Derrick Mason missed practice Thursday. It might be a routine day off, but it's somewhat rare for a player to skip practice Thursday after working fully on Wednesday.

Mark Clayton and Demetrius Williams owners should be praying that Mason misses a game because he's been a huge target hog this year. Mason has 50 pass targets, good for second in the league. Williams has 25, and Mark Clayton has 16, although the two have been equal over the last two weeks.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 05:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Laurence Maroney owners hoping to learn about his status will probably have to wait until Sunday morning. The new injury report policies hoped to clarify injury matters, but the Patriots are likely to list Laurence Maroney as questionable and having "limited participation" in practice all week, just like last week.

Whether teams are covering up anything or not, the reality is that many players genuinely don't know their availability until Sunday morning. So how can fantasy owners?

The good news this week is that New England kicks off at 1PM Sunday. You'll know before kickoff whether to use Maroney or Sammy Morris. Ahman Green and Todd Heap look like two other possible game-time calls.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Wish I could be posting here more often, but other responsibilities keep interfering.

***

I was scrolling through our Workload Report and noticed a surprising name atop the offensive percentage list for the season: Marshawn Lynch

Continue reading "Lynch Working Hard" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Sean Payton was asked Wednesday if Aaron Stecker would take over Deuce McAllister's role in the offense, and Peyton made it clear that wouldn't be the case. Reggie Bush will pick up most of the running workload.

"Reggie will get more carries. Stecker will be involved and Pierre Thomas will be involved, but you'll see Reggie get more handoffs."

Peyton was later asked whether they would use Brian Westbrook as a model and said Bush could expect to see 18-20 carries a game.

Continue reading "Bush readying for carry increase" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

As a Marc Bulger owner, I'm seriously relieved that Scott Linehan is pulling the plug on him, assuming profootballtalk's report comes true. It saves Bulger from his downward spiral, it saves Bulger from getting more injured, and it saves me from playing him. I don't know if the "old" Marc Bulger is coming back this season, but there is a better chance it happens if he gets some rest.

Sunday's showing against Dallas was depressing. The offensive line didn't help, but Bulger was gunshy, inaccurate, and making curious decisions. Perhaps by the time his ribs heal, the line will work out some of their problems, Torry Holt will have his speed back, and Bulger can be a decent QB1 for the second half of the season.

Continue reading "Bulger News is for the Best" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Wednesday is my favorite work day of the regular week. I get up early,and watch as many of the Shortcuts from Sunday Ticket as possible around doing the rest of my work.

I ran into one problem today: I forgot to Tivo all the games, surprisingly for the first time ever. Anyhow, it looks like I'll be watching a lot of Week 3, which isn't so bad. Let me know some of the teams you'd like focused on in Goal Line Stand or covered here.

***

This morning's big news (until Marc Bulger broke while I'm typing this more on that later) is more bad news for Alex Smith. He may miss the season after shoulder surgery. Smith came into this season with so much promise. He's only five months older than Brady Quinn but his future in the NFL now looks precarious after serious shoulder surgery and a slow start to the year. The 49ers may have to bring in real competition for him next year.

***

The new Fantasy Fix is up.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Judging by Aaron Gleeman's chat, Fantasy Nation is abuzz with the Chester Taylor/Bryant McKinnie deal that the Tampa Tribune mentioned this morning.

Let's make one thing clear: There is little-to-no chance the Vikings would deal a quality young tackle like McKinnie. And it's highly unlikely they'd trade Taylor during the season, even if that deal makes more sense because of Adrian Peterson.

If any team was going to make a blockbuster deal for a veteran, though, Tampa would be it. The whole franchise is in win-now mode and they always favor experienced players. That said, Brad Childress doesn't have great job security either and these sorts of deals almost never happen.

As a Michael Pittman owner, I'm not thrilled to hear these rumors. I'm surprised they feel it necessary to upgrade to a similar back. I'm also confident the Vikings aren't ready to give up on 2007, so a deal is still unlikely.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

The 49ers passing game is currently worse (in YPA) than Alex Smith's rookie year, when the four-headed monster of Smith/Rattay/Pickett/Dorsey was making some defense's day on a weekly basis. San Francisco is dead last in YPA at 5.0.

There are many reasons for the decline. Vernon Davis was quiet, then got hurt. Darrell Jackson is making the Seahawks look like they knew what they were doing. The offensive line has surprisingly collapsed. And now Smith is hurt, with Trent Dilfer managing to play even worse last week.

Continue reading "49ers in reverse" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

The Bengals have had their chances in this game, and are doing some things to make the Patriots uncomfortable. But it says a lot that Cincinnati appears to be slowing the game down in an effort to keep it close. The Patriots want to take Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh out of the game, and so far it's worked. They have 51 yards combined.

It may be the skeptic in me, but I think this game is going to get a lot more interesting in the second half.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I'd definitely choose Michael Pittman over Earnest Graham, and it's not just because Pittman outplayed Graham in Week 4. It's because Pittman has been excellent since he joined the Bucs, averaging at least four yards-per-carry in his last five seasons.

It's not like he's slowing down. Pittman has averaged 5.67 yards-per-carry since 2005 on 150 carries, and he's good for 45 catches even while playing as a backup. Graham is an unknown; a special teams player who hasn't earned a consistent role in four seasons. He looks likely get goal-line carries, but Pittman's pass catching ability and proven production make him a better option. They will proabably split carries, but Pittman will be ranked higher in Goal Line Stand as a solid flex option.

Continue reading "Pittman or Graham?" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 06:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)