Every guy in fantasy does something in terms of predicting the future. That’s what you do when you pick Chris Johnson over Adrian Peterson or Mike Williams over Mike Williams… err… that last one is tough to read. Anyway, you get me, you could just be following some dink’s rankings, or you could be using them as a guideline – regardless, at the end of the season you can always see how your predictions ended up. Last year, it was easy to see that Anthony Gonzalez and Eddie Royal didn’t blow up the world like I thought they would, and my fantasy squads suffered. The tough thing about being a sportswriter, aside from the obvious ribbing you take from your friends about how you don’t have a real job, is that your predictions are right there for everyone to see. If you’re a responsible cat like myself, you even do reviews so readers don’t have to look hard to find the true outcome. Last year, as I said above, my pre-season predictions weren’t right on the ball. But this year, oh yes – there is always a new year, I’m swinging for the fences and you can bet your biscuit that I’m making contact. Jump in, buckle up, we’re going for a ride!

Below are 21 Predictions (for my black-jack junky friends out there, this one’s for you!) for the upcoming fantasy season. Some are wild, some are sure, but they are all predictions that can be used against me in a court of fantasy law. These predictions go everywhere from the window to the wall! Lets play some football!

1. LaDainian Tomlinson rushes for more yards than he did last season as San Diego’s #1 running back. The Jets’ line is legit, and LT can still run with a egg-shaped ball.

2. Brett Favre calls an end to a few streaks: His consecutive start streak will end, his last pass won’t be an interception, and he won’t come back ever, ever again when this season is done – so enjoy one of the last real cowboys!

3. Shonn Greene will have at least 7-100 yard games, and rush for at least 10 touchdowns. Why? The guy is a beast, and his offensive line is one of if not the best in football.

4. Sam Bradford will throw more touchdowns than interceptions, which would be nuts for a rookie QB on a bad team with limited help at receiver. He’s gonna be good, folks.

5. Either Peyton Manning or Drew Brees won’t finish as a Top 5 fantasy QB. I know it’s crazy to think that, the Colts have been so good and the Saints look unstoppable – but the NFC South is crazy, and the Saints have one of the easiest schedules in football (which means less passing, you’d think) and the Texans, Titans, and even the Jaguars are much improved, making it tougher on Manning. Some king has to stumble.

6. Mike Sims-Walker will finish the season as a Top 10 fantasy receiver. People go either way on Mike, either you love him or you hate him. He wasn’t a beacon of consistency in 2009, but remember, he wasn’t even a starter out of the gates, and was showing his stuff for the first time.

7. Mike Bush will double Darren McFadden’s fantasy numbers. He’s better, and the Raiders are starting to realize it.

8. Terrell Owens > Chad Ochocinco in 2010. Draft accordingly.

9. Have you ever watched Percy Harvin play football? If not, you’re missing out. That guy gives more migraines than he gets, I’ll tell you that much. I think he plays in 16 games this season, and catches at least 76 balls for over 1100 yards and racks up at least 8 touchdowns – and blocks the snot out of 100 unsuspecting defensive backs.

10. Wes Welker ends up with more fantasy production than Brandon Marshall. In other words, don’t draft Brandon.The Patriots throw it like a hot potato, the Dolphins run like Forrest. I wouldn’t worry too much about Welker’s health, if anybody is back to 100% quick, it’s that guy.

11. Greg Jennings is worth his price in Gold. The Packers’ receivers are really good – but Greg is the best of the bunch. His stats didn’t show it last year, they will this year. Stick him in the Top 7 right now.

12. Larry Fitzgerald will finish outside of the Top 10 WRs. So don’t draft him – even if you’re in a dynasty league, I’m telling you – let somebody else draft him, then go ahead and trade for him when that owner is crying and doing anything to salvage his season. I was once high on Leinart, now I’m backing off, but either way, teams will be doubling the bejeezers out of Fitzy.

13. Rashard Mendenhall is one of the few true #1 running backs in the NFL. That’s why he sneaks into the Top 7 RBs this season.

14. What do you get when you cross a donkey with moron? You get a quarterback that will miss the first 4 games of the season and still finish in the Top 15 amongst his own position.

15. Don’t be confused, there is nobody worth starting in Cleveland. I’m not kidding, not one guy on that team will finish in the Top 20 at his respective position. That’s rare, but it’s going to be true.

16. One of the highest paid QBs in the NFL, Eli Manning, will finally finish in the Top 10 amongst QBs. I’m not a fan of Eli, mostly his stupid face, but with Smith, Nicks, Manningham, Bradshaw, and Kevin Boss – and a tough schedule that will have him throwing early and often – Eli gets in the Top 10 for the first time.

17. Hakeem Nicks, Percy Harvin, and Jeremy Maclin (all sophomores) will, as a threesome, easily outscore Roddy White, Brandon Marshall, and Chad Ochocinco (unless Chad changes his name back to Johnson, then he has a chance to turn this whole thing around). Nicks and Harvin both become #1s this season while Maclin’s elite touchdown scoring ability goes wild under Kolb’s arm.

18. Johnny Knox, currently ranked 38th on ESPN.com, finished the year above half the people rated above him. Two names put together to form an odd looking guy with no respect for turnovers – Mike Martz. It might not make the Bears win, but it will make Knox go wild.

19. I’m gonna go on ahead and say that Anquan Boldin finishes with more fantasy points than Larry Fitzgerald. I know, I know, 50 people have already wrote me telling me I’m crazy, and 20 of those have always said that Boldin is nothing but a #2 WR. You’ll be eating them, folks, not me.

20. Zach Miller, Devin Aromashodu, Nate Burleson, Vince Young, Laurent Robinson – all guys ranked out of the Top 100 and I’m betting 4 of the 5 finish in the Top 100.

21. Tom Brady returns to the #1 spot amongst QBs. Yeah, Brees won’t throw as much this year – Manning has a little bit more in the run-game, and Aaron Rodgers’ Packers need to run it more to be consistent. Brady is going to throw 40 touchdowns again – because he can.

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Fantasy Football Predictions: From the Window to the Wall! originally appeared on Lucky Lester Football Picks on August 30, 2010. Remember you can also Tweet This.

I got another good email from a reader, David, and the answers can certainly help you with your fantasy drafts this coming weekend… So here it is, an excerpt from my Email conversation with David. For all your football questions, both fantasy and reality, write to papaweimer50@hotmail.com.

If I can’t get a top 7 QB what are my options? Could you give 2 or 3 QB combos that could help me out?

If you don’t get a Top 7 guy, I would go with upside with two quarterback slots. Jay Cutler is in a big time passing offense with Mike Martz, kevin Kolb has the same deal with the Eagles, Ben Roethlisberger is slipping way down drafts because he’s missing 2-6 games those are 3 guys you might want to target as a tag team QB duo that could really produce like a Top 7 guy.

David Garrard, Carson Palmer, and Joe Flacco are 3 other guys that I would consider – though all have their scary sides (Flacco is the biggest sure thing in my opinion).

If I can’t get a top TE, which 2 or 3 of these guys could be my man and why?
(Winslow, Cooley, Shiancoe, Z Miller, H Miller, J Carlson)

I really liike Winslow, Cooley, Shiancoe, and Zach Miller. I don’t know about Heath Miller, I worry about him matching last year’s high in production – but with Santonio Holmes gone, Miller might get more targets. Carlson is a nice talent, and Pete Carol’s offense likes TEs, but I don’t know how much I’d want a secondary Seahawk target. Winslow is the most talented pass catcher of that bunch, a go-to-guy, which is nice to have at the TE spot – you know he’ll be getting looks. But he’s in Tampa and is an injury concern.

Cooley is in a new offense, but McNabb loves TEs and Chris is probably the best receiving option in Washington, something to like a lot about that. Also Shanny’s offense seems to appreciate the big pass catchers.

Shiancoe gets Favre back and loses Sydney Rice. That might put a little more attention from defenses into Visanthe’s direction, but it will also get him more looks – likely.

Zach Miller is great after the catch, a very impressive TE but he plays in Oakland. Like Cooley and Winslow, he’s probably the best receiver on his team – now it’s just believing in Campbell or not.

The other night my buddy and I were discussing it, and we both thought Shiancoe and Zach Miller had the best chance of breaking into LuckyLester’s Top Tier at TE – however, Cooley and Winslow are in my top tier – it’s a tough call, and they are all close. And Shiancoe moves into my top tier now with Brett back – I would say all four are pretty safe bets.

What 2 or 3 Def would be a sneaky good play (Sleeper) the first and 2nd week of the season?

The Giants aren’t getting much love and should be a lot better defensively, they play the Panthers in Week 1. San Diego and Miami get KC and Buffalo, both are pretty good match-ups as well.

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Ask Papa Weimer: Elite Fantasy Football Advice originally appeared on Lucky Lester Football Picks on August 28, 2010. Remember you can also Tweet This.

Alright, I’m back again for another session of Ask Papa Weimer! I’ll be here all year folks, so enjoy it, ask questions, read answers, agree, disagree, tell me so when you get a chance, and interact as much as possible. I’m old like dirt and rocks and Al Michaels, so I don’t have much else to do besides spit knowledge about the grand game of football and answer emails. Throw your emails to papaweimer50@hotmail.com. Seriously. I was a little low on emails this week, so I had to start a new section (see the bottom of the article, “Weimer’s Absolutes”)  – but it might be for the better, humor is a hell of a drug! Continue on, my good reader, it gets better from here!!!

BonJovisIdol writes, “I loved Lucky Lester’s article “Don’t Sleep on Me” and the two guys he’d pick ahead of the higher drafted player at each position. What I want to know is, how would you rank the running backs he listed in that article? And do you guys always agree on rankings?”

First of all, we don’t always agree. In fact, we love to disagree – it’s a family thing. We often really like the same players coming into a season, but that’s because we both recognize value coming into the year, guys getting ignored, guys getting overdrafted – stuff like that. But we definitely don’t always agree. Lucky talked about Ryan Matthews, Ryan Grant, and Beanie Wells – and I really liked the points he made. I must say, however, I watched Ryan Matthews play the other night, and he looks like a special runner. He looked very natural catching the ball, and besides pushing his own blocker in the back, he seemed to have a good feel in that offense. But he’s still a rookie, which is one of the points my nephew lists. I think Ryan Grant is the surest thing of the three and Beanie Wells has the most upside. I expect Darren Sproles to get plenty of touches in that San Diego offense and Beanie has to deal with Tim Hightower stealing touches (especially if he has fumble troubles – Ken Whisenhunt doesn’t like that). Ryan Grant doesn’t have to deal with anything (though Brandon Jackson looks better than I’ve ever seen him). I would rank them like this, Beanie Wells, Ryan Grant, and then Matthews – so I kind of agree with LL. I’m an upside guy, and I think Beanie could be awesome with more carries in his sophomore season. I also like Rashard Mendenhall, whom NFL.com has rated behind Matthews. Rashard will be great in 2010.

Bill from here asks, “How many fantasy football leagues are you in? How many is too many? In a league with 10 buddies, what would you consider a good buy-in, payout format to be? Any good rules we should add? Thanks!”

Crazy Bill, I’m also from here. I like your question, however. I usually get questions about rankings, players’ upsides, junk mail, and trades, but every once in a while I get questions like this, and I really like to share my confident opinion about actual fantasy settings – as good settings can make the game a lot more fun to play. I am only in 3 leagues this season, the fewest in the last 10 years. I’ve cut down a little bit, as writing and answering emails have given me a new outlet. One of my leagues is a 2-player keeper league with a $275 buy-in, it’s a total points league (no versus) with a lot of ways to get paid out. The highest score each week gets $30. The top 4 finishers make money, $1000, $600, $300. Then there is a survivor pool where the winner makes $150. And there’s a playoff fantasy format (pick the best fantasy starting line-up every week) where the winner gets the remainder of the pot. That league is awesome. It has a quirky set-up with points bonuses at 100 yards and 200 yards for RBs and WRs, an 250 and 500 yards for QBs, and 50 yards for TEs.  One of my leagues is a dynasty league (full roster keeper) with a rookie draft the day after the NFL draft finishes every year – the buy-in is $35, it’s a pretty basic PPR. I’m in another league with an auction draft. You get to keep 4 players if you want. There are salary rules, $10 more for 2nd year keepers, $15 more for 3rd year keepers, and a 4th year at $5 more. So if you draft a guy for $1, next year you can keep him for $11. The next year you have to decide if you want to keep him for year 3 and 4, or let him go. Year 3 and 4 will be $26 then $31 – but once you decide to sign them for the final two years, you have to keep them for those years. The more unique rules, the better! I love auctions as well. I don’t like full roster keepers leagues, as drafting is one of the more delightful aspects of fantasy football. I think 3 is probably too many for me, but Lucky enjoys having about 7. It’s all preference. I think every league should have blind bidding for free agents – first come first serve is kind of stupid, and “worst to first” is a little fishy as well. Blind bidding starts everyone out with the same free agent bucks, and from there it’s up to the owner to wast that cash. Just adds to the game!

Samson from Darrington, Washington says, “Give me one sleeper! That’s all I ask!”

Don’t cut your hair. I’ll give you one better, I’ll give you two. Draft Michael Bush. Draft Eddie Royal. Your welcome. Neither of those guys get drafted in your average 10-team fantasy league. Both should be. If it’s a real deep league, go with Mike Williams in Seattle – not Mike Williams in Tampa (I really like him, too, but he’ll get drafted in most leagues). Good luck, Samson.

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Ask Papa Weimer: Fantasy Football PreSeason Week 3 originally appeared on Lucky Lester Football Picks on August 26, 2010. Remember you can also Tweet This.

This may be a different kind than you are used to, but it’s still a  sleeper article. I’m not putting together your normal run of the mill sleeper piece here, I’m taking a guy and where he is normally drafted, and giving you two options that I like more – always two guys that are getting drafted after that player. (One time I give you three guys I like more) So, they are sleepers – sort of. If the masses take one guy in the 2nd round, and I’m picking two guys drafted in the 4th round that should out-produce that guy, then they are great value picks – or people are “sleeping” on them. It kind of works, right?

For example, last year a lot of people were taking Jay Cutler higher than Donovan McNabb and Matt Schaub – I said, hey, these two guys are going to be better than Cutler, and you can get them later. Wallah! They both ended up as better picks than Jay. This year, I have some more tidbits for your enjoyment! I’m using a major fantasy site’s numbers for my ADP (average draft position).

And why not start with the one and only…..

1. Chad Ochocinco (ADP 41): First of all, the guy was a lot better when his last name was Johnson. Now he’s going to compete for touches with TO, a guy that might be better for Cincinnati’s offense. Listen, there’s no doubt Chad can be good again, but he was inconsistent on a week-to-week basis when he was piling up nice numbers – now hat Cinci is a run-first (and second for that matter) team, don’t draft him just for the name. He’s getting picked 41st overall right now. Instead, I’d go with one of these two guys in the next round or later…

———-Mike Sims-Walker (ADP 53): I’d rather have Sims-Walker right now. If I had the 41st pick and Mike and Chad were the only two guys left, I’d take MSW in a heartbeat. He’s younger, and more of a physical freak than Chad – especially now. He’s the sure-thing #1 receiver and proved last season that he could handle #1 corners. He’ll be better this season because the entire Jaguars offense will be better, offensive line especially. If you’re at the top of the draft, and Chad is there late in the 4th round – pick a running back or a top flight quarterback, and wait until the way back in the 5th round and get MSW.

———-Johnny Knox (ADP 119):I would not be surprised at all if Knox finishes ahead of Chad. If I were picking between Ocho and Knox, it would be a tough decision to make – but you don’t have to make that decision – nope – you will be passing on Chad and picking up Knox 6-8 rounds later. Make sure and take him 5 rounds later, I don’t know – but he’s a much better upside pick that CJ, and as the #1 receiver in a Mike Martz offense, with a quarterback sporting a rocket-arm, he should smack last year’s numbers in the face. I don’t expect any kind of sophomore slump from Knox in 2010.

2. Ryan Mathews (ADP 15): Now I like Ryan Mathews a lot, he’s a very talented all around runner that won’t struggle with any one thing. And he looks to be in a pretty good situation in San Diego. BUT, he’s still just a rookie, and the more you look at San Diego the more you see that looks can be, and probably are, deceiving. Both Sproles and LT struggled last year – and while LT might have lost his lunge, Sproles was still a guy that produced at a good rate in 2008. So what was different in 2009? Line play, that’s what. And the more you look at this years’ Chargers, the cloudier the offensive line looks. If you’re expecting vintage LT numbers out of Matthews, you might want to look elsewhere. In fact, I wouldn’t draft Matthews at all, instead, I’d pick one of these guys…

———-Ryan Grant (ADP 27): If you had the 5th pick in your “average” fantasy draft, you could pass on Matthews with your 2nd round pick, grab an elite receiver instead (Wayne and Fitzgerald have ADPs of 16 and 17) and you’d still get Grant with your 3rd round pick. You can never predict exactly how a draft will go, but we’re talking averages here. Grantdidn’t explodelast year, but he still went over 1200 yards with double digit touchdowns. He was consistently putting up points, just what you want from your #2 RB.

———-Beanie Wells (ADP 43): Beanie is going to be a beast this year – that’s what I think anyway. First of all, the Cardinals are going to run the ball A LOT more this season. Kurt Warner and his accurate right jab are gone, in comes Matt Leinart (master of the handoff) and so come the carries. Tim Hightower is a solid RB, especially as a back-up, and that’s what he’ll be. It took Beanie about half the season to figure out this NFL thing, but figure it out he did. In part time duty he rushed for nearly 800 yards and 7 touchdowns with a 4.5 average. You can get him nearly 30 picks after the rookie in San Diego – and I’d rather have Wells than Matthews anyway.

3. Matt Ryan (ADP 86): Matty Ice sure had a great rookie season – so great that he was expected to be the next great thing in his sophomore campaign. Well, the Falcons struggled and so did Ryan. He wasn’t terrible, but ended up the 15th best QB in the league, averaging just over 13 fantasy points per contest. He’ll be better this year, definitely, but his ADP still puts him as a starting QB – just 5 spots out of the Top 10 – but if I’m going for a starter that late, I’m not putting my money on Matty Ice, nope, I’m taking one of these two guys instead.

———-Donovan McNabb (ADP 99): Donovan is still good, and I don’t think going to a team that will lean more on the run-game, and give him some more play action options (which he has always been good at), will hurt his game. Do I think he’ll come into a new team and rule the fantasy world like Brett did last year? Nope – but in Santana Moss, Devin Thomas, Chris Cooley and a nice (but old) stable of running backs (and a very good coach to boot, though I think Splinter is a crazy SOB), McNabb should have plenty of weapons to utilize this season. He was a Top 7 QB last season, and I expect him to stay in the Top 10 in Washington – an entire round later than Ryan and more fantasy points to boot. Sounds good to me!

———-David Garrard (ADP 123): Enter the always solid, never sexy late starting quarterback pick. I like Garrard more this year than either of the last two seasons. That offensive line in Jacksonville has to stay healthier this season, and they are a young talented bunch that is maturing. In Mike Sims-Walker David has a sure #1 receiver, something he’s never had coming into a season. I expect him to do better than his 15 fantasy points per game from last season, and outscore the golden kid.

———-Ben Roethlisberger (ADP 119): I don’t like this guy, not one damn bit – but he’s still going to be a solid quarterback, and whenever he gets back to playing (rumors say he could be back by Week 3, at the latest Week 7) he’ll be a better option than Matt Ryan. Don’t grab him as your #1, but if you end up getting your #1 late, it might be smart to secure a sure-thing solid QB option by Week 7. Ben averaged 20 points per game last season.

4. Jason Witten (ADP 52): Witten is going to get less chances this year than ever before, or so I predict. With Austin coming into his own, Roy Williams putting in a ton of off-season work with Romo, Dez Bryant getting drafted, and Felix Jones/Marion Barber tandem both proving to be good receiving targets – I don’t know how Witten could possibly be a top TE this season. He’s good, no doubt, but targets and touchdowns won’t come as often as they did in 2008 – maybe 2009. And while he’ll still be a solid TE option, he’s not worth his weight in ADP – nope, instead, I’d go with one of these two guys…

———-Brent Celek (ADP 62): I’d rather have Celek than Witten, straight up, and you can get him 10 picks later. Donovan McNabb is gone, sure, but the Eagles are always going to throw the ball, and Kolb might even be more accurate than Donovan. I’ll tell you right now that Celek has as sure a set of hands as any guy on that roster, and he’s a heck of a lot bigger than either of the light-weights running routes from the outside. Celek will top Witten in catches and touchdowns – so you should take him instead.

———-Zach Miller (ADP 112): Okay, I would rather have Witten than Miller – but it’s a hell of a lot closer than you’d think. As I said, Witten has to compete with a lot of talent to get his numbers – right now, as Miller is easily the best receiving option in Oakland – and the guy is talented. He gets big after the catch numbers and Jason Campbell has always loved to throw to tight ends. Miller may have been a bit of a bust last year, but not this time around – oh no, he’s going to be a steal some 60 picks after Jason Witten. If JW finishes more than 20 fantasy points above Zach Miller I’d be stunned.