Updates from August, 2010

  • Rising and Falling: The Barbarian unleashed!

    Brandon 11:13 am on 8/23/2008 | 5 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Week three of the preseason has recently become the week where coaches get a longer look at the players they expect to form their starting roster come opening day. With this in mind, it’s important to look at the players who are stepping it up this week, as it could be a key indicator of how they will play when the season starts. Below you’ll find a list of the players who’s fantasy status is “Rising”, “Falling”, or “Stayin’ Put” based on Saturday’s preseason action…

    Rising Up

    Marion Barber (RB-DAL): 13 rushes for 75 yards and 1 TD, plus 2 receptions for 9 yards – Marion the Barbarian seems to be answering the question of whether or not he can handle the bulk of the carries this season, after splitting them with Julius Jones last year. Rookie backup Felix Jones (see “Falling” below) did not look especially sharp in this one, and with Barber’s knack for finding the endzone, I see no reason why the team would not lean heavily on him throughout the season.

    Aaron Rodgers (QB-GB): 18 of 22 for 193 yards and 1 TD – After his poor performance last week, this was a great performance from Rodgers against a Denver pass defense that is supposed to be pretty good.

    DeSean Jackson (WR-PHI): 4 receptions for 67 yards, plus a punt return TD – This kid is starting to look like the real deal. Having him as your WR4, or maybe even WR3, going into the season, would not be frowned upon.

    Donovan McNabb (QB-PHI): 13 of 17 for 180 yards and 1 TD – He keeps losing receivers, but keeps getting it done. Rookie DeSean Jackson (below) seems to be one of his new favorite targets though…and I’m sure they can find some other receiver to line up opposite him.

    Greg Jennings (WR-GB): 4 receptions for 42 yards – The key here is that Rodgers is developing chemistry with Jennings, as he completed the four passes to him in just over one quarter of play…imagine if it was an entire game? (More …)

     

  • Alex Smith out, J.T. O'Sullivan starting week 1

    Matt 8:06 pm on 8/22/2008 | 1 Permalink Reply

    As had been recently anticipated given O’Sullivan’s (hereinafter “Sully”) unexpectedly decent preseason, head coach Mike Nolan’s lack of trust in Smith, and Sully’s understanding of the Martz system, the 49ers have done what was near-unthinkable a month ago and promoted a 29-year-old journeyman QB over the 2005 #1 overall draft pick. Smith had been thought of by some as a sleeper pick this season, but unless the Sully experiment tanks quickly, you can forget about him having any fantasy impact this season. As for Sully himself, I’m skeptical and frankly wouldn’t draft him, period. Too many unknowns, too many known negatives – most notably San Fran’s subpar receivers – and too many other, better options for late-round backup QBs.

     

  • Kevin Curtis out for a while with a sports hernia

    Brandon 5:46 pm on 8/20/2008 | 2 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , ,

    As if Donovan McNabb didn’t have enough trouble finding a reliable wide receiver to throw to, today it was announced that Kevin Curtis will be out for an extended amount of time getting surgery for a sports hernia. There is no absolute time table on how long it will take Curtis to return, but my non-PHD guess would be that it will take a couple months for him to be back to top form. Obviously this hurts Curtis’ draft rank, but it also has a negative affect on McNabb’s, as well as a positive affect on the rookie, DeSean Jackson. The other starter in the offense, Reggie Brown, is already out with a hamstring injury for a short while (possibly back to start the season), so Jackson immediately jumps up to the #1 receiver in the offense for the remaining preseason games. Check back in a bit to see where this news affects our power rankings…

    If you’ve already drafted Curtis in your league, we feel your pain. Especially when in one of my leagues I also have Brandon Marshall…looks like weeks one and two will be a bit weak at the WR position!

     

  • Missing in Action: Where are Steven Jackson and others?

    Brandon 11:07 am on 8/20/2008 | 3 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

    As we approach week three of the preseason, many of you may have been wondering where the star player you plan to draft has been the first two weeks, so I wrote this article to try to put some of your worries to rest. Below are some of the key players that haven’t played a snap so far in the preseason and an explanation of why they haven’t, which will hopefully allow you to sleep a little bit better (or worse I guess, depending on what you expected to hear):

    • Steven Jackson (RB-STL): Where has Steven Jackson been this preseason so far? If you happen to be a Jackson owner in a league where the draft has already taken place, I’m sure that you are well aware that he’s currently holding out, expecting the team to propose a contract extension that will keep him financially sound well into the future. There were rumors over the weekend that these talks had progressed somewhat, but that does not appear to be the case. Coach Linehan stated “It is getting critical to where time now becomes more of an issue for just the physical part of getting ready for the opener…Every day we miss now…does start to factor in as to what the workload will be from the start.” It appears that the team is beginning to plan for a start of the season without Steven Jackson (or at least with a non-100% ready Jackson), which is not a good thing for fantasy owners. If they can work out a new contract and get him into at least the last preseason game for some reps, you should be alright though. You’re still drafting Jackson as a top five running back, but because of these contract questions, and the fact that the offense has looked bad in general this preseason, I’m taking him at #5, behind LT, AP, Addai and Westbrook. (Update 8/20/08: Steven Jackson has ended his holdout! Feel free to take him with the 3rd to 5th pick of the draft.)
    • Ryan Grant (RB-GB): After earning a big contract extension last season, Grant has been nursing a strained hamstring this preseason and the team is most likely protecting their investment at this point. He says that he’d be out on the field if it was the regular season, but he’s just taking it careful. There appears to be no risk at this point of him missing any time to start the year, so draft him as normal, towards the end of the first round or beginning of the second. (More …)
     

  • Giants pound the Browns, 37-34

    Brandon 8:39 am on 8/19/2008 | 1 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , ,

    Alright, so maybe the score doesn’t show that the Giants pounded the Browns, but if you watched the first quarter and a half, it was definitely a lopsided match. With all the “starters” in (I use the term loosely because the Giants were missing Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer and Steve Smith, while Cleveland was without Braylon Edwards), Eli Manning showed that maybe the Superbowl victory was no fluke as he bombed two touchdown passes to receiver Domenik Hixon in the first quarter. Hixon, a third year receiver out of Akron who had only one reception for a measly five yards all of last season, looked like a Pro Bowl player in this one (4 catches for 63 yards and 2 TD), dragging his feet in the endzone on both touchdown grabs and also torching the Browns special teams for a kick off return touchdown. Even with the great game, at this point it doesn’t appear that Hixon will be a relevant fantasy player this year…but if injury strikes one of the top three receives on the team, keep his name in mind as a possible late season sleeper. (More …)

     

  • Chad Johnson hurt and other updates from the weekend

    Brandon 9:00 am on 8/18/2008 | 0 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , , , deshaun foster, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , week 2, ,

    Tonight’s game between the Browns and Giants will wrap up week two of the preseason, but before we jump into week 3, here are some reactions to the games that took place over the weekend…

    • Detroit 27, Cincinnati 10: While the Bengals might be a tiny bit upset that they lost a preseason game, the most painful outcome of this game was that their star wide receiver, Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson, sprained his shoulder while trying to make a catch early in the game. Right now coach Marvin Lewis is saying that he believes Johnson should be ready for the start of the season, but we’ll keep an eye on the situation. Right now I’m probably dropping him down a few spots on my rankings until I know more about the injury.

      As for the rest of the game, the poor play of the Bengals added insult to injury, with quarterback Carson Palmer playing badly (6 of 13 for 50 yards and an INT) and no one of fantasy relevance doing anything great for Cinci. There was one guy on the team though that took advantage of the Johnson injury, plus a hamstring injury to T.J. Houshmandzadeh that kept him out of this game. The Bengals second round pick in this years draft, receiver Jerome Simpson, finished the game with five receptions for 114 yards. As with many preseason one-hit-wonders though, make this guy become a repeat performer before even considering him on draft day.

      As much as this game sucked for the Bengals, it was a great game for the Lions, especially their passing game, which seems to have hit the ground running since the beginning of this preseason. Jon Kitna completed all three of his pass attempts for 76 yards, including a 27 yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson (who finished with three catches for 76 yards). The Lions running game is still a bit mysterious, but rookie Kevin Smith looked good in limited action (four carries for 19 yards) and should still be considered the front runner to win the starting job come opening day. (More …)

     

  • Random thoughts on tonight's preseason games

    Brandon 9:18 pm on 8/14/2008 | 0 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , , , panthers, , ,

    • Just turned on the Carolina vs Philadelphia game…after barely playing at all last week, Delhomme is not having the type of game (2/4 for 18 yards) so far that makes me want to run out and draft him as my starting quarterback. Although he’s only had 4 attempts, the offense in general looks uninspired and like something that I want to stay away from going into my upcoming drafts.
    • Eagles wide receiver Reggie Brown left the game with some kind of hamstring injury, but no news on the severity yet. Rookie DeSean Jackson is now lined up opposite Kevin Curtis, so we should get a good look at him. He already has one catch for 11 yards.
    • The Eagles / Panthers game was looking like a real barn burner (note: sarcasm)…and now it’s delayed due to bad weather…awesome!
    • Looking at the stats to the Bills / Steelers game, seems as if that should be the game that’s on TV, as there seems to be a little more action (Buffalo is leading 14-7 at half). (More …)
     

  • Facebook and famous card-counter enter the fantasy football league market

    Brandon 9:38 pm on 8/11/2008 | 2 Permalink Reply
    Tags: card counter, , league, sports illustrated

    Watch out Yahoo and ESPN (and even FleaFlicker!), there’s another fantasy football league website in town, this one having the unique concept of being built into Facebook. Jeff Ma, one of the MIT card counters that inspired the book Bringing Down the House (which is a great book by the way) and the movie “21″, along with business partner Mike Kerns, have created the company Citizen Sports, Inc., and convinced Sports Illustrated to put its name on the product. The fact that it is a downloadable application on the new Facebook means it will automatically have a potential audience of millions, so there is a big chance that this could succeed…but we’ll have to wait and see if it really challenges the big boys any time soon. (More, including a couple screenshots, after the jump…) (More …)

     

  • Willis McGahee and Bobby Engram out for a while with injuries

    Brandon 8:31 pm on 8/11/2008 | 3 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , , ,

    I had originally buried this news in my latest update on the preseason games over the weekend, but I figured it was important enough to break out into it’s own post, so here you go…

    • Willis McGahee has decided to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his knee, with the hope that he can return for the start of the season. The fact that he’ll miss nearly an entire month of practice and preseason games is a bit worrisome and is reason enough for us to drop him down a few slots on the power rankings. It also makes backup Ray Rice all that more important as a handcuff for McGahee owners.
    • For all of you who were targeting Bobby Engram in your draft, think again. Engram left Friday’s preseason game with a shoulder injury and it turns out that he has a broken bone in his shoulder and will miss six to eight weeks. He’s no spring chicken, so there’s no guarantee that he’ll even be back and ready to go that early. Even if he does though, that means he’ll still miss the first two to four games of the season, moving him down quite a bit on our wide receiver power rankings, while Nate Burleson moves up a bit (just like when we found out that his other teammate Deion Branch would be out for some extended time).
    • In other news, tonight we will see the beginning of the Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay, as the Packers take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the final game of week 1 in the preseason. What better way to prove yourself to all the doubters than to go up against what was one of the worst pass defenses in the league last year?
     

  • Fantasy football notes from the weekend

    Brandon 2:40 pm on 8/11/2008 | 1 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , ,

    Here are some fantasy football thoughts regarding the preseason games that took place on Saturday…

    • San Diego 31, Dallas 17: Both starting quarterbacks looked sharp in this one, with Tony Romo completing 3/3 passes for 33 yards, and Philip Rivers completing 5/6 passes for 54 yards. As usual, LT sat out in a preseason game, but the search for his new backup didn’t seem to clear up all that much. However, Jacob Hester, who is projected to be the fullback for LT, played well as a tailback, rushing for 49 yards and two TD’s.  At receiver, Chargers receiver Chris Chambers seems to be playing well also, catching three passes for 34 yards in about one quarter of action. (More …)
     

  • More notes from the preseason

    Brandon 10:05 am on 8/09/2008 | 0 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , , , limas sweed, , , ,

    As the Olympics started with bang last night (and as I write this, we already lead in the medal count!), the NFL preseason kept rolling with a few more games. Here are a few of the notable stats from those exhibitions:

    • Oakland 18, San Francisco 6: The only thing interesting/relevant to the fantasy football world in this one was the play of the Raiders three-headed monster at running back, which didn’t disappoint. Justin Fargas (5 rush for 25 yards), Darren McFadden (12 rush for 48 yards) and Michael Bush (8 rush for 27 yards and a TD, plus 2 catches for 29 yards), lead the team, which rushed for a whopping 248 yards. The team only passed for a bit over 100 yards and JaMarcus Russell didn’t look that sharp. It looks like the Raiders are going to be a run first team for sure, so expect a big dose of all three running backs this season, making all three draftable in some form. However, it does bring up the question of whether any of them will get the touches to be a top tier running back this season, but maybe that will change as the preseason continues. For the 49er’s…no one played well, even Frank Gore (2 rush for 6 yards), so stay away from this sinkhole until further notice.

      • (More …)

     

  • News, updates, and other assorted webernet detritus

    Matt 8:44 am on 8/07/2008 | 0 Permalink Reply
    Tags:

    • Predicting QB success in fantasy football via YPA (Yards Per Attempt) and FAS (Functional Arm Strength).  (MLive.com)
    • Bleacher Report’s top 30 running backs. Included here because it’s one of the rare rankings that doesn’t have LT on top. Love for Westbrook is definitely in style this summer, but personally he still makes me nervous. (Bleacher Report)
    • It’s the middle rounds of your draft that will determine the winner. (FloridaToday)
    • Blah, blah, Favre’s a Jet, blah, blah. It’s intensely satisfying to me to bury this story in the middle of a link post. Though I can’t promise that Brandon isn’t writing a breathless post about it right now. And honestly, I’ll probably write an analysis at some point. But not today. (SI.com)
    • Ranking the best fantasy football magazines. Personally, I don’t get buying something in print when fantasy football is such a dynamic hobby and injuries can change everything in an instant, but I guess some people like shiny things they can hold in their hands. (Detroit Free Press)
    • Five sure-fire busts that everyone should avoid, including, of course, Tom Brady. Wait, what? (Bleacher Report)
     

  • Brett Favre traded to the New York Jets

    Brandon 8:37 am on 8/07/2008 | 1 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , , ,

    I’m sure tonight Jeff Garcia can sleep a little bit easier, knowing that he is still the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I wish I could say the same for Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens though, who saw their dreams of leading the New York Jets to another disappointing season come crashing down when the Packers traded Brett Favre to the Jets last night for a conditional draft pick. Actually, with the signing, it could be the end of the Pennington era in New York, as the team will most likely release one of its quarterbacks to make room for Favre (they probably don’t want to carry four quarterbacks). All I know is: A) I’m excited to see some Favre versus Brady match-ups (as long as the Pats win!), B) Matt is slightly sad as now that the Bills have less of a chance to win the wild card (they’ll probably lose twice to the Jets), C) I’m sooooo glad that Manny and Favre are finally on new teams and we don’t have to hear about it every minute of every day on ESPN, and D) while I’m excited to see Favre/Brady, John Madden is already having wet dreams about it…even more than when Brady plays against Manning.

    So after the dust settles, we can take a look at how this move will affect the fantasy value of the players involved:

    Brett Favre, QB, NYJ: The move immediately makes Favre a top 10 quarterback in our power rankings (#9), right above Eli Manning. It could take him some time to get used to the new system, but I’m sure he’ll survive and put up some starter quality numbers from your QB1 slot. All of those who took a chance on Favre in fantasy drafts before this morning are probably pretty excited (including us…as we took him in the 12th round of our Fantasy Website Drunken Pirate Slapfight Expert League!) (More …)

     

  • Broncos' Brandon Marshall to be suspended two or three games

    Brandon 8:28 am on 8/05/2008 | 1 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , suspended,

    Although no website I visit seems to be able to give an official report on the situation, all of them are reporting that Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall will be suspended for three games due to his offseason issues. The three games can potentially be reduced to two games, if Marshall agrees to counseling during his suspension. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that he’s not that arrogant that he would turn down the counseling, so let’s assume he’ll be out for the first two games of the season (possibly hanging out with Steve Smith or something).

    We all knew this was coming, but we just weren’t sure of the details. While Steve Smith’s suspension came out of the blue, our power rankings for Marshall had already been adjusted accordingly, so even with this two or three game suspension, he still ranks as the 14th wide receiver, right before Wes Welker and the Detoit boys (Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson).

     

  • Favre's back for sure, unclear whether he'll remain with Pack

    Matt 12:09 pm on 8/04/2008 | 1 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , Favre, , , , , , packers, Rodgers, , ,

    The Most Awkward Comeback Ever is finally a reality:

    The Green Bay Packers reluctantly embraced Favre’s forced return to the football field Sunday, after failing to come to a financial agreement that would manage to make Favre happy while staying retired.

    And while it’s not yet clear what role Favre will play once he reports to Packers camp Monday, Aaron Rodgers says he’s ready for a potential competition with Favre after serving as his backup for three seasons.

    It’s still unclear whether Favre will be traded. The Vikings seem to be back in the picture as his potential future home. They’d clearly be a perfect fit in every way but one: They just so happen to be Green Bay’s most hated division rival. Minnesota has a solid (if lopsided) defense, the best running game in the league – and a quarterback in Tarvaris Jackson who’s probably got one last season to prove he can play at this level before he’s cut loose. Stick Favre into this mix and you’d upgrade the Vikings from a trendy-pick contender to a serious force to be reckoned with. This trade would be excruciating for Packer fans – and a lot of fun to watch for the rest of us.

    Aaron Rodgers is promising to make it competitive, but he won’t, so let’s just go ahead and forget about him. If Favre stays in Green Bay, the value of every offensive player on the team is positively affected. My biggest concern about Ryan Grant has been that, with Rodgers behind center, teams would simply focus on stuffing the run. If Favre’s there, I see no reason not to expect him to return to the consistent performance his owners enjoyed in the second half of last season. Receivers Jennings, Driver and Jones all would benefit as well.

    Aren’t soap operas fun?

     

  • Steve Smith suspended 2 games by Panthers

    Brandon 8:28 am on 8/04/2008 | 2 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , , suspension,

    In case you missed it, on Friday Steve Smith was kicked out of Carolina’s practice session after fighting with cornerback Ken Lucas. Lucas ended up with a broken nose after being hit in the face by Smith. Due to this, over the weekend the Panthers suspended Smith for the first two games of the season…the regular season that is. While he’ll be able to participate in pre season games, he will miss two games of production for your fantasy team if you draft him. It’s important to note that he will not receive any additional punishment from the league, so those two games are all you need to worry about him missing. However, due to this lack of production from a top tier receiver, he takes a minor hit on our wide receiver power rankings.

     

  • Blogger league domination begins!

    Brandon 8:36 am on 7/23/2008 | 2 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , drunken pirate slapfight,

    This year FFGeekBlog has begun its infiltration into several fantasy football blogger leagues, with the plan of blogger league domination within a year or two. Currently Matt is drafting a team for a league set up by JunkyardJake.com called “Fantasy Website Drunken Pirate Slapfight Expert League”. At this point our team is looking pretty solid, with the likes of Ricky Williams and Brett Favre leading the way (no joke!), so we plan to compete with the best in that league (we also have Joseph Addai, Maurice Jones-Drew and Braylon Edwards, in case you were wondering/worried – actually, this site allows anyone to see the teams without logging in, so check out our team here). We will make sure to post the final roster when the draft is complete, which should be today or early tomorrow I would guess.

    While Matt has ultimate control over that squad, I will be taking the reigns in another blogger league, The Hazean’s second annual Blogger League, which will be hosted on FleaFlicker.com. I just found out this morning that we have the 10th pick (out of 12 teams) in that league, so I can begin my preparation (scratch any top tier running back off the list…) with that in mind for the draft, which won’t take place till very late in August. I’m thinking maybe I’ll get Clinton Portis or Marshawn Lynch…maybe even Randy Moss or Tom Brady if I’m feeling especially adventerous (and they havn’t been selected yet) with my first pick, but we’ll have to wait and see. As with the other league, we’ll make sure to post the roster for all to see. Until then, adios!

     

  • Brandon Marshall: Just another day in the life

    Brandon 11:01 pm on 7/09/2008 | 1 Permalink Reply
    Tags: , ,

    Of all the guys I have to share my name with, it happens to be one of the most talented, young and upcoming receivers in the NFL…but also one of the stupidest. Consider these events that have transpired over the short career of Brandon Marshall, wide receiver for the Denver Broncos:

    • Present the night that teammate Darrent Williams was shot and killed during a drive by following a night out at a club. According to former teammate, Javon Walker, Marshall was spraying patrons with champagne, which started a confrontation that may have led to the shooting (ironically, Javon Walker was spraying patrons with champagne the night he was mugged in Las Vegas)
    • Forced to go to court due to a domestic disturbance with his girlfriend
    • Rough housing with his brother, he slips and slices his arm open. Luckily the injury should be fully healed by the start of the season
    • Arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence while driving down the wrong direction on a one way street
    • Most recently, he was pulled over and cited with making an illegal lane change and driving without a valid license or proof of insurance

    (More …)

     

  • Some Monday reading

    Matt 9:00 am on 6/30/2008 | 3 Permalink Reply
    Tags:

    Why you should avoid drafting players on bad teams. [Bleacher Report]

    Here’s one blogger who puts Addai, Jackson, LT, and Westbrook on about equal footing as his top-tier RBs. [Fake Teams]

    You think you’re hardcore into fantasy football? You’re not truly hardcore until you can say you’ve drafted a CFL fantasy football team. [News Talk 650]

    Is it possible to draft Tom Brady in the first round and still put together an otherwise-respectable fantasy squad? How about Randy Moss? [K5 Fantasy Football]

    Dave over at FF Goat has posted two more offensive line analyses for the AFC East and the AFC West.

    Thinking about trying out an auction league this season? Here’s how to get started. [Football Jabber]

     

  • Marshawn Lynch: Let's make a deal

    Matt 10:32 am on 6/21/2008 | 1 Permalink Reply
    Tags:

    Lynch has agreed to plead guilty and is likely getting off the hook with nothing more than a violation in the same league as a speeding ticket. Amazing. As a Bills fan, now that my fear of losing our best player has subsided, I’m left with some disgust for a rich NFL star who would hit a woman with his car, leave her lying on the road, and hide from the consequences for over a week. I hope she sues him for everything he owns, and wins.

    Here’s a prediction: Buffalo isn’t the kind of town where this sort of thing will be forgotten quickly. It’s going to take years of seriously big-time contribution to the team and the city, both on and off the field, for Lynch to regain the fans’ trust. After the whole McGahee thing, I think it’s fair to say that we’re more than a little wary of being burned by a would-be hero again.

     

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