West Division Preview

Now, let's take a look at the West Division.

Members: The Undisputed, FirstORLast, Hybrids

2008 Summary: Of these three teams, only the Hybrids made the playoffs last season. FirstOrLast, in their first season in the league, did back up their team name; unfortunately for them, not the position they had hoped for. The Undisputed finished in 10th. There is definitely room for improvement in the 2009-2010 season for the members of the LOTC West Division.

2009 Preview: This could be a very close divison. Each team has playoff potential. This division will fight for one of the two wild-card spots.

Hybrids

There should be a lot of solid performers on the Hybrids this season. Welker should continue to get a lot of receptions. Ochocinco is now the clear #1 and has Carson Palmer returning. Also, there are 3 good RBs on this team; a characteristic that most teams do not have. Westbrook, Williams, and Portis will all produce numbers....IF healthy. Portis and Westbrook each have some injury risk. However, the Hybrids have a deep bench, so if any injury does occur, they should be ok. Oh yeah, if DeAngelo Williams somehow remains the fantasy freak that he was for the second half of last season...look out. The one question for this team, and it is an important question, is this: what numbers will McNabb put up this season? Will Vick steal any of his thunder? Will he be healthy for a consecutive season? The Hybrids are poised to have a good season, but if McNabb does not have a good year, that will offset some of the other positives this team will have.

The Undisputed

There are two strong areas for this team: Philip Rivers and the receiver positions. Fitzgerald is the superstar WR, and I think that Edwards, Driver, Coles, and Holt will all be solid contributors at the WR position. Jason Witten will remain in the top group of tight ends this year. Unfortunately for the Undisputed, the RB position is not very strong. Chris Johnson is a stud, but will have some TDs poached by Lendale White, and White will take a decent amount of handoffs as well. But, the Titans run the ball A LOT, so Johnson will still put up good numbers. However, Jospeh Addai and Jamal Lewis are no sure things. The Undisputed will need a suprise year from one of these RBs in order to make the playoffs this year.

FIRSTorLAST

Well, let's just say that FIRSTorLAST will not be in either first....or last...this season. Michael Turner and Matt Forte will put up very good numbers for this team. I doubt that both of these backs will be quite as strong as last season, but they are still two of the best RBs in the league. Matt Ryan should continue to develop and put up better than average numbers. He is not a superstar, but a solid option at QB. The fate of this team depends on how well the rest of the offensive positions perform. TJ whosyomamma will do well. If he does REALLY well, that will relieve some of the pressure that is on Berrian, Hixon, and rookie Knowshon Moreno. Berrian did not play this preseason, Hixon has to find out where exactly he fits in the Giant offense sans Plax, and Moreno is a rookie in the fantasy-frustrating backfield of the Broncos. Wait, I almost forgot about possibly the best TE in the game, Antonio Gates. He should put forth another Gates-like season and will provide no worries for the manager.

Playoff Prediction: Division winner Hybrids will make the playoffs again this year; McNabb will put up good enough numbers to complement the other contributors on this team. Both FIRSTorLAST and the Undisputed will need to have one or two things go their way to make the playoffs. I feel that the second place team will fight for one of the wild-card spots. This team will be FIRSTorLAST, showing a big improvement from last season. The Undisputed will compete, but will finish the division in 3rd.