So I've tried to stay away from the latest Favre drama as much as humanly possible, at least for a football writer. Let’s review what we know after Monday's predictably conflicting reports (He's getting surgery this week! Wait, no actually he's not).

1. Favre is playing if his body allows him. He's exploring all non-surgical options regarding his injured shoulder/biceps, but is reportedly getting frustrated by the lack of progress. Ed Werder's source (whose name probably rhymes with Rhett Vavre) says his shoulder problem must be overcome "soon" or he'll abandon efforts to come back. Until he changes his mind.

2. The Vikings have no desire to go into the season with only Sagvaris Jacksenfels as their starting quarterback and will give Favre as much time as he needs to make the decision. If Favre's body is willing, he's going to be their quarterback. It doesn't seem to matter how long he drags this thing.

Continue reading "Favrian drama doesn't touch fantasy" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Peter King’s weekly column highlights the Colts offense following the retirements of offensive coordinator Tom Moore and offensive line coach Howard Mudd.

It's the end of an era in Indy, considering head coach Tony Dungy and defensive coordinator Ron Meeks have also left the building. Fantasy-wise, though, the moves shouldn't induce panic.

Jim Caldwell is an offensive oriented head coach. Offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen was already rising up the coaching ladder, taking on assistant head coach duties in February. With Christensen and offensive line coach Pete Metzelaars having been groomed as replacements for seven and five years respectively, the succession plan has long been in place.

Continue reading "Colts offense remains a fantasy bonanza" »

Posted by Chris Wesseling at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

As a longtime owner, I am one of the world's foremost and longest running Fred Jackson-o-files Fred Jackon-o-phile. I loved what he showed at the end of 2007, then said on many occasions last season that he looked like the best back on the Bills roster. I'm happy that he just got paid by the Bills.

But Jackson's contract ($7.5 million over four years) points out something we can't lose sight of: Jackson is a backup. And while Jackson got decent money for an exclusive rights free agent, he's not even that highly paid of a backup.

For our upcoming magazine, I asked Chris Brown, the lead journalist of BuffaloBills.com, if Jackson had a chance of forming a committee with Marshawn Lynch. His answer:

Continue reading "Fred Jackson still looks like a backup" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)

Tom Curran and I talk about who is the NFL's best defense, the defensive free agent signing of the offseason, and whether Jason Taylor has anything left. Curran accuses me of mailing in one answer, and I have no response. It was a long week.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 03:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Let’s hop in the DeLorean and go back to last year at this time. Calvin Johnson was a no-brainer as a must-buy in Dynasty leagues, yet there remained plenty of skeptics unwilling to pull the trigger. The nagging back injury, the inconsistency, the drop-fest on Thanksgiving, and the lack of surrounding talent had many doubting that he could fulfill his vast potential.

Now fast-forward to this season. Who does that description call to mind?

Darren McFadden was the consensus No. 1 Dynasty league draft pick last year, but there’s been rampant skepticism about his value after a disappointing rookie season. The turf toe injuries, the inconsistency, Justin Fargas’ nagging presence, and a dysfunctional front office have owners sleeping on McFadden right now.

Continue reading "Dynasty league must-buy: Darren McFadden" »

Posted by Chris Wesseling at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

Roddy White is a second rounder

I'm back from our publishers (which you would have known if you were getting your Twitter on), although we are going overtime wrapping up the magazine today. Damn those Dallas lightning storms!

It appears I haven't missed much this week. You know things are slow when John Elway's opinion on his son and the Ochocinco jersey story are lead items.

While everything is fresh on my mind, I'm going to drop a few big picture thoughts on this year's draft season in the blog over the next few days. Let's start with the wideouts.

Continue reading "Get your wideouts early" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (47)

After hiring old-school coach Rex Ryan and cutting 70-reception wideout Laveranues Coles, the Jets traded up to draft Mark Sanchez fifth overall. They expect the 16-game college starter to lead them onto the field in Week 1 against the Texans.

Only six teams in the AFC threw more than the Jets (529 attempts) last year. They kept coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's spread-hybrid offense in place, but it's safe to expect New York to throw at least 50 fewer times this season (Gregg Rosenthal projects a drop to 465). This is going to be a run-first offense, which became even more evident when the Jets traded third-, fourth-, and seventh-round picks to move up just 11 spots in round three for Iowa power back Shonn Greene.

Continue reading "Clowney starting, but Keller is Jets' real No. 2" »

Posted by Evan Silva at 03:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat's Matt Maiocco -- one of the best beat writers in the business, if not the -- ran through the entire 49ers' 81-man roster on Tuesday. He provided short nuggets on each player, all the way down to the longshot undrafted free agents.

Next to Josh Morgan, who by all accounts is having another awesome spring, Maiocco writes:

Even with Crabtree playing his spot, he should work into a position to get ample playing time.

Why is playing time an issue? Morgan plays the same "X" receiver spot as No. 10 overall pick Michael Crabtree.

Continue reading "How much will Josh Morgan play?" »

Posted by Evan Silva at 04:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)

Gregg Rosenthal and I held our annual Fantasy Defense Summit on Sunday night. We came up with a ranking of the 32 squads for the 2009 draft guide, but I was curious to see if the knowledgeable readers/commenters on this blog would do anything differently.

Some factors to consider:

The Cowboys led the NFL in sacks last season by a wide margin.
The Giants appear to have the best defensive line in the league.
The Steelers have the highest Average Draft Position to this point.
The Jets are moving from Eric Mangini's conservative 3-4 system to Rex Ryan's highly aggressive 3-4/4-3 hybrid.
The Titans lost Albert Haynesworth and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
The Chargers get back Shawne Merriman and Antonio Cromartie's hip has healed.

Continue reading "Fantasy Defense Inquiries" »

Posted by Evan Silva at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)

Four days and counting until our magazine is all done. Apologies about the lack of content in the meantime, but I have Silva and Wesseling chained in the Rotoworld headquarters basement fixing all of my mistakes.

I don't like Julius Jones at this point. Who does? I never liked T.J. Duckett.

But the more I marinate on the Seattle running game, the more I find myself ranking them a bit higher than I'm comfortable with.

It's the ultimate battle of situation vs. talent. Situation often makes fantasy value, but the player still needs to have a baseline of talent to take advantage.

The situation certainly plays in Jones and Duckett's favor. Seattle is installing a run-first zone blocking scheme this year that seems likely to have 400 carries for their running backs. Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp has constructed a powerful running game wherever he has gone, and there is practically no depth behind the top two. Knapp coached Duckett during his best days in Atlanta.

Again, no one is in love with these guys. But every player has value at a certain point in the draft. My current projections has Jones around 35th and Duckett 53rd at running back. I've seen Jones sitting there in round ten and eleven in early drafts, meaning he won't cost much.

But I suspect those numbers will be higher than their ADP, meaning Rotoworld readers could have them on the end of the bench. Should that keep me up at night?

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)