Category: Fantasy Football (Page 190 of 324)

      NFL News & Notes Week 6: Tom Brady undergoes successful surgery

      October 8, 2008 /

      – Patriots’ QB Tom Brady underwent surgery on Monday to repair the torn ACL and MCL he suffered in Week 1’s win over the Chiefs. Brady’s recovery time is expected to be 6-8 months. (Boston Globe)

      Jeff Garcia– Jeff Garcia is expected to take over the starting quarterback role in Tampa again as Brian Griese continues to battle with an arm injury. Apparently even if Griese were healthy enough to play, Garcia would still get the start this week against division rival Carolina based on his performance last Sunday in Denver. (Tampa Tribune)

      – Lions’ QB Jon Kitna will have an MRI on his back after not being able to practice on Wednesday. That means either Dan Orlovsky or Drew Stanton could start this Sunday against the Vikings. Orlovsky apparently has the edge as of right now. (Mlive.com)

      – RB Darren McFadden practice with the Raiders on Wednesday, but still might be limited this week. (Oakland Tribune)

      – Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan expects WR Eddie Royal to play in Week 6 against the Jaguars despite having an ankle injury. That doesn’t mean Royal is a lock to play, especially considering he missed Wednesday’s practice. (NFL.com)

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Eli Manning is better than Peyton…

      October 8, 2008 /

      …at least that’s what Greg Easterbrook of ESPN.com is suggesting.

      Eli ManningFour games into his fifth season, Eli is 44-30 as a starter and has a Super Bowl ring. At the same point in his career, Peyton was 35-35 and had not won a postseason game. In terms of passing stats, the two players are approximately the same. In terms of leadership, Eli won the Super Bowl in his fourth season with a team whose personnel was so undistinguished, not one of the 16 sets of expert predictions ESPN.com ran before the 2007 season even had the Giants making the playoffs, let alone winning the Super Bowl. On Sunday, both Manning brothers recorded monster wins, and both played well. Eli achieved close to perfection — he was 19-of-25 for 267 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His perfect passing made who-dat backup receiver Domenik Hixon (see below) look like a star, and his leadership skills inspired the who-dat Giants offensive line — quick, how many of them can you name without peeking? — to play like the New England offensive line of 2007. Stretching back to last season, the Giants have won eight straight games, and this season’s 127-49 scoring margin over their opponents is spectacular. If football stays popular for a thousand years, Eli’s escape from four tacklers on that last-minute Super Bowl scoring drive will always be one of the sport’s signature plays. Peyton is great, and a near-lock for Canton. Eli may be bound for the same place, with his bust in a slightly nicer corner.

      Peyton ManningSee this is what happens. A quarterback wins a Super Bowl and all of a sudden he’s on par with every other Super Bowl quarterback that has ever lived. I’m not saying that’s what Easterbrook is saying, but he’s at least suggesting it, which at this point seems like a reach.

      Eli Manning is turning into a great player. And the stats that Easterbrook mentions are solid. But if we want to bring up numbers, Peyton dwarfs Eli in nearly every major passing category including total yardage (42,657 to 11,861), TD to INT ratio (311-158 to 80-65) and QB rating (94.3 to 74.0).

      Yes, Peyton has more years on Eli and has had an advantage playing in the same system his entire career. But the reason he’s been able to do the latter is because he wins and keeps everybody employed. He’s led the Colts to the playoffs every year except his rookie season and everybody has seem to forgotten how lost Eli looked in his first three seasons (even though he did lead the Giants to the postseason with a dazzling 8-8 record in 2006). Peyton struggled in his rookie campaign and then led Indy to a division title the next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and the year after that…

      Maybe Eli will be better than Peyton when it’s all said and done, but not right now. Not when Peyton is sitting on a mountain of personal milestones and accomplishments. Just because the two have switched roles (to some degree) this year doesn’t mean we should go overboard and say Eli might be better than his big bro some day.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Plaxico’s just being Plaxico

      October 7, 2008 /

      Move over Manny Ramirez – Plaxico Burress is taking over your philosophy. Gary Myers of The Daily News writes that in the wake of Burress returning to the team following a team-based one-game suspension that Plaxico is just being Plaxico.

      Plaxico BurressHe plays hurt, he plays great. He’s not getting arrested and he’s not testing positive for drugs. Not a bad investment, right? He’s just in his own little Plaxico world on issues like showing up on time and then acting indignant having to explain what he did to get himself suspended.

      Plaxico’s Sept.22 predicament? He had to take his young son, who is not quite 2, to school that day. It sounds better than the dog ate his playbook, but not quite something that normally falls into the category of being the emergency he said it was. He indicated there were other circumtances involved, but would not elaborate.

      He said “there is nothing to tell” about domestic disturbance calls from his house in June and August.
      For anybody who has been faced with the dilemma of getting a child to school when you are the only option, it can be a challenging situation when you also have a job that requires your presence. But there are usually solutions: You drop them off and go to work, assuming they are going to school in the same time zone in which you live. Or in a household where transportation for a child is an issue, you hire a babysitter, which for those in Burress’ tax bracket, doesn’t put a strain on the checkbook. Or you ask a friend for a favor. At the very least, you call the boss and say the car pool broke down.
      Not when Plax is being Plax.

      “It’s not like I purposely missed out or that was my intention,” Burress said Monday. “It just seemed to happen that way and I didn’t feel any reason to explain to them what happened or why I missed because I don’t feel it is really anybody’s business. It is like I told them, if I had a decision to make as far as my family and my son and things like that, I wouldn’t change anything about it.”

      Myers goes on to make a good point that while family comes before football, Burress could have gotten a babysitter or someone else to take his child to school that day. Of course, nobody knows Burress’s personal situation, so maybe he didn’t feel comfortable leaving his child in the hands of someone else.

      But that isn’t Myers’ point anyway. His point is that Burress continues to do what he wants to do and sticks it in the Coughlin and the Giants’ faces. And what a shame too, because he’s a fantastic player on a fantastic team that could potentially win another Super Bowl this year.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Waiver Wire Watch: Week 6

      October 7, 2008 /

      Every week, I highlight a few players that you should target in waivers. I use the ESPN league data when filtering players, so the only players eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire of at least 50% of ESPN’s leagues. I’ll list each player’s percentage-owned after their name so you have an idea of how available they are in leagues around the country. I’ll always try to mention a few players that are available in 90% of leagues for those of you in 12-team leagues or leagues with big rosters. I’ll rank them in the order I’d pick them up in a league with a high-performance, PPR scoring system.

      QUARTERBACKS

      1. Kyle Orton (38.4)
      “Beard” (formerly “Neck Beard”) has posted 267 yards passing and 2.3 TD over the last three weeks. He’s definitely QB2 caliber now.
      2. Marc Bulger (48.8)
      Bulger resumes his starting duties this week.
      3. Matt Ryan (43.4)
      Ryan threw for 194 yards and two TD against he Packers, and almost had a third TD.
      4. Chad Pennington (35.3)
      Pennington has a nice matchup with the Texans in Week 6.
      5. Gus Frerotte (16.1)
      With the Lions on tap in Week 6, Frerotte is a good pickup this week.
      6. JaMarcus Russell (46.5)
      Russell seems to be playing better, and with the Saints coming up, he’s a viable spot starter.
      7. Kerry Collins (25.2)
      8. Joe Flacco (15.2)
      9. J.P. Losman (0.6)
      The Bills are on bye and Trent Edwards should be ready for Week 7, but if not, Losman will have some value.
      10. Brodie Croyle (4.0)
      Croyle will be the starter after KC’s bye.
      11. Jeff Garcia (17.6)
      With Griese nicked up, Garcia has a chance to reclaim the starting job.

      RUNNING BACKS

      1. Mewelde Moore (40.0)
      Moore is starter caliber as long as Willie Parker is out.
      2. Warrick Dunn (39.9)
      Dunn continues to split touches with Graham, which makes him a decent flex/spot-starter play.
      3. Justin Fargas (56.8)
      Fargas is over our 50% threshold, but he’s back at practice and may be the starter if McFadden continues to nurse his turf toe.
      4. Tim Hightower (42.7)
      Hightower keeps vulturing goal line carries, so he has some value.
      5. Michael Bush (34.3)
      Productive when given the opportunity, Bush now has to deal with Fargas coming off an injury.
      6. Derrick Ward (31.5)
      Even though Brandon Jacobs re-established his grip on the starting job, Ward is still a backup with major upside.
      7. Maurice Morris (20.2)
      If he can get healthy, he’ll likely find himself back in a timeshare with Julius Jones.
      8. Cedric Benson (10.2)
      As Chris Perry continues to fumble, the chances that Benson can earn a bigger role continue to increase.
      9. Ladell Betts (20.1)
      Like Ward, Betts would become a starter caliber RB if something were to happen to Clinton Portis.
      10. Kenny Watson (22.3)
      Given Chris Perry’s fumbling problems, Watson has an outside chance for major
      11. Leon Washington (30.2)
      12. Ahman Green (26.6)
      13. Brandon Jackson (24.2)
      playing time now that he’s back with Cincy.
      14. Fred Jackson (17.4)
      15. Dominic Rhodes (13.6)

      WIDE RECEIVERS

      1. Bobby Engram (50.5)
      8-61 in his return + Deion Branch injury = lots of opportunity for Bobby Engram.
      2. Ike Hilliard (44.4)
      Hilliard isn’t going to win any games single-handedly, but he’s a great backup in PPR leagues.
      3. Brandon Stokley (10.4)
      With Eddie Royal hobbled, Stokley shouldn’t have any problem continuing his hot run (13-132-1 over the last two weeks).
      4. Steve Breaston (19.8)
      As long as Anquan Boldin misses time, Breaston is a solid starter as a WR2 or WR3, especially in PPR leagues.
      5. Devin Hester (27.0)
      Is Hester catching on? His recent performance – eight catches for 93 yards and two TD over the last two weeks – says that maybe he is.
      6. Chansi Stuckey (44.9)
      7. Antwaan Randle El (41.6)
      8. Amani Toomer (49.5)
      9. Kevin Walter (40.5)
      10. Mike Walker (0.1)
      The second-year wideout has caught 11 passes for 153 yards over the last two weeks. He and David Garrard seem to be developing a rapport. There is a lot of upside here.
      11. Greg Camarillo (3.1)
      Over the last three weeks, Camarillo has 14 catches for 177 yards and a TD. He’s roster worthy in all PPR leagues.
      12. Justin Gage (31.1)
      I still like Gage. He’s the WR1 in Tennessee if he can just get healthy.
      13. Ted Ginn (29.8)
      After a dreadful start, Ginn has 12 catches for 104 yards over the last two weeks, which makes him an interesting pickup in PPR leagues.
      14. Domenik Hixon (3.0)
      He exploded with Burress out after catching three passes in each of the two previous games. Going forward, it’s tough to see him getting enough targets to be a regular fantasy starter.
      15. Kevin Curtis (48.2)
      Only Andy Reid knows how he’s going to fit in with DeSean Jackson and Reggie Brown.
      16. Robert Meachem (40.5)
      17. Matt Jones (33.2)
      18. Josh Reed (30.8)
      Reed has caught at least four passes in each of the last four weeks, which makes him fodder as a spot starter in PPR leagues.
      19. Deion Branch (31.6)
      Branch injured his right heel and did not return. He’s not worth picking up unless he’s able to play in the next week or two.
      20. Jabar Gaffney (17.1)
      He has nine catches for 85 yards and a TD over the last two weeks.
      21. Nate Washington (0.7)
      A big game against Jacksonville (6-94-1) gives a glimpse at Washington’s potential, but with Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes ahead of him, he probably won’t get enough targets to produce consistently.

      TIGHT ENDS

      1. Bo Scaife (50.4)
      Scaife is a bona fide fantasy backup and one of the Titans’ biggest “weapons” in the passing game.
      2. Zach Miller (25.4)
      He has as much upside as anyone on this list, but he plays with an inconsistent QB in JaMarcus Russell.
      3. Donald Lee (48.1)
      Not quite as consistent as last year, but he’s a decent fantasy backup.
      4. L.J. Smith (37.1)
      He caught three passes for 26 yards in his return.
      5. Dustin Keller (23.2)
      A Favre favorite around the goal line.
      6. Visanthe Shiancoe (20.1)
      Production is up since Frerotte took over.
      7. Kevin Boss (33.2)
      He was a big disappointment in Week 5 with Burress out.
      8. John Carlson (50.3)
      Was his goose egg in Week 5 an indication of things to come?

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑