Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic. ~ Edward de Bono And so goes fantasy football draft lists. Most fantasy experts suggest you make a personalized draft list to work from. I agree. Draft lists are very important in establishing where you feel a player should be picked. It can help keep you on task even when the drafting starts to get a little panicked and it would be all too easy for you to jump in the deep end of the crazy pool with both feet. Most draft lists are made by looking at the statistics logically. For example, Player A had B stats last year therefore he should have C stats this year. I agree. (I obviously simplified this, but for the most part A+B=C). Most owners will put the time in to do this and then stop making their draft lists there. I disagree. Though crunching numbers and using statistics works well for creating a good starting draft list this is where I would suggest you take a page out of Edward de Bono's playbook and look at your logically made draft list and apply some lateral thinking. de Bono is a noted author and physician who coined the term "Lateral Thinking" in the late 1960s. Quite simply, lateral thinking is solving problems creatively. Where logic is very step by step, lateral thinking asks that you use reasoning that is not immediately obvious. If it's not obvious then how would I use it? Good question. This is where you have to put in effort and study. It's the only way to move beyond the numbers. Because everybody has access to players statistics right at their fingertips, you and the owner next to you are typically starting on even ground. You need to dig deeper than your opponent. Instead of just looking at final stats, look at the game-by-game breakdowns, watch the games and study the history and movement of the players and teams. Doug Martin had a higher average draft position than Jamaal Charles last year. This is because people logically saw a younger player that had more overall yards the previous year. What most people did not look at was the fact that Charles is also young, and had good production before Martin was even in the league. In other words, he was more consistent. In 2012, Martin had 486 yards and six touchdowns in back-to-back games in the middle of the season against weak opponents. Take those games out and he has less than 1,000 yards and only has six touchdowns. He had five games of more than 100 yards as opposed to ...

With the draft behind us and OTA's kicking off this spring. Some of us are dusting off our fantasy tools and starting to read up on what's ahead for 2013. Like I've always said, it's never too early to start getting ready for your fantasy draft. As the summer approaches you will start to go on vacations, attend backyard cookouts and even take care of those house projects. Before you know it, the draft will be here and we will be monitoring preseason games for breakouts, position battles and injury updates. At this point in the NFL season, we tend to see more updates from the police blotter than we get from teams. In addition, there are still cuts to be made. Traditionally, when we get into June, we will see some of the veterans get let go. This can create some good sleeper opportunities so pay attention to those transactions. What I like to do when I start my preparation for the new fantasy season is to take a look at how positions are going to shake out for the new season. I start with the wide receiver position. I look at how the third-year wide receivers did in 2012 and then look at the receivers that will be entering their third season for 2013. For those that don't know, the theory of the third year wide receiver is one method in fantasy football that is used to select players that have the potential to have a breakout season. Unlike running backs, receivers typically take a little more time to learn the offense and develop. The magical third year is when it all clicks for these players and can be a fantasy gold mine. Over the last 10 season, some players that have excelled in year three are Braylon Edwards who had 1,289 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns in 2007, Javon Walker who had 1,382 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in 2004 and Chad Johnson who had 1,442 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in 2003. Last season, Dez Bryant led all third year wide receivers with 1,382 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns, finishing 3rd overall among wide receivers with 297 fantasy points in PPR formats. Behind him at #5 and #9 were fellow third-year wide receivers Demaryius Thomas with 291 fantasy points and Eric Decker with 261 fantasy points. Victor Cruz who had a down year compared to 2011, when he had 1,536 receiving yards, still put up 10 touchdowns and finished 14th overall among wide receivers with 248 fantasy points. These are the players we hope to draft when we look at third year wide receivers. However, not all receivers make that leap in their third ...

I had the distinct pleasure of sitting in for my esteemed colleague Gary Davenport on Tuesday night's edition of Kellogg's Komments where we had the extraordinary opportunity to interview three very intriguing 2013 NFL Draft prospects. California WR Keenan Allen, North, Carolina State CB David Amerson and Northern Illinois OLB Tyrone Clark were all kind enough to enlighten us on a variety of topics as they approach this new chapter in each of their respective careers. Keenan Allen, WR, California Keenan Allen If not for a late season PCL injury that caused him to miss the season's final three games Keenan Allen would be the number one wide receiver on every teams draft board. The injury would keep Allen from participating in the NFL Combine drills but he did attend the festivities and measured in at 6' 2" and 206 lbs. When asked what he anticipated his forty time would be at his upcoming pro day (April 9th), Allen responded that he thought he'd put up "...in the 4.4s or low 4.5s on a bad day'." Allen has been working out in Boca Raton, Florida with Tony Villani at XPE Sports five days a week in preparation for his Pro Day and stated that his concentration has been focused on his lower body strength and increasing his speed. Having played running back as a youngster when asked about some of his favorite players growing up Allen mentioned fantasy football icons Marshall Faulk and Terrell Davis. After making the transition to wide receiver Allen commented that some of his favorite players were Chad Johnson, Anquan Boldin and Calvin Johnson. Allen spoke very fondly of the support his family has given him throughout his football career, especially his stepfather whom he said that he would give the football from his first NFL touchdown to. He also mentioned the lasting impact that his coach in a ‘mites' league for 10-year olds had on his development over the years. When asked to elaborate on why an NFL team should draft him, you could hear the passion in his voice as Allen stated that he is a ‘football guy,' loves the game and has a dedication to becoming the best there is and a commitment to keep improving at his craft. When pressed to pick whom his toughest opponent was while at California and how he fared against him, he chose Washington CB Desmond Trufant. I guess that was a compliment but it was also the game that Allen chose as his most memorable while at Cal. Allen had 10 catches for 197 yards that included a 92-yard touchdown reception and ...

Looking for (and actually finding) value in a draft is just as essential as avoiding the busts. A majority of players do not even finish close to their average draft positions (ADP), and blindly trusting the majority of drafters is a recipe for failure. Some players are surprises and perform better than expected, while others will be your demise and are labeled as busts. Here are three surprises and demises heading into the 2012 NFL season. Surprise: Davone Bess, WR, Miami (ADP of 187) 1. Chad Johnson is no longer on the Miami Dolphins. 2. Brandon Marshal is now in Chicago, and his 140 targets from 2011 will go elsewhere. 3. Head Coach Joe Philbin is the former offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers (2007-11), whose offense ranked in the Top 10 for total points scored and total yards each year. 4. Bess is now the WR1 for the Miami Dolphins. His best season was in 2010 when he had 79 catches for 820 yards and five touchdowns as the WR2. 5. Bess is going undrafted in 49.8 percent of points per reception leagues. Surprise: Donald Brown, RB, Indianapolis (ADP of 87) 1. Brown had a career-high of 4.8 yards per carry in 2011. 2. Mewelde Moore has been sidelined with a rib injury this preseason. 3. Delone Carter has been sidelined with a rib injury this preseason. 4. Brown was tied for fifth in yards after contact in 2011. 5. Drafting a running back with Brown's expected workload is a steal in the eighth round. Demise: Ronnie Hillman, RB, Denver (ADP of 113) 1. On average, Willis McGahee has only missed one game per season. 2. John Fox does not start rookie running backs. 3. Lance Ball is the No. 2 running back on the depth chart. 4. Hillman has already sustained two hamstring injuries this preseason. 5. Hillman will never see the field on third down until his pass protection improves. Demise: Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia (ADP of 41) 1. Vick is 32 years old. 2. In nine NFL seasons, Vick has played 16 games only once. 3. The Philadelphia Eagles have the seventh-most difficult passing strength of schedule for the fantasy regular season in 2012. 4. Vick has been injured in the first two preseason games this year. 5. Despite only playing only 13 games, Vick still managed a career-high 14 interceptions in 2011.

New York Jets 6, Cincinnati 17 Jets The Jets offense was hard to watch, and even harder to write about. The blocking performance from the offensive line was awful in both the pass and run game as starting quarterback Mark Sanchez was unable to generate consistent production. Shonn Greene continued his usual plodding style picking up a meager 11 yards on five carries. I was hoping so badly for Bilal Powell or Joe McKnight to jump off the screen and take over the Jets backfield. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The highlight of the night for the Jets was two longer runs by Tim Tebow, immediately followed by a terrible interception. Even more goofy was watching Tebow run down on punt coverage. I'm not sure any Jets player is worthy of drafting. Bengals Bengals' quarterback Andy Dalton picked up right where he left in 2011 with solid decision making, accepting what the defense allowed him, while managing his team on long sustained drives. Dalton made it a point to include both AJ Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham. Overall a decent outing for the Bengals' passing game. As expected, BenJarvis Green-Ellis started in the Bengals' backfield. More of a straight line runner, the Law Firm displayed his usual powerful running style with soft hands while excelling in pass blocking. As one of the league's few 3-down running backs, the Law Firm is deserving of upper RB2 value garnering early 4th round consideration. The lowlight for the Bengals were numerous injuries including; starting left guard Travelle Warton, defensive end Carlos Dunlap and middle linebacker Rey Maualuga. Miami 7, Tampa Bay 20 Dolphins David Garrard will be lost for the preseason after undergoing a surgical procedure on his troublesome knee. Stepping in as the Miami starting quarterback was Matt Moore. In my humble opinion Moore is the Rodney Dangerfield of football, brimming with talent, but having played for terrible football teams under constant turmoil. Moore didn't let me down opening the game with two solid drives while delivering the football with velocity and accuracy. Moore carries zero fantasy value due to a lack of team talent at the wide receiver position. After going 14-for-21 with 167 yards and one touchdown, rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill has gained rave reviews in the media postgame reports. Although impressive for a rookie performance, Tannehill's production didn't begin until late in the 3rd quarter against the Bucs 3rd string defense. Don't be ...

Chad Johnson's career may be over and it opens the door for some other receivers in Miami.

With Chad Ochocinco now in Miami, we stop to think about the dynasty league experience.

New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco restructured his contract after the worst season of his NFL career.

The New England Patriots asked wide receiver Chad Ochocinco about restructuring his contract Wednesday, according to the Sports Business Journal.

Chad Ochocinco is planning to eighty-six his last name and go back to the original.