It has long been stated that football is won in the trenches, and the signing of Michigan tackle Jack Long by the Miami Dolphins as the first overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft underscore that importance. And since New England has dominated its division foes by giving quarterback Tom Brady all day to pick apart opposing defenses for nearly a decade, its clear the Dolphins, Jets and Bills are trying to match the Patriots with strong play up front. Have any of them closed the gap on New England? Stay tuned.

New England Patriots (1st in AFC East, 6th in Conference)
They didn’t do much to consistently establish the run last season, though I guess when you go undefeated in the regular season, it doesn’t matter how you got there. Much like Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning, Tom Brady makes this group better.

LT Matt Light
LG Logan Mankins
C Dan Koppen
RG Stephen Neal
RT Nick Kaczur
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Everybody wants the best running back in the league when fantasy football drafts kick off around the country, and San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson is clearly the top choice. Not only is he the best running back in the league, but he benefits by playing behind the best offensive line in the league. When you can find strong skill players supported by strong line play, then you’ve got a formula for success. Young quarterbacks like San Diego’s Philip Rivers and Denver’s Jay Cutler absolutely benefit from strong offensive line play in front of them. So bet big on skill players from San Diego and Denver on draft day as these teams are among the top lines in the conference.

San Diego Chargers (1st in AFC West, 1st in Conference)
The success of this unit over the last few years speaks for itself. McNeill, Dielman and Hardwick are a formidable trio, and remain a big part of LaDainian Tomlinson’s assault on the record books.

LT Marcus McNeill
LG Kris Dielman
C Nick Hardwick
RG Mike Goff
RT Jeromey Clary
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The Jacksonville offensive line is mean, and sets the tone for its offensive. In Indianapolis, the Peyton Manning-led Colts thrive on the quick thinking of their quarterback. Either way, both offensive lines produce great results with completely different formulas. Moral to the story. It might not matter how you win as long as you find a way to win. Expect Jacksonville and Indianapolis to again make the playoffs and for their respective skill players to shine in 2008 thanks to the contributions on the offensive line. Conversely, Tennessee and Houston will struggle because of the lack of talent up front.

Jacksonville Jaguars (1st in AFC South, 2nd in Conference)
This unit brings its lunch pal every Sunday, taking on the hard-nosed style of its coach. They consistency open huge holes for the two-headed monster known as Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew.

LT Khalif Barnes
LG Vince Manuwai
C Brad Meester
RG Maurice Williams
RT Tony Pashos
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It is never to early for you to start thinking cheat sheet and in this weeks Fantasy Football News and Advice Show Corey welcomes two experts to the show; Lee from FootballJabber.com and fantasy industry veteran, Bo Mitchell from FantasyFootballLegend.com.

Along with the usual hand picked fantasy related news items, tonights advice segment centers around Bo Mitchell’s fantasy football rankings cheat sheet. Hear who he has in the top ten at each position and why. Also, hear where you can go to start constructing your own custom fantasy cheat sheet.

Oh and before you press play I have to warn you, there were some issues with one of the Skype call-in lines. Overall the sound quality is solid but – just so you know – there are a few glitches, odd noises and some dead spots (I know…is that all?)I left it as is because I didn’t want to lose any of the good info and I didn’t want to delay the release any longer so that you were getting the freshest info possible. I will work to correct this in the future.

Anyway, enough BS, lets talk some football…

Press play and listen now.
[audio:http://cdn3.libsyn.com/ckoehler/ffna003_2008_cheat_sheat_talk.mp3]
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Links mentioned in the show:
FantasyFootballLegend.com’s 2008 Fantasy Football Rankings
FantasyFootballChamps.com

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Do you want to participate? Just call 206-350-5371 and leave a message. Ask a question or just say whats on your mind and you could hear yourself on an upcoming podcast.

The music heard on this podcast is “Thunder Chicken featuring Joseph Henry” by the Mighty Imperials and “Podcast Background Music – Loop 11″ by Nick Murray.