2004 FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM PREVIEW: FALCONS
BY RICK SERRITELLA 7/21/04

Quarterback: It's hard to believe that Mike Vick is already entering
his fourth season. I can't remember a player that's been so
glorified and yet has done so little during his career. No
disrespect to Vick, I believe he will turn into an excellent
quarterback but in 28 career games he has 4,306 passing yards and 22
touchdowns. Many fantasy owners will still draft Vick with their
first pick and I'm not saying that he won't turn out to be worth it,
I just prefer to make my first round pick someone I can count on. He
missed eleven games due to injury last year but he seems to be fully
recovered and will attempt once again to take charge of this Falcons
team and try to lead them into the playoffs. His only full season
came in 2002 where he threw for 2,936 yards and 16 touchdowns. His
real strength came running the ball though as he rushed for 777 yards
and added another 8 touchdowns by ground. In an effort to keep him
healthy the Falcons intend on making him more of a pocket passer this
year so you can expect fewer rushing yards and an increase in passing
yards.

Running Back: The injury bug also bit Warrick Dunn last year as his
season ended prematurely. He is recovering from a torn foot ligament
and is expected to start practicing once training camp opens. He
lost his starting spot to T.J.Duckett for a stretch of the season but
later regained it back. Duckett had a fine season himself scoring 11
touchdowns and picking up the slack when Dunn went down. New head
coach Jim Mora Jr. stated that one of the things he'd like to try and
do is to figure out a way to get the both of them on the field at
once. With the recent signing of full back Stanley Pritchett and
Justin Griffith still in the mix it may be more difficult than first
expected. Whether it happens or not, both backs are considered
valuable fantasy reserves though it should be stated that should Dunn
not look fully recovered Eddie George may be brought in to help carry
the workload.

Wide Receiver: The Falcons number one receiver is Peerless Price
despite the fact that he didn't perform like one last season. Price
had 30 fewer receptions in 2003 than he did in his final year with
Buffalo. The biggest reasons being that he didn't have a capable
quarterback throwing to him and he lacked a second receiver to
compliment him. The Falcons hope to have shored up the latter of the
two by drafting Ohio State wide receiver Michael Jenkins in the first
round of this year's draft. Jenkins has the size and the speed that
should allow him to excel in the west coast offense. He will be
competing with fellow wide outs Brian Finneran and Dez White.
Finneran was slowed by injuries during a sub-par year and White was
signed in the off-season to join the frey before Jenkins was even
drafted. It will be a highly competitive battle for the second spot
making Price the safest pick. Definitely go after Jenkins if you are
in a keeper league, he may not start right away but could be a future
fantasy stud.

Tight End: Alge Crumpler was selected to his first pro bowl in 2003
after being a focal point in Atlanta's offense. He had 44 catches
for 552 yards improving his numbers for the third straight season.
He only saw the end zone 3 times but with a plan in tact to use him
even more this upcoming season and possibly seeing some time at wide
out that number should increase in 2004. After the cream of the crop
of tight ends, Crumpler is in the group that is just a notch below.

Fantasy Stud: T.J. Duckett – A human bulldozer who will get every
opportunity on the goal line.

Fantasy Dud: Brian Finneran – With the addition of White and the
drafting of Jenkins his role will be less defined than in years past.



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