Category: NFL (Page 910 of 1282)

      Love ‘Em & Leave ‘Em: Week 9

      October 30, 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 Drew Brees 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 Donovan McNabb, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.

      The “love ‘em” players are listed in the order that I’d start them this week.

      LOVE ‘EM

      QB: There are a number of fringe-type quarterbacks with nice matchups this week. Kyle Orton (vs. DET) has a great matchup with the Lions, who have given up 259 passing yards and 1.7 pass TD per game…Trent Edwards (vs. NYJ) had a so-so game against the Dolphins last week, but he should fare better against the 23rd-ranked Jets pass defense at home…Gus Frerotte (vs. HOU) has been steady since he took over in Week 3 (257 yards, 1.0 TD per game) and this week he faces a Texans defense that has yielded 207 yards and 1.3 pass TD per game…Marc Bulger (vs. ARI) has shown some life of late (237 yards, 1.0 TD over the last two games), and with the 21st-ranked Cardinals pass defense (223 yards, 2.0 TD per game) coming to town, the odds are that he’ll have a solid fantasy game…Chad Pennington (@ DEN) faces the Broncos, who have given up 240 yards and 1.7 TD per game…For the desperate, Ryan Fitzpatrick (vs. JAX) faces the 22nd-ranked Jaguars pass defense, while JaMarcus Russell (vs. ATL) faces the Falcons, who are 24th in the league against the pass.

      RB: With Warrick Dunn dinged up, Earnest Graham (@ KC) is a great start against the league’s worst rush defense. The Chiefs have given up a mind-boggling 197 rushing yards and 2.0 rush TD per game…Matt Forte (vs. DET), Michael Turner (@ OAK) and Ronnie Brown (@ DEN) are must-starts this week…Tim Hightower (@ STL) is a sneaky good start this week, as the Cardinals are giving him more work of late. The Rams have played better defense in the last few weeks, so don’t expect a monster game…It’s hard to trust any of the New England RBs, but Kevin Faulk (@ IND) has a great matchup with a bad Colts rush defense.

      WR: Definitely get Calvin Johnson (@ CHI) into your lineup this week. The Bears are 29th against the pass, and it’s likely that the Lions will be playing catchups…DeSean Jackson (@ SEA) has a nice matchup with an inconsistent Seahawks defense that has allowed 245 passing yards and 1.6 pass TD per game. Likewise, Kevin Curtis is a good play as well…Donnie Avery and Torry Holt (vs. ARI) have a good matchup with the Cardinals. Arizona has yielded 223 passing yards and 2.0 pass TD on the season…In bigger leagues, Greg Camarillo and Ted Ginn (@ DEN) are crafty plays against the Broncos. This is likely to be a high scoring game and the Dolphins might have their way with Denver’s 28th-ranked pass defense.

      LEAVE ‘EM

      QB: Joe Flacco (@ CLE) has a rough matchup with an improved Browns defense that is ranked 10th in the league and has only yielded 1.0 TD per game…Matt Cassel (@ IND) faces the 2nd-ranked pass defense of the Colts. Indy has only given up two pass TD all year…Tyler Thigpen (vs. TB) played well against the Jets last week, but he’s a bad start against the Bucs, who are 7th in the league against the pass. (They have allowed 1.4 pass TD per game, however)…The following players are still startable, but use with caution: Aaron Rodgers (@ TEN), Matt Schaub (@ MIN), Ben Roethlisberger (@ WAS) and Jason Campbell (vs. PIT).

      RB: Jamal Lewis (vs. BAL) has a rough matchup with the league’s best rush defense (64 rush yards, 0.1 rush TD per game)…Kolby Smith (vs. TB) should get most of the work in KC, but the Bucs have yet to yield a rush TD this season…Willie Parker (@ WAS) is back at practice, but if he does play, he’ll likely be sharing carries with the more-than-effective Mewelde Moore against a solid Redskins rush defense…Julius Jones and Maurice Morris (vs. PHI) are splitting carries again, and with the 9th-ranked Eagles’ rush defense on tap, neither guy is worth a start.

      WR: Greg Jennings is always a must-start, but you might want to leave Donald Driver (@ TEN) on the bench. The Titans’ 4th-ranked pass defense has allowed just 185 yards and 0.4 TD per game this season…I wouldn’t bench most of these players, but they have tough matchups this week, so lower your expectations: Roddy White (@ OAK), Dwayne Bowe (vs. TB), Wes Welker and Randy Moss (@ IND) (though the Colts just lost a starting CB), Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward (@ WAS), and Santana Moss (vs. PIT)…Don’t expect Bobby Engram to have much of a game with Matt Hasselbeck out and a tough Philly pass defense coming to town.

      DTBWW

      Welcome to the world of Defensive Team By Waiver Wire. Each week, you pick up a defense, usually playing at home against a bad offense. And each week, you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position. All teams are available in at least 50% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

      CLE (vs. BAL)
      STL (vs. ARI)

      Last week’s picks:

      Texans: 6 PA + 2 SK + 2 INT + 1 FR + 1 RET TD = 19 fantasy points
      Dolphins: 16 PA + 2 SK + 1 INT + 3 FR + 1 SAFTEY = 10 fantasy points

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Singletary dropped trough to prove a point to Niners

      October 30, 2008 /

      During halftime of the 49ers’ loss to the Seahawks last Sunday, interim head coach Mike Singletary dropped his pants to make a point to his team of embarrassed he was of his team’s play.

      Mike Singletary“He was just dramatizing how embarrassing it was,” 49ers director of public relations Aaron Salkin said.
      The halftime talk went something along the lines of “We’re getting our tails whipped out there, now let’s get back out there,” according to Salkin.

      Singletary is not available to the media until Monday, but he did issue this statement: “I used my pants to illustrate that we were getting our tails whipped on Sunday and how humiliating that should feel for all of us. I needed to do something to dramatize my point; there were other ways I could have done it but I think this got the message across. I am excited about having the team back at practice on Monday so we can get back to work.”

      When asked if Singletary is embarrassed by the incident, Salkin said, “There are other ways he could’ve done it. He knows that.”

      Singletary was wearing boxers.

      And the animated halftime talk didn’t seem to work so well. The 49ers trailed 20-3 at halftime, and lost 34-13.

      Well, I guess that’s one way to make a point.

      NFL

      Is Tim Hightower taking over in Arizona?

      October 30, 2008 /

      There has been some talk recently of Edgerrin James having his workload reduced by the Cardinals, with Tim Hightower getting the extra work. Paola Boivin of AZCentral.com dug into the story.

      Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt never said Hightower was supplanting James. He simply said Monday, when asked, that he is open to the possibility.

      “I think we’ve shown we’re going to play with the players that we feel give us the best chance to win,” he said. “We’ve done that with the quarterbacks, we’ve done that with linebacker, with the offensive line.

      “At a point we feel Tim gives us the best chance to win, then absolutely. Just don’t think we’ll judge it based on just yesterday’s game. It’s a process.”

      After averaging 20 carries in the Cardinals’ first three games, James has carried nine and seven times, respectively, in the past two.

      Hightower carried seven and six in those games but has six touchdowns overall to James’ three.

      The scenario is complicated by a recent offensive shift to a pass-heavy attack. Against Carolina, the Cardinals had 14 carries to 51 pass attempts in part because the Panthers frequently had seven or eight players in the box, creating situations such as one of the touchdown passes to Boldin, when he was covered by only a linebacker.

      On the season, James has 118 touches (108 carries, 10 receptions) while Hightower has 65 (49 carries, 16 receptions), which represents a 65/35 split. However, over the last two games, James has 16 touches to Hightower’s 19, a 45/55 split. Lately, it certainly seems like the Cardinals are intent on giving Hightower more work. But as long as James is on the roster and able to play, I don’t think we’re going to see him get 6-7 touches to Hightower’s 20.

      This looks like a RBBC for now, and Hightower has more fantasy value because of his receptions (in PPR leagues) and goal line work.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      11 Things We Have Learned from the NFL this season

      October 30, 2008 /

      Epic Carnival lays out their top 11 things that they learned from the NFL so far.

      9. When a quarterback lines out wide in the “wildcat” formation, no team is allowed to jam him hard, because the league needs to encourage every team to eventually use this formation

      8. If a West Coast team plays on the East Coast with a 1pm start time, they are required to stink on ice, since no team can ever overcome Private Chartered Jet Lag

      5. To keep his job while others lose theirs, Marvin Lewis must have photos of Bengals’ GM Mike Brown in bed with a dead girl, a live boy, a convention of hobos and some ritualistically slaughtered puppies

      3. If you give a Manning a better defense, special teams, running game, offensive line and schedule, he must now be the best Manning

      2. The Cowboys and Patriots are model franchises with fantastically talented personnel, despite the fact that both were a starting quarterback injury away from getting waxed by terrible teams

      The one about the west coast teams not being to overcome private charted jet lag is pretty funny. It’s amazing how these west coast teams completely forget how to play when they travel to the east coast. It’s no wonder you see more and more teams spending extra days when there’s a major time change involved, just so they can get used to the difference.

      Humor, NFL

      Chiefs release statement about Larry Johnson

      October 30, 2008 /

      The Kansas City Chiefs say that Larry Johnson won’t be in uniform on Sunday, regardless of whether or not he’s suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

      Larry JohnsonEarlier in the week, Chiefs president Carl Peterson released a statement that revealed that Kansas City has no plans to play Johnson Sunday or probably anytime soon.

      “The case with Larry Johnson has been and continues to be in the hands of the NFL office in New York. We will defer further comment on the matter until that process has run its due course and the league has concluded its own independent investigation.

      “As we have previously indicated, it is in the best interest of both Larry and the Chiefs that Larry focuses his attention on addressing his personal issues. At present, we do not believe Larry can contribute to our team on the field until those issues are resolved.”

      Johnson still might play again this season. But it will not be before he can get his mind and focus squarely on football. Right now, the Chiefs feel like that is to difficult to do.

      You have to appreciate the way the Chiefs are handling this situation. They’re not allowing a star to receive special treatment and they’re making an example out of him. The Kansas City franchise is a mess right now, but they’re taking the right steps to hopefully insure a brighter future. Whether that future contains Larry Johnson is another story right now.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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