Willis McGahee is probable for Sunday and the Ravens are only carrying two backs. That tells me they expect him to have a significant role. My gut says that Ray Rice and McGahee will split carries, so I don't want either one as a RB2 with Joe Flacco behind center.

Stay tuned on Ryan Grant's status. I'm getting some conflicting reports about whether he practiced Thursday. The AP said he didn't. We'll know soon enough.

Update: Grant didn't practice, but he's listed as probable. So that's ... good?

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Quiet day here on the blog, but the updated rankings and notes will be on the main site soon. I also have a 3PM chat for Season Pass subscribers. I'll stop by here after that's wrapped up. In the meantime, here's some jabber about the matchups this week.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 01:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

I talked Redskins/Giants in the Week 1 rankings and I will be providing live commentary (not sure if you call it liveblogging or what) on tonight's first-ever free live-streaming internet broadcast of an NFL game. I'll be doing the same for each NBC broadcast, or at least until they boot me off the job. Come say hi at 7PM. The Football Night in America crew will also be chiming in to the commentary during the game, which should be cool. Very excited to be part of it. (Warning, I think you have to download the new Adobe player to see the video.)

Since the commentary will be football football rather than simply fantasy football, I thought I'd list my biggest fantasy questions (and my guesses at the answeres) heading into the night here.

1. How many carries will Brandon Jacobs get?
My guess: 17-20. Ahmad Bradshaw will be involved, but mostly late and in special situations.

2. Will the Giants run a spread offense often?
My guess: Absolutely. With six decent wideouts and Kevin Boss at tight end, New York is set up to spread Washington's top-heavy secondary out and go vertical more often than they did last season.

3. Can Stephon Heyer handle Justin Tuck?
My guess: That's why he's playing, not Jon Jansen. Just as important, can Chris Samuels stop Mathias Kiwanuka? I expect a lot of max protections, three step drops, and a conservative offense from the Redskins.

4. Does Santana Moss fit the system?
My guess: I would use him as a WR3 this week because he'll see enough targets. It will be interesting to see how he fares catching shorter routes.

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

We spend August fretting about missed practices and sore hamstrings, wondering if our guys will be ready when the real games start. And they usually are.

Among the players who practiced fully Wednesday that had raised eyebrows in the preseason with missed time: Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Antonio Gates, Peyton Manning, Decue McAllister, Ahman Green, Jerry Porter, and D.J. Hackett.

Some players to continue to watch: Willis McGahee, Todd Heap, Ryan Grant, Ben Watson, Reggie Brown, Jamal Lewis, Javon Walker.

Does this post have a point? Not really, but I wanted to get myself up-to-date on injuries heading into Week 1 and thought you might want to do the same. Incidentally, it's worth noting that Reggie Brown isn't a lock to start even if he plays. DeSean Jackson, on the other hand, will be on the field on the first snap.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Galloway has competition for number one status

Our Antonio Bryant optimism is closer to justified. Bryant officially won the starting flanker job opposite Joey Galloway this week, making him the favorite to lead Tampa in receptions.

I've long felt Bryant was the most talented receiver on the roster, and thankfully Jon Gruden agreed he offers far more upside than Ike Hilliard and Michael Clayton. This is a very receiver-friendly offense. So when the news broke, I scampered to update our Season Pass rankings for Week 1, making Bryant a quality WR3 option against the hapless Saints secondary. I'm pretty excited we're moving past the draft guide portion of the year and on to the games. (And yes, we're still updating the guide. Bryant will get a slight bump, but we expected this eventually.)

Also noteworthy in Tampa: Michael Bennett looks like the odd man out at running back, with Warrick Dunn getting plenty of run. It's not a fantasy season until Michael Clayton and Michael Bennett disappoint someone.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (43)

A few people asked if we will have archived versions of Fantasy Fix Live and we aim to please. Below is part II, which starts with our running back tiers. You can view the whole show by clicking on the left side of the video player. I also talked about some waiver pickups over the weekend.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

It was great meeting so many of you at the NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship on Saturday. Now the real fun starts. Here's what you should know if you are just coming back to football after a Labor Day induced coma.

1. Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason are in deep trouble as long as Joe Flacco remains the Baltimore starter. What a way for the John Harbaugh era to start, trolling around on the wire for their backup quarterback before Week 1. I still think Troy Smith will get his shot eventually.

2. D.J. Hackett owners should get two usable weeks from him as a starter.

3. Other guys that look good to go for Week 1: Derek Anderson, Tom Brady, Trent Edwards, and probably Willis McGahee.

4. Marcus B. Thomas is a lot more interesting of a dynasty pick now that he's in Detroit.

Continue reading "Notes from the long weekend" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)