According to Philly.com, the Eagles are unlikely to rush Brian Westbrook back, even for a big game like Sunday’s tilt against the Giants.
From a fantasy perspective, Westbrook’s owners knew that he was going to miss a few games throughout the season, so they shouldn’t be surprised or angry about this news. LeSean McCoy is a capable backup, but it’s not like next week’s game against the Giants is a tasty matchup for either RB.
Desperate owners should look to Shonn Greene and/or Beanie Wells, who may be available. Greene is going to get most of Leon Washington’s touches and Wells is getting more and more work in the Arizona backfield. He’s a much better natural runner than Tim Hightower, though Hightower has more experience and better hands.
If Greene and Wells are gone, Mike Bell is another option. He is getting all of the Saints’ goal line work and has 27 carries in the last two games. He’s not going to post Westbrook-like numbers, but he should help fantasy owners get by. If Bell isn’t available, Justin Fargas ran really hard against the Jets and has a nice matchup against the Chargers in Week 8.
Most fantasy owners draft a running back in the first round and oftentimes their season depends on how that player fares. If he misses a few games with an injury and is bothered by it for a few more, his production will suffer and it will put his fantasy team in a tough spot. This can be offset if his owner is savvy enough to draft one of the “surprise” backs that inevitably crash the top 10 every season.
But how does one pluck one of these backs out of the middle rounds? Better yet, how can we avoid drafting an early round bust in the first place?
As a forewarning, this is not a tight article. I ponder, deliberate and meander as I go along. Trying to predict the future is nebulous at best and futile at worst, so please bear with me as I muddle my way through this topic.
In Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft, he has USC quarterback Mark Sanchez falling to the Redskins at No. 13.
5. Cleveland Browns (4-12)
Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech: The stress fracture in his left foot shouldn’t affect his draft status. He’s a big-time player who should have a Larry Fitzgerald-type career in the NFL.
13. Washington Redskins (8-8)
Mark Sanchez, QB, USC: Sanchez definitely is one of the top five to eight players available in this draft, and getting him here would be a bit of a steal, because had he returned to USC for his senior season, he likely would have been the No. 1 overall pick.
14. New Orleans Saints (8-8)
Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State: Wells is a nice fit for the Saints after they let running back Deuce McAllister go in the offseason. He could be a perfect complement to Reggie Bush.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7)
Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas State: Freeman is an interesting prospect because he throws a great ball and has imposing size at nearly 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds. However, his inconsistent play puts him in the boom-or-bust category.
24. Atlanta Falcons (11-5)
Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State: Pettigrew remains the No. 1 tight end on the board and would be a help to young Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.
It’s easy to disagree with someone’s mock just days before the draft, but the above are the projections I find the most fault in.
One impact player ranked high on the team’s list is Ohio State running back Chris “Beanie” Wells. The Bengals have a need for a playmaker at the running back position behind starter Cedric Benson and Wells is scheduled to visit the organization in Cincinnati the first week of April.
Wells may have put himself back in the running as a potential Top 5 pick after an explosive performance at the school’s pro day on March 13, rebounding from a so-so showing at the Scouting Combine last month.
The 6-foot-1, 235-pound Wells was clocked as low as 4.34 and as high as 4.42 in the 40-yard dash. I’m told that he also fared well during position drills, grabbing the attention of all 32 team representatives in attendance.
The Seattle Seahawks with the No. 3 pick and Cleveland Browns at No. 5 have expressed interest in the running back. Other teams at top of the draft board expressing interest include Green Bay, Jacksonville, Denver and Cincinnati of course.
Wells worked out privately for the Broncos on Tuesday, March 17. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the workout went extremely well.
Wells hasn’t showed any lingering affects from the injury he had early in the ’08 college season and he has absolutely blown away scouts in private workouts. He’s a big, strong back that can not only run effectively through the tackles, but also shows great speed in the open field.
Surprisingly, there hasn’t been a lot of talk surrounding Wells so far. One reason could be the amount of depth there is at the running back position in this year’s draft. Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno, Pittsburgh’s LeSean “Shady” McCoy, Connecticut’s Donald Brown, N.C. State’s Andre Brown and Iowa’s Shonn Greene are all talented prospects that teams could land in any of the top three rounds.
But out of that group, Wells still has the best combination of size, strength and speed. He shouldn’t be overlooked.
The Georgia Bulldogs will soon be a little lighter in their offensive backfield as junior quarterback Matthew Stafford and redshirt sophomore running back Knowshon Moreno have each decided to enter the NFL draft in April.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the players’ decisions said Moreno was definitely leaning toward entering the NFL draft, but said Stafford had wrestled with his decision for several days.
Stafford, a junior from Highland Park, Texas, might be the first player selected in the draft, according to Todd McShay, director of college football scouting for Scouts Inc. who also does NFL draft analysis for ESPN.
The strong-armed passer set a Georgia single-season record with 25 touchdown passes this year. He threw for 3,459 yards this season, the second-best total in school history, and ranked 15th nationally in pass efficiency.
Moreno, a sophomore from Bedford, N.J., ran for 1,338 yards and 16 touchdowns before the Bulldogs’ 24-12 win over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. He became the first Georgia player since 1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker to run for more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.
Stafford probably “wrestled with his decision” because he was at home in front of the mirror repeating, “With the first overall pick, the Detroit Lions select…Matthew Stafford, quarterback, Georgia…” over and over to himself. That’s enough to make a grown man question what he’s about to do.
I’m a little surprised about Moreno. I thought he’d stay for one more year and then be the top back coming out next year, but now he’ll compete with Beanie Wells as the top back selected.
Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic writes that while Texas’s 24-21 win over Ohio State in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl was impressive, the Longhorns aren’t title-worthy.
With all due respect, we’d like to direct the jury to disregard the statements of Texas coach Mack Brown, who proclaimed after Monday night’s Fiesta Bowl that, “We’re obviously one of the best teams in the country, if not the best.”
If we’re to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, the Longhorns aren’t worthy of national-title consideration. They were gutsy and entertaining in a 24-21 victory over Ohio State, but by week’s end Florida or Oklahoma will prove it’s more deserving.
We direct your attention to People’s Exhibit 1, mainly Texas’ inability to find the end zone until the third quarter. In a college football postseason that has become, yawn, absurdly diluted, Texas’ quest for title respect was the most interesting story line of the night.
Until the Longhorns scored their game-winning touchdown with 16 seconds left, it was Mr. Sweater Vest himself, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who gave the game its spice. The guy might be more sock hop than hip-hop, more L.L. Bean than LL Cool J, but he added some oomph with the way he showcased his freshman quarterback.
In a game that squared off a team that had a lot at stake against one that didn’t, Texas needed a blowout to sway opinion. It will have to live with the reality that the Bowl Championship Series got it right.
Hey, it happens.
“I wasn’t sure before tonight . . . but I’m going to vote Texas No. 1,” Brown said.
Brown is loyal. He’s just not right.
You knew if Texas didn’t blow out Ohio State that we would see 50 of these articles hit the net by Tuesday morning. No offense to the Longhorns or the Buckeyes because they played an entertaining second half, but the game didn’t matter. None of the college football games matter expect for the national championship game and even that doesn’t matter. Without a playoff, there’s no fair way to judge which team is the best in the nation so I refuse to partake in the, “Texas deserves to be No. 1/Texas doesn’t deserve to be No.1” discussions. Sorry.
1. Quan Cosby was Texas’s MVP, not Colt McCoy
No disrespect to McCoy (41 of 58, 414 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INTs) because he was excellent, but the Longhorns’ true MVP was wideout Quan Cosby. Texas’s offense is predicated on short timing routes in which McCoy gets the ball out of his hands quickly and the wideouts getting up the field. McCoy did his job because he was outstanding in getting the ball out of his hands quickly (especially in the second half), but he doesn’t rack up over 400 yards if his receivers don’t make plays after the catch. And considering he hauled in 14 receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns (including the 26-yard game winner with just 16 seconds remaining in the game), Crosby certainly made his fair share of plays. He also threw a key block to spring McCoy for a 14-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter that provided a spark for a UT offense that was dominated in the first half.
2. Terrelle Pryor is a special player, but he’s incredibly raw.
There’s no doubt that Pryor is a special player and it’s easy to see why he was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. But he’s got a long way to go before he’s a complete player. The way he evaded defenders to the tune of 73 rushing yards was impressive, especially with how many tackles he broke. And his touchdown catch to put the Buckeyes within two with just over seven minutes to go in the game was a thing of beauty. But how many times did he run out of bounds in the first half when he had at least 3-5 yards more that he could have gained? The one run were he went out of bounds when he could have easily picked up a first down clearly showed his lack of awareness. He also has a ton of work to do with his footwork when passing, because several of his attempts (including one on a 2pt conversion) fell short because he never set his feet. He uses his arm too much and Jim Tressel and the OSU coaching staff will certainly have to get the kid to learn how to drive his legs into his throws or he’ll wind up throwing plenty of interceptions before his career is finished. That said, he’s a phenomenal athlete and considering he’s only a freshman, he had quite a year. OSU has a special player on its hands and he’s already showed that he’s committed to becoming a better quarterback. I love his attitude.
3. Not reaching the end zone in the first half doomed OSU
The Buckeyes really missed a golden opportunity to head into halftime with a double-digit lead, but they couldn’t get into the end zone in the first half. Texas couldn’t stop Beanie Wells’ in the first half and OSU was moving the ball effectively down the field. But twice they had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns and it doomed them down the stretch. They essentially couldn’t capitalize on how well their defense played in the first half and it doomed them down the stretch. If OSU takes a 14-3 lead into halftime, the second half obviously plays out much differently than it did and the Buckeyes probably take home the win.
4. Jim Tressel’s use of both Pryor and Todd Boeckman was excellent.
Forget the fact that both Pryor and Boeckman had major contributions in OSU’s victory. Where Tressell’s idea to use both quarterbacks really came into play was at the beginning of the game. He knew the freshman Pryor would have some jitters playing in his first bowl game, so he didn’t line him under center, but split him out wide as a receiver. What the play did was show Texas a formation they weren’t entirely prepared for, allowed Pryor to get the blood flowing without having to take a snap, and got both quarterbacks involved early in the game plan. Great idea.
5. Texas needed more from their running game.
Colt McCoy didn’t put up Colt McCoy-type numbers, but he certainly did more than enough in the passing game to beat Ohio State. But what really hurt the Longhorns was the fact that they couldn’t get a consistent running game going. The Buckeyes did a fantastic job of keeping McCoy (UT’s leading rusher this season) contained and forcing the Longhorns to run the ball more conventionally, which isn’t their style. Obviously it didn’t matter in the end because McCoy and the passing game saved them, but the Horns could have pointed to their lack of running game as one of the reasons for defeat if they had lost.
6. First down or no first down?
Many OSU fans are going to talk about the first down that was awarded to Texas on a 4th and 2 with under a minute to play. In full speed, it looked like the Longhorn receiver’s forward progress got him the first down but it was close on the replay. There’s definitely an argument to be made that he was stopped short, which would have given OSU a win.
6.5 Who in the name of everything right in this world was that blond standing next to Colt McCoy’s parents?
Holy crap. They couldn’t show her enough…
It’s amazing how trends develop in football. For example: players leaping over each other. I’ve seen it so many times that I’m almost beginning to expect a running back or wide receiver to leap over a defender to gain an extra couple of yards.
Here’s the latest example of a player jumping over a defender as Beanie Wells does his Superman impression in leaping over an Illinois’ defensive back in the Buckeyes’ 30-20 victory last Saturday.
Love the music. And as long as defensive backs are going to keep trying to tackle players low, I think we’ll see more plays like this.
- Raise your hand if you thought Stanford would upset USC again when the score was tied 17-17 at halftime. (Hand raised.)
- Not that a ton of people care about Conference USA, but what a statement by Houston. I don’t know what was more impressive, the fact that the Cougars scored 70 points or that they held Tulsa to only 30 points.
- Iowa’s Shonn Grenne (30 carries, 211 yards in a 22-17 win over Purdue) is a legit Heisman candidate for 2009.
- What happened to Kansas? I realize they didn’t play any of the top teams in the Big 12 last year, but they’re better than 6-5 aren’t they?
- They might have won 34-7, but Penn State’s win over Indiana was the least impressive 34-7 victory in some time.
- One of the more underrated rivalries in college football is Georgia-Auburn. And the Tigers easily have one of the more underrated defenses in the nation.
- Early upset watch for Week 13: Nevada over Boise State. The Wolf Pack’s offense is good enough to keep pace with the Broncos’ explosive attack and Boise hasn’t faced a tough opponent all year. (Unless you consider when they faced Oregon and their fourth string quarterback a tough opponent.)
- Worst…Michigan…season…ever.
- Underrated game of the week: No. 14 Ball State at Central Michigan next Wednesday.
- College football fans were cheated by not getting to see Beanie Wells run for a full season. He was amazing against Illinois.
- How about Troy hanging with LSU in Baton Rouge? Had they not turned the ball over three times, the Trojans could have pulled off one of the best upsets in college football this season.
Top 25 vs. Top 25 No. 6 Oklahoma State at No. 1 Texas, 3:30 PM ET ABC
Colt McCoy and the Longhorns are the talk of college football right now, and rightfully so with the way they destroyed Chase Daniel and Missouri last Saturday. But Zac Robinson and the Cowboys are playing as well as anyone right now and this is a huge opportunity for them to prove that they can hang with the big boys. Robinson is completing nearly 70% of his passes and has 14 touchdowns on the year to just four interceptions. But for OK State to pull off the upset, the Cowboy defense will have to be aggressive in getting after McCoy, who completed 29 of his 32 passes last week in the rout over MIZZOU. Mack Brown won’t let his team take their foot off the pedal, but this is UT’s third straight tough Big 12 matchup in as many weeks and the Cowboys won’t be any pushovers.
No. 3 Penn State at No. 9 Ohio State
The Nittany Lions are red hot and destroying everything in their path. The switch the spread offense has been a great success for PSU’s offense and QB Daryll Clark, who ranks 18th in the nation in pass efficiency. Clark will certainly have his work cut out for him this Saturday going against a veteran OSU defense, although the Lions can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the trenches. They also have protected Clark incredibly well this season, which has allowed for big plays in the passing game. For the Buckeyes offensively, frosh QB Terrelle Pryor is the real deal and really stepped up his game last week against Michigan State after struggling to make plays in previous weeks. PSU is allowing more than a half-yard less per carry than OSU’s stingy defense, so it might be tough sledding for Heisman candidate Beanie Wells. Either way, expect a battle at the “Horseshoe” this weekend in matchup of the best the Big Ten has to offer.
No. 7 Georgia at No. 13 LSU, 3:30 PM ET CBS
This is a huge game for UGA after clawing back into the top 10 last week. LSU is coming off a solid come-from-behind win over South Carolina last week and still has plenty to prove themselves after Florida ran roughshod over them two weeks ago. UGA’s inexperienced offensive line has been an issue at times this year, so QB Matthew Stafford must get the ball out of his hands quickly against a stout Tiger pass rush. And even though Heisman candidate Knowshon Moreno gets a lot more pub, LSU RB Charles Scott is rushing for over six yards a carry. The Tigers are a staggering 41-4 in Tiger Stadium since 2002, which doesn’t bode well for the road ‘Dogs.
No. 8 Texas Tech at No. 23 Kansas, 12:00 PM ESPN
The Red Raiders have flirted with disaster the past couple of weeks, even though Heisman candidate Graham Harrell continues to play beyond impressive. Still, Tech is off to its best start in 32 years and will get to test its mettle against the upper-echelon of Big 12 foes over the next four games. The Jayhawks, meanwhile, were drubbed by Oklahoma last week and just haven’t looked sharp in over a month. They have sorely missed Brandon McAnderson in the backfield, but they could be due for a game in which they put it all together. Could this be the prime upset of the weekend?
Upset Watch: Michigan State at Michigan, 3:30 PM ET
The Wolverines have been absolutely brutal this year, but this is a game they win. The Spartans were crushed by Ohio State last week in a game that they were trying to use as a measuring stick to see how good they were. This is a huge letdown game for them and Rich Rodriguez is desperate not to lose to his in-state rival and save at least a little face in his first year at Big Blue.
