I can't remember a season when the number one spots for kickers and defense was so up for grabs. Since we can all agree that kickers are best left for the final two rounds, let's head into the long weekend arguing about who is the top team defense for this season. And just as importantly, how early would draft them?

One season after the Bears and Ravens dominated the early picks (with poor returns), fantasy owners may be hesitant to take a defense early. Since there will be so much disagreement over who is the best, I know I'll be waiting until the last few rounds. There still has to be a top team, and here are my five top candidates, in no particular order.

Continue reading "Who's the #1 Fantasy Defense?" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

OTA and minicamp season, like Spring, is in full bloom. Like the sudden shedding of clothing in Central Park, NFL writers and players are all too happy to shed the disappointment of last season. There are excuses why last year sucked, and measures have been taken to correct it. Optimism rules.

From time to time, I'll take a look at a popular subject of the offseason puff piece and decide whether it has any merit. Today's subject is Robert Meachem.

Continue reading "Puff Piece Detector: Robert Meachem" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I went to a Yankees-Indians game a few weeks ago with our GM Rick Cordella and baseball Kingpin Matthew Pouliot. It was a rare trip up to the home office for Pouliot. Even though he's worked for Rotoworld for almost a decade, he's only met the people he works with a handful of times.

My wife asked me who was going to the game that day. When describing Pouliot, I said he's the guy I owe my job to. If Pouliot wasn't quite so insane while building up the content on Rotoworld, it would not have grown to its current level. (I have probably repated this to her, but I repeat a lot).

Barely two weeks later, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article on Pouliot where I could repeat it again. Well done, sir.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I wrote about a mid-round TE battle last week, I almost included Tony Scheffler in the discussion. He didn't have a catch in the first four weeks of last season, mostly because of a foot injury, but he was a solid TE1 after that. My projections put him right with the three we debated.

Continue reading "Tony Scheffler losing footing" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Certain teams love to load up at certain positions. Tampa loves quarterbacks, Jacksonville prefers quantity over quality at wide receiver, and Tennessee just can't stop picking up running backs.

Ron Dayne is visiting the Titans today. It's not like he'll compete to start, but LenDale White owners should be hoping Dayne doesn't sign. You don't want Jeff Fisher to get confused when he's looking for a pudgy back to put in near the goal line.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Let's start this Thursday morning with a check on our last reader decision: Kellen Winslow vs. Jason Witten.

Witten won in a landslide. While I agree, it's worth keeping in mind that Winslow topped 1,100 yards in a season that often would be the best among tight ends. Throw in Antonio Gates, and I think there is a big gap this year between the top-three tight ends and the rest of the pack. While I will be happy to take someone like Owen Daniels or Todd Heap at the right spot, I think the "big three" will be a better value in the middle rounds than players like Tony Gonzalez and Dallas Clark, who may only go a round later.

Winslow has missed OTA work this offseason, but Drew Rosenhaus says he'll be there for the mandatory work.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I first heard about the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive this morning. Imagine my glee in finding out what Rotoworld looked like almost a decade ago. My favorite blurb includes Mo Vaughn homering off Pat Hentgen.

Fast forward a few years, and I randomly chose a day in August of 2003, when Rotoworld was in all our text-heavy glory. At the top of the page is an ad for a sports writer.

Continue reading "The Wayback Machine" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well I have my first projection to change since finishing our first magazine last week. I optimistically projected Mark Bradley as quite the late-round sleeper, but news of another knee surgery hurts. He hasn't been able to stay healthy since tearing his ACL in 2005. The number one receiver potential is there, but he has to be downgraded until he shows he's healthy in training camp. Unlike Andre Johnson, it sounds like Bradley isn't certain to be ready for the start of camp. Which may indicate that the surgery is more serious than your average "scope."

If Bradley can't get healthy, Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, and Brandon Lloyd may be competing to start. I can hear the Bears fan teeth gnashing from here.

Update: Bradley says he'll be ready for camp and the Bears still call him questionable. It was an arthroscopic surgery, which is good. And Lloyd ran with the ones on Wednesday. Yikes.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 01:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

The title really says it all.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OTA and minicamp season, like Spring, is in full bloom. Like the sudden shedding of clothing in Central Park, NFL writers and players are all too happy to shed the disappointment of last season. There are excuses why last year sucked, and measures have been taken to correct it. Optimism rules.

From time to time, I'll take a look at a popular subject of the offseason puff piece and decide whether it has any merit. Let's start with Randy McMichael.

Continue reading "Puff Piece Detetector: Randy McMichael" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)