Mike Francesa – The Fantasy Sports Coach

Michael Kay Vs. Mike Francesa

Michael Kay Shoots Peas at The Pope of NY Sports Radio

Michael Kay opens his first show on YES network with a salvo at the the departed Mike Francesa. Kay decided the high road was too tough when he took the simulcast reins at YES network and threw a Diet Coke bottle in the trash to symbolize his status as the new king of New York sports radio. (Mike Francesa is famous for guzzling Diet Coke on his broadcasts.) The jab didn’t go unnoticed as many fans were astonished at how petty Kay was in his first show in Francesa’s old time slot.

Let’s get this straight. I am not a fan of either talking head. If I’m being completely honest I’m not a big fan of the entire industry. Even though I am not a fan, I still respect what they have accomplished in their careers, especially Mike Francesa. Mike Francesa is idolized by sports fans all over the Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey, and Connceticut) His throne looked to be in peril when his side kick, Chris “the Mad Dog” Russo left the show to start his own show on satellite radio, but Francesa managed to stay on top of the ratings.

Michael Kay has worked his way up from being a simple Yankee fan-boy sitting in the nose bleed seats at the old stadium to the cornerstone talent of the YES network. His radio show for ESPN New York is their highest rated program and his ratings have been growing overall. He has been nominated for over 20 Emmy’s and won 7 so obviously someone likes him. I’m just not one of those people that like him.

If you live in the New York area you hear lots of stories about these two. From the “He was dueche at a wedding for not taking pictures with people.” To “He asked a professional athlete why he was making small talk with a janitor.” I’ll let you figure out who is who, but either way you see what kind of people I am talking about. The wedding story was never a big deal to me because maybe he didn’t want to take attention away from the bride and groom, or maybe he had a long day. Who knows, but usually I will give the benefit of the doubt on stuff like that. The other one was more troubling. Asking someone why they talk to a stadium attendant says a lot about the individual. If you can’t do anything for them or aren’t on their economic level then you are excrement.

There are a lot of things I don’t like about what they do at their day jobs as well. I absolutely hate when Kay is teamed with Paul O’Neil in the booth and the two of them do shtick the entire broadcast. I can’t stand his wooden interviews on Center Stage for Yes Network. Francesa acts like hockey doesn’t exist unless a team is going for the Stanley Cup and then he only does the bare minimum for the hockey fans in the area. Francesa is also brutal when it comes to being biased in favor of the Yankees when compared to the Mets. My feelings aside, they both must be doing something very right because they have a lot of fans.

They may be worshiped by the blue collar crowd that props up their ratings, but these two are the furthest thing from blue collar. Francesa is most comfortable talking about the sport of kings or belittling callers for their ignorance. Michael Kay registered at CitiBank for his wedding and asked for cash in lieu of gifts. While many blue collar guys have just as much love for horse racing and soliciting money as these two, they just do it in very different ways.

While Francesa is visiting the stables and watching the horses he owns from the private boxes at Saratoga, Johnny Blue Collar is running to the OTB in between double shifts to try and hit the long shot in the 8th at the Meadowlands.

While Michael Kay is asking his rich friends to help pay for his wedding because he either owns too much or doesn’t trust their taste in gifts, ( Insert Derek Jeter gift package joke here.) Johnny Blue Collar is running a yard sale where he selling some treasured wedding gifts to pay for his children’s orthodontia.

They are both elitist and at times petty, but in this latest battle Michael Kay made himself look silly. Francesa is still the king. His radio show is number one in the ratings and it’s not even close. Kay recently said he was fine with being number two behind Francesa as long as he knew he was doing a better job, but he was quickly corrected by a caller who pointed out that Kay’s program is actually number seven in the ratings and not even in shouting distance.

Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks are a Fantasy Football Dynamic Duo

The importance of drafting a Wide Receiver high in fantasy drafts has never been lower. With the NFL making rule changes every time you turn around. The defense has never been more at a disadvantage. Quarterbacks are free to pick apart toothless secondaries and rack up numbers that have never been seen in the modern game, while defenses have to play Roger Goodell’s version of flag football. The game is safer for the receiver, but almost impossible for a defensive back.

The reason I have the wide receiver position as a low draft priority is not because of a lack of production, but the exact opposite. There is production everywhere. Wide receivers can step up off the streets and became productive fantasy receivers. Just look at Danario Alexander and Cecil Shorts III last year. Alexander was a balky knee free agent who found his way into many fantasy lineups while Shorts III was a small school (Mount Union) after thought that played at an elite level for a number of games last year. Alexander averaged 92.5 yards and .833 TDs from week 9 to week 14 when he became the only reliable target for Phillip Rivers in San Diego. Shorts III averaged 90 yards and .625 TDs from weeks 7 through 15 when he finally became a full time starter for the Jaguars. For comparisons sake A J Green who finished as one of the top fantasy wide receivers last year and is projected in my top 6 this year averaged 84.375 yards and .6875 TDs over the course of 16 games. It just goes to show you that production can come from anywhere in the draft or on the waiver wire when it comes to the wide receiver position.

NFL teams used to have one fantasy relevant receiver, but now some teams feature as many as three high-round draftable wide receivers. The addition ofWes Welker in Denver makes for a great competition for targets between him, Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. While many teams feature fantasy stud bookends like the Giants, some teams still sadly have no sure fire fantasy starters such as the NY Jets, and the Oakland Raiders, but these are the exceptions to the rule.

I currently only have six wide receivers as my clear cut WR1s and 20 others as low-end WR1 to WR2 status. That’s 26 wide receivers who are virtually interchangeable. There are draft tiers within the 26, but overall it’s hard to separate the masses. I have never seen a list that screamed at me to wait more than this year’s wide receivers list. I have a few wide receivers that could make a charge up to top 3 statuses with improved play either by themselves or by their quarterbacks. Larry Fitzgerald could make the leap back up to elite if Carson Palmer resembles the guy we knew in Cincinnati and falls in love with Fitzgerald as a target. While Dez Bryant closed out last season like a man on fire and could continue his maturation into becoming a top 3 fantasy wide receiver. Last, but certainly not least, is Roto-darling Julio Jones. Jones has been trumpeted as the next Calvin Johnson for two years now, but the presence of Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez always make his targets and production less than expected. (Not to mention his balky hamstrings)

We, as Giants fans, are living in a golden age of fantasy wide receiver relevance. We have two wide receivers in Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruzwho could easily play up to WR1 status and at worst are excellent WR2 options. The only draw-back for a lot of us is “Giant fan draft bias” in a lot of our leagues. What I mean by “Giant fan draft bias” is we may have to reach a little during the draft to get our Giants’ wide receivers as there are usually a few fans of the Giants in our local in-person drafted leagues. Reaching a little for Hakeem Nicks over say Vincent Jackson is not a big deal. Nicks or Jackson could and should play to WR1 status and you might as well have a Giant to root for doubly on Sundays. But taking Victor Cruz over Calvin Johnson may be a mortal sin. I have to check on that, but I’m pretty sure.

Giant fan fantasy GMs have had a long drought at the wide receiver position, as far as having a clear cut WR1 to draft and root for. Plaxico Burress was a high end WR2 in his heyday with the Giants while Steve Smith was a WR1 in PPR leagues during the 2009 season. Amani Toomer had a nice run as a WR2 from 1999 to 2003 as he averaged 1,169 yards receiving and 6.5 touchdowns, but only threatened WR1 status once. Toomer’s 2002 season of 1,343 yards receiving and 8 TDs was the standard of New York Giants fantasy receiver production before the current dynamic duo.

Just to prove a point let’s have a trivia question.

Question: Which decade saw more Giants’ 1,000-yard wide receivers (and who were they) the ’80s or ’90s? Answer provided at the bottom.

While Burress could be counted on for touchdowns and Smith for receptions, no one could combine the overall receiver skills that both Nicks and Cruz possess. They can both challenge the 100-reception plateau and should easily reach 1000 yards. They can score from anywhere on the field and both could make a run at the league lead in touchdowns. The emergence of Rueben Randle as a third receiver and the additions of Brandon Myers and Louis Murphy should also free up Nicks and Cruz to become even more valuable moving forward. Not to mention they are both vying for lucrative long term contracts.

Nicks played as mostly a decoy last year as foot and knee issues held up his production (692 yards and 3 TDs). Cruz was forced to carry the load and showed some inconsistency in his game as he had some drops (fourth in the league with 12) and frustrating play. Mike Francesa recently intimated that Cruz had lost a step while speaking on his radio show, but I did not see that when I watched the film. I saw a team that was not able to free up their weapon on enough occasions as Nicks was injured and Hixon was playing on two bad knees. Ramses Barden received the same attention from secondaries as he did in free-agency, none, when he was forced into the lineup. This lack of a secondary option forced Cruz into facing double and triple teams and bracket coverage in many games. Cruz and Nicks should be hungry as they are both in contract years and could push the Giants passing game to heights never before reached.

Not since Homer Jones during the 1967 season have the Giants had the No. 1 overall fantasy wide receiver. That drought could easily come to an end if the Giants fire on all cylinders this season. The best part is it could be Cruz or Nicks who makes the leap to league leader and we, as Giants’ fans and fantasy GMs, can reap the benefits. Barring injuries and contract holdouts I project Victor Cruz to post 1,280 receiving yards with 9 touchdowns and Hakeem Nicks to go for 1,330 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. I like both in the third to fourth round in most redraft formats. If you can get Nicks in the top of the fifth round count yourself lucky and ahead of the game as his injury history might see his stock fall.

You can follow me on twitter @coachesser or contact me on my Facebook page CoachEsser’s Playbook with any questions or comments. You can also go to my website, www.coachesser.com, to see my latest rankings and articles on fantasy sports. My first pre-season rankings will be up on July 1st as I wait for mini-camps and OTAs to come to a close.

Trivia Answer: The 1980s had two Giants receivers hit the 1,000-yard mark as Earnest Gray had 1,139 yards in 1983 and Lionel Manuel had 1,029 in 1988. Amani Toomer was the only Giant to catch passes for more than 1,000 yards during the 1990s when in 1999 he had 1,183 yards receiving.

This article originally appeared at www.BigBlueView.com on Friday June 7th, 2013