Farewell to a (fantasy) football god: Drew Bennett era draws to an end

The zenith of Drew Bennett's dominance -- 42-yarder vs. the Chiefs on MNF

You might have missed this last week, but right after signing with the Baltimore Ravens, Drew Bennett decided to retire. Now, this caused nary a ripple in the actual football world. But in the fantasy football world, well, this was the equivalent of Jerry Rice hanging up the cleats.

At least for some of us. That is, those of us who somehow drafted or picked up Mr. Bennett during his miraculous 2004 season. Because for a three-week period in December, Drew Bennett – a former college quarterback – was the greatest receiver alive.

He was Jerry Rice, Steve Largent and Irving Fryar all rolled up into one. He had the combined power of Duper and Clayton. The NFL’s arms were too short to box with Drew Bennett.

To put it bluntly, Drew Bennett was stupid dope.

Three weeks. 28 receptions. 517 yards. Eight touchdowns.

The most amazing thing is when he started up his run, Drew was either on a bench, or on the waiver wire. And this guy decided virtually every fantasy league in 2004, he and Billy Volek. Tom Brady? LaDainian Tomlinson? Marvin Harrison? You could have all three of them – go ahead, take ‘em – and you wouldn’t stand a chance next to the Volek-Bennett express, son.

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Fantasy Football Fallout: Picks #50 – #45

Fantasy Football Fallout… Triple F. FFF. This is the name of my weekly fantasy football column. As the season is approaching, I know most you are sitting there debating which players are going to ultimately stink up your mediocre team. But fear not, I’m here to save you with some realistic fantasy football commentary (hmmm… realistic fantasy football).

So the way this column works is simple… In the five weeks leading up to the NFL season, I will be commenting on 5 players (two columns per week). I will tell you things you may not want to hear, but you may learn something. Last but not least, I will offer my personal projections. To make this column fun, I will be using CBS Sportsline’s Top 50 players as a guide, and commenting on them in reverse order. Also, I have included Buy/Sell ratings relative to draft position (Buy = Draft, Sell = Don’t Draft)

Rankings #50 – #41

#50 – Willie Parker
One of the most intriguing running backs in football is Fast Willie Parker. Coming out of relative Willie Parker: Contract year killer?obscurity, he has surpassed all expectations. He’s got himself two Super Bowl rings, three consecutive years of 1,000 yards rushing, and a great O-Line. Of course, everybody will point to Rashard Mendenhall as the heir-apparent. You know, the same Mendenhall who was put on  IR halfway through his first start. I don’t buy him as a legit threat at all, unless Willie suffers a major injury. Regardless, you can count on Parker missing a game or two in 2009; as he has only played one full season in his career. On the flipside, he did play in 3 playoff games last season.

Conclusion: He’s in a contract year.
Rushing: 280 attempts. 1,176 yards. 9 TDs
Receiving: 17 receptions. 120 yards. 1 TD
*** BUY ***

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