Was it good defense or just bad offense played by the 49ers and Cardinals on Monday night?

A 49ers optimist could point towards their offseason additions making a big difference, especially Nate Clements and rookie LB Patrick Willis. Arizona could hope that the team's new 3-4 scheme will fit their personnel better. They sure knew how to use Adrian Wilson.

Continue reading "Leinart, Smith off to poor starts" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Long-time (since 2006) fans of The Fantasy Fix will remember my Free Musa campaign last year. Our hero Musa Smith was wrongly held in captivity on the bench behind Jamal Lewis all season, at least until a Week 13 injury.

With Willis McGahee in Baltimore and a quiet offseason from Smith, my cheerleading has been kept to a minimum this year. But an injury to veteran Mike Anderson gave Smith a chance to backup McGahee tonight, and he was at his explosive third-down best with 39 yards and a touchdown on six touches. He was on the field for the majority of Baltimore's one touchdown drive.

Continue reading "Free Musa 2?" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

It's hard to make Tom Coughlin a sympathetic figure, but the torrent of bad news about his Giants is making it possible. The team's best player, Osi Umenyiora, is out two months. According to Chris Mortensen, Eli Manning is out "at least" a month with a shoulder injury (Although local guys are sticking to their story that Eli has a chance to play this week). We'll see.

Everyone's favorite second running back Brandon Jacobs is out 3-5 weeks with a sprained MCL. The Giants are calling him week-to-week.

Continue reading "Already dog days in New York" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 06:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

I have received two emails this morning about why I didn't write about Deion Branch. To be honest, I didn't know what to say. According to our Season Pass workload report Branch didn't have a catch on three targets. Considering D.J. Hackett missed virtually the entire game, the low total was surprising.

Continue reading "Branch's shutout" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

One the most dangerous things an analyst can do is unnecessarily speculate. In football, we do this too much with injuries because we get such little information.

Here's what we know about Carnell Williams. The Bucs are calling Cadillac questionable for this week, but the St. Petersburg Times says he's closer to doubtful. The Tampa Tribune says he's sidelined "indefinitely" and will be out "for a while."

Continue reading "Reading the tea leaves with Caddy" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 01:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Hello Pancake Blockers - been a while. My as-yet unnamed Monday morning wrap-up column is on the site and covers most of my key points from Sunday. Thanks to everyone for calling in to the show. I now realize blogging on Sundays on top of the show, news, and Season Pass recaps isn't going to happen. So Sunday will oddly be a day of rest on Pancake Blocks most weeks.

The 200+ player blurbs cranked out by our staff should tide you over.

Mondays we'll focus on game hangovers and all the pressers. In the meantime, take a peek at my favorite day-after column: Football Outsiders' Audibles at the Line.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

All's quiet on fantasy football gorgefest eve. My plan tomorrow is to escape from New York in the morning for the Fantasy Fix Live show at 11AM. Call in with your questions. After that, I'll be manning the fort up at work (new for me on Sundays) watching the games and news. Not sure the blog will be overly active on game days because of the regular news work, but I'll make sure to pop in. Good luck to everyone.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Patriots @ Jets

Tom Brady: Must Start - I have no idea what to expect in this game, but the Patriots passing game probably won’t be firing on all cylinders right off the bat this season with so many new parts. Brady averaged 228 yards a game against the Jets last year, with four total scores and two picks. Expect solid, unspectacular numbers again this week.

Laurence Maroney: Must Start - Workload shouldn’t a problem. Maroney was worked hard in his final preseason effort, and handled it well.

Randy Moss: Borderline WR2 - I’d consider benching Moss if you don’t start 3 WRs. Sure, he could explode for two scores. But he could also be limited to 30-40 snaps or aggravate his hamstring. I want to see something first.

Donte’ Stallworth: Borderline WR3 - I’m not huge on Stallworth this season because I feel like the Patriots will spread it around. With Moss shakier than normal, Stallworth gets a small boost. The Jets aren’t deep at cornerback either.

Wes Welker: Weak Play - Welker gets a huge bump in PPR leagues, but the upside isn’t there most weeks for a WR3 in standard leagues. He’ll be solid, but I respectfully disagree with Mr. Simmons that he’ll be a great fantasy sleeper. More like a great reserve to have for bye weeks.

Ben Watson: Borderline TE1 - Like most Patriots receivers, his role will change dramatically each week. The Jets shut him down three times last year.

Continue reading "Jets-Patriots Preview" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)

One of the hardest decisions I make each week is what two games to watch on Sunday at 1PM. Poor me, I know. I want to see every game, but you wind up seeing none if you flip between 5. I’m considering Denver/Buffalo for one of the slots because I’m very interested to see Marshawn Lynch and basically the entire Broncos offense. Let’s look at the players from both teams.

Broncos

QB1: Jay Cutler: Solid Play - This is a good week to use Cutler. I know they are a zone team, but Buffalo has one of the weakest cornerback tandems in football now that Nate Clements is gone.

RB1: Travis Henry - Must Start - Buffalo struggled to stop the run last year, and didn’t appear to solve their interior line problems in the offseason. If Denver’s line is back in form, Henry should have a big game.

RB2: Selvin Young – Must Sit - There’s no guarantee yet he’s the backup, but he should be. I’m praying Young turns into an asset for my NFFC team, so I’ll be watching closely.

WR1: Javon Walker – Must Start - Walker hasn’t exactly had a consistent career, but modest gains from his post-ACL campaign in 2006 will make him a WR1. This should be a great matchup for him.

Continue reading "Broncos vs. Bills" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Gary Smith's SI feature on Miami coach Randy Shannon was one of the best things I've read all year. Like most 11 page web articles, it's better in magazine format. I've never had a college team to follow, and it almost makes me want to adopt the Hurricanes, which I'm sure would be an unpopular pick.

Back in a few minutes with a matchup preview.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)