Sep 30 2009
- Marshawn Lynch will return to the field this weekend and they are planning on splitting the carries between him and Fred Jackson. Neither RB is a great own right now. Despite Jackson playing really well in the first three weeks, he'll now lose touches and for Lynch, he won't see as many carries as he would have with how well Jackson has done in his absence.
(Photo by AP)
- All you Frank Gore owners that are panicked because he'll be out for the next three weeks need to take a coffee break. Glen Coffee will take over Gore's duties and be an every down back for the Niners when they play the Rams and the Falcons over the next couple weeks. Yes, I realize the pun was lame but it at least made you smile.
- The Cowboys are started to run out of RBs and are now down to their third stringer Tashard Weapon of Choice. With Felix Jones out till mid October and Marion Barber only hoping to play this weekend, Choice is the starter by default. Not a bad default plan though, as Choice showed a lot of promise last year and Dallas will play the Broncos and the Chiefs in the next couple weeks.
- Forget about Chad Pennington meeting Brett Favre in the Super Bowl this year. Pennington is out for the year with a shoulder injury. Tough blow for the Dolphins and for anyone that owns of any players on the Miami offense.
- Willie Parker is said to be dealing with a case of turf toe and is going to miss practice. Be prepared to pick up Rashard Mendenhall is this gets serious.
- According to the Chicago Sun Times, Bears beat writer Brad Biggs believes that Matt Forte is injured which is why he's gotten off to such a poor start. However, Forte himself has denied being injured at all. He will go up against the Lions this week, so if he is injured it should be obvious after this game.
- Promising Rams receiver Laurent Robinson is done for the year with a fractured fibula. The Rams offense, which didn't have many weapons to begin with, now have even less.
- Apparently we have not seen the last of Derek Anderson after all. Throwing three picks in a blowout loss to the Ravens wasn't enough to put him back on the bench. Why would you want to get your number one draft pick and franchise QB Brady Quinn experience? This Browns team is clearly ready to win now.
- Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe is not expected to suit up against the Giants in Week 4 due to injury.
- Colts sack master Dwight Freeney will miss the next 2-3 weeks with a right quad injury. This is a big loss for the Colts D/ST, but their not exactly facing tough passing teams during that time with Seattle coming up this Sunday.
- Cowboys Roy Williams caught 4 balls for 75 yards, but dropped a TD in the 4th quarter. Dallas is finding out real quick that he is NOT a suitable replacement for Terrell Owens. His numbers will be decent, but he's not the elite WR they need to spread the field and open up plays for his teammates.
Sep 28 2009
Stars
Maurice Jones-Drew - Another game against the Texans, another top spot on the stars list for a RB. MJD ripped up the Texans defense for 119 yards and 3 TDs. Next week he'll take on the Titans in a must win game for Tennessee, so numbers like these won't come easy next weekend.
Peyton Manning - Going head to head against another great QB from this decade, Manning out shined Kurt Warner in a big way. Peyton destroyed the Cardinals for 379 yards and 4 TDs in their 31-10 rout. Next week, Manning and Colts will host the Seattle Seahawks. To Peyton owners: Here's a towel to soak up that drool on your chin.
Pierre Thomas - Welcome back Pierre Thomas. Mike Bell headed to the injury report just as Thomas came off and he picked up right where Bell left off. Thomas was the lone bright spot on the Saints defense this week, I'll probably never say that again this year. He returned to the lineup and ran for 126 yards on just 14 carries and scored a couple of TDs.
Kevin Kolb - Who needs Donovan McNabb when you have Kevin Kolb? No, just kidding, the Eagles really do need McNabb if they hope to go anywhere. If Kolb could play the Chiefs every week, he'd be a must own, but 327 yards, 3 TDs (2 pass, 1 rush) won't come often for the Philadelphia backup.
Santana Moss - Detroit didn't have an answer for Moss yesterday. He caught 10 passes for 178 yards. Now he will have to look for an answer as to why his team lost to a team that had not won a game since 2007.
Stumblers
Redskins D/ST - They lost to the freaking Lions people. The Lions! They gave up over 100 yards to Kevin Smith, over 200 yards to a rookie QB and worst of all lost the game.
Clinton Portis - Continuing on with Skins, Portis was awful. He ran for just 42 yards on 12 carries. Failing to break 100 yards against the Lions is bad. Failing to break 50 yards is a joke.
Derek Anderson - Maybe this will put the nail in the coffin of DA's career in Cleveland. They took out franchise QB Brady Quinn for a guy that went 11-19 for 92 yards and 3 INTs? In the words of Agent Smith from the Matrix, "Good bye... Mr. Anderson".
Terrell Owens - Yesterday people could refer to Terrell Owens as T-Zero, instead of T-Oh. Owens caught no passes in a 27-7 loss to the Saints. Miami is next and their pass defense hasn't been great, but neither has the Saints and he was completely shutdown.
Limas Sweed - He dropped a TD pass that cost the Steelers a win in Cincy. Need I say more?
Sep 25 2009
Cleveland Browns vs Baltimore Ravens
Browns: After two weeks, their isn't a lot of upside to the Browns. The defense is lousy and the pretty much all of their offensive weapons are un-own-able. It won't get much better this week as they'll head to Baltimore to take on one of the better defenses in the league. If the Brownies get blown out bad enough, Braylon Edwards may have a solid outing.
Ravens: Sitting at 2-0 on the season, the Ravens look strong. The offense is much better than expected and the defense is... well it is in its usual form. Willis McGahee appears to won back the starting role from Ray Rice, however Rice should still see plenty of touches, but his TD production will still be a weak point. Joe Flacco is looks like he's put that poor preseason behind him and Todd Heap looks like a new man.
Fantasy Factors: Braylon Edwards (7), Willis McGahee (8)
Washington Redskins vs Detroit Lions
Redskins: The good news was that the Skins won their first game last week. The bad news, it was a tough win and it was against the Rams. Clinton Portis didn't look very explosive and Jason Campbell is nursing an injury. Despite their problems, both should have a great weekend against the beat toys of the league.
Lions: The Matthew Stafford era hasn't exactly roared into the season. He has 1 TD, 5 INTs and is averaging just 5.3 yards per completion. His inability to get the ball down field is going to kill Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith's fantasy values. Johnson simply won't get the ball, while Smith will wish he didn't have the ball as he'll face 8 man fronts all day.
Fantasy Factors: Clinton Portis (8), Calvin Johnson (6)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Houston Texans
Jaguars: This has the making of a very interesting match up. The Jags can only run the ball and the Texans can't stop the run. Meanwhile, the Jags can't stop the pass and the Texans can only pass. This could be whomever has the ball last wins. Maurice Jones-Drew will look like Chris Johnson II as he'll run all over Houston.
Texans: It was good to see the Texans offense finally get back on track and do it in a big way against the Titans on their home field. Schaub to Johnson was big last week and it'll be big again this weekend. The Jags have given up and average of 279 yard per game through the air this season. That number will be higher after this weekend.
Fantasy Factors: Maurice Jones-Drew (10), Andre Johnson (10)
San Francisco 49ers vs Minnesota Vikings
49ers: Unlike the Niners teams of the past, this one can't pass at all. But that's okay, all they've needed to do so far this year is had the rock to Frank Gore and good things happen. Gore had the biggest game of his career last weekend against Seattle rushing for 207 yards and 2 TDs. This week, the Niners will have to get a little more creative. The Vikings are very good against the run and I can assure you that Gore will not run wild on this defense in their home opener.
Vikings: After playing the Browns and Lions, the Vikings are right where they should be at 2-0. They should be 3-0 after this Sunday too. The Niners are tough against the pass which should force the Vikes to run the ball a little more than they usually do. That basically means Favre could go out there without pads this weekend.
Fantasy Factors: Vernon Davis (7), Adrian Peterson (8)
Atlanta Falcons vs New England Patriots
Falcons: After two home wins, the Falcons head to Foxboro to take on a flailing Patriots team. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I hope the Falcons crush them this Sunday. Michael Turner, so far, hasn't looked as good as he did last year, but he doesn't need to with Matt Ryan picking up the offense as we expected he would in his second year. However, Turner shouldn't have a problem running a Patriots team that's looking a little soft on defense.
Patriots: This is not 2007. The Patriots have found that out very quickly. Tom Brady and Randy Moss were *gasp* shutdown last week in New York and the team as a whole did little. Brady got knocked around quite a bit as well, leaving me to believe that the offensive line isn't what it used to be either. The Falcons defense isn't known for its speed, so if Welker can get back into the lineup (and he should be there) the Pats should have more success this week.
Fantasy Factors: Michael Turner (8), Randy Moss (8)
Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles
Chiefs: The Chiefs new dynamic explosive offense with Matt Cassel has yet to make an appearance this season and I don't think it will show up this week either. After getting ripped up by Drew Brees last week and the Eagles defense will be looking to make a statement and the poor Chiefs offense gets to bare the brunt of it.
Eagles: With or without Donovan McNabb, the Eagles offense should be fine. Kolb, at this point, is expected to start and should have no problem shredding a Chiefs defense that gave up over 300 passing yard to Joe Flacco back in Week 1. Brian Westbrook should be pretty active too as it usually is when McNabb is not available, however he's a game time decision after missing three straight practices.
Fantasy Factors: Dwayne Bowe (7), Brian Westbrook (9)
Green Bay Packers vs St. Louis Rams
Packers: After a big win against the Bears, a let down week was looming and it happened. A-Rod 2 failed to reach the 300 yard mark, Ryan Grant only gained 46 yards and the Packers lost on Lambeau field to the Bengals. The Pack get another softie on this weekend. I think this will be a huge game for Rodgers and Jennings as the Rams don't really have anyone in their secondary that can stop these two.
Rams: After looking very impressive against the Bears in Week One, the Packer defense looked awful against the Bengals. Part of the reason for the downfall is they've had to deal with some injuries. The other half is that the Packers simply don't have good enough personnel yet. The Rams are not great on offense, but they have enough weapons to exploit the weaknesses in this defense. Steven Jackson had a solid outing against a tough Redskins defense and Laurent Robinson has been surprisingly good thus far and has become Marc Bulger's go-to-guy.
Fantasy Factors: Greg Jennings (9), Steven Jackson (8)
New York Giants vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Giants: Every week the NFL is full of surprises. Coming into this year, the Giants appeared to have a great running game and a poor aerial assault. But after the first two weeks, its the opposite. Jacobs is averaging just 52 yards per game and Mario Manningham has emerged as the big play threat the Giants have needed. The Bucs haven't been good against the run or pass this year, so everyone wins for the Giants this week. Including the defense as the Bucs have really been struggling on that side of the ball as well.
Buccaneers: The Bucs have gotten real bad, real fast. The offense is lousy, the running game is led by a guy that's hardly played for the last two years and the defense can't stop anyone. It doesn't get much better this week against the Giants. I would steer clear of Bucs this week and probably most weeks down the road.
Fantasy Factors: Eli Manning (8), Derrick Ward (5)
Tennessee Titans vs New York Jets
Titans: Ohhh how I miss that old Oilers helmet. I'm not kidding, I really do. The Titans will dress up like the Oilers this week, while the Jets will dress up like the Titans. Well the New York Titans from the 60's anyways. This is a big game for the Titans as they're sitting at 0-2 and there's a good chance they'll go down to 0-3. Despite a monster performance from Chris Johnson, they still lost. Considering the Jets defense has shutdown two pretty good pass offenses this year, it will be interesting to see if they can shutdown a "punch you in the mouth, grind it out" offense.
Jets: As impressive as their win was against the Patriots, they need to be ready for this week as its no cake walk. The Titans were bad against the pass in both of their games this year, so this should open up things for Mark Sanchez, but I would be surprised if he had a big game. The Jets should stick with the run and if they need to pass, go with Leon Washington.
Fantasy Factors: Chris Johnson (7), Jerricho Cotchery (7)
New Orleans Saints vs Buffalo Bills
Saints: The arena football league team known as the Saints will take their aerial display to Buffalo. No one has stopped or even come close to stopping the Saints this year and Buffalo won't be the first to do it either. Expect another big game from Brees, Colston, Shockey and anyone else that catches Brees' eyes in the passing game. Mike Bell isn't expected to suit up for this one, but Pierre Thomas may return this week.
Bills: I don't know what's gotten into this team, but they had the Patriots beaten in Week One before giving it away and they jumped on the Bucs early and pounded them into the ground in Week Two. Maybe TO is firing them up or something, but the Bills cannot be taken lightly anymore. Fred Jackson has been a beast making people ask "Marshawn who?". Terrell Owens is showing some rust from missing most of the preseason, but he's getting better and could have a breakout game against the Saints soft pass defense.
Fantasy Factors: Drew Brees (9), Fred Jackson (8)
Chicago Bears vs Seattle Seahawks
Bears: Yes, they got their first win. Yes, they did it against the SB champion Steelers. But no, I'm not sold on them just yet. The Bears have yet to show that they can effectively run the ball and the WRs simply don't have enough talent to take them very far even with Cutler at QB. The Bears should have an easier match up this weekend when they head to Seattle. The Seahawks defense is hurting against the run and the pass and this could be the game that owners of Bears fantasy players, feel a little bit better.
Seahawks: The report is that Matt Hasselbeck will not play in this one. That pretty much kills the fantasy value of everyone on this team. Houshmandzadeh said he wants to show the Bears they made a mistake when they passed on him, but with Seneca Wallace passing him the football, I don't see it happening.
Fantasy Factors: Matt Forte (8), TJ Houshmandzadeh (5)
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cincinnati Bengals
Steelers: Last week's loss to the Bears was unfortunate, but they outplayed them and lost simply because of a couple of missed field goals. It won't come down to field goals this Sunday. Ben Roethlisberger is undefeated when in the state of Ohio as a starter and I don't see any reason why that'll change now. Santonio Holmes, who's been a monster so far this season, is dealing with a wrist injury, but should be fine for Sunday. The running game doesn't look great, but the Bengals can cure that ailment.
Bengals: Cincy's win against the Packers was huge. It gives them a win and momentum going back home. However, unless they're breaking out some secret weapon no one knows about, this won't be pretty. Carson Palmer gets injured when met by a strong gust of wind. I'll be afraid to look at him after James Harrison is done with him.
Fantasy Factors: Ben Roethlisberger (8), Chad Ochocinco (8)
Denver Broncos vs Oakland Raiders
Broncos: The Broncos should feel pretty fortunate that despite their struggles on offense, they're 2-0. They need to get into rhythm and do it fast because their schedule gets tougher after this game. Unfortunately, this may be a pretty tough match up in itself. Oakland will put Nnamdi Asomugha on either Brandon Marshall or Eddie Royal, effectively killing their fantasy value. The RB situation is just as cloudy as its ever been with Moreno, Buckhalter and Hillis all vying for carries. This is a tough team to pick players for.
Raiders: Something needs to be done about JaMarcus Russell. He's actually gotten worse as time goes on and I really didn't think that was possible. The running game should continue to be strong but not as strong with Robert Gallery who will be out for the next 4-6 weeks. That's a bigger loss than people may think.
Fantasy Factors: Eddie Royal (7), Darren McFadden (8)
Miami Dolphins vs San Diego Chargers
Dolphins: Anyone that watched MNF last week saw that the Wildcat is alive and well in Miami. Its kind of a hit or miss strategy that hit big time against the Colts. The Chargers are just as vulnerable against the run with Jamal Williams out for the year. If Chad Pennington can mount any kind of passing attack against the Bolts, Brown should have another huge day.
Chargers: As of right now, LT isn't expected to play, which means more Darren Sproles, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sproles had a big game against the Ravens defense and should be able to do at least as well against the Dolphins. Philip Rivers hasn't looked in former Dolphins WR Chris Chambers direction much this year, but I like Chambers to show up his old team with a big performance this week.
Fantasy Factors: Ronnie Brown (9), Philip Rivers (9)
Indianapolis Colts vs Arizona Cardinals
Colts: If you don't like football, watch this game and you'll be a fan by the end of it. Two high octane offenses going head to head on prime time. Peyton Manning vs Kurt Warner. Reggie Wayne vs Larry Fitzgerald. Even without Marvin Harrison on the team and Joseph Addai not playing well, this offense is still as explosive as ever. Take last week for instance when they possessed the ball for less than 15 min and still won. The Cards, like most teams, won't have an answer for Manning.
Cardinals: There's rumors about a rift between Warner and Fitzgerald. Apparently Fitz's brother Marcus had some unkind words for Warner after throwing the ball short often last week. I think the media is making more of this than it really is. Fitzgerald and Boldin both should have big days as this will be a shootout from the start.
Fantasy Factors: Peyton Manning (9), Larry Fitzgerald (10)
Carolina Panthers vs Dallas Cowboys
Panthers: This team is really starting to struggle now. Delhomme passed for over 300 yards, but threw a bad pick at the end of the game. They really need to get back to what worked last year and that's run the ball and do it with DeAngelo Williams. He's carried the ball only 14 and 16 times in the past two weeks. The Cowboys have been bad against the pass and run this year, so there's no need for another offensive meltdown this week.
Cowboys: Will the real Tony Romo please show up? In Week One, he looked Troy Aikman. In Week Two, he looked like Tony Romo fumbling a hold in a playoff game. They'll be without their battering ram, Marion Barber, but Felix Jones and Tashard Choice will fill that void and the offense shouldn't miss a step. The Panthers have a poor run defense, so this could be a career day for one of those two backs.
Fantasy Factors: DeAngelo Williams (8), Felix Jones (8)
Sep 24 2009
This week the Fantasy Factor held its first ever fantasy hockey draft consisting of myself, PG Webmaster Jody Farr, PG online graphic artist and creator of the IceHouse Jonathan Bieda, my brother Mike and a few of my loyal FF readers. With any draft I was very excited to get it started. Also, a lot of people emailed me asking to join before I even made mention of the league, so a lot of the readers were anxious to get going as well. Unfortunately one player dropped out a couple hours before the draft, dropping our points based league down to just nine teams.
I was home with just my one year old son Caleb when the draft order came out. I instantly looked to the far right (the back of the draft order) to see just how far back I would be picking and I couldn't find my Xtreme Machine avatar. I was genuinely confused and I thought to myself, "Did I change it to something else? Where am I?" I scrolled through the rest and found myself sitting in the 3rd spot! My streak of picking last has finally been broken! Here's how the rest of the order went.
Draft order:
1. The Flying Hellfish (Jonathan Bieda)
2. Putting on the Foil
3. Xtreme Machine
4. KevinZuk
5. Mike Tomlin
6. Moe's Mashers (Mike Fruscello)
7. Sensible Leopards (Jody Farr)
8. Theo Fleurys Sponsor
9. Zalapski Fan Club
First Round:
First up was The Flying Hellfish and unfortunately his computer couldn't get him into the draft room on time so the computer picked for him. It didn't matter though because it picked who he would've picked and that was Alexander Ovechkin. POTF was next and he went with the Art Ross trophy winner, Evgeni Malkin.
Secretly, I was hoping POTF would've taken Sidney Crosby and not because I wanted Malkin, but because then I wouldn't have to pick him. I considered my options while carrying Caleb down the basement steps, watching him crawl back up and carrying him down again. "I really want to go with Heatley but its too early and he's pretty far down the Y! rankings, so he might be missed. I'd love to draft Datsyuk or Zetterberg, but not with the third overall pick. If I pick Datsyuk, there's a chance Z will be available in the 2nd round when its my turn. No wait, Jody will pick twice before I go again and he picked Z last year. What about Marty Brodeur or Luongo?" As my legs got tired from carrying Caleb down the steps over and over again and my draft time was about to expire the logical / unbiased part of my brain slapped me across the face and said, "Do you want to win? Quit screwing around and pick Sidney Crosby already! You can cheer for your Wings in the playoffs when it matters." So for the second straight year, Sid the Kid will lead the Xtreme Machine into the fantasy hockey season.
Next up was long time reader and commenter KevinZuk. None of the big three were available to him so it was interesting to see where he went with his pick. He ended up selecting young NJ Devils superstar Zach Parise who had a breakout year in 08-09. Mike Tomlin (I'm assuming its just a team name and not the actual man) selected Thrashers goal machine Illya Kovalchuk with the 6th pick.
Now for my brother. The guy lives and breathes hockey year long and is the biggest die hard Pens fan in the world without question. I was very interested to see who he would select in the first round. "Moe's Mashers select forward Pavel Datsyuk". What?! What kind of bizarro world do we live in when a Wings fan picks Crosby and a Pens fan picks Datsyuk. Great pick at number 7 though.
The Sensible Leopards went with the same player he went with last year in the first round and drafted all time goalie wins leader, Martin Brodeur. The next pick was a bit of a surprise. Theo Fleurys Sponsor picked 46 goal scorer Jeff Carter. Don't get me wrong, Carter is a good player with a terrific shot, but I don't think he's first round material yet. The last pick in the round went to Zalapski Fan Club who selected Jarome Iginla and is hoping he can return to 50 goal form with Jokinen on his line for a full season.
(Photo by Getty Images)
Second Round:
Coming into this round I was surprised to see Heatley still on the board, but there was no way he was getting down to me. Evgeni Nabokov went to Zalapski, TFS made a strong second round pick with Ryan Getzlaf, Sensible Leopards, as predicted, took Henrik Zetterberg. My brother offered me Corey Perry and Datsyuk for Crosby and my second rounder, but my focus was on Heatley. Mike Tomlin took the first defenseman with Mike Green and KevinZuk was elated to get Rick Nash. Wow! Heatley still on the board. Hellfish told me earlier in the day that he would be a 2nd or 3rd rounder, but I never thought Heater would drop this far now that he's on the Sharks. Dany Heatley has played on every single one of my fantasy hockey teams, except '06, since his rookie year. My franchise player was back for another year.
Third Round:
At this point, I knew it was going to be a quick turnaround back to me and Heatley's center, Joe Thornton was still on the board. Could I really get both Heatley and Thornton? Really?? Roberto Luongo, Tim Thomas and Patrick Kane all were drafted after my Heatley selection. One more to go... Putting on the Foil selects forward Joe Thornton. UGH!! So close too! *SIGH* Suddenly it was my turn now and the remaining forwards were not in the same class as Thornton. I considered Alexander Semin, but he's whiny and disappeared in the playoffs. I considered my other franchise player Marian Gaborik, but I've been burned by his injuries too many times already and he's dealing with a groin problem in camp. Vincent Lecavalier was dreadful for me last year. Its too early to go after Mike Richards. What was left in the goalie department? The elite goalies were gone, but there were some pretty strong goalies left and I picked one of them. Henrik Lundqvist has been pretty stable and consistent for the Rangers over the years and now that they have a little more goal scoring, he should break the 40 win mark.
Fourth Round:
Well at this point I had my top goalie, but now almost all of the top remaining forwards were disappearing. Semin, Gaborik, Staal, Lecavalier, and Mike Richards were gone by the time it was my turn to pick. Olli Jokinen however was still on the board and I'm really excited to see how well he'll do on the Flames for a full season with Jarome Iginla. He was a former 35+ goal scorer on the Panthers with pretty much no help and he looks good in pre season.
Fifth Round:
There were still several very good defensemen out there and I was going to snatch one up before I had my long wait for my next couple picks. Nicklas Lidstrom would've been ideal and was next in my que. However, Hellfish knew he wouldn't get another chance at Lidstrom and drafted him last season with a lot of success. Chris Pronger fell off the board two picks later and suddenly the elite defenseman I was looking for were not there. The best player available at this point was goalie Niklas Backstrom of the Wild. He won't record a ton of wins, but he's a good bet to finish with the most shutouts, he should have a nice GAA and save percentage and in my opinion was one of the best fantasy goalies last season. I had a lot of success with him last year before trading him for Zetterberg. Maybe this year I'll hang onto him.
(Photo by AP)
Sixth Round:
More forwards, more top defensemen and a couple goalies came off the board, but buried down the rankings list was Sergei Gonchar. I was hoping for Brian Rafalski, but he was taken and Sarge will do just fine. He only played in 25 games last year, causing his ranking to drop quite a bit but Gonchar with the 7th pick in the sixth round is a steal.
Seventh Round:
I could have gone back and picked another good defenseman, but I felt like getting just one really good one and concentrating on forwards was a good move. Forwards get more points than defensemen and it would be silly to take a Scott Niedermayer or Andrei Markov when I could get a forward that would score more points. I really considered Bobby Ryan, but I thought he would still be on the board in the eighth round. Too bad KevinZuk picked him right after me. Instead I got "homerish" and let my fandom get the best of me. Johan Franzen has 40 goal potential and will be on a line with Pavel Datsyuk this year. I smell a career year for the Mule.
Eighth Round:
I was still shaking my head over the miss on Joe Thornton. So close. I then decided to get a little risky. Thornton and Heatley will be dynamic, but there will be a third member of that line and right now its shaping up to be Devin Setoguchi. He scored 31 goals in his first full season with the Sharks playing alongside Thornton. With Heatley he can only get better. Why is this a risky pick? There's no guarantee that Setoguchi will remain on that top line, especially if that's the only line producing. Seto's big value lies with him remaining on the top lines and leeching off the success of Thornton and Heatley.
Ninth Round:
This next pick I surprised myself. Ray Whitney has always been a solid and quiet producer of points. In the 9th round, a guy that's glued to Eric Staal's line and a lock for 20 goals and 50 assists, plus a ton of shots is pretty nice.
Tenth Round:
There were a lot of players on the board that could go either way in production this year. However none of them had as big of an upside as Alexei Kovalev. He's never been as great as he was in Pittsburgh, but I think a change in scenery from Montreal to Ottawa will do him good. He has a ton of talent and he'll be inserted into Heatley's old spot and probably play with the same linemates. Two years ago in Montreal he scored 35 goals and 49 assists. If he can get around that this year, I'll be satisfied with that out of my 10th round pick.
Eleventh Round:
Go ahead and call me a sucker for the old timers, but Teemu Selanne still has a pretty nice shot and this year he'll be on the second line with fellow countryman Saku Koivu. This reunion of Team Finland's top line should give both Selanne and Koivu a much needed boost to their NHL careers. Considering Selanne struggled last year, he still lit the lamp 27 times in 65 games. Those numbers will be better with Koivu setting him up.
Twelfth Round:
Maybe I jumped on this one too quick, but I was very impressed with what I saw out of Andy McDonald last year during the regular season and in the playoffs. He was the only member of the Blues to show up in their 4 game sweep loss to the Canucks. He scored 44 points in just 46 games and was a powerplay point machine when he was healthy.
Thirteenth Round:
Watching defensemen continuing to fall off the board, I kept on trucking with the forwards. With the McDonald pick still fresh in my mind, I decided to pick up his linemate, Paul Kariya, who was also off to a great start before getting injured. I've always been a big Kariya fan, too bad he never played for any teams I liked. He's gotten the label of being "injury prone" however before last season Kariya played in all 82 games in 5 of the last 6 seasons.
(Photo by Getty Images)
Fourteenth Round:
Moe's Mashers picked up a gem in Patrick Sharp. Not sure how I missed him. I must have turned a blind eye to the Blackhawks or something. In 05-06, Scott Gomez played on a line with Brian Gionta and the two of them posted career numbers in points and goals. The two are back together in Montreal and have a pretty good third linemate with Michael Cammalleri. In the 14th round, I'm not banking on a return to glory, but I do think Gomez will post his typical 40-50 assists and score close to 20 goals once again.
Fifteenth Round:
Once again I was considering building up my defense and once again, the defenseman I was looking at got drafted. Niklas Kronwall got snatched up two picks before my turn. Back to forwards I go. The Columbus Blue Jackets have been trying really hard to find a top line that clicks with Rick Nash. They finally have one with Nash, Brassard and Kristian Huselius. The Jackets should treat this line like an expensive piece of glass. Don't move it, don't bump it, don't even breathe on it. Just leave it alone. If they do this, Huselius has 30 goal, 40 assist potential.
Sixteenth Round:
Heading into this round I found another hidden gem sitting at the bottom of the Y! rankings. Paul Stastny, the top line centerman for the Avs, was injured last year and was ranked out of place. "What a steal he would be in the 16th round", I thought to myself. Almost as if he could hear my thoughts, my brother Mike drafts him three picks before its my turn. UGH! Damn Mashers! I turned this round into the risky pick round. Jean-Sebastian Giguere was 2nd in my goalie rankings last year, but after a slow start to the season and the passing of his father, he lost his focus and his starting job. Coming into this season, Jiggy is in competition with Jonas Hiller for the starting role. His salary is $6 million, so he'll either start on the Ducks or get traded to another team and start there. He's too expensive to have sit on the bench and I think he's too talented to have another down year.
Seventeenth Round:
At my brother's bachelor party a few weeks ago, for some reason everyone got into a "Who's better? Chris Drury or Alex Tanguay?" discussion. Mike was very adamant about Drury being the better player in fantasy and real life. He sold him very well. So well, I went for it. Rangers coach John Tortorella also really likes Drury and puts him out there a lot and may be Marian Gaborik's center. If that's the case, Drury may have a huge year. If not, no big deal, he's starting on my bench anyways.
Eighteenth Round:
With the forwards pool drying up, now was the time to complete the defense. There wasn't a lot whole to pick from, so I was going to have to take a chance on someone returning to their glory years. Tomas Kaberle is a 50 point defenseman in most seasons. He didn't reach that number last year, but he only played in 57 games. Their was a lot of trade rumors surrounding Kaberle last year. If he does get traded, he could be one of the more productive defensemen in the league, but on the other hand if he plays in Toronto and doesn't get injured, he could still have a solid 50 point season.
Nineteenth Round:
I completed my defense with a guy that did get out of Toronto, Bryan McCabe. With Jay Bouwmeester off to Calgary, McCabe will be the guy the Panthers rely on at the blueline. Like Kaberle, he has a good shot at 50 points each year, but his plus/minus will probably be lousy.
Twentieth Round:
Just three more picks to go. I had mentioned earlier how Selanne and Saku Koivu were going to be linemates. Its not Heatley and Thornton, but that could be a very dynamic duo this season.
Twenty First Round:
At this point in the draft, you're just hoping for something. You don't want to waste your pick. Get a guy that has at least some potential to do something. In this round I found Steve Sullivan. He's been plagued by injuries his entire career, but when he plays, he puts up big points. He had 60 points in 57 games in 06-07, missed the entire 07-08 season, and came back last season to score 32 points in 41 games. Great late round pick.
(Photo by Getty Images)
Twenty Second Round:
Like I said, these late rounds are all about gamble picks and who has potential to do something big. Entering the final year of his contract, Kari Lehtonen could be trade bait this year. The Thrashers have their hands full with trying to resign Kovalchuk long term and there were rumors about Lehtonen leaving for Philly or Detroit last year. On Atlanta, he has virtually no fantasy value, but if he can get traded to a team with a defense, a goaltender with his kind of talent could go a long way.
(Photo by AP)
Now for the part that everyone "loves". My grades on the draft. Again, don't get offended if you get less than you expected and don't get too confident if you get a higher grade than expected. This is just how it looks right now. Once the puck drops, everything changes and the grades mean nothing.
Draft Pick Grades:
The Flying Hellfish (B): Its tough not to get a good grade with you have the two time reigning MVP on your team. In addition to Ovie, he has Patrick Kane and Daniel Sedin. His defense is strong led by Nick Lidstrom. Both of his goalies had outstanding seasons in 08-09 and should get more playing time this year increasing their value. I think his bench and the bottom half of his forwards could be better.
Putting on the Foil (A-): He was getting in my way of picks all night. He took Thornton right before me and Luongo right before Hellfish. However, like Hellfish, he has a strong defense and two good goalies. He's relying on some young guys like Kopitar and Stamkos to step it up this year. If they do, he'll be a tough team to beat.
Xtreme Machine (A): I was very happy to get Heatley in the 2nd round. It was like getting two first rounders in this draft. Both goalies are good. Lots of depth at the forward position with high end potential in that depth. A lot of my depth players are injury prone, which may force me to use my bench more than I want. Obviously my defense is a weak point with only Gonchar being a legitmate threat from the blueline.
KevinZuk (B+): I'm not exactly thrilled with his first round pick of Zach Parise, however his forward depth looks good, the defense looks solid all around and his both his goalies should do well. Kipper has looked less like a number one goalie over the years, hopefully he'll bounce back. If not, Rinne might be the better of the two. If Parise can duplicate last year's numbers then his first rounder is good, but the Devils have Jacques Lemaire again as their coach and they'll play a much more of a defensive system than last year which will cut into Parise's numbers big time.
Mike Tomlin (B+): A lot of depth at forward. Kovalchuk, Semin, Lecavalier, Savard, Gagne, Briere, Roy, Gionta and Morrow. He has Mike Green and Andrei Markov on defense, but his goalies seemd to be an after thought. He went with last year's Blackhawk goalies, Cristobal Huet and Nikolai Khabbibulin. Huet may get a lot of wins, but his numbers won't be good and Khabibulin plays on a team that doesn't play defense. Lack of goaltending hurts him.
Moe's Mashers (B-): Ohhhh Mike... he started off good with Pavel Datsyuk and Corey Perry who could finally break the 40 goal mark this year with Getzlaf on his line. I'm not optimistic about Marleau repeating his numbers without Thornton on his line. I wasn't impressed with his forwards as a whole until towards the end when he made some strong selections with Hemsky, Sharp and Stastny. He reached for Shea Weber in the 4th round over Lidstrom, Pronger and Gonchar. He homered it up with Fleury and is taking a chance on Vokoun. He's a valuable fantasy goalie on the Panthers if he plays a lot because he'll face a lot of shots, however they signed Scott Clemmensen in the off season and I don't think they did that so he would sit on the bench.
Sensible Leopards (C+): He took Martin Brodeur in the first round and Zetterberg in the second, but is really gambling after that. Osgood probably won't play more than 60 games, so while his numbers will be good, he just simply won't play enough to be as valuable as he could be. Hartnell, Langenbrunner, Lupul, Bertuzzi and Prospal all have the ability to contribute big if put in the right situation, but I have a hard time seeing most of them panning out. The defense is good and the defensemen he has on his bench is better than what I have in my lineup.
Theo Fleurys Sponsor (B-): I was really suprised to see Jeff Carter go in the first round, but he picked Ryan Getzlaf and Eric Staal after that which are both excellent picks. His forwards won't be at full strength until December though with Marian Hossa out till then and Phil Kessel out till November. If Carey Price rebounds, I really like the goaltending tandem here. The defense is okay. Campbell is the best and he's a little questionable. Once this team is completely healthy, they'll be tough.
Zalapski Fan Club (B): This team could really go either way. Iginla, Gaborik, St Louis, Spezza, Havlat, Phaneuf, Turco and Nabokov have all shown that they can be very good at times. But when they're not hot, they're ice cold. There's no in between. The only all or nothing player missing from his team is Rick Nash. He also has first overall pick John Tavares who could come out of the gate like Crosby or stumble out like Stamkos. It'll be interesting to see which way this team goes.
Alright guys, what do YOU think? What grades do you think you deserve? What grade do I deserve? What was the best pick in the draft?
Sep 21 2009
Stars
Chris Johnson - When I said the Texans couldn't stop the run, I wasn't kidding. Although Johnson and his owners got a good laugh yesterday as Johnson racked up 197 yards on the ground and 87 yards through the air as well as getting into the end zone 3 times. It was one of the top fantasy performances ever... and the Titans still lost.
(Photo by AP)
Frank Gore - My hero for the week, ran for over 100 yards in the first quarter. Had it not been for an injured right ankle, Frank the Tank may be sitting in the top. He finished the day with 207 yards rushing, 39 receiving and 2 TDs at home against Seattle. So this is what its like when your first rounder actually does something for you.
Matt Schaub - Last year in Tennessee, Matt Schaub had one of the worst performances of his career. In 2009, he had one of his best. Schaub shredded the Titans defense for 357 yards and 4 TDs. Next week, he'll take on Jacksonville, who is really struggling against the pass this season.
Andre Johnson - After stumbling out of the gate in Week One, Johnson returned to form catching 10 passes for 149 yards and 2 TDs in the Texans upset win over the Titans. As I mentioned for Schaub, Johnson has a strong matchup against the Jaguars next weekend and I would be surprised if both didn't end up on the Stars list again next Monday.
Philip Rivers - When you throw for 426 yards against the Ravens defense and lose, something is very wrong. Rivers did just that along with 2 TDs, but his team fell short 31-26. Odds are a lot of Rivers owners missed out on these points because really, who would put in any offensive player against Baltimore.
Stumblers
Tom Brady - Making his first appearance in the Stumblers section is Toommmmm Braaaaaadddddyyyyyy. Sorry to gloat a little there Brady owners, its just good to see the Patriots lose and even better to see Brady fall flat on his face. He went to the air 47 times, but only came away with 216 yards, completed less than half of his passes, threw an INT and no TDs. Super Bowl eh? Maybe they should concentrate on winning their division first.
Randy Moss - Where there's smoke, there's fire. And where there's Tom Brady struggling, Randy Moss is doing the same. After catching 12 passes last week, Moss caught only 1/3 of that this week and gained just 24 yards. Pitt product Darrelle Revis shut down Moss all day long.
Tony Romo - Anyone that though Tony Romo was done with being inconsistent, guess again. After bombing Tampa Bay into submission, Tony finished his first game in the Cowboys new stadium with a QB rating of 29.6 (13-29, 127 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs). Roy Williams was invisible, much like he was last year and Romo's picks were very critical to the outcome of the game. After Carolina next week, he has Denver and KC, so he should be able to get back on track.
Jamarcus Russell - When players are typically bad, week in, week out, I leave them off the Stumblers report, but Russell took being lousy to a whole new level this weekend. He was 7-24 for 109 yards. At one point in the game he was 3-17. Its not like he was up against some vaunted defense either. It was the Chiefs! Fortunately, he made a couple big throws at the end, that helped the Raiders pull out a win.
Jeff Reed - Missing two field goals is one thing. Missing two field goals in a tough road game that causes you to lose is another. The usually dependable Reed missed a 38 and 43 yard field goal and cost the Steelers the win in Chicago. You know Jeff, most players do better in their contract year.
Sep 18 2009
Carolina Panthers vs Atlanta Falcons
Panthers: Things could not have gone worse for the Panthers last week. Jake Delhomme played like he thought he forgot which team he played for and the Panthers got routed at home. Things won't get much better as they head to Atlanta. DeAngelo Williams wasn't spectacular last week, but he did rack up 79 total yards and TD. Until Delhomme gets himself together, he's the only Panther I'd trust on offense.
Falcons: Like his counterpart, Michael Turner didn't have a memorable week one either rushing for just 65 yards against the Dolphins. I'm not looking too much into week one performances and I think with the Panthers problems stopping the run, Turner should get over 100 in this one.
Fantasy Factors: DeAngelo Williams (7), Michael Turner (8)
Minnesota Vikings vs Detroit Lions
Vikings: I want to know something. Who setup the Vikings schedule this year? Peterson's Mom? Cleveland, Detroit, San Fran and St Louis are four of their first 5 opponents. Adrian Peterson is going to clean up big time again this week against a Lions defense that looks about as bad as it did last year. Roll Peterson and don't be afraid to plug in Chester Taylor either this week. Once the game gets out of hand and AP needs a breather from running up and down the field all afternoon, Taylor could get a lot of junk yards.
Lions: The offense didn't look particularly good against a Saints defense that isn't particularly good either. They'll have much tougher competition this week and that isn't good for Kevin Smith who averaged 1.3 yards per carry. Once this game gets out of hand though, Calvin Johnson will get plenty of passes in his direction.
Fantasy Factors: Adrian Peterson (10), Calvin Johnson (9)
Cincinnati Bengals vs Green Bay Packers
Bengals: They didn't score their first points of the season until their was 38 seconds left in the game. Going up against a much tougher defense on the road, we'll find out if its possible to get negative points. The Dom Capers lead Packers defense will be all over Carson Palmer in this one. Maybe Chad Ochocinco is a good play, then again, it'll be tough to get the ball if his QB is laying on his back all day.
Packers: After a big win against the Bears last week, the only danger the Packers are in is taking this game lightly. Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Ryan Grant are all strong plays against this defense.
Fantasy Factors: Chad Ochocinco (6), Aaron Rodgers (9)
Arizona Cardinals vs Jacksonville Jaguars
Cardinals: After making it to the SB, losing to the 49ers in week one at home wasn't how the Cards imagined their 2009 season starting. With Boldin being questionable and Breaston is probable but not at 100%, Arizona's feared passing attack doesn't have as many teeth as it normally does. One would think that would mean more passes for Fitz, but as it turned out last week, it just meant more passes for Tim Hightower. Even if he has to force it in, Warner will go to Fitzgerald more this week.
Jaguars: Everything went their way last week... except for that whole winning the game part. Jones-Drew looked strong and the defense held the Colts to just 14 points in Indy. This week the Jags will face a Cardinals defense that shutdown an offense similar to their own in week one. Frank Gore was held to just 30 rushing yards after loading up the box and forcing Shaun Hill to beat them. I wouldn't be surprised to see that strategy again this week.
Fantasy Factors: Larry Fitzgerald (9), Maurice Jones-Drew (7)
Oakland Raiders vs Kansas City Chiefs
Raiders: Despite losing the Chargers, I have to say I'm very impressed with the Raiders after week one. Their offensive line was just blowing the Chargers 8 and 9 men fronts off the line of scrimmage and making some big holes for Darren McFadden. Run DMC had his biggest game of his young NFL career last year in KC when he ran for 164 yards. As long as he gets the carries, he'll get well over 100 again.
Chiefs: Its still unknown as to whether Matt Cassel will return this week or not. If not, they'll go with Brodie Croyle again. The Raiders defense isn't great, but against this superstar-less offense, they may not look so bad. Nnamdi Asomugha will be all over Dwayne Bowe this week, so don't expect much from him. Your best shot is to go with LJ and hope he gives you some flashbacks to his good years.
Fantasy Factors: Darren McFadden (9), Larry Johnson (7)
New England Patriots vs New York Jets
Patriots: Again, it was just week one, so you can't really get a feel for anyone just yet, but the Patriots looked very beatable on Monday night. If it wasn't for the Bills melting down and just about handing them the game, they would be 0-1. Maybe Tom Brady just need time to get in sync with his receivers again. Maybe it was nerves. Or maybe the Pats offensive line and defense are no where near as good as they used to be. The Jets shutdown the Texans aerial assault last week. It'll be interesting to see how well they do against the Brady and Moss.
Jets: It was just one game against the Texans, but the Jets looked pretty darn good. The running game looked strong, Mark Sanchez looked poised in the pocket and the defense looked like the one Rex Ryan used to run. The Patriots look poor against the run last week and the Jets have a much stronger running game than the Bills. The Jets will pull out all the stops this week to beat the Pats. I wouldn't be surprised to see Leon Washington get a high number of touches this week after how well Fred Jackson did.
Fantasy Factors: Tom Brady (8), Leon Washington (9)
New Orleans Saints vs Philadelphia Eagles
Saints: Now that their week one air show against the Lions is over with, its time to get serious. The Eagles secondary is much better than the Lions and I don't see Drew Brees unloading quite as much. I wouldn't worry though, Brees will still pass a lot and put up solid numbers. With the Eagles blitzing on pretty much every down, Reggie Bush could see a lot of dump off passes.
Eagles: Will he or won't he? Donovan McNabb is questionable for Sunday with a cracked rib. As a McNabb owner, I would rather he sit this one out and make sure he's healthy for KC next weekend. If you own any other Eagles offensive players, you need him in the lineup. McNabb's absence will greatly affect their fantasy value as Kevin Kolb isn't very good and the recently acquired Jeff Garcia won't be up to speed by Sunday.
Fantasy Factors: Drew Brees (8), Brian Westbrook (7)
Houston Texans vs Tennessee Titans
Texans: Week one didn't start off as planned. The new Texans looked just like the old ones. This week may not help them get on their way either. Last time Schaub was in Nashville he had a QB rating of 27.8, going 17-37 and 3 INTs. The Titans defense last week looked just as strong as it did last year. This will eventually develop into a dynamic offense, but its not going to happen this weekend.
Titans: Last week, the Texans showed that they're still incapable of stopping the run. That's music to the Music City's ears. Chris Johnson, who was held to just 57 yards last week, will explode this week and should rack up over 100 yards and at least one score. LenDale White isn't a bad play this week either as the Titans will probably just pound the ball down their throats using both backs.
Fantasy Factors: Andre Johnson (7), Chris Johnson (9)
St Louis Rams vs Washington Redskins
Rams: So things didn't exactly work out for the Rams last week. They came away with zero points and didn't really have anyone stand out. Now they have to deal with the Redskins defense in Washington. The Rams pulled off a huge upset in Washington last year and will need to do it again to avoid going 0-2. Despite going up against a tough run defense, Steven Jackson remains St. Louis's best offensive weapon in this contest.
Redskins: I read a troubling report yesterday on Clinton Portis in which he said he woke up Monday morning and felt as though he carried the ball 25-30 times, but actually only carried it 16 times. He's getting up there in years and his body has taken quite a beating especially in the last few years. Its bad long term news for Portis owners, but for this week he has a great matchup.
Fantasy Factors: Steven Jackson (6), Clinton Portis (9)
Seattle Seahawks vs San Francisco 49ers
Seahawks: The Hawks offense got off to a bit of a slow start against the Rams last week, but then really turned it on. Matt Hasselbeck took a big step forward to becoming the NFL comeback player of the year and the running game actually contributed as well. Coming off a big win against the Cardinals, the Niners will be pumped up in their home opener, but I don't see them being able to stop the Seattle offense. Unlike Arizona, Seattle's receivers are healthy.
49ers: If it hadn't been for the two TDs, Frank Gore would've had one of his least productive games in his career. The Cardinals loaded up the box and Gore had nowhere to go. Its one thing to say you're going to run the football no matter what, but when you're slamming your star back into an 8 man front, you're either hoping for a miracle or are just plain stupid not that smart.
Fantasy Factors: Matt Hasselbeck (8), Frank Gore (7)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Buffalo Bills
Buccaneers: Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham owners can't be happy with what they saw last Sunday. Cadillac Williams showing everyone that he deserves to be the number one back in Tampa. He ran for 97 yards and TD on just 13 carries. I see a lot more carries for him in the near future and a big game against the Bills could cement his status as the top back for a few more weeks.
Bills: Its only Week Two and Terrell Owens is already complaining about not getting the ball enough. That's bad for the Bills, but its good for Owens owners who watched him catch just two passes for 46 yards. Not wanting the distraction, Owens should see a lot more action this week to keep him quiet and that could lead to big results after watching the Bucs defense get shredded by TO's old team last week.
Fantasy Factors: Cadillac Williams (7), Terrell Owens (8)
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Chicago Bears
Steelers: After watching last week's game against the Albert Haynesworth-less Titans, one thing was painfully obvious. The offensive line is still bad and the running game isn't going to go anywhere against good teams. The Steelers will need to throw and throw a lot, which is great news for his owners as well as Heath Miller, Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes owners. Having said that though, that offensive line will need to find a way to contain the Bears front four, else this game will get ugly.
Bears: The Bears will be without Brian Urlacher, which is a huge blow to their defense, but they still have a very good defensive front four and Adewale Ogunleye will be in Ben's face all day unless the Steelers can somehow figure out how to contain him. Jay Cutler looked confused, frustrated and rushed against the Packers defense. He hasn't seen anything yet. Matt Forte won't be a force on the ground, but he could have a nice day receiving.
Fantasy Factors: Steelers D/ST (8), Bears D/ST (8)
Cleveland Browns vs Denver Broncos
Browns: Considering who he was up against last week, Brady Quinn did alright. He'll get a much easier test this week against the team he was almost traded to in the off season. I wouldn't go as far as to consider Quinn a strong play against the Broncos, but he's the best fantasy option for this team.
Broncos: Shutting out an NFL team for 59:22 is impressive. Beating the Bengals on a fluky last second play, not so much. The wide open, fast paced Broncos offense scored just 12 points against the Bengals. They'll get a second chance though, as they'll get a defense that may actually be worse than Cincy's. Correll Buckhalter and Knownshon Moreno will team up to attempt to match what AP did to the Browns last week while Kyle Orton will get another chance to get some chemistry going with his wideouts Marshall and Royal who had a combined 6 catches for 45 yards.
Fantasy Factors: Brady Quinn (6), Brandon Marshall (7)
Baltimore Ravens vs San Diego Chargers
Ravens: Its still too early to tell, but the Ravens offense looks a lot better than expected. A LOT better. Surprisingly, Baltimore took the air quite a bit in week one and it worked out great for Flacco and his receivers. Todd Heap had a strong game and looked like the elite TE he was a few years ago. After watching the Chargers defense get smacked around by the Raiders, its hard to imagine the Ravens not doing the same. Ray Rice appears to be as good as advertised, but it would be nice to see him get into the end zone and not have to give way to his backups in the red zone.
Chargers: With LT injured and doubtful for Sunday, the Chargers look to Darren Sproles to pick up the load, but don't get carried away. Norv Turner has said that Sproles will not be a feature back and will split time with Michael Bennett. I'm not so sure using a RB against the Ravens defense is a good idea anyways. If the Chargers are going to be successful, they'll need a big game from Philip Rivers.
Fantasy Factors: Ray Rice (8), Philip Rivers (7)
New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys
Giants: Despite rushing for just 3.3 yards per carry, the Giants were able to put up a W against the Redskins. Eli looked pretty good despite not really having anyone to pass to. In the early going, he seems to have good chemistry with Steve Smith as these two hooked up 6 times for 80 yards. Jacobs should have a much easier time running this week than last and Dallas didn't look very good against the run in Tampa.
Cowboys: TO was missing? You couldn't tell last week. Tony Romo lit up the Bucs for 353 yards and 3 TDs. I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen again as he's had some of his best games against the Giants. I'm not expecting too much out of the run game, so they may rely on Romo's arm again.
Fantasy Factors: Brandon Jacobs (7), Tony Romo (8)
Indianapolis Colts vs Miami Dolphins
Colts: Reggie Wayne owners got some great news earlier this week. Anthony Gonzalez may be out for the next two months after spraining ligaments in his right knee. With Gonzalez out of the lineup, it was the Manning to Wayne show in which Peyton completed 10 passes to Reggie for 162 yards. We can expect to see more of this as well as an increase in production for Dallas Clark.
Dolphins: After all this talk about who is going to be the starting wideouts for the Dolphins in preseason, none of them looked great in week one. Bess caught 7 passes, but only gained 57 yards. Pennington's yards per pass was just above 6 yards. That's pathetic. This week they shouldn't have to worry about passing a lot as the Colts are not very good at stopping the run and we should see a healthy dose of Ronnie Brown.
Fantasy Factors: Reggie Wayne (9), Ronnie Brown (9)
Sep 17 2009
1. Alexander Ovechkin - I've said it before and I'll say it again. Alexander Ovechkin is the best hockey player in the world. He's not the best all around player, but nobody is more feared, more difficult to contain or more exciting to watch than AO. He's a threat to score 50-60 goals, take a ton of shots and score over 100 points easily.
(Photo by Reuters Pictures)
2. Sidney Crosby - Finally Crosby has a pair of competent wingers to go along with his outstanding playmaking ability. If Sid can rack up over 100 points with guys like Colby Armstrong and Pascal Dupuis, imagine how well he'll do with Kunitz and Guerin. With good wingers, Crosby has 40 goal, 80 assist potential.
3. Evgeni Malkin - The reigning Art Ross and Conn Smythe winner has been living a dream for the past year. He may wake up to a nightmare when the puck drops this season. Geno will have the same problem Sid had for the last few years and skate between two guys that should be third or fourth liners. For Malkin's sake, I hope Bylsma puts him on Crosby's line for most of the year or he'll struggle.
4. Pavel Datsyuk - The best all around player (and most underrated) in the game today just keeps getting better and better each year. Over the last four seasons, his point totals have been 87, 87, 97, 97 and his average plus/minus over those years was a +25. I'm looking for him to break the century mark and be one of the top 5 in scoring once again.
5. Dany Heatley - I had originally written this post while he was a member of the Senators and had him ranked 12th and Joe Thornton ranked 13th. With one trade, everything changes. Heater gets out of Ottawa and will now play on a line with one of the best playmakers in the game. His numbers have dipped in the past couple seasons, but I expect them to bounce back this year and see him get back to 50-50 form. This trade makes him an elite talent once again.
6. Joe Thornton - After another playoff flop and a down season for Big Joe, was going to take a big hit. However, since the Heatley trade his fantasy value gets a big boost. Since joining San Jose, the best player he's had to work with was Patrick Marleau and those two were only together on the same line for short periods of time. Thornton makes players better. He made Jonathan Cheechoo into a 56 goal scorer in '06 and despite not really having anyone to pass to since then, still puts up around 80 points. The addition of Heatley makes him a virtual lock for 100 points.
7. Henrik Zetterberg - Big Z's numbers took a hit last year as he dealt with injury problems and was used differently with Hossa on the team. With Hossa gone now, Hank will be back on the top line and should get back to his 07-08 numbers which was a 43 goal, 49 assist, +30 season.
8. Ryan Getzlaf - After getting off to a slow start, Getzlaf came on strong late in the season and seemed almost unstoppable in the playoffs. With the Ducks looking stronger on offense this year, he should have no problem improving on his numbers and have a career year. One thing to be cautious about however is that he's currently recovering from sports hernia surgery and could get off to another slow start.
9. Ilya Kovalchuk - Atlanta's goal machine is in the final year of his contract and Kovalchuk is looking to cash in big. He is a shoe in for another 40+ goal, 40+ assist season, however playing for the Thrashers is killing his plus/minus. If your league doesn't count plus/minus, then feel free to rank him higher than 7th.
10. Marian Gaborik - Everybody's favorite injury prone player changed his address this off season and is now residing in the Big Apple. The Rangers by no means have a great offense, but its better than suffocating in Minnesota's defensive scheme. Gabby had surgery on his oft injured groin and it should fix this problem permanently however its being reported that he's already dealing with a tweaked groin in camp. If he can stay healthy, expect a big return. He played in 17 games last year and had 13 goals.
11. Alexander Semin - The other Alexander on the Capitals was on the verge of a breakout season before injuries limited him to just 62 games. Semin is extremely talented and when he was on a line with Ovechkin it almost looked unfair. If he plays on AO's line for a whole year and stays healthy, his numbers will be scary.
12. Jarome Iginla - He's probably one of the most frustrating players to own. No, he doesn't get injured, but he's very inconsistent from year to year. One year, he'll post 50 goals, the next he'll score 35. Playing in Calgary's all out offensive system Iginla only potted 35. The Flames are said to focus more on defense this year which can only hurt his numbers. Hopefully Olli Jokinens' presence will open up some room and help him get back to at least 40 goals.
(Photo by Reuters Pictures)
13. Rick Nash - Another inconsistent player was Columbus' captain. He finished with 40 goals on the year, but fell into some horrible slumps throughout the year. He was either an all or nothing player. If the Jackets could find a good center to gel with Nash, he would be a 50 goal scorer easily. Derick Brassard showed a lot of promise and is returning after a season ending injury last year and he could be that guy.
14. Vincent Lecavalier - Once upon a time, there was an argument as to who was the best player in the world. Crosby or Lecavalier? I think that has been definitively answered. Vinny had one of the of the worst seasons in his career in 08-09, but battled nagging injuries the whole season. Tampa Bay's porous defense didn't help his plus/minus either. The Lightning appear to be a better team and if Vinny can get healthy and back on track, he could return to his 50 goal, 50 assist form.
15. Eric Staal - He's not good enough to be considered an elite player and will probably never reach that level, however, he's consistent. He's scored 38+ goals in 3 of the last 4 seasons and I believe he has yet to reach his full potential. He's the whole show in Carolina, so if the Canes score, odds are he contributed in some way.
16. Mike Richards - Oh how I wish he played for a different team. Mike Richards is the complete package. Great passer and shooter, smart on defense, and hits hard. His numbers have increased each season since coming into the league. He will have a breakout year soon and it could be this one. 40 goals and 60 assists is within reach for the Flyers captain.
17. Jonathan Toews - No matter what line he's on this year, Toews will have a top notch winger to pass to. Whether its Hossa or Kane, Toews its win win. He was a 34 goal, 35 assist player last year. I expect a 40 goal, 50 assist season this year.
18. Patrick Kane - If Sidney Crosby was a cocky winger, that played for the Blackhawks and beat up a cab driver over 20 cents, he would be Patrick Kane. Kane has an unlimited offensive upside, but he has yet to reach that potential. With the addition of Hossa, he will have less pressure to produce and he has a slick playmaker on his line with Jonathan Toews.
19. Marc Savard - The slick passing first line center for the Bruins enjoyed another 60+ assist season as well as adding 25 goals. The contract hold out with Phil Kessel is hurting his value. The B's have plenty of good forwards, though, so Savard will make it work no matter who is on his line.
20. Olli Jokinen - After being acquired by the Flames at the trade deadline last year, he caught fire, no pun intended. Jokinen had 15 points in 19 games and looked like a wild animal that was finally let out of its cage (Sorry Panther and Coyote fans... assuming you exist). Once upon a time, he was a lock for 35+ goals. He should reach that level once again with Calgary.
21. Daniel Sedin - So despite all the speculation about the twins being broken up in the off season, they remained together and remain in Vancouver. Daniel is the goal scorer of the two and therefore has more fantasy value. He nearly matched his career highs last season and should get another 30+ goal, 50+ assist season.
22. Jeff Carter - He made a huge jump in goal production last year going from 29 to 46. As impressive as that is, I would want to see him do it again before counting on that type of production annually. His production declined in the second half and disappeared in the playoffs.
23. Zach Parise - How can a 45 goal, 49 assist player be ranked so low? Two words. Jacques Lemaire. The hockey devil is back in Jersey to make the Devils the boring team they once were. You can forget about a repeat performance for Parise, but he will still post solid numbers no matter how much Lemaire tries to force him to play boring hockey.
24. Johan Franzen - The Red Wings brass felt that Franzen was a better investment than Hossa and now we'll see if they're right. Franzen is a power forward with good defensive skills and should crack the 40 goal mark as long as he can stay healthy.
(Photo by Getty Images)
25. Bobby Ryan - The second overall pick in the 2005 draft (the first being Crosby) lit the lamp 31 times in 64 games after starting off the season in the minors due to salary cap restrictions. Ryan was a rookie of the year finalist and shows a tremendous upside coming into this season and should be paired up with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. This could be one of the more lethal lines in hockey this year.
26. Patrick Marleau - In his first year with the new system that takes advantage of players speed, Marleau posted careers numbers. Assuming he'll be paired up with Joe Thornton again, he should easily match those numbers again this year, but the Sharks have been talking about trading Marleau because of salary cap problems and he could fall into a bad situation, hurting his value.
27. Jason Spezza - With Heatley trying to get out of Ottawa, Spezza may not have that elite scorer on his wing much longer. The Sens acquired Alexei Kovalev in the off season, but he's a far cry from the firepower Heatley provided. If Spezza is going to have good fantasy value in Ottawa, Heatley needs to stay.
28. Corey Perry - The 24 year old Perry scored a career high 32 goals last season, topping his previous high of 29. Perry just keeps getting better and better every year and with guys like Getzlaf and Ryan on his line, 40 goals are very possible and 50 is within reach.
29. Martin St. Louis - The former Art Ross and Hart Trophy winner posted some nice numbers despite playing for a bad team. Marty figures to be Vincent Lecavalier's linemate again this year and should pick up another 70-80 points on his wing. I can't but help wonder how good he would be on a better team.
30. Marian Hossa - No, I'm not making Hossa last because he left my team. Hossa will miss the first couple months of the year due to a rotator cuff injury that he apparently suffered during the playoffs. Personal feelings aside, the guy is a great player. Very gifted offensively and smart defensively. If you can stand to have him on IR or on your bench for the first couple months, he's not a bad pickup. Although, a lot of players that miss for an extended period of time and show up at mid season don't play very well till the playoffs, if at all.
Sep 16 2009
1. Nicklas Lidstrom - I was really torn on who would be the top defenseman this year. Green was phenomenal last year while Nick showed us once again why he's one of the greatest of all time. When it came down to a decision I thought about which one would I draft if given the choice. At that point it was a no brainer. One great year doesn't put you over top of one of the greatest of all time. If I had my pick, I would go with Lidstrom. He's been consistently great for a number of years, he contributes in all categories and is still the best defenseman in the league.
(Photo by Getty Images)
2. Mike Green - Its rare for defensemen to score goals. 10-20 is about the usual for good to elite defensemen, but Green lit the lamp 31 times and did it in just 68 games last year. Including an 8 games stretch in which he scored at least one goal. We haven't seen this type of offense from the blueline since Paul Coffey. Playing with offensive talents like Ovechkin and Semin, Green should have another strong season and could put up another 30 goals.
3. Dan Boyle - The Sharks, like the Wings, love to use their defensemen in the offensive zone. When they acquired the offensive minded Boyle in the off season, it as a match made in heaven. Boyle put up 16 goals and 41 assists with 32 of those 57 points coming on the powerplay. With the question marks on the Sharks team, they may rely even more on Boyle for offense this year.
4. Chris Pronger - During Anaheim's Stanley Cup run in '07, Pronger was one of the elite. Lots of points and contributed in every category, but since then his numbers have really tailed off. His plus/minus is down, his assists are way down and PIM really are not what they used to be. This past off season, he was traded to the Flyers and he will be a great fit for this team and city. Its a great career move for Pronger and he should get back to where he was a couple years ago as one of the more dominant defensemen in the league.
5. Sergei Gonchar - He missed most of the season due to injury, but when he returned he picked up right where he left off. Statistically, Sarge has been one of the best point producers in the league over the past 10 years for defensemen, but his defensive game is really lacking. Its affecting his plus/minus which can be critical to a players fantasy value in point leagues and a pain to deal with in H2H ones. Playing with Crosby and Malkin, Gonchar will have another big point season, now let's just hope the plus/minus gets better.
6. Zdeno Chara - The defending Norris Trophy winner comes in at number six. He's like Nick Lidstrom except his offensive output isn't nearly as good. Chara's big, nasty and a has a huge shot which helps him in PIM and shots.
7. Dion Phaneuf - The "Sidney Crosby" of defensemen really fell flat on his face last season after enjoying a great 07-08 campaign. He had less goals, assists, PIM and completely tanked in plus/minus going from a +12 to a -11. The Flames are reportedly going to focus more on defense this year. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. It may help his plus/minus, but his goals and assists are a big worry. Not to mention the Flames now have Jay Bouwmeester and this could go either way. It could take away from his minutes or it may help him become a better defenseman. It will be very interesting to see which direction Phaneuf goes this year.
8. Brian Rafalski - When you play on the same team with one of the greatest defensemen on all time, its easy to be overlooked, but if you're over looking Raffy, you're making a big mistake. He was second among defensemen in assists and totaled 28 powerplay points. When you draft Rafalski, think Nick Jr and I'm not talking about Nickelodeon in the morning.
9. Shea Weber - In his fourth season in the league, Weber is starting to look like the franchise defenseman everybody was expecting. He broke out with 23 goals and 30 assists as his numbers will only continue to get better the longer he's in the league.
10. Sheldon Souray - A lot of people thought his numbers would tank after leaving Montreal. He only played in 26 games in his first year with Edmonton and looked less than impressive. Last year, he removed any doubt from people's minds with a 23 goal, 98 PIM, 268 shot season.
11. Andrei Markov - Souray's former blueline partner ranks right behind him. Markov lead all defensemen in powerplay points and assists, but finished with a -2 rating, only 36 PIM and just 165 shots. He's a great point producer, but don't expect much more than that.
12. Jay Bouwmeester - This will be an interesting year for the Flames on defense, Bouwmeester in particular. Now that he's out of Florida, he'll really have a chance to showcase his talent in Calgary. Early projections have him starting ahead of Phaneuf, but I have a hard time seeing that sticking. With a better offense, better defensemen to work with and a better goalie, one would have to think this could only translate into better numbers for Jay Bo.
13. Scott Niedermayer - Once considered to be one of the best defenseman in the NHL, Niedermayer is starting to show that old age is catching up with him. His plus/minus has steadily gotten worse and worse over the past few years and his numbers a dipping a bit now too. With the Ducks having more offense than they've ever had before going into this year, this should stop the bleeding and help him have another 14-15 goal, 40+ assist season.
14. Mark Streit - You would probably never think to look to Long Island for a defenseman. The Islanders are lousy, they give up a ton of goals and don't score a lot either, but for some reason Streit has found a way to survive and remain a fantasy force. He scored 16 goals, 40 assists and finished with a +6. A plus six on the Islanders!
15. Brian Campbell - No one was a bigger flop last year than Brian Campbell. The Hawks shelled out $7 mil per year for him and his return value wasn't what they were expecting. Having said that, he did pick up a fair amount of assists (45) and finished with a +5. If you draft Campbell, don't expect an elite talent and you'll be fine. But if you think you're getting the next Bobby Orr, you'll be disappointed.
Sep 15 2009
1. Roberto Luongo - Okay first, get that image of Luongo getting lit up for 7 goals in the playoffs out of your head. Now focus on what this guy did during the regular season and why I'm picking him to be the league's top goalie will become more clear. Luongo won 33 games, posted 9 shutouts, a 2.34 GAA and a .920 save percentage. Not only that, but he did it in just 56 games! Some goaltenders played the entire season and didn't post numbers like this. He just signed a deal with Vancouver that will pretty much keep him there for life and he has a good core of defensemen in front of him. He'll be one of the top netminders in the league for many more years to come.
(Photo by Reuters Pictures)
2. Martin Brodeur - Really it was only a matter of time. After playing 70+ games for 10 consecutive seasons, Marty got bitten by the injury bug and only appeared in 31 games for the Devils. During the playoffs, Brodeur had a rare meltdown and it cost the Devils a trip to the second round. With Jacques Lemaire back as head coach, Brodeur should return with a vengeance and will once again be one of the elite goalies in the game today.
3. Tim Thomas - Rodney Dangerfield has nothing on Tim Thomas. He plays all star hockey for two straight years, leads his team to the best record in the East and wins the Vezina as the league's top goalie and is only 3rd on my goalie rankings. No respect I tells ya. Part of the problem with Thomas is that in each of the last two years, he's only played in around 55 games. While his performances are great, in fantasy, you would like to see him between a pipes more often and contributing. Without Manny Fernandez this year though, Thomas should finally crack the 60 game mark.
4. Evgeni Nabokov - My top ranked goalie from last year, finds himself at number four this year. After posting an impressive 41-12 record, Nabby and the Sharks choked hard in the playoffs and were bounced in the first round. Not all of the blame can be shouldered by Nabokov, but under no circumstances should this elite goalie be outplayed by a rookie. The Sharks are in the midst of some salary cap problems and their team isn't as good as it was last year, but the defense and the system are still in place and Nabokov should have another fine season.
5. Henrik Lundqvist - The Rangers have had a very average team over the past few seasons, but keep making the playoffs and scaring people in the playoffs. Why? King Henry. Lundqvist nearly single handedly beat the Washington Capitals in the first round before he finally succumbed to the Capitals offensive force. He was considered to have an "off year" last year. 38 wins, 2.43 GAA, .916 sv%, looks pretty good to me.
6. Cam Ward - Most people around the league were not paying close attention to this until it was too late. The former Conn Smythe winner was dominating and the Hurricanes made a huge push to and through the playoffs before running out of gas and getting eliminated by the Penguins. Last year was Cam's coming out party and this new elite goaltender is on the rise.
7. Miika Kiprusoff - For the 4th straight year the trend has continued. For the fourth year in a row, Kipper's GAA has gotten higher and his sv% has gotten lower. He is a shell of his former self and his value is clearly headed south. The Flames have a strong team coming into the season and a stronger defensive corp with Jay Bouwmeester. Hopefully, the Kipper can right the ship and get those numbers back to where they were in 2004 and at least stop the free fall.
8. Niklas Backstrom - Despite having some of the best stats of any goalie, Backstrom was unable to get his team into the postseason. I don't see that story changing this year either. While Backstrom is practically lights out between the pipes, the Wild offense is practically lights out at the other end and without Marian Gaborik this year, they'll score even less. If wins are not that important to you, then Backstrom is a great goalie, but he'll need to win more games to be considered elite.
9. Steve Mason - The 21 year old captured, lead the league in shutouts, won the Calder Trophy as the leagues top rookie and led the Columbus Blue Jackets to their first ever playoff appearance. I can't wait to see what this guy has in store for us as an encore. The Jackets are not the joke of the league that they used to be. They have a lot of good young talent and their playoff appearance wasn't a fluke. Don't overlook Mason because of the team he plays for. He looks like a superstar in the making right now.
(Photo by AP)
10. Marc-Andre Fleury - Last season, during the regular season, MAF was "good enough" to get his team into the playoffs and get home ice in the first round. In the playoffs, he was "good enough" to get his team into the Finals for the second straight year and this time, win it. Playing behind an offense first team, he'll never post elite numbers, but he may be "good enough" for your team.
11. Chris Osgood - During the regular season, he played about as bad as you could imagine. However, once the postseason started, he played better than this life long Wings fan has ever seen him play before. Osgood was Detroit's best player in the 2009 playoffs and with the team re-focusing more on defense this upcoming year, Osgood should be able to post great numbers once again.
12. Ryan Miller - Going into last year, the Sabres said they wanted to conserve Miller and prevent him from playing in too many games as he did in 07-08 when he played in 76 games. After suffering a sprained ankle in late February, the last thing on Buffalo's mind was conserving Miller. They tried out Patrick Lalime and Mikael Tellqvist and they realized just how badly they need Miller in net for them. Even if he's Team USA's starting goalie, I would be surprised if he didn't start 70+ games for them this year.
13. Pekka Rinne - Most years if a rookie goalie puts up 29 wins, a 2.39 GAA and 7 shutouts, he's a shoe in for the Calder. Unfortunately, Rinne's rookie year was also Steve Mason's too and the young Finnish goalie went unnoticed for the most part. Do not sleep on this one. This kid is the real deal.
14. Tomas Vokoun - One of the surprise teams in the league last year were the young Florida Panthers. Backstopping the unlikely playoff run was Tomas Vokoun. Despite having one of the better defensive corps on paper, the Panthers gave up the most shots on goals and by a lot. Almost 200 more shots than allowed by the Islanders. Vokoun will get plenty of work again this season and if your league counts saves, then he's the best goalie to own.
15. Cristobal Huet - Last year, the Blackhawks brought in Huet to be their starter and then was outplayed by the guy he was supposed to be replacing, Nikolai Khabibulin. Now that he's gone, Huet is the man by default and the Hawks are loaded up for a serious run at the Cup. If he can return to the form he showed in Washington and Montreal, he will be one of the most valuable goalies in hockey this year. But, if he plays like he did last year, it could be a disaster for the Hawks and his owners.
Sep 14 2009
Stars
Adrian Peterson - It was a close one between AP and Drew Brees for the top spot on this week's stars, but AP's numbers were against a team that's actually won a game since 2007. 180 rushing yards and 3 TDs is par for the course when you're this talented and matched up against the Brownies. He'll play the Lions next week. I definitely see a repeat performance.
(Photo by Reuters Pictures)
Drew Brees - As I read the bottom line on Sunday, I noticed that Brees had 100 yards passing and 2 TDs... it was only 1:15pm. Did the Lions forget to take the field or something? Brees finished with 358 yards and 6 TDs.
Tony Romo - Showing that their is life after TO, Romo unloaded for 353 yards and 3 TDs against a Buccaneers defense that was pretty good against the pass last season. After one week, he and Roy Williams appear to have good chemistry.
Reggie Wayne - First Marvin Harrison is gone. Now Anthony Gonzalez gets injured. Peyton's receivers are dropping one by one, but as long as he has Reggie Wayne, its all good. More than half of his passing yards went to Wayne yesterday (162 yards receiving, 301 passing) and he solidified his status as an elite receiver.
Tim Hightower - When a RB has over 100 receiving yards for a game, its incredible. When that RB plays for a team that has two of the most dynamic receivers in the game and receives for over 100 yards, its a miracle. Tim Hightower caught 12 passes for 121 yards. Maybe the Cardinals are on to something. Then again, they lost to the 49ers at home using this strategy, so maybe not.
Stumblers
Jake Delhomme - Things can't get much worse for Delhomme. After single handedly destroying his teams chances of advancing in the playoffs last year with his 6 turnover performance, he picks up right where he left off against the Eagles on Sunday with 4 INTs and a lost fumble. He was pulled from the game in the Eagles 38-10 rout. Where exactly do the Panthers go from here?
Andre Johnson - The Texans had high hopes for this offense this season. In Week One, they didn't deliver. No one was more disappointing than Johnson. The super talented receiver caught just 4 passes for 35 yards against a Jets defense that looked a lot like the Ravens defense on Sunday.
Jay Cutler - I think we may be onto something here. Its not the person, its the position. Apparently whomever wears a Bears uniform and plays QB is cursed and they can't stop themselves from turning over the ball. Cutler was picked off 4 times by a pretty good Packers defense. Things won't be much easier next weekend as Cutler and the company will play host to the defending SB champions.
Willie Parker - Speaking of the Steelers; Parker who is in the final year of his contract, wants to really impress to get a new deal. He didn't start off things on the right foot on Thursday. Parker ran the ball 13 times for just 19 yards. Somewhat on the plus side, none of the other Steeler backs looked good either, so his job is still safe.
Broncos vs Bengals - What can you say about this game? With two poor defenses on the field I was expecting big numbers on both sides. Instead we get just 3 points at the very end of the first half. The only TDs of the game came in the final 38 seconds. The final TD with 11 seconds on a play that can only happen to the Bungles. It was a very disappointing game to watch and for anyone that owned any of the players involved in it.
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