Uh oh, Vikings fans: Dr. Z picked your team to win the Super Bowl.

Do the Redskins have the personnel for a West Coast Offense? Mike Lombardi doesn't think so. I agree: They are a huge mystery going into this season.

Continue reading "Skinny Posts: Vikings prepare to be trendy pick" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 01:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Certain storylines or team needs tend to gain steam in media coverage throughout the summer, whether it's warranted or not. Dallas' supposedly desperate need for another wide receiver is one of these stories. What all the hand-wringing fails to mention is that Dallas was awesome last year with Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton as secondary receivers behind Terrell Owens. How much better can the Cowboys get than finishing second in receiving touchdowns and second in yards-per-attempt?

Is Crayton a classic number two? No, he plays better in the slot. Just like other Donald Driver, Bobby Engram, and plenty other "starters" around the league. The local rag says Dallas will use Jason Witten out wide more often, which is nice. But Witten was already was among the league leaders at tight end in snaps out wide, so I'm not sure how much more he can play out there. He's a better tight end than wideout, and the matchups will be better inside. He's proven to be more effective there, like most tight ends.

Continue reading "Enough about the Dallas No. 2 receiver" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (28)

It's been a ridiculously fortunate time for the Boston sports fan, and I can understand why we aren't beloved nationally. I can't always understand, though, why watching another championship celebration makes me so damn happy. And why the memory of a Super Bowl loss can haunt for months.

This post has nothing to do with fantasy football, so feel free to ignore. But before we break for the weekend, I wanted to leave with a passage from the great baseball writer Roger Angell, describing why we all seem to care so much. It's from his book Five Seasons and the article about the '75 World Series, Agincourt and After. Have a great weekend everyone:

Continue reading "The business of caring" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

I promise to stop posting about what dribbles out of Chad Johnson's mouth soon. But his latest interview on Bengals.com is the best proof yet that Ocho Cinco is in full-blown fence-mending mode. I've long said that I plan to draft Johnson as if this offseason drama never happened. And these comments are the best proof yet that he's not going to cause more problems.

Continue reading "Chad Johnson completes fence mending" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Either Miles Austin or Sam Hurd seem likely to get a big role in Dallas this year. It's just tough to figure out which one will step up.

I'm been waiting for an Antonio Bryant puff piece to wrap my arms around, so my high ranking of him doesn't seem so speculative. Now I have one.

Daunte Culpepper's hope for a starting job prevented him from getting any job. That's why you need an agent.

James Jones is well ahead of Jordy Nelson, as you'd expect. Now can he possibly pass Donald Driver?

Mike Lombardi thinks Ray Rice could pass Willis McGahee, who he says isn't a blue chipper.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

I would love to hear some early WR flex sleepers

Sidney Rice, Antonio Bryant, Courtney Taylor, Mark Bradley, Jacoby Jones

Why is "Third Round Reverse" not the standard format for draft leagues?

All things being equal, I like third round reverse better than normal. But I can see both sides. Still, it's impossible to get fantasy leaguers to agree on standard scoring and lineups, much less draft slots. I think standardizing would help the industry as a whole, but I don't think it will ever happen.

Continue reading "Mailbag answers, Vol. III" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

At the 9th spot of a 10-team redraft that is adding 3 keepers after this year, should i gamble on a RB duo of 2 of the following (depending on who is available): Gore, Barber, Lynch, Portis, MJD? OR one of those RBs and then take Romo in the 2nd round?

QBs go fast in my league and all of the top 5 QBs (Brady, Manning, Romo, Brees, Big Ben) figure to be taken by my 3rd round pick (3.09).
Tony B.

In a keeper league, I'd take all those backs over all the quarterbacks except Brady. I'd take Brady over MJD perhaps. You don't want to miss out on quarterbacks, but keeping two top running backs next year. Eventually, you could trade RB depth for quarterbacks if you really needed one.

Continue reading "Mailbag Answers: Vol. II" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

The Giants playoff defense made everyone look pretty bad. But I was still shocked when I recently watched tape of the Bucs-Giants playoff game to see how bad Jeff Garcia looked. It wasn't simply when there was pressure in his face. He was way off target even when he had time to throw.

Garcia had another rough day at minicamp Wednesday. While I know it's only one day of non-padded practice, it's a reminder that we shouldn't assume anything is set in stone at quarterback for the Bucs. Garcia is 38 years old and his body has been through a lot. I wouldn't go near him in fantasy leagues.

Continue reading "Don't assume Garcia's job is safe" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 03:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

For most of the offseason, we've had to assume that Cadillac Williams was not going to be a factor this season. That may prove to be the case, but he's making believers in Tampa with an "amazing" comeback. He is reportedly sprinting well and showing change of direction with no setbacks yet.

Continue reading "Cadillac is making progress" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Tiffany and I taped a video Tuesday afternoon on where to draft all the Bengals players. So what if it looks old now that Chad Johnson is undergoing ankle surgery? Honestly, Johnson's ankle surgery won't change my rankings if he is ready for camp, like they anticipate. While I'm plugging other material, I also wrote up notes from around the AFC in a column yesterday.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (99)