Fantasy Sports Booth

Buffalo vs New England - Tom Brady got 2 TDs despite not having any receivers. They recently traded away Deion Branch, a move I support. Look for Doug Gabriel and Ben Watson to have good years. In addition, Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney both did well. They did split carries however. Keep an eye on that situation; in the meantime, Dillon remains a decent start as your #2 RB. McGahee was solid, however he was busy getting his ankle taped when Buffalo rushed one for a TD. It’s nothing serious and look for him to increase his production against Miami.

San Francisco vs Arizona - Kurt Warner went off on the Niners. But then again, so did Frank Gore on the Cards. I said it before and I’ll say it again, Gore is one damn good looking running back. Let’s hope he stays healthy the rest of the year. Fitzgerald got the bulk of Warner’s looks; a little bit disappointing, since I have Boldin. Hopefully, Warner will stop checking down past receiver #2. Vernon Davis got a TD, but he also coughed it up too. He should have a decent year though, as Alex Smith’s main targets were Gore, Davis, and Bryant, and I don’t really expect this to change as the year progresses.

Atlanta vs Carolina - Carolina’s offense is lost without Steve Smith. Apparently there were O-line issues as well. I’m benching Delhomme until Steve Smith’s second game. Warrick Dunn did his usual lots of yardage, no TD thing. You should probably handcuff Jerious Norwood, ’cause I hear he’s quite a talent.

Baltimore vs Tampa Bay - Pat yourself on the back if you picked up Jamal Lewis or Baltimore defense late. Word is, Cadillac is having back spasm issues. If it’s anything like TMac’s, this can’t be good.

Cincinnati vs Kansas City - Pick up that Cincinatti defense. They shut down a good offense and as a reward, they play the mighty Browns next week. Rudi and LJ both racked up solid numbers. Don’t worry about Carson, he’ll put on a good show in week 2. Green owners should be looking for a new QB. I’d want to say Denver defense would be a good play in week 2, but I’m afraid of LJ. Pat yourself on the back if you passed on Gates knowing you could get a solid TE later, like Tony Gonzalez, or Heath Miller for that matter. Of course, it’s just one game, and Gates will probably have the last laugh. Other tight ends I like: LJ Smith, Randy McMichael, and Ben Watson.

Denver vs St. Louis - It’s the Jeff Wilkins show! If the St. Louis Rams can stall like that every week, Wilkins will be awesome. Is it true that the Rams have yet to score a TD since the 2005 regular season ended? Steven Jackson looked good. Plummer did not, finishing in the red. I knew I should have started Burger King. Both Bells had decent days. Combined, they’d be a really awesome RB. Damn Mike Shanahan! He goes on my list, right next to Plummer. Javon Walker struggled, dropping more than one pass.

New Orleans vs Cleveland - Reggie Bush was a decent fantasy starter. So was Duece. Just like the Denver situation, combined, they make one great back. Tight End Kellen Winslow led his team in receptions, receiving yards, and caught a touchdown. Pick him up if you need a TE.

New York Jets vs Tennessee - Kevan Barlow got the TD and Blaylock got the carries. Neither had a lot of yards. Chris Brown got the carries and yards, and Travis Henry got 2 TDs. I don’t like either of these RB situations, but if I had to play one, I’d play Chris Brown. Chad Pennington busted out on a not so tough Tennessee defense. Lavarenues Coles had a ton of yards. I’ll temper my expectations until they play a real team. In the meantime, Coles remains a solid starter or solid trade material for the unsuspecting. Drew Bennett did well, but I don’t like that Titan QB situation. Vince may be the next great QB in the NFL, but he’s still a rookie, and odds are, he won’t be a good fantasy QB this year; and Kerry Collins isn’t exactly Jon Kitna, or any other quarterback who only moderately sucks.

Philadelphia vs Houston - Kudos to everyone who picked up Donte Stallworth. He did extremely well, as did McNabb and Brian Westbrook. They were playing Houston, though. Now’s the time to trade these guys if you don’t think they can maintain this level.

Seattle vs Detroit - Ah, you gotta love a good curse. Madden bit Shaun in the ass, as he rumbled for 51 yards and fumbled. Kevin Jones was as bad as expected. I had high hopes for Roy Williams, given a new QB. I have a lot of confidence in veteran QBs who have had times of success in the NFL. This was not the case, although Seattle’s defense is pretty tough.

Chicago vs Green Bay - A shut out! Who would have thunk it! Oh wait… Anyway, Chicago defense dominated Green Bay, as expected. Ahman Green was very good so congrats if you snagged him late. From the highlights I saw, Rex Grossman looked decent, but I don’t think he’ll be a fantasy starter this year. Muhsin Muhammed and Donald Driver both did well receiving.

Dallas vs Jacksonville - I had my doubts whether Bledsoe would be able to perform well against that Jacksonville defense. Big Tuna lied about Marion Barber playing a big role. Regardless, I’m keeping him because I think he’s a slightly better back than Julius Jones. Fred Taylor was solid, but remember, fragile, handle with care. Jacksonville still looks like it has 3 main receivers: Matt Jones, Ernest Wilford, and Reggie Williams. All of them giants next to 5 foot cornerbacks. Reggie Williams had 6 catches and the TD, so put him ahead of Wilford for now.

Indianapolis vs New York Giants - This was a fun game to watch. Both Mannings looked solid. The Indy running game is in a spot of trouble. Harrison was targetted often. Plaxico Burress looked like the old Randy Moss out there. And the Giants running game was phenomenal. Tiki was extremely good and Brandon Jacobs is a beast. I added Jacobs to my bench purely based on his talent.

Minnesota vs Washington - Chester Taylor did well in this game and if for some reason he’s available in your league, snatch him up. Clinton Portis looked decent, all things considered. I’d want to say Troy Williamson was a pick up, based on the number of times he was thrown to, but he dropped so many.

San Diego vs Oakland - LT was off the hook. Phillip Rivers looks promising. Oakland High School just couldn’t rise up to the challenge of an NFL team. Randy Moss did decent, considering how ass the rest of his team was. Aaron Brooks looked like Drew Bledsoe in the pocket. And while Aaron Brooks is no Kerry Collins, it wasn’t all his fault. Tight end, Courtney Anderson dropped a bunch of passes. I guess this is why there aren’t more women playing in the NFL.

The NFL season has finally started with a clash between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Miami Dolphins. I won’t recap the game, but here are some fantasy notes I took away:

Daunte Culpepper - He had a few bad passes early, but I don’t think he looked as poor as his stat line would suggest. Both interceptions came late in the game when he got desperate. He should have had a touchdown pass, except Chambers tried to catch it with his face. That was actually just a bit of miscommunication in timing. I’d say Daunte is a spot starter at best right now. Play him against poor defenses.

Chris Chambers - He didn’t appear until late in the game. But when he did, he looked pretty good. If you didn’t already know this when you selected Chris high in the draft, he’s a must start. I think Daunte and Chris will take what they did in the second half, and get that going early next game. Also, he was targetted often in the endzone.

Ronnie Brown - Ronnie wasn’t a guy I thought at the end of last season that he’d be a top pick for me. I wasn’t impressed with his stats last year. I wasn’t impressed with his stats in the preseason. So finally, I get to watch him play and see what the fuss is all about. Well, I gotta say, I’m still not impressed. He looked good coming out of the backfield to receive. But his running left much to be desired. That said, he still rushed for 2 TDs. He’ll get the goalline carries, and he looked good pushing it in. But then again, so did Jerome Bettis and he wasn’t a top ten pick last year. My guess is, he’ll do what Corey Dillon did last year. Not a lot of yardage, at least not rushing yards, but still 10 TDs.

Randy McMichael - He was actually targetted a lot more than his 1 reception would suggest. I think one or two receptions may have been called back due to penalties and he also got his clock cleaned on a crossing pattern.

Wes Welker - Haha, I bet you’re thinking, who is this guy? He led Miami in receptions and receiving yards. That was due to Marty Booker sitting out after getting nailed. His greatest contributions were on special teams, averaging 26 yards per punt return. He’ll break more than one kick off or punt return for a TD this year. If he can step ahead of Marty and grab the 2 WR spot (although unlikely), think Terry Glenn.

Hines Ward - Hines came late to the party too, but he still got his TD and a few yards. They look for him near the endzone. Obviously a must start each week.

Willie Parker - Looked good out there, except, Cowher didn’t keep his promise. When the Steelers were at the goalline, Cowher subsituted Verron Haynes in for Willie Parker and then called the ‘ole, fumble the snap trick play.

Heath Miller - He had the big catch for the virtual TD. Good start for him, and a nice score for his owners, considering Batch only completed 15 passes.

Santonio Holmes - This guy sounds fast. And I bet he is. We just didn’t see much of him. He caught one ball, dropped another, muffed up a punt return. Not a good start for the rookie.

If you’re a Wali Lundy owner like me, bad news. The Houston Texans have signed Ron Dayne, and his role appears to be short yardage and the dreaded goalline. If you’re keeping score, that’s 2 of my RBs who have had their goalline touches decreased by their team signing a bruising back late in preseason. Just so you know what to look for in the future, expect the New England Patriots or the Carolina Panthers to sign Jerome Bettis. Wali is still a solid pick around round 8. I wouldn’t waste a roster spot on Ron Dayne until the likelihood of him becoming the starter is higher.

Yahoo! Sports

Ben Roethlisberger will miss the season opener against Miami on Thursday after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Sunday. There shouldn’t be any long term effects, and he’s listed week to week. I was never big on Ben as a fantasy pick. I feel like there are plenty of quarterbacks who can put up better numbers, but if you were inclined to select Ben anyway, bench him week 1 and probably week 2 until he gets his feet back.

Yahoo! Sports

After rushing for 1300 yards, 9 TDs, and being among the top 10 most productive running backs last year, Thomas Jones was slated behind Cedric Benson this preseason. A shoulder injury to Benson, however, has allowed Thomas Jones to reclaim his spot as the starting running back for the Chicago Bears. Jones is a solid 2 or 3 RB, so grab him around the 5th-6th round. I wouldn’t draft him much higher though, since Lovie Smith seems to be in love with Cedric Benson, despite Jones’s production. Benson is likely to see more action than he did last year, considering that he “won” the starting running back role until this injury.

Yahoo! Sports

As the start of the NFL season draws near, here are a few of the prominent cuts made so far: Charles Rogers, Ron Dayne, Darius Watts, Lee Suggs, and He Hate Me.

In other news, Miami running back Sammy Morris has been suspended, Cincinatti running back Chris Henry was placed on the physically unable to perform list, and the biggest news of all, Houston running back Domanick Davis was placed on injured reserve, ending his 2006 season. Every day, passing on Reggie Bush looks better and better. Those Texans really are the smartest guys in the room.

The New England Patriots acquired wide receiver Doug Gabriel from Oakland. This instantly vaults Gabriel to a late round selection. Gabriel is a 6-2 receiver who was slated to start across from Randy Moss. With Deion Branch still holding out, Gabriel instantly becomes the Patriots #1 WR. I like his prospects, considering that Tom Brady is a solid quarterback, and the bulk of the receptions should go to Gabriel and tight end Ben Watson. Consider taking him in the late rounds.

Yahoo! Sports

There are reports that Adam Vinatieri is being treated for a sprained ligament in his left or “plant” ankle. It’s unclear when he’ll be ready to play.

Vinatieri’s been the number two kicker drafted in my leagues, but now if you pick him up, you’ll likely need to use another roster spot for a kicker until he’s ready to go again.

Kickers have no business being drafted early. Hope you weren’t one of the suckers to waste a top ten pick on one, let alone this one.

For all you Steven Jackson owners like me, this comes as bad news.  Adding a power rusher like Davis can only spell fantasy trouble for Jackson.  The threat of fewer goalline touches drops him a spot or two.  If you were waivering between Rudi and Jackson, it’s a no brainer now.

ESPN