Players Therapy Session

It’s time for this week’s “Players Therapy Session”, where I give my feedback on the way that NFL players

are expressing themselves in the news, with a fantasy twist of course.

How did you feel, Terrell Owens, when Tony Romo refused to refer to you by your name? "Dude, I could care less. I mean, he doesn't mention my name, that's fine. What about it? It isn't the first time that has happened. Bill Parcells didn't call me by my name, either, so what's the difference,” Owens said.

You know what? I am actually going to side with you for once, Owens. You seem to have decided to take the high road. Or at least you are taking what you discern to be the high road. For the rest of us it’s more like the medium road. At any rate, rather than flooding the media with criticism of Tony Romo (aside from your Twitter comments, which were mild for you) and the things that he clearly did wrong during your tenure in Dallas, you seem to be focusing the majority of your efforts on becoming a better player and teammate in Buffalo. You are admitting the mistakes that you are making on the practice field and you are putting in extra effort after hours to improve timing and cohesiveness with Edwards and Evans. I think this is a healthy step forward for you and, while I do feel that your fantasy value has diminished, (I won’t be drafting you top 5 at your position) I certainly will not shy away from you because of an “attitude” problem. Keep up the good work.

What’s new with you Kurt Warner? How’s the hip? “It's getting better, the pain is lessening - small increments, but it's lessening. As far as functionally though, I feel great. I feel strong. . . . It's just a matter of pain," Warner said.

I have doubted you in the past Kurt, and I was a fool. I used to be an instigator of the infamous chant: “Let Lienart play, let Lienart play!” No more, never again. “Let Lienart sit, let Lienart sit!” I am not even worried about the hip Kurt. As a matter of fact, if you were to lose your lower body completely I would still trust you to mount a wheelchair and be one of the most accurate passers in the game. General consensus is that you should be a top 5 pick, and the people are right. You keep working on the pain and I will worry about acquiring you on draft day.

Cedric Benson, what’s on your mind pal? How do you feel about the work you’ve been doing in OTA’s? "I've showed glimpses, but I have a lot still to do. I can take the load. (A larger workload in 2009)"It's something I know how to do and I enjoy it," said Benson.

So you think you can handle a larger workload Cedric? The world just isn’t ready for you my friend. I personally like your potential to surprise the masses in 2009. In 08’, you toted the ball more than 200 times in 12 games. You were on pace for nearly 300 carries. Marvin Lewis has expressed his commitment to rushing the ball in the upcoming season and a healthy Carson Palmer

could make your job a whole lot easier. Perhaps you could even improve on your 3.5 yards per carry average and find the end-zone more than twice. The fact of the matter, however, is this: People in general, just don’t like you. You own mother would not draft you. I predict your average draft position to plateau somewhere around the 7th or 8th round. Maybe you would go in the 5th or 6th round in a league full of drunk-boating enthusiasts. It is just me and you for now. Until you prove that you can be somewhat of a playmaker, that is. That’s okay though because you have the potential to be a huge sleeper. In my opinion 6 touchdowns and 1,000 yards is not out of the question. You can sneak up on the fantasy world and shock them. You’re a ninja Cedric, you’re a ninja.

Contributed by James Rathbone
Senior Analysts
Fantasy Football Indepth