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Always fun to wake up and see a tweet like this (by Adam Schefter) in the morning, especially if you skip the “Bogus…” introduction:
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Brandon
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Preseason week 3 leaders
Brandon
With the real preseason coming to an end this past weekend (week four is always a joke), here are the leaders in yardage from the quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions (compliments of NFL.com)…
As you can see, there are a number of starting quarterbacks (Flacco, Rodgers, McNabb and Hasselbeck) and running backs (Peterson, Turner) now on the list, but there are some other names on there that may pique your interest. Cardinals backup Matt Leinart has actually done something useful this preseason, making him an even more important handcuff for Kurt Warner owners if you think the veteran’s age may catch up to him this year. Running back sleepers Glen Coffee and James Davis remain on the list and make solid, late round draft picks with medium-to-high upside. The same goes for all the receivers on the list (except Kenny McKinley…who is he?), who can be drafted very late and could provide you WR3 type of numbers this year.
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Post-draft waiver wire notes
Brandon
Did you have the draft for your fantasy league yet? If so, how long ago? If it was over a week ago and you haven’t taken another look at your team, you might want to log-in and check the status of the following players, whose value has increased/decreased dramatically since you picked your squad…
- Kurt Warner (QB-ARI): When ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that the Cardinals were going to name Warner the starter over Matt Leinart, head coach Ken Whisenhunt was quick to squash the rumor, questioning why Mortensen was making decisions for the team when it wasn’t his job. Then Whisenhunt waited a few days…and named Kurt Warner the starter on opening day. Although Whisenhunt wasn’t fooling anyone but himself, he might have raised enough questions to keep both Warner’s and Leinart’s names off your league’s draft results list. Now that we know Warner will be starting the season at quarterback though, it’s time to assess the position for your team. With the weapons Warner has at receiver, he always has a chance to put up solid fantasy numbers. You’ll want to look at his schedule if you plan to start him early in the year though, as the team has some pretty tough match-ups to start the season, going to San Francisco and at home versus the Dolphins (I know they sound easy, but they were actually tied for the third best pass defenses in terms of yards per game allowed last season!) Weeks three and four get much easier though, against Redskins and Jets, who were 30th and 26th respectively in passing yards per game allowed. (More …)
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Best of the Rest: Leinart back in the doghouse
Brandon
Continuing my previous article “Rising and Falling: The Barbarian Unleashed!”, here is a list of some of the players who saw the field over the weekend and how their play may or may not have affected their draft status…
Falling
Matt Leinart (QB-ARI): 4 of 12 for 24 yards, 3 INT - ESPN is reporting that Kurt Warner will be named the starter for Arizona on opening day after Leinart had another poor outing in preseason. Completing 25% of your passes and nearly having as many interceptions as completions is not the way to earn the coach’s trust. On the plus side, maybe Leinart can spend more time partying with all his celebrity friends now, while Warner studies game tape. At this point, Leinart should be no where near one of your cheat sheets going into draft day. (More …)
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Chad Johnson hurt and other updates from the weekend
Brandon
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 …)
- 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.
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International Men of Mystery
Brandon
As I’ve been preparing my power rankings this season, I’ve noticed a few names that I’ve had a lot of difficulty placing amongst the lists. For example, how can you decide between Marvin Harrison and Wes Welker? You know Welker will do well, but do you have a clue how Harrison will do? Neither do I. Players like this I’ve deemed the International Men of Mystery and I figured I’d write an article documenting my random thoughts on a few of them. This is by no means a comprehensive list, as knowing how any player will do in a given season is really a guess anyway. So, without further ado, here are your mystery men…
Quarterbacks
Aaron Rodgers (GB): I guess by putting Rodgers on this list, you have to also consider his mentor Brett Favre as a mystery at this point in the year (until he and the Packers figure out what the hell to do with him). Anyways, Rodgers has been riding the pine for years now, racking up a whopping 329 passing yards over the past three seasons. He is now the apparent starter in Green Bay with some big shoes to fill. Considering the weapons that Green Bay has on the offensive side of the ball with Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Ryan Grant, it’s easy to believe that Rodgers could have a great fantasy season (similar to Favre’s 2007 season). However, people might forget that while he was a pupil to one of the all-time greats for these past years, he still has very little experience and there’s a good chance that he’ll go through some growing pains over the course of the season. The good part is that you won’t have to use a high draft pick on him, so you can take him as your second quarterback and only use him on your starters bye week if necessary. (Risk: Low, Reward: High)
