Chris Greisen, the 32-year old stud quarterback of the Georgia Force, will have another outstanding year in 2008. You can take that to the bank. Some might worry that he is losing two of his top receivers and this will diminish his value. But if you look at Greisen’s numbers, you will see how ridiculous that fear is.
First, Greisen was the top QB in the AFL last year. He had truly amazing, record-setting numbers. Greisen was 393 of 531 for a 4,871 yards and a stunning 117 passing TDs. His completion percentage was 74%, which is about what he had when he was a backup in Dallas the previous year in 2006. And his 2007 passing TD total was almost 10% higher than his nearest rival, Joe Germaine of Utah, and close to 20 TDs more than Clint Dolezel and Arena Bowl Champion Mark Grieb. And on top of all that, he ran it in for six more. It is not just great receivers that give you numbers like these.
Sure, Greisen is losing two of his top targets, wide receivers Derek Lee and Chris Jackson. But great receivers do not make a great quarterback. They do help, but ultimately quarterbacks stand or fall on their own merits. And the great quarterbacks can get the best out of the guys around them, no matter who they are. Just look at Grieb and Dolezel. They have both weathered changes in receivers over the years and both have managed to remain fantasy studs. The same will be the case for Greisen.
Greisen will not be throwing to ghosts down in Georgia. Troy Bergeron will still be there and is an outstanding receiver who caught 41 TDs from Greisen last year, making him the 5th on the list of top AFL receivers. No doubt Bergeron will catch more this year after Georgia rightly traded away some of the excess talent they had at wide receiver. But that is no reason to worry about Greisen. Willis Marshall, always a solid receiver, might just grow into the role as the No. 2 guy. And surely one of the new talents will step up.
So don’t worry about the changes in receiver. Greisen will make whoever he is tossing the rock to a better player. Take Greisen as your No. 1 QB and dominate your league.
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Georgia Force QB Chris Greisen burst onto the AFL scene last year, passing for an AFL record 117 TDs in his first season as the starter. Greisen lit up AFL secondaries on a nightly basis with studs like Chris Jackson, Derek Lee and Troy Bergeron. Defenses had no clue who to cover when the Force offense took the field, and Greisen made them pay for it each and every time. That was the 2007 version of Chris Greisen. Now comes the 2008 season, without two-thirds of the lethal trio. Jackson and Lee have both left via free agency and Bergeron is now the only option on offense.
I know I'm going to offend some Force fans here, but I see Greisen's numbers taking a HUGE hit this year, and if you look at the WRs on the roster it's pretty easy to see why. With Jackson and Lee gone, let's examine who Greisen will throw to (besides Bergeron). See if you recognize any of these names.
- Chris Baker
- Chad Cone
- Willis Marshall
- Brent Holmes
- Carl Morris
- Kyle Smith
One word comes to my mind after looking at this list: YIKES!
Obviously, there is a reason I have him ranked as low as I do in the pre-season rankings. Jackson and Lee accounted for 67 of Greisen's 117 TDs last year. I seriously doubt that if you, at the end of the year, combine all the TDs from the WRs listed above, that they will come close to the 67 TDs the Force lost when Jackson and Lee left. I have him booked for about 4500 yards passing and 78 passing TDs this year, and he may struggle to reach those numbers. The Force will struggle offensively this year and will regret having done NOTHING to replace Jackson and Lee.
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