Tag: Chris Johnson (Page 16 of 17)

      Poll: When will the Titans lose their first game?

      October 18, 2008 /

      With the Giants loss to the Browns last week, there is only one undefeated team remaining…the Tennessee Titans?!?

      Sure, the Titans’ success is a little surprising, but they’re doing it old school. They have the top scoring defense (11.2 ppg) in the league and are 4th in total yards (268 per game). Tennessee also features a strong running game that features rookie speedster Chris Johnson and LenDale White, who takes care of most of the work between the tackles.

      Tennessee has a fairly tough schedule after this week’s date with the Chiefs. So, the question is…


      Poll Answers

      NFL

      Titans stay undefeated, top Vikings 30-17

      September 28, 2008 /

      The Tennessee Titans are now 4-0 on the season after beating the Minnesota Vikings 30-17 on Sunday. Rookie Chris Johnson rushed for 61 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns, including one to put the game away with only four minutes remaining.

      Keith BullockIt was over when…
      Gus Frerotte was picked off by Titans CB Nick Harper with the Vikings backed up to their 2-yard line. Chris Johnson ran it in from 6 yards out on the next play to give Tennessee a 13-point lead with under 4 minutes remaining.
      Game ball
      Johnson scored two of the Titans’ three rushing touchdowns, including Tennessee’s final score to put the game out of reach.
      Key stat
      Tennessee’s defense showed why it’s considered one of the best in the league, forcing three fumbles and coming up with four sacks and an interception. The Titans scored all three of their touchdowns off Vikings turnovers.
      Noteworthy
      The Titans have their first ever 4-0 start and have won seven straight dating to last season. … Two of the league’s most aggressive defenses forced a total of seven fumbles, six of which were recovered by the opposing team. … Frerotte attempted 43 passes without throwing a touchdown. He finished with 266 yards passing.

      The Titans are playing about as well as any team right now defensively. They allowed Adrian Peterson to reach pay dirt twice, but held him to only 80 yards on 18 carries. They also smacked Gus Frerotte around and came up with a huge interception after the Vikings cut the lead to 23-17 midway through the fourth quarter.

      Minnesota continues to fall behind in games and not have enough offensive firepower to comeback. Peterson can only do so much before the passing game has to produce bigger plays. And the Vikes continue to have problems turning the ball over in crucial situations.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      You could have had this fantasy team…

      September 18, 2008 /

      We’re only two weeks into the NFL season and some fantasy owners are already lamenting their teams. Nobody – not a NFL team and certainly not a fantasy team – likes to start 0-2, and while some owners are furiously trying to improve their teams, others are no doubt wondering, what if?

      As always, I’m here to help. Below you’ll find the team you could have had. The rules? Pretty simple. To ensure the player is available, we have to draft him a round early. That is, if the player has an Average Draft Position (ADP) of 3.02, we have to take him in the second round. The plan is to start one QB, two RB, two WR and a TE, and I’ll leave the K and DT to your imagination. I’ll mow through the first twelve rounds so that we have a starter and a sub at each position.

      Keep in mind, this draft is for a 12-team, Points Per Reception (PPR) league, with the Antsports’ High Performance Scoring System.

      Off we go…

      Round 1 – Reggie Bush (2.07)
      Drafted: RB12
      Actual: RB3
      Someone actually gave me grief about considering Bush in the second round of my Industry Insiders league, and while there are a lot of (Reggie) Bush haters out there, the fact of the matter is that in a PPR league, the guy produces. Through two games, he’s averaging 127 total yards, 7.5 receptions, and 0.5 TD per game. He’s on pace for a 120-catch, 2000-yard season.
      Alternate: Tony Romo (2.09)

      Round 2 – Jason Witten (3.11)
      Drafted: TE1
      Actual: TE1
      I know, it seems way too early for a TE, but Witten is as solid as they come and gives this team an advantage just about every week he plays. He has 13 catches for 206 yards, so he’s on pace for 104-catch, 1648-yard season. He hasn’t even caught a TD yet, but with numbers like that, who cares?

      Round 3 – Willie Parker (4.08)
      Drafted: RB20
      Actual: RB5
      A lot of people (myself included) were down on “Fast” Willie this offseason after the Steelers used a first round pick on Rashard Mendenhall. It’s not often that a team burns a first round pick on a RB and doesn’t at least utilize him in a RBBC approach, but the Steelers have given Parker the vast majority of the workload, and he’s responded with 122 rushing yards and 1.5 TD per game.

      Round 4 – Dwayne Bowe (5.06)
      Drafted: WR 23
      Actual: WR15
      No sophomore slump thus far for the talented Kansas City wideout. Even with the likes of Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard and now Tyler Thigpen throwing to him, Bowe has still racked up an average of 5.5 catches, 70 yards and 0.5 TD per game. The Chiefs look like they’ll be trailing for the rest of the season, so Bowe should get plenty of work against loose secondaries in garbage time.

      Round 5 – Santana Moss (7.03)
      Drafted: WR29
      Actual: WR4
      There isn’t a player with an ADP in the sixth round that is playing better than Santana is and, besides, we need to keep our Round 6 pick open for a certain QB. Moss hasn’t been hurt by the Redskins’ move to the West Coast Offense. He has posted an average of 6.0 catches for 100 yards and 1.0 TD per game. He looks like the Santana of old.

      Round 6 – Jay Cutler (7.04)
      Drafted: QB9
      Actual: QB1
      I advocated drafting Cutler in the sixth or seventh for those owners that missed out on one of the top six QBs – Brady, Peyton, Romo, Brees, Big Ben and Palmer. Brady is out for the count, Palmer is struggling big time and Roethlisberger looks a little iffy (though I think he’ll finish with great numbers). Back to Cutler, who is not only the top fantasy QB, he’s also the top fantasy player. In short, Cutler is off to an awesome start and I’d be happy as hell to have him on my roster right now.
      Alternate: Matt Forte (7.08)

      Round 7 – Chris Johnson (8.11)
      Drafted: RB36
      Actual: RB9
      The Chris Johnson hype started sometime in the middle of the preseason. The table was set for the young speedster. He was joining an offense that featured a great running game and a veteran back (LenDale White) who had taken up residence in the head coach’s doghouse. Throw in a lack of talent at receiver and you have the makings of a very nice fantasy season. Thus far, Johnson has racked up an average of 124 total yards, 2.5 catches and 0.5 TD. He makes a heckuva RB3.

      Round 8 – Tony Scheffler (9.11)
      Drafted: TE11
      Actual: TE2
      Since we have the Denver QB, we might as well draft the Denver TE. The sure-handed Scheffler is averaging 3.5 catches for 68 yards and a TD through two games. And with the receiving corps surrounding him, there’s no worry that he’ll be double-teamed.

      Round 9 – Aaron Rodgers (10.05)
      Drafted: QB19
      Actual: QB3
      Thus far, this kid has succeeded under enormous pressure. How would you like to spend your first offseason as the presumed starter answering countless questions about Brett Favre and his on-again/off-again retirement? You take the field on Monday night, knowing full well that half your fan base is wishing #4 was still under center. Then, over two games, you average 253 yards and 2.0 TD, while rushing for another 30 yards and 0.5 TD. I drafted Brady in one league and was fortunate enough to have Rodgers on my bench to step in. Whew!

      Round 10 – Chris Perry (11.09)
      Drafted: RB44
      Actual: RB33
      Granted, the Bengals offense is really struggling, but Perry averaged 50 yards and 0.5 TD per game versus the Ravens and the Titans, two very tough defenses. Those are adequate numbers for our RB4. Plus, he has some upside.

      Round 11 – DeSean Jackson (13.04)
      Drafted: WR51
      Actual: WR12
      It’s tough to count on rookie WRs, but the writing was on the wall in the preseason. Always keep your eye on a talented rookie wideout headed to a team with a good QB that is desperate for playmakers in the passing game. Jackson surely benefited from injuries to Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown, and now that he’s started his career with consecutive 100+ yard games, it doesn’t look like he’s giving up his starting spot anytime soon. (By the way, had he not made the bonehead fumble play against the Cowboys, he’d be WR9 right now.)

      Round 12 – Eddie Royal (15.01)
      Drafted: WR58
      Actual: WR3
      Not to toot my own horn (which inevitably leads to someone tooting their own horn), but I had Royal ranked as my #1 Impact Rookie WR back in late August. (I had DeSean Jackson ranked #3. Who was #2, you might ask? Josh Morgan. Hey, they can’t all be winners.) Royal had a great preseason and he carried it over to the regular season, posting nine catches for 146 yards and a TD, making DeAngelo Hall look foolish in the process. In his encore, even though running mate Brandon Marshall almost set a record for catches in a game, Royal still caught the go-ahead TD and 2-point conversion against the Chargers.

      So after 12 rounds, here’s our squad:

      QB: Cutler (QB1), Rodgers (QB3)
      RB: Bush (RB3), Parker (RB5), C. Johnson (RB9), C. Perry (RB33)
      WR: Bowe (WR15), S. Moss (WR4), De. Jackson (WR12), Royal (WR3)
      TE: Witten (TE1), Scheffler (TE2)

      Alternatively, if we had taken Romo instead of Bush in the first and Forte instead of Cutler in the sixth, this would have been our squad:

      QB: Romo (QB5), Rodgers
      RB: Parker, Forte (RB8), C. Johnson, C. Perry
      WR: Bowe, S. Moss, De. Jackson, Royal
      TE: Witten, Scheffler

      Obviously, either squad would be the favorite to win a title at this point in the season, but I prefer the first team.

      Feel bad? Don’t fret, you could have this team:

      QB: Brady, Bulger
      RB: Maroney, R. Brown, R. Johnson, McAllister
      WR: Colston, Ocho Cinco, Walker, Ginn
      TE: Da. Clark, Crumpler

      Is there a more motley crew of fantasy football n’er-do-wells?

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Bengals offense mush for second straight week

      September 14, 2008 /

      Carson PalmerThe Tennessee Titans went to 2-0 on the season after ruining the Bengals’ home opener, defeating Cincinnati 24-7.

      • Tennessee is 2-0 for the first time since 1999, its first season with the Titans nickname. It went 13-3 that year and advanced to the Super Bowl.
      • Rookie Chris Johnson of the Titans had his first 100-yard game, going for 109 yards on 19 carries.
      • Carson Palmer struggled for the second straight week, throwing for 134 yards with two interceptions. He has yet to throw a TD pass this season.

      It’s early, but Johnson is a serious Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate. He runs hard between the tackles and obviously has a ton of speed once he gets into the open field. And although his overall numbers weren’t dazzling, Kerry Collins (14 for 21, 128 yards, 1 TD) was efficient in the passing game and didn’t make mistakes. (Unlike Vince Young, who often struggles in the passing game and doesn’t secure the ball well enough.)

      It’s amazing to watch the demise of Cincinnati’s offense. Baltimore and Tennessee have outstanding defenses, but Palmer looks brutal. And although he scored a touchdown, Chris Perry struggled for the second straight week, fumbling twice. I said it last week and I’ll say it again, Rudi Johnson was the backbone of the Bengals’ offense when they made the playoffs a few years ago.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Breaking down the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates

      August 28, 2008 /

      Adrian PetersonAdrian Peterson certainly made it easy on voters last year. After rushing for 1,341 yards, 12 touchdowns and a 5.6-yard per carry average, Peterson was an easy choice for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

      So who is this year’s Adrian Peterson? Despite popular belief, the OROY doesn’t have to lead his team to the playoffs, as Peterson proved last year. He just has to stand out from the rest of the pack – easy, right?

      Below is a look at the OROY candidates for the 2008 NFL Season. I’ve ranked the top 10 candidates based on their chances along with reasons why (and why they won’t) win the award.

      1. Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons
      Ryan earned the starting quarterback job after a solid preseason, including completing 15 of 21 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in the Falcons’ 17-3 win over Tennessee. Forget the huge contract and the fact that Atlanta wants to erase the thought of Michael Vick – Ryan can play. He looked comfortable, poised and completely in control running the Falcons’ offense and has enough weapons in Michael Turner, Jerious Norwood and Roddy White to be effective. As long as the offensive line gives him protection like it did this preseason, Ryan might be the best bet to win OROY honors. It also doesn’t hurt that he plays the quarterback position and will likely receive a ton of media attention.

      2. Jonathan Stewart, RB, Carolina Panthers
      Stewart has run very well so far in preseason. He rushed 10 times for 100 yards in the Panthers’ third exhibition game and even had a fantastic 50-yard touchdown run that highlighted both his power and breakaway speed. Defenses contained Carolina’s ground attack last year, but that was largely due to ineffective quarterback play. Teams knew that the Panthers were going to try and run the football and often played with eight men in the box. But now that QB Jake Delhomme is healthy again, the Panthers’ offense should be more balanced and thus defenses will have to respect both the run and the pass. He’ll split time with DeAngelo Williams, but Stewart is going to get plenty of opportunities to make plays this season. Not only that, but he looks like a solid overall player.

      3. Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears
      The Bears parted with twinkle-toes Cedric Benson this offseason after multiple off-field incidents. The team drafted Forte in the second round and after Benson was released, and the rookie immediately became the starter. Forte has good size, runs hard between the tackles and shows some decent burst when he gets into the open field. But Chicago’s line has to hold up. Center Olin Kreutz, right guard Roberto Garza and right tackle John St. Clair are all decent run blockers, but there are major question marks on the left side of the line. Even so, Forte is going to have plenty of opportunities to make plays this season, especially if backup Kevin Jones can’t stay healthy.

      Darren McFadden4. Darren McFadden, RB, Oakland Raiders
      McFadden has loads of playmaking ability, but it seems that people are getting too caught up with his potential and not looking at the facts. The Raiders don’t have a great offensive line and Justin Fargas is still expected to get most of the carries in the run game. McFadden will get his opportunities to make plays (especially in the passing game), but despite many considering him the favorite to win OROY, it looks like there will be a ceiling on his production this year. Still, there is a lot to like about McFadden’s potential.

      5. Kevin Smith, RB, Detroit Lions
      Tatum Bell has been a massive dud since arriving in Detroit last year as part of the Dre’ Bly trade, so Smith will get the starting nod this season in the Lions’ backfield. The rookie has shown potential in preseason, but the offensive line is brutal so Smith might not see a ton of running room. Still, he flashed incredible potential and with nobody behind him to steal carries, Smith is going to be the focus of the Lions’ offense this season.

      6. Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
      It didn’t help Mendenhall that he fumbled twice in the Steelers’ last preseason game, but he’s still expected to see plenty of carries this season as a rookie. He’ll split time with Willie Parker and will probably be used in short yardage situations and around the goal line. Pittsburgh’s line isn’t what it used to be, so expecting Mendenhall to put up huge numbers is probably unrealistic. But if Parker suffers a setback, the rookie will become the Steelers’ main back and thus his opportunities will skyrocket.

      Chris Johnson7. Chris Johnson, RB, Titans
      If the preseason was any indication, the Titans are going to find ways to use the explosive running back. Johnson has looked good running between the tackles (not usually his forte) in preseason and flashed the type of game-breaking speed that made him a first round pick. The Titans have a crowded backfield, but expect Johnson to get opportunities to make plays this year, especially in the passing game. He’s likely to split carries with LenDale White, which doesn’t hurt his chances because White often likes to fix himself a bed in Jeff Fisher’s doghouse.

      8. Ray Rice, RB, Baltimore Ravens
      With Willis McGahee still unable to jog after having a “clean out” procedure done to his knee this offseason, Rice is the current starting running back for the Ravens. Rice isn’t the biggest guy in the league at 5’8” and 205 pounds, but that didn’t slow him down in college. Despite his size, he’s proven he can run between the tackles and has often demonstrated explosiveness when he reaches open field. Once McGahee returns, Rice will be bumped to No. 2 so his chances of winning OROY are slim. But if he proves himself while McGahee is out, the Ravens will no doubt find a role for him in their offense.

      9. DeSean Jackson, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
      Anyone who watched the Eagles’ third preseason game against the Patriots saw what Jackson can bring to the field. The rookie was Philly’s leading receiving with four catches for 67 yards, but he did most of his damage on special teams, returning a punt 76 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the second quarter. With the Eagles starving for playmakers at receiver, Jackson could wind up being the sleeper for OROY, even though he’s currently not listed as a starter. Another thing to note is that Donovan McNabb likes to spread the ball around and Brian Westbrook is still going to get a ton of passes out of the backfield.

      10. Felix Jones, RB, Dallas Cowboys
      One would assume that Jones will step into the role once held by Julius Jones and complement Marion Barber in the Cowboys’ offense. But the rookie doesn’t appear to have a significant role in the offense yet. He’s expected to return kicks, so he might not see a ton of opportunities in Dallas’s backfield, at least not initially. Eventually he’ll probably see a 60-40 split in carries with Barber, but as of right now Jones looks like one of the long shots to win OROY.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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