Tag: Willie Parker (Page 4 of 4)

      NFL News and Notes: Rams bench QB Marc Bulger

      September 23, 2008 /

      Marc Bulger– After stumbling to a 0-3 start and looking atrocious while doing so, the St. Louis Rams have decided to make a change. Veteran Trent Green will reportedly start at quarterback this weekend against the undefeated Buffalo Bills as the Rams have decided to bench Marc Bulger. (NFL.com)

      – Willie Parker will miss Monday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens after spraining his knee in last week’s loss to the Eagles. Rookie Rashard Mendenhall is expected to make his first NFL start. (NFL.com)

      – Packers’ CB Al Harris could be lost for the entire season with a ruptured spleen, which was the same injury that knocked out former Bucs’ QB Chris Simms for the entire 2006 season. Tramon Williams, a second-year undrafted free agent, is currently Harris’s backup at left corner. (National Football Post)

      – RB Brian Westbrook reportedly suffered a high ankle sprain during the Eagles’ win over the Steelers Sunday, a game in which “Westy” had to leave the game in the first half. His status for this Sunday’s game is still up in the air, but Westbrook expects to play. (Rotoworld.com)

      – Struggling quarterback Derek Anderson is expected to start in Week 4 for the Cleveland Browns, but the team is prepping second-year backup Brady Quinn to play. Anderson could have a quick hook if he struggles Sunday against Cincinnati. (ESPN’s Chris Mortensen)

      – Despite his poor performance in Tennessee last Sunday, Matt Schuab will reportedly keep the starting quarterback job in Houston. Unfortunately for Schaub, things don’t get any easier against Jacksonville this Sunday. (Houston Chronicle)

      – After destroying the Patriots with it last Sunday, the Miami Dolphins will keep the ‘Wildcat’ package in their offensive. RB Ronnie Brown shredded New England for over 100 yards and four touchdowns while lining up predominately in that formation last Sunday. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)


      Obviously, the Bulger news is big, but I doubt there were too many owners starting him last week. His numbers are down and I think most of us were expecting him to eventually turn it around and finish somewhere in the top 15. Scott Linehan is apparently desperate and feels like he’s on the verge of getting fired. Trent Green is old, but STL has some weapons so he could be a decent spot starter if he can get in the groove…As for Westy, Correll Buckhalter looks like the primary backup despite all the preseason talk about Lorenzo Booker…Rashard Mendenhall will be a hot pickup this week, but don’t break the bank in Blind Bidding leagues. He faces a tough Ravens defense and Parker could be back as early as next week. But if you can add him cheaply, do so, as you never know with knee sprains…Brady Quinn is a guy to target in larger leagues. The “Bench Derek Anderson” talk seems to be getting louder and louder and Quinn has a chance to be good with all the weapons in the Browns’ offense.

      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

      Mistakes doom Browns as Steelers nab 10-6 victory

      September 15, 2008 /

      Derek AndersonThe Pittsburgh Steelers continued their dominance of the Browns, beating Cleveland 10-6 on a gusty Sunday night.

      • The Steelers won their 10th straight over the Browns, and now own the NFL’s longest active win streak against a single opponent.
      • Willie Parker topped 100 yards for the second straight week.
      • The Browns rushed for 53 yards and are averaging 39.2 rushing yards in their last four games against the Steelers.

      The Browns had their opportunities, but could never convert. In the first half, Derek Anderson threw two costly interceptions, the second one deep in Pittsburgh territory that cost the Browns an opportunity for points before halftime. Then, late in the third quarter down 10-0, Cleveland had a first and 10 at the Pittsburgh 11-yard line, but proceeded backwards after Jamal Lewis was stuffed for a three yard loss on second down and Kellen Winslow was called for a false start on 3rd and 7 from the 8-yard line. Anderson proceeded to throw an incomplete pass on the next play and the Browns had to settle for a Phil Dawson field goal. The Browns’ offense just couldn’t sustain momentum all night.

      As the score suggests, the Steelers weren’t overly impressive but the weather conditions played into that. Battling a sore shoulder, Ben Roethlisberger threw for 186 yards and a touchdown, while Willie Parker rushed for over 100 yards for the second straight week. As previously noted, the Pittsburgh defense proved to be the difference, forcing two Browns’ turnovers and holding them to field goals when they reached Steeler-territory.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Week 1 Fantasy Surprises: Now what?

      September 11, 2008 /

      Whether it’s a few breakout wide receivers, a suddenly mature quarterback or an out-of-nowhere running back, Week 1 of the NFL season always has its share of surprises. Here are a few of the bigger revelations from the first weekend of action along with what they might mean in the larger scheme of things.

      Michael Turner ran roughshod over the Lions.
      Most people were probably expecting a pretty good game out of Turner against Detroit, but I don’t think too many fantasy owners had “The Burner” racking up 220 yards (10.0 ypc) and two touchdowns in his Atlanta debut. The Falcons’ offensive line opened up monster holes for their RB, and unfortunately it’s not always going to be this easy. Turner will be tested against the Bucs this week before another nice matchup at home against the Chiefs. Going forward, Turner looks like a solid RB2, though he might have the occasional bad game when a team jumps all over the Falcons in the first quarter.

      Jay Cutler shredded a good Raider secondary.
      I was very high on Cutler heading into the season figuring that a guy who could throw 20 TD while losing 30 pounds (and a lot of strength) due to undiagnosed diabetes would be a good candidate for a breakout season now that his illness is under control. He did play the Raiders in Week 1 (never a good gauge) and shredded what was supposed to be a pretty good secondary for 300 yards and two scores. And that was without his top WR, Brandon Marshall. He looked comfortable and in complete control of the Denver offense, which looks like it could be one of the best in the league. I think Cutler has a great chance to finish in the top 5 this season, which isn’t bad for a guy that was available in the 7th round.

      Willie Parker will not go gently into that good night.
      Fantasy owners who drafted “Fast” Willie Parker are either extremely savvy or extremely oblivious. Typically, when a team picks a running back in the first round of the NFL Draft, they intend to use him extensively. Ten of the 12 RBs that were drafted in the first round from 2004-2007 saw at least 121 carries in their rookie season, and six saw at least 226 carries, so when the Steelers drafted all-around back Rashard Mendenhall in the first round, the writing seemed to be on the wall. In Week 1, Parker rushed 25 times for 138 yards (for a 5.5 ypc) and three TD, and Mendenhall carried the ball 10 times for just 28 yards (for a 2.8 ypc). This is still “Fast” Willie’s show.

      Donte Rosario and Anthony Fasano are the top two fantasy tight ends.
      Since he is a Bill Parcells favorite, and he only had to contend with David Martin for playing time, a few owners might have pulled the trigger on Fasano as a backup TE in deeper leagues. But 8-84 and a touchdown? I don’t think anyone was expecting that kind of production in Week 1. Pennington is an accurate thrower but he has a weak arm, so he prefers to dink and dunk with the underneath stuff which is a perfect fit for a sure-handed tight end like Fasano. Throw in the fact that the Dolphins don’t have much else in going in the passing game, and Fasano could potentially put up top 10 TE numbers. And who the heck is Donte Rosario? Well, he’s a second-year tight end who was drafted in the fifth round. When I saw the final play of the game, I thought he was actually a bigger WR, not a TE. Rosario sort of resembles Kellen Winslow in pads. He was only targeted seven times in all of last season, so he has already gone over that mark with eight targets against the Chargers. He posted 7-96-1 with Steve Smith out, so along with Muhsin Muhammad and D.J. Hackett, the Panthers will have a formidable group of receivers once Smith returns from his suspension. And it’s clear that he has the confidence of Jake Delhomme since the QB looked his way on the game-winning pitch and catch.

      DeSean Jackson and Eddie Royal look wise beyond their years.
      Typically, rookie wideouts don’t do a whole lot, but Jackson and Royal both went over the century mark in their first game in the NFL. The last WR to do that was Anquan Boldin in 2003, who caught 10 passes for 217 yards and two scores against the Lions, and went on to have a 101-catch, 1377-yard, 8-TD season. Needless to say, this bodes well for both rookies. On Sunday, Jackson went for 6-106 against the Rams, and Royal one-upped him, posting 9-146-1 against one of the best secondaries in the league on Monday night. Jackson has looked electrifying in the preseason, and he’s benefiting from the absence of Kevin Curtis (who is out for a while) and Reggie Brown (who should be back soon). Worst-case, Jackson figures to be the Eagles’ WR3 when both Curtis and Brown return, but the best-case scenario has Jackson in a starting role, consistently getting 6-10 targets a game. As for Royal, he’s already the Broncos’ WR2 behind Brandon Marsahall and it’s clear that he and Jay Cutler already have a great rapport, so he seems to be the better bet of the two. But if you can get either Jackson or Royal on your roster, do so.

      Matt Hasselbeck is in some serious short-term trouble.
      The Seahawks’ receiving corps is in a world of hurt. Deion Branch and Bobby Engram are working their way back from injury, while Nate Burleson and Ben Obomanu are both on IR. That means that Hasselbeck is throwing to the likes of Courtney Taylor, Logan Payne and Samie Parker. Ouch! Luckily for Hass, he has a couple of attractive matchups the next two weeks against the 49ers and the Rams, so he might be able to post decent numbers if he can find a guy or two who can catch the ball. (TE John Carlson?) Still, if Branch and Engram are able to come back in the next month, suddenly Hasselbeck’s prospects don’t look so bad. If he has a bad week against San Francisco, it might not be a bad idea to try to acquire the Seattle QB from a frustrated owner in your league.

      The Bungles are back.
      Historically speaking, fantasy owners could count on two things from the Bengals: they’d have a good offense and they’d have a bad defense. After a 10-point clunker against the Ravens, where Carson Palmer (94 passing yards, 1 INT), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (3-44) and Chad Ocho Cinco (1-22) all struggled mightily against a defense that was 20th against the pass in 2007, fantasy owners are justifiably concerned. This week, they head home to play the Titans, who shut down a usually efficient Jacksonville offense, and next week they travel to New York to play the G-Men. The Bengals don’t have an attractive matchup until Week 4, when they face the Browns at home.

      Brett Favre’s arrival completely changes the Jets.
      When Thomas Jones joined the Jets a year ago, fantasy owners expected big things. While he did rush for 1119 yards, he only scored one TD, and Jones’ season was written off as a disappointment. But now, with the arrival of Favre (and Alan Faneca), Jones is finding more room to run. Safeties and linebackers have to respect Favre’s arm, and Faneca stabilizes a young but talented offensive line. Jones rushed 22 times for 101 yards and a TD against Miami. Sure, it was against the Dolphins, so this week’s game against the Patriots will be a nice test to see just how good the Jets’ running attack really is. Favre’s arm also enhances the value of the Jets receivers. Jerricho Cotchery caught three passes for 80 yards, including a 56-yard bomb early in the game. Laveranues Coles only caught one ball for five yards, but he did draw two pass interference penalties, so Favre was looking his way. Coles can really run those short and intermediate outs, which are throws that are definitely in Favre’s wheelhouse.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Will the offensive line be the demise of the Steelers in ’08?

      August 13, 2008 /

      In the weeks leading up to the kickoff the 2008 NFL Season, I’ll take a look at position groups that could potentially lift teams to new heights, or bury them and their postseason hopes. Wednesday I take a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers and their potential offensive line woes.

      I read a stat the other day that was shocking. Apparently Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked 93 times in the past two seasons, second to only Jon Kitna of the Detroit Lions.

      Granted, part of the reason why Roethlisberger has been dropped so many times is simply because he holds on to the ball too long. In fact, it has been noted that Roethlisberger has been working with QB coach Ken Anderson this offseason on making quicker reads and getting the ball out of his hands faster.

      But the reason for the high sacks hasn’t been entirely Big Ben’s fault. After years of solid production, the Steelers’ offensive line has actually become a significant weakness, and something that could potentially kill Pittsburgh’s playoff aspirations this year.

      When guard Alan Faneca signed with the Jets in the offseason, he took his five-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro-Bowl résumé with him. Even though the Steelers didn’t want to financially bend over backwards for an aging guard, Faneca was one of the best offensive linemen in team history. Chris Kemoeatu, a 2005 sixth-round pick with only three NFL starts under his belt, has been summed to replace Faneca. His lack of experience is a concern, but even more troublesome is that he missed the first eight days of training game due to a triceps injury.

      The only holdovers from the 2007 season are guard Kendall Simmons and left tackle Marvel Smith. There’s an open competition at center between Justin Hartwig and Sean Mahan, who had a sub par 2007 season while trying to replace former Pro Bowler Jeff Hartings. Willie Colon and Max Starks are currently competing for the starting right tackle job.

      One of the reasons why the Steelers have been solid offensively through the years is because Hartings, Faneca and Starks brought cohesion and continuity to the offensive line. But those days appear to be long gone and outside of Simmons and Smith, there remains a ton of uncertainty on the o-line. Head coach Mike Tomlin and the players say there’s no need for concern, but the fact of the matter is that there is no such thing as a productive offense with a poor offensive line. And even if Hartwig, Kemoeatu and Colon overachieve, the line on a whole is still going to need time to gel.

      A team doesn’t replace a combined nine Pro Bowls (Hartings/Faneca) overnight, especially not with a player who was released from another team this offseason (Hartwig) and a former second day pick with only three NFL starts (Kemoeatu).

      The attention in Pittsburgh seems to be on Willie Parker’s recovery and rookie runner Rashard Mendenhall’s development. But a bigger problem is brewing in the trenches and it could damage the Steelers’ postseason hopes.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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