Squish (252)
E-roc (119)
Shirley (64)
Jeff (53)
Mal (45)
Tommy (45)
Ken (42)
Amir (37)
TJ (29)
Here are our “Hits” and “Misses” for this week. It’s championship week for most league’s out there, so hopefully these tips can help you bring home the bacon! As usual, please feel free to leave a comment on any of our posts with additional hit/miss questions and we’ll try our hardest to get back to you in a timely fashion. Good luck!
Latest Updates: Tom Brady RSS
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Hits & Misses - Week 16: CHAMPIONSHIP TIME!
Brandon
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Team of the Week - Week 10: Fourth and 2...
Brandon
Here is the fantasy football “Team of the Week” for week ten, listing the players that scored the most points (using standard scoring) over the course of Sunday’s games. This is a sad day for Patriots fans, having to witness yet another come from behind victory by Peyton Manning and the Colts, capped off by an “interesting” call on fourth down at the end of the game! Anyways, today’s list had very little surprises (except the kicker) and is basically a “who’s who” list of fantasy football superstars…
Pos.
Player
Stats
QB Tom Brady (NE) 375 passing yards, 3 TD, 1 INT RB Chris Johnson (TEN) 132 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, 2 TD RB Adrian Peterson (MIN) 133 rushing yards, 10 receiving yards, 2 TD WR Randy Moss (NE) 179 receiving yards, 2 TD WR Brandon Marshall (DEN) 134 receiving yards, 9 rushing yards, 2 TD WR Reggie Wayne (IND) 126 receiving yards, 2 TD TE Brent Celek (PHI) 47 receiving yards, 1 TD K Connor Barth (TB) Kicks – 20-29 (0), 30-39 (0), 40-49 (0), 50+ (3), PAT (2) – Who? He made three 50+ yard field goals? DEF Tennessee 17 points allowed, 2 sack, 2 interceptions, 2 TD -
Brandon
Even though I featured Tom Brady on my Hit list this week, I’m less than excited about the rainy and windy weather up here in New England. At game-time, there is a 90% chance of rain and winds over 20 mph, so I have to slightly lower my expectations for Mr. Brady and the rest of the Patriots passing game today…maybe you should do the same.
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Hits & Misses - Week 6: Brady Back in Business
Brandon
Here are our “Hits” and “Misses” for week six, listing players you want to make sure are in your lineup, as well as those you might consider shelving for the week (or at least lowering your expectations!) Normally I would leave off the most obvious picks, such as Tom Brady against the Titans. However, the Patriots passing game hasn’t lived up to it’s billing so far this year and there are managers who are probably considering benching this week, so I’ve included him as a reminder to get him in your line-ups! Anyways, here we go with the hits and misses for the week… (More …)
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Hits & Misses - Week 5: Pierre Garcon makes the list
Brandon
Here are our “Hits” and “Misses” for week five, listing players you want to make sure are in your lineup, as well as those you might consider shelving for the week (or at least lowering your expectations!) As always, I’ve tried to leave the most obvious picks off the list, such as Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne’s scheduled abuse of the Titans secondary on Sunday night, so that I can save space for players that might have you scratching your head a little more. Anyways, here is your hits and misses for the week… (More …)
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Matt
Just thought this was interesting to note – so far this season, Randy Moss leads the NFL in receptions and is on pace to break his personal record for catches. That strikes me as a particularly good sign for both his and Tom Brady’s value once Wes Welker is finally healthy – the team’s biggest playmaker is still firing on all cylinders, so once this offense is back in one piece, fantasy owners who resisted the urge to trade Brady will probably be glad they did.
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Brandon
Hopefully you didn’t draft Andrew Walter as your handcuff for Tom Brady, as Adam Schefter tweets that Walter was cut from the team! For now it looks like rookie Brian Hoyer will be the backup, but I’m hearing rumors that they’ll bring in A.J. Feeley from Philly. By the way, this has zero fantasy football impact.
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Ask the Geeks: First pick in a keeper league
Brandon
This week in our Ask the Geeks post we take a look at the first pick in a keeper league:Adam asks: Quick question for your wisdom-ness: In a keeper league, 8 teams. Turner, Peterson, MJD, Forte, and Jackson are out at RB. Fitz, Calvin Johnson, and Greg Jennings are out. I have Randy Moss and Felix Jones on a 1 year contract. Question is – do I take Andre Johnson, DeAngelo Williams, or Tom Brady with the first pick. Second draft pick needs a QB, so I am guessing Brady will be gone (as Brees, Manning, Warner, Rodgers are all gone). Thanks!
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Ask the Geeks: What to do with the #2 pick?
Brandon
In case you’re not familiar with our site, throughout the year we answer any fantasy football related questions you may have in our weekly (or bi-weekly, depending on how many we get) “Ask the Geeks” feature. Questions can range from who to start, who to pick up off waivers, when will Brett Favre sign with the Vikings, or anything else you can dream up that may help your fantasy team climb to the top of the standings. So without further ado, let’s get into the first question(s) of the season, a question regarding the #2 pick in the draft:E-Roc asks: Gentlemen, my 2009 FF season has officially started with the unveiling of my league’s draft order. I have the #2 pick in this year’s draft. Any suggestions? My guess is the #1 will pick AP… then I’m going to chug a beer and throw a dart at a page with 5-10 names on it. We have a very QB-friendly-scoring league which leads me to wanting to draft Drew Brees or Tom Brady (yes, I’m a believer).
On a side-note, can you guys remember the last time a franchise QB (i.e. Jay Cutler) was traded in the middle of his prime? Sounds like a question for the Stump the Schwab on ESPN. (More …)
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Brandon
Tonight is the real beginning of the preseason, so while we might have to wait a few more weeks to get a clearer picture, it’ll still be good to start answering the following questions:
A) Is Tom Brady back to his normal, Pro Bowl self?
B) Will the Raiders have any passing game at all?
C) Which running back will the Ravens use primarily?
D) With another year under his belt, does Kurt Warner still have what it takes to be a top notch quarterback?Also…Go Patriots!
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Matt
Could things be lined up any more perfectly for Drew Brees to have a season for the history books? Colston’s 100% healthy and looking great in camp. Bush is healthy (false alarm on the knee). Shockey doesn’t have any nagging injuries for what seems like the first time in years, and could be a sleeper now that everyone’s finally given up on him.
After a season in which Brees racked up over 5,000 passing yards despite injuries to Bush and Colston, it’s hard to be any more bullish on him. He’s the only fantasy QB without any notable caveats. Brandon might put him at #2, but my lack of a Brady man-crush enables me to see the world as it truly is; thus, for me he’s on his own in Tier 1, with Manning and Brady below him in Tier 2.
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Brandon
The Patriots have signed ex-Raiders quarterback Andrew Walter to compete with Kevin O’Connell to backup Tom Brady, so make sure to move him up your cheat sheets! Just kidding…but any backup quarterback in this offense is worth paying some sort of attention to based on last season’s debacle!
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Quarterback rankings for 2009
Brandon
Here are our quarterback rankings for this season. Don’t forget to check out the rest of our cheat sheets here.
- Tom Brady, NE – He looked great this past weekend and seems to have no lingering issues from the shoulder injury. Draft him with confidence and watch attempt to break the records again.
- Drew Brees, NO – Brees tops a lot of other site’s quarterback rankings, but maybe it’s a little Patriots-bias that puts him in the #2 spot on my list.
- Peyton Manning, IND – He’s still Peyton Manning and he’s still got Reggie Wayne (and others.)
- Philip Rivers, SD – Decent receivers, pass-catching tailbacks and Antonio Gates make for a lot of targets.
- Kurt Warner, ARI – As long as he remains healthy, he’s throwing to a pair of Pro-Bowlers (unless Anquan Boldin gets shipped out of town) and will continue to put up solid stats.
- Aaron Rodgers, GB – He’s got a great target to throw to in Greg Jennings.
- Donovan McNabb, PHI – Wide receivers still somewhat suspect, but McNabb will make the most with what he has.
- Matt Schaub, HOU – He gets the joy of throwing to Andre Johnson…one of the best receivers in the NFL.
- Tony Romo, DAL – DOWNGRADE! Roy Williams has been a disappointment so far and the rest of the receiving corps worries me.
- Matt Ryan, ATL – He’s primed for another solid year throwing to Roddy White and crew.
- Jay Cutler, CHI – His main target is a reformed kick returner, but I have enough faith in Cutler’s abilities to believe he can get it done with anyone running routes.
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Brandon
Not a fan of this guy predicting Tom Brady to get hurt and then Brett Favre coming to play for the Patriots mid-season. Okay, I guess he’s not quite predicting that exact scenario, but he brings it up, which is bad enough for New England fans. On the topic of Favre (even though I’m completely sick of hearing about him), you obviously shouldn’t draft him at this point, but he’ll be someone to watch if he goes all Roger Clemens and signs with a contender looking for quarterback help late in the season.
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Week 13 Wrap-up: Do we have to watch the Lions?
Brandon
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! If you were wishing that the football games would give you reason to ignore your family members and sit on the couch all afternoon, you were probably a bit disappointed with what transpired this past Thursday. In my opinion, this had to be one of the worst weekends of football in a long time, as eight of the fifteen games were near-blowouts, seven were missing a 30 point effort from either of the contestants, and three games featured teams whose leading rusher was either their quarterback or Jacob Hester (who needed one attempt to best LT!) Anyways, it was one of the most important weeks of football from a fantasy perspective, so let’s hope that the right guys had big days for your team, starting with the action from Turkey Day…
- Tennessee 47, Detroit 10 (Thursday): Is it time to remove Detroit from the Thanksgiving Day football schedule? After another pathetic performance from a team trying its hardest to go 0-16, do they really deserve a national audience every Turkey Day? Either way, the Titans got back to what got them to 10-0 a few weeks ago…the running game, as both Chris Johnson (125 yards, 2 TD) and LenDale White (106 yards, 2 TD) had a field day against the Lions. (More …)
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Week 12 Wrap-Up: King of the Cassel
Brandon
Tom who? It’s amazing the job that Matt Cassel (415 passing yards, 4 TD – one rushing, INT) has done this year to keep the depression in New England over Tom Brady’s injury to a minimum. To his credit, the games are a bit more exciting now and as long as they still make the playoffs, you have to give him props for playing his ass off and earning the big contract that is sure to come his way in the off-season. Anyways, let’s dive into the action that took place this weekend, starting with the big Patriots victory over the Dolphins…
- New England 48, Miami 28: The second straight 400 passing yard performance from Cassel also paid dividends to the dynamic receiver duo, Randy Moss (8 catches for 125 yards, 3 TD) and Wes Welker (8 catches for 120 yards.) Over-shadowed by his team’s loss and the play of the opposing quarterback though, you can’t forget to mention the great effort from Chad Pennington (341 passing yards, 4 TD – one rushing, INT), who’s numbers were nearly as good. (More …)
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Fantasy football thoughts from Puerto Rico
Brandon
So these past few days have been a bit of an adventure for me, as I was traveling down to Puerto Rico for work and due to some hurricane-induced delays, mixed with the reliability of the Puerto Rican internet, I have not been able to write some much needed analysis of what is shaping up to be a crazy opening weekend in the NFL. Let me just start by saying that while Matt felt it unnecessary to mention Tom Brady’s season ending injury (and it wasn’t even to that stupid foot we kept hearing about!), I have to admit that I am shedding a few tears internally as my favorite team’s Superbowl hopes are now resting squarely on the shoulders of a guy I thought the team was going to cut before the season started…Mr. Matt Cassel. Luckily for my alternate, fantasy football reality, I only had Brady in one league this year and it was my lame EA Sports league that I really don’t care much about, but let’s get to the rest of the action that transpired this weekend…
- A tale of two teams (who are both missing almost every receiver on the depth chart): When the Seahawks lose all their receivers (Nate Burleson is now out for the season with an ACL injury), the team goes into a tailspin and gets killed by the Bills. Donovan McNabb on the other hand makes the most out of his situation and throws for over 300 yards and 3 TD’s (with a rookie leading the team in receptions and receiving yards) as the Eagles completely dominate the St. Louis Rams. By the way, the Rams offense was bad in the preseason and now that the first team offense was out there the whole game…they may have looked worse? (More …)
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Rising and Falling: The Barbarian unleashed!
Brandon
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
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 …)
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Missing in Action: Where are Steven Jackson and others?
Brandon
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 …)
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Mock draft v1.0
Brandon
Over the past week or so, I have been participating in an eight team mock draft over e-mail, hosted by http://www.WestCoastNonsense.com. The teams were made up of people from different fantasy football blogs, including FFLibrarian.com, FantasyFootballBlog.net, TheFantasyFootballReport.com, WestCoastNonsense.com, and PortlandSportsman.blogspot.com. The draft followed the standard serpentine format, with the basic scoring system being 6 points for RB/WR score and 4 points for a QB score. Below you can see the final team that we ended up with:
QB: Matt Hasselbeck, SEA
RB: Joseph Addai, IND
RB: Clinton Portis, WAS
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, ARI
WR: Roy Williams, DET
RB/WR: Reggie Bush, NO
TE: Antonio Gates, SD
DEF: Pittsburgh
Bench: Dwayne Bowe, WR, KC
Bench: Edgerrin James, RB, ARI
Bench: Deion Branch, WR, SEA
Bench: Javon Walker, WR, OAKAfter the jump you can see the round-by-round results, as well as our commentary on the individual picks…
(More …)
