A good friend and regular Pancake Blocks reader was in the middle of a email draft yesterday. He was deciding between Marion Barber and Clinton Portis in a PPR league. (I said to go with Randy Moss, but who wants to listen to me?)
He chose Barber, and this excellent article on the Redskins offensive line makes me think he made the right choice. Sure, Portis is healthier and in better shape than usual. But Washington's offensive line is learning a new system, and they risk turning into the Bears of last season: Getting old all at once. If totally healthy, Chris Samuels, Jon Jansen, Randy Thomas, Pete Kendall, and Casey Rabach are an elite unit. But Rabach is the youngest at 30 and the only one not coming off a big surgery. A lot could go wrong here.
July 22, 2008
I usually don't take note of training camp practice numbers; they can run together and it takes weeks to establish patterns. But it was hard to ignore Troy Smith's first morning at Ravens camp, where it is mostly just quarterbacks and rookies. In six red zone plays, Smith went 1-for-5 with three interceptions and a fumbled snap. And one of the interceptions was made by a secondary coach who was filling in for a player. Goo!
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Ravens Central ran a great piece detailing the top five toughest players on the team. Tackle Marshall Yanda somehow only came in fourth despite taser-taking ability that should be criminal. Turns out the young tackle took a bet that he could handle getting hit be a taser gun. He won $1,500 for asking to get tazed, bro. For three seconds. Three separate times. If that only gets you fourth-toughest on the Ravens, this team has a chance this season.
Continue reading "Three Tazes are better than one" »
July 21, 2008
Jeremy Shockey can't complain about his offense anymore. Landing in New Orleans represents the absolutely perfect scenario to rehab his fantasy value. No team throws more than the Saints, and they desperately needed a second option behind Marques Colston to make tough catches over the middle. Shockey already knows Sean Payton's system, one that is built on short passes and yards after the catch. That's Shockey's specialty.
Saints tight ends caught 75 passes last year. Shockey's career high was 74, in his rookie season. If Shockey stays healthy, I would expect him to break that mark. He never stays healthy for long, though. He is coming off a broken leg and remains a huge injury risk. I will have a column tomorrow about what the trade does exactly to Shockey's ranking and projections. I have to work out the numbers still, but here's a preview: They are going up.
While the Redskins have started camp, the rest of the league doesn't all get into the swing of things at the same time until this weekend. Once that happens, we'll have more news affecting fantasy leaguers in a week than we had all offseason. It was mostly quiet while I was gone for a few days last week, but here are a couple items that caught my interest.
Kevin Jones could start the regular season on the PUP list. Any downgrade of Matt Forte because of Jones' addition should be minimal.
Continue reading "Skinny Posts: Recovering RBs" »
The 2008 football season started, appropriately, on a Sunday. The Redskins began training camp yesterday, and lost one of their key defensive pieces, Philip Daniels, for the season. By the end of the day, they had acquired Jason Taylor to fill the gap. It's a fine deal for both sides, but it's better for Miami. That's mostly because I don't think Washington will be a contender this season in the toughest division in football.
Jason LaCanfora is all over the Taylor stuff at Redskins Insider, in addition to other Washington news. Antwaan Randle El is healthy again, although we still don't know his role exactly. One point J La raises is Jason Taylor's new position on the left side. That traditionally means fewer sacks. As an IDP owner, I liked him better in Miami. Back with some more links I saw while catching up in a bit.
July 18, 2008
In my continuing quest to put up some posts here without actually doing much work on my vacation, here is the Fantasy Fix look at the Rams. Really interesting team from a fantasy perspective. I have my doubts Marc Bulger can bounce back all the way, but I hope I'm wrong. And someone is going to have to catch passes in this offense, so I have a surprise undervalued pick on this team. Even if Silva disagrees with me here.
All right folks. Football Prospectus arrived in the mail. I'm going to crank through it and get some sun. (You should get it too.) Enjoy the weekend. Football season starts next week.
July 17, 2008
So technically I'm on vacation for the next few days. With training camp starting next week, this was the last chance to take a breather before getting back to six-or-seven days of work a week through the Super Bowl. (I can hear Evan Silva thinking, "I do that all year, jerkoff." Well, uh, I used to be like that too. Before I found Silva.)
Anyhow, I do have some new videos to show at least. Tiffany and I talk about the Patriots, and I tell noted fantasy player Jabar Gaffney not to draft himself. I also explain why I'd take Randy Moss over Tom Brady. The video is after the jump, as well as another link I had to pass along.
Continue reading "Sorry Jabar: Previewing the Pats" »
I make a few predictions in my look at the Vikings. If you don't feel like watching me blab, here they are:
1. Adrian Peterson will lead the league in rushing. (And Chester Taylor is absolutely worth reaching for a round or two early if you take AP).
2. Sidney Rice will out-gain Bernard Berrian.
3. Gus Frerotte will start at least five games this year, whether due to a Tarvaris Jackson injury or performance-related issues.
July 16, 2008
I've always thought of the McCowns as the white trash Manning brothers. Now it's official.
The Associated Press reports that Josh McCown need six stitches recently because of an accident that occurred at home in Texas. McCown said he was holding up firewood when his brother Luke accidentally cut Josh's finger instead of the firewood.
This McCown-on-McCown violence should be good for a few punchlines (Texas Chainsaw McCown Massacre, anyone?), but there may be legitimate football implications. Josh is locked in a position battle with John Beck to be Miami's starting quarterback, and the injury was to McCown's throwing hand. The Palm Beach Post says the recovery could "cloud the picture", but it sounds like they are just speculating.
Luke McCown, who I think will eventually take Jeff Garcia's starting job in Tampa, appears to have escaped unharmed. Which proves the maxim: Be the guy holding the chain saw, not the firewood.
July 15, 2008
If you had your eye on Matt Forte this draft season, Kevin Jones' signing isn't such a bad thing. Forte was going to be on every "sleeper" list, including ours. Jones' addition to the backfield may change the perception of Forte without changing his numbers much.
First, Jones has to prove he's healthy. He's coming off a Lisfranc foot fracture (which flared up last year) and a torn ACL. He hasn't topped 186 carries in three years, and isn't likely to this year. IF Jones can get ready for Week 1, he's likely to be a role player. The Bears will bring him along slowly. When I re-calculated the Bears projections Tuesday, Jones primarily took his carries from Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe, not Forte.
Continue reading "Does Kevin Jones dull Matt Forte's shine?" »
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