Is Battle the new Moore?
As my overly gushy rankings indicated, I think Lance Moore is here to stay. Not quite as the '07 Wes Welker, but perhaps an '07 Donald Driver or Shaun McDonald: 80+ catches, 1,000 yards, and a handful of scores. I'm in the tank.
Those who missed out on Moore may want to look at Arnaz Battle, who has a chance to be an even lesser version of McDonald in Mike Martz's offense. The targets will be inconsistent in San Francisco, but Battle is the best option as the hot read for J.T. O'Sullivan in the slot. His 120 yards last week were not a fluke, and I could see a lot of 6 catch, 70-yard outings from Battle, which would make him a useful PPR option. He's always been a player with good hands, smarts, and toughness. He's quicker than fast. Despite being bigger than the usual Martz creation, I think Battle fits the offense well.
Comments
Next time why don't you just give me a big middle finger instead.
Posted by: brian | October 3, 2008 03:08 PM
While sprinkled with a little P&V (I prefer salt & vinegar myself), Pancake Police's response was full of helpful info. The rankings are Gregg's opinions on who to start this week.
If you're in a PPR league and need another layer of granularity, you can always pay the $10-15 (whatever it is) for Season Pass and see the stat projections.
Personally, I like using the rankings for reference only. I think Rotoworld's rankings, while the best in the business (have you seen ESPN's laughable projections? yikes!), tend to underrate defensive matchups and injuries. I look at the rankings, bounce some ideas off of a friend, and then go with my gut. Or not. Just following the rankings makes me less accountable for a bad decision. ;)
Posted by: Tenac | October 3, 2008 03:30 PM
Roto's rankings are fine but best to balance them out against other sites. I like Gregg but he's wrong as often as right plus why limit yourself to the views of one short dude when you can read many projections from many nebbish football nerds and reach consensus? Tenac is right though, ESPN and to a lesser extent CNNSI are scary bad but particularly appealing if you want three week old info.
Posted by: Tfram | October 3, 2008 04:09 PM
Don't expect Arnaz Battle to post another 100-yard game this season. It took him 68 games to get his first one so his next scheduled 100-yard game is sometime in 2012.
Why not wait for Bryant Johnson's hammy to heal and grab him. You'll be better off.
Posted by: TFram | October 3, 2008 04:22 PM
Police, Tfram, Tenac - I agree, the rankings are there to help with the sit/start questions.
I, too, check other sites (the laughable ESPN rankings are worthless and way too early in the week) prior to making my roster changes. Fox Sports actually does a semi-decent job, along with Rotoworld.
Question for Gregg - how are your rankings determined? Your gut? Or do you have a simulation program that plops out raw rankings/projected stats for you to fiddle with?
Posted by: Eric | October 3, 2008 06:23 PM
Now that I've cleaned up most of the coffee I just spit all over my laptop.... Tfram, that was freaking hilarious!
Gregg's excitement over a guy who's going to get 6 catches for 70 yards each week makes me SO glad I don't play in PPR leagues. Let's invent a rule that makes worthless players get points!
Posted by: Tony C | October 4, 2008 01:05 PM
I am a total butthole and jackass.
Posted by: Pancake Police | October 5, 2008 10:07 PM