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| Do Brett Favre and the Vikings Really Need Sidney Rice? |
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by Derek Lofland
Aug. 25, 2010
One of the worst preseason stories a Fantasy Owner can read about is injuries and surgery. Sydney Rice's offseason long battle with a hip injury suddenly required surgery and he will probably miss half of the 2010 season.
Rice had 83 receptions for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns last year, resulting in a Pro Bowl season.The speculation now turns to how this affects the Minnesota Vikings offense and, in particular, their 40-year old quarterback.
I'm not trying to minimize the injury. The Vikings are a better team with a healthy Rice in the lineup than one that is injured. He had a huge impact in their 34-3 playoff win over Dallas when he caught six passes for 141 yards and three touchdowns. Rice is the tallest and biggest receiver on their roster and he was the deep threat Brett Favre looked for in this explosive offense. His injury is going to make the offense's job tougher, especially with deep throws and red zone scoring.
That being said, Favre had 17 previous seasons as a starter without Rice and managed to make a pretty good name for himself. He has had to deal with season-ending injuries to teammates before.
In 1994, his No. 1 target WR Sterling Sharpe had 94 receptions for 1,194 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was forced to retire after that season because of a neck injury. Favre responded in 1995 with a career high 4,413 yards passing, 38 touchdowns and his first MVP trophy. He turned WR Robert Brooks into a Pro Bowl receiver with 102 receptions for 1,497 yards, and 13 touchdowns. Prior to that season, Brooks had never posted more than 58 receptions, 648 yards or four touchdowns.
That is hardly the only example. WR Robert Brooks was lost for the year in the middle of the 1996 season. Favre went on to win his second MVP award and only Super Bowl, tossing a career high 39 touchdown passes. RB Edgar Bennett was lost for the season in 1997 and Favre helped lead the Packers to a Super Bowl appearance. RB Dorsey Levens started only four games in 1998 coming off a 1435-yard season filling in for the injured Bennett in 1997 and the Packers won 11 games en route to the playoffs.
Hall of Fame quarterbacks find ways to make players around them better and Favre has made some fairly obscure players look very good over the years. He has never relied on just one receiver. The Vikings have more than enough weapons to survive this injury. They were the first team other than the 1983 Dallas Cowboys to have six players record at least 40 receptions in a NFL season.
WR Bernard Berrian is going to have to step up and take over the No. 1 receiver role. He becomes a quality No. 2 fantasy receiver until Rice returns and should finish near the Top 30 for the season.
WR Percy Harvin is going to have to play a bigger role in the offense this year and if he can survive his migraine issues could crack the Top 20 and be a solid second or third receiver.
TE Visanthe Shiancoe is going to have to become a more frequent target, especially on third down and in the red zone. He is still a Top 10 tight end.
Finally, RB Adrian Peterson is a fairly explosive running back last I checked. He is going to have to pick up his game and take some pressure off the passing game, something he is more than capable of doing. He is still a Top Five fantasy running back and gives the Viking offense great balance.
The player that suffers the most in terms of fantasy value is the obvious party, Rice. If healthy, I thought he might be poised to finish in the Top Five among receivers, now if he can play half the season he should finish in the 30s. Remember, at this time last year, Rice had 46 receptions for 537 yards and eight touchdowns in two NFL seasons. Outside of the most faithful South Carolina alumni, nobody thought he would live up to the potential that made him a second round pick in 2007. Favre utilized his talents and the two became a deadly combination in 2009.
This is a setback, but there is still a ton of talent on the roster. If you are going to write off Favre as a top 10 fantasy quarterback, that would be a prettty big mistake. He has only finished in the Top 10 among fantasy quarterbacks 14 out of the last 18 seasons and two of the seasons he did not finish in the Top 10, he was 11th. I still have him ranked in the Top 10 at No. 8 in our Quarterbacks rankings.
I've watched this guy too many years to write him off because a star receiver is going to miss some time. As long as Peterson is healthy and effective, Favre has the balance in the running game to exploit mismatches in the passing game. Favre has not relied on one player since Sterling Sharpe retired in 1994; I expect the Rice injury to be an obstacle, not a disaster |
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