Monday, July 8th /2002

WR Chris Chambers, Dolphins

Height: 6-0  
Weight: 210  
Born: August 12th/1978, Cleveland, OH 
College: Wisconsin

Career Statistics:    

Chris Smith’s Thoughts:  

Early on in training camp last season, the Dolphins offensive coaches knew they had found an offensive sensation in the rookie from Wisconsin named Chris Chambers.  He is built much like a running back with powerful legs and explosive speed.  He not only catches the ball well, but has outstanding leaping ability and is tough to bring down once the ball is in his hands.  He averaged an impressive 18.4 yards per catch last year as a rookie and the team plans on using him even more during the upcoming season.  He has a positive attitude and an admirable work ethic during both practices and games.  He has blinding speed and great balance on the football field and improved as the season went on last year.

Norv Turner was brought in as the offensive co-coordinator which many folks believe will result in a crash of Chambers worth this year, but that is a very incorrect appraisal of the situation.  Turner does like to use the run, but he also has been known to elevate the worth of a stud receiver.  He used Michael Irvin very well during the Cowboy years and he certainly will use a weapon like Chambers as much as possible.  Having a legitimate rushing presence in the Dolphin backfield now in Ricky Williams will help both Chambers and the entire passing attack because of less stress and pressure to make things happen.  Another potential roadblock folks state is that Jay Fiedler is not a very good NFL quarterback.  However Fiedler is certainly steady enough to get the job done and I see a lot of Rich Gannon in him.  Fiedler will look for Chambers often in the upcoming season.

The bottom line on Chambers is that his work, ethic, drive, attitude and talent is among the finest in the league and he'll end up a top tier fantasy receiving option in only his second season.

85 receptions for 1180 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns for a total of 172 fantasy points

Quotes from the P.O.D. Thread in the forum: (make sure you click on the link that takes you to the thread.  There are many fantastic thoughts that I wasn't able to fit into this article).

Link to the thread: Click Here  

Positive Responses:

Packing Feet:

Assuming Chambers' ankle holds up and he is fine, I think he will have a very good season. Ricardo Williams will still be the focal point of the offense, but with him running like a machine, it will open up the passing game for a Fiedler/Chambers connection.

Lung Nugget:

Having watched (nearly) all his games at Wisconsin I have two thoughts. One, he could catch the ball with his body in every position including the wrong position. Two,he was god-awful strong and many times had undersized DB's bouncing off him like gnats.

rolliehouliranson

I think that Chris Chambers, Derrick Mason, Kevin Johnson, Amani Toomer are interchangeable as a serviceable 2nd receiver on a fantasy team

The Monsoon:

Chambers really stands out to me this year. The upgrade to the Dolphin's offense, and one year of experience under his belt, I look for more good things from Mr. Chambers.

Takashi:

After watching every Miami game last year, Chris Chambers has the desire and skills to be the next great wide receiver. In fact, I feel he will outperform Torry Holt this year alone and Torry Holt is commonly ranked in the top 6 WR's.

Juicecore

To put it quite simply, Chambers is a gamer. He may not be all that tall, but he's strong, has long arms, and his hands excrete glue. Fiedler is better than people think; Ricky Williams will force 8 men to be in the box; Norv Turner is one of the best offensive coordinators in the game

Negative Responses:

Gatorman:

Here is the problem: JAY FIEDLER. Jay is a serviceable QB and may do well in Norv Turner's system, but that means he must learn to be more accurate and cut down on the INTs.

GridironGoliath:

I think Chambers will have a very nice year for Miami, but I think too many people project him way too high. On average there are about 6 WRs per year that score 10 TDs or more. I've seen some people projecting him with 10 or more TDs and calling him the 15th best WR. Let's reign in those numbers a little bit people.

Kleck:

Miami will be a run offense first and Ricky will be their number one option. Chambers is a great WR but the guy will be no stud. With Miami's run happy offense, Chambers will be lucky to break the top 20.

dhabums:

Jay Fiedler + any receiver = running game.

Footballguy Projections:

Chris Smith's Projections:  

P.O.D. average projections