September 15, 2008
It's a lot more fascinating to read about dysfunction than it is to read about mediocrity. Give hme a 3-13 implosion to follow anytime over a 7-9 team. That's why I was eager to check out the articles in Kansas City and Oakland today. They didn't disappoint.
Jerry McDonald, one of the absolute best, shows how Lane Kiffin simply doesn't care what anyone thinks about him. A true maverick!
Nancy Gay of the Chronicle believes that Rob Ryan is the next Raiders head coach, and details the deep divide in the locker room and how Al Davis ordered Ryan's tirade last week.
And the Raiders actually won Sunday! Dueling Kansas City columnists Whitlock and Posnanski are fittingly apoplectic about the Chiefs. 90% of Kansas City readers believe they are the worst team in football. Larry Johnson wants out. Carl Peterson could finally be at the end of the road.
August 07, 2008
Check around your favorite team's official website this week and you'll see a new page up: Depth Charts! Teams are required to give their first depth charts of the season before their first preseason game - this week. These are fun to look at, but the coaches plead with us not to take them seriously. Sometimes, they are ridiculous. Like the Falcons putting Matt Ryan fourth at quarterback. Sometimes, coaches use them as motivational tools.
Whatever the reason, there are always a few eye openers. Here were the ones that caught my eye this week:
Continue reading "Depth Chart Shenanigans" »
June 12, 2008
New Marshawn Lynch developments, including a dancing pedestrian and Lynch's previous interactions with the police. Apparently Lynch has been tossed from a few local bars for ordering soda, then pouring ihis own liquor into the glass. Thrifty.
The Arizona quarterback rotation could be coming back. (Although I doubt it). The Cardinals are yet another team done with OTAs this week.
Continue reading "Skinny Posts: BYOL" »
June 11, 2008
Mandatory minicamp is often the final place to take stock of what, if anything, has changed before training camp. I'll occasionally take a look at the main points fantasy leaguers learned from finished minicamps.
1. Larry Johnson is healthy enough to practice every day
It's practically the only information we need to know about this Chiefs offseason. Contact work, of course, is a whole different matter. But L.J. has recovered as well as can be expected. That doesn't mean we are taking him in the top-20 picks.
Continue reading "What we learned: Chiefs minicamp" »
April 22, 2008
When quarterback is listed behind at least five other needs on the team. I don't buy it. They need to get an alternative Brodie Croyle before moving forward.
April 04, 2008
Our last pick showed that if you are going to be a GM, you better be ready to take some heat for your pick. I'll say this: coming out of college, Darren McFadden and Adrian Peterson's profiles weren't so different. McFadden could be the best playmaker in this draft, and the Chiefs sure need playmakers. I'm not saying the Chiefs would make the move, but that's not what this draft is about. Anyhow, let's move on to the Jets, surprised to be drafting so high in year two of the Tangini era. The writing is courtesy of John B.
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 6" »
April 03, 2008
The fifth pick of our Mock draft creates the first shocker. It wouldn't be the first time the Chiefs surprised many with a first-round running back pick.
The Chiefs were hoping the Jake Long would fall to 5 but with the Raiders selecting him just ahead the Chiefs would try and trade out. Without a trade the Chiefs pull off the first shock of the draft and take Darren McFadden...
Continue reading "Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 5" »
March 12, 2008
The blog has been quiet lately as I've helped out on our baseball video previews and started to get ready for a Japan trip to see the in-laws and watch some Red Sox International. Then this place will really get quiet, although the timing feels right as we head into the Donnie Nickey/Dan Klecko/Danny Clark phase of free agency. Here are a couple loose thoughts on the events of the past few days ...
The Texans could be posturing or they could really be hesitant to draft a first-round running back. Considering their system, I'm betting the latter. Chris Taylor sounds like a nice deep dynasty league pickup.
Continue reading "Skinny Posts: Hackett, Boldin, and Darling" »
March 10, 2008
Mock Drafts aren't usually built on original thought. They primarily look at other Mock Drafts, switch some names, teams, and needs around, and go from there. Even draftniks who spend the college season following the players tend to have similar rankings because they read each other, but don't know what NFL scouts are seeing or saying.
I've been sold on Mike Mayock's mock drafts since 2005, when he had Aaron Rodgers falling all the way to number 25 to the Packers. It's not just that he nailed a pick absolutely no one saw coming, it's that he had the confidence and research to make his own decision instead of following the masses. His pipeline to NFL teams probably doesn't hurt. He revealed his first top-ten Mock picks last week and there were a few stunners that should be taken seriously. Let's take a look ...
Continue reading "Mayock's Top Ten" »
February 08, 2008
The Pro Bowl means very little to the general public, but it means a lot to the players. Take Kellen Winslow, who is participating in the game despite impending knee surgery.
At the time I interviewed Winslow last week, his camp was very upset because he still wasn't on the roster. Antonio Gates was supposed to bow out, but said he would play despite his toe injury. Winslow's camp was convinced that Gates was going to play just to block Winslow's appearance. It seemed like there was some bad blood there.
Continue reading "Pro Bowl drama! (sort of)" »
January 17, 2008
Hiring Chan Gailey as offensive coordiantor was a classic Herm Edwards move. He was the safe pick - probably too safe.
Gailey's tack record meshes perfectly with Herm's love of ball control football. I checked Gailey's eight seasons in the NFL when he was either a coordinator or head coach, and his teams had one defining characteristic; They ran like crazy.
On average, Gailey's teams have finished sixth in the league in rushing attempts, while finishing only 25th in pass attempts. Gailey isn't opposed to vertical strikes when he does throw, finishing tenth on average in yards-per-passing attempt. Gailey's NFL offenses have been mostly successful. On average, they have finished tenth in points and eleventh in giveaways.
Continue reading "Herm plays it safe" »
January 03, 2008
If I was a smart blog writer, I’d break up this top-ten busts of the year into ten posts, increase the amount of hits, set up some content in a slow time of year, and everyone would be happy. But I’m too impatient. Let's break it into two more posts, all in one day.
10. Cedric Benson, Bears - It’s never a good sign when fantasy owners are relieved by season-ending injuries. The Bears stayed faithful as long as possible, but it’s hard to imagine Benson being handed the unquestioned starting job next year, no matter what he says.
9. Travis Henry, Broncos - Like Benson, injuries were a factor. But the reality is that Henry suited up 12 times, and he didn’t top 51 rushing yards in his last seven games. What looked like a great marriage for Henry in Denver could end after one season.
8. Mark Clayton, Ravens - No one gave fantasy owners less on this list than Clayton. He was drafted as a solid WR3 (Average Draft Position among top 30 wideouts), and never showed up for his third season. The Baltimore offense doesn’t fully explain his struggles because Derrick Mason has a similar style game.
7. Vince Young, Titans - Statistically, it was hard to argue against Young going into the season. He was a top-five fantasy QB when he played as a rookie. Fantasy Nation’s gut didn’t love him, though. His ADP was eighth, we ranked him ninth. He finished 17th and only 26th in per-game average. Trust the gut.
6. Larry Johnson, Chiefs - Don’t let LJ’s solid three-game finish before his foot injury cloud his season. He was held to five fantasy points or less in half his games, and didn’t score until Week 5. He put his owners in a huge hole, he got hurt, and then he gave out false hope that he might help them in the fantasy playoffs.
We'll finish off the busts in the morning, along with the second half of the Top 30 keepers. Thanks for the patience. In the meantime, check out today's supersized Playoff prop bet edition of the Fantasy Fix, which unfortunately includes an Omar Epps impression. If that doesn't keep you from clicking, I don't know what will.
January 02, 2008
The last of the Dick Vermeil coaches in Kansas City are gone, which isn't a big surprise. Someone has to pay for that miserable of an offense, and it wasn't going to be GM Carl Peterson unfortunately.
Former Jets and Chiefs coordinator Paul Hackett sounds like the leading candidate to take over, but that doesn't jibe with an interesting throw-away line in Jason Whitlock's annual must-read Chiefs grades.
Continue reading "A ray of hope for L.J.?" »
December 31, 2007
This is one the key news weeks of the offseason, as we comb through the papers to get indications of where teams will head this offseason before everyone leaves this building. Here are some of interesting nuggets I saw this morning.
* From the Miami Herald, some of the thinking behind Cam Cameron's impending firing:
Continue reading "Offseason starts for 20 teams" »
December 20, 2007
Roughly six weeks ago, Larry Johnson left Kansas City's game with what was originally reported as an ankle injury. The following week, reports leaked out that he had suffered a crack in his foot. Just over one month ago, Rotoworld reported that the Chiefs expected to shut Larry Johnson down for the season.
That didn't happen, Johnson continued to rehab, tepidly practicing on a very limited basis over the last few weeks. He never made it to a Friday practice.
Continue reading "L.J. Season Likely Over. Again" »
November 27, 2007
Herm Edwards can be criticicized for a lot of things, time management being first among them. But those who picked on him for running Kolby Smith on fourth-and-one in the fourth quarter instead of attempting a field goal weren't watching the game.
Smith was the entire Kansas City offense, and he had converted three out of four short-yardage opportunities on the day. Dave Rayner, the Kansas City kicker, missed a 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter by as much as you can possibly miss an unblocked field goal. And the Kansas City defense had no answer for Justin Fargas in the second half; they couldn't even stop him when they knew the Raiders were running out the clock.
Taking all those factors into account, Herm made the right decision. It just didn't work.
***
New Fixes are up - talking waiver picks and 100K playoffs.
November 21, 2007
Herm has no choice but to play Smith now
I had very high hopes for Kolby Smith heading into the season, drafting him onto my one dynasty league team. I liked what I saw from Smith in college, but it was mostly a pick because of opportunity. Any young backup to an injury risk like Larry Johnson figured to be valuable.
He's disappointed so far. He was lost in preseason action, and an aging Priest Holmes passed him on the depth chart quickly after getting off the PUP list. With Holmes now out for the year, Smith will get every chance to prove he belongs.
Continue reading "Kolby Smith faces easy schedule" »
It turned out the believers and the cynics were both right. Priest Holmes did make it all the way back, even starting a pair of games. It's hard to call his entire comeback a publicity stunt when he went through half a season on PUP-list exile. He worked hard to get back on the field.
But the skeptics, Jason Whitlock primarily among them, will raise their eyebrows at the way he's suddenly leaving the game again with a mysterious injury after a mostly unproductive return.
And while Holmes earned this final chance with the Chiefs because of his history with the team, the entire process has largely been pointless for Kansas City. They have less depth at running back than any team in the NFL, they have upset their star runner, and they now have an untested fifth-round rookie and no one else to man the position. That's not Priest's fault; it's Carl Peterson's.
Continue reading "Priest goes out his way" »
November 19, 2007
We're not usually in the business of breaking news at Rotoworld. Our goal is to have every scrap of NFL news posted to our site second, to aggregate everything faster than the competition so you don't have to.
This Larry Johnson post is an exception. Here's what we wrote:
Continue reading "On the Larry Johnson post" »
November 07, 2007
Wednesday is Shortcuts-watching morning at Chez Rosenthal. I took at peak at Chiefs-Packers to get a preview of Priest Holmes heading into his starting role, and wasn't overly encouraged from what I saw, albeit from a small sample.
Tony Gonzalez stole the show in this game. In a constantly changing fantasy landscape, Gonzo never disappoints. He's currently the TE3 this season and is gaining fast on Antonio Gates. If he keeps it up, it will mark the eighth time in nine years Gonzalez has finished as a top-three tight end.
Despite a terrible offense around him, Gonzo has a shot to break some personal records. He's on pace for 104 catches, 1,230 yards, and eight scores. Fantasy Nation began to give up on Gonzalez after his two-score season in 2005, but that was largely a fluke. The receptions never left.
The Chiefs may have erred rewarding Larry Johnson with a big extension, but Gonzalez is living up to his. As always.
October 22, 2007
I'm not sure what to make of Chris Mortensen's report that Holmes could eventually get 15 touches a game, but I'd rather own Holmes than Kolby Smith as a LJ handcuff. Here's the play-by-play of Holmes' first game back.
First Quarter
1-10-KC-30 Huard pass to Holmes for a loss of 6 yards
Third Quarter
1-10-OAK-11 Holmes run for no gain
Fourth Quarter
1-10-KC-31 Holmes runs for three yards
2-7-KC-34 Holmes runs for eight yards
1-10-KC-43 Holmes runs for a loss of 2 yards
Continue reading "Catching up with Priest" »
October 16, 2007
Michael Bennett is headed to the Bucs. He was good once, right?
Well, it's been a while. Bennett hasn't topped 500 rushing yards in a season since 2002 because of injuries and ineffectiveness. He's a one dimensional boom-or-bust runner who can't stay healthy. That's why three teams (Minnesota, New Orleans, and Kansas City) have given up on him in the span of two years. In Tampa, he gets his best opportunity for relevance because Earnest Graham doesn't provide much competition. And Jon Gruden has been known to revive veteran careers. Don't forget, though, that Michael Pittman could be back in the mix by the time Bennett knows the offense.
So Is Bennett worth owning in most leagues?
Continue reading "Trade Deadline Excitement!" »
October 10, 2007
I'm still not sure what to think about LaDainian Tomlinson this season. On one hand, he's resourceful. He's turned 3.4 yards-per-carry into a top-three fantasy scorer through the passing game (throwing and receiving), and the lack of quality competition at running back this year.
Another part of me wonders why Tomlinson couldn't crack 70 yards on 21 carries against one of the worst rush defenses in the league last week. We can talk about defenses loading up to stop LT2, but something isn't right when he's only cracked one run over 11 yards all season.
Tomlinson gets another chance to make his rushing numbers look healthy this week against Oakland. They have the 26th-ranked rushing defense and he has a great history against them. If Tomlinson remains stymied on the ground, I'd grow a little concerned.
Continue reading "Good matchups for Tomlinson, LJ" »
September 13, 2007
Welcome to the first ever fantasy football blog written from the back of a speeding cab. In a move that will sound all too familiar to those who know me, I'm running into some issues on the way to the airport today. On the train back to New York City from Connecticut (where we tape the Fantasy Fix), I left a suitcase on the train while spacily departing (I had been editing some Rotoworld stuff. All for the people!).
Continue reading "Defense pickups" »
September 06, 2007
The Colts knew what they were doing when they let Jason David go. Just like Nick Harper. Sure, Reggie Wayne (who just burned David for a score) and Marvin Harrison are going to make most cornerbacks look bad. But teams just don't let good players walk, especially moderately priced cornerbacks like David who sign offer sheets as a restricted free agent.
There has been a lot of talk about the defensive players Indy lost, from their cornerbacks to Cato June, but a lot of them were a big part of a bad defense. The Colts will find out if their young starters Freddie Keiahoe, Marlin Jackson, and Kelvin Hayden are quality options. It's worth finding out because the old guys weren't that great.
September 05, 2007
Kansas City heads to Houston in Week 1, which would normally be a cause of celebration for all Larry Johnson owners. But Herm Edwards made some telling comments Tuesday about limiting LJ's workload early in the year. And then continuing to limit it throughout the year. Here's Herm:
Continue reading "Is LJ a shaky play this week?" »
August 25, 2007
My first reaction upon hearing that Damon Huard will start for the Chiefs in Week 1: Good for Herm Edwards.
My second reaction: Good for the rest of the Kansas City offensive players.
I understand Herm's desire to get ready for "the future," but you can't sell your other players out when Brodie Croyle hasn't shown he's ready.
Croyle is going to get his chance to start, probably halfway through this year, but his 5-for-17 effort the other night did him in. Including 2006's preseason, Croyle is now 25-for-59 as a pro, with 258 yards, one touchdown and six interceptions. His confidence can't be too high, and his teammates must have doubts.
Continue reading "Croyle collapse helps LJ, Gonzo" »
August 24, 2007
Let's look back at my questions regarding last night's game and see what we learned.
Jacksonville vs. Green Bay
* The Jacksonville wide receiver rotation. If Jack Del Rio is going to make a change, it's now or never.
Dennis Northcutt and Ernest Wilford remain the starters. Matt Jones remains in the slot. Reggie Williams played earlier than usual, but only gained nine yards on his two catches. He's probably going to get cut. I drafted Wilford with my final WR slot in a 14-team league last night.
Continue reading "Northcutt and Wilford Stick" »
Let's look back at the things I wanted to watch in last night's games.
New Orleans vs. Kansas City
* Can Brodie Croyle play smart football? He would have to implode tonight to lose the starting job.
He basically imploded. The protection, running backs, and the receivers reportedly didn't help, but you aren't going to do much worse than one first down in two quarters after the first drive. This offense really could be ugly. Damon Huard has a chance to be the Week 1 starter now or the veterans might revolt.
*Can Kolby Smith turn around a slow preseason?
Nope - three carries for six yards. Michael Bennett is Larry Johnson's handcuff.
Continue reading "Croyle Implodes" »
August 23, 2007
Two games tonight. Here's what I'd look for, whether on television or in the game stories.
Jacksonville vs. Green Bay
* Can the James Jones magic continue?
* The Jacksonville wide receiver rotation. If Jack Del Rio was going to make a change, it's now or never.
* Can Brandon Jackson keep up his momentum from last week?
Continue reading "What to Watch Tonight" »
August 21, 2007
Two quarterback battles we've been tracking all offseason appear to be winding up. This article sure makes it sound like Brodie Croyle is the man in Kansas City, barring a complete collapse this weekend. Which I wouldn't totally discount.
Charlie Frye, meanwhile, is closing in on the Browns job. In yet another odd presser, Romeo Crennel said the quarterback battle was between Frye and, well, a mystery man. While Crennel said Monday that Derek Anderson would play second in the game, it appears that Brady Quinn is going to get his shot. And logically, Quinn is the unnamed quarterback, even if Frye is the heavy favorite.
Continue reading "QB Decisions in Cleveland, Kansas City?" »
August 20, 2007
I kept the Priest Holmes saga out of the Daily Dose, because he's not going to help your fantasy team this season. But the latest in As the Priest Turns is worth noting for Hard Knocks fans and fantasy football historians.
* Holmes skipped Kansas City’s preseason game on Thursday to visit his family. Herm Edwards thought he was at the game.
* On Saturday, Holmes declared himself ready to fully practice.
Continue reading "Priest story getting stranger" »
August 17, 2007
I looked at the Kansas City quarterback battle already, but here are some other notes from the Chiefs/Dolphins game. Since Rotoworld loves branding, the game notes will forever more be called "Skinny Posts."
* Trent Green had a better effort and moved the ball. But the Dolphins really focused on short drops and throws to make up for their offensive line. When Green tried to set up deep, he still didn't have much time. You wonder if that will affect Chris Chambers' ability to go deep.
* Cleo Lemon (8/11-52-0-0) also moved the offense early and finds open receivers underneath. But the Dolphins look like they are settling on Green. I have a feeling Miami will need multiple starting quarterbacks this year because of their line.
Continue reading "Skinny Posts: Chiefs/Dolphins" »
I thought it would be interesting to add up Brodie Croyle's combined numbers as a pro, adding up this year's preaseason snaps with last year's regular season and preseason.
CP-ATT-YD-TD-INT
20-42-213-1-5
Admittedly, it's a small sample size, mostly in games that don't count. But don't the Chiefs have to see something from Croyle in game action before making him a starter?
Continue reading "Chiefs solve nothing" »
August 16, 2007
Very interesting game from a fantasy perspective on ESPN tonight. Two teams, Miami and Kansas City, that have as many questions on offense as anyone. Both quarterback jobs are up for grabs, plus rookies like Dwayne Bowe, Ted Ginn, and Kolby Smith can help their chances for playing time with positive outings.
* The Chiefs game and the practices between the Bengals and Saints remind me that "camp" is already ending for some teams. Many of the squads like Kansas City, Tampa, New Orleans, and Cincy that travel away from home will now return for regular practice at their home practice field. I personally applaud this passage of time. I'm already forgetting what the "offseason" was like, and by next week will be more than ready to get the real stuff going.
August 15, 2007
Croyle losing starting job?
It's a quiet news day, so let's empty out the notebook before the second week of the preseason starts. I was looking forward to this game because these teams have true quarterback battles. It's mid-August, and it's legitimately a 50-50 call for both teams. This game didn't help.
Chiefs vs. Browns
* This game was Charlie Frye in a nutshell. He played better than Derek Anderson, but made two crushing mental errors that erased his progress. A poor pass he threw to Jerome Harrison was actually a lateral and returned for a touchdown. He tried to run for a touchdown at the end of the first half and time ran out, costing his team three points.
He made some nice scrambles and throws, but he makes a lot of errors for a quarterback once compared to Bernie Kosar, the king of managing the game.
* Anderson was hurt by a key drop, but he made a couple of ugly throws. He's had a big opportunity this month, and hasn't grabbed it. Big game for him this weekend.
Continue reading "Chiefs-Browns Notes" »
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 01, 2007
Remember when Priest Holmes signed last week? That was fun.
One week later, though, Priest Holmes still hasn't practiced with his new team. He says he might not for another few weeks. Could the Chiefs really put him on the Week 1 roster without seeing him play in the exhibition season?
I don't feel quite as strongly about this issue as Jason Whitlock, who believes Holmes' neck was never that hurt in the first place. But I have my doubts whether he'll play a snap for Kansas City this year.
July 25, 2007
LJ may have some familiar competition
Training camp has thrown its first curveball. Despite every indication that his career was over, Priest Holmes is expected to show up to Chiefs camp this week. The whole thing is curious, especially after reports this summer that Holmes was out of shape. NFL Network's Adam Shefter says he has medical clearance to play.
So what does this mean for fantasy leaguers?
First of all, this gives the Chiefs a bit of leverage in contract talks with Larry Johnson - but not that much. They certainly don't want to hand the starting job over to Holmes, who is turning 34 years old and hasn't played football in nearly two years.
Herm Edwards has also made it clear that he is favoring a youth movement at all positions, including running back. Kolby Smith and possibly undrafted rookie Marcus O'Keith were expected to have big roles. Will playing Holmes for one more year help Kansas City's future? GM Carl Peterson is loyal enough to invite Holmes to camp, but he's going to have to earn a role. Holmes is not guaranteed to make the team.
Continue reading "Priest Holmes Lives!" »
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