Zoneblitz.com

LAS VEGAS - Well, Zoneblitz.com has hit the road.

The patriarch of the Zoneblitz.com family and Tony and I landed at about 1 p.m. Las Vegas time and quickly caught a cab to the Golden Nugget, which will be home base for the next four days. I’ve got my last fantasy auction on Friday but much of the rest of the week will be spent playing Blackjack and analyzing some sports bets for Sunday.

The week got off to a rough start. Tony and I both took a beating at Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel, Fitzgeralds Casino and the Four Queens Resort and Casino. At press time Dad was still out there trying to make sure we had enough cash for dinner … okay, it’s not that bad.

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Joe Flacco might not be ready to start at quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens when the season starts this Sunday but it looks as though he’s going to be the guy by default.

Troy Smith and Kyle Boller have been fighting injuries leaving Flacco to take the helm. Mike Preston, a veteran columnist for the Baltimore Sun, says the rookie is getting more acclimated to the speed of the game but still isn’t ready to start in a real game.

On the upside, Preston reports that the team’s young offensive line and running back Ray Rice have been improving, looking more and more ready. Still, for a rookie quarterback from Delaware to be ready to start in his first real pro game is a stretch. It brings back memories of guys like Tim Couch and David Carr, who started early, got killed and never became the quarterbacks they were projected to be.

The two saving graces might be overall low expectations for the offense and an opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, who seem to be more in money-saving mode than winning-mode these days.

Best of luck to Flacco. But also, get well soon to Troy Smith.

Sick of our football drafts yet?

I had the second-to-last one this morning. This one was an online yahoo.com draft format league filled primarily with some guys on the east coast. The best part going into this season is that I’m coming off of back-to-back championships. This one was filled with surprises.

Round 1 - LaDainian Tomlinson

I drew the second pick in this draft and was dreading making the choice between Adrian Peterson and Brian Westbrook again when the guy with the first pick threw me the first curveball - he took Westbrook, whom I would likely have chosen myself. Tomlinson is the obvious number one pick, in my opinion, so getting a chance to grab him here, I think, clinched the steal of the draft.

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What a difference a year makes.

ESPN.com is reporting that Chris Perry will start at running back for the Cincinnati Bengals after the team terminated the contract of Rudi Johnson.

The move puts the exclamation point on a fast and dramatic fall for Johnson who, prior to 2007, had three seasons in a row with more than 1,300 yards rushing.

Hamstring injuries hampered Johnson last season and he was held to 497 yards. He came to camp, according to ESPN.com, in great shape this season. Perry is more of a receiving threat, but the move confuses me a little bit because Perry has been injury prone during his three-year career. Anyone owning Perry should grab some depth with Kenny Watson.

Meanwhile I’m not fully convinced that Johnson is done. A team like Seattle might find a guy like Johnson, playing rejuvenated and with a chip on his shoulder, a worthwhile risk.

ADD: Wow. The Bengals not only lopped Rudi Johnson but Willie Anderson, a starting tackle for a dozen years, as well. Anderson suffered through an injury-plagued season last year and lost his job to Stacy Andrews during camp. He declined, according to CNNSI.com and other media reports, to take a pay cut on Saturday to remain with the Bengals.

Last night, ZoneBlitz participated in its fourth fantasy football draft of the season–the only draft in which the proprietors go head to head as opponents.  We found out last year that it can get interesting, since we know a lot about the players we both like.

And this year, to make things even more interesting, we drew spots #3 and #4 in the draft order–so figured we would be sniping players from one another all night long.

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