Monday’s release of Matt Jones leaves the Jags scraping for options at wide receiver. Dennis Northcutt will slot in as the nominal No. 1 receiver despite averaging less than 500 yards over the past four seasons. Last year’s late-season flourish notwithstanding, Northcutt is a slot receiver with iffy hands masquerading as a possible WR3.
Anyone who witnessed the Week 5 Sunday night classic against the Steelers knows that Mike Walker is loaded with potential, but it would be foolish to count on him staying healthy after missing all of 2007 and half of 2008 with knee injuries. Though he’s been a trendy Dynasty leagues sleeper for awhile now, Walker is a late-round dice roll for re-drafters.
Troy Williamson is currently the No. 3 receiver by default. The colossal bust couldn’t get on the field last season even with Walker injured, Jerry Porter malingering, and Reggie Williams fading into the background.
Continue reading "Jags now scraping for receivers" »
The Jaguars lost their patience with Matt Jones Monday, releasing him after he violated his probation by Drinking While Golfing. Jones was entering a contract year, and a likely impending suspension by the NFL must have made the decision easier.
Jones may have to wait to hear from the NFL before he starts getting contract offers. His situation reminds me a lot of Antonio Bryant two years back. Bryant missed an entire season because his status was unclear and his suspension wasn't lifted until October in 2007. The Bucs wound up signing Bryant at a discount rate in 2008, and received huge returns.
Continue reading "Could Matt Jones be the next Antonio Bryant?" »
While most of the NFL news cycle is slowing to a halt, McJayGate only picked up steam over the weekend. To recap: McDaniels and Cutler met Saturday, it didn't go well from Cutler's angle, and now he's skipping off-season conditioning and formally requesting a trade. Josh McDaniels has taken the un-Belichick-like step of presenting his side of things, and seems confused by the whole deal.
"I would probably be really good for Jay, and I know he would be really good for me,. I think that's the part that's shocking to me,'' McDaniels told Peter King.
Continue reading "Cutler successfully pushing trade closer " »
March 12, 2009
Now that the big site announcement is out of the way, let's get back to football. A long, lost name popped up on our players news page last night: Chris Brown. No, not the psycopathic former OC cast member. And not the Texans kicker. The one that used to back up Eddie George, then set Fantasy Nation's heart's afire with 1,067 yards and six touchdowns in eleven games in 2004.
I almost forgot, but Brown is still a member of the Texans. He spent last year on injured reserve because of a bad back. It seems like he's 31, but he's only 28. Gary Kubiak says he's healthy again and, "can provide a big back for us."
Kubiak specifically mentioned using Brown in short-yardage situations, but he's never been a great goal-line option because of his upright style. Plus he never stays healthy. Brown is a longshot to matter, and I suspect the Texans will draft a running back, but he's on the radar. He was drafted in the second-to-last round in my 45-man IDP dynasty league last month, which sounds about right.
It's also worth remembering that Kubiak is already talking about a possible vulture for Steve Slaton. I know that won't make reader Scott C. happy.
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Just in case you missed it, I posted a column summarizing the fantasy impact of all free agency movement thus far. If you squint hard, it's like 20 blog posts put together.
Kris Brown is excited about the new Pancake Blocks
We interrupt my inconsistent posting with an announcement. The four-year-old glamour mug shot that was atop the blog is gone! Also missing: the picture advertising Pancake Blocks on the player news page, which always scared the crap out of me.
The removal is not just for cosmetic purposes, although I like reading our posts better without seeing my honker staring back. As you could probably divine from the header above, I’m opening up this blog party to more guests: Evan Silva and Chris Wesseling.
This blog is over two years old, but I’ve never been totally happy with Pancake Blocks. My favorite blogs are constantly moving. I’ve slowly realized that isn’t possible here despite my best intentions. This is for a variety of reasons, all of them related to time and responsibilities that aren't going away.
The blog winds up with erratic production, looking like it’s written by someone who has too many other pots on the stove. Especially during the season.
So I asked myself a few weeks back: Would the blog improve with contributions from the wise stylings of Evan Silva and Chris Wesseling, our top football lieutenants.
The answer: Of course it would. So that was a pretty simple decision.
Eventually, the blog will be a bigger part of Rotoworld, integrated better with all the content around it. For now, you’ll get a livelier site.
You’ll see the insane Silva rants that I try to edit out of the news, making him want to kill me over instant message. You’ll get Wesseling’s dynasty expertise. We’ll set up some weekly segments and consistency. The place will move.
Let's start this Monday. In the meantime, welcome our incoming writers to campus. Guys: I recommend the meal plan.
March 11, 2009
LaDainian Tomlinson keeper league owners will have plenty to worry about in his age 30 season: Darren Sproles' increasing role and a possible recurrence of Tomlinson's groin injury being high on the list. His return to San Diego, however, is absolutely his best chance for continued top-ten fantasy back relevance. Yes, Tomlinson was still seventh overall in standard leagues despite losing 131 fantasy points, then 84 FP in successive years.
In San Diego, Tomlinson knows the system, his teammates, and the best place to wash his career. Any uncertainty in the middle of a decline wouldn't help.
Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune believes Darren Sproles will reach roughly 150 touches next season, which would leave about 250 carries for LT2, and 300 touches. That might knock him out of top-five back discussion, but any tradeoff that will keep Tomlinson healthy would be worth it.
My guess is that Tomlinson will be drafted in the mid-to-late first round. I see him scoring plenty of touchdowns, but not enough to be worth a pick quite that high. Where are you mentally slotting him?
Jay Cutler is suddenly available in my dynasty league. Maybe that's because the owner also has Carson Palmer or maybe it's because Cutler is causing friction with the Broncos. I'm hoping it's the latter so I can get him at a discount.
At some point in fantasy, you have to trust the player's talent over the situation. Jay Cutler is going to be a great quarterback for a long time, no matter how many headlines he causes or what team he's on. And my guess is that he plays under Josh McDaniels in Denver for a while.
I blogged at NBC that all the Cutler drama was likely much ado about nothing. Denver doesn't want to trade Cutler without getting a franchise quarterback in return. Detroit can offer all the picks they want; Matt Cassel was the key to the deal. Question the Cassel love all you want, but that trade has come and gone.
Brandon Marshall's potential suspension hurts Cutler's value more in '09 than all these headlines. No matter how much noise Cutler's agent makes.
March 10, 2009
Alex Smith is staying with the 49ers, to the amazing tune of $4 million-per-season, plus base salaries. Those numbers are so much higher than expected, they are hard to believe.
I'll wait for more information there, because it seems crazy that Smith would be paid double Shaun Hill, the team's likely incumbent starting quarterback.
Either way, the deal makes it clear that the 49ers truly wanted to keep Smith. He has a legitimate chance to start over Hill and the organization hasn't given up on him. If this stops the 49ers from developing a young quarterback, then the 49ers have a problem.
With a run-first approach coming and little job security for whoever wins the starting job, San Francisco's quarterback situation will be hands off in fantasy leagues.
March 06, 2009
Crazy week. I don't remember a start to free agency being this action-packed and we thank everyone for the insane traffic on the NFL page. Personally, I've also been in a lot of these things called "meetings" that are quite unfamiliar for anyone who has ever worked for Rotoworld. We've got a lot of work done, and I'm looking forward to some changes coming up here and at NBCSports.com. More on those once they are ready.
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It takes about a week for free agency to lose steam around the NFL. T.O.'s release gave it life again yesterday, but the majority of the best talent available is off the shelves. The remaining players are picked over, but there are still some bargains to be found. Let's look at my top ten offensive players
1. Terrell Owens, WR: Maybe you've heard of him.
2. Lance Moore, WR (Restricted free agent): He'll cost a second-round pick to acquire, but it may be worth it for this Wes Welker clone.
3. Byron Leftwich, QB: The quarterback market has included surprises, like Dan Orlovsky and J.T. O'Sullivan getting jobs before Leftwich. Maybe he's pushing hard for a chance to start.
4. Tra Thomas, T: With Khalif Barnes expected to sign with Oakland, Thomas may be the only starting-caliber tackle left. He's probably only good for another year or two, but there is value here.
5. Ronald Curry, WR: This highly athletic 29-year-old gained 1,444 receiving yards on some terrible Oakland teams between 2006-2007. He could be a dynamic third receiver.
Continue reading "Best remaining free agents: Offense" »
March 04, 2009
Denver has lost their mind, adding yet another mediocre running back to their backfield. J.J. Arrington is back, if he ever left! What I wrote earlier today still holds true, except even less is guaranteed for each player. Expect a lot of Rotoworld updates about this situation in the off-season that ultimately don't mean that much.
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Laveranues Coles signing with the Bengals gives the veteran a surprisingly great chance for a rebound for fantasy leaguers 2009. I don't think this a great move long-term, and have my doubts that Coles' body will help. But he couldn't ask for a better situation to land in, opposite Chad Johnson with Carson Palmer throwing him passes.
Silva thinks Coles could out-produce Ocho Cinco with a little luck. I'm not so sure, but it's an interesting thought. More on Coles in column format ... when I finally get it up tomorrow.
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