by Andy | May 21, 2009 | Fantasy Football, NFL Random Thoughts
Former Patriots fullback Heath Evans calls Laurence Maroney one of the best natural running backs he’s ever seen. He hopes the oft-injured halfback stays healthy in the years ahead so he can prove it to fans, media and teammates.
Maroney disclosed this week that while he was being criticized in the press and on fan sites for not hitting holes hard and for not playing through pain he was actually fighting a broken bone in his shoulder.
That explains the poor play last season and the appearance on injured reserve after playing in just three games during what was supposed to be his breakout season. But it doesn’t explain his career-long propensity for getting hurt.
During the first two years of his career, Maroney played in 13 and 14 games. His rookie year he shared time with Corey Dillon. In December he missed two games after tearing rib cartilage. He missed three games in 2007 with a groin injury – and was really the second best running back on the team that year to Sammy Morris, even though Dillon was released in the offseason.
I really like Maroney. He teamed with Marion Barber III at the University of Minnesota to provide one of the most entertaining running back tandems in my alma mater’s history. I’d like to see him succeed in the NFL as well.
But while in lieu of his broken shoulder revelation he may deserve a bit of a reprieve on the accusations of being soft, he still has to prove himself in terms of being durable enough to A) make it through an entire season and B) be the main guy in the Patriots’ or some other team’s running attack.
He sounds driven to prove he can be “the man.” But until he plays 16 games and puts up numbers resembling those of a number one back, fans and fantasy players should count on Maroney for nothing more than time-sharing.
by Andy | Apr 27, 2009 | Fantasy Football, NFL Draft
The NFL draft and the bulk of free agency are over meaning it’s now possible to start making some projections for the upcoming fantasy football season.
Certainly there will be some guys who come out of nowhere during the season ahead. But with the draft 24 hours into the rear-view mirror, some situations have definitely cleared themselves up.
For one, there will be no more running back by committee in Denver.
The Broncos surprised many “experts” by eschewing defense with their first pick in favor of Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno.
Moreno has a chance to make a fantasy football impact right away. He’s fast, he can catch the ball and he was drafted high enough where, unless he totally flubs, he’ll be the starter and main man in the Denver backfield starting with his rookie year.
Thus, while Josh McDaniels managed to mangle his quarterback situation, he has ended one of fantasy players’ most frustrating situations – the long-standing timeshare running backs employed by former coach Mike Shanahan.
(more…)
by Tony | Apr 24, 2009 | Fantasy Football, NFL ... something
Just read on Twitter (and USA Today) that EA Sports has announced who will be on the cover of Madden 2010–and for those of you that believe in the ‘Madden Curse,’ making your fantasy cheat sheets should be an interesting challange this fall.
EA Sports Madden 2010 Cover
The game will feature Larry Fitzgerald–considered by many the top fantasy receiver in the game and a likely top 12 pick in almost any draft–on the cover.
Of course, that could change if the Cardinals move Anquan Boldin this weekend–or if you believe in that Madden Curse, which has struck Barry Sanders, Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Donovan McNabb, Shaun Alexander and Vince Young.
EA, in what might be seen as some as a move to try to counter the curse, will for the first time every feature two players on the cover, pairing Fitzgerald with one of his opponents from Super Bowl XLIII, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.
So you might want to knock the Steelers defense down a few pegs on your draft board as well.
by Andy | Apr 21, 2009 | 2009 NFL Free Agency, Fantasy Football
Last year Torry Holt was the number one wide receiver on a team with a decent quarterback being protected by a bad offensive line led by an aging left tackle who some suspect might be running out of gas.
Holt signed a three-year deal Monday with Jacksonville, making him the number one wide receiver on a team that in 2008 had … a decent quarterback being protected by a bad offensive line. The Jaguars have added William Tra Thomas, an aging left tackle whose better days are behind him.
Sound familiar?
(more…)
by Andy | Apr 2, 2009 | Fantasy Football
ESPN.com is reporting that the Chicago Bears have traded their first round picks in 2009 and 2010 along with Kyle Orton to Denver to acquire Jay Cutler.
Initial reaction: Though he’s more of a prima donna off the field than Orton, Cutler is an upgrade on the field. It will be interesting to see what the Bears lack of talent at wide receiver – Devin Hester and … Rashied Davis (?) I think would be the starters right now. But Cutler will have the benefit of Matt Forte at running back. By the end of last season the Broncos were splitting time in the backfield between an Arena League reject and the guy that cleans the toilets.
The Bears also have tight ends Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen, both of whom are decent in the passing game.
It blew me away that the Minnesota Vikings, who would seem to be improved quarterback play away from being a true Super Bowl contender, didn’t put more of an effort into trading for Cutler – and this is part of the reason why. The NFC North just got more interesting – Cutler definitely improves the offense of a team that is two years removed from the Super Bowl and missed winning the division by a game in 2008.
For the Broncos, this is a setback. It would seem as though Chris Simms and Orton would compete for the quarterback position. Neither are horrible, but neither are as good as Cutler, who threw for 4,200 yards and 25 touchdowns last season.
I suspect this also negatively affects wideouts Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, especially if Denver doesn’t get improved running back play from at least one of the backs that was hurt most of the 2008 season.
Overall, my initial thoughts are that the fantasy player that benefits the most from this is Forte, as Cutler will maximize the passing game in Chicago enough to open some lanes for the running game. Beyond that, I think the trade does more to hurt the skill players surrounding each team’s new quarterback than to help.
We’ll have more thoughts on this going forward as more details emerge. Thanks to Brad for bringing it to our attention.
ADD: Foxsports.com is reporting that the Bears get the Broncos 5th as well as Cutler this year, while the Broncos get a 3rd this year in addition to the two 1sts and Orton.
by Andy | Mar 27, 2009 | Fantasy Football
The Indianapolis Colts waived running back Clifton Dawson this week leaving the team with just four backs to tote the rock this fall: Joseph Addai, Chad Simpson, Lance Ball and Mike Hart, the promising Michigan back coming back from a torn ACL.
In all likelihood the Colts will rectify that situation by picking up someone in the draft or re-signing free agent Dominic Rhodes. If they don’t, some recommend keeping an eye on Simpson or Ball and moving them up your list of potential handcuffs for the 2009 season.
I disagree.
If you pick Joseph Addai in your fantasy drafts you need to hope his injury issues from 2008 don’t repeat themselves or you need to prepare yourself with a backup that is worthy of playing time in the NFL and in fantasy leagues.
There are 32 teams in the NFL and conservatively two-thirds of them use running back by committee. That should leave roughly 50 feasible running backs – in leagues with 10 or 12 teams it’d take a heckuva lot of problems before you have to reach for guys like Ball and/or Simpson.
(more…)
Loading ...
This is what Robert Kraft said about the negative reaction to the Dynasty I loved the first three episodes I…
If I were to keep my want lists to the smallest most reasonable numbers (not everyone but the smaller highest…
never said there were no worthy contributors, just that the list is small and less than the number of deserving…
Paul I guess I can agree with that but there’s some worthy contributors in that pool like Robert Kraft Clint…
frankly (as I have expressed in past) my view on contributors-shared by many historians and voters is that the pool…