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      Did friction between Moss and Pats’ QB coach lead to trade?

      October 6, 2010 /
      ATLANTA - AUGUST 19: Wide receiver Randy Moss of the New England Patriots takes a break during pre-game warmups before the preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome on August 19, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

      ESPN.com reports that Randy Moss had an exchange with quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien during halftime of the Patriots game against the Dolphins on Monday night.

      The locker-room exchange, described as an “outburst” by one player, came two days before the Patriots traded Moss to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2011 third-round draft choice, and could have contributed to the team’s decision to make the deal.

      The Patriots trailed 7-6 at halftime of the game, and Moss had just one pass thrown in his direction up to that point. He finished without a reception and wasn’t thrown to in the second half.

      On Wednesday, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in a statement that he has had discussions during the “past several months” with Moss and his representatives about Moss’ “place on our team and his future in football.”

      Belichick added that “many things were taken into consideration before making the trade.”

      Moss’ contract runs up at the end of the year and chances are, they probably wanted to ride the year out and see how he preformed. If he didn’t continue to complain about his contract and produced on the field, then maybe they would have signed him to a new deal.

      But they couldn’t risk him mentally checking out like he did in Oakland and if he wasn’t on good terms with the QB coach, then they were wise to trade him now.

      I wrote more on this trade here and here.

      External Sports, NFL

      Clinton Portis to miss the next 4-6 weeks with groin injury

      October 6, 2010 /
      PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 03: Clinton Portis of the Washington Redskins runs the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles on October 3, 2010 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

      Those impressed by Ryan Torain’s effort in the Redskins’ 17-12 win over the Eagles last week are about to get themselves a helping hand of it again.

      Mike Shanahan told the media on Wednesday that running back Clinton Portis will miss the next 4-6 weeks because of a groin injury. Portis said that he heard his groin “pop” in the third quarter on Sunday and although he was able to return to the game in the fourth, he immediately aggravated the injury and had to return to the locker room.

      Torain now becomes the featured back in Washington, while Keiland Williams and Chad Simpson will battle for carries as well. Keep in mind that Skeletor likes to rotate his running backs, so there’s no guarantee that Torain will receive a full workload every week. Shanahan will continue to play the hot hand from game to game, just as he’s always done.

      For now, Torain becomes a great story. He sifted through the muck that was the Redskins’ depth chart (i.e. Portis, Larry Johnson and Willie Parker) to reach this point and remained patient throughout. He goes from the practice squad to the starting lineup in one, quick jump.

      Don’t be surprised if the Skins placed Portis on IR, which would end his season. There’s a ton of wear and tear on those tires and he can’t stay healthy. If Torain runs well over the next couple of weeks, there’s no reason for Shanahan to turn back to Portis.

      External Sports, NFL

      2010 College Football Week 6 Odds

      October 6, 2010 /
      ANN ARBOR, MI - SEPTEMBER 19: Quarterback Denard Robinson #16 of the Michigan Wolverines carries the ball on a 13 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against the Eastern Michigan Eagles at Michigan Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

      No. 1 Alabama at. No. 19 South Carolina, 3:30PM ET, CBS
      After facing Arkansas and Florida the past two weeks, this will be the third top 25 team that the Crimson Tide face in as many weeks. Last season, Mark Ingram rushed for 246 yards against the Gamecocks and Steve Spurrier has lost his only two meetings with ‘Bama since taking over at South Carolina. In fact, the Gamecocks haven’t beaten the Tide since 2004, but they’ll have revenge on their minds this Saturday and will play in the friendly confines of Williams-Brice Stadium.
      Current Point Spread: Alabama –6.5 (48)

      No. 12 LSU at. No. 14 Florida, 7:30PM ET, ESPN
      LSU caught a break last week when Tennessee tried to play with 42 players on defense for the final play of the game. The result was a 16-14 win for the Tigers, who are a very quiet 5-0 right now. Florida suffered its first loss of the season last week against Alabama, who forced four turnovers in a 31-6 rout. The Gators have won 12 straight home games and lead the all-time series between these two teams at 30-23-3.
      Current Point Spread: Florida –6.5

      No. 23 Florida State at. No. 13 Miami, 8:00OPM ET, ABC
      One of college football’s best rivalries renews this Saturday in Miami, where the 3-1 Canes host the 4-1 Seminoles. This will be the first time in four years that both of these teams are ranked and we should see a tight one. The past nine meetings between these two squads were decided by fewer than 10 points, as Miami has won eight of the past 11 games and leads the all-time series 31-23.
      Current Point Spread: Miami –6.5

      No. 17 Michigan State at. No. 18 Michigan, 3:30PM ET ABC
      It’s been roughly 75 years since both these teams were ranked when meeting each other. It’s felt longer than that since either of these squads were relevant, which makes Saturday’s game between these in-state rivals all the more exciting. The Spartans are expected to have head coach Mark Dantonio back, who will return to the field for the first time since suffering a heart attack on September 18. The Spartans have not started 6-0 since 1999 and are looking to beat the Wolverines for the third straight time since 1965 to 1967. Meanwhile, Michigan QB Denard Robinson needs just 95 rushing yards to reach 1,000 on the season and 87 yards to hit the 2,000 mark for total yards.
      Current Point Spread: Michigan –4.5

      2010 College Football Week 6 Opening Odds & Over/Under Totals:

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW): Week 5

      October 6, 2010 /
      San Diego Chargers safety Steve Gregory (28) celebrates his first quarter interception as Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) and running back LaRod Stephens-Howling (36) look on during their NFL football game in San Diego, California October 3, 2010. REUTERS/Mike Blake (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Updated 10/7/10 with the news that Jay Cutler would miss Week 5.

      The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week you pick up a defense that is playing against a bad offense (preferably at home). And each week you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position.

      Last season, my top pick averaged 9.8 fantasy points per game. My second pick averaged 9.1 and my third pick averaged 7.3. On the whole, DTBWW averaged 9.3 fantasy points per game, which equate to DT5 numbers — all for the price of a few waiver wire pickups. In 2008, my top two picks averaged DT6-type numbers. (Note: To calculate fantasy points, I use this scoring system.)

      Unlike Defensive Team By Committee (DTBC), which is for those owners who prefer low maintenance teams, DTBWW strategy allows fantasy owners to virtually ignore DTs on draft day and focus on picking up an extra RB/WR flier instead.

      To be eligible, defenses have to be available on the waiver wire in at least 50% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

      Let’s see how my Week 4 picks fared:

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      What can we expect from Brandon Tate?

      October 6, 2010 /
      New England Patriots wide receiver Brandon Tate (19) charges upfield on a kick return in the second quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on November 8, 2009. The Patriots defeated the Dolphins 27-17. UPI/Matthew Healey Photo via Newscom

      Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network writes that second-year Brandon Tate is poised to become a big contributor in the Pats’ offense:

      And BrandonTate will be the deep threat for the Pats, and he is really an explosive talented player who will become a major contribuator now

      I did one of these “what can we expect” posts for Bruce Gradkowski, so let’s take a closer look at Tate and try to estimate what kind of numbers he’ll put up the rest of the way.

      After four games, Tate is 4th on the Pats in targets (14), but of all the team’s receivers, he figures to see the biggest boost in snaps since he’ll be replacing Randy Moss in the starting lineup. Let’s say that, in addition to his current 3.5 targets per game, he gets two-thirds of Moss’s targets (5.5 * 0.67). That’s about 7.2 per game. He’s currently converting 79% of his targets into receptions, which is unlikely to continue since he’ll probably be running deeper routes. Let’s say he converts at 60% and averages, say, 14.0 ypc (he’s currently averaging 12.3 ypc). That works out to 4.3 catches for 60 yards per game. So in a PPR league, he’s already at 10.3 points, and I’ve been pretty conservative in my estimates. And we haven’t even accounted for touchdowns or his explosive return game yet.

      I asked our NFL guru, Anthony Stalter, what he thinks of Tate and this is what he said:

      he’s lean, but has good size…good quickness, but not overly fast…he’s not that great of a route-runner at this point in his career and relies too much on athletic ability…he can be elusive, but like I said – he’s more quick than fast…soft hands, good body control…Davone Bess is a good comparison, although I think Tate may be faster straight-line.

      Projecting out 4.3 catches for 60 yards and let’s say 0.3 TD per game, and Tate looks like a 69-960-5 player over a full 16-game season. Last season, those were WR22-type numbers in PPR leagues.

      In other words, pick him up.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

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