One thing is certain about Torry Holt's uncertain knee. His fantasy owners are freaking out. Rotoworld b-ball guru Steve Alexander is annoyed he kept Holt over Terrell Owens.

Nilesh Majmudar wants to know if Holt will play Week 1.

I would assume so, yes. I think some of Holt's comments are out of frustration, but he's been on the field in the preseason. He's not going to miss the first game. It's also worth noting Scott Linehan said Holt looked improved the last few days.

Jean Hanna wants to know how Holt's production will affect Steven Jackson's production, possibly with more check-down passes.

I think projecting that far ahead is a stretch. The Rams still have quality wideouts in Drew Bennett and Isaac Bruce, and like I said, it's likely Holt won't even miss any time.

Continue reading "Holt Answers" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 01:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Football players, especially ones in their thirties, usually avoid surgery at all costs. Surgery begets more surgery in the future, and one never knows how the recovery will go.

Torry Holt, who noticeably slowed at the end of the last two seasons, is learning the hard way.

It's just one of those deals where I'm not recovering as quick as I used to. I have to get used to that and stay patient. ... I don't know if it'll ever heal all the way, but I think it will heal enough where it will allow me to go out and play.

Ugh. Holt said he was near 70 or 80 percent, a number that will cause his stock to drop across Fantasy Nation. But how far?

Continue reading "How low should Holt go?" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (4489)

So Josh McCown is starting Oakland's fourth preseason game. McCown now appears to be the favorite to start in Week 1 unless it's some elaborate trade showcase. But I'm giving up handicapping this quarterback race after getting it wrong every time.

So what do the experts think? The San Francisco Chroncle believes it's a toss up, but that Culpepper could be dealt or released before Week 1. Inside the Raiders seems to think Culpepper is still the favorite, but doesn't really tip their hand.

Continue reading "Kiffin throws curveball" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

A couple people asked where they could see an archived version of our live show from last Friday. Here you go. it will usually get up faster. I'm up at NBC doing an office draft tonight. Hopefully it won't included the ugly back-to-back Kaeding-Wilkins picks on the tenth-eleventh round turn that I saw in my other other work league last week.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 06:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (57)

Kevin Jones and Tatum Bell owners, and prospective owners, need to read the latest MLive.com update about Jones' status.

The crux of the article is that the front office and coaching staff may disagree on when Jones should return. The front office wants to play it safe and place Jones on the PUP list; the coaching staff may want to try getting him back involved as soon as possible.

Continue reading "Kevin Jones Decision Coming Soon" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's cut week, a time of year NFL veterans hate. But I love it, and I know depth chart guru Evan Silva feels the same. We suddenly have 30 fewer players to keep track of per team, and the NFL rosters become more manageable to make sense of.

The initial cut-down this year is to 75 players. Then each team must be down to 53 by Saturday. It's unusual to see big names cut early, but we've already had some recognizable ones: Jermaine Wiggins, David Kircus, Kenard Lang, David Terrell, and Bradlee Van Pelt.

The bigger names will fall later this week, when Reche Caldwell and Kevan Barlow, among others, will probably be looking for work.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No player has yo-yoed more than Brandon Jackson this month. He's sitting out practice Monday with an "upper body injury," and will probably sit out Thursday's preseason finale as a precaution. That's not a huge concern, but his middling effort in preseason game 3 was.

The offensive line struggled to make headway against bigger defenses like Pittsburgh and Jacksonville, with 18 yards on 11 carries. This line from the Green Bay Press-Gazette was worth noting.

Continue reading "Brandon Jackson takes step back" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The Eagles offense isn't playing particularly well, but Donovan McNabb owners should still feel good about what the see. Al Michaels said it - you can't really tell that McNabb is even coming off surgery. He's rolling out well and doesn't appear to be feeling the pass rush.

Daunte Culpepper is still struggling with footwork, looking awkward occasionally on the field, two years after his surgeries. McNabb's recovery time is going much faster.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The Steelers misused Heath Miller last season. Or they didn't use him enough. With Bruce Arians taking over the offense, the team has spoken in the offseason about getting Miller more involved on passing downs.

His 38-yard catch down the seam of the Philly defense to the one-yard line showed off his Todd Heap-like skills. He has strength, hands, and enough speed. Perhaps an even better sign was that Miller was targeted on the next play in the end zone. He was often on the sideline in similar situations last year. Miller is one of our favorite post-hype sleepers this year, and he has a good chance to put up TE1 numbers.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Steelers have talked in the offseason about getting Willie Parker more involved in the passing game, and that showed up in tonight's game. He has two catches, including a screen, early in the game. Also a good sign for FWP: He got the ball on the goal-line. Then he fumbled.

Parker fumbled seven times last season, so it's a problem he needs to avoid or the Steelers could consider going elsewhere near the stripe down the line. The Steelers don't have a logical vulture on the roster other than rookie Gary Russell, so Willie's job should be safe for now.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)