Updates from August, 2010

  • Attention IDP league players: Harrison suspended four games

    Matt 9:43 pm on 8/31/2007 | 0 Permalink Reply

    I don’t do IDP. I don’t see defensive players as being consistent enough, nor their stat categories interesting enough on an individual basis, to make it worth my time. Football (the American kind, not the kind where you’re supposed to writhe in pretend agony on the turf every time you make contact with another player), as I’m sure you’ve heard many times, truly is the ultimate team sport, and that’s even more the case on the defensive side of the ball. For sure, there are some individual players, your Urlachers, Strahans, and Ray “Probably Killed a Guy” Lewises out there who are interesting from a fantasy standpoint, but by and large I just think IDP sounds pretty boring.

    Anyway, the league’s dirtiest player is out 4 games for an HGH violation, plus he’s getting old and was pretty ineffectual last season, so I’m thinking you IDP weirdos will want to drop him. As for how this affects the Pats DEF in normal fantasy leagues… I’m going to say hardly at all. Put a fork in the guy.

     

  • What's with the green dot on QB helmets?

    Matt 9:23 pm on 8/31/2007 | 1 Permalink Reply

    I was wondering this myself, but my mighty google-fu found the answer for me. As a service to our readers for whom the force is not as strong, I present the knowledge you seek (from here):

    For anyone wondering why there is a green dot on the back of every quarterback’s helmet, it is to signal that they have been designated to wear a transmitter in their helmet to receive calls from the sidelines.

    Had the NFL passed a rule to allow defenses to have one player use a transmitter, that player would have had a green dot on their helmet as well.

     

  • Leftwich is done

    Matt 5:58 pm on 8/31/2007 | 1 Permalink Reply

    Not that Byron Leftwich belonged on your roster anyway except in very deep, 2-QB formats, but the news that he has been demoted from the starting role still comes as something of a surprise as the Jags have been saying all along that they were confident in his abilities. He’s looked pretty rough in the preseason, and Garrard had some mild success filling in for him last season, so the move makes sense, I guess. It’s not like they had a better option.

    Don’t mistake this for an opportunity to pick up Garrard, though. Of the ten games he played last season, he only threw more TDs than INTs in four of them. I wouldn’t say this has much of an effect on the value of the Jags wideouts, either – I still wouldn’t want any of them on my team. We don’t have any of them higher than the 5th tier on our WR cheat sheet. Kind of sad.

     

  • Keeper Leagues: The "Post-Draft" Draft

    Brandon 2:46 pm on 8/31/2007 | 3 Permalink Reply

    Throughout my experiences with fantasy football drafts, I’ve noticed one thing: no matter the format of the league, when it comes time to pick the last 2 or 3 guys for a team, managers rarely make very educated selections. In a 15 round draft that lasts over two hours, rosters are pretty much set and the manager is simply looking to grab another beer or get ready for bed. Even in a more experienced keeper league this can happen. In our keeper league draft, players like Priest Holmes, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk and Reggie Williams made onto rosters with late round picks. These are prime candidates for a “Post-draft Draft”. (More …)

     

  • Where in the world is Randy Moss?

    Brandon 11:23 am on 8/31/2007 | 6 Permalink Reply

    Similar to that old Carmen Sandiego TV show/video game in which Carmen’s henchmen were hunted down all over the world, fantasy owners have been struggling to hunt down any information regarding one of their potential top picks in the fantasy draft this season: Randy Moss. (More …)

     

  • To all the LJ owners...

    Brandon 8:39 am on 8/31/2007 | 1 Permalink Reply

    Larry Johnson finally took part in a preseason game last night against the St. Louis Rams, although he still saw only limited playing time. Johnson carried the ball three times for 12 yards, a healthy average of 4.0 yards per carry (although the sample size is a little too small to read into this all that much). It appears that LJ is ready to begin the season, but it seems that in his first game he might not see 100% of the load that he would generally see. Feel safe starting him in your leagues however, as he is still LJ and with 75% of his normal carries, he will still perform better than 75% of the other running backs in the league.

     

  • Marques Colston: Plays briefly in preseason game

    Matt 8:31 am on 8/31/2007 | 0 Permalink Reply

    It was good to see last year’s surprise rookie standout out on the field last night against Miami, even if it was only for two offensive series with backup QB Jamie Martin (Drew Brees sat the game out due to being Drew Brees).

    Overall, Colston’s a very solid #2 fantasy WR and will quickly qualify as a #1 WR if he can return to last year’s level of production and avoid injuries. However, while it may be too early to label him as “injury-prone,” it’s hard not to worry about a guy who missed some games in his rookie season and is starting this year with an ambiguous knee problem.

    People who own him in Yahoo! leagues will sorely miss the TE eligibility he had for all of 2006, which made him an absolutely priceless commodity.

     

  • Running back platoons to avoid (and some to embrace)

    Brandon 4:32 pm on 8/29/2007 | 3 Permalink Reply

    Last updated: 9/05/07

    In the world of fantasy football, the phrase “running back platoon” or “running back by committee” usually sends managers running for the hills, with good reason. While NFL coaches love to use platoons (if they have two quality running backs), keeping their backs fresh and changing the pace for opposing defenses, it can become a nightmare for fantasy managers trying to decide who to start on a week to week basis. (More …)

     

  • Do not go to AOL for fantasy football advice

    Matt 3:34 pm on 8/29/2007 | 2 Permalink Reply

    AOL loses all credibility when they post this joke of a mock draft on the front page of their fantasy football site, as if there’s something we can all learn from it. A few highlights from the draft:

    Frank Gore with the #2 overall pick: You have got to be kidding me. Gore’s a great player, but he’s a huge injury risk, and even at his best it’s hard to see him having a bigger season than Steven Jackson. Larry Johnson should also always go before Gore.

    Marc Bulger with the #8 overall pick: This is a team-crippling pick. I didn’t even comment on Peyton going at #6 because this pick made that look damn near sensible. Bulger belongs in the 3rd round at the very earliest, and that would be a reach.

    (More …)

     

  • Yikes - downgrade Torry Holt if you're drafting this weekend

    Matt 8:30 am on 8/29/2007 | 8 Permalink Reply

    Sounds like Holt’s knee could be a major source of frustration for his fantasy owners this season:

    “It’s just one of those deals where I’m not recovering as quick as I used to,” Holt said. “It feels good some days and some days it doesn’t feel so good.”

    “I’m getting somewhat used to that, and I’m getting to the point where I can manage it pretty well.”

    That’s just about the last thing you wanted to hear if you used a high draft pick on Holt (which, if he’s on your team, you did). He seems to be acknowledging that he’ll no longer be as dominant, and that’s… OK with him. Come on Torry, where’s the fire? Where are the pushups in the driveway in front of a few dozen TV cameras? We better see you riding an exercise bike in a Lance Armstrong costume on the sidelines for the rest of the preseason.

    We’re bumping Holt down a few notches on our WR cheat sheet based on this news, and you should do the same.

     

  • Culpepper vs. McCown... where's JaMarcus?

    Brandon 10:02 am on 8/28/2007 | 0 Permalink Reply

    Well it looks like the quarterback competition in Oakland is finally winding down. Although at this point this battle should have very little fantasy implications, the winner might be a name to consider during the year when you run into injury problems or the bye week blues. McCown has proven himself to be a completely mediocre quarterback, averaging only 155 yards a game and throwing only 25 touchdowns in 35 games, while also throwing 29 interceptions. I wouldn’t expect much different from him if he takes over as quarterback for the Raiders this season. However, Daunte Culpepper brings a lot more intrigue to the conversation. (More …)

     

  • Could Edgerrin James relocate his Edge in 2007?

    Matt 9:15 am on 8/28/2007 | 2 Permalink Reply

    Michael Silver thinks so. His editorial comes off mostly as a fluff piece, and it’s important not to get too excited about a player over one of those, but there’s one thing to consider: Maybe Denny Green was just a terrible coach. This passage in particular makes it seem as if there’s some hope for a resurgence of sorts now that Green’s gone:

    Green’s system didn’t help, either: Effective as a spread offense the previous year, the Cardinals began favoring a two-tight-end formation that brought more defenders into the box to stop James. An injury to Larry Fitzgerald, one of the team’s two stud wideouts (along with the brilliant Anquan Boldin), didn’t help, either.

    “Teams knew what was coming,” James said. “Opponents were calling out plays before we ran them. (Chicago Bears middle linebacker) Brian Urlacher, when we played them, told me, ‘Dude, I feel bad for you. They’re not giving you a chance.’”

    With all the talk over the offseason about how James has “lost his burst” (Matt Pallister recently called him “merely an average back”), maybe we all could use a reminder that just the season before, he had over 1800 total yards and 14 scores. If he had remained in Indy (and Joseph Addai didn’t exist), there’s little reason to think he wouldn’t have had a comparable season in 2006. The setting changed, not the player. With a new coach in the desert, perhaps the setting has changed again, for the better this time.

     

  • Joey Harrington: Not too shabby, actually

    Matt 8:15 am on 8/28/2007 | 2 Permalink Reply

    Harrington must feel like he’s on top of the world right now. His evil plot to frame Michael Vick for dogfighting actually worked (wait, what?), he’s got the starting job locked down in Atlanta, and he just finished a preseason game with a 118.0 passer rating.

    Does Harrington have any fantasy relevance? He’s got some quality weapons at his disposal: Both Dunn and Norwood are decent pass-catchers, Crumpler’s one of the best tight ends in the league (and his knee is evidently OK if the coaching staff is letting him play in a preseason game), Joe Horn’s in town now, and it’s really hard to say what they have in Michael Jenkins and Roddy White as the two third-year receivers have never had a pass-first QB throwing them the ball (recall that Peerless Price was a star in Buffalo, stank in Atlanta, then went back and performed well in Buffalo again). (More …)

     

  • It's quiet. Too quiet.

    Matt 9:08 pm on 8/27/2007 | 0 Permalink Reply

    The fantasy leagues that are the most fun are the ones where the message board is constantly full of trash talk. If you’re lucky enough to be in a league like that, and you notice the chatter die down suddenly, check the waiver wire. Someone might have done something stupid and dropped a player who’s far too good for free agency – and everyone’s keeping their mouths shut, hoping the other managers don’t notice until the player clears waivers. Don’t let someone with lower waiver priority nab a quality player out from under you. And no matter what happens, once it’s all over, make sure you participate in the peanut gallery that will be busting the chops of the moron who dropped someone he shouldn’t have.

     

  • Why wait?

    Brandon 2:21 pm on 8/27/2007 | 1 Permalink Reply

    When the football gods shone down on the Cleveland Browns management during the 2007 NFL draft, allowing them to take potentially the best QB in the draft with the 22nd pick overall, I assume they believed they were taking the quarterback and face of the franchise for years to come. They had just finished their 4th terrible season in a row, finishing last in the division each time, and the drafting of Quinn was somewhat of a miracle. The funny part is, for some reason this year they believe they should put off the future because the guy that led them to a 4-12 season last year (Charlie Frye) has “earned it”. (More …)

     

  • Weekend Update

    Matt 9:17 am on 8/27/2007 | 0 Permalink Reply

    Actually this post is just supposed to be about relevant player news from the weekend which is sadly now over, but since you brought it up, is there even any debate that Norm MacDonald is hands-down the funniest Weekend Update anchor in SNL history? A quick summary of the competition:

    • Chevy Chase: OK, he was funny, and he started it all, but it’s hard to see past what a dick he’s become lately.
    • Jane Curtin: So bad, they had to keep putting Akroyd and Murray on there as co-hosts to save her from bombing.
    • Charles Rocket: Who?
    • Brad Hall: Not funny, lasted one season (not just on the segment – fired from SNL altogether).
    • Christopher Guest: See “Brad Hall.”
    • Dennis Miller: Weekend Update was the best thing he ever did, which means it was still lame. If you laugh at his jokes even though you don’t understand them, you’re an even bigger tool than he is.
    • Kevin Nealon: Funny, but creepy. It always seemed to me like he was concealing a seething inner rage, bound to snap at the slightest provocation, and that this wasn’t part of the act.
    • Colin Quinn: It’s still unclear how he got this job, and even more baffling that he kept it for three seasons. He always seemed to be suffering from some severe digestive disorder that made it impossible for him to read his lines. Or be funny.
    • Tina Fey/Jimmy Fallon/Amy Poehler/Seth Meyers: Frankly, I’m not even sure how SNL is still on the air.

    Now I defy you to watch any episode of Weekend Update with Norm MacDonald and not laugh your balls off. He didn’t know a damn thing about current events, really couldn’t care less, and didn’t care if it showed.

    ANYdangway, some important stuff happened to a few key players over the weekend… (More …)

     

  • Take nothing for granted

    Matt 7:19 pm on 8/24/2007 | 2 Permalink Reply

    Fantasy football would be a lot easier if things were a little more predictable in the NFL. We’d be tearing a little less of the hair out of our heads on a weekly basis if it weren’t for the marquee stars who quietly and inexplicably fade into oblivion, the no-name backups who suddenly outperform the starter and eat into his playing time, and the rookies who come out of nowhere and bestow championships upon the fantasy player savvy/lucky enough to nab them off the waiver wire. As a result, we have a natural, perhaps wishful tendency to think and act as if there are some inexorable truths in football, especially during the draft. But, as the saying goes, when you assume… (More …)

     

  • Draft Analysis: Phi Tau Keeper League

    Brandon 4:13 pm on 8/24/2007 | 3 Permalink Reply

    Recently we held the second annual draft for the Phi Tau Keeper League, using the rules explained here. As this was the second year of the league, this was the first official “keeper” draft, where managers could decide which players they wanted to keep from the previous years roster, which definitely made the draft a bit interesting. The most obvious change this was going to make was looking at the keepers and realizing that top round picks such as Joseph Addai, Cedric Benson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Laurence Maroney, Deuce McAllister, Carson Palmer, Travis Henry, Marques Colston and Brandon Jacobs were already taken. Just the fact that so many running backs were being held as keepers was troubling to teams who didn’t already have a starting RB being kept (luckily I wasn’t one of them). Anyways, without wasting any more time, let’s get to the draft analysis… (More …)

     

  • 2007 Sophomore Slumps and Studs

    Brandon 9:40 am on 8/24/2007 | 5 Permalink Reply

    A lot is said about a so called “sophomore slump” for NFL players, especially those in the skill positions. While this may be true for players like Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, Michael Clayton (coincidence they’re both on Tampa Bay, a crappy team?) and Anquan Boldin, there are still some players who made a huge impact in the second season, even after having a good rookie campaign. Examples of this are Antonio Gates, LaDainian Tomlinson (coincidence they’re both on San Diego, a good team?) and Clinton Portis. After a going through a few drafts, I felt the urge to point out a few second year players that you shouldn’t worry about the “sophomore slump” affecting, while pointing out a few that probably will…

    (More …)

     

  • Donald Driver sprains something

    Matt 8:19 am on 8/24/2007 | 2 Permalink Reply

    Looks like Driver will have to put it in park for a while. This probably qualifies as the most fantasy-significant injury of the preseason to this point. I thought Driver was overvalued anyway (he’s 32 and it’s hard to say what Brett Favre will bring to the table this season), so hopefully this will make fantasy owners come to their senses. Even if he can overcome this and start week 1, he’s still 32, and he’s still on the Packers.

     

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