The other Alex Smith

41. Bucs TE: Alex Smith vs. Jerramy Stevens

If I had an editor, he’d tell me that the top 50 position battles is losing steam. And behind pace. And that readers don’t need all three paragraphs on Jeff King. Perhaps two.

With advice in mind, let’s start rolling through these.

The Tampa tight end battle should matter. Jon Gruden loves to pass, and Alex Smith and Jerramy Stevens are both talented pass-catchers. Unfortunately, the Tampa tight end battle hasn’t mattered throughout the Gruden era because the wideouts and running backs get all the love.

Smith has 76 catches in two seasons and has been a Rotoworld favorite because of his smarts and strength combination. 76 catches also compares well to the first two years of many good tight ends. He had a disappointing second season, but its hard to gauge Tampa’s offensive players because of Bruce Gradkowski. Stevens has been a top-25 tight end the last three years in Seattle. He missed the first five games of last season. After more off-field troubles, he may be on his last chance in the NFL. Anthony Becht is also on the roster, but mostly handles blocking duties.

In the end, the Tampa tight end battle may not matter. If both players make the team, they will probably cancel each other out. If Stevens is cut, Smith is worth keeping a close eye on. Damn, we still hit three paragraphs.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Most of Fantasy Nation has forgotten about Adrian Peterson's collarbone issues by now. Rotoworld was cautious ranking Peterson initially because of the risk, but summer reports that he was cleared to practice eased our concerns. That's why this post on Access Vikings gave me pause.

Peterson still hasn't been fully cleared for contact. Perhaps it will happen next week, and this is a non-story. Until that happens, though, too many fantasy owners are taking Peterson's health for granted. It sounds like Minnesota will play it safe, but I'll feel a lot more confident in drafting Peterson as a top-50 pick once he takes a couple preseason hits.

***

* Footballguys started a blog. If it's anything like Doug Drinen's awesome profootballreference blog, it will be worth a daily look. Once we get a blogroll here (working on it), we'll link to both.

* John Clayton (Insider) has posted every day for over a week. Maybe he feels Sando in the rear view mirror.

* Some position battles coming in a few

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)

The new column is up. These Mock Draft breakdowns take some time to put together, but always get the most hits. This draft was a points-per-reception league draft, although honestly it didn't appear to affect the draft slots that much. If you are looking for a guide on how your draft is going to look, this mock should be instructive.

We'll be back with an afternoon full of links and position battles after a quick break.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 01:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I love Tom Kowalski's Scouting Reports on Mlive.com, but sections of his Mike Martz writeup are odd. Martz hardly looks like a guy who is going to be choosy about what head coaching job he takes if he gets an offer. If anything, he gives off the impression through his media leaks that he wants out of his coordinator status a little too much. He tries to cultivate a certain desireability through the media, but NFL owners don't seem to share it.

As a Kitna owner, I can only hope his stay in Detroit is a long one. After the way Martz's tenure ended in St. Louis, he's more likely to remain a great coordinator than become a good head coach again.

* Mike Reiss had a good look Sunday at the strategy of re-signing veterans early to anticipate the free agent market. It's hard to criticize anything the Patriots front office has done in the last seven years, but I think they were one of many teams that took time to adjust to the new salary cap increases. It's a lot easier to stay under the cap these days.

* The unbridled optimism about Jamal Lewis continues in Cleveland. They are clearly a team that is going to be built around running the football. In the same mailbag, Tony Grossi notes that GM Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel don't appear fired up about LeCharles Bentley's decision to attempt playing this year. He may simply be delaying further surgery.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Got caught up taping eight training camp team previews for NBCSports.com that will hit the interweb later this week. Be back tomorrow on the blog and with a new column dissective one of my mock drafts. See you then.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I might be the only person in the country that watched Sportscenter this weekend because of Who's Now. The segments have received such uniformly disastrous reviews that I thought it would be worth a look, sorta like renting the DVD of Battlefield Earth. (A highly underrated experience)

Sitting down on Saturday, I got to thinking when the last time I watched half of a Sportscenter episode that didn't follow the Patriots or Red Sox winning the championship. The best I could come up with was about nine years ago, towards the end of college. I had assumed most big sports fans had done the same. With ESPNews and satellite cable available, there are always actual sports (or highlights) on television, rather than the talk and features format Sportscenter now favors.

All the outrage, especially from the blogosphere, helped me realize I was probably wrong about Sportscenter. People over 18 are still watching.

Who's Now didn't disappoint. Poor Steve Berthiaume (I believe) looked like he wanted to cry while introducing the segment. I listened to Kirk Herbstreit argue that Vince Young perhaps was more Next than Now. It was as ridiculous and meaningless as expected.

Now I don't have to watch for another nine years.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

McNabb needs a slot receiver

# 42. Eagles third receiver: Hank Baskett vs. Jason Avant vs. Greg Lewis

This is a “Just in case” battle. The Eagles spread the ball around way too much, especially to the running backs and tight ends, for the third receiver to have stand-alone value. But if Kevin Curtis or Reggie Brown get hurt, you are going to want to know who to pick up.

Lewis is probably the odd man out here. He’s had his chances and didn’t do much with them. Baskett and Avant is a fair fight between two second-year players. Baskett managed 464 yards as an undrafted rookie (who was traded in training camp), although the numbers are skewed somewhat by two touchdowns over 85 yards. We don’t have to question his speed at least.

Continue reading "Top 50 Position Battles: Baskett vs. Avant" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 08:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

#43. Raiders third receiver: Travis Taylor vs. Mike Williams vs. Doug Gabriel vs. Johnnie Lee Higgins

I like Oakland’s starting tandem: Ronald Curry and Jerry Porter. They can get the job done. Not sure if the quarterback can, but that’s another battle. I know their receiver depth is weak.

Gabriel couldn’t hang on in New England last year, and his shine is off. Mike Williams is viewed as a bounceback sleeper candidate by some, but he couldn’t stay healthy or in shape during minicamp season. He should be considered dead to fantasy leaguers unless he shows any life.

Continue reading "Top 50 Position Battles: Raiders third receiver" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Eric Moulds is suddenly done

Our first installment of Who's done didn't inspire as much outrage as Who's Now, just apathy. But we solider on with part two. In fact, we'll be updating the list throughout the year as a final resting place when fantasy football veterans fade away.

Wide Receiver

Charles Rogers: The weird thing about Rogers’ suddenly done career is that he actually looked like a great prospect in his rookie year before breaking his collarbone. But he appeared to lose all confidence after breaking it again before his second season and stopped working hard.

Eric Moulds: A great example of a player who rapidly declined being healthy. Moulds, 33, was hardly a breakaway threat, but he caught 81 passes in 2005 and was a decent third receiver in PPR leagues. After a vanilla year starting in Houston last season, no one wants to pay him.

David Givens: Sad story for an overachiever. At least he cashed in before a series of devastating series of knee surgeries last year with the Titans. He’ll probably make a comeback and get on the field for the Titans again, but the odds on him making an impact again are slim.

Continue reading "Who's Done? (Part two)" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (110)

The NFL is seriously considering about a 17th game for all NFL teams internationally. That's not totally new, but the news that they want it to happen within five years in news to me.

"You'd play eight at home, eight away, and one game internationally," the NFL's Mark Waller said. Waller also said the league wants to have teams in London, Mexico and Canada within ten years. That sounds like a better idea for expanding the game than NFLE.

* Bad news for NFL Network and all NFL fans who have Comcast.

* Dolphins and Sprint create a fantasy lounge at their stadium. Cool stuff.

* Gleeman's Friday links, which I'm oddly addicted to.

* Fantasy Fix producer Matt Casey's funny movie all-star team.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)