Author: John Paulsen (Page 794 of 937)

      Fantasy Football: The Postgame, Week 16

      December 26, 2006 /

      Week 16 has come and gone, and a few fantasy owners got a special present under the tree this Christmas. Bulger and S-Jax went nuts, while Marvin reiterated his grasp on the Colts #1 WR position. On the downside, owners with Vick or Hass as their QB had to fight an uphill battle, and there was a long list of stud WRs that seemed intent to play the Grinch. But enough with the tease, let’s get to Week 16’s Headliners and Flatliners.

      HEADLINERS

      Marc Bulger (388 yards, 4 TD)
      Bulger had a pretty quiet second half of the season but broke out in a big way against the Redskins. Unfortunately for Torry Holt owners, Isaac Bruce had the biggest day of all the Rams receivers, catching nine passes for 148 yards and a score.

      Honorable Mention: Vince Young (183 pass yards, 2 pass TD, 61 rush yards, 1 rush TD), Jon Kitna (283 yards, 3 TD), Peyton Manning (205 yards, 3 TD), Steve McNair (256 pass yards, 3 TD, 2 INT)

      Steven Jackson (39 touches, 252 yards, 2 TD)
      Jackson’s monster game was far and away the best for any running back. He has developed into a terrific receiver and the Rams love to feed him the ball. He’ll be a top 3 pick in most leagues next summer.

      Honorable Mention: Maurice Jones-Drew (25 touches, 172 yards, 2 TD), Ladell Betts (31 touches, 164 yards, 2 TD), Ron Dayne (33 touches, 156 yards, 2 TD), Shaun Alexander (33 touches, 142 yards, 2 TD), Reggie Bush (22 touches, 149 yards, 1 TD), Frank Gore (17 touches, 86 yards, 2 TD), Rudi Johnson (32 touches, 140 yards, 1 TD), Larry Johnson (31 touches, 135 yards, 1 TD)

      Marvin Harrison (8 rec, 112 yards, 2 TD)
      Not so fast, Reggie Wayne, Marvin is still the Colts’ best WR. Harrison had a terrific fantasy playoff, catching 16 passes for 198 yards and five touchdowns.

      Honorable Mention: Isaac Bruce (9 rec, 148 yards, 1 TD), Mark Clayton (7 rec, 108 yards, 1 TD), Mike Furrey (10 rec 107 yards, 1 TD), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (9 rec, 94 yards, 1 TD), Larry Fitzgerald (4 rec, 93 yards, 1 TD)

      Chris Cooley (7 rec, 77 yards, 1 TD)
      Cooley finished the season pretty strong, catching 25 passes for 362 yards and three scores over the last six games. His game stood out in a week with few good TE performances.

      Honorable Mention: Randy McMichael (5 rec, 46 yards, 1 TD), Vernon Davis (4 rec, 91 yards), L.J. Smith (2 rec, 77 yards), Tony Gonzalez (5 rec, 67 yards)

      FLATLINERS

      Michael Vick (109 pass yards, 2 INT, 32 rush yards)
      Vick’s brutal game hurt more than a few fantasy owners this week. He was hot and cold all year, and has been bothered by a hamstring injury recently.

      Dishonorable Mention: Matt Hasselbeck (189 yards, 2 INT), Derek Anderson (123 yards, 4 INT)

      Willie Parker (13 touches, 29 yards)
      Parker owners had the bad fortune of having their player face a very tough Baltimore rush defense this week, and he wasn’t even able to meet those diminished expectations.

      Dishonorable Mention: Tatum Bell (12 touches, 50 yards), Chester Taylor (18 touches, 67 yards), Ahman Green (22 touches, 69 yards), Thomas Jones (14 touches, 72 yards), Warrick Dunn (10 touches, 38 yards)

      Steve Smith (0 rec)
      Chris, this is Steve Smith. Steve, this is Chris Weinke. I’ll give you two a minute to get acquainted.

      Dishonorable Mention: Chad Johnson (3 rec, 32 yards), Braylon Edwards (2 rec, 7 yards), Reggie Wayne (3 rec, 27 yards), Laveranues Coles (2 rec, 9 yards), Chris Chambers (1 rec, 16 yards), Santana Moss (3 rec, 29 yards), Joey Galloway (2 rec, 34 yards), Andre Johnson (4 rec, 48 yards), Torry Holt (4 rec, 54 yards)

      Jeremy Shockey (2 rec, -3 yards)
      A few big name tight ends had poor outings this weekend, which just goes to show you how erratic the position is. Looking forward to next season, there should be a number of productive tight ends, so I wouldn’t recommend drafting one in the first four rounds.

      Dishonorable Mention: Kellen Winslow (2 rec, 27 yards), Desmond Clark (3 rec, 36 yards), Alge Crumpler (3 rec, 39 yards)

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Iverson trade analysis

      December 21, 2006 /

      Now that we’ve had a couple of days to digest the idea of Allen Iverson in a Nuggets uniform, let’s take a look at the trade.

      Joe Smith was also traded to make the salaries work, but this is basically an Allen Iverson-for-Andre Miller swap. Here are the players’ average stats for the last three seasons:

      Iverson: 30.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 7.4 apg (23.7 epg, $18.3 M)
      Miller: 14.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 7.1 apg (17.5 epg, $8.6 M)

      epg = ((Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) – ((Field Goals Att. – Field Goals Made) + (Free Throws Att. – Free Throws Made) + Turnovers))/(Total Games Played)

      The Nuggets also sent two 2007 first round draft picks to the Sixers in the trade, which included their own pick and Dallas’ pick. Neither pick projects to be in the top 20.

      From a pure value standpoint, this is a better deal for the Nuggets than for the Sixers. Philadelphia wanted to get a good young guard in a deal for Iverson, but the Cliippers were not willing to part with Shaun Livingston. They ended up with Miller, who is 30, and considering that AI is 31, the Sixers did not get much younger with this deal. When we look back on this trade in a few years, it’s going to come down to what the Sixers are able to do with those two first round picks. If they find a couple of gems or if they’re able to package the picks to land a stud in the draft or via free agency, then the trade evens out. As is, they traded away a future Hall of Fame player who is still in his prime for a middle of the road starter and a couple of draft picks.

      Conversely, the Nuggets will get a big boost from Iverson’s presence, especially in the short term. With Carmelo Anthony missing 15 games due to suspension, Iverson should be able to help the team stay competitive in the Northwest. Once ‘Melo returns, the Nuggets will likely go with a starting lineup of Iverson, J.R. Smith, Anthony, Eduardo Najera (or Reggie Evans) and Marcus Camby. This is a perfect lineup for AI to play with. He likes to dominate the ball and create, and as his assist numbers indicate, he’s a very capable passer. He’ll be able to score or set up Anthony and Smith for jumpshots. Camby is a player who doesn’t have very many plays called for him; he gets his points on the break, putbacks or kickback jumpshots. Meanwhile, Evans and Najera will try to track down the team’s misses.

      Defensively, the Nuggets will continue to have problems, but it’s hard to see how the addition of Iverson can possibly hurt the team. Sure, he doesn’t like to practice, but George Karl has experience in dealing with stubborn players; just ask Gary Payton or Sam Cassell. I wasn’t a big fan of AI until I witnessed his gritty play in the 2004 Olympics. The guy laid it all out on the line for his country, which was impressive considering the casual attitude of some of the other players on Team USA. It’s common for a player who is considered a malcontent to keep things together for a few years after a change of scenery, and I think the fresh mountain air will be good for Iverson.

      Do the Nuggets become a title contender? I don’t think so. Their lack of defense and Karl’s inability to finish teams off in the playoffs will come back to haunt them. But they should be able to give the Jazz a serious run in the Northwest and have a good shot to advance past the first round of the playoffs.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Fantasy Football: The Pregame, Week 16

      December 20, 2006 /

      Each week in the Pregame, I’ll provide a few players to start and a few to bench. These recommendations are based on that player’s strength of schedule (SOS) for that particular week or that player’s specific situation.

      I’m a strong advocate of always starting your studs, so I won’t be telling you about LaDainian Tomlinson’s tough matchup or how Peyton Manning and company will light it up against a bad defense. Anyone can make those calls. I’ll be discussing marginal fantasy starters – guys that can start for you, but only under certain circumstances.

      START

      MATT LEINART, TIM RATTAY, JEFF GARCIA and JAY CUTLER are marginal quarterbacks with nice matchups this week…RON DAYNE, TRAVIS HENRY, EDGERRIN JAMES and MARION BARBER face poor rush defenses this week and should find plenty of running room…ANTONIO BRYANT, JOEY GALLOWAY, MARK CLAYTON and BRAYLON EDWARDS all have favorable matchups this week and are worth a start, assuming you’re not benching a stud…Don’t bench a top defense, but if you’re looking for a spot DT starter, KANSAS CITY, TAMPA BAY, CLEVELAND, INDIANAPOLIS, GREEN BAY and SAN FRANCISCO all have good matchups this week, in that order.

      BENCH

      Stay away from DAVID CARR, TRENT GREEN, CHAD PENNINGTON and JON KITNA this week if at all possible. Given their tough matchups, the odds are against them having a good day…AHMAN GREEN, COREY DILLON and CEDRIC HOUSTON face stout rush defenses this week and should be benched if you have a better option available…EDDIE KENNISON and DREW BENNETT shouldn’t be started this week.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Fantasy Football: Waiver Wire Watch, Week 16

      December 19, 2006 /

      QUARTERBACKS

      Here is a list of players that may be available on your league’s waiver wire, in order of relative value:

      Vince Young, Tony Romo, Jeff Garcia, Rex Grossman, Matt Leinart, Jason Campbell, J.P. Losman, Philip Rivers, Chad Pennington, Jay Cutler, Alex Smith, Tavaris Jackson, Tim Rattay, Derek Anderson, David Garrard

      Rex Grossman, Matt Leinart, Tavaris Jackson and Alex Smith all have pretty good matchups if your desperate for a decent starter. If Vince Young, Tony Romo or Jeff Garcia is available, grab one of them first.

      RUNNING BACKS

      Ron Dayne, Cedric Houston, Mike Bell, Travis Henry, Sammy Morris, Vernand Morency

      Ronnie Brown was cleared to practice today, so it might mean the end of the Sammy Morris run in Miami. Keep an eye on Brown’s status before using Morris in Week 16…Ron Dayne continued his impressive run with another nice game on Sunday. He’s got a great matchup with Indy next week, so he can be used in an emergency.

      WIDE RECEIVERS

      D.J. Hackett, Joe Jurevicius, Santonio Holmes, Ronald Curry, Reche Caldwell, Chris Henry, Antwaan Randle El, Devery Henderson, Arnaz Battle, Terrance Copper

      With Darrell Jackson out with injury, D.J. Hackett had a huge first half last Thursday, and should continue to get a lot of work down the stretch…Joe Jurevicius doesn’t have a great matchup this week, but Derek Anderson has been targeting him regularly, so he can bee used in a pinch.

      TIGHT ENDS

      Desmond Clark, Vernon Davis, Jeremy Stevens, Tony Scheffler, Bo Scaife

      Desmond Clark shouldn’t be on your league’s waiver wire, but if he is, he’s a good option at TE in Week 16 given his recent performance and his favorable matchup against the Lions…Vernon Davis continues to be a big part of the 49er offense and is a good option if your searching for a fill in at TE.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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