Month: September 2010 (Page 19 of 60)

      Vincent Jackson still a Charger, now ineligible to play until Week 7

      September 22, 2010 /
      SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 20: Wide receiver Vincent Jackson #83 of the San Diego Chargers prepares to enter the game against the Cincinnati Bengals during the NFL game on December 20, 2009 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

      The 4:00PM ET deadline for Vincent Jackson to be traded has come and gone without the Chargers making a deal. That means V-Jax will face his full suspension and will be ineligible to play before Week 7.

      According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Vikings made a “last ditch-effort” to try and trade for Jackson, but San Diego GM A.J. Smith declined the offer. It’s rumored that Smith was looking for both a second round pick and a third round pick for Jackson, but Minnesota was only willing to offer a second rounder and a conditional pick in 2011.

      It’ll be interesting to see how the Vikings’ offense continues to fare without Sidney Rice after they decided not to acquire Jackson, who may wind up sitting out the reminder of the season. Percy Harvin is reportedly dealing with migraines again, so the receiver situation in Minnesota is getting bleaker by the day.

      External Sports, NFL

      2010 College Football Week 4 Odds

      September 22, 2010 /
      Alabama Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram smiles on the sideline during the second half of their NCAA football game with the Duke Blue Devils in Durham, North Carolina September 18, 2010. REUTERS/Jim R. Bounds (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      We’ve still got a couple of days before another Saturday in college football kicks off, but here are some point spreads that jumped out at me in this weekend’s slate of action.

      No. 19 Miami vs. Pittsburgh +3.5, Thursday, 7:30PM ET
      This is a pretty even matchup across the board, which is why I like PITT getting the points at home in a nationally televised game. The only thing I caution is that the Panthers just lost star defensive end Greg Romeus to an injury and have been dealing with some off-field issues. But truth be told, that’s why I like them even more. The Hurricanes have won six straight over the Panthers and the public is going to be all over Miami. This line could move up to +4 or even +4.5 by kickoff and again, this is more of an even matchup than people think.
      LEAN: PITTSBURGH +3.5

      No. 24 Oregon State +17 vs. No. 3 Boise State, Saturday, 8:00PM ET
      I always hesitate fading Boise State in nationally televised games against good opponents (and in the case of Oregon State, a ranked opponent) because they like to use these opportunities to showcase themselves to BCS voters (see the Virginia Tech game in Week 1 as a prime example). But Oregon State is no joke and went toe-to-toe with TCU in the opening weekend before eventually falling, 30-21. I think odds makers have the line set high because in the last meeting between these two teams, the Broncos crushed the Beavers, 42-14. But there’s something about getting 17 points with a ranked team that intrigues me.
      LEAN: OREGON STATE +17

      No. 12 South Carolina +3 vs. No. 17 Auburn, Saturday, 7:45PM ET
      Maybe they were looking ahead to this game, but the Tigers were fortunate to get a win last week against Clemson at home. Auburn has won three of their past four games by a field goal dating back to a thrilling overtime win over Northwestern in the Outback Bowl last season. Seeing as how they’re a little beat up right now, I like the Gamecocks getting points here, although keep in mind that they’ve lost four straight since last beating the Tigers in 1933.
      LEAN: SOUTH CAROLINA +3

      No. 1 Alabama -7 vs. No. 10 Arkansas, Saturday, 3:30PM ET
      I keep going back and forth on this one, but now that ‘Bama is back at full strength offensively with Mark Ingram I have a slight lean towards the Tide – even in Fayetteville. Last year, Arkansas’ quarterback Ryan Mallett threw for just 160 yards in a loss to the Tide. ‘Bama has also won three straight games in this series and although I hesitate laying a touchdown on the road against a good Razorback team, I like the Tide as of right now. (Although I admit this will probably be a game I scratch off my list and just enjoy the action on Saturday.)
      LEAN: ALABAMA –7

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      College Football, External Sports

      Think Ryan Fitzpatrick might be good for Lee Evans?

      September 22, 2010 /

      ORCHARD PARK, NY - DECEMBER 9: Lee Evans #83 of the Buffalo Bills celebrates during the game against the Miami Dolphins on December 9, 2007 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

      Lee Evans hit the waiver wire in a couple of my leagues, and it got me wondering — would he be worth a pickup now that Ryan Fitzpatrick is the starter in Buffalo?

      Looking back to 2009, Evans averaged 3.0 catches for 36 yards and 0.43 TD with Trent Edwards at QB and 2.6 catches for 40 yards and 0.44 TD with Fitzpatrick.

      In other words, there wasn’t much of a difference who was playing QB for the Bills — Evans’ numbers were about the same.

      That said, I wouldn’t be opposed to picking him up if I had an open roster slot just to see what happens over the next couple of weeks. Buffalo has a fairly easy schedule for the rest of the season and Evans is just 29 years old, so it’s not like he’s over the hill. However, he hasn’t been fantasy starter-caliber since the 2008 season (63-1017-3), so one wonders what kind of upside he really has at this point. It’s important to note that last season (by far the worst of his last four), he was playing second fiddle to Terrell Owens.

      If he just went back to his 2007 and 2008 averages — 3.7 catches for 51 yards, along with his career 0.4 TD per game average — he’d post 11.2 fantasy points per game. Those are WR26-type numbers. That makes him a decent WR3 option, which means he should be owned in most leagues.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Eagles open to trading Kevin Kolb?

      September 22, 2010 /
      PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 02: Kevin Kolb of the Philadelphia Eagles stands on the sidelines during a preseason game against the New York Jets at Lincoln Financial Field on September 2, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

      The plight of Kevin Kolb in Philadelphia has been rather amazing to watch of late. (Somewhere, Kolb just went, “Thanks, a-hole.”)

      Three weeks ago he was heading into the 2010 season as Andy Reid’s starting quarterback. One bad quarter and a conclusion later and now Kolb is backing up Michael Vick and soon enough, may be playing in another city entirely.

      According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Reid refused today to rule out trading Kolb before the NFL deadline in October. With Vick pegged as the permanent starter, a trade would make sense for the Eagles. Why let a young quarterback rot on your bench when there are so many quarterback-starved teams in the NFL these days?

      The Browns, Bills and Cardinals all have massive issues at the quarterback position, although whether Kolb would be a fit for those offenses is another topic for debate. Still, Cleveland was reportedly interested in Kolb around draft time, so maybe Mike Holmgren will get aggressive and make a move for the 26-year-old signal caller.

      Or what about the Vikings? Brett Favre obviously isn’t going anywhere this season, but he’s expected to retire (hahahahalolelolelohaha) at the end of the year. Plus, Childress runs a very similar offense to Reid’s and therefore the learning curve for Kolb would be minimal. A situation in which Minnesota trades for Kolb seems far-fetched at the moment, but things change all the time in the NFL.

      It’ll be interesting to see if Reid comes out either today or tomorrow and makes a definitive statement against trading Kolb. That happens all the time in this league – a report surfaces and then the team quickly refutes it.

      But where there’s smoke, there’s fire and there’s a lot of smoke coming out of Philly right now.

      Update: According to ProFootballTalk.com, the Browns have already inquired about Kolb, which is shocking considering Jake Delhomme (and now Seneca Wallace) is their starting quarterback.

      External Sports, NFL

      Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW): Week 3

      September 22, 2010 /
      Miami Dolphins Karlos Dansby (58) closes in for a sack on Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards (5) during first quarter action at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, September 12, 2010. REUTERS/Doug Benz (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week you pick up a defense that is playing against a bad offense (preferably at home). And each week you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position.

      Last season, my top pick averaged 9.8 fantasy points per game. My second pick averaged 9.1 and my third pick averaged 7.3. On the whole, DTBWW averaged 9.3 fantasy points per game, which equate to DT5 numbers — all for the price of a few waiver wire pickups. In 2008, my top two picks averaged DT6-type numbers. (Note: To calculate fantasy points, I use this scoring system.)

      Unlike Defensive Team By Committee (DTBC), which is for those owners who prefer low maintenance teams, DTBWW strategy allows fantasy owners to virtually ignore DTs on draft day and focus on picking up an extra RB/WR flier instead.

      To be eligible, defenses have to be available on the waiver wire in at least 50% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

      Let’s see how my Week 2 picks fared:

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      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

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