Chester Taylor, Antonio Cromartie and Julius Peppers with a fantasy breakdown!

I’m on a semi-working vacation. The truth is when you love your job, you never really get away from work regardless of where you go. I’m going to take a break from my 2009 All-Fantasy team breakdown to give my two cents on some recent signings.

As always, I don’t try to pretend to be an NFL analyst to sound bigger than I am – I just stay at Holiday Inns.OK, bad joke, but I say that because I still chuckle at some of my peers in the fantasy industry who are doing their damndest to be seen as NFL analysts despite fantasy being their bread and butter. Myself? I can handle my own with any analyst, so I’ve never really cared. In the end it was fantasy that made KFFL, yet it was NFL news that brought us our viewers, so we’ve always been a cross between the two.

DE Julius Peppers, formerly of the Carolina Panthers, is now a Chicago Bear. As best as I see it, Peppers allows the team to keep the Cover 2 this year. He is athletic, versatile and has great moves/agility for a big man. That helps fantasy owners because the team’s defensive schemes will stay in place, allowing for continuity and familiarity. In other words, another year in this system will generate greater turnovers, sacks and touchdowns for fantasy owners. I’ve never been a Peppers fan because I believe the great ones help others around them play better, and I’m not sure Peppers is that type of player. I could be wrong but have never heard that he is. He is a stud and is averaging 10 sacks per year since his rookie year. Overall this signing will help the team, but is he worth $40 million over the course of three years of a much larger six-year contract? We’ll see!

CB Antonio Cromartie is now with the New York Jets, via trade from the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers received a 2011 draft pick for him, but I have to say that this man is not well-liked and is hated by many fans in San Diego. I’ve listed him because he’s the type of player that gives NFL players a bad name, and even though I’m in San Diego, rereading it just makes me stare in disbelief.

Per ProFootballTalk.com, and SignOnSanDiego.com, Cromartie has seven children in five states and has had at least five paternity suits the last five years. He’s been accused by one of the children’s mother of being late with payments. It’s stated, he owes $25K for several kids. OUCH! He also did not show up twice on traffic citations, including not paying $799 in fines. Finally, he never passed the written portion of the driver’s license either, so how far will the $7.35 in guaranteed millions go? I don’t think too far!

He has yet to learn anything from this and it will continue. My God, he makes millions; why doesn’t he buy condoms for pennies! The real question is if he can help the team before his personal issues overwhelm him, affect his play and his stay in the NFL! He does solidify the Jets’ secondary as he’s 6-foot-2, 203 pounds and is better than his play of 2009 showed despite Cromartie saying it was his best season. Let’s not forget he had 10 picks in 2007 and is in a contract year. He does have Deion Sanders‘ syndrome, which is a fear of tackling! I say that in jest, but his performance in the loss to the Jets during the playoffs seems to have tainted him for at least the foreseeable future.

Windy City, here he comes!

RB Chester Taylor, now with the Chicago Bears, signed a four-year, $12.5 million contract. However, the big question is what happens to Matt Forte? Will it be a committee approach now? I don’t think so. I believe Taylor will see more playing time than last season, but he’s going to be 31 this year where Forte is only entering his third season. There are positives to Taylor. When he comes in defenses won’t be able to assume a between-the-tackles or a third-down running back role with him. In other words, the team doesn’t have to change their game plan or style of play when he’s on the field. That’s a big plus for the team but not so for fantasy owners as it will be some kind of time share compared to Forte’s last two years.

If you draft Forte, like in years past with Peterson, you must draft Taylor! Don’t forget, Mike Martz is the team’s new offensive coordinator, so both Forte and Taylor have great value in point-per-reception leagues. Though off-topic, the one position that seems to always fail in a Martz system is the tight end position. We’re not talking Greg Olsen‘s future right now. That’s for later but the point is that the three other skill positions – quarterback, running back and wide receivers – tend to thrive in a Martz system!

Don’t forget, I’m a Tweeter and post what’s happening in a breaking or timely manner. I also point you to solid links that can help out as we approach the fantasy football offseason and the fantasy baseball season. Follow me at http://twitter.com/wdelpilar.