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10-25-07, 08:44 AM
| #176 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak"  Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
|  Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 When to Worry I usually can determine the mood of the fantasy football world by the volume of my email. That's volume, as in both quantity and the tenor of the voices in those emails. And lots of people certainly seem antsy this week. Hey, I understand. Any time you miss those high-flying Cleveland Browns for a week, it makes you feel uncomfortable. Add a season-ending injury to a star such as Ronnie Brown and looking ahead to the second of these six-team bye weeks, then you can see why there is so much concern. But there also is concern about offenses all around the league: Denver's running game, the Jets' offense, Frank Gore's production, Santana Moss's continuing lack of production and the Lions' sudden transformation into a running team, to name a few. More often than at any other point this year, fantasy football has turned into a week-by-week proposition. Just a week ago, Laurence Maroney's impending return to the Patriots' lineup was a much-awaited development for all those people who spent a high pick on him. Now? You're wondering if he'll crack double digits in carries any time soon. Here are a few things that should keep you up at night and a few not to lose sleep over. Full of worry Minnesota's quarterbacks. Even if the Vikings take the bait and use Tarvaris Jackson's finger injury to sit him again, it's not like Kelly Holcomb is a huge upgrade. At least Holcomb threw only one pick in his two games and cracked triple digits in yards both times. Anything to complete a few more passes and convert a few more third downs will just give Adrian Peterson more chances. But it's not like Peterson is getting a whole lot of support right now. newyorkgiants.com Where are the Redskins wide receivers? I'm a couple of weeks late to this party, but Washington is getting virtually nothing from Santana Moss and Antwan Randle El. Randle El leads the team with 70.3 receiving yards per game but has 54 or fewer yards in four of the six games. Santana Moss missed one game to injury and has two catches for 8 yards in his past two. No wide receiver has caught a TD pass and no receiver other than Randle El and Moss has more than four receptions. Quarterback Jason Campbell's life would be a lot easier if some of his receivers would help. newyorkgiants.com The Patriots run game. Somebody will figure out a way to shut down Tom Brady and Randy Moss one of these days, but until that happens, Maroney is a risky play, as is Kevin Faulk and whomever else rolls out between Kyle Eckel, Heath Evans or somebody else you've never heard of. None of them is an obvious starter until the Patriots show some sort of commitment to running. And with Brady and Moss, why would they do that? The Patriots run defense. Hey, the Patriots have to have a weakness, right? They've allowed more than 6 yards a carry in the past two games and you know the Redskins will give Clinton Portis plenty of chances this week. The recent struggles could be an anomaly related to New England's huge leads, but it bears watching. A running back facing the Patriots is not an automatic sit right now. indianapoliscolts.com No worries here Colts running game. The idea of the Colts turning into a running back-by-committee was brought up after Kenton Keith stole a TD from Joseph Addai on Monday. But the reality is that both backs were banged up during the game and the Colts had a big lead. Yes, they are comfortable spelling Addai with Keith. Addai, though, is the star and will remain one as long as he is healthy. tennesseetitans.com The Lions' running resurgence. They stayed on the ground with more rushing plays than passing attempts against the Bucs last week, but Detroit still has an imbalance. The Lions have attempted 211 passes and ran only 121 times. They are seventh in average passing yards and 27th in average rushing yards per game. Don't make the mistake of thinking coordinator Mike Martz has gone soft. He was smart enough to adjust in one specific game, but this is an airborne system. Jesse Chatman's chances. It's not clear how good Chatman actually is, but he will get every opportunity to succeed. Ronnie Brown created a decent running game for such a bad team, and the Dolphins have to make an effort to stay on the ground now. I'm not looking for four 100-yard games in a row, but I do expect Chatman to regularly get 20 carries and score 5-6 TDs the rest of the season. oaklandraiders.com Owen Daniels' production. Anybody who picked up Daniels as a bye-week fill-in was disappointed by his two catches for 20 yards last week, his worst game since Week 1. He had at least five catches and 56 yards in each of the five interim games and will get back to that level. His problem against Tennessee was the Texans getting behind and abandoning their regular offense. The only uncertainty is what might happen if Sage Rosenfels has to start for Matt Schaub. Daniels, though, is a vital part of the offense. Still not sure Browns staying power. Cleveland's fourth-ranked scoring offense (27.8 points/game) has been one of this season's big surprises, considering the Browns traded their starting quarterback after Week 1. But will Derek Anderson, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow keep rolling? Weather, more than the schedule, probably will be the bigger second-half concern. Plus, Anderson has never produced like this over the long term. Now is a good sell-high time; if you're buying, consider the lack of a track record before overpaying. carolinapanthers.com If Shaun Alexander will do anything. At least you can stick him on the bench this week because of the week off. I have been about as big of an Alexander supporter out there, but he obviously looks slow and uninspired. Sure, the blocking might not be great, but the Alexander of three years ago would not have been bothered. The schedule remains very easy with his next four games against run defenses ranked 23rd or worse. That has not helped to date, but something has to change. Right? When Selvin Young will take over. He figures to get more time this week with Travis Henry battling a rib injury, but the potential drug suspension has been pushed at least into November. It's not like the Broncos are rolling on the ground, however. Henry has hit 20 carries and 100 yards in just one of his past four games. So don't feel like you have to play Young against the Packers' 11th-ranked run defense or rush out to acquire him. If Rudi Johnson ever comes back. OK, I strongly suspect he will come back. But will he be any good? Kenny Watson sparked a flurry of activity by rushing for 130 yards and three TDs against the Jets' 28th-ranked run defense. The Bengals need a productive Johnson against the Steelers' third-ranked rush defense, but Johnson has missed most of three games because of a hamstring injury and averaged only 3.1 yards a carry in the other three. A lingering hamstring problem will not put to rest doubt that his better days are behind him. What happens when Kellen Clemens starts. Maybe it's this week, maybe two weeks from now, but have no doubt that Clemens will take over for Chad Pennington. The Clemens difference could be striking. Chad Pennington completed his first pass play of over 30 yards last week. Clemens had two such plays to Jerricho Cotchery against Baltimore in his only start. Clemens also will not lock in on good buddy Laveranues Coles as Pennington does sometime. So get ready to knock Coles down a peg and move Cotchery up when the inevitable happens. |
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10-25-07, 02:50 PM
| #177 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Free Kellen Clemens! Having watched the Jets quite a bit lately it's long been clear that they'd be better off replacing Chad Pennington with Kellen Clemens and earlier this week it looked like coach Eric Mangini was ready to make the switch. Instead, he announced Wednesday that Pennington will keep his job with his usual "Chad is our starting quarterback" mantra. However, this time Mangini refused to address whether or not it was a long-term decision, saying: "I'm only focused on this week." Pennington put up good numbers Sunday against the Bengals, but it's important to note that everyone puts up good numbers against the Bengals. He also threw a crucial interception late as the Jets fell to 1-6 and struggled mightily versus actual NFL-caliber defenses in the previous two games, averaging just 6.2 yards per attempt while being picked off four times against the Giants and Eagles. Clemens is clearly the Jets' long-term starter and Pennington's arm strength isn't getting any less floaterific with age, so it seems likely that he'll be on a short leash Sunday against the Bills. Pennington actually produced some nice numbers against the Bills back in Week 4, completing 32-of-39 passes for 290 yards and one touchdown, but didn't look especially sharp and had a wobbly throw picked off late with the Jets down a field goal. While the Free Kellen Clemens! movement hopefully picks up steam, here are some other notes from around football * Steven Jackson practiced fully Wednesday for the first time since partially tearing his groin in Week 3, ditching the red no-contact jersey that he wore last week. Barring a setback Jackson is expected to return to the starting lineup Sunday against the Browns, with fill-in Brian Leonard returning to fullback after averaging 3.9 yards per carry in his place. Aware of the questions his fantasy owners have regarding his status, Jackson advised them to "start me this Sunday." For now consider Jackson a solid RB2 option, but that will obviously change if he puts together a strong game against the Browns' weak rush defense while remaining healthy. "It's fun to go out there and practice full-go and not be limited like the last couple of weeks," Jackson said. "Everything's going well. A groin is something that, it feels good and the next day it may have a little tweak here or there, so we're waiting on Thursday to see how it reacts." * David Garrard has been diagnosed with the dreaded high-ankle sprain, with coach Jack Del Rio saying Wednesday that he's expected to miss 3-4 weeks. As Del Rio also pointed out, high-ankle sprains tend to linger longer than initially expected, so there's a chance that Garrard will be sidelined for over a month. He's safe to drop in most re-draft leagues at this point, but new Jaguars starter Quinn Gray isn't worth picking up as his replacement unless you're desperate. kansascitychiefs.com Gray was awful in relief Monday night against the Colts, has three straight road matchups coming up against Tampa Bay, New Orleans, and Tennessee, and doesn't figure to do a whole lot of throwing if Jacksonville can establish any sort of consistent running game against what will surely be plenty of eight-man fronts. The Bucs' defense is no longer elite, but they still force a lot of turnovers and are an excellent fantasy option in Week 8. The good news for the Jaguars is that it doesn't sound like Maurice Jones-Drew's knee injury will sideline him this week. MJD missed practice Wednesday after leaving Monday night's game in the fourth quarter with what is being called a sprain, but made it clear to reporters afterward that he expects to play Sunday. "I'm good, there's nothing wrong," Jones-Drew said. "It's like you fall and you get cut. It'll heal. It's nothing. I don't understand the big deal." clevelandbrowns.com * Rudi Johnson sat out practice Wednesday and Thursday, and looks likely to play a limited role at best in Week 8 against the Steelers. Johnson has essentially been sidelined for a month now with a hamstring injury and gained nine yards on 17 carries the last time he saw major action in a game way back on September 23. His absence has allowed backup Kenny Watson to emerge as an impact player, with Watson totaling 157 yards and three touchdowns on 34 touches Sunday. baltimoreravens.com That brought Watson's per-carry average up to 4.7 on the year, which doesn't seem like a fluke given that he's now gained an average of 4.9 yards on 233 career rushes spread over five seasons. Watson's receiving skills already gave him an edge over Johnson on third downs, so proving that he can be an effective every-down runner puts Johnson's starting job in serious short- and long-term jeopardy. Pittsburgh's scary defense makes neither a good Week 8 play. detroitlions.com Two-Minute Drill: LaMont Jordan, Brandon Jacobs, and Laurence Maroney have each been removed from their respective teams' injury reports, but only Jacobs has an especially strong matchup in Week 8 Tatum Bell has fallen to No. 3 on the Lions' running-back depth chart and special-teams contributor Aveion Cason is expected to active over him The Tampa Tribune speculates that the recently acquired Michael Bennett could take over the Bucs' lead runner once he gets a firm grasp of the offense, but that seems unlikely following Earnest Graham's 32-touch, 191-yard effort Sunday Pro Football Talk reports that the Raiders are considering releasing Dominic Rhodes despite his getting 10 touches as Jordan's backup Sunday, which would hand the No. 2 job to Justin Fargas Nate Burleson's frequent mental lapses have reportedly frustrated the Seahawks' coaching staff, which is bad news for Burleson's role now that D.J. Hackett is healthy Chris Henry dislocated a finger in his return to practice Wednesday and still has another two weeks remaining on his eight-game suspension. Tampabaybuccaneers.com Red Zone: Ronnie Brown's (knee) season officially ended when he was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, clearing the way for Jesse Chatman to have a fantasy impact According to coach Jeff Fisher, Vince Young "took every snap he ordinarily takes during a Wednesday practice session" and "was fine" Despite not practicing Wednesday, Frank Gore (ankle) is expected to start in Week 8 Alex Smith (shoulder) practiced fully Wednesday and looks likely to return this week against the Saints after sitting out a month Chester Taylor (groin) was limited in practice Wednesday, which could give Adrian Peterson a value boost Coach John Fox said Wednesday that David Carr (back) will start over Vinny Testaverde in Week 8 if he's healthy enough to play Josh McCown (foot) returned to practice Wednesday, but Daunte Culpepper continued to take first-team reps Rod Smith practiced Wednesday for the first time since having hip surgery 10 months ago Tony Scheffler (leg) practiced Wednesday and is nice bye-week filler With Tarvaris Jackson (finger) sitting out most of practice Wednesday, Kelly Holcomb looks likely to be the Vikings quarterback who struggles against the Eagles in Week 8. |
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10-25-07, 04:08 PM
| #178 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Week 8 Rankings Week 8 Quarterbacks
Note: For updated projections on every player ranked here, head to our Season Pass package . QB Notes: It's hard to rank Tom Brady below second for the week, but keep this in mind: his next two opponents are tied for first place in the NFL in yards-per-attempt (YPA) allowed. New England has faced only one better-than-average pass defense. His insane numbers are due for a slowdown. Donovan McNabb continues to play well between the twenties, but not in the red zone. Look for the Eagles to attack Minnesota's weak pass defense like it's 2005 with 45+ attempts. Brian Griese's consistency plus the matchup against Detroit makes him nearly a must-start this week. You think Rex Grossman could have directed a game-winning drive with no communication from the sideline? There's a chance Josh McCown will play for the Raiders this week. I wouldn't touch Daunte Culpepper against the Titans anyway. Chad Pennington is probably going to get two more starts, assuming he plays well. New York has a bye in a few weeks, then should look to Kellen Clemens. Buffalo's defense is coming off back-to-back excellent outings, so perhaps they have recovered from the onslaught of injuries early in the year. Trent Edwards was essentially named the Bills starter for the rest of the year. This week's game against the Jets will show if he can put up numbers against weak competition. The odds on a rookie quarterback being better than a low-end QB2 are slim. Marc Bulger continues to find new lows. This week, he gets a home game against the Browns. If he can't produce decent stats this week, he needs to be put on your fantasy bench for good. The Bears slowed down Jon Kitna for three quarters last time out, but I'd still have a hard time sitting him against a sluggish defense. Brett Favre's old defensive coordinator Jim Bates (now in Denver) should know the best ways to make Favre uncomfortable. The Tampa offensive line could have problems with Jacksonville's massive front seven. Don't expect a lot of points in that game. Alex Smith and Vince Young are expected to return this week, but don't expect much from them in tough matchups. The Oakland pass defense is back after a slow start. Week 8 Running Backs RB Notes: I expect Kevin Jones to see 20 touches a game moving forward and to become very active in the passing game. Tatum Bell is expected to be inactive this week, so owners can drop him. Brian Westbrook has a very difficult matchup on paper, but he'll still get his yards in the passing game this week. Westbrook's season low in total yards is 119. Perhaps Kelly Holcomb will help the Minnesota offense get into scoring position more, but don't expect miracles. Adrian Peterson still probably needs to hit home runs to get in the end zone. I don't expect All Day's job share to end anytime soon because Chester Taylor is quietly playing solid football. He dodged a number of tacklers last week on a few key runs. Fun stat for the Vikings running game: They are 16th in rush attempts, but first in yards. They are averaging almost as many yards-per-carry as they are yards-per-attempt in the passing game. Earnest Graham's monster afternoon against Detroit should earn him the primary role in Tampa for a few more weeks, but he's been stymied against better defenses. He's still a shaky RB2 option. If Deshawn Wynn is healthy, this is a week you can consider using him. Green Bay has likely worked on the running game during the bye week and don't want to throw like crazy in Denver. Brandon Jacobs practiced fully Wednesday and is an every-week starter as long as he remains in the lineup. He's averaging 5.6 yards-per-carry and the Miami rush defense will be in trouble without Zach Thomas. Joseph Addai owners can't be thrilled with Kenton Keith taking so much work, but 15-20 touches on the Colts is better than 25 on most teams. Indy is averaging 32 rushes a game this season. If I had to guess the split moving forward, I'd give Addai 19 and Keith 13. Keep an eye on Frank Gore's health throughout the week. Indications are good thus far that he'll play. Marshawn Lynch has survived a difficult schedule this season and is still the RB11. The schedule gets far easier moving forward with three excellent matchups in a row (Jets, Bengals, Dolphins). He also faces Miami and Cleveland during the fantasy playoffs. I ranked Lynch 13th in my top 21 backs moving forward and I'm beginning to think that's too low. Lynch makes for a great trade target. Rudi Johnson hasn't practiced yet this week, and I expect Kenny Watson to remain the starter in Cincinnati for a while either way. Watson has a difficult matchup against the Steelers, but he's a great flex option at worst. Let's see Jesse Chatman put up some numbers against a starting defense before crowning him an every-week option. Jamal Lewis' status is uncertain. Jason Wright would approximately replace him in the rankings if Lewis is out. With rumors of Dominic Rhodes possibly being released, don't expect to see a straight committee in Oakland just yet. Week 8 Wide Receivers WR Notes: Muhsin Muhammad has found new life under Brian Griese. The Bears would be smart to pass like crazy against Detroit, so Muhammad and Bernard Berrian are good options this week. For all of Donovan McNabb's struggles, he's still tenth in the league in yards-per-game and has only thrown two interceptions all season. This is a cake matchup, so look for Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis to put up solid days. Steve Smith is going to have to take the short routes this week because Indianapolis is nearly impossible to get deep on. Santonio Holmes has emerged as one of the more consistent fantasy wideouts. His season-low is 49 yards and he's caught six balls in each of the last two games. Both he and Hines Ward are difficult to bench this week. Donald Driver is having trouble distancing his numbers from the other Green Bay receivers. He's a riskier-than-usual option this week if Champ Bailey is on him. Lee Evans had a solid effort against the Jets a few weeks back, and had two big games against them last year. He's a decent play this week with so many teams on a bye. Kevin Walter has graduated to fantasy starter status, and I'm not sure that the eventual return of Andre Johnson will crush his value. Andre Davis is the one likely to lose snaps. Houston has a top-five passing game thus far in yards and yards-per-attempt. I'm not ranking Brandon Stokley overly high because he's been getting starter snaps for the last four games, and he has three rough outings out of the four. Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald are hit-or-miss plays with Jon Kitna throwing less and Calvin Johnson in the starting lineup. Week 8 Tight Ends
Week 8 Team Defense
Week 8 Kickers
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10-25-07, 04:08 PM
| #179 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Week 8 Rankings Week 8 Quarterbacks
Note: For updated projections on every player ranked here, head to our Season Pass package . QB Notes: It's hard to rank Tom Brady below second for the week, but keep this in mind: his next two opponents are tied for first place in the NFL in yards-per-attempt (YPA) allowed. New England has faced only one better-than-average pass defense. His insane numbers are due for a slowdown. Donovan McNabb continues to play well between the twenties, but not in the red zone. Look for the Eagles to attack Minnesota's weak pass defense like it's 2005 with 45+ attempts. Brian Griese's consistency plus the matchup against Detroit makes him nearly a must-start this week. You think Rex Grossman could have directed a game-winning drive with no communication from the sideline? There's a chance Josh McCown will play for the Raiders this week. I wouldn't touch Daunte Culpepper against the Titans anyway. Chad Pennington is probably going to get two more starts, assuming he plays well. New York has a bye in a few weeks, then should look to Kellen Clemens. Buffalo's defense is coming off back-to-back excellent outings, so perhaps they have recovered from the onslaught of injuries early in the year. Trent Edwards was essentially named the Bills starter for the rest of the year. This week's game against the Jets will show if he can put up numbers against weak competition. The odds on a rookie quarterback being better than a low-end QB2 are slim. Marc Bulger continues to find new lows. This week, he gets a home game against the Browns. If he can't produce decent stats this week, he needs to be put on your fantasy bench for good. The Bears slowed down Jon Kitna for three quarters last time out, but I'd still have a hard time sitting him against a sluggish defense. Brett Favre's old defensive coordinator Jim Bates (now in Denver) should know the best ways to make Favre uncomfortable. The Tampa offensive line could have problems with Jacksonville's massive front seven. Don't expect a lot of points in that game. Alex Smith and Vince Young are expected to return this week, but don't expect much from them in tough matchups. The Oakland pass defense is back after a slow start. Week 8 Running Backs RB Notes: I expect Kevin Jones to see 20 touches a game moving forward and to become very active in the passing game. Tatum Bell is expected to be inactive this week, so owners can drop him. Brian Westbrook has a very difficult matchup on paper, but he'll still get his yards in the passing game this week. Westbrook's season low in total yards is 119. Perhaps Kelly Holcomb will help the Minnesota offense get into scoring position more, but don't expect miracles. Adrian Peterson still probably needs to hit home runs to get in the end zone. I don't expect All Day's job share to end anytime soon because Chester Taylor is quietly playing solid football. He dodged a number of tacklers last week on a few key runs. Fun stat for the Vikings running game: They are 16th in rush attempts, but first in yards. They are averaging almost as many yards-per-carry as they are yards-per-attempt in the passing game. Earnest Graham's monster afternoon against Detroit should earn him the primary role in Tampa for a few more weeks, but he's been stymied against better defenses. He's still a shaky RB2 option. If Deshawn Wynn is healthy, this is a week you can consider using him. Green Bay has likely worked on the running game during the bye week and don't want to throw like crazy in Denver. Brandon Jacobs practiced fully Wednesday and is an every-week starter as long as he remains in the lineup. He's averaging 5.6 yards-per-carry and the Miami rush defense will be in trouble without Zach Thomas. Joseph Addai owners can't be thrilled with Kenton Keith taking so much work, but 15-20 touches on the Colts is better than 25 on most teams. Indy is averaging 32 rushes a game this season. If I had to guess the split moving forward, I'd give Addai 19 and Keith 13. Keep an eye on Frank Gore's health throughout the week. Indications are good thus far that he'll play. Marshawn Lynch has survived a difficult schedule this season and is still the RB11. The schedule gets far easier moving forward with three excellent matchups in a row (Jets, Bengals, Dolphins). He also faces Miami and Cleveland during the fantasy playoffs. I ranked Lynch 13th in my top 21 backs moving forward and I'm beginning to think that's too low. Lynch makes for a great trade target. Rudi Johnson hasn't practiced yet this week, and I expect Kenny Watson to remain the starter in Cincinnati for a while either way. Watson has a difficult matchup against the Steelers, but he's a great flex option at worst. Let's see Jesse Chatman put up some numbers against a starting defense before crowning him an every-week option. Jamal Lewis' status is uncertain. Jason Wright would approximately replace him in the rankings if Lewis is out. With rumors of Dominic Rhodes possibly being released, don't expect to see a straight committee in Oakland just yet. Week 8 Wide Receivers WR Notes: Muhsin Muhammad has found new life under Brian Griese. The Bears would be smart to pass like crazy against Detroit, so Muhammad and Bernard Berrian are good options this week. For all of Donovan McNabb's struggles, he's still tenth in the league in yards-per-game and has only thrown two interceptions all season. This is a cake matchup, so look for Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis to put up solid days. Steve Smith is going to have to take the short routes this week because Indianapolis is nearly impossible to get deep on. Santonio Holmes has emerged as one of the more consistent fantasy wideouts. His season-low is 49 yards and he's caught six balls in each of the last two games. Both he and Hines Ward are difficult to bench this week. Donald Driver is having trouble distancing his numbers from the other Green Bay receivers. He's a riskier-than-usual option this week if Champ Bailey is on him. Lee Evans had a solid effort against the Jets a few weeks back, and had two big games against them last year. He's a decent play this week with so many teams on a bye. Kevin Walter has graduated to fantasy starter status, and I'm not sure that the eventual return of Andre Johnson will crush his value. Andre Davis is the one likely to lose snaps. Houston has a top-five passing game thus far in yards and yards-per-attempt. I'm not ranking Brandon Stokley overly high because he's been getting starter snaps for the last four games, and he has three rough outings out of the four. Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald are hit-or-miss plays with Jon Kitna throwing less and Calvin Johnson in the starting lineup. Week 8 Tight Ends
Week 8 Team Defense
Week 8 Kickers
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10-26-07, 03:41 PM
| #180 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Childress Sees the Light It's taken half the season for him to see what has been readily apparent to just about everyone else since the first game, but coach Brad Childress finally said Thursday that Adrian Peterson will see his workload increase going forward. Childress still hasn't moved Peterson into the starting lineup and it remains to be seen how many carries the "increase" will actually lead to, but it's at least a step in the right direction. Peterson got a big workload when Chester Taylor was sidelined, but has averaged just 14.6 carries per game with Taylor active. That includes just 12 carries in two of the past three games, which is obviously an inexcusable number for the NFL's leading rusher given his whopping 6.2-yard per-carry average and the Vikings' offensive struggles. Childress has proven incredibly stubborn (or worse), but Taylor may still end up in a glorified third-down role by season's end. While the world waits to see what sort of ridiculous numbers Purple Jesus might be capable of piling up if the Vikings actually kept him on the field for more than half the game, here are some other notes from around football * As expected, coach Mike Nolan officially announced Thursday that Alex Smith will return to the starting lineup Sunday against the Saints. Nolan said that Smith has "looked good" and "looked healthy" in practice this week, adding: "I expect him to play well." It remains to be seen if Smith is truly 100 percent healthy, but the Saints' wobbly pass defense is certainly a nice matchup to shake some rust off against after missing nearly a month with a separated shoulder. Meanwhile, Frank Gore returned to practice on a limited basis Thursday and continues to insist that he'll suit up in Week 8. He's officially listed as "day-to-day," so barring a setback you can count on Gore as a mid-level RB1 option this week. Gore has just one 20-touch game this season and got the ball only 17 times in Week 7, but gained 88 yards on 14 carries against the Giants to top a five-yard average for the first time since Week 15 of last season. * Along with playing through a partially separated shoulder, Kellen Winslow revealed Thursday that he's been experiencing knee soreness stemming from offseason microfracture surgery (which he came back from far sooner than expected). Despite a pair of injuries that seemingly should be limiting his production, Winslow is averaging an amazing 17.4 yards per catch after coming into this season with a career mark of under 10 yards per grab. Along with all the big plays, Winslow has also been remarkably consistent, catching at least four passes in all six games and topping 80 yards in all but one to rank as the fourth-best fantasy tight end in football. That puts him on a 77-catch, 1,350-yard pace despite being a major question mark just a few months ago. Winslow has suffered a ton of injuries in his short career, but has shown the ability to play and play well through anything that isn't of the season-ending variety. * Chris Brown's ankle injury sidelined him Sunday and has kept him from practicing this week, which is good news for LenDale White's projected workload against the Raiders. White is averaging just 3.3 yards per run this season, but 114 carries through six games has very quietly put him on pace for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns. White has 58 touches over the past two games and finally broke a few solid gains Sunday for the first time in a month. oaklandraiders.com Brown's injury also means that rookie Chris Henry could be backing up White in Week 8. Coach Jeff Fisher has made it clear that Brown remains ahead of Henry on the depth chart, but the second-round pick looked very impressive in limited action Sunday and a second straight notable performance could change the Titans' backfield situation. Henry is clearly in the team's long-term plans, while Brown was let go and re-signed this offseason, so an eventual shift seems certain. sandiegochargers.com * Cedric Benson continues to get plenty of carries and coach Lovie Smith continues to give him votes of confidence publicly, but the Chicago Sun-Times passed along some concerning numbers earlier this week. Along with averaging a measly 3.1 yards per carry to rank dead last among all running backs with at least 65 rushes, Benson has been brought down for a loss on 15.4 percent (21) of his 136 carries. www.washingtonredskins.ws Only Larry Johnson has been "stuffed" more often with 25 negative rushes, but that's due largely to Johnson's horrible start. He has three 100-yard games in the past four weeks and broke a career-long 54-yard run Sundayalong with a 37-yard gain in Week 4 and a 34-yard run in Week 6whereas Benson's longest rush of the season is 16 yards. Among the 27 backs with at least 75 carries, Clinton Portis and Warrick Dunn are the only others without even a 20-yard gain. tennesseetitans.com * After sitting out Tuesday's workout because of back spasms, DeShawn Wynn returned to practice Thursday. Even better, coach Mike McCarthy confirmed afterward that Wynn is clearly the go-to guy, saying that "he's in the No. 1 slot right now" and "has an opportunity to take it and do something with it." Ryan Grant could be moving ahead of Vernand Morency in the third-down role, but Wynn's starter status appears safe much to the chagrin of Brandon Jackson owners. * Because the world obviously needs more updates on Brenda and Kurt Warner's home life, here's what Warner said earlier this week when asked about playing through a torn ligament in his non-throwing elbow: "The worst thing is when you play a football game, how do you go to your wife and say, 'Well, honey, I can't clean the dishes.' It's a good thing out here with the football team, not such a good thing at home when it comes to the to-do list." Two-Minute Drill: Hines Ward, Torry Holt, and Greg Jennings are each absent from their teams' respective injury reports, which is a first this season for Jennings Coach John Fox has avoided naming a Week 8 starter, but Vinny Testaverde will reportedly get the nod against the Colts Koren Robinson is expected to take over kick-return duties in his return to the lineup Sunday, but coach Mike McCarthy indicated Thursday that it may be a while before he sees major action offensively As usual coach Lane Kiffin has declined to name his starter for Week 8, but count on it being Daunte Culpepper According to the Houston Chronicle, Adimchinobe Echemandu could soon move past Ron Dayne to become Ahman Green's primary backup Kelly Holcomb took the bulk of first-team reps at practice Thursday and looks likely to start Sunday against the Eagles Matt Jones said last week that he wasn't going to shave again until he caught a touchdown, but being a healthy scratch in Week 7 convinced him to do some trimming Thursday. Red Zone: Marvin Harrison (knee) could be a game-time decision this week after missing practice on both Wednesday and Thursday With Derrick Ward (ankle) missing another practice Thursday, Brandon Jacobs look like an increasingly strong Week 8 option Chad Johnson (ankle) sat out Thursday's practice for the second straight week, but isn't in danger of missing Sunday's game against the Steelers After saying earlier this week that he wasn't worried about the sprained knee he suffered Monday night, Maurice Jones-Drew was limited in his return to practice Thursday Steven Jackson (groin) remains likely to start this week after putting in another full practice Thursday LaMont Jordan said Thursday that his back feels "better than it has all year," but he'll have to prove it with a tough matchup Sunday against the Titans Darrell Jackson (quadriceps) is considered doubtful for Week 8 after missing practice Thursday, with Ashley Lelie set to start in his place Already expected to lose his starting job following the trade for Chris Chambers, rookie Craig Davis sat out Thusday's practice with an ankle injury. |
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10-27-07, 04:45 PM
| #181 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 |
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10-28-07, 08:43 AM
| #182 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Getting Back in the Swing I was ready to give up on the Rams' offense after watching last Sunday's game. The play calling was atrocious. Marc Bulger took five- and seven-step drops all day, leading to seven sacks. Left tackle Alex Barron resembled a swinging gate, allowing Seahawks right end Darryl Tapp to enter his domain and take Bulger down on four occasions. Instead of using Brian Leonard as the every-down back, the Rams went with a committee involving Antonio Pittman and Travis Minor. Combined with coach Scott Linehan's questionable decisions, they effectively made Seattle's mediocre run defense look like a stout unit. But this week offers new hope with the return of Steven Jackson and a matchup against the Browns. While Jackson admits he's a tad shy of 100 percent, he will likely be on the field for enough plays to make a significant difference. Once he gets going, it will certainly be hard to keep Jackson off the field. The most effective play in the Rams' arsenal last year was a strong-side swing to Jackson. With Isaac Bruce in front to block downfield, Bulger takes a short drop as Jackson sprints to the right sideline. The pass is made horizontally, and Jackson has only the strong safety and SAM linebacker to elude en route to a 12-18 yard pickup. This play was nearly indefensible last season, when Jackson racked up 90 catches for 806 yards in addition to his gaudy rushing numbers. Linehan apparently didn't have confidence in Leonard running that play. With Jackson back at close to full strength, however (he practiced full speed and without restrictions all week), the re-installation of the strong-side swing into the game plan could take pressure off St. Louis' makeshift offensive line and help steer all Rams skill players back towards fantasy relevance. Not having to sit in the pocket constantly while waiting for aging wideouts Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce to separate should keep Bulger healthy and defenses guessing. If Jackson's return doesn't do it, the Rams could well be headed for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. The early favorite to be St. Louis' choice is likely Michigan OT Jake Long. Long's addition would likely send Barron, a former first-round pick who is approaching Kwame Harris-like bust status, to the bench. Week 8 Game-Time Decisions Arms Matt Schaub Sage Rosenfels may see action @ SD even if Schaub is active. Chad Pennington Will start, but Pennington could be on short leash @ BUF. David Carr Vinny Testaverde gets the start despite Carr practicing all week. Josh McCown He's healthy again, but hasn't wrested away the starting job. Tarvaris Jackson Has broken index finger on throwing hand and won't play. Wides Steve Smith (CAR) Limited Friday on a team decision, but Smith will start. Chad Johnson Got Thursday off to rest, but listed as probable and will start. Plaxico Burress Questionable and didn't practice, but he's scheduled to start. Laveranues Coles Despite being "questionable," he'll start against the Bills. Brandon Jones Might be active, but Roydell Williams almost certain to start. Darrell Jackson Ashley Lelie slated to start, but is a mediocre fantasy play. Steve Smith (NYG) Pulled a hammy in practice and is not expected to play. Craig Davis Status uncertain; he's lost his starting job to Chris Chambers. Backs Frank Gore Expected to start despite the "Q" tag; keep Gore in your lineup. Travis Henry Guessing he plays, but has tough matchup and may be limited. Maurice Jones-Drew Has sprained MCL; status seems 50-50 at the moment. DeShawn Wynn Packers' clear-cut starter is a strong flex play Monday night. Jamal Lewis Was limited all week; Jason Wright looks likely to get the start. Rudi Johnson Doubtful; Rudi has unofficially lost his job to Kenny Watson. Ahman Green Is seeing limited practice time, but he'll start at San Diego. DeShaun Foster Probable, but battling turf toe and could be limited Sunday. Chris Brown Resumed practicing Friday; Brown is uncertain to play Sunday. Chester Taylor Returned to a full workout on Friday, is considered probable. Vernand Morency Probable; may lose some third-down work to Ryan Grant. Ends Alex Smith Doubtful; Avoid Jerramy Stevens or Anthony Becht vs. Jaguars. Chris Baker Status uncertain due to troublesome back; don't count on him. Visanthe Shiancoe Probable, he but hasn't made a reception in four weeks. Legs None of Significant Note Already Ruled Out for Week 8 Arms David Garrard Garrard likely out 3-4 weeks; Quinn Gray now Jags' starter. Wides Marvin Harrison Downgraded to out, Anthony Gonzalez a decent WR3 play. Javon Walker He's slated to miss 4-6 weeks after undergoing knee surgery. Andre Johnson Johnson is considered unlikely to play prior to Week 11. Chris Henry Practicing, but can't play against until Week 10 at the earliest. Terry Glenn Still has no timetable to return; Glenn isn't even jogging yet. Michael Clayton Maurice Stovall will be Tampa's third receiver indefinitely. Rod Smith Has begun practicing, but still no lock to play for DEN this year. Antonio Chatman Glenn Holt to serve as Bengals' third receiver on Sunday. Backs Ronnie Brown Went on injured reserve Wednesday in case you didn't know. Sammy Morris Called doubtful, but won't play against Washington Sunday. Derrick Ward Reuben Droughns set to be Brandon Jacobs' primary backup. Michael Pittman Still out indefinitely; Earnest Graham an every-down back. Chris Perry Bengals still in no obvious rush to activate him from the PUP list. Ricky Williams Most expect him to hear back about reinstatement shortly. Ends Ben Watson Called "questionable," but Watson is out with high ankle sprain. L.J. Smith Probable and seems to be improving, but still hardly roster worthy. David Martin Didn't make the trip to London; blocker Justin Peelle to start. Bubba Franks Donald Lee a stronger play on Monday night against Denver. Legs Josh Scobee Still no timetable for Scobee to return from injured quadriceps. Week 8 Matchups to Exploit/Avoid Giants v. Dolphins Game Time: 12:00 CT/1:00 ET/6:00 PM London Time Some have speculated that the Dolphins could keep this one close. I just don't see it. Miami will be without Hall of Fame MLB Zach Thomas, versatile SS Renaldo Hill, and pass-rushing DL Vonnie Holliday. While minus Thomas in Weeks 3 and 4, the 'Fins yielded 440 total ground yards (5.1 YPC average) to the Jets and Raiders, respectively. If Brandon Jacobs or Reuben Droughns gets to the second level, they'll be met by replacement safeties Jason Allen and Cameron Worrell, both of whom have received poor grades during their time in the base defense. It's going to be a long day for the Dolphins, and every Giants skill player, from Jacobs to Droughns to Amani Toomer, should benefit Tampabaybuccaneers.com On the other side, the Dolphins go against a Giants defense that's the healthiest it's been all season and boasts the NFL's top trio of defensive ends. Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's scheme, which through the first two weeks caught flack for failing to generate immediate production, has taken hold in the secondary, where Sam Madison's aggressive style and Aaron Ross' superior ball skills complement each other nicely. The Giants may also find an upgrade over James Butler (doubtful, hamstring) at strong safety in rookie fill-in Michael Johnson, who wasn't heralded coming out of Arizona but possesses underrated athleticism and can fill against the run. New starting tailback Jesse Chatman's potential figures to be limited in non-PPR leagues if the Dolphins fall behind early. Patrick Cobbs and Lorenzo Booker could also see a good amount of action because both are proficient pass catchers and the Dolphins seem likely to be throwing a lot. buffalobills.com Eagles @ Vikings Game Time: 12:00 CT/1:00 ET A blurb ran on CBSSportsline Friday evening regarding the elevation of Adrian Peterson to the Vkings' first team, ahead of Chester Taylor. The rookie's apparent promotion wasn't affected by Taylor's minor groin injury, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune doesn't dispute the news. Although Taylor will stay active on third downs, Peterson's fantasy value gets a considerable bump because he'll likely be in line for more carries on early downs and has a much better chance to stay consistent during the season's second half. Against an Eagles defense containing banged-up WLB Takeo Spikes (shoulder) and SS Sean Considine (ankle), and that will be without the services of FS Brian Dawkins (stinger) for at least another week, Peterson should inflict heavy damage in his official starting debut atlantafalcons.com On the other side, Minnesota's already leaky pass defense is being reshuffled due to ineffectiveness. Rookie Marcus McCauley has been displaced as the Vikings' nickel back by former undrafted free agent Charles Gordon, and while Antoine Winfield is playing well at left corner, the Vikings are exploitable in the deep secondary with Tank Williams still manning free safety for Dwight Smith (out, hamstring). As the Eagles' flanker, Reggie Brown figures to see Winfield in primary coverage and appears to be a fantasy play to avoid, whereas Kevin Curtis should be in store for another rock solid day. He'll mostly go against RCB Cedric Griffin, whose mid 4.5-range speed pales in comparison to White Lightning's 4.3. With the lumbering Williams likely to be slow in rolling over, Curtis should get behind Griffin for more than one long pass play. arizonacardinals.com Saints @ 49ers Game Time: 3:15 CT/4:15 ET All indications are that Frank Gore will be a go in the Niners' late afternoon game against New Orleans. However, his owners should secure Michael Robinson just in case. Gore was downgraded to questionable from probable Friday after he could only go through a limited workout, and head coach Mike Nolan has been known to rest players unable to complete a practice during the week. That's not to suggest that Gore won't play -- Angry Frank defines "gamer" and I'd be shocked if he sits out -- but it'd be smart to play it safe. With Alex Smith back from a shoulder injury, Vernon Davis at 100 percent, and a potential addition by subtraction at split end with Darrell Jackson (quadriceps) doubtful and Ashley Lelie set to start, the 49ers' offense will improve in the final ten weeks. Considering 2006 trends, the argument can be made that San Francisco is a second-half team www.indianapoliscolts.ws Packers @ Broncos Game Time: Monday 7:30 CT/8:30 ET Travis Henry couldn't practice for the Broncos until Saturday due to soreness in his ribs, and it appears his availability will be decided just prior to game time Monday night. His status likely will be based on his tolerance for pain, and taking into account Henry's laundry list of past minor nagging injuries, the bet here is that he won't play. Even if he does, Henry is far from a lock to be Denver's primary ball carrier. In any scenario, this may be a situation to completely avoid. Those close to the team say Andre Hall and Selvin Young will form a rotation in the event Henry is inactive, limiting both running backs' potential. Further making Broncos RBs undesirable this week is the fact that they'll be facing a Packers defense that's given up only two touchdowns to opposing ball carriers all season. Young would be a passable flex play if he gets the start, but Henry would be better left on benches for this one minnesotavikings.com On the other side, this is not the same Kenoy Kennedy-era Broncos defense that once thrived in taking away opposing tight ends. In fact, according to Football Outsiders, Denver is dead last in the NFL when it comes to defending them. With Bubba Franks out due to a knee sprain, Packers TE Donald Lee will face no competition for snaps on Monday night. Lee has quietly been putting together a fantasy-starter caliber season on his own, with a 22-270-12.3-1 line through six games. Now that he'll be on the field every down and is facing a defense he has no reason to struggle against, Lee registers as the quintessential bye week replacement for Todd Heap, Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez, and Alge Crumpler owners. |
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10-29-07, 02:40 PM
| #183 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Flash of Hope For one glorious quarter, Steven Jackson owners were drunk on unbridled hope. The number two overall fantasy pick was back and perhaps that layoff gave him fresh legs. Maybe, just maybe, he could close like Secretariat with another monster second half and carry fantasy teams along the way. 50 quick yards and a touchdown will do strange things to desperate owners. miamidolphins.com The dream ended, at least for now, when Jackson left the game at the end of the quarter because of back spasms. Marc Bulger was asked to carry the day, and had an encouraging performance that led to season best efforts from Torry Holt and Drew Bennett. WEBSITE.WS - Your Internet Address For Life Questions about Jackson's toughness remain, and the Rams passing attack must prove after its bye week that competence is possible against teams other than Cleveland. Still, St. Louis showed just enough Sunday for fantasy owners to envision better days ahead. We don't need much. Stepping Off the Ledge 1. What committee? A week after Kenton Keith sent fear through the hearts of Joseph Addai owners, the Colts starter was handed 25 touches against the Panthers and responded with 109 total yards and three scores. Keith only had six carries and made multiple mistakes in the passing game. That could hurt Keith's playing time. indianapoliscolts.com 2. Hines Ward looks like Hines Ward again. He embarrassed Leon Hall on a double move for a score, and was shown blocking his ass off. Santonio Holmes may now draw the opposition's best defender, opening up room for Ward. 3. Willie Parker, not Najeh Davenport, got the sole goal-line carry for Pittsburgh against the Bengals. 4. Donovan McNabb showed surprising mobility while throwing for over 300 yards for the second time this season. The red zone problems remain, but McNabb's 7.4 YPA is actually higher than his final season with Terrell Owens. And his slow-but-steady improvement is helping Reggie Brown return to relevance. 5. Lee Evans' 85-yard touchdown was one of the best individual plays of the season. And while there is always circumstance and luck involved in NFL box scores, it's an example that talent will usually rise. Since the start of Week 4, Evans is the twenty-first highest scoring fantasy wideout. buffalobills.com 6. Kevin Walter, Donte' Stallworth, and Patrick Crayton are all among the top ten of wideouts over that same span. Don't Panic 1. Steve Smith was held to two catches on 18 yards. It's not shocking considering the Carolina quarterbacks averaged an embarrassing 4.1 YPA on 45 attempts against the Colts. David Carr didn't help Smith, but it's not like Vinny Testaverde got him the ball in the first half either. Smith is going to be less consistent than other WR1s because of his quarterbacks, but doubt him at your own peril. He'll track you down, just like he tracked down David Carr on the sideline Sunday. carolinapanthers.com 2. There are some reasons to be concerned about Eli Manning this season, but Sunday's performance wasn't one of them. The sloggy conditions in London are worth a mulligan. Some Panic is Acceptable 1. Cedric Benson didn't crack 50 yards at home against the Lions. The Bears have seemingly given up on being a run-first team, and Adrian Peterson gets the snaps on passing downs. Over the last two weeks, Benson has 125 total yards and Peterson has 106. You don't want Benson as your RB2 moving forward. 2. Brian Griese's hot start came to a skidding halt in a tasty-on-paper matchup against Detroit. The Lions dared Griese to beat them deep and he couldn't. Next week he gets the streaking Raiders secondary. 3. The matchup was tough as nails, but 16 yards on 12 carries from LaMont Jordan could bring about a full-fledged committee in Oakland. Justin Fargas (15 touches, 97 yards) will be the committee partner not Dominic Rhodes. oaklandraiders.com 4. Chris Brown owners may have to think about dropping him. With Chris Henry playing well behind LenDale White, the Titans may ride both young guys from here on out. White has posted 100 yards in back-to-back games, while Henry has scored twice and is a better big-play threat. tennesseetitans.com 5. Vince Young just isn't a fantasy option at this point unless he's facing one of the worst pass defenses in the league. Where did the rushing yards go? 6. Chad Pennington was set to get two more starts heading into New York's game against Buffalo. After a season-worst performance by the offense, the 2006 Comeback Player of the Year Award winner is likely headed to the bench. newyorkjets.com 7. Clinton Portis has a 3.4 yards-per-carry average since Week 1 and his play continues to slip. Washington hasn't used Ladell Betts more, but they should. www.washingtonredskins.ws They're real and they're spectacular 1. Reggie Wayne owners should hope that Marvin Harrison stays out a while longer. In three games with Marvin out or limited, Wayne has put up 23 catches, 361 yards, and two scores. He's on his way to the monster season we've long expected. indianapoliscolts.com 2. Kevin Jones backed up his big first start back with a 105-yard, one score effort. Owners that stashed him early in the year now have an every-week fantasy starter. detroitlions.com 3. Kenny Watson was shaken up on Cincy's last offensive play when teammate Levi Jones' knee hit him in the head. Before that, Watson had a great day against a stout defense. He had the most rushing and receiving yards for any runner to face the Steelers this year. He needs to work on a growing fumbling problem, but Rudi Johnson will have a hard time displacing Watson. 4. Derek Anderson-to-Braylon Edwards has gone from a cool story to one of the unquestioned best quarterback-wideout combinations in football. I'm not selling high on Edwards. I'd listen to offers for Anderson. clevelandbrowns.com An Ode to Consistency 1. T.J. Houshmandzadeh has scored in all seven games this season. He's only the third wideout in NFL history to pull off the feat, and the first since 1960. Meanwhile, Ocho Cinco had two costly drops in the Bengals loss to Pittsburgh. 2. Brandon Jacobs has rushed for over 100 rushing yards in three of his four completed games this season. The big back is oddly not scoring much after hitting the end zone nine times in 99 carries last year, but the touchdowns should come. newyorkgiants.com 3. Kevin Walter has at least five catches and 67 yards in the last five weeks. He's been one of the best waiver wire pickups this season. Committee Time 1. I thought DeShaun Foster's turf toe combined with DeAngelo Williams' impressive last game would lead to a closer split in Carolina. I thought wrong. Foster had 19 carries to five for Williams. Williams caught six passes, but only took them 11 yards. The moral of the story: you still can't trust Carolina runners. carolinapanthers.com 2. Adrian Peterson received 20 carries to only six for Chester Taylor, a welcome change for Peterson owners. Held down by the Minnesota passing game, Peterson had his worst day of the season with only 70 total yards. Yet another example of why fantasy football will drive you crazy. minnesotavikings.com 3. Adimchinobe (Joe) Echemandu: Learn the name. With Ron Dayne stuck in first gear and Ahman Green stuck on the trainer's table, the Texans are going to see what this kid can do. The Replacements 1. The Jesse Chatman era is off to a solid start. 100 total yards on 19 touches should ease the pain for Ronnie Brown owners. At least the ones who didn't drop his handcuff. 2. Chris Chambers scored in first game as a Charger, no easy feat since the Bolts only had the ball for 23 minutes and threw eleven passes. He beat the Houston defense deep another time, but Philip Rivers missed him on a long scoring attempt. sandiegochargers.com Injury Ward As always, Brian Flood has all the details in our Season Pass Injury Crunch column. We'll be tracking the following players in the news all week Frank Gore Steven Jackson Reggie Bush Kelly Holcomb Matt Schaub Vinny Testaverde |
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10-30-07, 03:12 PM
| #184 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 My Brett, Our Favre Monday night's three-hour salute to everything Brett Favre on ESPN was a bit much. Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser, and Ron Jaworski heaped never-ending praise on Favre throughout the infomercial-like game, treating him like a cross between Joe Montana and Mother Teresa. The broadcast featured multiple showings of a sappy video that was narrated by his wifewho also spent time in the MNF boothwhich was odd the first time and sort of unsettling the second time. greenbaypackers.com I like Favre a lot, but somewhere along the line he turned into the NFL's equivalent of Derek Jeter in that regardless of how well he plays or what a good guy he is it becomes difficult to actually root for him (or even not root against him) because of the insane amount of media attention and hyperbolic praise that he receives. With that said, Favre certainly did his part to make the hero worship look warranted and Monday night saw his legend grow, if that's even possible. He threw for 331 yards on just 27 passes, including a 79-yard bomb to James Jones in the first quarter and an 82-yard game-winner to Greg Jennings on the first play of overtime. He could have turned in a Tarvaris Jackson-like effort against the Broncos and it would have been spun as greatness, but instead it was vintage Favre on a prime-time stage. Not only are the Packers sitting atop of the NFC North at 6-1, Favre is amazingly on pace for a career-high 4,677 yards. minnesotavikings.com While "My Brett, Our Favre" joins "This Is Our Country" on the list of phrases that I could do without ever hearing again, here are some other notes from around football * After pulling him down 10 points with 3:30 left in Sunday's loss to the Bills, coach Eric Mangini officially benched Chad Pennington on Monday, naming 24-year-old Kellen Clemens as the Jets' new starter. The move was long overdue and comes too late to have any meaningful impact on the Jets' season, but the team can essentially see what they have in Clemens long term without worrying much about wins and losses over the final eight games. newyorkjets.com Pennington's incredibly weak arm limited the Jets' options, so expect their passing game to expand with the strong-armed Clemens now at the helm. However, don't expect great things from Clemens immediately. They certainly didn't show it Sunday against the Patriots, but the Redskins' pass defense presents a relatively tough matchup for him in Week 9 and the Jets have a bye in Week 10 before returning with a very tough matchup against the Steelers in Week 11. If he can show a little promise between now and then, Clemens should be ready to emerge as a QB2 option in time for the fantasy playoffs, with a nice three-game stretch against the Cowboys, Dolphins, and Browns beginning in Week 12. He has borderline QB1 potential long term and is a valuable keeper-league commodity. Pennington can safely be dropped in all re-draft leagues, but may still have a chance to latch on with another team this offseason as a stopgap starter. * DeShawn Wynn headed into Monday night's game as the Packers' clear-cut starter, but took a big hit on his first carry and left with a shoulder injury. Wynn's exit opened the door for Ryan Grant and he emerged with 104 yards on 22 carries. Whether due to Wynn's injury or Grant's performanceor perhaps a mix of bothcoach Mike McCarthy told reporters afterward that "it's safe to say Ryan Grant will be the starter when we go to Kansas City" in Week 9. There's no doubt that Grant was impressive Monday, but the Broncos' sieve-like rush defense has made most running backs look good and he came into the game with a total of six carries on the season. In other words, while Grant has apparently moved to the top of the depth chart for now, the Packers' crowded backfield and pass-heavy offense make him something less than a sure thing even as a RB2 option. He's a must-grab in all leagues, but don't count on huge games. * Chris Brown's ankle injury gave rookie Chris Henry a chance as LenDale White's backup over the past two games and I've been very impressed with the second-round pick's combination of speed and strength. Coach Jeff Fisher apparently agrees, saying Monday that Henry "is doing a nice job" and "was effective when he got the opportunity" despite the fact that "he didn't play a lot of plays" behind White. He has 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 15 carries. tennesseetitans.com "He has got a pretty good sense," Fisher said. "His pass protection is good. He runs hard. He's hitting the hole with speed and he has intensity." White has also played well of late, so his status as the Titans' long-term starter has actually grown stronger while Henry impressed, but in keeper-league situations it always makes sense to value talent over short-term opportunity. It's only a couple games, but Henry has looked like a potential impact fantasy player down the road. * LaMont Jordan has managed just 87 yards on 41 carries since injuring his back in Week 4 and lost significant snaps to Justin Fargas on Sunday. Coach Lane Kiffin said Monday that Fargas' expanded role will continue going forward, which makes sense given Fargas' healthy 6.7-yard average on 45 carries since Week 3. Jordan's receiving skills would normally give him a chance to retain plenty of value even in a carry split, but Fargas actually stole third-down work Sunday. oaklandraiders.com * Rotoworld has been hyping undrafted rookie Selvin Young as a valuable commodity all season and he showed why when finally given a chance to start Monday night, totaling 120 yards on 24 touches while also having a 42-yard run called back by a holding penalty. Young's value hinges on Travis Henry's injured ribs and looming suspension, but he's a good bet to pile up nice numbers whenever he's given the chance. He becomes a RB2 the moment Henry is suspended. Two-Minute Drill: Tony Romo will remain in Dallas for the next six seasons after agreeing Monday to a $67.5 million contract that includes $30 million in guaranteed money Coach Dick Jauron isn't expected to name the Bills' starting quarterback until Wednesday, but speculation is that he'll go with Trent Edwards as long as his wrist injury isn't serious According to the Detroit News, Tatum Bell "obviously has no prospect of playing again" unless Kevin Jones or T.J. Duckett are injured Fred Taylor is 67 yards short of becoming the 21st player in NFL history to rush for 10,000 yards, but remains the only running back ever who's failed to make the Pro Bowl while rushing for at least 7,000 yards Coach Mike Nolan said Monday that he wants to get Michael Robinson more playing time in the second half of the season, but if Frank Gore is healthy it'll be tough to steal many touches After avoiding an interception Sunday, Donovan McNabb has tied Neil O'Donnell for the lowest interception rate in NFL history, throwing a pick on just 2.11 percent of his career passes In a sign that their quarterback situation has reached rock bottom, 39-year-old Jeff George said Monday that he's interested in playing for the Vikings. Red Zone: Kurt Warner (elbow) practiced fully Monday and is set to start in Week 8, but has a tough matchup against the Bucs Held out in Week 8 as a precaution, Adam Schefter of NFL Network reported Monday that Marvin Harrison (knee) is expected to play Sunday against the Patriots Coach Romeo Crennel said Monday that Jamal Lewis (foot) avoided a setback while rushing for 61 yards in Week 9 Owen Daniels produced 427 yards on 35 catches through eight games, but could be sidelined for several weeks after being diagnosed Monday with a dreaded high-ankle sprain Byron Leftwich walked without crutches Monday just one week after undergoing ankle surgery, but coach Bobby Petrino said that he's "probably still a couple weeks away" With his lingering ankle injury apparently improving, Plaxico Burress said Monday that he hopes to begin practicing at some point during the Giants' bye week Alex Smith (shoulder) was in obvious pain throughout Sunday's game, but X-rays taken afterward reportedly came back negative With David Garrard (ankle) still hobbled, Quinn Gray will get his second start Sunday against the Saints. arizonacardinals.com |
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10-31-07, 02:53 PM
| #185 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Taking Over I'd like to take this moment to talk about something that's always been very close to my heart: marijuana. People talk about steroids as if they have a detrimental effect on the youth of America, but I ask: what about the leafy devil? One day you've got a bright future ahead of you, the next you're nearing double digit bastard children. I'd like to use this pulpit to personally ask Roger Goodell to do America a favor and make Travis Henry start serving his suspension immediately. For the kids. And also maybe because I have Selvin Young in multiple leagues. Here are this week's waiver wire picks: Running Back Ryan Grant, Packers With DeShawn Wynn getting injured (surprise, surprise) on his first carry of Monday night's game, Grant took over and rushed 22 times for 104 yards. Grant kept Vernand Morency on the sideline for most of the game and gave the Packers their best rushing game of the season. That being said, the Packers were running the ball way more than usual against the Broncos' poor rush defense. Morency appears stuck In a third-down role, and Mike McCarthy said Grant would be the starter moving forward. He greenbaypackers.com Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues. Selvin Young, Broncos With Travis Henry injured, Young was Denver's primary back and put on quite a show, gaining 120 yards from scrimmage. He would have done more damage but a 42-yard run was called back on a questionable holding call. Young comes with a certain amount of risk, as it's not certain Henry will be suspended, but he could pay huge dividends once the fantasy playoffs roll around. Recommendation: Worth owning in all leagues. Adimchinobe Echemandu, Texans Between Ahman Green and Ron Dayne, the Texans have had one of the most unimpressive running back tandems in the league. Echimandu impressed coaches while running for 62 yards on ten carries in Week 8. He "tweaked" his hamstring, but with Green ailing and Dayne sucking, Echemandu is in position to see a significant increase in playing time. Recommendation: Worth owning in 12-team leagues. Chris Henry, Titans With Chris Brown ailing, Henry once again looked solid as LenDale White's backup. Brown was demoted from starter to third running back last year, and there's no reason it can't happen again with both young backs looking solid this season. Henry's speed offers a nice complement to White's power. That being said, Brown is expected back for Week 9, and there's no guarantee Henry will be active once Brown returns. tennesseetitans.com Recommendation: Worth consideration in most leagues, especially if he surpasses Brown. Justin Fargas, Raiders Justin Fargas looked better than LaMont Jordan in Week 8, rushing for 40 more yards on the same number of carries. The Raiders have already said they want to get Fargas more involved in the offense, and it's quite possible that he and Jordan could split carries going forward, making Fargas a decent flex play in deep leagues. oaklandraiders.com Recommendation: Worth owning in 12-team leagues. Brian Leonard, Rams Well, Steven Jackson returned and most Leonard owners (myself included) dropped him. Well, Jackson lasted all of a quarter and a half and while the team is saying they expect him back after their Week 9 bye, Leonard is worth stashing until we know for sure. Recommendation: Worth owning in 12-team leagues. Ladell Betts, Redskins Clinton Portis continues to struggle and is still being hampered by various injuries. He has been ineffective on the ground and the Redskins could look to get Ladell Betts more involved in the offense. www.washingtonredskins.ws Recommendation: Worth owning in deeper leagues. Andre Hall, Broncos It had been suggested that Andre Hall would share carries with Selvin Young going forward, but Young looked great in his first start and Hall watched most of the game from the sideline. It is probably safe to drop Andre until Henry is actually suspended if you need the bench space, as his impact could be minimal even if Travis shut down. Recommendation: Worth consideration in very deep leagues. Wide Receiver Lee Evans, Bills Evans has put together two solid games in an effort to help owners forget the brutal start to his fantasy season. It's an uphill battle for Evans, but there's no reason a receiver with his talent and upside should be languishing on waivers in over a quarter of all leagues. Recommendation: Worth owning in all leagues. Reggie Brown, Eagles Brown started off the season terribly, and as a result is still available in almost half of all leagues. He has put up 238 yards in his past three games, and the Eagles are actively working to get him more involved in the passing game. Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues. D.J. Hackett, Seahawks There's a good chance that Hackett returns this week, and we've been touting this guy as a prime candidate to lead the Seahawks in receiving going forward. Make sure he isn't sitting out there on your waiver wire. Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues. David Patten, Saints The Saints have been using a "rotation" at their No. 2 spot, but it has become clear that Patten has settled into a role as the top receiving option beside Marques Colston. With the New Orleans offense clicking, Patten could put up huge numbers in the second half. Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues. Chris Henry, Bengals - Chris Henry is due back from his suspension in Week 10, and the most productive No. 3 receiver in football will have been practicing with his team for two weeks and should be excited to give football fans something to talk about besides his incredible rap sheet. Recommendation: Consider stashing him in deep leagues, if he hasn't been already. Quarterback Trent Edwards/J.P. Losman, Bills It's not clear which one of these two will be starting come Sunday, but it is clear they will be starting against Cincinnati's pathetic secondary. Edwards is still the better bet over the rest of the season, but either one makes a solid start against the Bengals. buffalobills.com Recommendation: Bye week fill-in. Quinn Gray, Jaguars Gray is only expected to get two more starts, so obviously isn't a long-term option. That being said, he faces New Orleans this week, and the match-up and his running ability make him someone needy owners should consider. jacksonvillejaguars.com Recommendation: Bye week fill-in Kellen Clemens, Jets Clemens has the weapons at receiver and the gun to put up solid stats. He is also in a pass-first offense and is in the midst of his second season. That being said, owners should expect inconsistency as he gets himself up to speed. Unfortunately for Clemens, he will have to acclimate himself against Pittsburgh this week, then he has a bye, and then faces Dallas' improved secondary. newyorkjets.com Recommendation: Worth owning as a QB2 and in dynasty leagues. Josh McCown, Raiders Go ahead and click on McCown's name if you haven't seen his picture on Rotoworld yet. Does he not look like a "dude?" I guess that's better than a "dud," which is what Culpepper has been while starting for the Raiders. McCown is healthy and there's a strong chance he could take over as starter. He was largely unimpressive as the starter to begin the season and there's no reason to think he would be significantly better. oaklandraiders.com Recommendation: Not worth owning. Tight End Jeff King, Panthers King had been quiet since Week 3, but roared back to life and put up his highest yardage total of the season this week. Still, he hasn't shown the consistency you'd hope for this season, and also has a tough match-up against the Titans in Week 9. He makes a low-end TE1 going forward. carolinapanthers.com Recommendation: Should be owned in deep leagues Justin Peelle, Dolphins Peelle put up solid numbers while filling in for David Martin, but Martin is expected back after the Dolphins bye, killing Peelle's fantasy value. Recommendation: Not worth owning. |
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10-31-07, 03:08 PM
| #186 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Stuck in a Pickle Here we are at the midpoint of the season, staring straight at a barrellful of midseason evaluations, as well as the looming matchup of the century. The Patriots and Colts certainly have blown away the rest of the NFL; if you need to read this to figure that, then no amount of other advice will help. But there are, of course, a whole bunch of other teams around the league, many of them with their own problems to figure out at the halfway point of the season -- which is past the midway point of a fantasy regular season that might last 14 weeks. Let's leave the Colts-Patriots pontificating to others and take a look this week at some of the other clubs who are in situations they did not expect to be in and where they might go from here. STUCK IN A PICKLE Carolina Panthers. This one is pretty simple. WR Steve Smith is barely a factor without a quarterback; David Carr does not look like that guy and Vinny Testaverde is simply too old to rely on. The Panthers also stink at home and get into defensive slugfests on the road. Until and unless they get the quarterback situation figured out, this is a frustrating team and Smith will be one of the most frustrating stars in the league. carolinapanthers.com Cincinnati Bengals. Everybody is all aflutter about the Patriots being favored over the Colts this week, but how about Cincinnati being only a one-point favorite against the Bills? Yes, the Bengals are falling hard and more losses are coming. At least they have the offensive talent and a bad enough defense to fall into plenty of shootouts. Getting Rudi Johnson and Chris Henry back can not hurt and the best thing the Bengals have going for them is their schedule in Weeks 14-17. That includes St. Louis, San Francisco, Cleveland and Miami if they keep from completely imploding until then. Denver Broncos. Talk about a team that really could have used an overtime win against Green Bay. The Broncos are a young club struggling to get in the end zone and have play to six of their next eight games on the road. They're not out of anything at 3-4 but definitely are in a hole. My worry would be that without proven leaders, you will see some very inconsistent production. Do you really want to trust Jay Cutler, Selvin Young and Brandon Marshall down the stretch? Houston Texans. Their 2-0 start is a distant memory and the Texans are just trying to hang onto some hope and possibly improve after their Week 10 open date. The injury report for this week's game against Oakland include starting QB Matt Schaub, starting RB Ahman Green, starting WR Andre Johnson, starting TE Owen Daniels, starting WR Andre Davis and backup RB Adimchinobi Echemandu. The only healthy regular is WR Kevin Walter and this team is a long way from right. Minnesota Vikings. The biggest problem with Kelly Holcomb's head/neck injury is that it raises the possibility that Tarvaris Jackson will have to play again. Let's hope Brooks Bollinger stays in the lineup for the time being because he is the only one who opens up running room for Adrian Peterson or who possibly could make any of the receivers worth owning. TE Vistanthe Shiancoe actually could be OK and these young receivers take turns with decent games, which is frustrating although promising. This team, however, is all but unwatchable if Jackson is playing. Oakland Raiders. Here is another team in need of a quarterback change. That five-TD Daunte Culpepper we saw against the Dolphins several weeks ago is long gone. He has led the Raiders to two offensive TDs in three games and is playing at a different (slower) pace than the rest of the league. LaMont Jordan is all but worthless, and there really is nobody to get excited about on this team any more.Josh McCown could be back from his foot injury this week, but is anybody up for JaMarcus Russell? oaklandraiders.com Liking their position Buffalo Bills. The number I keep coming back to is 12. That is how many TD passes J.P. Losman threw in the final seven games last year, six of them to Lee Evans. Well, it is almost that time of year again and look who is starting for the Bills? Losman shouldn't be under much pressure this time. If he flops, who cares? He already was benched once. The schedule is middle of the road; the Bills play Miami twice but face Jacksonville, New England and Washington in Weeks 11-13. Do not put a Losman/Evans revival beyond the realm of possibility. buffalobills.com Detroit Lions. The beauty of the Lions' past two wins is that they have started to play good defense and that could completely change what we expect from them in the second half of the season. Jon Kitna has not thrown a TD pass in three games and we fantasy guys are the only ones up in arms about it. Kevin Jones is shaping up to be a top 10 back from here on out and the Lions will be stuck in more low-scoring games. From week to week, that drops the value of Kitna, Roy Williams and the other receivers, as well as everybody playing the Lions. Long term, though, it is good news in that it keeps another team as part of your lineup decisions all year. detroitlions.com Green Bay Packers. We will be stuck with the Brett Favre lovefest a while longer, though I'm not sold on this team in fantasy. Are you all of a sudden going to trust Ryan Grant? That 100-yard game came against the league's worst run defense. Yes, Favre hit those 79- and 82-yard TD passes last week. He had not done much the two prior games or against the Broncos beyond those two big plays. The Packers have not scored more than 20 points in their past three games and next face Kansas City, Minnesota and Carolina -- three defenses with the potential to play well. Love Favre if you want; don't fall in love with this offense and do not count on the big plays every week. greenbaypackers.com New Orleans Saints. Their resurgence the past three games has been nice for anybody who was patient with them, or specifically, with Drew Brees. This week's game against the Jaguars might be the most difficult one they have left; I'm not wild about Brees in that spot, but the second half of the season clearly is setting up well for them. Brees is the one star; Reggie Bush does not score enough and the wide receivers, to date, have been too inconsistent. San Diego Chargers. It is tough to complain about an offense that has averaged 34.7 points over its past three games and appears back on the upswing. RB LaDainian Tomlinson, QB Philip Rivers and TE Antonio Gates all appear poised to deliver on their preseason hype, with WR Chris Chambers a nice addition. Do not get completely carried away. The Chargers have yet to beat a team with a winning record and this week's opponent, Minnesota, is their last game against a team currently below .500. sandiegochargers.com Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Michael Bennett looks like he could turn into the most overhyped midseason trade acquisition in quite a while. He got a few people excited with a TD last week even though he had just two carries and figures to see even less playing time if Michael Pittman comes back after the team's Week 10 bye. Tampabaybuccaneers.com Before that, the Bucs have a game they really need to win, and then have a favorable remaining schedule. A win against the Cardinals keeps them in playoff contention and Pittman's return could signal a return to a regular running game. Joey Galloway will be a good play down the stretch, Earnest Graham will score some TDs and Jeff Garcia will fill in in a pinch -- all of which is more than we had hoped for in the summer |
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10-31-07, 03:43 PM
| #187 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Bad Wheels, Good Arm It's Halloween and NFL quarterbacks are brilliantly dressing up like assistant coaches who like to make their fast-food orders in the nude, so let's skip the usual small talk and get right to the notes from around football * If ever there was ever any doubt that not all running quarterbacks are even close to the same, Donovan McNabb and Daunte Culpepper are providing plenty of evidence this season. Two of the most athletic passers in NFL history, both McNabb and Culpepper thrived in the past largely because of their legs. Knee injuries have sapped much of that running ability from both players, yet McNabb remains a fantasy force while Culpepper has turned into a hard-to-watch mess. Culpepper's legs are so far gone that he had difficulty simply getting into deep drops in Week 8, which coach Lane Kiffin all but confirmed Monday when he said that the Raiders work out of the shotgun formation frequently because it provides "a better rhythm for him at this stage of his career." Oakland used the shotgun 33 times Sunday and it's part of the reason why they've struggled to establish a decent running game since Culpepper took over for Josh McCown. Meanwhile, coach Andy Reid said Monday that McNabb is also less mobile than he used to be. "If he takes off and goes in a certain direction, maybe a year ago he could do it a step quicker," Reid said. The Philadelphia Daily News took it a step further, reporting that McNabb is "not able to successfully execute certain plays that he used to make." You'd think that would leave him as a Culpepper-like shell of his former self, but the difference is that McNabb is still a great passer. Despite being unable to buy as much time in the pocket or scramble out of trouble, McNabb has completed 60.2 percent of his throws while averaging 7.4 yards per attempt. That completion percentage ranks as the second-best of his eight-year career and the per-attempt average ranks third. The days of McNabb piling up rushing yards to compliment his outstanding passing might be gonehe's on pace for just 158 yards on the groundbut the 4,000-yard pace works just fine. * Sore ribs forced Travis Henry to sit out Monday night's game, but coach Mike Shanahan said Tuesday that Henry will try to practice this week. Meanwhile, the Denver Post reports that Henry "is expected to learn about his pending NFL drug suspension after the next two games." In other words, the Selvin Young bandwagon may have to idle for a while longer despite the undrafted rookie's impressive performance starting in place of Henry against the Packers. Denver goes on the road to face Detroit and Kansas City over the next two weeks, which means that whoever gets the nod in the backfield will have back-to-back strong matchups. Given Young's effort Monday night and Henry's looming suspension, it seems likely that the Broncos will turn to some sort of carry split regardless of whether or not his ribs heal up. Young owners should remain patient, because he has a chance to be a very nice RB2 down the stretch. * After being held under four yards per carry Sunday for the seventh time in eight games this season, Cedric Benson had some harsh words for his critics. "I've been hearing a lot of people criticize and talk stuff," Benson said. "They're not watching the games or the plays. They're just throwing out criticism. Do I need to run with more of a burst? No, and [expletive] them. So I guess I'm getting to the hole and walking through the hole, right?" I've watched 4-5 Bears games in their entirety this season, although I'm certainly not proud to admit that (Gregg Rosenthal forces me, I swear). However, let's imagine for a moment that the majority of the people criticizing Benson haven't seen a single play this season. They'd still be right to rip him, because averaging 3.1 yards on 149 carries without breaking a single 20-yard run pretty much speaks for itself. In Benson's defense, he's somewhat right in saying that a lack of "burst" or "walking through the hole" isn't his biggest problem. He's shows plenty of burst once he actually reaches an opening, but takes his sweet, tip-toeing time getting to them as they close up in front of him. Chicago's offensive line hasn't made life easy on Benson either, but somehow Adrian "The Other One" Peterson has managed 4.5 yards per carry hitting those same holes. Coach Lovie Smith continues to stick by Benson, who's averaging 19 carries per game and is even on pace for 28 catches despite being considered limited as a receiver. However, at some point the Bears seemingly have to stop giving him five times as many carries as Peterson, who's long been among the NFL's most underrated backups while averaging 4.7 yards on 161 career carries. For his career, Benson is now averaging 3.7 yards on 373 attempts. Two-Minute Drill: With the Patriots favored by six points on the road against the Colts this week, it's just the seventh time since 1988 that a defending champion has been a home underdog Interestingly, three of the previous six were the Patriots, who were home underdogs twice in 2002 and once in 2005 (against the Colts) He's averaging a career-worst 10.8 yards per reception, but T.J. Houshmandzadeh has reached the end zone in all seven games while failing to make at least seven grabs just once, and is on pace for 1,439 yards and 21 touchdowns on 133 catches Antonio Gates has a fantastic matchup Sunday against the Vikings, who've allowed 510 yards on 45 catches to tight ends through seven games Lane Kiffin has known Mike Williams since high school and coached him in college, so the Raiders cutting the 2005 first-round pick loose Tuesday may signal the end of the incredibly disappointing line Koren Robinson rejoined the Packers' active roster Tuesday after serving his one-year suspension, but isn't expected to see much action behind Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, and James Jones. Red Zone: This space yesterday contained skepticism about Ryan Grant's chances of hanging on to his new starting job, but with DeShawn Wynn (neck, shoulder) placed on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday those odds increased significantly With Trent Edwards' sprained wrist keeping him from practicing, coach Dick Jauron announced Tuesday that J.P. Losman will start this week with a nice matchup against the Bengals After being knocked out cold by a crushing hit late in Sunday's loss to the Bills, Laveranues Coles reportedly "seemed fine" Tuesday With Matt Schaub (concussion) not expected to play this week, the Texans signed Craig Nall to serve as Sage Rosenfels' backup Sunday against the Raiders Meanwhile, Andre Johnson (knee) is expected to see more practice time this week and hasn't yet been ruled out for Sunday, but remains unlikely to return before Week 11 L.J. Smith (groin) failed to catch a pass while playing just 32 snaps in Week 8, but avoided a setback and figures to see more playing time Sunday With the Dolphins on their bye, the Miami Herald speculates that the team may turn to rookie John Beck to replace Cleo Lemon as soon as Week 10 |
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11-01-07, 03:05 PM
| #188 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Tricky As A Foxborough Mentor A couple Fridays ago, the official NFL injury report was released and it listed Sammy Morris as "probable" after he had been basically ruled out during the week. This prompted a call from me to the Media Relations guy in New England to verify what turned out to be an error. As I waited for the head of the department to investigate the matter, I casually made a lame joke about Bill Belichick and his famous manipulation of injury reports. It didn't go over well. Eric Mangini learned under Belichick, and his similarly mysterious injury reports are why it's never been confirmed that Laveranues Coles suffered a concussion on Christmas Day last year, although it's widely suspected. With the new rules about head injuries, though, we can be certain Coles suffered a concussion in Week 8, and his status for this Sunday's contest with his ex-team is now in doubt. That this could be his second concussion in ten months should have his owners considering backup plans. * After a blistering start to the season, Lamont Jordan has averaged just 2.1 yards per carry since aggravating his back. My personal theory for the demise involves the Raiders working from a shotgun formation in order to accommodate Daunte Culpepper. Coach Lane Kiffen has said that it limits the running plays he can call, and I think it's possible that it's preventing Jordan from running like he did the first three weeks of the season. Jordan has always been a slower back, and getting the ball in a standstill position only exacerbates the problem. It's possible that Justin Fargas has experienced greater success because he has the speed to compensate for the delayed start. Of course, it's also just as likely that Jordan hasn't actually recovered from his sore back and will prove ineffective over the rest of the season. Josh McCown is taking first team snaps this week, and there's a chance he could take over for Culpepper. Watch to see if Jordan improves. * Maurice Jones-Drew was a full participant in practice on Wednesday after being limited to just ten carries in Week 8. The best indicator that the Jags made a conscious move to limit a banged-up Jones-Drew in Week 8 is the fact that LaBrandon Toefield was active and got six carries. Expect Jones-Drew to evenly split around 30 carries per game with Fred Taylor going forward. Now isn't a bad time to see if the slow week hurt his value in his owner's eyes with some lowball trade offers. Two-Minute Drill: Rudi Johnson and Kenny Watson are both expected to be ready for the Bills this weekend, and the most likely scenario involves them splitting carries. Ahman Green's swollen knee is garnering concern from his coach, and Adimchinobe Echemandu is suffering with a deep contusion on his thigh, although he might play. That leaves Ron Dayne as the Texans' only healthy back going into a contest against Oakland's pathetic rush defense. Dayne is owned in just 15% of leagues, but his match-up could make him a solid RB2 this weekend. Dwayne Jarrett was talking to reporters on Wednesday and Steve Smith told him he should be watching film instead. Jarrett tried to play it off, but Smith said "seriously." Awwwkward! And probably true. Jarrett has had a bad enough rookie season to cast doubt on his future NFL success. Kurt Warner will continue to wear a brace on his injured arm for the foreseeable future, but he put up solid numbers with it on in Week 7. Andre Johnson said he was "85 percent" recovered and said he could play in Week 9 if he "had to." With the Texans at 3-5, Johnson doesn't have to. Brandon Jackson will be active on game days following DeShawn Wynn's season-ending injury. He could see work on third downs. Michael Pittman could be back for the Bucs in Week 11, making this Earnest Graham's last game as every-down back in Tampa Bay. The Red Zone: Frank Gore was a full participant at Wednesday's practice, and is expected to start in Week 9 David Carr will play the rest of the season with a compression fracture in his back, giving you yet another reason to avoid him Despite Ronald Curry saying he won't miss this weekend's game, ESPN's John Clayton says there's a "decent chance" he will. ESPN has been wrong often lately, but stay tuned. As expected, Matt Hasselbeck (oblique) took the vast majority of snaps on Wednesday and will almost certainly start this weekend Santonio Holmes missed practice Wednesday with a quad injury, but is still expected to be ready for this weekend's game Owen Daniels didn't practice on Wednesday, but the Texans still hope he will be able to play in Week 9. The better bet is for him to return after Houston's Week 10 bye. Marvin Harrison was limited in practice Wednesday, but if he practices later in the week would be hard to bench against the Pats Coach Mike Holmgren said Deion Branch has only a "50-50" chance of playing this week. He reportedly did not sound optimistic. Ben Watson was a limited participant for the Patriots on Wednesday, and will likely be a game-time decision. ... Selvin Young, whose small frame has caused questions about his durability, says he feels fine after being the Broncos primary ball carrier in Week 8. |
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11-01-07, 03:32 PM
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| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Week 9 Rankings: WR, TE Week 9 Wide Receivers WR Notes: Unlike running backs, wide receivers can excel into their thirties. But most of the big surprises this season are young and just entering their prime. Braylon Edwards's owners took him as a late WR2, and they own the best five receivers in football. Practically every catch he made last week was a highlight reel worthy grab. * We knew the Patriots offense would be great, but not great enough to make their "third" receiver a top-five fantasy option. Some slowdown should be expected for Wes Welker, but he'll stay in the top-20 because he'll score. There was a lot of fantasy value to be had after the top-30 receivers were taken this season. Kevin Curtis, Brandon Marshall, Patrick Crayton, Greg Jennings and Roddy White have taken the leap into solid every-week options in 3WR leagues. Of that group, Marshall is best poised to take it to another level in the second half. Santonio Holmes is another wideout that I'd target in trades because I think his production can go from very good to great the rest of the way. * In a season with few busts at the top of wideout draft lists, Marvin Harrison, Santana Moss, Darrell Jackson, Lee Evans and Marques Colston stick out. Harrison has already missed as many games as he did in his last eight combined seasons, and one has to worry that age is finally catching up to him. Don't be surprised if the Colts are very careful with him down the stretch if they clinch a bye early. Evans is too talented to stay down for long, and I'd still rank him as a WR2/3 moving forward. Colston appears to be missing some explosiveness, but the revival of the Saints offense should make him a solid weekly option. Just don't expect his 3-TD game to turn him into a WR1 again; he's a possession receiver who will need to score often to stick in the top-twenty. Consider him a great WR3 or a mediocre WR2. I don't expect Darrell Jackson to turn it around. He's always been an overrated talent, he's not very durable, and he's on a brutal offense. Santana Moss seems to be missing his long speed, but I wouldn't give up on him just yet. * Matt Leinart's injury did Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald a favor. Boldin has missed some games, but the Cardinals WRs are living up to their draft stock otherwise. One concern for both players: Another Warner injury could mean Tim Rattay and reduced expectations. After a fast start, the Lions wideouts are all vaguely disappointing because the team is throwing less and the pot is split four ways. Calvin Johnson is a physical marvel, but he can't finish games and is too reliant on the big play. With no more than 2 catches in a game since Week 2, he's a boom-or-bust WR3 option each week no better. Roy Williams had a couple huge games early, but doesn't have the consistency of a true WR1. Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald have cooled down after fast starts and look like useful fantasy reserves. * T.J. Houshmandzadeh is outshining Chad Johnson in Cincinnati, but Chad has hardly been a bust. He's actually on pace to set a career high in yards, and the touchdowns will come eventually. Dwayne Bowe is beating the odds as a rookie on a weak offense. He's worth less in PPR leagues, but his red zone skills make him a solid WR3. The biggest surprise of the year is undoubtedly Kevin Walter, with Ike Hilliard a close second. A punchline in preseason mags (including ours), Walter been among the most consistent weekly options. The Houston passing game has not only survived without Andre Johnson; it has thrived. Walter is due to come back to Earth, but he can be a solid WR3. Walter is similar to Derrick Mason, because they both are far more valuable in points-per-reception leagues. Mason has a very small chance to top 100 catches without topping 1,000 yards, which is hard to fathom. I look for Mark Clayton to bounce back with a much better second half; he's a great pickup if available. * It's a huge surprise that the Green Bay passing game is thriving, but Donald Driver isn't. Looking closely at the numbers, he's clearly not a "number one" receiver anymore. Greg Jennings is more explosive, and the targets have been split evenly between Driver, Jennings, and James Jones. I see Jennings and Driver having similar value, while Jones is a decent WR4/5 to keep around. Week 9 Tight Ends
TE Notes: The perception of Antonio Gates' value was down going into the season, but there is still a huge gap between him and the rest of the field. He's one of the most bankable assets in fantasy football and has a chance to break some tight end records this season. He's producing like a borderline WR1. Lower-tier TE1 picks have come to the forefront this year. Jason Witten, Dallas Clark, Heath Miller, and Kellen Winslow came at excellent value and are putting up career seasons. Witten has benefited greatly from Tony Romo's development and Terry Glenn's injury. Winslow is a physical freak who can seemingly withstand surgery. Clark is the only one who is at risk of a market correction. He's blowing his career norms out of the water and always remains an injury risk. Miller is having the season Todd Heap is supposed to, but the Ravens stalwart has been limited by injuries and quarterback play. * Tony Gonzalez and Jeremy Shockey are solid, as expected. Chris Cooley and Ben Watson haven't been great, but they've scored more touchdowns than most first-round RB picks, so it's hard to complain. Tight end remains one of the most predictable positions, so owners who don't have one of these top-ten players have been at a severe disadvantage. * Too few of the promising preseason TE2s have emerged. Greg Olsen and Owen Daniels are the exceptions. Olsen shook off early injuries and looks like an every-week starter moving forward. He has a chance to enjoy one of the best rookie tight end campaigns of the last twenty years, and that's why I can't see Desmond Clark keeping up his pace. Daniels' high ankle sprain could limit him in the second half of the season. * Quiet disappointments this year include Bo Scaife, Tony Scheffler, Daniel Graham, Marcedes Lewis, Randy McMichael, and David Martin. Bigger disappointments include Alge Crumpler and Vernon Davis. Of this group, Davis has the best chance to emerge over the second half as an every-week option. He should be owned in all leagues. Crumpler owners should look for alternatives. One of them could be Scheffler, who is getting featured more in the Denver offense after the bye week. In the end, the tight end position is somewhat devalued because almost every fantasy team has a good one. Week 9 Team Defense
Week 9 Kickers
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11-01-07, 08:23 PM
| #190 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Week 9 Rankings Nearly half the NFL regular season is over and the fantasy playoffs are only a month away. I can't decide whether this is depressing or exciting, but the 2007 season is no longer a small-sampled curiosity. It has weight, which makes this a good time to take stock of how we got here, and what's coming next. Instead of the usual week-specific matchup notes, this week I'll write about the most important fantasy stories of the season and look ahead to the second half. The usual Week 9 rankings are below and I'll go through many of the Week 9 matchups all week at Pancake Blocks. As always the complete projections are on Season Pass. Week 9 Quarterbacks
QB Notes: Tom Brady has easily been the most dominant force in fantasy football this season; not bad for a third-round pick. Here's another way to look at it. In one of my leagues, Brady is 109 points ahead of the number two quarterback Tony Romo. Jon Kitna and Drew Brees haven't scored 109 points all season. If you own Brady, you should be near first place or be savagely made fun of. So can it continue? Some natural correction will settle in with dates against Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore on the docket, but Brady will remain number one at quarterback. With that said, I still wouldn't take him first overall if the season started today. LaDainian Tomlinson would be the pick. * Carson Palmer is enjoying a good, not great, season. The return of Chris Henry could help, but the offensive line is a bigger problem. Still, he's a top-five option. Derek Anderson has been the best waiver wire find of the year. Aggressive play calling, Braylon Edwards magic, and a poor defense will keep him afloat. Owners may try to trade for him after difficult road tests against the Ravens and Steelers in succession. He's set up to remain in the top-ten with a great schedule after that. * Drew Brees and Marc Bulger were among the biggest busts of the first month, but Brees is back in a big way. Consider him an every-week play. Bulger is borderline, and has to back up his recent game over 300 yards. Peyton Manning isn't racking up monster numbers because his defense is better and he's throwing fewer passes. Looking at the Colts' difficult second-half schedule, I don't think he's going to going to challenge Brady anytime soon. I'd rather own Carson Palmer. * Young quarterbacks have mostly disappointed. Matt Leinart was a bust before he got hurt, Vince Young still is, while Philip Rivers and Jason Campbell have been highly inconsistent. Couple their performances with an unholy amount of injuries at the position, and there are only ten good quarterback options most weeks. * The development of Greg Jennings and James Jones has led Brett Favre to a revival few saw coming. He's in the second-tier of QB1s along with Ben Roethlisberger, Jon Kitna, and Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck is a great target for trades. His receivers are getting healthy and the schedule is highly favorable. Jeff Garcia has been a pleasant surprise in Tampa. He's the prototype QB2 consistent scoring each week. Matt Schaub has played better than his fantasy rank indicates, but he's not a great trade target. Houston's passing game may have the hardest schedule in the league in Weeks 13-16. Week 9 Running Backs
RB Notes: Here's a list of the consensus top-12 preseason running backs that haven't thoroughly disappointed this year: LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook, Joseph Addai, Reggie Bush, and Willie Parker. And Bush is a lot better in leagues that award points-per-reception. If you took one of them, you dodged a major grenade. * We saw slowdowns for Larry Johnson and Shaun Alexander coming, but backs like Frank Gore, Steven Jackson, and Laurence Maroney have been equally lame. Rudi Johnson has been invisible. For the second half, our highest hopes from this group are with Gore, Maroney, and L.J. The 49ers offense is somehow worse than Alex Smith's rookie year (remember Cody Pickett?), but the schedule is favorable and Gore has managed to play every game. For all of his problems, Maroney is averaging 4.8 yards-per-carry on the best offense in football there's hope. Larry Johnson is ineffective per-play, but gets enough touches and his schedule eases up. * The better values at running back came in the second and third round, which usually isn't the case. Willis McGahee hasn't scored under ten fantasy points in a game yet. Adrian Peterson is the best rookie runner to enter the league since LaDainian Tomlinson. Now that he's starting, he's a surefire top-five guy. Marshawn Lynch would be a Rookie of the Year candidate in most seasons and his schedule sets up well. Marion Barber is beating the odds again and his workload continues to increase, while Edgerrin James hasn't hurt owners. * So where are the second half stars? A foursome of young backs has emerged in the last few weeks: Brandon Jacobs, Kevin Jones, Selvin Young, and LenDale White. Jacobs is a runaway train that is only going to be stopped by injuries. He needs to finish games consistently. Jones is playing as if his serious foot injury never happened. Kudos if you drafted him; long-term thinking and patience is hard to come by in late August. White doesn't have the ceiling of Jones and Jacobs, but he's a solid RB2 at worst and was probably drafted as a RB4. His workload continues to increase as Vince Young struggles with the forward pass. White is a good bet to score ten times. Selvin Young gave his owners a taste of what to come with a sparkling Monday night performance against Green Bay. He is expected to be Denver's starter by mid-November and will be a top-15 guy at that point. * Ryan Grant's performance in Denver is widely seen as a fluke because they can't defend the run, but I think he'll have staying power. Running isn't complicated in zone blocking systems and Green Bay had it working for a while last season. Grant faces little competition for carries and plays for an above average offense. Denver won't be the last team to play seven in the box against Green Bay all game. Grant could stick. * Some of the running backs to be concerned about heading into the second half: LaMont Jordan, Clinton Portis, and Shaun Alexander. Jordan could be stuck in a committee, although I do expect his recent run of awfulness to ease. Portis doesn't appear 100% healthy and some of the coaches in Washington would like to see Ladell Betts more involved. Alexander's tank appears to be close to E, although he doesn't have much competition in Seattle. * Most of the committees around the league have been stuck in neutral. Fred Taylor is still limiting Maurice Jones-Drew's consistency. Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood cancel each other out. Same goes for DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams in Carolina, although Foster has got the better half of that group. * There has been some talk that this is the year of the passing game in fantasy leagues. Quarterbacks and wideouts have been worth more than running backs, etc. And while that's somewhat true, it doesn't mean it will stay true for the second half. It's good business to trade a top-ten receiver for a top-ten running back, and RB prices are at all-time lows. Jackson, Gore, Maroney, and Johnson owners may be ready to trade in their runners for $ .50 on the dollar. I would still take LT2, Brian Westbrook, Joseph Addai, and Adrian Peterson over any wideouts and quarterbacks not named Brady. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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11-02-07, 09:28 AM
| #191 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Redskin Rebound? It's a sad week for fantasy offenses -- both Miami and St. Louis have bye weeks, meaning that two of the weakest defenses in football are left on the sidelines licking their wounds and celebrating the only weekend all fall they'll have any prayer of not allowing any points. Fortunately, we still have the Jets to pick on. Quarterback Our matchups column starts in Washington, where Jason Campbell gets to play the worst pass defense in football, the Jets. When we say the Jets are the worst pass defense in football, it's not by a particularly small margin, either -- the difference between the Jets and the next team (Cleveland) is further than the distance between Cleveland at 31 and the Vikings at 25. This is a terrible pass defense, and while bringing in rookie LB David Harris will improve their awful rush defense, he can be expected to struggle in pass coverage. Either way, Campbell's a great start this week. Speaking of the Browns, they'll be facing Matt Hasselbeck and the Seahawks on Sunday in a game that's likely to end up a shootout. Hasselbeck's a must-start this week. If you were thinking of starting any of the Carolina quarterbacks this week, don't. They're up against the top-ranked pass defense of the Titans. Much like the Jets, the Titans have a gap between them and #2 -- the second-ranked Patriots are closer to seventh-ranked Kansas City than first. The Patriots and Colts are ranked two and three in pass defense. I suspect that, after this week, those numbers will not be the same. Washington is #4, which means that Kellen Clemens is a poor play on Sunday. In this year's Pro Football Prospectus, I wrote that the Clemens era might be closer than anyone expected -- figuring that Chad Pennington would get hurt, not benched for "poor play". If his lack of arm strength somehow causes David Barrett to not be able to cover anyone, then Pennington's to blame, but otherwise, he represents an excellent target to acquire in keeper leagues. He'll be a starter somewhere next year, and in the right offense (Minnesota if they add a receiver, for one), he'd be an excellent quarterback. Running Back The #1 Vikings go up against LaDainian Tomlinson this week. Does that mean you should bench Tomlinson? No. He gets the ball too frequently, especially close to the end zone, for him to be a benchable player. Don't expect big things, though -- a line similar to Brian Westbrook's from last week is about all you should expect. In four games against the Ravens as a starter, Willie Parker has rushed, on average, for a shade over 43 yards per game. He has one touchdown in those four games. If you feel the need to play Willie Parker because he's led your team to the division lead, well, go right ahead. But don't say I didn't warn you. On the other hand, Pittsburgh's rush defense is third-ranked, so don't think too many nice things about Willis McGahee, either. Expect a similar-quality day out of McGahee. We pretty much nailed LenDale White's performance last week, and while most places referred to it as a coming-out party for White, it was about 85% the Oakland defense. This week's beneficiary is...someone on Houston. We're just not sure who. Could it be Ahman Green? Ron Dayne? Adimchinobi Echimandu? Whoever starts is going to pick up chunks of yardage against a defense selling out against the pass and flailing against the run. Denver's rush defense made the Packers' rushing attack look great last week, a hard task for most teams. After losing Jarvis Moss at practice for the rest of the season, their line got even weaker. Opening up a spot for Simeon Rice is a bad thing for this rush defense, not a good one. Kevin Jones will have his second consecutive 100-yard game. Wide Receiver Go ahead and start your Washington receivers. Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El are definite plays this week. Likewise, get your Seahawks receivers in there. That means Bobby Engram, the definitely-returning D.J. Hackett, and even Nate Burleson in deep leagues. Keep the Panthers out of your lineup, unless they're Steve Smith, who will see his catches, but not often enough to make him a must-start. The one bright spot in a dire 49ers season has been their performance (4th) against the other team's wide receivers, which means that Roddy White is probably in for a mediocre game. Of course, he's a Falcon, so mediocrity might be an improvement on how things are going at this point. San Diego's wideouts are excellent plays against a struggling Minnesota pass defense. While Chris Chambers might not be ready yet, he's worth a shot for his touchdown potential in deeper leagues; Vincent Jackson is finally worth a chance this week. Tight End Sit: Jeff King (CAR), Owen Daniels (HOU), Reggie Kelly (CIN) Start: Vernon Davis (SF), Donald Lee (GB), Robert Royal (BUF) |
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11-02-07, 06:35 PM
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| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Week 9 Rankings Update Note:These rankings were updated Friday evening. The comments were written for Thursday morning. Nearly half the NFL regular season is over and the fantasy playoffs are only a month away. I can't decide whether this is depressing or exciting, but the 2007 season is no longer a small-sampled curiosity. It has weight, which makes this a good time to take stock of how we got here, and what's coming next. Instead of the usual week-specific matchup notes, this week I'll write about the most important fantasy stories of the season and look ahead to the second half. The usual Week 9 rankings are below and I'll go through many of the Week 9 matchups all week at Pancake Blocks. These are not rankings for the rest of the season. As always the complete projections are on Season Pass. Week 9 Quarterbacks
QB Notes: Tom Brady has easily been the most dominant force in fantasy football this season; not bad for a third-round pick. Here's another way to look at it. In one of my leagues, Brady is 109 points ahead of the number two quarterback Tony Romo. Jon Kitna and Drew Brees haven't scored 109 points all season. If you own Brady, you should be near first place or be savagely made fun of. So can it continue? Some natural correction will settle in with dates against Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore on the docket, but Brady will remain number one at quarterback. With that said, I still wouldn't take him first overall if the season started today. LaDainian Tomlinson would be the pick. * Carson Palmer is enjoying a good, not great, season. The return of Chris Henry could help, but the offensive line is a bigger problem. Still, he's a top-five option. Derek Anderson has been the best waiver wire find of the year. Aggressive play calling, Braylon Edwards magic, and a poor defense will keep him afloat. Owners may try to trade for him after difficult road tests against the Ravens and Steelers in succession. He's set up to remain in the top-ten with a great schedule after that. * Drew Brees and Marc Bulger were among the biggest busts of the first month, but Brees is back in a big way. Consider him an every-week play. Bulger is borderline, and has to back up his recent game over 300 yards. Peyton Manning isn't racking up monster numbers because his defense is better and he's throwing fewer passes. Looking at the Colts' difficult second-half schedule, I don't think he's going to going to challenge Brady anytime soon. I'd rather own Carson Palmer. * Young quarterbacks have mostly disappointed. Matt Leinart was a bust before he got hurt, Vince Young still is, while Philip Rivers and Jason Campbell have been highly inconsistent. Couple their performances with an unholy amount of injuries at the position, and there are only ten good quarterback options most weeks. * The development of Greg Jennings and James Jones has led Brett Favre to a revival few saw coming. He's in the second-tier of QB1s along with Ben Roethlisberger, Jon Kitna, and Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck is a great target for trades. His receivers are getting healthy and the schedule is highly favorable. Jeff Garcia has been a pleasant surprise in Tampa. He's the prototype QB2 consistent scoring each week. Matt Schaub has played better than his fantasy rank indicates, but he's not a great trade target. Houston's passing game may have the hardest schedule in the league in Weeks 13-16. Week 9 Running Backs
Note: For Week 9 matchup talk, watch the Fantasy Fix. RB Notes: Here's a list of the consensus top-12 preseason running backs that haven't thoroughly disappointed this year: LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook, Joseph Addai, Reggie Bush, and Willie Parker. And Bush is a lot better in leagues that award points-per-reception. If you took one of them, you dodged a major grenade. * We saw slowdowns for Larry Johnson and Shaun Alexander coming, but backs like Frank Gore, Steven Jackson, and Laurence Maroney have been equally lame. Rudi Johnson has been invisible. For the second half, our highest hopes from this group are with Gore, Maroney, and L.J. The 49ers offense is somehow worse than Alex Smith's rookie year (remember Cody Pickett?), but the schedule is favorable and Gore has managed to play every game. For all of his problems, Maroney is averaging 4.8 yards-per-carry on the best offense in football there's hope. Larry Johnson is ineffective per-play, but gets enough touches and his schedule eases up. * The better values at running back came in the second and third round, which usually isn't the case. Willis McGahee hasn't scored under ten fantasy points in a game yet. Adrian Peterson is the best rookie runner to enter the league since LaDainian Tomlinson. Now that he's starting, he's a surefire top-five guy. Marshawn Lynch would be a Rookie of the Year candidate in most seasons and his schedule sets up well. Marion Barber is beating the odds again and his workload continues to increase, while Edgerrin James hasn't hurt owners. * So where are the second half stars? A foursome of young backs has emerged in the last few weeks: Brandon Jacobs, Kevin Jones, Selvin Young, and LenDale White. Jacobs is a runaway train that is only going to be stopped by injuries. He needs to finish games consistently. Jones is playing as if his serious foot injury never happened. Kudos if you drafted him; long-term thinking and patience is hard to come by in late August. White doesn't have the ceiling of Jones and Jacobs, but he's a solid RB2 at worst and was probably drafted as a RB4. His workload continues to increase as Vince Young struggles with the forward pass. White is a good bet to score ten times. Selvin Young gave his owners a taste of what to come with a sparkling Monday night performance against Green Bay. He is expected to be Denver's starter by mid-November and will be a top-15 guy at that point. * Ryan Grant's performance in Denver is widely seen as a fluke because they can't defend the run, but I think he'll have staying power. Running isn't complicated in zone blocking systems and Green Bay had it working for a while last season. Grant faces little competition for carries and plays for an above average offense. Denver won't be the last team to play seven in the box against Green Bay all game. Grant could stick. * Some of the running backs to be concerned about heading into the second half: LaMont Jordan, Clinton Portis, and Shaun Alexander. Jordan could be stuck in a committee, although I do expect his recent run of awfulness to ease. Portis doesn't appear 100% healthy and some of the coaches in Washington would like to see Ladell Betts more involved. Alexander's tank appears to be close to E, although he doesn't have much competition in Seattle. * Most of the committees around the league have been stuck in neutral. Fred Taylor is still limiting Maurice Jones-Drew's consistency. Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood cancel each other out. Same goes for DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams in Carolina, although Foster has got the better half of that group. * There has been some talk that this is the year of the passing game in fantasy leagues. Quarterbacks and wideouts have been worth more than running backs, etc. And while that's somewhat true, it doesn't mean it will stay true for the second half. It's good business to trade a top-ten receiver for a top-ten running back, and RB prices are at all-time lows. Jackson, Gore, Maroney, and Johnson owners may be ready to trade in their runners for $ .50 on the dollar. I would still take LT2, Brian Westbrook, Joseph Addai, and Adrian Peterson over any wideouts and quarterbacks not named Brady. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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11-02-07, 06:38 PM
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| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Week 9 Rankings Update Note: Rankings were updated Friday evening. The notes were written earlier in the week. Week 9 Wide Receivers
WR Notes: Unlike running backs, wide receivers can excel into their thirties. But most of the big surprises this season are young and just entering their prime. Braylon Edwards's owners took him as a late WR2, and they own one of the best five receivers in football. Practically every catch he made last week was a highlight reel worthy grab. * We knew the Patriots offense would be great, but not great enough to make their "third" receiver a top-five fantasy option. Some slowdown should be expected for Wes Welker, but he'll stay in the top-20 because he'll score. There was a lot of fantasy value to be had after the top-30 receivers were taken this season. Kevin Curtis, Brandon Marshall, Patrick Crayton, Greg Jennings and Roddy White have taken the leap into solid every-week options in 3WR leagues. Of that group, Marshall is best poised to take it to another level in the second half. Santonio Holmes is another wideout that I'd target in trades because I think his production can go from very good to great the rest of the way. * In a season with few busts at the top of wideout draft lists, Marvin Harrison, Santana Moss, Darrell Jackson, Lee Evans and Marques Colston stick out. Harrison has already missed as many games as he did in his last eight combined seasons, and one has to worry that age is finally catching up to him. Don't be surprised if the Colts are very careful with him down the stretch if they clinch a bye early. Evans is too talented to stay down for long, and I'd still rank him as a WR2/3 moving forward. Colston appears to be missing some explosiveness, but the revival of the Saints offense should make him a solid weekly option. Just don't expect his 3-TD game to turn him into a WR1 again; he's a possession receiver who will need to score often to stick in the top-twenty. Consider him a great WR3 or a mediocre WR2. I don't expect Darrell Jackson to turn it around. He's always been an overrated talent, he's not very durable, and he's on a brutal offense. Santana Moss seems to be missing his long speed, but I wouldn't give up on him just yet. * Matt Leinart's injury did Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald a favor. Boldin has missed some games, but the Cardinals WRs are living up to their draft stock otherwise. One concern for both players: Another Warner injury could mean Tim Rattay and reduced expectations. After a fast start, the Lions wideouts are all vaguely disappointing because the team is throwing less and the pot is split four ways. Calvin Johnson is a physical marvel, but he can't finish games and is too reliant on the big play. With no more than 2 catches in a game since Week 2, he's a boom-or-bust WR3 option each week no better. Roy Williams had a couple huge games early, but doesn't have the consistency of a true WR1. Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald have cooled down after fast starts and look like useful fantasy reserves. * T.J. Houshmandzadeh is outshining Chad Johnson in Cincinnati, but Chad has hardly been a bust. He's actually on pace to set a career high in yards, and the touchdowns will come eventually. Dwayne Bowe is beating the odds as a rookie on a weak offense. He's worth less in PPR leagues, but his red zone skills make him a solid WR3. The biggest surprise of the year is undoubtedly Kevin Walter, with Ike Hilliard a close second. A punchline in preseason mags (including ours), Walter been among the most consistent weekly options. The Houston passing game has not only survived without Andre Johnson; it has thrived. Walter is due to come back to Earth, but he can be a solid WR3. Walter is similar to Derrick Mason, because they both are far more valuable in points-per-reception leagues. Mason has a very small chance to top 100 catches without topping 1,000 yards, which is hard to fathom. I look for Mark Clayton to bounce back with a much better second half; he's a great pickup if available. * It's a huge surprise that the Green Bay passing game is thriving, but Donald Driver isn't. Looking closely at the numbers, he's clearly not a "number one" receiver anymore. Greg Jennings is more explosive, and the targets have been split evenly between Driver, Jennings, and James Jones. I see Jennings and Driver having similar value, while Jones is a decent WR4/5 to keep around. Week 9 Tight Ends
TE Notes: The perception of Antonio Gates' value was down going into the season, but there is still a huge gap between him and the rest of the field. He's one of the most bankable assets in fantasy football and has a chance to break some tight end records this season. He's producing like a borderline WR1. Lower-tier TE1 picks have come to the forefront this year. Jason Witten, Dallas Clark, Heath Miller, and Kellen Winslow came at excellent value and are putting up career seasons. Witten has benefited greatly from Tony Romo's development and Terry Glenn's injury. Winslow is a physical freak who can seemingly withstand surgery. Clark is the only one who is at risk of a market correction. He's blowing his career norms out of the water and always remains an injury risk. Miller is having the season Todd Heap is supposed to, but the Ravens stalwart has been limited by injuries and quarterback play. * Tony Gonzalez and Jeremy Shockey are solid, as expected. Chris Cooley and Ben Watson haven't been great, but they've scored more touchdowns than most first-round RB picks, so it's hard to complain. Tight end remains one of the most predictable positions, so owners who don't have one of these top-ten players have been at a severe disadvantage. * Too few of the promising preseason TE2s have emerged. Greg Olsen and Owen Daniels are the exceptions. Olsen shook off early injuries and looks like an every-week starter moving forward. He has a chance to enjoy one of the best rookie tight end campaigns of the last twenty years, and that's why I can't see Desmond Clark keeping up his pace. Daniels' high ankle sprain could limit him in the second half of the season. * Quiet disappointments this year include Bo Scaife, Tony Scheffler, Daniel Graham, Marcedes Lewis, Randy McMichael, and David Martin. Bigger disappointments include Alge Crumpler and Vernon Davis. Of this group, Davis has the best chance to emerge over the second half as an every-week option. He should be owned in all leagues. Crumpler owners should look for alternatives. One of them could be Scheffler, who is getting featured more in the Denver offense after the bye week. In the end, the tight end position is somewhat devalued because almost every fantasy team has a good one. Week 9 Team Defense Week 9 Kickers
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11-02-07, 08:06 PM
| #194 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 If I were coach for a day Standing at the midpoint of the season, everybody is talking about the upcoming Indianapolis Colts-New England Patriots game, but there's a lot more to talk about in terms of fantasy football. No team scores like the Patriots, and only the Dallas Cowboys are keeping up with the Colts. So every other club has plenty of room to improve, leaving a number of ways to jack up fantasy production. Do not ever take Adrian Peterson (the good one) off the field within 30 yards of the goal line. Sure, he is a rookie and probably needs some rest. But is there any worse sight than seeing Chester Taylor strap on his helmet after Peterson breaks nine tackles while getting inside the 10? Peterson needs those snaps to be a star. minnesotavikings.com Let's see what Adrian Peterson (the other one) can do. The Chicago Bears have wasted enough time treating Cedric Benson like he is the coach's kid instead of acting like they want to win. Peterson is outgaining Benson by 1.4 yards a carry, so maybe more of a 50-50 split would help both and give the Bears some sort of consistent offense. Quit messing with Julius Jones and give Marion Barber III about 20 carries a game. Barber is brilliant in his current role, but Jones is not doing anything other than wrecking a potentially great fantasy running back situation. Do not let coaches bring players back from serious muscle injuries, such as torn groins, for one game before their off week. These injuries invariably need extra time, so sit the guy one more week. Is a half season of Steven Jackson at full speed worth risking for one half against the Cleveland Browns? Get Kevin Curtis the ball in position to run after the catch. He is an ace in the open field, and every other pass play should be a slant or deep crossing route to him. It's not like the Philadelphia Eagles' other receivers are doing anything. Figure out a way to make Steve Smith more of a threat. I don't know the answer, short of kidnapping Peyton Manning. But two catches for 18 yards? And four out of seven games with 47 yards or fewer? carolinapanthers.com Get Joe Gibbs even further away from the Washington Redskins offensive team meetings, because his overly conservative philosophy is wrecking the team. The Redskins have the talent to score, but a game plan built around a series of 3-yard out routes to the backup tight end a la the scheme against New England is not going to get it done. Quit messing around with Daunte Culpepper. If the Oakland Raiders really think rookie JaMarcus Russell can't be as prepared as Culpepper, Russell must be awful. Culpepper looks clueless, and, with only two offensive TDs in three games, it is difficult to see how Oakland's offense could be worse. oaklandraiders.com Around the league: OK, everybody else is talking about The Game, so let's keep this simple. Start your Colts and Patriots as you normally would. The Colts have won the last three meetings between the two by an average of 35-25; now the Patriots are the ones with the explosive offense. This is a shootout. www.washingtonredskins.ws Another round of quarterback injuries hit last week, but do you think anybody will miss Trent Edwards, Kelly Holcomb, Vinny Testaverde or Matt Schaub if they're out? Schaub is the only decent one of the bunch, and he hasn't thrown a TD pass since September. The best hope from the replacements is if J.P. Losman returns determined to prove the Buffalo Bills wrong for benching him. |
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11-03-07, 08:03 PM
| #195 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Seahawks Could Be in Flux It's been a battle for Shaun Alexander this year to say the least. The 2005 NFL MVP hit rock bottom in Week 7, gaining just 47 yards on 19 carries against the Rams. For any struggling player, St. Louis should be what legendary ex-Cubs first baseman Mark Grace would term a prototypical slump buster. For Alexander, the game was different. It was indisputable evidence that he isn't the player he once was. So the Seahawks went on a bye last week. They watched tape, nursed some dinged up players back to health, and formulated a plan for the second half of the season. Alexander found out from doctors that he must continue to wear the protective cast on his cracked wrist for at least the next few weeks. With those things out of the way, the Seahawks travel to Cleveland for this Sunday's afternoon game. But what will be Seattle's second-half identity? I'm guessing it won't involve Alexander much. While he'll continue to start and get some carries, it seems doubtful that he'll be the focal point of the offense. It sounds simple at least - the idea of getting the ball to your best players. The Seahawks are getting back starting split end D.J. Hackett from a lengthy ankle injury. Deion Branch isn't 100 percent yet, but projects to be shortly. Matt Hasselbeck's oblique injury didn't prove serious. Third-down specialist Leonard Weaver is arguably the best running back on the team. These players are all key elements of a passing game the Seahawks will have to rely on to secure top rank in the NFC West division. At this point, I wouldn't be optimistic about Alexander turning his season around. He's not one of the team's most effective offensive options any longer. A semi-committee involving Alexander, Maurice Morris, and Weaver also isn't out of the question. If the Seahawks are to focus on spreading the field with their healthy, impressive receiving corps and throwing the football in the final eight weeks, Alexander's weak pass catching ability and lack of explosiveness will be of little use. Talk about Game Time Decisions in Rotoworld.com's forums Week 9 Game-Time Decisions Arms Vinny Testaverde David Carr will start after Vinny was out of practice all week. Tarvaris Jackson Limited all week, but expected to make start vs. San Diego. Kelly Holcomb At best, he'll be the Vikings' backup to Jackson on game day. Wides Chad Johnson Will start against Jabari Greer, and should have big fantasy day. Marvin Harrison Status up in the air, but not worth waiting for in hard matchup. Laveranues Coles Doubtful; Justin McCareins, Brad Smith to share snaps. Deion Branch Mike Holmgren says Branch will be limited even if he goes. Calvin Johnson Probable; Calvin will likely start, but has poor matchup vs. DEN. Ronald Curry Questionable with a foot injury, but signs point to Curry starting. Reggie Brown Brown probable, heating up, and a solid WR3 play vs. DAL. Brandon Stokley On-fire wideout is probable and a terrific WR3 play at Detroit. Ike Hilliard Minor injuries catching up to him, but he's expected to play vs. AZ. Andre' Davis This'll be his last start with Andre Johnson due back in Week 11. Eddie Kennison Has no catches this year; Fast Ed probably won't play Sunday. Bobby Wade Won't return punts if he's active; Wade's a classic game-day call. Craig Davis Odds against former starter playing despite his questionable tag. Jason Avant Eagles' third receiver is uncertain to play Sunday night vs. Dallas. Michael Clayton Expect Maurice Stovall to man his third WR role against Cards. Koren Robinson To act as fifth receiver, return kicks in return from suspension. Backs Frank Gore Classic game-day call; owners should have other options ready. LenDale White Missed Friday's work, but considered probable and likely to play. Kenny Watson/Rudi Johnson Both probable, expected to split carries @ Buffalo. Adimchinobe Echemandu/Ahman Green Both probable, but RBBC looming. Michael Pittman More likely that Pittman will be available after a Week 10 bye. Chris Brown - Didn't practice Thursday or Friday and probably won't be active. Ends Todd Heap Limited all week, and hasn't sounded optimistic about his chances. Owen Daniels High ankle sprain apparently not that high; he's called probable. Ben Watson Don't bet on Watson facing Indianapolis in late afternoon game. Alge Crumpler Listed as doubtful; Crumpler has both knee and ankle injuries. Chris Baker Status uncertain, but seems likely to play after starting in Week 8. Alex Smith Considered probable, but Smith could see limited number of snaps. Legs None of major note. Already Ruled Out for Week 9 Arms Matt Schaub Concussion keeps him out this week, but returning in Week 11. David Garrard Is getting closer; Quinn Gray a sleeper play against the Saints. Byron Leftwich Joey Harrington to make start Sunday against San Francisco. Trent Edwards J.P. Losman is sneaky bye week play in great matchup vs. CIN. Wides Andre Johnson Will return in Week 11 vs. NO; Andre' Davis will start Sunday. Javon Walker Recovering from knee surgery; expected back around Week 13. Chris Henry Can resume playing in Week 10 at Baltimore; should be owned. Terry Glenn Still not running; Glenn making slow progress after knee surgery. Troy Williamson Won't be on the field; look for rookie Sidney Rice to start. Rod Smith On injured reserve; 37-year-old's time in the NFL could be done. Backs DeShawn Wynn On injured reserve; Ryan Grant to dominate carries for Pack. Sammy Morris Placed on I.R. Friday; Corey Dillon to take his place with Pats? Chris Perry With Rudi Johnson back healthy, Bengals may not need Perry back. Michael Bush May not be activated from PUP list barring injury ahead of him. Ricky Williams Expected to be another week before we hear about his status. Ends Marcus Pollard Aging tight end could take awhile to return from knee surgery. Bubba Franks Likely still another two weeks away from returning to the lineup. Daniel Wilcox Quinn Sypniewski will start on MNF if Heap (hamstring) doesn't. Legs Josh Scobee Still no timetable for Scobee to return from his injured quadriceps. Week 9 Matchups to Exploit/Avoid Chargers @ Vikings Game Time: 12:00 CT/1:00 ET Chris Chambers might not get the chance, but actually indicated during the week that he was excited to go against Vikings CB Antoine Winfield: I played against him a lot when he was at Buffalo and I was pretty much looking forward to playing against him, to tell you the truth. I feel like I know a couple of his tendencies pretty good and every time I played those guys I always had pretty good games. Indeed, the two players have faced off six times in their NFL careers and Chambers has totaled 22 catches and four touchdowns in those meetings. Winfield has had a solid season overall, but even if he plays despite being listed as questionable with a hamstring injury, this looks like an ideal matchup for the Chargers' recently-acquired wideout. If Winfield sits, the Vikings will be forced to turn to rookie Marcus McCauley, who was recently benched due to ineffectiveness. With the Chargers' running game unlikely to penetrate Minnesota's overwhelming front seven consistently, Chambers should be in store for a big game on Sunday. Jaguars @ Saints Game Time: 12:00 CT/1:00 ET With a start under his belt, Quinn Gray is expected to get more of an opportunity to throw against New Orleans. The Saints recently returned CB Jason David from a broken forearm, but if his performance before the injury was any indication, David won't significantly improve a pass defense that ranks third to last in the NFC. New Orleans' run D has been surprisingly stout this season, and is ranked tenth overall. Gray remains unproven, but possesses tools (arm strength, athleticism) to be a difference maker. That's not to say Gray will have a monster day the Jags' best weapons are at running back but Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor could be held in check by New Orleans' effective interior line rotation of Hollis Thomas, Kendrick Clancy, Brian Young, and Antwan Lake. DE Charles Grant will play despite an ankle injury. To keep up with the Saints' reborn offense, the Jags may have to throw often. Gray is a decent sleeper play Sunday if your starter is on a bye. Don't be surprised if he racks up some quality yardage with his legs as well. Texans @ Raiders Game Time: 3:15 CT/4:15 ET There are several game-day decisions here, but the only one of significance on Oakland's side is at wideout. Ronald Curry was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, then missed Friday's workout altogether. However, two sources have said he is expected to play. If Curry does, it appears he'll be worth waiting for. As the Raiders' split end, Curry primarily sees opponents' right cornerbacks in coverage, meaning he should mostly avoid lockdown Texans LCB Dunta Robinson (good luck Jerry Porter). Raw and slow rookie Fred Bennett will make his starting debut at right corner for Houston, and figures to be no match for Curry's adept route-running skills. Also working in Curry's favor is the re-installation of Josh McCown at quarterback. The McCown-Curry connection flashed promise early in the year before McCown suffered injuries to both feet. If Curry is active, he's a strong WR3 in a favorable matchup On the other side, this would normally be a big opportunity for the Texans' running game to finally take a step forward. Ahman Green (knee) is listed as probable again and is expected to start. Due in large part to Warren Sapp's inability to pose any challenge to opposing offensive lines, the Raiders are yielding rush yardage by the truckload. However, as we witnessed last week, Green being listed as probable doesn't necessarily mean he'll play, and Texans coach Gary Kubiak is considering keeping three tailbacks active on game day just in case. It'll be anyone's guess as to who garners the majority of the carries between Green, Ron Dayne, and upstart Adimchinobe Echemandu, who was also on the injury report this week. This situation has running-back-by-committee written all over it and should be avoided if possible in fantasy leagues. And as good as Oakland's pass defense is, there isn't a Texan I'd consider using on Sunday. Ravens @ Steelers Game Time: 7:30 CT Monday/8:30 ET The Ravens head into Monday night's away game with the status of both their starting cornerbacks in question. LCB Chris McAlister (knee) is considered doubtful, and RCB Samari Rolle experienced an apparent setback in his recovery from an undisclosed illness during the week. Rolle is classified as questionable. Willie Parker has a history of struggling against the Ravens, having only mustered 53 yards on 23 carries in their last two meetings. Although coordinator Bruce Arians said during the week that he plans to run the football against Baltimore, things seem likely to change once the game gets underway. Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes should both register solid numbers Monday night. |
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11-05-07, 03:31 PM
| #196 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 R.I.P. Denver running game While Adrian Peterson was breaking records and the Game of the Year stole headlines, a fantasy football legend was quietly dying in Detroit. The dominant days of the Denver running game are over. Someday, we'll tell our fantasy football obsessed grandchildren that a prickly little man named Shanahan could once plug in any running back he chose and magically crank out big numbers. The system has shown wear and tear in the last few years, but Sunday's 47-yard output against the Lions was its death knell. Don't blame this all on Jay Cutler's injury. Travis Henry had seven yards on five carries before his quarterback was hurt. And there was a time when the system, the offensive line, could carry the Denver runners regardless of the quarterback. That time has passed. Stepping Off the Ledge 1. I had a shocking number of callers to Fantasy Fix Live ask lineup questions that included the name Adrian Peterson. One exacting owner called him inconsistent after one average game. Hopefully, they played him Sunday despite a supposedly tough matchup. This kid doesn't play by normal rules. The only question left is whether he'll be the top overall fantasy pick next year. LaDainian Tomlinson needs a big second half. 2. Bucking conventional wisdom, the Redskins fell behind 17-3 to the Jets and came back to win by running 48 times. Clinton Portis ran like it was 2002, with a whopping 36 carries for 196 yards, both highs with Washington. Portis had rushed for 134 yards in the last three weeks combined and this was his first 100-yard game all year. It was an encouraging effort, but let's see him do it against a real defense. 3. Marques Colston's first six games: 265 yards, two touchdowns. Marques Colston's last two games: 244 yards, three touchdowns. 4. Jon Kitna is suddenly getting great protection, partly because teams are respecting the Detroit running game. Kevin Jones looked to be off to a huge day early, but only had four second half rushes because the defense and passing game was scoring. The newly efficient Kitna might not be a top-five quarterback, but he'll stay healthy and put up respectable yardage. The Young Folks While many young pros are cautiously getting their feet wet, newbie running backs are getting work. The top two fantasy runners this season (Adrian Peterson, Joseph Addai) and the two leaders in rushing attempts (LenDale White, Marshawn Lynch) are rookies or second-year players. Rookie wideouts didn't play as well Sunday. The top three rookie receivers (Dwayne Bowe, James Jones, and Calvin Johnson) combined for 79 yards, with Bowe getting shut out. It says a lot about the unpredictability of rookie wideouts when a third-round pick from San Jose St. has outscored the safest rookie receiver pick in a decade Sir. Megatron. Sidney Rice's 212 yards and two scores is good enough to be the fourth-best rookie receiver this season, yet another reminder not to invest too much in rookie wideouts. Don't Panic 1. Anquan Boldin, Edgerrin James, Kurt Warner and the rest of the Cardinals attack was stuffed cold against the Bucs. But Arizona doesn't play a defense of Tampa's caliber the rest of the year, and they have many games against some of the lesser units in the league. Boldin has been among the most consistent point scorers this season when healthy. 2. Chad Johnson has had a couple quiet weeks, but he's second in the league in receiving yards. The scores will come. Some Panic is Acceptable 1. Albert Haynesworth on David Carr, "He held the ball a real long time so it gave us a chance to get there. I appreciate him holding the ball so long to help us out" Thanks Albert. As a representative of Steve Smith owners everywhere, I also want to thank David Carr for slowly crushing my soul with his pump fakes and white gloves. It wouldn't shock me if Matt Moore started for the Panthers next week. Maybe John Fox will bring back DeAngelo Williams running the option, like he did late last year. 2. Vince Young finally did some running (25 yards and a score), but his passing gets worse by the week. Young has thrown six interceptions since his last touchdown throw, which came in Week 3. I'd hold on to him as a QB3 if possible, but you might want to pick up another quarterback to be your QB2. 3. Jason Campbell took a couple steps forward early this year, but 142 yards and a pick against the Jets is his third-straight step back. The Washington passing game shows no signs of waking up and Campbell has turned into a weak QB2 pick. 4 We're halfway through the season, and Maurice Jones-Drew hasn't topped 17 touches in a game yet. With Fred Taylor staying healthy, MoJo is on pace for fewer touches and yards (not to mention scores) than his rookie year when he missed three games. Big games will come, but not consistently enough to make Drew a great RB2. 5. It wasn't a shock that LaDainian Tomlinson was held under 70 rushing yards for a fifth time this season. After all, he was facing the Vikings. Philip Rivers, on the other hand, blew a cake matchup in which he received 42 attempts. Rivers is a decent QB2, but he has failed to take the next step under Norv Turner. Vincent Jackson, meanwhile, has one catch in two games playing with Chris Chambers. 6. Mike Furrey started over Calvin Johnson, who appeared to be fourth in the receiver rotation for Detroit. Shaun McDonald had the most targets of the group and was the only Lion wideout with a solid fantasy game because he broke a 49-yard touchdown on a receiver screen. Detroit keeps splitting it four ways, which hurts consistency. |
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11-05-07, 03:32 PM
| #197 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 R.I.P. Denver running game While Adrian Peterson was breaking records and the Game of the Year stole the headlines, a fantasy football legend was quietly dying in Detroit. The dominant days of the Denver running game are over. Someday, we'll tell our fantasy football obsessed grandchildren that a prickly little man named Shanahan could once plug in any running back he chose and magically crank out big numbers. The system has shown wear and tear in the last few years, but Sunday's 47-yard output against the Lions was it's death knell. Don't blame this all on Jay Cutler's injury. Travis Henry had seven yards on five carries before his quarterback was hurt. And there was a time when the system, the offensive line, could carry the Denver runners regardless of the quarterback. That time has passed. Stepping Off the Ledge 1. I had a shocking number of callers to Fantasy Fix Live ask lineup questions that included the name Adrian Peterson. One exacting owner called him inconsistent after one average game. Hopefully, they played him Sunday despite a supposedly tough matchup. This kid doesn't play by normal rules. The only question left is whether he'll be the top overall fantasy pick next year. LaDainian Tomlinson needs a big second half. 2. Bucking conventional wisdom, the Redskins fell behind 17-3 to the Jets and came back to win by running 48 times. Clinton Portis ran like it was 2002, with a whopping 36 carries for 196 yards, both highs with Washington. Portis had rushed for 134 yards in the last three weeks combined and this was his first 100-yard game all year. It was an encouraging effort, but let's see him do it against a real defense. 3. Marques Colston's first six games: 265 yards, two touchdowns. Marques Colston's last two games: 244 yards, three touchdowns. 4. Jon Kitna is suddenly getting great protection, partly because teams are respecting the Detroit running game. Kevin Jones looked to be off to a huge day early, but only had four second half rushes because the defense and passing game was scoring. The newly efficient Kitna might not be a top-five quarterback, but he'll stay healthy and put up respectable yardage. The Young Folks While many young pros are cautiously getting their feet wet, newbie running backs are getting work. The top two fantasy runners this season (Adrian Peterson, Joseph Addai) and the two leaders in rushing attempts (LenDale White, Marshawn Lynch) are rookies or second-year players. Rookie wideouts didn't play as well Sunday. The top three rookie receivers (Dwayne Bowe, James Jones, and Calvin Johnson) combined for 79 yards, with Bowe getting shut out. It says a lot about the unpredictability of rookie wideouts when a third-round pick from San Jose St. has outscored (by a fraction) the safest rookie receiver picks in a decade Sir. Megatron. Sidney Rice's 212 yards and two scores is good enough to be the fourth-best rookie receiver this season, yet another reminder not to invest too much in rookie wideouts. Don't Panic 1. Anquan Boldin, Edgerrin James, Kurt Warner and the rest of the Cardinals attack was stuffed cold against the Bucs. But Arizona doesn't play a defense of Tampa's caliber the rest of the year, and they have many games against some of the lesser units in the league. Boldin has been among the most consistent point scorers this season when healthy. 2. Chad Johnson has had a couple quiet weeks, but he's second in the league in receiving yards. The scores will come. Some Panic is Acceptable 1. Albert Haynesworth on David Carr, "He held the ball a real long time so it gave us a chance to get there. I appreciate him holding the ball so long to help us out" Thanks Albert. As a representative of Steve Smith owners everywhere, I also want to thank David Carr for slowly crushing my soul with his pump fakes and white gloves. It wouldn't shock me if Matt Moore started for the Panthers next week. Maybe John Fox will bring back DeAngelo Williams running the option, like he did late last year. 2. Vince Young finally did some running (25 yards and a score), but his passing gets worse by the week. Young has thrown six interceptions since his last touchdown throw, which came in Week 3. I'd hold on to him as a QB3 if possible, but you might want to pick up another quarterback to be your QB2. 3. Jason Campbell took a couple steps forward early this year, but 142 yards and a pick against the Jets is his third-straight step back. The Washington passing game shows no signs of waking up and Campbell has turned into a weak QB2 pick. |
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11-05-07, 04:17 PM
| #198 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 This Week in Jason David Quinn Gray to Reggie Williams for an 80-yard touchdown is the second-least likely scoring combination possible in the NFL; David Carr to a Panther is first. But the box score did make a little more sense when I saw who had coverage. Good to have you back, buddy. Life is unfair If you played against Jamal Lewis Sunday: 20 carries, 37 rushing yards, and four touchdowns! People cringe when I say that luck is such an important part of fantasy football, but why fight it? Lewis had more scores in 20 plodding carries Sunday than Frank Gore, Chad Johnson, Willis McGahee, Roy Williams, Cedric Benson, Brandon Jacobs, and Willie Parker have all season. We can all try our best to be drafting geniuses, but it's okay to recognize good fortune for what it is. Luck and unpredictability makes this all fun. They're real and they're spectacular 1. Earnest Graham isn't giving back his starting job anytime soon, assuming he can still walk after carrying the ball 34 times against Arizona. Since Michael Bennett was acquired, Graham has managed over 400 total yards in three games. Michael Pittman should pick up third downs after Tampa's bye, but Graham has earned weekly consideration in fantasy leagues. 2. While Lee Evans was reminding owners how good he can be, Greg Jennings continued his season-long Lee Evans impression. Jennings now has a Boerigter-like six touchdowns in only 23 catches, four of which have gone for over forty yards. An Ode to Consistency 1. LenDale White requires more rushes each week to get to 100 yards, but he's done it three times in a row. In a year with too many committees and injuries, White is second in the league in rushing attempts. And with Chris Henry about to be suspended, White's workload will stay high. 2. Reggie Bush's total yards per game since Deuce McAllister was hurt: 119, 141, 73, 113, 115. And he's on pace for 100 catches on the season, if you are into that sort of thing. 3. T.J. Houshmandzadeh scored for the eighth straight game, the longest to start a season since 1961. Committee Time 1. Rudi Johnson got the early carries, but Kenny Watson was the better fantasy play because of 70 receiving yards. Johnson owners who have used him the last three times he's suited up have been rewarded with 30 carries for 28 yards. You can call injured players like Steven Jackson busts, but Rudi's half-healthy play is worse. 2. Remind us to ignore Bobby Petrino when he says Jerious Norwood will get more involved. Warrick Dunn had 27 productive carries to only six for Norwood. 3. Michael Robinson started for the 49ers despite pregame reports to the contrary. He racked up 17 carries to only seven for Maurice Hicks, but Hicks still wound up with more fantasy points with 49 yards and a touchdown. The Replacements 1. Kellen Clemens wasn't efficient, but the Jets weren't afraid to go pass-wacky with him at the helm, throwing 42 times for 226 yards. Those kind of numbers are why Clemens should be a solid QB2 moving forward. 2. Ryan Grant got 19 carries to five for Brandon Jackson, but neither player ran very well. Grant's receiving numbers helped him to reach 92 total yards, the sort of production we'd expect moving forward. 3. Patrick Ramsey had decent stats, but accounted for two Detroit touchdowns and only one for Denver in garbage time. He's not an exciting pickup if he winds up starting a few games. Injury Ward Zach Schonbrun has all the details in our Season Pass Injury Crunch column. We'll be tracking the following players in the news all week Chad Johnson Marvin Harrison Jay Cutler Larry Johnson Shaun Alexander Ahman Green |
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11-06-07, 02:57 PM
| #199 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Turn Back the Clock Despite taking a mini-vacation at the end of last weekthat is if "Milwaukee" and "vacation" can legally be included in the same sentenceI've somehow managed to avoid being Wally Pipped by Pat Dahl and Ben Standig, who were very Lou Gehrig-like while subbing for me in this space. In an effort to catch up on everything that I missed and hopefully reclaim my spot atop the depth chart, let's quit with the small talk and get right to the notes from around football * Gregg Rosenthal and the Rotoworld football staff took some heat for ranking Larry Johnson as the No. 5 fantasy running back heading into the season, but the fears about his massive 2006 workload eventually catching up with him now appear to be right on the money. Johnson has averaged just 3.5 yards per carry thus far, and through eight games he's on pace for 1,490 total yards and eight touchdowns after racking up 2,199 total yards and 18 touchdowns last season. Oh, and the news gets far worse from there. Johnson left Sunday's game with what was initially called a sprained ankle, but has since been diagnosed as a mid-foot sprain. "They're running some more tests," coach Herm Edwards said. "He came in to get treatment, but they took an MRI and they're still studying it." It's very possible that Johnson will be sidelined for multiple games and could be at less than full strength even if he returns in time for the fantasy playoffs. Kansas City could turn back the clock to 2003 and install Priest Holmes as their every-down back, but Edwards indicated Monday that rookie Kolby Smith will also see plenty of action despite zero carries through eight games. "You can't give Priest all of those carries, obviously," Edwards said. "Smith will have to play some too." Even 10-15 carries and third-down work would make Holmes a RB2 option in Week 10 thanks to a great matchup against the Broncos' sieve-like run defense. * LaMont Jordan appeared to be embarking on a tremendous comeback season when he racked up 159, 159, and 154 total yards in the first three games, but has struggled through back problems while averaging just 2.2 yards per carry since the Raiders' bye in Week 5. Coach Lane Kiffin officially yanked the starting job away from Jordan on Monday, naming Justin Fargas the Raiders' new No. 1 running back "until further notice." Jordan may not be in the Raiders' long-term plans because he's due a big salary next season and Fargas is a pending free agent, so getting an extended look at him down the stretch makes sense. Plus, he's simply out-played Jordan for much of the year, rushing for 104 yards on 23 carries Sunday, notching 179 yards in Week 4, and averaging 5.4 yards on 81 attempts overall. Huggy Bear Jr. is a must-grab in all leagues and could emerge as a consistent RB2 option. * Carted off the field in the fourth quarter Sunday when his head slammed to the ground after taking a hit on a pass over the middle, Chad Johnson luckily appears to have avoided a serious injury. He reportedly has movement in all extremities and was able to fly back to Cincinnati with the team after being released from a Buffalo hospital Sunday night, but his status for Week 10 is in question after coach Marvin Lewis revealed Monday that he has a sprained neck. If Johnson is sidelined, Chris Henry could jump right into the starting lineup after being activated from the suspended list Monday. Henry likely has less value than most people seem to think as long as Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh are around, but getting a spot start in place of Johnson would boost his short-term fantasy value significantly. He should be grabbed in all leagues and could be a low-end WR2 option if Johnson looks iffy heading into the weekend. Purple Jesus Tidbit of the Day: Chester Taylor has been the backup for the two top rushing performances in NFL history. Taylor totaled 83 yards and a touchdown on 11 touches Sunday while Adrian Peterson broke the all-time mark with 296 yards, and was formerly the backup in Baltimore when Jamal Lewis set the old record with 295 yards four years ago. Taylor continues to play well behind Peterson, but with just 31 touches over the past three games his value is limited. Note: I'll be hosting my weekly "live chat" today at 2:00 p.m. EST, so feel free to stop by and ask questions about potential trades, suggested waiver-wire moves, injury updates, or random things that have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with football (the latter is preferred, actually). Click here for details. Two-Minute Drill: Coach Andy Reid predictably said Monday that there are no plans to bench Donovan McNabb in favor of rookie Kevin Kolb Corey Dillon's agent indicated over the weekend that his client would be interesting in re-signing with the Patriots, but coach Bill Belichick shot down that idea Monday Despite a brutal return performance Sunday against the Texans, coach Lane Kiffin said Monday that Josh McCown will start again for the Raiders in Week 10 against the Bears Cementing his status as the starter over Bubba Franks, Donald Lee signed a four-year extension Monday that's worth about $12 million and gets a nice matchup in Week 10 against the Vikings Coach Cam Cameron said Monday that Cleo Lemon will start in Week 10 against the Bills, but that Lemon and rookie John Beck will split first-team practice reps Last week coach Brad Childress mocked the idea of signing Jeff George, but the Vikings are bringing in Chris Weinke for a workout Tuesday Released last week by the Raiders, Mike Williams is scheduled for a Tuesday visit with former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow and the Titans. Red Zone: Steven Jackson (groin, back) missed Monday's practice following the Rams' bye, but coach Scott Linehan said afterward that he "looks good" and is expected to play in Week 10 against the Saints David Garrard (ankle) is expected to return to practice Wednesday and could be healthy enough to start in a tough matchup against the Titans in Week 10 Willis McGahee's status for Week 10 could be in question after he suffered a concussion while blocking in the fourth quarter of Monday's night blowout loss to the Steelers Coach Mike Holmgren said Monday that Deion Branch "should play" in Week 10 after sitting out three games with a sprained foot Laveranues Coles (concussion) has been cleared to resume practicing and should return in Week 11 following the Jets' bye Jerious Norwood was reportedly "limping gingerly" on his sprained ankle Monday, which might actually matter if coach Bobby Petrino ever followed through on the promise to get him more playing time Anthony Gonzalez is expected to be sidelined for multiple games after dislocating his left thumb on the first play Sunday Byron Leftwich (ankle) isn't ready to return yet, leaving Joey Harrington to start Sunday against the Panthers. |
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11-06-07, 05:44 PM
| #200 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Watch Out Models! When the Patriots are on bye, almost everyone is a winner. Patriots' fans can savor the fact that their team just won a huge regular season game and is poised to go undefeated. Most of the rest of us can just be happy we don't have to play a team with Tom "I'm disappointed if I don't have four touchdowns" Brady and his merry band of fantasy weapons. Hooded sweatshirts can spend a week not worrying if Belichick will turn them into one of his queer 1980s sideline fashion statements. There are two groups who face immediate danger. The first is models. Brady is on the loose, ladies! Lock your doors! The second is fantasy owners of New England skill players. I'd be lying if I said I feel bad for you. You hit the jackpot this season, so suck it up and peruse the players below for adequate replacements. Running Back Justin Fargas Justin Fargas has officially taken over for LaMont Jordan as the Raiders' starter. He had 25 touches to just 6 for Jordan in Week 9. The Raiders have already named Fargas their starter until further notice, and he should continue to get a huge chunk of work out of the backfield. The speedy Fargas is averaging 5.4 yards per carry, and should make a solid RB2 for as long as he has the role. oaklandraiders.com Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues. Priest Holmes Larry Johnson suffered what is now being called a "mid-foot sprain." The severity of the injury is unknown, but it seems likely that Holmes will start in Week 10 and possibly longer. Coach Herm Edwards has said that he doesn't see Holmes carrying the ball more than 15 times in Johnson's absence. This would make Priest a decent RB2, and while he should definitely be owned, temper your expectations somewhat. Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues. Kolby Smith Coach Herm Edwards has not only said he wants to limit Holmes' carries, but also indicated that he wants to make sure Smith is heavily involved. Expect these two to form a relatively equal committee, and in Kansas City that's not very exciting for owners. Still, Smith is worth taking a gamble on if you have the space. Recommendation: Should be owned in deeper leagues. Ron Dayne With Ahman Green's knee hurting (surprise, surprise), Ron Dayne ran 21 times for 122 yards and a touchdown in Week 9. Now, he did this against the Raiders' pathetic defense, so don't expect this every time out. In fact, Dayne hadn't shown much to this point, and he could wind up losing carries to Adimchinobe Echemandu. Still, with the possibility of Green missing significant time, Dayne figures to see an increased role going forward making him roster-worthy in most leagues. Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues. Warrick Dunn Jerious Norwood sprained his ankle on Sunday, and while he wasn't using crutches after the game, he was walking "gingerly" on his ankle. Warrick Dunn had his best game of the season in Jerious' absence. There's a chance Norwood will miss this week's game, meaning Dunn, who is available in almost 50% of all leagues, should be owned in all of them. Love him or not, he's a starting running back, people! Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues. Kevin Faulk Faulk has seen 11 more snaps than Laurence Maroney in each of the last two weeks. He has put up similar yardage, but his score this week puts him one up on Maroney, who is yet to see the end zone this season. With Sammy Morris out, Faulk should continue to be a big part of New England's attack. Recommendation: Worth owning in deep PPR leagues. Maurice Morris Maurice Morris played instead of Shaun Alexander for the final ten minutes of regulation and all of overtime on Sunday, as Alexander was suffering with a "tweaked" knee and ankle. At least, that's the official story. It's also likely Alexander's ineffectiveness earned him his spot on the sideline. On Monday, coach Mike Holmgren noted that he wants to make Seattle's offense more pass heavy, which will only further limit Alexander's role. We've already pimped Leonard Weaver and his pass-catching abilities in this space, but Morris obviously has similar upside in the wake of Alexander's continued struggles. Recommendation: Worth owning in deeper leagues. Michael Robinson/Maurice Hicks With Frank Gore out in Week 9, Michael Robinson started and rushed for 67 yards on 17 carries. Hicks got just seven carries, but turned it into 49 yards and a touchdown. Robinson is most likely to lead the team in carries if Gore is out, but Hicks may have earned himself a bigger role. Both make decent flex options if Gore misses time. Recommendation: Worth considering in 12-team leagues. Michael Pittman The Bucs are facing a Week 10 bye, and Pittman should be back the following week. Pittman will likely see third down duty immediately, and has a good shot at eventually reclaiming the starting job from Earnest Graham. He was averaging almost five yards per carry before getting injured, and would be a decent RB2 if he got the starting job back. Recommendation: Worth considering in 12-team leagues. Brandon Jackson New starting running back Ryan Grant injured his head in Week 9, and Jackson saw the most action in his absence. By "action," I mean he carried five times for 18 yards. Coach Mike McCarthy said Grant "should be fine," though, meaning Jackson has limited upside for now. Recommendation: Only worth consideration in deep leagues. Note:For Gregg Rosenthal's waiver rankings, head over to Pancake Blocks or watch the Fantasy Fix. Wide Receiver David Patten In his third consecutive big game, David Patten caught four passes for 81 yards and a touchdown in Week 9. Patten is obviously the No. 2 receiver in New Orleans' high-octane offense, and should be owned in all leagues as a WR3. Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues. Chris Henry We've been reminding you about Henry for a couple weeks now. He was finally activated on Monday, and with Chad Johnson suffering from a sprained neck, could see significant time. Run out there and grab him if he's available. Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues. Mark Clayton Clayton caught three passes for 12 yards in Week 9 against the Steelers, but was the only receiver beside Derrick Mason to have a catch in a pathetic showing from Steve McNair. Clayton's role has continued to expand as his foot heals from a preseason injury, and his upside for the second half is high. Next week he faces Cincinnati, so he'll likely have a big game. Recommendation: Worth owning in 12-team leagues. Sidney Rice Rice filled in for Bobby Wade in Week 9, and caught four passes for 66 yards and a touchdown. It was his second solid game of the season. The first came against Green Bay, who the Vikings will face this week. Wade was a game-time decision in Week 9, and should be healthy by Week 10, which would limit Rice's value, but if you need a fill-in at WR, Rice is a decent gamble. His long-term value is limited by his position on the depth chart, the fact that he's a rookie, and the fact that there's a legitimate chance Jeff George could see time at QB for the Vikings at this rate. Recommendation: Bye week fill-in in deep leagues. Reggie Williams Williams doubled his season total in yardage in Week 9, catching six passes for 128 yards. He also scored his fourth touchdown of the season. It was a great game by Williams, who has been a nice red zone target all season. The fact that he faces Indy, Carolina, Pittsburgh and Oakland during the fantasy playoffs doesn't help his overall value, and Williams can't be counted on to put up consistent numbers. We'd let someone else pick him up Recommendation: Worth consideration in deeper leagues. Quarterback J.P. Losman With Trent Edwards hurting, Losman started for the Bills and looked impressive, throwing for almost 300 yards and a touchdown. Losman probably earned himself another start, and luckily for him it comes against the hapless Dolphins. Losman probably won't keep the job for the rest of the season, but if you're desperate next week, he makes a nice add. Recommendation: Worth owning in two QB leagues. Brooks Bollinger Bollinger has come on in relief the past two weeks and completed 7-of-10 passes in each game. Coach Brad Childress has said Tarvaris Jackson would start if healthy, but it's unclear if he'll be able to return to practice this week, meaning Bollinger has a great chance at starting. He would draw Green Bay, which actually isn't a terrible match-up as they have given up the eleventh-most points to fantasy quarterbacks. If Bollinger gets the start, he's a better desperation option in two QB leagues than the guys below, but probably not worth getting excited about. Recommendation: Worth a look in two QB leagues. Josh McCown McCown will remain the starting quarterback in Oakland by default this week. It's not worth going back to Culpepper, and JaMarcus Russell isn't quite ready for action. McCown will face a Chicago defense that has been terrible this far, but is coming off a bye and will have a number of injured defenders returning. McCown's hold on the job is loose at best, limiting his long-term value. Recommendation: Not worth owning in most leagues. Patrick Ramsey Jay Cutler appears to have avoided a fracture to his leg, and there appears to be a chance he could play against Kansas City this weekend. If not, the Broncos will turn to Patrick Ramsey. God forbid you have to. Recommendation: Stay away. Tight End Vernon Davis Davis is available in 30% of leagues. He had a tough start to the season but has been lights out since Alex Smith returned. He has tremendous second half upside, so make sure your league isn't one where he was dumped. Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues. Greg Olsen Olsen missed two weeks of the season with injury, and is still a top 15 tight end. The Bears were on bye last week and a needy owner could have dumped him. He is available in a ton of leagues, and with Brian Griese's arm strength, Olsen should be a TE1 going forward. Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues. L.J. Smith We're finally at that stretch where L.J. Smith strings together five or six healthy starts before injuring himself again. When healthy in the past, Smith has put up solid numbers, but his body just can't be counted on for fantasy purposes. Still, if you're hurting at TE, Smith is continuing to work himself into game shape, as he has the talent to be a solid TE over the second half of the season. Unfortunately, the second half starts with Washington, who has been very tough against TEs this season. Recommendation: Worth considering in 12-team leagues. |
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11-07-07, 02:44 PM
| #201 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Chief Concern For how bad many of the top running backs have been this season, injuries have not really been the overriding source of problems. Steven Jackson was down for a stretch with a groin problem and Frank Gore missed a game last week because of his ankle. Rudi Johnson and Laurence Maroney also had their minor issues, but you have to go down to the Saints' Deuce McAllister and Miami's Ronnie Brown to find debilitating injuries this year. Both tore ACLs, but McAllister already was in a split-time situation and Brown was not an elite player coming into the year. But Larry Johnson changes that. His is the first apparent major injury to the top backs, with reports suggesting he would be done for the season because of a sprained or broken foot. His replacement is more unusual in that Priest Holmes, who did not play for nearly two years before last month, is taking over. Johnson clearly was not having a good season. He was on pace for barely 1,100 yards and eight total TDs after back-to-back 1,700-yard seasons with at least 19 TDs in each. But he still was one of a dozen or so backs with the potential for a great game any given week. And that makes replacing him tricky. If you lost him, you might be happy to rid yourself of such a frustrating player, but there are not many guys at his level. Holmes is no longer one there. He is a complementary player at best and coach Herm Edwards says he plans to use Holmes as such, spelling him frequently with rookie Kolby Smith. Of course, Edwards has said lots of things that he has not always done. I would pick up both Holmes and Smith, if only to see what they can do. But right now, I'd rather have Jesse Chatman than either Chiefs back. The Dolphins have been a better running team than the Chiefs, who are 30th in the league, and Chatman gets almost all of Miami's running back touches. So panic over losing your first-round back or take his injury as just another of the travails of getting through the season? If you're still in contention, you probably are doing it mostly without Johnson. Panic is not the answer. He was, however, almost an automatic starter and those are hard to replace. You'll want to investigate trades if you do not have much depth. The loss in production does not equal the loss in name value. Thirteen other backs have more rushing yards and 18 have at least as many total TDs. You're talking more about finding a No. 2 back rather than replacing a first-round stud. And take any Chiefs' optimism with a grain of salt. This has the potential to be a devastating injury even if the team says he can return. Here is my take on some other players whose value is changing going into Week 10. ON THE RISE Warrick Dunn. Dunn has not had back-to-back 100-yard games since the first two weeks of 2006, but that is what he is going for against the struggling Panthers. He had a season-high 5.0 yards a carry in Atlanta's first game against Carolina, which has allowed an average of 146.3 rushing yards in three home games. The great part about Dunn this week is that backup Jerious Norwood has a bad ankle so Dunn should get almost all of the carries. Justin Fargas. The Raiders finally pulled the plug on LaMont Jordan and let Fargas go off with a 104-yard game last week against the Texans. Now the Bears' come in with their 26th-ranked run defense, giving up 130.9 yards a game. The Raiders still have the fourth-best rushing offense and aren't having any luck throwing. Fargas will get 20-plus carries again. Chris Henry. We told you a couple of weeks ago to grab Henry and he could slide right into a significant role if Chad Johnson's neck injury keeps him out of a game or two. Henry is a big-time TD threat - nine of his 36 catches last year were for scores. He would have some issues with conditioning if he had to start right away, but he is a low No. 2 receiver or decent flex option against a bad Ravens secondary. J.P. Losman. This is kind of a no-brainer after he threw for 295 yards against the Bengals and gets another start this week against the Dolphins. Grab him if he still is floating around out there; he also will be a good play in a later game against Cleveland and a second against Miami. You know about the surge he and Lee Evans had in the second half of last season. They are on their way to another one. David Patten. The Saints are on a big-time roll with 30.5 points over their past four games and Drew Brees completing 71.5% of his passes in that time. Marques Colston is the obvious play and Patten is next with at least 81 yards in three of the past four starts. The Saints' schedule is easy the rest of the way, starting with the 0-8 Rams this week. Patten is not a top TD threat, but you should find a way to play him. LenDale White. With three 100-yard games in a row, White is turning into one of the big surprises of the season as well as somebody increasingly difficult to bench. The matchup against the tough Jaguars defense does not look great this week, but the Saints hammered the Jaguars last week and the Titans ran for 282 yards on them in the season opener. It also is unclear who the team's backup is now with Chris Brown coming off injury and Chris Henry dealing with his suspension. TAKING A DIVE Shaun Alexander. If you're looking for a reason that Alexander is about to crank around his season, here is one: I'm finally giving up on him. Nobody has frustrated me, or nearly every other fantasy owner, more than Alexander. But whenever I dump a guy, he usually seems to go nuts. He does have another decent matchup against another bad defense this week -- and one in prime time, which he loves so much. But there are more injuries, more talk about the Seahawks passing more and talk that Maurice Morris will snag some carries. You can have him. Donald Driver. The TDs have disappeared and you can thank Greg Jennings for that. Jennings has six TDs in his six games this season; no other Packer has more than two receiving TDs. Driver's 99 yards last week were his most since Week 3, but he has fallen into the trap as the safe, reliable receiver. With the Packers hitting on so many big passing plays recently, that has cut down on Driver's opportunities, so much that he is a risky play even against a bad Minnesota pass defense. Brandon Marshall. Even if Jay Cutler doesn't miss any time with his leg injury (and he could be a game-time decision), the Broncos are falling apart. They have lost five of six, including two losses by at least 37 points in their past four games, and as we mentioned last week, who are the veteran leaders to rally around? Marshall has been putting up decent yards but is not scoring much. Denver can not reasonably expect a turnaround on the road in Kansas City and I would sit Marshall, despite the Chiefs' propensity for giving up big passing plays. Willis McGahee. It would be his luck that as soon as a brilliant matchup rolls around, he gets be limited after getting dinged late in a blowout loss. We all know how great any running back should be against the Bengals, and McGahee has been on a little roll, with TDs in three consecutive games. The Ravens are atrocious but even that is not enough reason to sit one of their backs against Cincinnati. McGahee's concussion is and you'll have to monitor what should be an automatic play into the weekend. Philip Rivers. Rivers' inconsistent season continued last week in Minnesota, but that inconsistency might be the biggest reason that he could actually have a good game against the Colts. Counting on a guy because he is coming off a horrible game and has yet to go two games in a row without a two-TD performance is pretty flimsy, however. The Colts do not have to prove anything more to me defensively and it is clear that something still stinks with the Chargers' offense. Rivers' next five starts (vs. Colts, at Jacksonville, vs. Baltimore, at Kansas City, at Tennessee) all are unfavorable. Steve Smith. The question every week seems to be how far to drop Smith. With the possibility that undrafted rookie Matt Moore might start at quarterback this week, he falls further into the unknown. Smith's only good game since Jake Delhomme went out was with Vinny Testaverde under center and Smith has managed an incredibly bad five catches for 33 yards the past two games. If Testaverde can't play, you'll want to sit Smith. Falcons CB DeAngelo Hall definitely could get the last word on Smith this time. |
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11-07-07, 03:11 PM
| #202 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 The Beginning of the End Whether via e-mails or questions submitted during my weekly chat session, one of the things that I'm consistently asked the most is, "When will Shaun Alexander start putting up big numbers again?" I'm been giving "never" as my standard answer to that question since the middle of last season and it's now becoming obvious that Alexander's days as an elite fantasy running back are long gone. In fact, at this point I have serious doubts about his ability to be a consistent RB2. Alexander watched the latter stages of Sunday's game from the sidelines as backup Maurice Morris played nearly every snap beginning midway through the fourth quarter and stretching into overtime. Morris simply out-playing Alexander this season would be reason enough for the switch in a tight game, but coach Mike Holmgren explained afterward that Alexander's knee and ankle "got a little tweaked." "As the game went along, it got a little colder and his knee stiffened up on him," Holmgren said. In-game injuries are important to consider when evaluating performances, but his struggles go far beyond Sunday. Alexander has been brutally ineffective for going on six weeks and a shell of his former self for going on two years. Since his monster 1,958-yard, 28-touchdown season in 2005, Alexander has averaged a pathetic 3.46 yards on 401 carries spread over 24 games. Alexander has a lot of miles on him after averaging 1,670 yards on 350 carries from 2003-2005, turned 30 years old in August, missed six games with a cracked foot last season, and has been playing with a cast on his right wrist for much of this year. He came out of the gates strong this season, producing a pair of 100-yard efforts in the first three games, but since then has posted wretched per-carry averages of 3.1, 2.3, 2.5, 2.5, and 2.3 yards over the past five games. Holmgren said Tuesday that Alexander could play through the knee and ankle problems Monday night, but added that the Seahawks may begin shifting their offense to focus more on the passing game. Short of a straight-out benching that's about as clear-cut a sign as you'll get that Alexander's elite status isn't coming back and it's especially bad news for his workload given that Morris and Leonard Weaver are far superior as receivers. This could be the beginning of the end. While Seahawks fans and Alexander owners see first-hand what it looks like when a great running back falls off a cliff once he hits the wrong side of 30, here are some other notes from around football * Out since suffering a high-ankle sprain in a Monday night matchup against the Colts in Week 7, David Garrard is finally on the verge of returning to the lineup. "I don't have to make a decision until Sunday, but I expect him to play," coach Jack Del Rio said. The good news is that even at something less than 100 percent Garrard would represent a major upgrade over Quinn Gray, who's looked overmatched and turnover-prone in his absence. The bad news is that Garrard jumps back into the mix with an incredibly tough matchup against the Titans, who dominated David Carr and the Panthers in Week 9 and have been arguably the NFL's premiere defense this season. Garrard has proven himself to be a solid QB2 option, but he's to be avoided against the Titans this week and faces several other tough pass defenses down the stretch, with games against the Chargers, Bills, Colts, Steelers, and Raiders remaining. * Larry Johnson was expected to miss at least one game after suffering what was initially thought to be a sprained ankle in Week 9, but the local FOX affiliate in Colorado reported Tuesday that he's now likely to miss the remainder of the season with a broken bone in his foot. Nothing official has been announced as of Wednesday morning, but a source close to Johnson confirmed to Rotoworld that he's awaiting final confirmation on the injury and is not expecting good news. Yesterday's Daily Dose laid out the Chiefs' likely plans without Johnson, which now apply for the final eight games instead of merely this week. The short version is that Priest Holmes will be prominently involved, but coach Herm Edwards has also made it clear that rookie Kolby Smith will play a sizable role. It remains to be seen how the workload will be divided, but 12-15 touches for Holmes and 8-10 touches for Smith seems like a reasonable first-game projection. * Benched after two games, J.P. Losman has produced 408 yards and a pair of touchdowns in less than six quarters of action since replacing the injured Trent Edwards midway through Week 8. Coach Dick Jauron has repeatedly indicated that Edwards remains the Bills' starter, but with his wrist injury likely keeping him from practicing this week it was announced Tuesday that Losman will get the nod in Week 10 against the Dolphins. Facing the Jets' and Bengals' horrible pass defenses played a big part in Losman's nice numbers over the past two weeks and he'll get another great matchup Sunday. Losman may not be long for the job and he's far from a consistent fantasy option even if he was, but don't be afraid to use him as a QB2 this week. However, Buffalo's schedule gets much tougher on quarterbacks beginning in Week 11, so Losman or Edwards won't be good bets again until Week 14. Purple Jesus Tidbit of the Day: Cracking the 1,000-yard mark midway through his rookie season is obviously impressive enough, but if you prorate Adrian Peterson's per-carry average to fit Willie Parker's NFL-leading workload he'd have 1,235 rushing yards through eight games. Instead, with 1,036 rushing yards he's merely on pace to join Eric Dickerson, Jamal Lewis, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, and O.J. Simpson as the only 2,000-yard runners in NFL history. Two-Minute Drill: Laurence Maroney is healthy and starting, but the Patriots' pass-happy offense combined with his playing just 23 of 58 offensive snaps Sunday make it nearly impossible for him to put up big numbers Coach Herm Edwards said Tuesday that he may have to "do something" at quarterback if the Chiefs' lowly passing game doesn't improve, meaning that Brodie Croyle could be on the verge of taking over for Damon Huard as the team's starter With Koy Detmer signed Tuesday for depth, the Vikings look likely to start Brooks Bollinger in Week 10 against the Packers Marcus Stroud's four-game suspension comes at a bad time for Jaguars, who'll face top running backs LenDale White, LaDainian Tomlinson, Marshawn Lynch, and Joseph Addai without one of the league's premiere interior linemen With Steve McNair's record-low 63 yards on 22 throws Monday night and season-long average of just 5.5 yards per attempt, the Kyle Boller Watch is officially on in Baltimore. Red Zone: Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Willie Parker has "a little inflammation of the knee" and could be limited in practice this week, but is expected to be fine for Sunday's important matchup against the Browns Coach Gary Kubiak said afterward that both Andre Johnson (knee) and Matt Schaub (concussion) "looked good" at practice Tuesday, signaling that they could potentially return together in Week 11 following the Texans' bye Despite coming off a bye, Plaxico Burress (ankle) will continue his season-long pattern of sitting out practice all week before almost certainly suiting up Sunday against the Cowboys Doctors reportedly suggested season-ending microfracture knee surgery for Javon Walker, but he instead underwent a simple "clean up" procedure and will attempt to play again this season Essentially sidelined since the very first play of the season, Eddie Kennison (hamstring) is expected to start in Week 10 against the Broncos Meanwhile, Dwayne Bowe (hamstring) figures to start alongside Kennison despite missing most of Week 9 Out since Week 6 and a non-factor all season, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that Alge Crumpler (ankle) could return "within the next two weeks." |
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11-08-07, 03:48 PM
| #203 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Vinny to the Rescue? While we all try to get over the incredible shock of Chris Henry making off-field headlines again mere hours after everyone's favorite misbehaving wide receiver was activated from a half-season suspension, here are some notes from around football * Steve Smith took Wednesday off to rest a bruised hip, but received some good news on the quarterback front. David Carr sat out practice after suffering a concussion and injuring his back Sunday, while Vinny Testaverde returned after sitting out Week 9 with Achilles tendinitis. Coach John Fox avoided naming a Week 10 starter, but it seems clear that Testaverde will get the nod if he can avoid a setback. In addition to being banged up, Carr has been absolutely awful this season and his complete inability to stretch the field has caused Smith's production to fall off a cliff. At 43 years old Testaverde is obviously no great shakes, but when it comes to getting Smith the ball he's a huge improvement over Carr. Toss in a favorable matchup against the Falcons and Smith wanting badly to torch DeAngelo Hall, and for one week at least he looks likely to post nice numbers. * Willis McGahee suffered a concussion late in Monday night's blowout loss to the Steelers, but practiced fully Wednesday and is set to start in Week 10 against the Bengals. McGahee ran well against a tough Pittsburgh defense, although his numbers were modest thanks to getting just 12 carries in a lopsided game. He piled up 111 total yards against the Bengals in Week 1 and Cincinnati has been among the worst run defenses in football, so expect a good performance. * A week off appears to have been good to Steven Jackson, who returned to practice Wednesday after groin and back injuries knocked him out of Week 8. He was officially listed as limited, but said afterward that it was a full-speed practice. Coach Scott Linehan said earlier this week that he expects Jackson to play Sunday, so barring a setback he's safe to stick back into your fantasy lineup. New Orleans isn't a great matchup, but Jackson is at worst a solid RB2 option. * Travis Henry suffered a knee injury in Week 9 and had to sit out Wednesday's practice because of swelling, but coach Mike Shanahan said afterward that he still expects Henry to play Sunday against the Chiefs. However, Kansas City is an unfavorable matchup and the Broncos' running game is finally showing signs of being something other than an unstoppable yardage-producing machine. Don't count on Henry being more than a low-level RB2 option in Week 10. * Marvin Harrison was his usual self through three games, producing 223 yards on 16 catches, but has managed just 24 yards on four grabs since then while being limited by lingering knee problems. Harrison was restricted in practice Wednesday, which can actually be spun as a mildly positive sign given how little action he's seen since Week 3. However, he figures to be a game-time decision Sunday against the Chargers and isn't more than a WR3/Flex option if he plays. * Ryan Grant was a hot commodity following a 104-yard effort against a horrible Broncos defense in Week 8, but his stock has predictably fallen since then. Grant was ineffective Sunday against the Chiefs, averaging 2.9 yards on 19 carries, and exited in the fourth quarter with a head injury. Grant participated in some of practice Wednesday and coach Mike McCarthy said afterward that he "should be fine," but don't expect much against the Vikings' dominant run-stoppers this week. Two-Minute Drill: Marc Bulger is finally absent from the Rams' injury report and has a favorable Week 10 matchup against the Saints With Cedric Benson averaging a miserable 3.1 yards per carry, the Chicago Tribune reports that coach Lovie Smith recently hinted that Adrian Peterson could begin stealing more carries After seemingly indicating earlier that Trent Edwards was the team's clear-cut starter, coach Dick Jauron said Wednesday that J.P. Losman will continue to start as long as he's performing well Rudi Johnson is no longer on the Bengals' injury report, but looked awful in limited action Sunday and has an unfavorable Week 10 matchup against the Ravens John Clayton of ESPN reported Wednesday that it's "only a matter of weeks" before rookie John Beck replaces Cleo Lemon as the Dolphins' starter Chris Henry has formally appealed his four-game suspension, meaning that he'll be available Sunday to back up LenDale White against the Jaguars Brooks Bollinger is expected to start Sunday against the Packers, with Tarvaris Jackson (concussion) potentially available for backup duty Never one to pass up a reclamation project, coach Jon Gruden and the Bucs are reportedly interested in signing Mike Williams. Red Zone: As expected, both Willie Parker (knee) and Ben Roethlisberger (hip) sat out practice Wednesday, but remain likely to suit up Sunday against the Browns Todd Heap (hamstring) practiced on a limited basis Wednesday, signaling that he could return in Week 10 after missing the past month Deion Branch (foot) missed Wednesday's practice and could be a game-time decision Monday night Jon Kitna (shoulder) was limited in practice Wednesday, but remains a near-lock to start in Week 10 against the Cardinals Plaxico Burress took part in some team drills Wednesday, signaling that the bye week did his injured ankle some good As expected, Eddie Kennison (hamstring) practiced fully Wednesday and is on track to return in Week 10 Dallas Clark (concussion) sat out Wednesday's practice and could be a game-time decision this week against the Chargers Byron Leftwich (ankle) was unlikely to return this week anyway, but his status for Week 11 is now in doubt after a setback that left him too sore to practice Wednesday Having avoided what initially looked like a serious injury, Jay Cutler (leg) practiced Wednesday and is expected to play in Week 10 against the Chiefs Terry Glenn (knee) has been ruled out for Week 10 and no timetable has been established for his return. |
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11-08-07, 04:28 PM
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| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Week 10 Rankings To see the QB and RB rankings for this week - click here. Week 10 Wide Receivers
Week 10 Tight Ends
Week 10 Team Defense
Week 10 Kickers
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11-08-07, 05:43 PM
| #205 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Playoff Preview & Weekly Ranks This year's Billy Volek is out there. Volek will forever be synonymous with monstrously performances that happen to fall during the fantasy playoffs. It happens every season; last season Ron Dayne churned out 334 rushing yards and five scores in Fantasy Nation's three-week celebration. And the playoffs are closer than you think. Vince Vaughn plugging Fred Clause on Monday Night Football was the turning point for me. Once the holiday commercials have arrived, you know we're getting close. *** A lot of publications try to project favorable fantasy playoff schedules before the season, but it's not that useful. NFL teams, especially defenses, are too unpredictable. The Titans looked like one of the worst defenses in the league before Week 1 and now may be the toughest matchup in the league. Defense can even fluctuate greatly within a season. With that said, half the season is complete and we have enough material to grade the best and worst schedules for the fantasy playoffs. The biggest reason why Volek exploded in 2004 was the schedule, so let's see if we can unearth this year's hero. For more boring details on how I arrived at these subjective rankings, head over to Pancake Blocks. And we haven't forgotten the Week 10 rankings. Skip ahead if that's what you are looking for. Shameless plug: Season Pass will have new feature this week: The Top 200 players overall for the fantasy playoff weeks. We are offering a $5 discount on our Season Pass package just enter the discount code "PLAYOFFS" (all caps). The playoff ranks will go up every Friday. Top Three Fantasy Playoff RB Schedules 1. Jamal Lewis, Browns: NYJ, BUF, CIN Lewis is on the downside of his career, but he'll be useful in the fantasy playoffs. Who knew he was joining a juggernaut offense? Buffalo's improving defense is a neutral matchup, but the Jets and Bengals are among the league's worst. And since both the Jets and Bengals also struggle against the pass, Lewis should have plenty of scoring opportunities. 2. Ryan Grant, Packers: OAK, STL, CHI Another reason to like Grant as an asset down the stretch. The Raiders are possibly the worst rush defense, and the Rams and Bears aren't very good. If he stays healthy, I don't see Grant losing this job. 3. Earnest Graham, Bucs: HOU, STL, SF The matchups don't leap off the page, but they are all favorable. Graham could be a decent RB2 these weeks if Jon Gruden hasn't gone to a committee. Other Notable RB Upgrades * LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers: TEN, DET, DEN LT2 owners get a very difficult matchup to open the playoffs, but two huge point-scoring opportunities if they advance. * Priest Holmes/Kolby Smith, Chiefs: DEN, TEN, DET Same schedule as Tomlinson, but the Titans matchup in the middle. The starter by Week 14 will be worth considering in two of these matchups. * Joseph Addai, Colts: BAL, OAK, HOU Like Tomlinson, Addai gets two great matchups if he survives the first week. * Laurence Maroney, Patriots: PIT, NYJ, MIA Maroney should probably be benched against Pittsburgh, but he should be able top 100 total yards against the Jets and Dolphins. * Ahman Green/Ron Dayne, Texans: TB, DEN, @ IND Cover two teams like Tampa and Indy aren't great against the run. Denver is among the worst. Toughest Three Fantasy Playoff RB Schedules 1. Cedric Benson, Bears: WAS, MIN, GB More good news for Benson owners! No favorable matchups here as the Redskins are solid against the run, Minnesota is among the best, and the Packers are quite good. 2. Brian Westbrook, Eagles: NYG, DAL, NO Trouble on the horizon? All three of these defenses have improved against the run during the year. Luckily, Westbrook can beat you in a lot of ways. Just don't expect monster games. 3. Kevin Jones, Lions: DAL, SD, KC Like Westbrook, Jones might be better off trying to gain yards in the passing game. The Cowboys are good run defenders, and the Chargers are solid expect when the face Adrian Peterson And another thing * Thomas Jones' blah season could get a pick-me-up against the Browns in Week 14, but his owners may want to bench him after that. New England and then Tennessee is the hardest schedule possible in Weeks 15-16. Top Three Fantasy Playoff QB/WR/TE Schedules 1. Cleveland Browns (Derek Anderson, Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow): NYJ, BUF, CIN The rich get richer. The Browns will have to survive the next two regular season weeks (PIT, BAL), but their schedule is among the best in the league after that. They have a potentially explosive championship week matchup against the Bengals. Derek Anderson should remain in lineups in the playoffs. This is a caution to not sell high on your Browns. 2. San Francisco 49ers (Alex Smith, Darrell Jackson, Vernon Davis): MIN, CIN, TB Sometimes the matchup only means so much. Smith and Jackson are only fantasy options if they show serious improvement before Week 14. Davis should continue his resurgence. 3. Seattle Seahawks (Matt Hasselbeck, Deion Branch, D.J. Hackett, Bobby Engram): AZ, CAR, BAL The matchups aren't outstanding, but Seattle is one of the rare teams that don't play an above average pass defense. Baltimore is decidedly average. About those Patriots It's safe to say that most Tom Brady and Randy Moss owners will be in the playoffs. Pittsburgh @ New England really stands out as a Week 14 matchup. There are a ton of offensive stars in this game in what figures to be a relative defensive struggle. Think Colts vs. Pats. After that game, the Patriots should return to the merry ways against the Jets and Dolphins. Brady owners who get to the semifinals may be difficult to beat. Toughest Three Fantasy QB/WR/TE Schedules 1. Houston (Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Owen Daniels): TB, DEN, IND Yikes. The Bucs and Colts are elite, while the Broncos have been hot and cold This is one reason Andre Johnson owners shouldn't get their hopes up too high regarding his return. He still would be difficult to sit in most formats. 2. Jaguars (David Garrard, um Dennis Northcutt): CAR, PIT, OAK Tough matchups, but no one is counting on the Jaguars anyway. 3A. Chiefs (Dwayne Bowe, Tony Gonzalez): DEN, TEN, DET Kansas City also faces the Broncos this week, so we'll see if they can pass against them. 3B. Chargers (Philip Rivers, Chris Chambers, Antonio Gates): TEN, DET, DEN The Lions have improved, and the Titans are among the best. Rivers and Chambers owners shouldn't expect them to improve upon their slow seasons. Other Passing Game Downgrades Jets (Kellen Clemens, Jerricho Cotchery, Laveranues Coles): CLE, NE, TEN The Jets wideouts are among the most consistent in the league, and should score big in the opening week of the fantasy playoffs. After that, however, Coles and Cotchery owners shouldn't expect fireworks against two of the best pass defenses in the league. *** Now on to the Week 10 rankings. We'll take out the comments this week and break down the games more on Pancake Blocks. We also talk starts and sits on the NBC Fantasy Fix. Week 10 Quarterbacks
Week 10 Running Backs
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11-09-07, 02:34 PM
| #206 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Wake Up! It would be unfair to say I told you so about LaDainian Tomlinson's week against Minnesota because, realistically, I didn't tell you so. I pointed out how difficult it is to run against the Vikings, but what prevented me from suggesting that you bench Tomlinson is LT's propensity for getting the ball into the end zone. sandiegochargers.com Predicting yardage, while still a rough exercise, is much easier than predicting a player's likelihood of scoring a touchdown. It takes only one play to score a touchdown and six fantasy points, but it usually takes many to rack up the sixty yards needed to score the same fantasy points through yardage. As a result, while I'll look at a player's pattern for scoring touchdowns in an attempt to determine the general likelihood of him scoring a touchdown in that game, I almost entirely leave that out when analyzing matchups. Take Willie Parker last week, another player I predicted would have a poor week and did. What if two of Ben Roethlisberger's touchdown passes had instead been passes to the 1, and Parker had ran them in for scores? Would that have made it a good day for Parker? In reality, the difference in his performances would have been very slim, but in fantasy, it would have been the equivalent of rushing for 120 yards. When looking at matchups, if we try and control for everything, the decision-making process becomes overwhelming and impossible. The easier solution is to focus on what you know and can most easily model or predict. Quarterback Did you know that Tennessee's defense is the fifth-best defense through eight weeks since 1996, the earliest point at which we have DVOA analyses for? Well, now you do. Not only are they doing this without Pac-Man Jones, but the Titans have become an elite-level defense with nary a peep about it from the media. If this team had a passing game, things would be different. The Titans will be up against the Jaguars this week, who haven't decided on a quarterback yet -- regardless of whether it's David Garrard or Quinn Gray, don't expect either to be a match for Cortland Finnegan and company. The number three defense in the league (#2 is New England, on a bye) against the pass is that of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who you last saw abusing Steve McNair on Monday. They're facing Derek Anderson and the Browns. While Anderson's put on a series of excellent performances this year, the Steelers have already seen him this year -- in Week 1, when Anderson took over for a benched Charlie Frye already down multiple scores. tennesseetitans.com Anderson went 13-28 for 184 yards, averaging 6.6 yards per attempt and throwing for a touchdown and an interception against a Steelers defense in prevent mode. I'd expect Anderson to put up a similar 6.6 yards per attempt and get 35-40 attempts in a losing effort, but he's going to throw some interceptions. I'd leave Anderson on your bench. The fourth-ranked pass defense in football is that of the Colts, who left the game against the Patriots with as much credit as anyone else has all season. They harassed Tom Brady and bothered Randy Moss into being human for, at least, a half. They should enjoy more success against Philip Rivers, who's struggled mightily under the so-called tutelage of Norv Turner. Sadly for opposing offenses, the Jets are out of action this week, but the Dolphins and Rams are back! That means good times for both J.P. Losman and especially the resurgent Drew Brees. Both should have efficient days with multiple touchdowns. On the other hand, the Saints pass defense has been no great shakes this season, ranking 30th in the league, which bodes well for a big day from Marc Bulger in a game that could easily become a shootout a la the Jacksonville-New Orleans encounter. Running Back I'm honestly afraid to say this, but I'm going to anyway: Cedric Benson is a good play this week. The Bears back has looked absolutely awful this year -- he's slow to hit the hole, indecisive when he gets there, and has little explosion. He's a non-entity in the passing game, and every Bears game I've watched, he's miserably blown at least one block. On the other hand, he gets to play the Raiders rush defense this week. That goes a long way. The Dolphins also struggle against the run; the 31st-ranked rush defense in football will struggle to contain Marshawn Lynch, who's looked like a much better back in recent weeks and is going to end up with a nifty 1100-1200 yard season at this rate. Of course, he's not going to make a single All-Rookie team as the starting running back, but that's not his fault. buffalobills.com The other miserable rush defense of the week I wanted to mention is Denver's (29th); that means that, yes, Priest Holmes is worth a spot in your lineup in his return to Kansas City's. Don't hope for a vintage Holmes day, since he'll be splitting time and isn't the same back he once was, but 80 yards and a score sounds about right. kansascitychiefs.com On the other hand, the run defenses to watch out for should be familiar to you by now. Baltimore's really good. That means that Kenny Watson and Rudi Johnson are fantasy non-entities this week. If 40-50 yards and a 30% chance of a touchdown sound good to you, hey, stick them in there, but don't expect much. The destructor that is Minnesota's interior goes up against Green Bay, which means that all Green Bay backs are a no-go this week. All 104 backs should be on their respective benches. WIde Receiver I see a nice day Sunday for Lee Evans, who plays a Miami secondary depleted by injury at safety. In really deep leagues, there exists a halfway-decent chance of Roscoe Parrish breaking open for a big play against Jason Allen. On the bright side, if you throw some herbs on him and dip him in marinara sauce, Jason Allen is delicious. Keep in mind that a 0% DVOA is average for a second. When looking at a team's DVOA in guarding specific receivers, the second-worst team in the league, the awful Jets, have a 62.1% DVOA. That's terrible, dire, unfanciful, whatever adjective you want to throw in there. The worst team in the league is the Saints. Their DVOA versus number one receivers? 121.8%. The Jets are just about as close to being average as the Saints are to the Jets. What does this mean? A big day is brewing for Torry Holt. A big, big day. #30 against #1 wideouts is Carolina, who have a very good second corner in Richard Marshall, but an overhyped failure in Chris Gamble who spends most of his day getting burned by the league's stars. Roddy White isn't a star, but he's a player who's had a very nice year amidst a pretty terrible situation. He might be the only player to emerge from this Atlanta season with an improved reputation, and he'll add to his 585 yards with at least 100 more on Sunday. carolinapanthers.com Indy has done an excellent job on #1 receivers this year -- Randy Moss aside, of course, but Randy Moss is on a different plane of existence from all other receivers. The problem in using that information this week is that it's hard to say who San Diego's top receiver is. They split out Antonio Gates enough that he's about half-wideout, half-tight end; if it's not Gates, is it Chris Chambers? Vincent Jackson? Even LaDainian Tomlinson? I'm not sure, but I would say to downgrade your expectations for all of them some in the passing game. minnesotavikings.com I disparaged the Oakland rushing defense before, but I can't knock the way they defend the pass. In particular, they shut down the other team's top receiver -- in Chicago, that's Bernard Berrian, so expect middling performance from him this week. Tight End Sit: Mercedes Lewis, Greg Olsen/Desmond Clark, David Martin Start: Reggie Kelly, Will Heller, Tony Scheffler/Daniel Graham |
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11-09-07, 04:39 PM
| #207 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Still time for shrewd moves It might be way too late to trade your entire roster for another group of starters, but you still have time to make a few crucial moves. Getting your record to 6-3 at this point is nice. But it will not do you any good if you follow that by going 1-4 and missing the playoffs. One of the keys is having the right guys at the right part of the season. Here are some players whom you might still be able to acquire at a reasonable price and who appear headed to strong second halves of the season. Vernon Davis: All of the injuries and learning pains are behind him. The bad quarterback play is not, but Davis still has 13 catches for 148 yards the last two weeks. He should be available because whoever has him also had to grab somebody else for the first half of the season. Davis will be the 49ers' most dangerous threat from here on. Jeff Garcia: Go after this guy after the Buccaneers have their open date in Week 10. Garcia is playing well and makes few mistakes, and his coach loves him enough to turn him loose. And the Bucs' final seven games are enticing. They play Atlanta twice, and check out Weeks 14-16: at Houston, vs. Atlanta, at San Francisco. No bad weather or good defenses to be found. Torry Holt: Both he and Marc Bulger will be well-positioned to reward anybody who either kept the faith or found it. The Rams do not play a team with a pass defense better than 14th before getting the Steelers in Week 16. They have to cure their road woes and blocking problems to get off to the races. Greg Jennings: You might have trouble trading for him, because the only people who know how valuable he has been are the people who own him. Jennings is the Packers' most reliable scorer with six TDs despite missing the first two games of the year. No other Packer has more than two receiving TDs. Marshawn Lynch: You might be a week late to the table on this one, but add in TD tosses and he really has some value. He is no rookie stud such as Adrian Peterson, but he does have two remaining matchups against the Dolphins and one against the Browns. Shaun McDonald: He got lost in the mix while the Lions offense slept for three games, but as soon as Detroit started cooking again through the air, McDonald popped to the top of the box score. He scored in three of the first four games and is reliable as long as the Lions are throwing. Roy Williams is not having a great year, Calvin Johnson remains inconsistent and McDonald gets more regular work than Mike Furrey. Willis McGahee: He will not go begging for work, and the Ravens really got him for the second half of the season when all of their old guys start wearing down. The next two weeks are against soft Browns and Bengals defenses. And Weeks 15 and 16 are at Miami and at Seattle, meaning he could be a playoff difference-maker. David Patten: Assuming Marques Colston is out of your price range after his recent domination, Patten is the next-best Saints bet. He is averaging 83 yards receiving the last four games and got his first TD last week. The Saints' remaining schedule is a cakewalk, and they figure to keep scoring. Adrian Peterson: Well, duh. Kellen Winslow II : You might be able to sneak him away in a trade from somebody who has two tight ends because Winslow isn't scoring much. He is first in yards among tight ends, but eight others have at least as many TDs. Tony Scheffler already has almost caught Winslow in scoring, and an offer of Scheffler plus an upgrade at running back seals the deal. |
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11-10-07, 07:17 PM
| #208 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Gore Says He'll Go Every NFL team has played eight games. This is the last week in which teams have byes. From here on out, there will be 16 contests played each weekend in the NFL, including seven upcoming Thursday night battles. So with no player at a disadvantage due to an off week, realizing and targeting a second-half stud for trade or keeps is essential. Brandon Jacobs of the New York Giants could be just that. There are quite a few factors working in Jacobs' favor. Firstly, with Derrick Ward nursing multiple injuries and not having played since Week 7, Jacobs' role in the Giants' passing game has increased. Getting the 265-pounder out into space should be a primary goal for Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride. There's also no guarantee that Ward will regain his two-back duties when, or if, he returns from his groin and ankle injuries. Reuben Droughns is a decent backup, but doesn't present near the threat to Jacobs' snaps a healthy Ward would. On the bright side also is the fact that New York's offensive line has stayed injury free all year. A much maligned decision in the offseason, the David Diehl experiment at left tackle has made GM Jerry Reese look like a genius, and the Giants' line as a unit is especially proficient in run blocking. The Giants have found a prototypical lead blocker in 6-3/270-pound ex-Ram Madison Hedgecock, who was rewarded with a contract extension through 2012 on Friday. Hedgecock wasn't a fit in coach Scott Linehan's offense, which favors H-backs over battering rams, but made an immediate impact in front of Jacobs et al upon arrival. With Hedgecock out in front and Jacobs behind, that's over 500 pounds of running back steamrolling through the hole. Look out. Fantasy owners love to hear about second-half schedules for matchup purposes, but will it really matter? Plaxico Burress is the healthiest he's been all season, 4.4-speed threat Steve Smith will return from a hamstring injury shortly, Amani Toomer has shown few ill affects from the ACL he partially tore in 2006, and Eli Manning easily is on pace for the best season of his career. Gilbride will be able to spread the field more in the second half, and Jacobs shouldn't see an eight-man front the rest of the season. It's getting cold in the Big Apple and the Giants will naturally have to rely on their run game, but teams will still be forced to respect the constant possibility of a vertical strike in Burress' best season as a pro. With Jacobs re-seizing the role as New York's clear-cut feature back after an early-season MCL sprain, and all these factors pointing to a huge stretch run, the former SIU Saluki might be just the guy you're looking for to help you run the table. Week 10 Game-Time Decisions Arms Jon Kitna Fully expected to start, but has difficult matchup against Arizona. Jay Cutler Probable and worked all week; he'll start in poor matchup @ KC. David Garrard Will at least back up; questionable whether he'll start @ TEN. Vinny Testaverde Classic game-day call; anything is better than David Carr. Trent Edwards Getting healthy, expected to back up J.P. Losman Sunday. Tarvaris Jackson/Kelly Holcomb Healthier QB may back up Brooks Bollinger. Wides T.J. Houshmandzadeh Probable, Housh is on a tear and will start at Ravens. Plaxico Burress Did some work on Wednesday, fully expected to face DAL. Chad Johnson Neck injury won't keep him out against Baltimore on Sunday. Marvin Harrison Poor bet to play, make it through entire game if he does. Santonio Holmes Sat out Thursday's session to rest, but Holmes will start. Deion Branch Resumed limited work Friday, but his status is still in doubt. Santana Moss Probably won't play after missing out on practice all week. Jerry Porter Came up with bum knee Friday, status uncertain vs. Chicago. Eddie Kennison Ready to start again; should be claimed in most leagues. Sidney Rice Questionable; return to practice Friday means he should go. Antwaan Randle El Probable despite missing Thursday and Friday's work. Bobby Wade Upgraded to probable; Wade has caught 24 passes this year. Koren Robinson Packers' fourth receiver probable to return kicks vs. MIN. Josh Reed/Roscoe Parrish Both questionable; healthier player likely starts. Keary Colbert Unproductive starter is expected to play versus the Falcons. Dante Hall Probably will be another week before he's returning kicks again. Backs Steven Jackson Healthy and ready for 18-25 touches against New Orleans. Frank Gore Confident he'll start on Monday night; worth waiting for @ SEA. Reggie Bush Signs point to Bush playing in favorable matchup v. St. Louis. LenDale White Fighting through toe injury, but he's probable to start v. JAX. Travis Henry Knee swelling Sunday morning will determine Henry's status. Shaun Alexander Massive but predictable fantasy bust's status is uncertain. Ryan Grant Probable and will start, but may share time w/Brandon Jackson. Jerious Norwood Wouldn't count on him in fantasy leagues even if he goes. Chris Brown Practicing again, but look for Chris Henry to be active over him. Ends Todd Heap Upgraded to probable, and will start in great matchup vs. CIN. Dallas Clark Did limited work on Friday, but concussion could keep him out. Alge Crumpler Expected to start, but is hardly a fantasy option any longer. Marcedes Lewis Second-year man probable and expected to start @ TEN. Marcus Pollard Hasn't practiced in quite some time, seems unlikely to play. Reggie Kelly Called doubtful; undrafted rookie Daniel Coats likely to start. Legs Jason Elam Calf injury seems unlikely to keep Elam out against the Chiefs. Josh Scobee Upgraded to doubtful this week, so may be back next Sunday. Already Ruled Out for Week 10 Arms Byron Leftwich Ankle problems continue; Byron had a setback Wednesday. David Carr Ineffective player appears to going the Joey Harrington route. Jake Delhomme With Matt Moore possibly starting, team missing him now. Wides Javon Walker Broncos, Walker believe he can return in Week 11 vs. Titans. Terry Glenn Still hasn't begun jogging; will Glenn play again this season? Anthony Gonzalez Out 3-4 weeks; Aaron Moorehead to start if Marvin can't. Steve Smith (NYG) Hamstring strain has USC rookie out indefinitely again. Backs Larry Johnson Conflicting reports, but the guess here is he's done for 2007. Derrick Ward Considered "doubtful," but Tom Coughlin ruled him out Friday. Sammy Morris On injured reserve, Laurence Maroney not capitalizing yet. Chris Perry Still not activated to active roster; team has 18 days to do so. Michael Bush Raiders expected to call Bush up within the next few weeks. Ricky Williams Hasn't heard from league about potential reinstatement yet. Ends Bubba Franks With Donald Lee getting paid, Franks could be goner in 2008. Daniel Wilcox Ravens still considering placing Wilcox on injured reserve. Legs None of significant note Week 10 Matchups to Exploit/Avoid Rams @ Saints Game Time: 12:00 CT/1:00 ET The Saints are resting several of their top defenders in this one, and rightfully so they're going against the 0-8 Rams. But a run defense that currently ranks tenth overall in the NFL and is surrendering only 3.7 yards-per-carry looks a whole lot worse minus underrated WLB Scott Shanle (hamstring), franchise DE Charles Grant (ankle), and active DT Brian Young (knee surgery). With NFL Europa vet Josh Cooper starting in Grant's place, Saints right end Will Smith is likely to see frequent double teams. Grant, Shanle, and Young are three of the Saints' best four players against the run. The Rams say Steven Jackson won't touch the ball 30 times Sunday, but 20 totes should be plenty for him to break the 100-yard plateau and reach the end zone at least once. The Saints' defense is basically decimated with injury On the other side, Reggie Bush is listed as questionable with a knee ailment. Bush called the injury a "bone bruise" on Wednesday, and that doesn't bode well. The same injury caused Hines Ward to miss roughly three games early in the season, and while Bush was able to go through some phases of Thursday and Friday's workout sessions, he couldn't complete either. Bush needs to be used in fantasy leagues if he's active on Sunday, but his status should be checked on by owners in the morning. This injury could be more of a concern than the Saints are letting on. Broncos @ Chiefs Game Time: 12:00 CT/1:00 ET The odds are admittedly against Priest Holmes recapturing his 2002-2005 form. The line in front of him is no longer studded with future Hall of Famers, and the Chiefs' offense under Herm Edwards/Mike Solari hardly rekindles memories of Dick Vermeil's. But this is going to be Priest's backfield indefinitely, and even though Edwards says he'd like to involve rookie Kolby Smith on a carry-sharing basis, let's believe it when we see it. It's telling that a 34-year-old coming back from a two-year layoff immediately passed Smith on the depth chart after being activated from PUP. Smith was awful in the preseason, and has earned a total of two touches through eight weeks, with none coming on the ground. It's a safe bet that 75 percent of the old Priest is better than Kolby Smith, and it's doubtful that the Chiefs will suddenly find faith in a running back they clearly haven't had confidence in to this point. Smith should be in store for five-to-ten touches as a change of pace for Holmes while Larry Johnson is out, but that's probably his upside unless he begins to play well On the other side, Travis Henry is considered questionable for Sunday's game. But even his owners should be hoping he takes the week off. A myriad of minor injuries have cost Henry his effectiveness, and his latest involves knee swelling. The Broncos will see how Henry feels Sunday morning before deciding whether to suit him up, but there's no guarantee that even if Henry is active he'll see a full complement of snaps against Kansas City's 14th-ranked run defense. The Chiefs have only allowed three touchdowns to opposing ball carriers all season, and considering the volatility of Henry's injury, he makes for a poor fantasy start. If Henry is out, Selvin Young can be used as a flex, but either way, don't expect a big day from any Broncos running back. 49ers @ Seahawks Game Time: 7:30 CT Monday night/8:30 ET As predicted in this space last week, the Seahawks are set to rely more heavily on their passing game in the season's second half due largely to Shaun Alexander's struggles. With Deion Branch (foot) a game-time decision and possibly limited even if he goes, D.J. Hackett will become Matt Hasselbeck's go-to receiver. Unsurprisingly, Hackett immediately regained his starting split end job from Nate Burleson last week and burned Browns RCB Eric Wright for six catches and a score. This Monday night, Hackett will see a banged up Walt Harris in primary coverage. Harris is listed as questionable with a knee injury and won't be at 100 percent. He's also not played nearly as well this year when healthy as he did in 2006. Hackett makes for a borderline WR2 in a highly favorable matchup On the other side, Frank Gore says he'll play and those near the team believe him. Typical of most first-round fantasy running backs, Gore has had a disappointing season. But that's more an indictment of the 49ers' offense than it is of Gore's play. San Francisco's run blocking appeared to turn a corner last week with David Baas and Adam Snyder inserted into the starting lineup at right guard and left tackle, respectively, last week. Unfortunately, Gore missed that game, but he stands to benefit if the new-look Niners' offensive line continues to open holes. The team's skill players surrounding Gore are as healthy as they've been all season, and with WLB LeRoy Hill doubtful, DE Patrick Kerney on the mend, and DT Rocky Bernard also beat up, Gore could be good for the breakout game his owners have patiently waited for. |
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11-12-07, 02:33 PM
| #209 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 The Young and the Restless Running back is not a position kind to nostalgia. It is one of constant rebirth, and there was no better example Sunday than Selvin Young outplaying Priest Holmes. Holmes is a great story and he ran hard, occasionally flashing nifty plays before wearing down late in the game. Young was strong throughout. He flashed more big-play ability than Travis Henry has all season, rewarding the owners who have patiently waited to unwrap him. Holmes has self-mythologized his career as one of great struggle, of beating the odds when everyone told him he couldn't get it done. Holmes is right, but similar stories play out every Sunday, with undrafted rookie Selvin Young being the latest. It's part of what makes the NFL so great; success is so rarely achieved with ease. It's fun to remember the good times we had with Holmes a few years back, but it will be upstart players like Selvin Young who create championship memories this season. At least when that Travis Henry suspension finally kicks in. Five first-half disappointments with bounceback Sundays 1. That fifth-round pick hasn't worked out too well for Mark Clayton owners. And while his first 100-yard game of the season came against the Bengals, it came on a night when no other Raven topped 40 yards. Clayton finally made a play late in the game, and came up half a yard short of a touchdown. He's too talented to be on the waiver wire, and the ascension of Kyle Boller gives him a shot for a strong finish. 2. Jeremy Shockey topped 100 yards for the first time since 2005, largely because Roy Williams tried to cover him most of the game. Shockey is healthier than he's ever been this late in the season, and could pick up the offensive slack left by Plaxico Burress' struggles. 3. Most of Donovan McNabb's numbers (yards, completion percentage, yards-per-attempt) have actually looked solid all season. But his four-touchdown effort against a strong Washington defense might be a sign that his fantasy numbers are ready to pick up. Most encouraging were McNabb's 37 rushing yards, his highest total since tearing his ACL. 4. For the first time this year, Maurice Jones-Drew got more carries than a healthy Fred Taylor. Both played well, but Jones-Drew's season high 19 carries may be a sign that he'll get more consistent work the rest of the year. jacksonvillejaguars.com 5. Steven Jackson didn't look outstanding, but he finished a game. He scored two touchdowns and the Rams offense scored 37 points. Maybe, just maybe, that first-round pick pays off in the playoffs. If you get that far. 6. Larry Fitzgerald owners were wondering when the touchdowns would come, and he finally got two on Sunday. Fitz has been consistent with his yards all along, and the touchdowns often come in bunches. His red zone skills are too good to be held down all year. arizonacardinals.com This Week in Jason David In this week's episode, our courageous hero sets out again to liberate a fantasy football disappointment. And while we can't confirm how many big plays David gave up, Rotoworld news maven Evan Silva confirms that the Rams picked on him. David wound up leading the team in tackles while making up for his mistakes, helping Torry Holt (124 yards) and Marc Bulger (302 yards, two scores) have season-best days. Rams fantasy owners are suddenly feeling optimistic after facing New Orleans. Just like Scooby Doo, every Jason Davis episode enjoyably ends the same way. Five first-half stars who are headed the wrong way 1. Plaxico Burress has 81 yards in his last three games, and was a non-factor going deep down the field against Dallas Sunday. Perhaps it's just a slump, or perhaps his ankle injury and lack of practice time is catching up. 2. Reggie Bush has been consistent, but the worry around the Saints is how his body will hold up. His knee has bothered him recent weeks, and he reportedly suffered a "mild" concussion during his 44 total-yard effort Sunday. 3. Edgerrin James' strong start seems like a long time ago. He was replaced by Marcel Shipp and J.J. Arrington quite often Sunday, and has averaged 3.28 yards-per-carry since Week 3. 4. Today's MRI will tell the story on Adrian Peterson. Hope for the best. minnesotavikings.com 5. Kenny Watson still has fantasy value, especially when the Bengals are playing from behind, but it's clear that Marvin Lewis wants Rudi Johnson to take control of the running back position. Regardless of statistics. Don't Panic 1. The Packers threw for 351 yards, but none of their fantasy-worthy wideouts topped 65 yards or scored a touchdown against the lowly Vikings pass defense. Koren Robinson and Ruvell Martin cut into the pie more than usual, but Donald Driver and Greg Jennings will have better days down the stretch. greenbaypackers.com 2. Derek Anderson and the Browns offense scored 28 points off the Steelers, but 21 of them were off special teams and turnovers. The Browns were actually held without a first down from five minutes left in the first half until one minute left in the game. The passing game doesn't face a matchup half as hard as Pittsburgh the rest of the way, so this slide won't last long. 3. Jason Witten (two catches, 12 yards) was stuck blocking Osi Umenyiora against the Giants, and didn't even have a pass target during the first half. That will very rarely happen because Flozell Adams can usually handle business on his own. 4. LenDale White left the Titans game with a knee injury, but his coach said he could have returned. We'll give him a pass for his terrible day because he has been so consistent, and because Cincinnati and Denver are next on the schedule. tennesseetitans.com 5. Kevin Jones, like White, has been so consistent that I'm willing to give him a mulligan for his negative rushing yards performance Sunday. With a touchdown and eight catches, at least Jones didn't leave fantasy owners out to dry. detroitlions.com Some Panic is Acceptable 1. When Steve McNair lost a fumble on a windup late against Cincinnati, I felt with certainty this was his final NFL season. This could be an overreaction, but two touchdowns and eleven turnovers is a tough pill to swallow for such a proud warrior as McNair. So is backing up Kyle Boller, but that move is long overdue. baltimoreravens.com "This is probably the lowest point in my career," McNair said. "What do I need to do about it? I don't know." 2. It's a bad sign when Steve Smith owners are relieved after he catches five passes for 61 yards. That's life on the post Jake Delhomme Carolina Panthers. When DeShaun Foster struggles against the Falcons, you know things have changed. carolinapanthers.com |
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11-12-07, 02:35 PM
| #210 |
| "Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak" Join Date: Aug 19, 2005 Location: Orlando, Florida
Posts: 64,496
| Re: Fantasy Football News 2007 Scoring Ugly To see page one of The Morning After, click here. *** Greatness Defined Greatness is turning Craphonso (Thorpe) into fantasy gold. That's what Peyton Manning did Sunday night in the driving rain of San Diego. Okay, so he threw six interceptions. But when the Colts were down 23-0, with Indianapolis starters falling by the minute, with Manning featuring Bryan Fletcher and Thorpe in the offense, who didn't think Manning would lead the Colts back into the game? When Manning has a career-worst game, he still throws for 328 yards and two touchdowns to keep his fantasy owners afloat. Philip Rivers scores negative points. Manning needs his teammates back, especially Marvin Harrison, to make a run back into the top-two fantasy quarterbacks. But he won't be the reason his fantasy teams lose in a given week. That's all you can ask for. That, and fewer scary close-up HD shots of the soaking wet Norv Turner face. Colston Turnaround Update 1. Marques Colston's first six games: 265 yards, two touchdowns. Marques Colston's last three games: 373 yards, three touchdowns. They're real and they're spectacular 1. It's hard to get excited about a back like Warrick Dunn who is averaging 3.3 yards-per-carry on the season. But with Jerious Norwood hurting, Dunn has posted consecutive excellent fantasy days while racking up a huge workload. 2. Last Thursday, I wrote about Ryan Grant's great fantasy playoff schedule, seeing him as a solid RB2 down the stretch. His owners may not have to wait that long. Grant has ran impressively hard since the moment DeShawn Wynn was hurt, and it paid off with 119 yards against the best rush defense in football. On a loaded offense, Grant's success is set up to continue. 3. If the season ended today, Brett Favre would set career records in completion percentage (67.2) and yards-per-attempt (7.8). 4. The Dolphins are consistently poor in everything they do, with one notable exception. They know how to run block. Jesse Chatman has picked up where Ronnie Brown left off, running for over 100 yards again. Miami is still second in the league in yards-per-carry. We are continually surprised that players like Jesse Chatman and Ryan Grant are more valuable than Shaun Alexander and Rudi Johnson, but we shouldn't be. It happens every season. 5. I want to take a moment to pause and appreciate the season Brian Westbrook is having. He's played eight games, has 1,219 total yards, and has scored nine times. He deserves votes in the league MVP race. If you only took his receiving stats into account, Westbrook would be a top-20 WR in PPR leagues. An Ode to Consistency 1. Roddy White's breakout season is remarkable because he's been so consistent despite a terrible offense around him. White has topped 55 yards in eight straight games, leading the Falcons in receiving every single time. 2. Brandon Marshall has topped 70 yards five straight games, all with Javon Walker out. Injury Ward As always Brian Flood has the injury breakdown over on Season Pass. Here are some of the players we'll be tracking this week. Adrian Peterson LenDale White Damon Huard Marshawn Lynch Brian Griese Brandon Jones LaMont Jordan * The somewhat Early MVP and Bust Watch, will be over at Pancake Blocks, where I'll also continue to look at Sunday's action including who got Vultured. Enjoy your Monday. |
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