Category: Fantasy Football (Page 226 of 324)

      Start ‘Em & Sit ‘Em: Week 1

      September 4, 2008 /

      Every week, I highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t tell you about how Tom Brady or LaDainian Tomlinson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and start them. I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances. It’s important to note that depending on your roster and situation, you may not be able to follow these recommendations. For example, if I suggest you bench a solid starter like Ben Roethlisberger, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.

      As far as the matchups are concerned, we’re working off of last year’s data.

      START ‘EM

      QB: Jon Kitna (@ ATL) has a nice matchup against a Falcons defense that is traditionally pretty bad against the pass… In leagues that start two QBs each week, Matt Ryan (vs. DET) and Joe Flacco (vs. CIN) are both playing at home against suspect secondaries… I’d rather wait a week or two to see how the Redskins look in their new West Coast Offense, but Jason Campbell (@ NYG) has a pretty nice matchup against the defending Super Bowl champs.

      RB: Selvin Young (@ OAK) faces a Raiders defense that was awful against the run last season… Look for Ricky Williams (vs. NYJ) to have a solid game while Ronnie Brown continues to work himself back into the lineup… Willie Parker (vs. HOU) is worth a start in most leagues. The Texans struggled against the run last season.

      WR: Derrick Mason (vs. CIN) faces a Bengals defense that was pretty bad against the pass in 2007… Patrick Crayton (@ CLE) should be able to take advantage of the openings created when the Browns turn their attention to Terrell Owens and Jason Witten… Dwayne Bowe (@ NE) figures to clean up in garbage time when the Chiefs are playing from behind. Don’t forget that the Pats have new starting corners this season… I think Jericho Cotchery (@ MIA) is going to be a must-start this season, but he definitely should start against the Dolphins this week.

      SIT ‘EM

      QB: Trent Edwards (vs. SEA) and Chad Pennington (vs. NYJ) both have fairly tough matchups this week, though they are playing at home… On the stud front, Derek Anderson (vs. DAL), Jay Cutler (@ OAK), Drew Brees (vs. TB) and Matt Hasselbeck (@ BUF) all have poor matchups, though I wouldn’t bench any of them unless I had a much better option on the bench.

      RB: I like Chris Perry this year but his matchup with the Ravens is a bad one. He’s probably not going to score much in the ground game, but he’s still a decent start in PPR leagues… Ryan Grant (vs. MIN) faces a very stout Minnesota defense. Grant is a solid RB2, so start him unless you have a better option.

      WR: It’s not a good week to experiment with Vincent Jackson (vs. CAR) in your starting lineup. The Panthers’ secondary is pretty solid… It’s probably wise to stay away from the Denver WRs (Eddie Royal, Darrell Jackson and Brandon Stokley) as they face a formidable Oakland secondary that features Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall at corner.

      DTBWW

      One way to approach the defensive team position is to scour the waiver wire to find a mediocre defense with a good or great matchup week to week. I call this strategy Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW). Mediocre defenses usually play better at home, so focus on those teams with a home field advantage. Here is a list of defenses that should fare pretty well this week:

      ATL (vs. DET), SF (vs. ARI), PHI (vs. STL) and DEN (@ OAK)

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Does Tom Brady have broken bone in foot?

      September 3, 2008 /

      Rotoworld.com (via WEEI) is reporting that New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady might have a broken bone in his foot.

      Tom BradyWEEI in Boston says that they are “hearing” that people familiar with an MRI taken on Tom Brady’s foot says there is a crack in Brady’s foot.

      Before everyone gets excited, consider that the radio hosts admit in the preamble that they have no way to confirm that the news is remotely true and that it’s third-hand information. Then they also point out Brady will play this week and if the Patriots were more concerned, they would have signed another veteran quarterback. Another foot injury is a concern for Brady, but a salacious “report” on WEEI isn’t.

      I too agree that nobody should get crazy with assumptions regarding Brady’s possible injury. And like the radio hosts on WEEI said, it’s easier to break into Fort Knox than it is to get injury information out of Bill Belichick and the Patriots, so drawing conclusions on this would be silly.

      But usually when there’s smoke, there’s fire, so something tells me this story might grow some legs.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Rudi Johnson stole Tatum Bell’s job; Tatum Bell stole Rudi Johnson’s luggage

      September 2, 2008 /

      After bolstering their backfield by signing former Bengals running back Rudi Johnson, the Detroit Lions informed Tatum Bell of his release. Shortly after that, Johnson informed Matt Millen that someone had made off with his bags:

      Tatum BellJohnson left his bags outside CEO Matt Millen’s office while he met with team officials and, ultimately, worked out a deal with the team.

      So when Johnson came back to get his bags, they were nowhere to be found. Johnson and Millen were stumped.

      Enter the eye in the sky.

      The team checked the videotapes generated by the team’s in-house surveillance system, and they quickly identified the culprit.

      So who might it have been? None other than Tatum Bell, who lost his gig with the Lions after Rudi arrived.

      Per the source, Bell took the bags to the house of a female acquaintance. When confronted on the matter, Bell offered up some cockamamie story that he thought the bags belonged to someone he knew. The girl, however, said that she hadn’t seen Bell in several months and he showed up out of the blue and asked her to keep the bags for a while.

      Johnson eventually retrieved his bags and, reportedly, charges were not filed.

      Times are undoubtedly tough for Bell right now. Jobless and with a reputedly poor work ethic, it may be quite some time before he lands another NFL gig. He was understandably desperate. And pissed. But the silver lining here is that Bell solidified his legacy with this one brilliant decision. He’ll no longer be remembered as an over-hyped, underachieving fumbler. Now, he’s the guy who stole Rudi Johnson’s luggage. How sweet is that?

      Meanwhile, Lions fans should be grateful that Rudi didn’t have to pursue Bell on foot, since recent history suggests his hammy wouldn’t have survived the chase. In which case the Lions may have once again been in the market for a running back, and since Tatum Bell already knows the system….

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Bills linebackers healthy, show plenty of promise in ’08

      September 2, 2008 /

      In the weeks leading up to the kickoff the 2008 NFL Season, I’ll take a look at position groups that could potentially lift teams to new heights, or bury them and their postseason hopes. Today I break down the Buffalo Bills and their promising linebacker corps.

      When the Buffalo Bills drafted Paul Posluszny in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft, they had hoped they found their middle linebacker of the future. After averaging over 8.5 tackles in his first three games as a rookie, Posluszny was making the Bills’ hopes turn into reality.

      But in late September, Posluszny went down with a broken forearm and missed the rest of the 2007 season. Fellow ‘backer Angelo Crowell suffered a similar fate last year, tearing a triceps muscle in the final game of the season.

      With both Posluszny and Crowell on the mend, as well as adding productive free agent Kawika Mitchell formerly of the defending Super Bowl champion Giants, the Bills’ linebacker corps appears to be the strength of their defense heading into 2008.

      Even though he only played in three games as a rookie, many believe that Posluszny is on the cusp of a breakout season. He’s not the most athletic linebacker in the league, but he’s physical at the point of attack and plays with a mean streak.

      The same can be said for Crowell, who is perhaps the most underrated linebacker in the AFC. Even though his main responsibilities are to stop the run, Crowell has also shown a knack for getting pressure on the quarterback and has shown above-average skills in pass coverage. In 2007, Crowell led Buffalo in tackles with 126 total stops.

      Even though Mitchell might be a more natural fit at strong-side linebacker given his size (6’1”, 253 pounds), he should fit Buffalo’s defensive scheme well. Mitchell is fast, athletic and can be a sideline-to-sideline player.

      While there is plenty to like about the Bills’ linebacker corps heading into 2008, obviously both Posluszny and Crowell have to stay healthy. Given that neither suffered an injury that would take a long recovery time (i.e. a knee injury), both should bounce back in ’08. While the Bills’ young offense will be a focal point in whether or not this team can make the playoffs this year, the defense is slowly starting to come together. And at the core of the unit is a talented trio at linebacker.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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