San Francisco.  He is expected to miss about a month and Brown’s performance will determine if Morrison comes back as the MLB or slides over to the strong side. Brown is off to a good start after intercepting Alex Smith a week after sacking QB Jon Kitna of Dallas.

• Second year player Malcolm Kelly is the frontrunner to start at WR opposite of Santana Moss.  That would put Antwaan Randle El back in the slot where he’s more effective.  Randle El and Moss are both 5’10” while Kelly is 6’4” so in addition to the regular looks he’ll get as starter, he will also be a huge, literally, red zone threat.

• Potential Sleeper: WR Earl Bennett.  After not catching a pass and only dressing for 10 games last season, Bennett has started both preseason games opposite Devin Hester.  He also is reunited with former Vanderbilt teammate, QB Jay Cutler, who helped him become the all-time leading receiver in the SEC.

• There will not be a QB controversy in Denver-Kyle Orton is the clear cut starter.  Orton was efficient, and looked comfortable, in Denver’s loss to Seattle.  In fact I would say he looked more like Tom Brady than Matt Cassel did last year in coach Josh McDaniel’s offensive scheme.  Besides the horrendous Jake Plummer-esque left-handed interception, Orton made all the right progressions, threw it to whomever was open, and didn’t force the ball into tight spots.  But it is clear the Broncos lack the deep threat of Brandon Marshall.  Nearly all of Orton’s passes were on three-step drops and required the WR to make the big play and gain YAC.

• WR Troy Williamson has all but sealed up one of the starting jobs at receiver in Jacksonville.  Attempting to shed his label as a “bust”, Williamson had 147 receiving yards vs. Tampa Bay and now has 221 yards in two games.  He replaces Matt Jones as the team’s deep threat and even though Jacksonville is a run-first team, last year Jones averaged 63 yards per game in 12 games which projects to over 1,000 yards in a full season.

• Pat White has yet to operate the Wildcat for the Dolphins yet.  The coaches want him to get familiar with taking a snap from under center as he rarely did that while at West Virginia.  However, the Dolphins have implemented designed runs from the QB position for White.  Don’t be surprised if White is NOT used as a Wildcat QB early in the season as Ronnie Brown is the only Dolphin to run it so far this preseason.  But as he gets more comfortable with the playbook, White should be the primary Wildcat QB in the latter half of the season.

• Look for Rashard Mendenhall to have a big fantasy impact in terms of touchdowns.  The Steelers envision him as their future starting RB as early as next year as Willie Parker’s contract expires at the end of this season.  For now Mendenhall will be relegated to being the goal-line back.  As great as Willie Parker is at running the football, he has trouble finding the endzone.  Over the past two years Parker has 557 touches but only seven touchdowns or a ratio of one touchdown for every 80 touches.  Mendenhall’s main competition for the job is Mewelde Moore who has not yet played in preseason and has not practiced since August 4 due to a hamstring injury.

This is part 3 of a four-part series detailing how scheme changes affect fantasy performance.  This excerpt focuses on the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.  Please also check out Part 1 and Part 2.

 Denver [HC: McDaniels (Patriots), OC: McCoy (Panthers)]

With Josh McDaniels now at the helm, he will attempt to replicate the system he ran while offensive coordinator of the Patriots.  With the additions made to the offense, along with the incumbent starters, the personnel looks very similar to the 2008 version of the New England Patriots.  Kyle Orton is similar to Matt Cassel in terms of reading coverage and spreading the ball around to all the receivers.  What he lacks is the ability to gain yards with his legs and what the Broncos lack is a consistent deep threat like Randy Moss.  Orton’s numbers should fall in between his 2008 production and Cassel’s 2008 production-something along the lines of 3200 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The Randy Moss and Wes Welker roles in the Broncos offense will fall upon Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, respectively.  Royal should be able to match Welker’s numbers across the board.  They’re the same size with the same skill level and have the same responsibilities in terms of where they line up and also in the return game.  Marshall, however, lacks the speed to be the vertical threat that Moss was for New England.  Marshall is a very good receiver but can’t just run by people like Moss can and I see that as leading to a decline in touchdowns when compared to Moss.  While he is still a must-start fantasy WR and will get you over 1000 yards, I don’t see Marshall getting double digit touchdowns after only netting 6 last year.  Because of that, if you are in a PPR league, I would draft Royal ahead of Marshall.  Their yards will be about the same and Marshall may get only 2 or 3 more touchdowns than Royal; but that differential doesn’t make up for the 20-30 more receptions that Royal will get.  Jabar Gaffney will resume his role as the flanker and put up his pedestrian 400 yards while TE Tony Scheffler, who was once a rising fantasy star, will take a back seat in this scheme as the wide receivers are the focal points.  He’s still worth a look in later rounds as is any starting TE on a pass-oriented team because of the many red zone opportunities.

As he did in NE, McDaniels will employ a running-back-by-committee spearheaded by a young back.  Knowshon Moreno will fill the Laurence Maroney-role and should lead the Broncos in carries, albeit it may not be more than 15 a game.  LaMont Jordan comes over from NE as the goal-line back and offers little fantasy value besides that.  One interesting development through training camp and the preseason will be to see who emerges as the 3rd-down back.  As Kevin Faulk proved last year, this is a very valuable role in this type of offense as he posted nearly 1000 total yards and 6 touchdowns.  A PPR scoring system further increases the value so watch closely to see if Correll Buckhalter is able to win this job from a slew of young Bronco running backs.

Seattle [HC: Mora (Seahawks), OC: Knapp (Raiders)]

These two will reprise the same positions they had when they were with the Falcons from 2004-2006.  Knapp is unquestionably a run-first coordinator as in his eight years as offensive coordinator for three franchises, his teams have finished in the top 10 in rushing all eight years.  His zone blocking scheme is a perfect fit for RB Julius Jones who can use his great acceleration skills to burst through a hole.  From looking at lots of mock drafts, I can see that Jones is being undervalued as his average position is somewhere in the 100s.  If Warrick Dunn at 31 was able to run for over 1100 yards, then 28-year-old Julius Jones should get to at least 1000.  The only knock on him is the lack of touchdowns as the goal line back role will fall to T.J. Duckett.  He has had that role throughout his career and remains one of the best at fulfilling it.  He could be had at the end of the draft for a cheap source of touchdowns.

QB Matt Hasselbeck was hurt for most of last year and ineffective when he did play.  That means he will also be undervalued by many fantasy owners but you should not be “that guy” that drafts him four rounds too early thinking you would outsmart everyone.  Besides his health, another thing to monitor during preseason is how he adjusts to the new offense.  He had played in the West Coast Offense his entire career so he’ll have to make some amendments to his game in terms of playcalling, new receiver routes, and audibles.  According to Coach Mora, the Seahawks will use some shotgun this season so we still may get some of the Matt Hasselbeck of old.  But with the age, injuries, and offensive transition, I would be cautious in drafting Hasselbeck.  He’s no longer a fantasy starter so it may be best to grab him in the later rounds as your backup QB.

Has there ever been a more overrated receiver (fantasy-wise) than Deion Branch?  He’s always getting hurt, never has reached 1000 yards in a season, and doesn’t score many touchdowns.  I would not even draft Branch until he proves he can do at least one of those three.  Nate Burleson is also coming off an injury and will be either a #2 or #3 receiver in a run-dominated offense so I would also wait for him to prove that he’s healthy before inserting him into my starting lineup.  The two receivers worth starting each week are WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh and TE John Carlson.  T.J. is like a bigger version of Wes Welker or Eddie Royal-lots of receptions, around 1000 yards, and a low yards-per-reception average.  But T.J. has the size that allows him to be a better red zone option than the other two.  He will make a solid fantasy WR2 with the ability to be a WR1 in PPR leagues.  Since drops don’t result in negative fantasy points, John Carlson is worthy to be a starting TE on your fantasy team.  However, don’t expect to see an increase in production over last year as the offense will limit his opportunities.  He is now the second receiving option in the red zone so he likely won’t match his five touchdowns from last year.  Nevertheless, he will still catch upwards of 50 passes and approach 600 yards which is good enough to be a top-12 fantasy TE.

Our series on potential breakout players in each division makes its way to the AFC West. Mediocrity reigned in the West in 2008, as no team had a record better than 8-8. Both Denver and San Diego managed that mark, with the Chargers being the playoff representative of the division. Each squad will be looking to improve in 2009, with the help of a few players who could come into their own, making an impact not only on their teams, but on those of fantasy owners as well. A look now at some candidates to break out.

Denver Broncos - Kyle Orton: Speaking of sheer averageness, Orton has been just that as a quarterback in his four seasons in the NFL, throwing a total of 30 touchdowns and 27 interceptions while completing just over 55 percent of his passes. But last season, he showed fantasy owners a glimmer of his potential, with 18 touchdown passes to 12 picks and nearly 3,000 passing yards. Yet most of his damage was done in the season’s first seven contests, as he threw 10 scores and was intercepted only four times to go with four games of at least 265 passing yards. He got injured shortly after that, which caused him to miss one game. Then, in his final eight games, only twice did he accumulate more than 200 passing yards while tossing eight touchdowns and eight picks. But being traded to Denver should only help the former Purdue star. He goes to an offense led by head coach Josh McDaniels, who helped mold Matt Cassel into a productive player last season in New England, and the weapons around Orton are superior to what he was working with in Chicago. He’s not a QB1 for fantasy owners, but there are far worse options to have as backups.

Kansas City Chiefs - Jamaal Charles: At this point, if you believe that running back Larry Johnson will stay healthy for 16 games, you probably also believe North Korean leader Kim-Jong Il shot five holes-in-one the first time he ever played golf, as he has claimed. Which leads us to Johnson’s backup in former third-round pick Charles. Last season, he ran for over 350 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per carry, but he’s most proficient in the passing game, as he was fourth on the team with 27 receptions and 272 yards (see graph). New Chiefs head coach Todd Haley threw the ball to his running backs often last season as Arizona’s offensive coordinator, as Edgerrin James, Tim Hightower and J.J. Arrington combined to catch 75 passes. So even during the games Johnson is healthy, Charles is a threat out of the backfield. If you do decide to select Johnson, Charles is an essential handcuff, but considering selecting him even if, like many others, you decide Johnson isn’t worth the hassle.

Oakland Raiders - JaMarcus Russell: Alright, so putting someone here who was the first overall pick isn’t exactly going out on a limb. Granted. But the guy hasn’t lived up to that billing just yet. Still, Russell finally showed some signs of life at the end of last season, when in his last three games the former LSU gunslinger threw for 626 yards, six touchdowns and two picks while completing 63 percent of his passes. And though there is reason to be skeptical - a shoddy offensive line, unproven receivers - Russell has a huge arm and can do what the Raiders have said they will ask of him (via orders by the Crypt Keeper, Al Davis), which is throw deep. So maybe, just maybe, this is the year he puts it all together.

San Diego Chargers - Craig “Buster” Davis: On a team laden with proven veterans on offense, choosing a candidate to break out was fairly simple because the options were few. So we turned to Davis, the team’s first-round pick in 2007 who has just 24 career catches to his name. Only four of those receptions came last season as he injured his groin and failed to play in a contest after Week 5. But he’s 6-foot-1 and possesses good speed and athleticism, and could force his way into the lineup if he plays to his capabilities. Yet Davis’ health has been an issue since his days at LSU, so any hope of him breaking out rests on the fact that he actually, you know, gets on the field. If so, his dynamic abilities should shine.

There are numerous possibilities for a duo to become the best young wide receiver/quarterback tandem over the next five or so years. Matt Ryan and Roddy White in Atlanta, Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings in Green Bay, Matt Cassel and Dwayne Bowe in Kansas City, Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson in San Diego; hell, even Detroit’s Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson have a shot. But two names you haven’t heard together are Joe Flacco and Brandon Marshall. And that’s because, well, they’re not on the same team. But there’s a possibility they could be.

Marshall has requested a trade out of Denver, and according to a report in the Baltimore Sun, the Ravens are interested. The team from Charm City has long been in need of a playmaking wideout. They tried their hand in the draft and selected Mark Clayton in the first round in 2005, but that hasn’t worked out as they’d hoped.

Compare the numbers Marshall has put up to those of Ravens receivers, and the difference is palpable. The graph on the right displays the touchdown catches for every Baltimore player over the last five seasons. Tight end Todd Heap leads the way with 20, but just four of those have come in the last two seasons. The ever-steady Derrick Mason has 16, and the aforementioned Clayton is next with 10. Marshall, on the other hand, has only been a full-time starter for two of his three seasons in the league, and has caught 15 touchdowns in that time.

And just twice over the past five years has a Ravens player - in this case Mason - caught over 80 passes in a season. Marshall has snagged over 100 passes in each of the last two years. True, the Broncos and Ravens run offenses that are not similar, but part of the reason for that is Baltimore hasn’t had the personnel to be a team that can rely on throwing the ball. With Marshall joining the laser-armed Flacco and a veteran like Mason, that could change.

Though it may seem otherwise, if Marshall did wind up in Baltimore, his fantasy stock would not regress. He may not catch 100 passes, but he’d get close, and the familiar 1,200+ yards would be there, as would the seven or so touchdowns. The players whose fantasy stock would drop with Marshall’s arrival are Mason and Clayton. Mason would be the one whose numbers suffered the most, as he would go from unquestioned No. 1 wideout to the No. 2 man immediately. He’d still retain enough value for fantasy owners to draft him, but he’d be more like a WR3 than anything else. Marshall, however, will be a WR1 whether he plays in Denver, Baltimore or Babushkin (assuming there is a football team in that part of Russia).

Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said the team would try and accommodate Marshall’s wishes and move him, and Baltimore would be as good a landing spot as any, and offer a new team of candidates to become the NFL’s best throw-and-catch duo.

Here’s a summary of my thoughts watching the first half of the Green Bay Packers vs Denver Broncos pre-season game in week 3.

GB

* Aaron Rodgers QB: Looked ok.
* Brandon Jackson RB: Looked ok.
* Vernon Morency RB: Looked ok.
* Donald Driver WR: Looked good.TD Favorite Target?
* Donald Lee TE: Looked ok.
* Greg Jennings WR: Looked ok.
* O-line: Run blocking ok. Pass blocking good.

DEN

* Jay Cutler QB: Looked average.
* Selvin Young RB: Looked very good.
* Andre Hall RB: Looked ok.
* Brandon Marshall WR: Looked very good.TD
* Nate Jackson TE: Looked good. TD
* O-Line: Run blocking very good. Pass blocking ok.