June 25, 2008
Steven Jackson gets hit on by his colon cleanser, trashes the Rams fanbase, and throws his teammates' blocking under the bus, all in one jam-packed Michael Silver article.
Beyond the easy jokes I made in his blurb, there were some interesting comments from Jackson about his teammates and the state of the Rams:
Continue reading "Skinny Posts: Jackson cleanses " »
May 20, 2008
For about half a season in 2004, Dan Morgan was one of the top-five linebackers alive. He was finally living up to all the insane potential he had in his curiously fragile frame. Then, as always, his problems with concussions erupted.
He wound up missing a month, then returning for Carolina's playoff run. His 25-tackle performance in the Super Bowl was one of the all-time "Was that a misprint?" box score lines.
As Pat Yasinskas wrote as ESPN, this retirement was for the best. No one wanted to see Morgan's life changed forever after another blow to the head. Morgan's career didn't pan out as hoped, but it provided some brilliant moments. Good luck and health to Morgan moving forward.
May 07, 2008
Some of you thought the Jamal Lewis vs. Michael Turner battle wasn't very close. I would argue that many of the same people thought Lewis was overrated as a fifth-round pick last year, but the people have spoken. Today's three-way battle is hopefully more interesting: Steve Smith vs. Marques Colston vs. Brandon Marshall.
This year looks promising for Smith, but he's annually overrated by us fantasy types because he's a great NFL player. He only topped 1,200 yards or eight touchdowns once in his career. Marshall and Colston have already equaled that total and play for better passing teams - especially Colston. There is some projecting here, but let's allow that Marshall is healthy well before most draft days, which is expected. Rank 'em in order if you please.
April 10, 2008
Honors for the Panthers belong to Matthew W.
The Panthers have been marred in mediocrity for the past few seasons and need a solid draft to help bring them out of it. Some might argue the current staff needs a solid draft to keep their current jobs. The Panthers could go a number of different directions with the 13th pick of
2008 draft.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 13" »
February 27, 2008
Muhsin Muhammad is a decent signing for the Panthers if they are looking for leadership in the locker room. Hopefully they don't see him as a final solution to their lack of wideout depth.
Muhammad can help as a slot receiver, but they still need someone else to push Dwayne Jarrett, who showed next to nothing as a rookie. Jarrett might be the guy, you just can't count on it yet without insurance. My guess is they will bring in another mid-round draft pick or a mid-level veteran not far off Muhammad's level and let them all battle it out. Their offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson comes from the Patriots school, where receivers are somewhat fungible and quantity can be just as important as quality.
At least Tim Couch had multiple shoulder surgeries as an excuse. If this is the end of the line for David Carr, it was his confidence, not his body, that broke down.
It is strange to think a number one overall pick at quarterback could be out of the league before he turns 30. But the damage Carr suffered in 2007 will not be ignored league-wide, and Carr may not want to press on anyway. With a 4.7 yards-per-attempt average, it's no stretch to say Carr was the worst quarterback in the NFL last year.
He was soundly outplayed by 44-year-old (Vinny Testaverde) who joined the Panthers off the couch. Undrafted rookie Matt Moore started the last three games, and looked like Johnny Unitas in comparison to Carr.
Continue reading "Carr's career could be over" »
February 25, 2008
The linebackers didn't provide too many fireworks at the combine Monday. One player that stood out for the wrong reasons was LSU's Ali Highsmith. He built his second-round rep as a burner, but ran slower than 4.9 officially on both of his forty runs. His second time was over five seconds. The Combine, like politics, can sometimes be all about expectations. Highsmith fell well short Monday.
Unofficially, no one ran faster than a 4.5 forty by the NFL Network's clock.
February 22, 2008
DeShaun Foster has had a lot of repuations for a five-year career. First, he was a promising future star following a solid rookie year. Then he was an injury-prone disappointment. Then he was a star waiting to happen, held down by an aging Stephen Davis. For the last two years, he's reminded me of a group of girls in high school that we knew, but didn't have any personality: "The Just-There Gymnasts." DeShaun Foster is just there.
His 3.9 yards-per-carry career average defines average. In the last three years, he has gained between 876-897 rushing yards with two or three touchdowns.
Continue reading "Where Foster fits" »
December 27, 2007
Some running backs having more value than normal in this wild Week 17.
DeAngelo Willimas, Panthers- Finally starting to play over DeShaun Foster in key spots, and playing well. Could position himself for starting consideration in 2008.
Musa Smith, Ravens - The day has arrived! Too bad he'll be playing with Troy Smith.
Continue reading "Random RB Spikes" »
November 21, 2007
Is this it for David Carr? I think that's the logical question after John Fox made it clear Wednesday that Vinny Testaverde was Carolina's starter, no matter how healthy Carr is.
Vinny Testaverde was signed less than two months ago and is 44 years old. He didn't have the benefit of learning Carolina's personnel and system all summer like Carr, and yet John Fox, with his job potentially on the line, believes Testaverde gives the Panthers a better chance to win.
Carr has never been a player who has inspired confidence in his teammates, and one suspects that came into play here. Carr usually sounds like a balanced, logical guy to the media. Someone who doesn't view football as life. And while that's a healthy outlook, it's not one that NFL front offices look for.
If Carr can't beat out Vinny Testaverde, he might struggle just to find a backup job next year. And if he's not willing to take very little money (for him) to battle for a roster spot, his once promising career could be over as fast as you can say Tim Couch.
November 09, 2007
Some owners have written in wondering why I ranked DeShaun Foster so low this week considering his long history of success against the Falcons.
I care that Foster played his best game against Atlanta this year, but the rest of his numbers are meaningless to me. The Falcons have a different defensive coordinator than last year, and different personnel. The Panthers have different offensive personnel, a different offensive coordinator, and a new running scheme. There are too many changes every season on most NFL teams to look back and take those old numbers seriously.
Foster has gained between 43 and 64 rushing yards in the five games since Jake Delhomme was hurt, and those numbers matter more. If Foster moves up ahead of guys like Grant and Holmes on the Friday update, it will be because I trust them even less in retrospect, not because Foster ran well in 2005.
October 26, 2007
The PFT Podcast is up. I have no idea if people are listening to this, but I think it would make my brief career if someone actually listened to this on the way home from work like I used to with the old Florio and Dante podcasts.
It's safe to watch The Fantasy Fix again: Tiff is back. She'll be there Sunday for the live show.
We have a Rotoworld chat scheduled at 2PM.
October 15, 2007
Don't anger Steve Smith by benching him
The worst advice I have given all year on Fantasy Fix Live was telling a caller to consider benching Steve Smith Sunday with Vinny Testaverde likely to start.
I had visions of the last Vinny's last sudden relief start, his first outing for the Jets in 2005. He could barely handle the center-snap exchange. He didn't throw a touchdown in his first five appearances that year.
But Vinny looked solid and Smith was enjoying a fine day even before his 65-yard score to cap the afternoon. Smith has been feast or famine this year, but he's on pace for over 1,300 yards and 16 scores.
Don't anger Steve Smith by benching him
The worst advice I have given all year on Fantasy Fix Live was telling a caller to consider benching Steve Smith Sunday with Vinny Testaverde likely to start.
I had visions of the last Vinny's last sudden relief start, his first outing for the Jets in 2005. He could barely handle the center-snap exchange. He didn't throw a touchdown in his first five appearances that year.
But Vinny looked solid and Smith was enjoying a fine day even before his 65-yard score to cap the afternoon. Smith has been feast or famine this year, but he's on pace for over 1,300 yards and 16 scores.
October 08, 2007
As frequent Pancake Block readers know, I have an unnatural obsession with all things Keary Colbert.
It is with great pleasure that Colbert led the Panthers in receiving Sunday with four catches and 74 yards, sadly his highest output in 42 games. 42! Jeez, maybe the Panthers have been too patient with him. Cobert was Carolina's best deep threat Sunday, catching a 43-yard pass (on Matt Moore's first NFL snap!), a 19-yarder, and he drew an illegal contact penalty on a long touchdown try.
Anyhow, just wanted to get this up for posterity. Something tells me Colbert won't have 42 more games if he doesn't crack 70 yards again soon.
I don't edit much out of The Morning After (a consistent problem for me), but one item I didn't get to was the imbalanced offensive play count from many games yesterday.
As a Jerricho Cotchery owner, it was frustrating to watch the Jets run a grand total of four plays in the third quarter. You can't score if you aren't on the field, and that is often an overlooked factor in someone's lame afternoon, especially wide receivers and running backs. Cotchery and the Jets made up for it in other quarters, but let's look at some teams that stayed on the field Sunday. Any teams under 50 plays is struggling.
Continue reading "Under 50 plays equals disaster" »
There is never a good time for a quarterback to have elbow surgery, but Jake Delhomme and the Panthers exhausted all options before deciding to end Delhomme's season today. You know it kills Delhomme for his season to end, and one wonders what type of team this will be when he returns. It probably won't be his team.
The Panthers were handed a game Sunday, and aren't as good as their 3-2 record indicates. Playing in the mediocre NFC South will help, but John Fox and GM Marty Hurney aren't certain to be back next year.
David Carr will get his second chance in the NFL to be The Man. The Panthers have failed to develop any young alternatives to Delhomme, so a strong season by Carr would allow Carolina to return with Carr and Delhomme next year. Carr is off to a rough start.
Delhomme will be 33 entering next season and his status as the team's franchise quarterback is tenuous at best. Elbow surgeries threaten a quarterback's meal ticket and there's no guarantee he comes back the same player. Joe Montana never fully recovered from a similar procedure. At best, Delhomme will have to compete for his job next year.
September 24, 2007
As I suspected, a lot of the "minor" injuries endured Sunday by skill players are going to have uncertain recovery timelines.
So far, Brian Westbrook, Jake Delhomme, Brandon Jackson, Deshawn Wynn, Calvin Johnson, Carnell Williams, and Hines Ward have all received notice that their injuries won't require surgery.
Westbrook doesn't have any broken ribs, and Ward appears to have avoided a serious injury. Delhomme and Johnson will probably be among a large group of players whose status won't be decided until late in the week. It's annoying, but there is a bright side. My boss Rick says injuries are good for traffic.
September 21, 2007
Got a chance to watch the Shortcuts version of Houston-Carolina this morning. A couple thoughts from the game.
DeAngelo Williams plays more when the team is behind - Williams had ten looks (targets +touches) in the second half, while DeShaun Foster had five. Foster's second lost fumble in as many weeks won't help him stay on the field. Maybe Williams will be a bigger factor when they head to Atlanta this week.
Houston's line plays better - The Texans were stuffed in Week 1 against Kansas City, but Ahman Green had nice holes to run through. If it was a closer game, Green would have put up big totals. Houston's defensive line, especially Amobi Okoye, also had a big game. This group is for real.
Continue reading "Thoughts on Texans, Panthers" »
August 31, 2007
Let's look back at my keys for Thursday night and see if we learned anything
Clinton Portis - Redskins Insider says Portis got his wish by sitting out the game. It's not a huge concern on it's own, but this is different than LT2 or Westbrook sitting out. They have practiced more than five times all camp and aren't coming off multiple surgeries.
Oakland quarterback battle - Daunte Culpepper appears to have the edge, but it's not by much. We may not know for sure until gametime.
Tennessee skill players - In a surprise, the Titans played their starters into the second half. And LenDale White was one of those starters, playing well, and delivering an awesome block to spring Vince Young for a touchdown. A committee looks likely early, with White the lead back.
Brandon Jones started over Roydell Williams and caught a touchdown pass. Jeff Fisher has been playing games with this spot, but Jones now appears likely to get the call in Week 1. Wait to see how it shakes out, but hold on to Jones.
Continue reading "Thursday Night Lights" »
August 09, 2007
If this ends up as as bad as it sounds, L.J. Smith may not be draftable in fantasy leagues this year.
* Lamont Jordan and Dominic Rhodes are neck and neck for the Oakland starting job. Rhodes will miss the first four games of the season, but we're almost certainly looking at a committee after that.
* If I've learned one thing in the last month, it's that Keary Colbert will never die. Two Carolina newspapers report today that he's passing Drew Carter. Sure, it's Dwayne Jarrett's job eventually. But Colbert's re-emergence makes the whole trio worth avoiding.
* I usually dismiss strength-of-schedule as boderline irrelevent, but FootballOutsiders has created a highly useful article about it.
* Jason Wood asks a good question: Why is Steve Smith the consensus #1 WR? (I think the top-six are virtually interchangeable and Smith's rise is largely due to our desire for consensus.)
July 30, 2007
2004 was a good year. It was my first full season covering football full-time for Rotoworld. I was able to pay my rent on time ten times out of 12. And led by surprising efforts from rookie receivers Michael Clayton and Keary Colbert, my dynasty league team overachieved and I looked to have a great foundation of young receivers to build around.
Seems like a while ago. Clayton and Colbert have been in hiding for the subsequent two years, totaling 1,066 yards in four combined seasons since. Clayton is fighting for his starting job with Maurice Stovall in Tampa (glad I drafted him too), while Colbert was given up for dead after Dwayne Jarrett was drafted in April and Drew Carter took over the starting job. I'm a patient sort, but I gave up my roster spot for Colbert this offseason.
That's why I was very surprised to see Colbert began training as a starter. With Dwayne Jarrett behind him, it probably will be a temporary placement. But Colbert is relevent again, if only for a week. And for the owners that are hoping for a Drew Carter breakout season: It's probably not going to happen
July 10, 2007
August is a month for the football players on the fringes. While LaDainian Tomlinson mostly rests, undrafted players fight for spots on the practice squad. Declining veterans try to hold on to their roster spots. And players on the cusp on stardom battle each other for playing time. That’s when fantasy leaguers should start paying attention.
Over the next few weeks, we'll count down the top 50 position battles to watch during training camp. We try not to get carried away with preseason game results, rather the depth chart adjustments that coaches make. Players usually earn snaps in practice, and they solidify them in the preseason.
Evan Silva will update all the battles in detail throughout a weekly training camp column. This series should help you know where to look.
The beginning of the countdown will be for the true fantasy junkies that like to know every starter. Just barely missing the list were the battles for the starting tight end job in Arizona (Leonard Pope vs. field) and Buffalo (Bubba Kevin Everett vs. Robert Royal). The winners there just aren't likely to matter.
No. 50. Panthers TE: Jeff King vs. Michael Gaines
The winner of this battle isn't going to get drafted in fantasy leagues, but don't dismiss their chances for relevance entirely. The Panthers offense under Dan Henning required blocking from their tight ends and got it in spades from recently retired tight end Kris Mangum.
But Henning was fired and the new coordinator Jeff Davidson comes from the New England school of spreading the wealth. Davidson has been a tight ends coach in the past (for Ben Coates) and helped Kellen Winslow to an excellent season in Cleveland last year.
Davidson doesn't have that kind of talent to work with in Carolina. Gaines is more of a Daniel Graham-type at best, a blocker first. He's 280 pounds. King has a chance to catch some passes, though, if he can earn enough playing time. The Rock Hill Herald thinks he may start. He has decent hands and is someone to watch in deep dynasty leagues if he can win this battle.
June 15, 2007
Busy editing the magazine today, a refrain that may be too common around here over the next two weeks. So let's go straight to the links. (Notice I'm using a * instead of bullet because the PFT Fantasy Mill doesn't like my html.
Wilford a starter again?
* Jack Del Rio lays down the gauntlet to Reggie Williams and Matt Jones. We've written about Jones before this summer, but it appears neither player will be a "starter" to open training camp.
That leaves Ernest Wilford and Dennis Northcutt, with super sleeper Mike Walker waiting in the wings. Someone named Charles Sharon is also in the mix. The news is a concern for anyone interested in drafting a Jaguar receiver, especially Jones. Jack Del Rio is probably trying to motivate the group, but he knows it's a do-or-die season. Donovin Darius' release may be a wake up call. One note of caution: All we heard about last summer was about Wilford, and he was behind Reggie Williams once camp got going.
* As a depressed dynasty league owner of Eric Shelton the last two years, I'll attach myself to any sliver of good news possible. Perhaps the dismissal of Dan Henning will help, but I'm not convinced he was somehow in the doghouse by mistake.
If Shelton could help the Panthers win, he'd be playing. Perhaps a release and a reuniting with Bobby Petrino in Atlanta would help him. Kudos to David Warner, who wrote the piece over at AOL Fanhouse for educating the masses on all kinds of football this summer on his blog.
* Mike Tomlin pencils in his starters. It's surprising Anthony Smith and Bryant McFadden are on the bench, at least for now. Ike Taylor is safely out of the doghouse.
* Thursday was Vernand Morency day in the local Green Bay papers. My gut tells me Morency will split carries with Brandon Jackson at best, but these pieces suggest otherwise.
* Wanted to talk at length all week about Michael Felger's article on Randy Moss. First, it's a huge loss for Patriots fans now that Felger is no longer on staff at the Herald. Hopefully he continues to pen pieces like this when he has time. Second, this is such a great example of how different writers can get drastically different impressions from offseason practices. Peter King was gushing about Moss in Sports Illustrated. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, but Felger has been right about an awful lot over the years.
For the record, I don't really care how well Randy Moss practices in June if he's not a "distraction." I just hope he has juice left in his legs on Sundays.
* Paul Zimmerman writes that Tom Brady was "furious" about his lack of receivers last offseason - off the record. Thanks to Florio's excellent new vice Poohbah Michael David Smith for catching this.
* Minicamp season is just about wrapping up. Some places with good coverage this weekend to check out...
* The Newark Star Ledger on the Giants
* Redskins Insider, which has a painful sounding account of LaRon Landry's "groin contusion." Maybe Paintball should be played with a cup.
* Seahawks Insider wraps up the recent minicamp in Seattle.
April 06, 2007
David Carr choosing to sign with the Panthers is odd on the surface. If his primary goal was to be a starting quarterback again quickly, he could have waited out an opportunity in Miami or possibly Cleveland. But despite coach John Fox and GM Matt Hurney's claims to the contrary, perhaps Carr choose Carolina because he knows he does has a chance to start before long there.
The Carolina offense was poor last year, and much of Jake Delhomme's struggles were rightly blamed on a predictable game plan and weak offensive line. But Delhomme has been a streaky quarterback since he took over the starting job with the Panthers, capable of mind-numbing decisions that veterans shouldn't make. His yards-per-attempt fell 1.4 yards last year to 6.5. If that number doesn't move, Carr will be an option during the 2007 season. I have never trusted Delhomme fully as a consistent fantasy option, and this move only lowers his 2007 value. There will be better QB2s out there.
Continue reading "Carr to Carolina" »
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