May 06, 2008
Another great job with the Grant vs. Barber debate. With some precincts still hanging, Grant holds a one vote lead. Let's stick with running backs, moving into the RB2 territory.
Fantasy owners have been waiting for Michael Turner to become a primary back for years; then he got stuck in Atlanta. He's good, but he's never topped 100 carries before and he's going to have to carry a bad offense. Lewis turned around a severe decline last year, and he certainly plays on a great offense. But the schedule gets harder this year and he will be ranked higher than any back with more than 2,000 career carries except LT2. So let me know your pick: Do you hope for one more good year from Lewis or chase the upside of Turner?
April 18, 2008
Michael Jenkins is now on the bench
Fantasy Fix intern Brett Bandermark poked fun at Rotoworld earlier this week for giving Laurent Robinson's ascension to starter top story status in the middle of April. But I like the enthusiasm; we're hungry for some real NFL news.
Continue reading "ATLiens update" »
April 17, 2008
Perhaps the most interesting part of the latest round of Ocho Cinco blather was Adam Schefter's note that Cincy has already received an offer of two first-day picks for Johnson. (Is that the old first day - three rounds - or the new first day of two rounds? I'm guesing the former).
If someone is offering that much before the draft, the price should go up on draft day. And that means the Bengals would have to consider the offer, even though I think he'll stay put. So is this mystery team? Here are my five best guesses based on ammunition (draft picks) and need.
Continue reading "Chad Johnson has bidders" »
April 02, 2008
The picture sorta gives away this pick. It's written by Troy Hill from endzoneview.
Arthur Blank and the Falcons have a long road ahead of them. Not only do they need to rebuild their team after the unfortunate debacle of Michael Vick, they need to rebuild the relationship with the fans and season ticket holders. They made a great start by addressing the running back situation in free agency landing the highly coveted Michael Turner. It would be wise to continue to change the face of the organization and there’s no better position to do so than at quarterback.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 3" »
March 02, 2008
Imagine the Michael Turner hype if the Falcons were actually an NFL team with a real offensive line and quarterback. I'd bet he'll go in the late second round as a RB2 as it is, but his teammates will be a big handicap. New offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey loves to pound the football, but it could be hard to score.
Still, there will only be so many runners we project to hit 300 carries. He should be one of them. That means Jerious Norwood's role shouldn't change, and Warrick Dunn should be looking for work.
March 01, 2008
With my wife out of town, Pancake Blocks is back to the working weekend. The action has slowed on Day two of free agency, but not by that much. Let's take a look at what's transpired since I last checked in here.
While Randy Moss might be frustrated, no other teams have stepped up to the plate. I can't think of many fits to be honest. Jacksonville made the most sense, but they are out of it following the Jerry Porter signing. Philadelphia, Denver, and Washington sound like fits but no contact has been reported. Which is possibly what is frustrating Moss. It reminds me of when Adam Vinatieri had no takers for a while because everyone assumed he'd return to New England.
Continue reading "Skinny Posts: Moss hanging around" »
February 22, 2008
Our NBA page has been rocking with trades lately, especially on the deadline Thursday. The NFL won't ever have that volume of action, but the increasing salary cap should make it easier for deals to happen this month.
A couple early rumors: Javon Walker could go the Bucs, and DeAngelo Hall might be headed to the Giants.
Throw in some scuttlebutt about Shaun Alexander getting cut (which we heard seperately but couldn't quite post) and we're squarely in the middle of the football hot stove season. Unfortunately, it will mostly end in about three weeks.
February 20, 2008
Javon Walker, Chad Johnson, and Derek Anderson have all been mentioned as possible trade candidates this season. But I don't think any of them would attract as much interest around the league as Atlanta CB DeAngelo Hall. And it sounds like the Falcons are "exploring trade possibilities."
Continue reading "Hall would be top name on trade market" »
February 15, 2008
I was initially surprised to hear that Alge Crumpler was released Friday. He's only 30, and he's been one of the two most consistent Falcons offensive players this decade, along with Warrick Dunn.
On further thought, the move makes a lot of sense. For two years, Crumpler has been injured or rehabbing. He managed to miss only two games, but his lack of offseason conditioning showed up in his play. He has occasionally been a vocal critic of the organization. He was Michael Vick's right hand man, and the Falcons are trying to change eras.
Continue reading "Crumpler gets dumped" »
February 01, 2008
I went to Falcons head coach Mike Smith's press conference. It's the second year in a row they have introduced a new head coach at the Super Bowl to the national media. I overheard a P.R. guy say of the departed Bobby Petrino, "He sucks."
Mike Smith seems like a nice man, but the presser was as non descript as his name. I asked him if Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood fit Mike Mularkey's schemes, and all he said was that Mularkey would tailor the offense to the strength of his personnel. I asked if he expected Dunn back on the team, but he didn't respond to that.
I didn't expect to hear anything different at this stage of the year. They are evaluating their roster and will go into team meetings next week to make an offseason plan. Smith has some history coaching the 3-4 defense, but says the team expects to use a 4-3. Smith worked with both Byron Leftwich and Chris Redman in previous coaching stints, which could help Leftwich remain a Falcon.
December 19, 2007
Bill Parcells just doesn't know how to quit. After another brief run at ESPN, Parcells is on the verge of taking a front office job with the Atlanta Falcons.
Some may wonder why Parcells would join a mess like the Falcons, but the better question is why not? They have an owner with deep pockets and the franchise can only go up. Parcells loves a fixer-upper.
The Patriots were 2-11 in the year before Parcells turned the franchise around. The Jets were 1-15 in 1996 when he started shopping for groceries again in New York. The Cowboys were stuck in a perpetual 5-11 Quincy Carter rut before Parcells joined forces with Jerry Jones.
Continue reading "Big Tuna = Big Drama" »
December 12, 2007
Once the shock of Bobby Petrino's midnight run to Arkansas wears off, Arthur Blank will realize that Petrino did him a favor. Blank was stuck with the worst coaching contract in the NFL: Five years and $24 million for a coach who was in over his head.
Petrino wasn't dealt a great hand when Michael Vick was suspended, but all reports from Atlanta indicate that his problems went far beyond one player. His offensive system showed some signs of life, but the personnel didn't fit. GM Rich McKay and Petrino didn't appear to be on the same page. Petrino reportedly ignored the defense.
Continue reading "Petrino does Falcons a favor" »
December 11, 2007
Tony Kornheiser asked Ron Jaworski during Monday Night's telecast why the Saints didn't play that well all year.
Jaws replied, "They didn't play Atlanta enough."
The Falcons have a dangerous lack of motivation and talent on defense, especially in their secondary. They can be exposed by creative passing attacks. And wouldn't you know, they face Jon Gruden and Ken Whisenhunt the next two weeks.
I love Joey Galloway and Jeff Garcia (assuming he plays) to go off this week, and wouldn't be surprised to see Ike Hilliard have a big day. If you are still playing in Week 16, your Cardinals receivers should explode.
Continue reading "Atlanta, Arizona defense can be picked on" »
December 06, 2007
I've noticed that Alge Crumpler is available in a surprising amount of leagues. I think he could be picked up and played over a handful of usual TE1s this week, such as Ben Watson.
There are a few reasons for this. Crumpler is coming off his best game of the season (7-65-1), and three of those catches came in one quarter with Chris Redman. Another catch with Redman was overturned by penalty. The coaching staff in Atlanta believes that Redman's quick release frees up Crumpler to go out for passes rather than block.
Continue reading "Crumpler " »
September 23, 2007
Our partner over at profootballtalk has the type of story we can't quite post at Rotoworld, but is definitely worth checking out.
For some more background, check out this story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
September 19, 2007
As a Byron Leftwich believer, even I was surprised how quickly the Gary Coleman look-alike was picked up in a few of my leagues.
Joining an offense during the season presents many difficulties, especially an offense as poor as the Falcons. There is no running game, shaky receivers, and an offensive line struggling to learn a new system. Leftwich managed to find a worse offense than Jacksonville.
Atlanta doesn't have a bye until Week 8, and it's unrealistic to expect Leftwich to learn the offense well enough to get the starting job before then. Although anything is possible with Joey Harrington.
Continue reading "Leftwich to Atlanta impact" »
September 13, 2007
I got a few emails asking why Jerious Norwood is so low on the rankings this week considering Bobby Petrino said he will use him in the offense more.
First of all, I don't trust most of what coaches say about playing time issues. Maybe they mean it at the time, maybe they don't, but a lot can happen on gamedays. The Clinton Portis owners who benched him at the last minute last week know what I mean.
Second, I'm not writing off the Jaguars rush defense after one terrible effort. They will be angry, and ready to take out their aggressions on an overmatched Falcons offense.
Continue reading "Norwood" »
August 29, 2007
I am tackling some Average Draft Position (ADP) information in my column today, but I thought it was worth re-visiting some other trends on the blog for a final time before we truly get ready for Week 1. All the ADP information was created by averaging the publicly available ADP feeds at MockDraftCentral.com, AntSports.com, and MyFantasyleague.com.
Let's start with a final look at the Atlanta running backs.
Jerious Norwood (RB29, 66 overall)
Warrick Dunn (RB39, 99 overall)
Continue reading "Norwood, Dunn ADP tightening" »
August 15, 2007
August 14, 2007
One of the reasons I wanted a blog, other than the gigantic picture of my face, was it could be a place to share some notes from watching game tape that didn't make a column. So here goes installment from the games last weekend. Tell me if this
Falcons vs. Jets
* Atlanta opened with four wideouts and had at least three on the field on most of their downs. There were four wideouts on the field very often. One wonders how this will affect Alge Crumpler when healthy. It can't help. Bobby Petrino showed a ton of different formations for the first preseason game.
* Roddy White was targeted on the first three passing plays, and six times in the first half of the game. Including an incomplete bomb. Joey Harrington looked like he had just won the Super Bowl after the first two completions. Michael Jenkins and Laurent Robinson shared slot duties.
White burned me last year, but I wouldn't be surprised if he leads the Falcons in receiving yards, Not sure if that's worth drafting, though, except in deep leagues.
Continue reading "Breaking out the preseason notebook" »
It's amazing how fast we move on in sports. Especially fantasy sports. Sometime around Michael Vick's indictment, when it became clear that he wasn't playing again soon, my passion regarding Vick's legal case began to wane. I still updated the story for the news, but there were more important things to worry about: Like Joey Harrington's affect on the offense and Warrick Dunn's back surgery.
I love football because I love what goes on the field. I know some of the players are bad apples, just like in the rest of life. I don't know these men, never did, so it's easy to move on.
Continue reading "Goodbye, Michael Vick?" »
August 13, 2007
Give Warrick Dunn credit. With a new coaching staff in place and Jerious Norwood impressing, Dunn knew that his recent back surgery put him on shaky ground.
He was already back at practice Monday, participating in all drills with the second team.
This gives him a chance.
Continue reading "Warrick Dunn recovers quickly" »
August 09, 2007
There are so daily injuries training camp, and most of them only last a few days. We attempt to sift through the noise in our player news by only highlighting major players or major injuries, but the amount of information is still overwhelming. Here's my quick take on what injuries matter thus far during camp, and which ones don't.
LaMont Jordan (back) - Becoming an issue, but not a big one yet. He's about a week away from getting a downgrade.
Clinton Portis (knee) - Just don't know at this point, but it's hard to imagine him starting the year getting 20 carries a game. He hasn't eased any concerns.
Vernand Morency (knee) - A serious problem. Morency is going to struggle to be ready for Week 1, and a committee seems inevitable.
Continue reading "What Injuries Matter" »
August 06, 2007
Alge Crumpler is usually one of those fantasy players who is overlooked because of his consistency. How many other guys have improved their fantasy points four straight years?
2007, however, is shaping up to be the year Crumpler's streak ends. Michael Vick is gone, and with him the guarantee that Crumpler will be the top option in the passing game. More importantly, years of playing through injuries is catching up to Crumpler.
Crumpler underwent two surgeries after 2005, and another knee surgery after the 2006 season. Now he's receiving outside opinions about why his knee is still acting up.
Crumpler's conditioning has been called in to question before, and he basically hasn't practiced all offseason. All this time off means he'll have to play his way into shape (again), this time while learning a new offense. This is the first season where Crumpler's risk in fantasy leagues will outweigh his possible reward.
July 25, 2007
Over-30 running backs don't lose their mojo gradually. Just ask Curtis Martin, Duce Staley, and Priest Holmes.
We can probably add Warrick Dunn to the list. Halfway through last season, Dunn was a top-15 fantasy running back on pace for 1,300 rushing yards. He stumbled to the finish line with a 3.4 yards-per-carry average in the second half, then was forced to undergo serious shoulder surgery after the year. He watched his prize offensive line change schemes, his quarterback is under indictment, and now a herniated disc in his back will force him to miss the preseason.
Continue reading "The Rapid Decline of Warrick Dunn" »
July 17, 2007
We were going to end our day with a look at some teams that might be interested in signing Daunte Culpepper. Then all hell broke loose in the Michael Vick case, giving Culpepper another possible landing spot.
Someone who understands the law will have to discuss what happens now to Vick in the courts. Only Roger Goodell knows if he'll skip due process for a player like Vick that isn't a repeat offender. We can examine the football options the Falcons now have.
Continue reading "Falcons need a swift decision on Vick" »
#40. Giants, Cowboys, and Falcons Kickers
Kickers are so irrelevent in fantasy football, we’ll combine three battles into one.
Giants K: Lawrence Tynes vs. Josh Huston
Huston was highly touted coming out of college, but understandably couldn’t beat out Robbie Gould last year. Tynes has experience, not all of it bad, as a kicker in Kansas City. The veteran is the favorite.
Cowboys K: Martin Gramatica vs. Nick Folk
Gramatica is the favorite, and rookie Nick Folk hasn’t looked impressive in minicamp season.
Falcons K: Aaron Elling vs. Billy Cundiff
Elling reminds us of the Mike Tice era, so we like that. Cundiff, on the other hand, has kicked in the NFL within the last two years. He’s the slight favorite.
May 31, 2007
He lies again!! Despite repeated claims that he wouldn't get a haircut until he won the Super Bowl, Vick has cut off his locks. You just can't trust this guy.
Bobby Petrino is impressed.
"He looks good. I like it. He's got a big smile on his face and a nice haircut."
I'll give Petrino credit for joking around while the sky is falling before his first season starts.
Note: For analysis on what life might be like after Vick, check out my latest camp tour column over at Rotoworld.
May 14, 2007
I don't want to bury a guy too early, but Brian Finneran's career is probably over if this report is true.
That makes ACL surgeries in successive years for a 31-year-old who always had questionable speed. I'll remember Finneran mostly for the way Jim Mora mishandled him for three seasons, usually in favor of Dez White and Peerless Price. Finneran was Atlanta's most effienct receiver during a terrible phase of the Mike Vick Era and didn't see the ball enough.
Finneran's best fantasy season was under Dan Reeves in 2002 when he finished as the WR31 with 838 yards, six touchdowns, and a 15 yards-per-catch average. He played especially well in the NFC Divisional loss to the Eagles after Vick helped beat the Packers in Lambeau. That feels like a lifetime ago.
Finneran's injury should guarantee a spot on the Falcons for second-year pro Adam Jennings. Look for Roddy White and rookie speedster Laurent Robinson to compete for the third receiver job behind Joe Horn and Michael Jenkins.
(This is me trying to use photos. That's Roddy White!)
I'm not sure the Atlanta depth chart at wideout makes a difference this year anyhow. They should all cancel each other out and I'm not buying Petrino magic until I see it. Life would have been much easier for Vick this season if he had his reliable third receiver around.
Note: I've had a few requests and will post rookie defensive rankings on the blog this week. One position group per day starting Tuesday.
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