July 28, 2008
Another day, another mention by Mike Holmgren that he plans to split carries evenly between Julius Jones and Maurice Morris. He may even rotate who starts. (T.J. Duckett, meanwhile, will be blocking for them.)
I had Jones pegged as late fifth-round pick, with Morris going in the 13th round. While they still won't be ranked ranked close together, the gap will be closing in a draft guide update coming to a computer screen near you shortly. Jones should prove more valuable over time, but his situation risks looking a lot like it did in Dallas.
Terry Glenn is no longer a Cowboy, which solidifies Patrick Crayton’s value as a starter in Dallas. Crayton was inconsistent on a weekly basis last year, but he put up WR3 numbers and is a fine pick for depth in fantasy leagues. I like him as a WR4 because he's not steady enough to us each week. Miles Austin and Sam Hurd will battle for the third receiver job. Perhaps Glenn will reunite with Bill Parcells in Miami, who could use some receiver depth.
Apologies for the error on this post earlier. Had to delete it, including the funny comments. Our system went a little nutty.
I wrote up a column today: The nine stories you need to know from training camp so far. That covers most of the weekend fun.
We've covered a few on the blog, but one that has been overlooked is Devin Thomas' hamstring injury. I don’t rank any rookie receiver as being draftable in a 12-team, 15-man roster league, but I had the highest hopes for Devin Thomas. After a hamstring injury that will keep him out two weeks, it’s time to dim those hopes some. He was already behind fellow rookie Malcolm Kelly, who now has a better chance to start opposite Santana Moss.
July 25, 2008
The big takeaways from Friday include Andre Johnson and Marvin Harrison practicing fully again. In Indy, Harrison's teammates said he looked like the same old Marv. Johnson has been running routes for weeks, and caught a bomb behind three Houston defenders Friday.
I'm not sure if Johnson's surgery affected his ADP, but we have continued to rank him second at wideout. This helps solidify that ranking. So does Harrison's return, which hurts Reggie Wayne. Harrison continues to fall in drafts as people overreact to summer reports. My friend Stephen chose him at 5.09 in a draft today. I've taken him at that spot or later. It's a part of the draft where other receiver options usually include Laveranues Coles, Lee Evans, and Dwayne Bowe are taken. To me, Harrison is a no brainer that deep. Could he burn you there? Sure. But anyone can burn you, and that's deep enough in the draft for risk to meet reward. Something tells me he may not continue to fall that far.
Marvin Harrison and Andre Johnson are practicing, Kenny Irons is a former Bengal (for now), Steven Jackson is a holdout (for now), and Devin Hester no longer is. Just another training camp morning, where more news happens in 24 hours than occurs in a month of the off-season.
Still, it all takes a backseat to the Brett Favre saga. Which appears to be wrapping up. NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports that Favre plans to show up to camp Sunday. I emailed Schefter and he says that he thinks Favre genuinely just wants to play football again, preferably in Green Bay. Either way, this will speed the process up. He's playing football in 2008. Meanwhile, the Jets have reportedly received permission to talk to Favre. They may not be the only team to do so in the next 48 hours. One way or another, I think we'll know Favre's 2008 team by Monday. Either he's dealt or the Packers commit to him on the roster. I'd bet on the former, but nothing should surprise at this point.
Javon Walker's jaw and orbital bone look just fine, thank you very much. We aren't saying the police report detailing Walker's injuries was wrong, but those injuries don't appear too severe. Walker is practicing once a day at Raiders camp, but that's presumably because of his knee. There are many other reasons to avoid Walker this season, but his assault in Las Vegas now looks low on the list.
Continue reading "Javon Walker ready to play" »
July 24, 2008
I have spent much of the off-season doubting one of my favorite players of the decade, Deuce McAllister. Players his age just don't come back from a second torn ACL plus a microfracture surgery in the same offseason. So it's only fair to note Thursday that McAllister was on the field for the start of training camp. As best we can tell, he's practicing without restrictions. It's uncertain. however, if there was contact in the drills.
McAllister reportedly weighs ten pounds less than he did when returning from injury two years ago. He still has a long way to go, and I remain skeptical, but it sounds like he's off to a great start. The Saints will give him every chance possible to make the team.
Like a lot of fantasy players, I iirationally like rookie running backs, especially if they are likely to start. But it's hard to wrap my arms around Kevin Smith of the Lions. His lack of competition and experience in zome schemes are plusses, but there are so many negatives.
1. The Lions offensive line
2. His lack of competition at Central Florida
3. 450 carries last season! 450. 450. 450. 450.
If that didn't make you worried about his durability this season, now we have to worry about this: Smith's upright running style. Smith must have got popped at the first contact practice of Lions camp:
Continue reading "Kevin Smith runs tall; That's not a good thing" »
Can Garrard trust his top receiver?
Jeremy Shockey's draft guide projection gets its own column. Jerry Porter's hamstring surgery gets a blog post.
Draft guide readers know I have Porter listed in the sleepers. He showed up very well on tape in a tough situation in Oakland, and is joining a great offense for his skills. My moles in Jacksonville told me that David Garrard was convinced Porter would put up huge numbers, the heir to Jimmy Smith.
Continue reading "Sticking with Jerry Porter" »
July 23, 2008
Tiffany and I look at the Giants this week, among other teams yet to come. The big question is whether Eli Manning's growth in the playoffs will carry over. While there are big questions at running back, Manning and Plaxico Burress have actually been among the steadiest players in fantasy the last three years, at least in final totals. You may not know how they will get there, but their final numbers are quite predictable.
|
