What you missed when you were out drinking with your friends ...
This one was actually from last Thursday, but a great State of the Romo piece by Matt Mosley. I hate how good writers like Mosley get buried on ESPN.com's "blog" format because I usually miss stuff like this. Most interesting passage:
He has some remarkable leadership qualities and he's a tireless worker. Unfortunately, though, he's not much of a listener. It's great to be able to tune out distractions, but Romo runs the risk of tuning out everyone. Since Parcells, Sparano and former quarterbacks coach David Lee have left the building, Romo doesn't have anyone willing to put him in his place.
Continue reading "Skinny Posts: Memorial Day catchup edition" »
May 22, 2009
As explained in Thursday's Quarterback Rankings, I haven't updated my Dynasty league blog since before the draft. Since I'm finally getting around to mass updates, I'm rolling them out on Pancake Blocks one position at a time, with Running Backs on the agenda today.
A few notes of interest on the running backs:
1. As most of you know, I'm an unabashed Chris Johnson true believer. I make no apologies for his high ranking and firmly believe he's a special talent and a true nucleus player for Dynasty leaguers.
2. Tier two is a bottleneck. The last could be first and the first could be last. I'm perfectly willing to admit that the two top rookies may be too high, but the rest of the backs in that tier have significant questions preventing them from holding down true stud status. The rookies, though, have the talent and opportunity to be RB1s for a long time.
3. Clinton Portis is too low, I know. But I just have no interest in being left holding the bag when he falls off the cliff . . . and I get the feeling the cliff is coming like a freight train.
4. Darren McFadden is too high and Steve Slaton is being disrespected. Very possible. I think Slaton lacks staying power just as I believed that players like Willie Parker and Joseph Addai lacked staying power. McFadden still has a chance to be special.
OK, on to the rankings. . . .
Continue reading "Dynasty Rankings: Running Backs" »
Awesome work yesterday by Wesseling with his Dynasty QB rankings and all the comments. (Disagreement is good!)
Wess' placement of Joe Flacco got me thinking how we all view Flacco's ceiling. Is this guy a future stud or just a good quarterback? The short-term prospects aren't terrific for an explosive offense in Baltimore, but few rookie quarterbacks have ever produced more. Owners often don't grade rookie QBs on enough of a sliding scale, and this may especially be true after Matt Ryan's bonzo year. Flacco was highly impressive with a mediocre supporting cast.
Here are the top eleven rookie QB seasons in the last 47 years, ranked by fantasy points.
Continue reading "Joe Flacco's ceiling" »
May 21, 2009
It shouldn't have been too much of a surprise, but I certainly wasn't expecting it.
Chris Henry was available on my dynasty waiver wire this morning. I quickly picked him up, dropping Mario Manningham. Henry has topped 50 receiving yards in a game just once since Dec 15, 2007. He is one off-field miscue away from at least a year's suspension.
I recall a pre-Laveranues Coles signing conversation about Henry with Gregg Rosenthal. He asked me what I thought of the super-skilled but arrest-prone wideout's situation. I said I didn't think the Bengals could ever rely on Henry to play full time and that Andre Caldwell would get the first crack to start in place of T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
Coles signed on later, but with Chad Ochocinco sitting out minicamps, Henry is taking first-team reps and has the support of the most integral piece in the Bengals' organization.
Carson Palmer on Henry:
Continue reading "Chris Henry Rising?" »
Loyal readers of my Dynasty Rankings blog know that the site has been woefully neglected over the past month or two. Now that Evan, Gregg and I have been released from the basement of Rotoworld headquarters after working feverishly on the May magazine (due to hit newsstands shortly), it's well past time to update the rankings.
As this is the first official update since the April draft, I'm going to roll them out one position at a time here on the Pancakes Blocks blog. Feel free to throw in your two cents.
Tier One
1. Peyton Manning, IND | Age: 33.5 | Value Score: 99
2. Drew Brees, NO | Age: 30.6 | Value Score: 99
3. Tom Brady, NE | Age: 32.1 | Value Score: 96
Tier Two
4. Matt Ryan, ATL | Age: 24.3 | Value Score: 90
5. Aaron Rodgers, GB | Age: 25.8 | Value Score: 88
6. Philip Rivers, SD | Age: 27.8 | Value Score: 87
7. Jay Cutler, CHI | Age: 26.3 | Value Score: 86
8. Tony Romo, DAL | Age: 29.4 | Value Score: 85
9. Donovan McNabb, PHI | Age: 32.7 | Value Score: 83
10. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT | Age: 27.5 | Value Score: 82
11. Matt Schaub, HOU | Age: 28.2 | Value Score: 81
Continue reading "Dynasty Rankings: Quarterbacks" »
It's been suggested recently that Michael Vick's skill level "without one single doubt" will return to where it was pre-prison sentence. Vick is only 29 and should have maintained most of his speed. He worked out in Leavenworth and has endured little wear and tear on his body over the last 18 months, presumably (insert jailhouse joke here).
The rise of the Wildcat formation would seem to make Vick more attractive to NFL teams. He can run, throw, and make people miss. Vick excelled when the Falcons dabbled with a Vick-Warrick Dunn option package briefly during the Jim Mora era.
But it is overly optimistic to believe Vick can be anything more than a situational player. The NFL is not like the NBA, where a player can come back from a long layoff and quickly return to "playing shape." This is a sport built on violent hitting, and Vick hasn't faced (much) contact since the end of the 2006 season.
Continue reading "Vick's Biggest Obstacle is Contact" »
May 20, 2009
It's early in the offseason. We have over two months even before training camp starts. But I've been working at Rotoworld for over three years now and never before seen such consistently poor spring reports as JaMarcus Russell has gotten through late May.
Take a look at SF Chronicle beat writer David White's play-by-play account of Wednesday's spring practice on Twitter. It is ugly. Here are some tweets:
-- jamarcus 1 for 3 in first passing drill, no defense on field
-- jamarcus: 9 of 12 against air so far
-- 7 on 7, jamarcus throws against defense for first time - first pass: hits fargas in shoelaces on 4 yd screen
-- next play; jamarcus misses way wide right in flats screen. yells "s" word. wow. some emotion.
-- next team drills: jamarcus still struggling
-- finally, jamarcus completes something other than screen. over the middle to stewart for 12
-- next pass, way over higgins head, routt with easy pick. not even close
Here is an excerpt from Oakland Tribune writer Jerry McDonald's post-practice report:
Continue reading "Any hope left for JaMarcus?" »
Unlike Bengals fan reformed NFL supporter Chris Wesseling, I'm in agreement with Silva's post last night that the Bengals passing attack will be a good place to look for value. (Actually, I don't know if Wess agrees, but it's fun to assume.) So let’s piggyback on what Silva wrote, in handy list form.
1. Chad Johnson is on the majority of teams I've drafted thus far, Mock or otherwise. I haven't taken him any earlier than the end of the fourth round. It's usually been in the fifth.
2. Laveranues Coles would have been on my busts list if he didn't land in the absolute perfect situation. I don't like small, slow possession receivers who are always banged up. The Bengals will force the ball to him, so he's projected to maintain value. Deep down, he still worries me. A boom or bust.
3. It was only one game, but Andre Caldwell's playmaking skills were impressive in Week 17. He made multiple people miss every time he touched the ball. He was my pick in our magazine poll for a deep dynasty sleeper.
Coles squashes his redraft value, but Caldwell is someone to watch closely or draft in deep PPR leagues in case Coles tanks. (Of course, Chris Henry still has a chance to step up. Why did they need to overpay Coles again?)
To sum up: Carson Palmer is convinced there won't be a need for billboards this year.
May 19, 2009
The Bengals' passing game is due for a major bounce back with the healthy return of Carson Palmer. While Cincy may struggle to regain its 2005-2007 form (the Bengals ranked fifth, sixth, and seventh in NFL passing offense those seasons), a top-12 finish should be within reach.
Cincinnati fell to 30th last season behind weak-armed backup Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Bengals tied for last in YPA (5.2) and touchdown passes (11), and had the 32nd spot all to themselves in completions of 20 or more yards (21).
While Palmer isn't guaranteed to regain his 2007 form (7.2 YPA, 26 TD passes, 51 completions of 20+ yards), defenses will at least have to respect his arm, and Cincinnati has upgraded its offensive line. The running game naturally has questions because of its unpredictable starter, but the offense will be better if only because Fitzpatrick is gone.
Let's look at the Bengals' receiver depth chart to see where the extra yardage and touchdowns should go:
Continue reading "Who stands to benefit from Palmer's return" »
Since Rotoworld was acquired by NBC in 2006, I've kept two modest career goals. (It's important to set the bar low, so you can exceed expectations.)
1. I want to watch an episode of the Fantasy Fix in the back of a New York City taxi. Preferably, I won't be sober in this scenario.
2. I want to cover a Super Bowl in New Orleans, the city I went to college in. Preferably I will be sober so I don't fired.
After Tuesday's announcement that the Super Bowl will return to NOLA in 2013, I'm inching closer to goal number two.
Continue reading "Start the Super Bowl XLVII countdown" »
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