So which teams are going to be better next year? Who’s on the rise?

Good teams getting better: Atlanta, Chicago, Green Bay, Philadelphia and New England.

Bad teams getting better: Detroit, St Louis, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland

And who’s stock is falling:

Good teams getting worse: Indianapolis, Dallas, Cincinnati, Tennessee

Bad teams getting worse or staying bad: Seattle, Arizona, Miami, Carolina

Predicting the Obvious. Don’t laugh; it’s not as easy as you might think. OK, we all “know” Chicago with Coach Martz is going to pass more and with better fantasy results for Cutler and the WRs (NOT the TE). But which one? We all “know” Leinart isn’t as good as Warner. So, how many fewer fantasy points will Arizona WRs earn this year, and whose will drop the most? By the way, what about Boldin’s departure? Good as Fitzgerald is, I will probably wait and see if he is still available in the 2d round (12 team drafts), and I may not pick Breaston at all, as he is likely to be overvalued. I’ll be tempted to select all three Chicago WRs ahead of their ADP, though I haven’t decided how far I will reach. As for Olsen, he will have to slide past his ADP to tempt me. Let’s not forget Cutler. If it weren’t for Chicago’s OL, he could turn in an elite season. He still should be selected ahead of his ADP; although, it is climbing.

It’s actually July 16^th. I just got back from a nice vacation to Boston and Washington, D.C. That could be my last until after the season. My intention is still to post one item a day and to make up for the ones I’ve missed. Fearless forecast: Buffalo will still not be any good. OK; so everybody knows it. That, however, could work to our advantage. Fred Jackson and Lee Evans may go so cheap as to make them values. Draft a Buffalo QB, other WRs, or Marshawn Lynch at your peril.

Predictions. Beginning today, I will make one prediction that can help you be a winner.

This year’s second year quarterbacks will all do better. No brainer you say? Maybe, but can you say Jamarcus Russell.

Check out pro-football-reference.com.  It gives stats on every NFL player, including fantasy point results for the skill players on offense. You can track a player’s career (including college stats).  At a glance you will have games played each season, an easy way to see if a player’s career is going up or headed downhill, and position rankings, just to name a few.

Tight Ends NOT on the injury report:  Dallas Clark, Jermichael Finley, Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez, and John Carlson.

This is a short list of quality TEs. With the very strong possibility of Dallas Clark being drafted too high and Seattle’s offense being less than good again, it becomes shorter. A word to the wise: Forget last year’s talk about all the good TEs now available and make sure you get a good tight end this year—at a reasonable price.

You’re sailing along and made the playoffs with no problem. Then something happens. All of a sudden you’re fighting for your life. Then your season goes down the drain and your dignity along with it, as you’ve just lost to someone lower than you in the standings. Maybe your opponent did better with free agents. But, what if you were actually set up for defeat on draft day!

You don’t want your ace receiver going up against Revis or your star RB the Vikings run D during the playoffs. You can avoid this problem if you have considered strength of schedule (SOS). When you’re looking at players rated about equal, choose the one with the best playoff SOS.

For me, the best SOS product is The Ultimate Strength of Schedule put out by footballguys.com. It covers both offense and IDP positions as well as a variety of time periods.

Wide Receivers NOT on the injury report: Larry Fitzgerald, Randy Moss, Miles Austin, Greg Jennings, Reggie Wayne, DeSean Jackson, Vincent Jackson, Marques Colston and Steve Smith (NYG). In fact there are plenty of healthy WRs, so don’t take a chance with someone returning from injury unless you are sure the reward is worth the risk.

Piggybacking on the Non Injury Report. Running Backs NOT on the injury report: Adrian Peterson, Ryan Grant, Frank Gore, Cedric Benson, Chris Wells, Tim Hightower, and Joseph Addai to name a few. Let’s hope they all make it through the preseason in good health.

Here’s another one. In 2006 Joshua Cribbs was the 499^th pick in a 20 team, 500 pick, Phat League draft. Cribbs finished the year as the fourth best kick returner in the NFL. By the way, that fantasy league awards one point for every ten kick return yards.