Category: Fantasy Football (Page 54 of 324)

Ryan Grant has a ‘pretty good sprain’ — pick up Brandon Jackson

Green Bay Packers runningback Brandon Jackson (32) is tackled after a gain by the Philadelphia Eagles Trevor Laws (93) and Trent Cole (58) during the first quarter of their NFL football game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 12, 2010. REUTERS/Tim Shaffer (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Greg A. Bedard describes the injury:

RB Ryan Grant was wearing a boot on his right foot and has a pretty good sprain. Could not have gone back in.

We won’t know the extent of the injury until later today or tomorrow, but we do know that Brandon Jackson looked pretty good as Grant’s replacement, rushing for 63 yards on 18 tough carries and catching two passes for 12 yards. The yards-per-carry (3.5) numbers aren’t the best, but they don’t tell the whole story. The Eagles defense came to play and the Packers leaned on the former second round pick in both the running game and the passing game to pick up key first downs.

If Grant is on the shelf for any length of time, Jackson will become a RB2-caliber fantasy back, especially in PPR leagues where his pass-catching ability will maximize his value.

Afternoon Update: Grant has already been ruled out for Week 2. Jackson will likely be the top WW pickup of the week.

Fantasy Fallout, Week 1: Where undrafted Arian Foster is the top RB of the week

HOUSTON - SEPTEMBER 12: Running back Arian Foster  of the Houston Texans rushes past defensive tackle Daniel Muir  of the Indianapolis Colts in the first quarter during the NFL season opener at Reliant Stadium on September 12, 2010 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

This season in Fantasy Fallout I’m going to get away from a position-by-position rundown of the studs/duds and do more of a free-wheeling, stream-of-consciousness column that will go up every Monday morning (just in time for you to waste a few minutes at work while you sip your coffee).

Let’s start with arguably the biggest performance of the week. If your fantasy team ran into the one-man buzzsaw otherwise known as Arian Foster (238 total yards, 3 TD), I intimately feel your pain. After touting him all August, I failed to get Foster in any of my six leagues, probably because I was expecting to get him in the 4th or 5th round on draft day. As some sort of punishment, I faced him in two leagues this week. Ouch. In August, his ADP was sitting in the 8th round before Ben Tate‘s injury and skyrocketed into the 3rd, which I thought was a bit early, but his Week 1 performance totally justified that rise. As a direct result, the Texans didn’t need Andre Johnson (3-33) or Owen Daniels (1-9). Hopefully, owners stayed away from Daniels this week (I started Todd Heap — fingers crossed — over him in my auction league), and hopefully his knee reacts well to his first game action.

In that same game, Peyton Manning completed 40 of 57 passes for 443 yards and three TD, and probably won a few fantasy games himself. With that many attempts, Manning was able to target Reggie Wayne (7-99-1), Pierre Garcon (4-74), Austin Collie (10-131-1) and Dallas Clark (11-80-1) at least 10 times each. Anthony Gonzalez (1-12, three targets) was the odd man out. The Matthew Berry-led talk of Wayne’s demise seems a little premature, at least at this point. It’s tough to tell how the Colts’ targets are going to shake out when Manning throws this many time, so we’ll just kick that can down the road. One thing seems certain: Austin Collie is the Colts’ WR3, not Anthony Gonzalez.

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Sleep apnea the cause of Harvin’s migraines

NEW ORLEANS - SEPTEMBER 09: Percy Harvin  of the Minnesota Vikings looks on against the New Orleans Saints at Louisiana Superdome on September 9, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Per Andrea Kremer of NBC Sports:

When Percy Harvin was in the hospital after collapsing at Vikings practice in August he says his heart stopped beating for ten seconds. At that time doctors suspected he was not getting enough oxygen while sleeping.

Four days after he was released from the hospital, Harvin underwent an overnight sleep test. He says that during the test his heart stopped beating eight times. He was then diagnosed with sleep apnea, a disorder that affects breathing while sleeping. Harvin says doctors told him they believe the sleep apnea is the main issue triggering his migraines. He now often sleeps with a device that pumps air into his nose to regulate his breathing. He brought it on the road with him and says he slept with it last night.

Harvin also told me that he is no longer taking any medication, which is significant since he said that medication caused his collapse at practice back on August 19th.

Hopefully for Harvin’s sake, the doctors really have found the cause of his well-documented migraine problem and it’s good news that he’s been able to come off the medication that caused the August collapse.

From a fantasy point of view, this makes me a little more confident about owning him in a couple of leagues this season. I’m more concerned about his lack of chemistry with Brett Favre in Thursday night’s game than I am about his history of migraines.

Why the Jets are overrated

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan stands on the sidelines in the fourth quarter in week 1 of the NFL Preseason at The New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on August 16, 2010.    UPI /John Angelillo Photo via Newscom

Bill Simmons picks the Pats over the Jets in the AFC East this year, and here’s why:

First, I seem to be the only person who remembers that the Jets were 9-7 last year. You’d think they went 19 and minus-3. Second, I don’t trust the Sanchize even a little. Not a smidge. Unless he was trying to get us drinks from a crowded bar and the bartender was a cute female. Third, all the fuss about New England’s admittedly shaky defense obscured its explosive offense: The Pats are loaded at receiver and tight end, they have Brady, they can chuck the ball with anyone and they’re pissed off that nobody is picking them. And fourth, I’m a huge homer. So there.

I forgot that the Jets lost seven games last year…hmm…

Through five or six episodes of “Hard Knocks,” Rex Ryan does seem to be full of bluster, and Sanchez looked fairly brutal in the preseason. They’ll have a strong running game and a good/great defense, but I’m not sure that makes them the Super Bowl favorites that they seem to think they are.

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