Terrell Owens to the Jets? Pass. Posted by Anthony Stalter (07/27/2010 @ 12:15 pm) T.O. to NY? It kind of has a nice ring to it, but that’s about all it has. With Santonio Holmes set to miss the first four weeks of the season due to a suspension, signing Owens seems like a logical move for the Jets on paper. But in reality, what happens after Holmes returns? Owens goes home? The pecking order in the Jets’ passing game this year will go a little something like this: Holmes (once he returns), Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery, Al Toon. As you can see, there aren’t enough passes to go around if T.O. were thrown into the mix, especially when you consider that Mark Sanchez is still trying to develop as a passer. Which is another thing: T.O. must be avoided so that Sanchez has room to grow. The Jets’ passing game is a work in progress and Owens would have plenty to groan about if a) he wasn’t getting enough touches and b) Sanchez started to struggle. The fastest way to stunt a quarterback’s development is to play him before he’s ready. The second fastest is having Terrell Owens on the roster. Kudos to Mike Tannenbaum for considering all of his options (the Jets were the same team that showed a small interest in JaMarcus Russell before he was busted sippin’ the syruuuup), but in the end there just isn’t enough room for T.O. in the Big Apple. Fantasy Football Quick-Hitters: Westy, AJ, Mario, Calvin, Jerricho Posted by John Paulsen (10/30/2009 @ 2:22 pm) Westbrook missing practice, listed as questionable. The general consensus is that Westy isn’t going to play, and even if he did, he wouldn’t be that strong of a play against a pretty stout Giants defense. Make other plans. Andre Johnson ‘ready to go’ for Week 8. The Bills have a pretty tough pass defense so there’s a chance that AJ isn’t going to have a big game. But this is Andre Johnson we’re talking about, so he should be in your lineup unless you have great option to turn to. Mario Manningham questionable with a shoulder injury. If he doesn’t play, this is a substantial upgrade for Hakeem Nicks and a minor upgrade for Steve Smith 2.0. The Eagles aren’t a great matchup for either player, but they’re startable, and that’s something. Calvin Johnson questionable for Week 8. The general consensus is that he won’t play, but with an early kickoff on Sunday, it’s worth waiting for. Since they’re facing the Rams (and it looks like Matthew Stafford will be back) Bryant Johnson and Dennis Northcutt are sleepers if C. Johnson is out. Jerricho Cotchery expected to return to action. I’m a little worried about how Braylon Edwards’s arrival is going to affect Cotchery’s targets, but he’s a decent WR2/WR3 start this week against the Dolphins, who aren’t great against the pass. Fantasy Quick Hitters: Maclin, Mendenhall, Cotchery, Polamalu and Calvin Posted by John Paulsen (10/15/2009 @ 7:29 pm) Even when Curtis returns, Maclin should still be the starter. As evidenced by their use of DeSean Jackson last season, the Eagles aren’t afraid to give rookie WRs a lot of snaps. Maclin torched the Bucs last week and should be a decent start going forward even though Donovan McNabb will surely distribute the targets more evenly in the future. Steelers won’t determine who is the starter until gametime. Complicating matters, Rashard Mendenhall is recovering from “flu-like symptoms” and Willie Parker is practicing fully, so the Steelers aren’t sure who will be best suited to carry the workload in Sunday. Given his recent performance, Mendenhall is clearly the better player, but the Steelers have been stingy about giving him the starting job. It’s entirely possible that this is a time share on Sunday. Cotchery probably isn’t going to play. The Bills are pretty good against the pass, so he wasn’t going to be a good play anyway. David Clowney deserves some consideration in really deep PPR leagues, and Braylon Edwards should be a decent start (assuming he still has Mark Sanchez’s eye). Polamalu should face the Browns. This is bad news for the entire league, but in the short-term, downgrade Derek Anderson and Mohamed Massaquoi, who were looking to have a bounce-back game after a miserable outing against the Bills. It may not happen if Polamalu is back at full strength.
Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford both miss practice. Both players are listed as questionable, but Johnson was seen hobbling earlier in the week and Stafford wasn’t even on the sidelines for Thursday’s practice. Fantasy owners that are desperate for WR help could try Bryant Johnson and/or Dennis Northcutt. Northcutt had a nice game last week and could post a solid line in PPR formats. Johnson is a deep threat and should get lots of targets against a Packers defense that has struggled against the pass (and will probably be playing with a lead). Fantasy Quick-Hitters: Calvin, Moreno, Stover, Cotch and Sims-Walker’s “lady friend” Posted by John Paulsen (10/14/2009 @ 3:28 pm) Calvin Johnson misses practice, “hobbling” on sideline. The Packers are mediocre against the pass and are likely to jump out on the Lions so Dennis Northcutt, Bryant Johnson and Brandon Pettigrew could all see a lot of work on Sunday. Northcutt is a pesky possession receiver, so he’s a sleeper in PPR leagues. Buckhalter practices, but Moreno still working with first team. The Chargers can’t stop the run, so look for Moreno to have a nice game. Keep an eye on Buckhalter, however. If he’s probable heading into the game, he could steal touches from Moreno. If he’s questionable or out, Moreno becomes a better start. Adam Vinatieri out for six weeks; Colts sign Stover. This is actually good news — it just didn’t seem like fantasy football without Matt Stover. He’s a solid kicker and should score well with the Colts. It’s not often kickers make fantasy news, but it’s safe to cut Vinatieri if you have him on your roster. Jerricho Cotchery may not play. He tweaked his hamstring on Monday night and may need to shut it down for a week. The arrival of Braylon Edwards and a matchup with the Bills make it likely that the Jets will proceed with caution. David Clowney played pretty well on Monday night and would be a sleeper in 12-team leagues if Cotch can’t go. Mike Sims-Walker was suspended for missing bed check. Apparently, he was out with a lady friend. The Jags really struggled without their top WR, but his presence probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference. He did it all for the nookie, the nookie, the nookie. The Jets are the class of the AFC East; stick a fork in the Titans Posted by Anthony Stalter (09/27/2009 @ 5:56 pm)
Remember when the Titans started last season 10-0 and amassed the league’s best record? Well that’s nothing but a distant memory because the 2009 version of the Titans is done. That statement might be overblown given that it’s only Week 3 of the season, but after their 24-17 loss to the Jets on Sunday, it’s clear that this isn’t the same Tennessee team that was among the NFL’s best last season. Look, I realize that the Titans started 0-6 in 2006 and still made the playoffs. And I also realize that had rookie corner Ryan Mouton not fumbled twice on kick returns today (both resulting in scores by the Jets), Tennessee might be 1-2 and fighting its way back into contention. But there’s just something missing on this Titans team and it’s not only Albert Haynesworth. Kerry Collins has lost a lot of that veteran magic that he had last year, the secondary is an absolute mess and while Chris Johnson is a superb player, this team is still lacking offensive playmakers in the passing game. Read the rest of this entry » |