Postseason Exercises (1 of 5) ~ Hot Season Ending Performances

--I will start a small series of articles concentrating on certain exercises you should perform soon after the conclusion of your fantasy football season to increase your chances of success for the following year. This particular piece will be the first of a series of five articles focusing on the first step to determine breakout candidates and quality sleepers for the 2010 season.--

A recognized practice amongst avid fantasy footballers, like myself, is to take note of lesser-known players who ended the season very strong, but didn't really burst onto the scene until later in the season, typically in the last four weeks or so. Players in this context should compose no less than half of your sleeper list for next season. This category of players I will concentrate on are typically young, not well known, and either drafted by their respective NFL teams to be future stars at their positions, or have been thrust into the limelight when players starting ahead of them get injured or relegated. Most of these players will typically carry at least some, if not all of that momentum into the following season. Since many of these players will be mostly forgotten by a lot of fantasy football team owners by next August, they will tend to be available at a great draft value.

Early Rounds

Some players have far outperformed our expectations and have positioned themselves to be solid early-round options, even though they didn't get their chances until midway through the season. They have already strongly established their names and potential in the minds of fantasy footballers everywhere, and have strong potential for a breakout season in 2010. They include...

Jamaal Charles
~~Widely considered a prototypical third down RB, Charles was used in such a manner through
 the first seven weeks of the season. Larry Johnson was supposed to be the Chief's workhorse RB, but turned in pathetic performances on a weekly basis. Once Johnson started dropping gay slurs on Twitter and in front of cameras, it was the perfect excuse for Scott Pioli and the coaching staff to part ways with the aging and struggling Johnson. Charles stepped up and started to shine in week 10. Since becoming the Chief's starter in week 9, Charles had five games over 100 yards rushing, and the final game of the season helped boost his status up into potential first round draft material for 2010 when he ran for 259 yards and 2 TDs at Denver. I have already seen mock drafts with Charles taken off the board at the end of the first round, so it is safe to say this guy has potential for a big year next season. He sure came a long way up through only eight weeks of work.

Jerome Harrison
~~He was given the chance to prove himself to be a starter once the Browns put Jamal Lewis on injured reserve before week 13. He was going to be a very nice mid-round sleeper option for 2010 until he decided to put himself on the map with a record setting performance, running for 289 yards and 3 TDs in week 15, breaking the Browns' single-game rushing record previously held by Jim Brown, and coming a measly 7 yards shy of Adrian Peterson's NFL single-game record. Before that blindsiding performance, I considered Harrison a nice mid-round sleeper to be drafted after round seven of most 10-12 team drafts for next season. After week 15...BOOM!...round three. He solidified that week 15 performance by rushing over 100 yards in the final two games of the season. However, since he is now considered early-round material, I will have to put a buyer beware tag on him. I do this because everyone will easily forget about the rookie James Davis. Davis had the most impressive preseason of any of the Browns' RBs. He looked to be the future starter in Cleveland with Harrison assuming the third-down RB role he already had. After a shoulder injury caused Davis to be placed on injured reserve following week 3, he became an after-thought. Also, Chris Jennings and potentially Jamal Lewis are still in the mix, so as of now, I think the third round may be too high for Harrison, but he does have the potential to be a strong RB2 for your team.

Shonn Greene
~~Thomas Jones is due $2.8 million roster bonus on top of his $2.8 million salary for 2010, which is the final year of his contract, and he will be 32 years old with his fifth consecutive season well over 300 touches (389 this season/postseason) before the 2010 season commences. Did I forget to mention Greene emerged in the playoffs, rushing 21 times for 135 yards (6.4 ypc) and 1 TD at Cincinnati, and rushing 23 times for 128 yards (5.6 ypc) and 1 TD at San Diego, both very solid run defenses? You do the math. I consider Greene an early round breakout candidate only if Jones is cut like I predict. If for some reason, Jones is still a member of the Jets when your 2010 drafts come around, Greene will be more of a middle round sleeper.

Part 2 of 5, Hot Season Ending Performances concentrating on players who will be found in the mid-rounds coming next...