32 TEAMS - The Real Fantasy Football Show

No more blog

2011-09-15T17:47:00.000-04:00

In an effort to get the word out to more of our listeners, we're discontinuing the blog and concentrating our efforts into the facebook group "The New and Improved 32 Teams The Real Fantasy Football Show". If you are not a member of the group, go to facebook, search the name and sign up. There will be the same useful Waiver Wire information, Game Picks, and the Three Way feature that has been housed here on the blog.

See you on Facebook!!

Heath and Philip

2011 QB Rankings

2011-08-02T17:04:00.000-04:00

We'll cover this tonight when we do the QB Show, but here are the "32 rankings" for 2011, as we stand right now....

1. Rodgers, Aaron, GB
2. Vick, Michael, PHI
3. Brees, Drew, NO
4. Manning, Peyton, IND
5. Brady, Tom, NE
6. Rivers, Philip, SD
7. Romo, Tony, DAL
8. Schaub, Matt, HOU
9. Manning, Eli, NYG
10. Roethlisberger, Ben, PIT
11. Ryan, Matt, ATL
12. Freeman, Josh, TB
13. Flacco, Joe, BAL
14. Stafford, Matthew, DET
15. Garrard, David, JAC
16. Cutler, Jay, CHI
17. Cassel, Matt, KC
18. Sanchez, Mark, NYJ
19. Bradford, Sam, STL
20. Tebow, Tim, DEN
21. McNabb, Donovan, MIN
22. Kolb, Kevin, ARZ
23. Fitzpatrick, Ryan, BUF
24. Campbell, Jason, OAK
25. Tarvaris Jackson, SEA
26. Hasselbeck, Matt, TEN
27. Henne, Chad, MIA
28. Smith, Alex, SF
29. Cam Newton (R), CAR
30. McCoy, Colt, CLE
30. Gradkowski, Bruce/Andy Dalton (R), CIN
32. Beck, John/Grossman, Rex, WAS
33. Young, Vince, PHI

A Fantasy Football Solution to your NFL Lockout Blues

2011-06-10T11:21:00.001-04:00

Fellow NFL Fans and Fantasy Football Players,

The offices of 32 Teams - The Real Fantasy Football Show have been gathering cobwebs lately due to the NFL lockout and the general malaise that has set in as a result. I turn on NFL Network and I see lawyers, a list of top 100 players of 2010, lawyers, legal analysts talking about injunctions, and more lawyers. It's discouraging. Last week, I received an email from CBSSportsline to renew one of my fantasy league's websites, and instead of whetting my appetite and exciting me for the season, I became embittered and angry. At this time last year, we were in full swing, covering QBs and RBs, uncovering sleepers like James Starks and prognosticating busts like Matt Leinart.

What can we do? The owners and players can't be foolish enough to let this go on and on, and thus cancel the entire season - can they? We at 32 Teams believe that they will come to an agreement, but it will be late in the process, resulting in a fast & furious free agency period and an abbreviated training camp. There may not be a pre-season, even. As a result, your time to prepare for your draft(s) will be shorter than what you may be used to. This will be true for your opponents as well. This got me thinking, how can I use this situation to dominate and win my league? Here's what we plan to do to help YOU win your league:

- Cover each team in-depth and completely, 3 teams per episode
- Discuss free agency possibilities, rookies, and how that informs each team's current roster
- Look at the schedule of Weeks 1-6 as well as the fantasy playoffs to determine fast starters and healthy closers
- Strategize about how to get the most out of your past knowledge of players' tendencies in this strike affected season
- Gather your thoughts, questions and ideas on the blog and facebook page and address them on air

We hope you will join us every week, as we prepare to do a lot with a little. Dominate your league - tune in to 32 Teams - The Real Fantasy Football Show. Go to www.32teamsfantasy.com and read about it as well on http://32teams.blogspot.com

Interview with Curt Menafee from FOX NFL Sunday

2011-05-01T19:25:00.000-04:00

It was great to talk with Curt Menafee from FOX NFL Sunday the other day. He has a good thing going every fall when he hangs out with Jimmy, Terry, Howie and Strahan every Sunday, but did you know he also is a soccer nut? He's calling the semifinals and finals of the UEFA Champions League for FOX Soccer. He also does preseason games for the Seattle Seahawks. He was gracious enough to spend a few talking about that as well. An all around good guy, and he couldn't resist turning the tables and asking us a couple of questions as well. Check it out on www.32teamsfantasy.com

We'll be airing our post-draft show this week. Don't miss it!!

the Mad Dog

2011-04-28T15:11:00.002-04:00

Earlier this week, the football world lost a great man, an ambassador for the game, a superlatively dedicated Miami Dolphin, and the most positive voice I've ever heard on sports radio.

Here's a nice tribute from Finsiders...

http://www.miamidolphins.com/news/jim-mandich-truly-one-kind

Give an AWWW-RIGHT MIAMI!!! to TE Jim "Mad Dog" Mandich

We're BAAAACK!

2011-04-13T00:10:00.000-04:00

After listening to our draft preview episodes, we discovered that we weren't very happy with the content. Really, what do we know about all these players that you can't find out from Mel Kiper and Todd McShay?? And not only that, but by the time the draft got here, the information we were giving would be so outdated that it really seemed pointless to do it.

We've also been discouraged by the labor situation messing with our normal fantasy routine. However, we are BACK....as soon as there is something cogent to talk about. So, our next show will be the week after the NFL draft. We'll start looking at the skill position guys that we like to make an impact, and hopefully there will be progress in these labor negotiations so we can have a season.

Tune in to our latest rant about all this and more on our website...

www.32teamsfantasy.com

NFC East Draft Preview

2011-02-22T23:07:00.001-05:00

OK, so the Cowboys didn't make it to the Super Bowl in their own stadium, the Giants blew their post-season hopes by playing the worst 4 minutes of football I've ever seen, the Redskins have more problems than a math book, and the Eagles will be everyone's sexy pick for the NFC next season with Michael Vick at the helm. We talk about all your NFC East teams this week, including mock draft predictions, free agents, and coaching issues.

Tune in to our latest episode at www.32teamsfantasy.com

AFC Draft Preview

2011-02-17T23:09:00.000-05:00

32 Teams is back from a Super Bowl hangover, ready to preview the NFL draft by division! We did shows all throughout the NFL playoffs, but I never blogged about it. Needed to take a break and have the real season come to an end. I wanted to savor what football there was, since there may be none for some time.

My advice to you is not to fear, 32 Teams is here!

Even though there is labor strife and the possibility of a work stoppage, there will still be a draft. Since there are no Free Agent moves to be made this off season due to the expiration of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, the decisions made on draft day may have a longer reaching effect than normal.

Check out our first of 8 draft previews, beginning with the AFC East on our website www.32teamsfantasy.com

Week 17 - Three Way

2010-12-29T16:53:00.000-05:00

I missed on Kitna and Philip missed on Reggie Wayne last week, but the rest of it was all good, including the sleepers. For the first time this season, and when it really counted, mind you, ALL the sleepers were good. I like that kind of action!

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find. This week, we took a different approach - take players from meaningless games (Min/Det, SD/Den & Ari/SF) for my three way and Philip decided to only take players from the StL/Sea game, so without further ado...

Here are our Three Ways for Week 17:

Heath:

QB- Shaun Hill
RB- Ryan Mathews
WR- Michael Crabtree

Philip:

QB- Charlie Whitehurst
RB- Steven Jackson
WR- Danny Amendola

More Sleepers: Emmanuel Sanders, John Skelton, Jason Snelling, Danny Woodhead, Jimmy Graham, Jared Cook, TJ Houshmandzadeh

Week 17 NFL Picks

2010-12-29T16:46:00.000-05:00

Each week, Philip and I pick all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. We have been known to address point spreads in our broadcast, though, as well as opinions on the totals of the games. Here are our picks for Week 17 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the SNF game since there are no more Monday night games:

NE, DET, PIT, KC, ATL, BUF, BAL, NO, NYG, HOU, SD, ARI, PHI, IND, GB, STL

STL 23 - SEA - 20 43 Total Points

Away 23 - Home 20

Check out the Maury Conklin Group's record on ff.buffalowildwings.com

Our record this season: 155-85
Week 16: 9-7
Week 15: 11-5
Week 14: 11-5
Week 13: 10-6
Week 12: 13-3
Week 11: 12-4
Week 10: 9-5
Week 9: 11-2
Week 8: 8-5
Week 7: 9-5
Week 6: 11-3
Week 5: 4-10
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 17 Waiver Wire

2010-12-29T16:42:00.000-05:00

Are you still playing for a championship in your league during Week 17?!!? Whoa, Nellie! Your league is hardcore, then. We do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday nights. The show was posted and running on the site this week, however, on Wednesday at 5:30pm ET due to the recent Tuesday Night Football game on NBC. We highlighted the main guys here and talk about their match-ups this week. You have to listen to the show to get the benefit of that. Here are the waiver wire pickups, in order of preference:

QB - Shaun Hill
Stephen McGee
Tim Tebow
Charlie Whitehurst
Trent Edwards

RB- Correll Buckhalter
Rashad Jennings

WR- Jason Hill
Emmanuel Sanders
Jerome Simpson
Danario Alexander
TJ Houshmandzadeh
Naaman Roosevelt

TE- Jimmy Graham
Jared Cook
Mickey Shuler

PK- Josh Brown

DST- Detroit
Kansas City
NY Jets
Arizona
Indianapolis

Week 16 - Three Way

2010-12-21T22:23:00.000-05:00

I hit the three way pretty well last week, Philip missed on Roy Williams (he was on the inactive list on Sunday), but did okay with Kitna and Thomas Jones. It's tough doing this on Tuesday and have it still come out the same on Sunday. The sleeper list was as it always is, half and half of hit and miss. Collins, Stewart, and Nelson hit pretty well. This week is for the championship. This list may change by kickoff on Christmas night.

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find. Philip has foregone picking a RB in favor of TE Brent Celek. He says that he'll score more than any RB he can pick this week....we'll see.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 16:

Heath:

QB- Jon Kitna
RB- Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis
WR- Mike Wallace

Philip:

QB- David Garrard
TE- Brent Celek
WR- Reggie Wayne

More Sleepers: LeGarrette Blount, Mike Sims-Walker, Darren McFadden, Mike Williams (TB), Ben Watson, Jason Witten

Week 16 NFL Picks

2010-12-21T21:38:00.002-05:00

Each week, Philip and I pick all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. We have been known to address point spreads in our broadcast, though, as well as opinions on the totals of the games. Here are our picks for Week 16 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

PIT, DAL, JAX, MIA, STL, KC, CHI, NE, BAL, HOU, SD, IND, NYG, TB, PHI, NO

NO 27 - ATL - 24 Total Points

Away 27 - Home 24

Check out the Maury Conklin Group's record on ff.buffalowildwings.com

Our record this season: 146-78
Week 15: 11-5
Week 14: 11-5
Week 13: 10-6
Week 12: 13-3
Week 11: 12-4
Week 10: 9-5
Week 9: 11-2
Week 8: 8-5
Week 7: 9-5
Week 6: 11-3
Week 5: 4-10
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 16 Waiver Wire

2010-12-21T21:29:00.001-05:00

We do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday night. The show was posted and running on the site at 9:30pm ET. We highlighted the main guys here and talk about their matchups this week. You have to listen to the show to get the benefit of that. Here are the waiver wire pickups, in order of preference:

QB - Rex Grossman
Matt Flynn
Tim Tebow
Charlie Whitehurst

RB- Tashard Choice
Maurice Morris
Derrick Ward
Lance Ball
Rashad Jennings

WR- Mike Sims-Walker
Andre Caldwell
Josh Morgan
Emmanuel Sanders
Arrelious Benn
David Nelson

TE- Jimmy Graham
Randy McMichael
Jared Cook

PK- David Buehler
Clint Stitser
Josh Brown
Josh Scobee
Jeff Reed
Jay Feely

DST- Dallas
New England
San Diego
Tampa Bay

Post Season Report - Part 1

2010-12-15T15:34:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been some time since I've updated the blog about the different leagues I'm in. Now that we're in the fantasy playoffs, time to talk about what happened and where I stand. If you've been reading along, you know that I'm in four leagues: The Whiplash FF League, Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League, The Foodstamp League and The Six Boroughs League. I also have been running my wife's team in her league since about Week 7. So, that's FIVE leagues - I need an intervention and will take care of that this offseason, but for now, here's where I stand in all the leagues:

The Whiplash Fantasy Football League: My Opa Locka Bowlsnappers are a dynasty in this dynasty league. After my third place finish last season, I am the #2 seed in the playoffs this year, with a record of 10-4. Drew Brees, Peyton Hillis, BJGE, Ray Rice, Colston, Garcon, Mike Wallace are the mainstays of the OLB this season. Some good bench depth with Ricky Williams, LT, Santana Moss and if Steve Smith (NYG) and Big Mike Williams can get healthy in Seattle, then I have some interesting options at WR. Gotta win this week to earn a spot in the Snap-Da-Bowl. Otherwise, it's a Scrape-Da-Bowl appearance two years in a row.

Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League: The Maury Conklin Group was ousted from the playoff picture about two weeks ago and it's no wonder why. Here are the first four picks of our draft this season: Miles Austin, Randy Moss, Ryan Grant and Antonio Gates. Not a bad team if it was LAST year!?! But this year, Moss is a bust, Ryan Grant went down week 1, Gates started strong but now is so injured it's tough to start him, and Austin is no better than Danny Amendola on your fantasy squad - not the first round type of production we drafted him for. On the bright side of things, we're kicking butt in the Pick 'Em Contest - sitting in first place (read the blog entries below for more details).

The Foodstamp League: Finished the season 7-6, which was good enough for the 5 seed in the 6 team playoffs. I won my first matchup last week 101-65, and now face off with the 1 seed, sitting at 9-4. A win this week puts me in the Championship game. I started the year with Tony Romo, but since he went down, I've had to plug the holes at QB on a weekly basis. Here's the lineup these days: Garrard, Miles Austin, Hakeem Nicks, Peyton Hillis, MJD, Ahmad Bradshaw - and here's the depth: Mike Tolbert, Ryan Torain, Mike Williams (TB) and Santana Moss. The TE position is wobbly with the Todd Heap injury, but I picked up Owen Daniels for this week.

The Six Boroughs League: Finished the season 6-8, but was eligible for the playoffs through last week. 7-7 was good to make the playoffs as the 4 seed in this league, marked by parity. The first place team is 10-4 and the last place team is 5-9, 3 teams are 6-8, 3 teams are 7-7. This is a keeper league, so I'm excited about picking up Frank Gore last week after Philip dropped him. This team is middle of the pack due to inconsistent QB play from Peyton Manning, a reliance on Jahvid Best for far too long, the lack of a commitment to the running game in Chicago with Matt Forte, and again, I targeted Miles Austin and Randy Moss with my first two picks. Thank God I had Peyton Hillis to balance out those lost points. Then, Zach Miller fell apart in Oakland - it's been a scramble at TE ever since. I plugged the hole left by Randy Moss with Pierre Garcon, and on draft day, this was the time of year I drafted Ronnie Brown for. Now, I wouldn't start him if you paid me my league fees back.

So far, 2 for 4 making the playoffs, but now I'm going to pump up the job I've been able to do for my wife's team, the Misty Mountain Mamas. She started the year with a draft sheet that her husband gave her, and she came home with Philip Rivers, Frank Gore, Ahmad Bradshaw, Peyton Hillis (yes, on her draft day, she drafted him in the next to last round, per my instructions), Jermichael Finley, Hakeem Nicks, Randy Moss, Marques Colston, and Shonn Greene. Not bad for her first draft ever, huh? Then, there was the Finley injury, which we first plugged with Zach Miller, then he went down, now we were able to get Jason Witten for some inexplicable reason. These days, I've been able to fill her roster with excellent options at WR to make up for the recent Hakeem Nicks injury difficulties: Mike Wallace, Mike Williams (TB) and Santonio Holmes are all on the roster - she's in first place at 8-5, and poised for a nice playoff run.

So, if you count my wife's team that I've been running basically since Ben Roethlisberger came back in Week 4, then I'm 3 out of 5 getting into the playoffs.

If you have been listening and following our advice, one could conclude from this limited sample size that you would have a 60% chance of making the playoffs in your fantasy league. This would assume that you have made good in-season waiver wire pickups, that you follow the games pretty closely, and that you read box scores on a weekly basis.

Something that I've been doing this season (and last season too, btw) is comparing the Vegas lines with fantasy numbers. Now, this is tricky stuff because gambling is not called 'winning' for a reason - it's tough to predict. But looking at the total Over/Under is helpful in predicting higher scoring matchups - grabbing a player in those games could prove useful. I had a Ben Obomanu revelation a few weeks ago that was very helpful based on a Vegas oddsmaker's total.

Another helpful stat that I've found to be useful when comparing defenses: in addition to the turnover ratio, there is 3rd down conversion rate. If you see what the defense's percentage allowed is on 3rd down, it could be a deciding factor between two defenses you're looking at starting. You want a defense that either a) isn't on the field much, if you are rewarded for low points allowed or b) is on the field a fair amount but doesn't allow more than 50% conversion rate on 3rd down.

These are some interesting numbers when analyzing matchups - everyone has their own ways of reading the tea leaves. These are a couple of new things I've been looking at. Good luck this week - Go win your league!

Week 15 - Three Way

2010-12-14T20:58:00.001-05:00

We had a better week predicting the Three Ways. I hit on Flacco and Knowshon Moreno - Philip hit on James Stewart and Hines Ward. We missed on Mike Williams (TB) and Sanchez. The sleeper list was good again, save for Starks and Ajirotutu, that is. We really like the guys we're putting up this week.

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 15:

Heath:

QB- Josh Freeman
RB- Steven Jackson
WR- Jacoby Ford

Philip:

QB- Jon Kitna
RB- Thomas Jones
WR- Roy Williams

More Sleepers: Kerry Collins, Sam Bradford, Tim Hightower, James Stewart, Pierre Garcon, Mohamed Massaquoi, David Nelson, Anthony Fasano, Marcedes Lewis

Week 15 NFL Picks

2010-12-14T20:48:00.000-05:00

Each week, Philip and I pick all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. We have been known to address point spreads in our broadcast, though, as well as opinions on the totals of the games. Here are our picks for Week 15 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

SD, CIN, DAL, TEN, IND, STL, BUF, PHI, TB, CAR, NO, SEA, OAK, PIT, NE, CHI

CHI 23 - MIN 13 - 36 Total Points

Away 23 - Home 13

Check out the Maury Conklin Group's record on ff.buffalowildwings.com

Our record this season: 135-73
Week 14: 11-5
Week 13: 10-6
Week 12: 13-3
Week 11: 12-4
Week 10: 9-5
Week 9: 11-2
Week 8: 8-5
Week 7: 9-5
Week 6: 11-3
Week 5: 4-10
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 15 Waiver Wire

2010-12-14T20:41:00.000-05:00

It has become customary to do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday night. The show was posted and running on the site at 8:20pm ET. We highlighted the main guys here and their matchups this week. You have to listen to the show to get the benefit of that. Here are the waiver wire pickups, in order of preference:

QB - Alex Smith
Tarvaris Jackson
Kerry Collins
Jason Campbell
Matt Flynn
John Skelton

RB- Ryan Torain
Tashard Choice
Anthony Dixon
Pierre Thomas
Rashad Jennings
Javarris James

WR- Arrelious Benn
David Nelson
Earl Bennett
Brandon Gibson
Mohamed Massaquoi
Ruvell Martin

TE- Owen Daniels
Bo Scaife
Rob Gronkowski
Jimmy Graham

PK- Jeff Reed
Jay Feely

DST- Tampa Bay
Carolina
Arizona

Week 14 - Three Way

2010-12-08T00:20:00.000-05:00

We didn't have a good week in the Three Way department. Cassel and Turner were mediocre plays, but Obomanu got injured, ruining his fantasy day. Philip's guys weren't any better. The silver lining here (as there are most weeks) were the sleepers. Again, we hit on more than we miss - only Brian Hartline, Mike Tolbert weren't good for your fantasy team. Our picks are better this week - it's fantasy playoff time - no playing around.

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 13:

Heath:

QB- Joe Flacco
RB- Knowshon Moreno
WR- Mike Williams (TB)

Philip:

QB- Mark Sanchez
RB- James Stewart
WR- Hines Ward

More Sleepers: Tashard Choice, James Starks, Javarris James, Seyi Ajirotutu, Jacoby Ford, Brandon Gibson, Brent Celek, Ben Watson

Week 14 NFL Picks

2010-12-08T00:04:00.000-05:00

Each week, Philip and I pick all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. We have been known to address point spreads in our broadcast, though, as well as opinions on the totals of the games. Here are our picks for Week 14 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

IND, CLE, NYG, PIT, TB, ATL, GB, JAC, NO, SEA, NE, NYJ, SD, DEN, PHI, BAL

BAL 31 - HOU 17 - 48 Total Points

Away 31 - Home 17

Check out the Maury Conklin Group's record on ff.buffalowildwings.com

Our record this season: 124-68
Week 13: 10-6
Week 12: 13-3
Week 11: 12-4
Week 10: 9-5
Week 9: 11-2
Week 8: 8-5
Week 7: 9-5
Week 6: 11-3
Week 5: 4-10
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 14 Waiver Wire

2010-12-07T23:15:00.000-05:00

It has become customary to do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday night. The show was posted and running on the site at 11:20pm ET. I was talking about who I would use for just this week should you need the win to get you in your playoffs. You have to listen to the show to get the benefit of that. Here are the waiver wire pickups, in order of preference:

QB - Drew Stanton
Alex Smith
Sam Bradford
Tarvaris Jackson
Kerry Collins
Jake Delhomme
John Skelton

RB- James Starks
Tashard Choice
James Davis
Anthony Dixon
Pierre Thomas
Bernard Scott
Rashad Jennings
Javarris James

WR- Earl Bennett
Seyi Ajirotutu
Deon Butler
Dexter McCluster
Jacoby Ford
Golden Tate
Brandon Gibson
Mohamed Massaquoi
Anthony Armstrong
Kenny Britt

TE- Ben Watson
Kevin Boss
Brent Celek
Ed Dickson
Cameron Morrah
Jimmy Graham

PK- Dave Rayner
Josh Brown
Lawrence Tynes

DST- NY Jets
Green Bay
Atlanta
Baltimore

Week 13 - Three Way

2010-11-30T22:30:00.000-05:00

A tale of two three ways last week. I rocked mine and well, Philip was caught reaching a bit. Sam Bradford had his first 300 yard game, the Law Firm (BJGE) had 2 TDs on Thanksgiving day, Mike Wallace had only 3 catches for 33 but he didn't kill you either. My sleepers blew up - particularly Ben Obomanu. Philip's combo of Rusty Smith, Keiland Williams and Randy Moss yielded 2 fantasy points in standard yardage league scoring that penalize for interceptions. Ouch! We feel better about our recommendations this week.

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 13:

Heath:

QB- Matt Cassel
RB- Michael Turner
WR- Ben Obomanu

Philip:

QB- Sam Bradford
RB- Cadillac Williams
WR- Steve Johnson

More Sleepers: Mike Williams (TB), Danny Woodhead, Aaron Hernandez, Robert Meachem, Brian Hartline, Mike Tolbert

Week 13 NFL Picks

2010-11-30T22:17:00.000-05:00

Each week, Philip and I pick all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. We have been known to address point spreads in our broadcast, though, as well as opinions on the totals of the games. Here are our picks for Week 13 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

PHI, NO, CHI, GB, JAX, KC, MIA, MIN, NYG, SD, SEA, TB, ARZ, IND, BAL, NE

NYJ 23 - NE 24 - 47 Total Points

Away 23 - Home 24

Our record this season: 114-62 - We're in first place in the Pick'Em contest, btw
Week 12: 13-3
Week 11: 12-4
Week 10: 9-5
Week 9: 11-2
Week 8: 8-5
Week 7: 9-5
Week 6: 11-3
Week 5: 4-10
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 13 Waiver Wire

2010-11-30T21:59:00.000-05:00

It has become customary to do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday night. The show was posted and running on the site at 10:10pm ET. Here are the waiver wire pickups, in no particular order:

QB - Matt Cassel
Matt Hasselbeck
Chad Henne
Drew Stanton

RB- Brian Westbrook
Toby Gerhart
Tashard Choice
Chris Ivory
Mike Goodson
James Stewart
Maurice Morris
Aaron Brown
James Davis
Dexter McCluster

WR- Blair White
Brandon Gibson
Jordan Shipley
Anthony Armstrong
Ben Obomanu
James Jones
Jacoby Ford
Brian Hartline
Danario Alexander
Jordy Nelson
Deion Branch
Steve Breaston

TE- Kevin Boss
Tony Moeaki
Rob Gronkowski
Billy Bajema
Jimmy Graham
Joel Dreesen

PK- Phil Dawson
Josh Brown

DST- Seattle
San Diego

Week 12 - Three Way

2010-11-23T21:26:00.000-05:00

We rocked the three ways last week....end of story....period.

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 12:

Heath:

QB- Sam Bradford
RB- Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis
WR- Mike Wallace

Philip:

QB- Rusty Smith
RB- Keiland Williams
WR- Randy Moss

More Sleepers: Mike Williams (TB), Mike Goodson, Ben Obomanu, Matt Hasselbeck, Jacob Tamme, Visanthe Shiancoe, Todd Heap

Week 12 NFL Picks

2010-11-23T21:20:00.000-05:00

Each week, Philip and I pick all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. Here are our picks for Week 12 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

NE, NO, NYJ, NYG, ATL, HOU, MIN, PIT, CLE, KC, MIA, CHI, DEN, BAL, IND, ARZ

SF 17 - ARZ 20 - 37 Total Points

Away 17 - Home 20

Our record this season: 101-59
Week 11: 12-4
Week 10: 9-5
Week 9: 11-2
Week 8: 8-5
Week 7: 9-5
Week 6: 11-3
Week 5: 4-10
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 12 Waiver Wire

2010-11-23T21:14:00.000-05:00

It has become customary to do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday night. The show was posted and running on the site at 9:40pm ET. Here are the waiver wire pickups, in no particular order:

QB - Sam Bradford
Bruce Gradkowski
Rusty Smith
Shaun Hill
Troy Smith
Jon Kitna
Cleveland QB?

RB- Tashard Choice
Chris Ivory
Keiland Williams
Mike Goodson
Reggie Bush

WR- Blair White
Derek Hagan
Brandon Gibson
Nate Burleson
Anthony Armstrong
Ben Obomanu
Mike Thomas
Sidney Rice/Vincent Jackson

TE- Anthony Fasano
Jimmy Graham
Joel Dreesen

PK- Sebastian Janikowski
Billy Cundiff
Neil Rackers

DST- Seattle
Arizona
Carolina
Cleveland

Sports Outlaw Guest Co-hosts 32 TEAMS

2010-11-16T23:41:00.000-05:00

Philip is on vacation in Mexico this week. So, we recruited Jeremy Miller, the Sports Outlaw, who filled in admirably. He recapped the Buffalo Wild Wings Fantasy Football League Week 10, hopped on the Waiver Wire with me, helped pick Week 11's games, and even had his very own Three Way. Check it out on the website! www.32teamsfantasy.com

Week 11 - Three Way

2010-11-16T23:34:00.000-05:00

We had our best week of Three Ways to date and it feels good to have both of us do well across the board the same week. Garrard, Blount and Washington all did what I thought they would do, and Philip hit on Fitzpatrick, Gore, and the very surprising Anthony Armstrong. This week, Philip is in Mexico so we recruited Jeremy Miller (aka The Sports Outlaw) to co-host with me. He even gave his very own Three Way!

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 11:

Heath:

QB- Matt Cassel
RB- Ray Rice
WR- Santonio Holmes

Jeremy:

QB- Shaun Hill
RB- Cedric Benson
WR- Dwayne Bowe

More Sleepers: Calvin Johnson, James Jones, LaDainian Tomlinson, Marcel Reece, Robert Meachem, Michael Turner, Aaron Hernandez

Week 11 NFL Picks

2010-11-16T23:21:00.000-05:00

Each week, Philip and I pick all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. Here are our picks for Week 11 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

CHI, CIN, DAL, TEN, KC, GB, NYJ, PIT, BAL, CLE, SF, NO, ATL, NE, PHI, SD

DEN 27 - SD 31 - Total Points

Away 27 - Home 31

Our record this season: 89-55
Week 10: 9-5
Week 9: 11-2
Week 8: 8-5
Week 7: 9-5
Week 6: 11-3
Week 5: 4-10
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 11 Waiver Wire

2010-11-16T23:10:00.001-05:00

It has become customary to do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday night. The show was posted and running on the site at 11:20pm ET. Here are the waiver wire pickups, in no particular order:

QB - Matt Cassel
Josh Freeman
Shaun Hill
Troy Smith
David Garrard
Jon Kitna
Tyler Thigpen

RB- Keiland Williams
Fred Jackson
Mike Goodson
Marcel Reece
Javarris James
Reggie Bush
Mewelde Moore

WR- Jacoby Ford
Danny Amendola
Nate Burleson
James Jones
Greg Camarillo
Mario Manningham
Anthony Armstrong
Jason Avant
Emmanuel Sanders
Arrelious Benn
Ben Obomanu
Mike Thomas
Brian Hartline
Sidney Rice/Vincent Jackson

TE- Brandon Pettigrew
Anthony Fasano
Jermaine Gresham
Rob Gronkowski
Delanie Walker

PK- Olindo Mare
Shayne Graham
Aaron Pettrey

DST- Chicago
Philadelphia
Kansas City
Atlanta
Dallas
Cleveland

BWW Trivia Contest - Week 10

2010-11-09T23:32:00.000-05:00

You mean I can win free stuff?? Really?? How do I win?

Listen to our show at www.32teamsfantasy.com, be the first to answer the trivia question on the blog and win a Buffalo Wild Wings Tailgating Chair. Very compact, lightweight and useful on game day. You gotta become a member of the blog to enter your answer in the comment section. So, sign up and win the chair - we'll have it sent to your home directly from our friends at Buffalo Wild Wings!

Week 10 - Three Way

2010-11-09T22:59:00.002-05:00

We REALLY hit on Hillis and Sanchez last week, and sort of hit on the rest of our Three Ways, save for Tashard Choice. All the sleepers did well - nobody killed you, that's for sure. Arizona DST, James Jones and Lance Moore were the bigger sleepers - I missed entirely on Charlie Whitehurst.

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 10:

Heath:

QB- David Garrard
RB- Legarrette Blount
WR- Nate Washington

Philip:

QB- Ryan Fitzpatrick
RB- Frank Gore
WR- Anthony Armstrong

More Sleepers: Kellen Winslow & TBA

Week 10 NFL Picks

2010-11-09T22:46:00.002-05:00

Each week, Philip and I pick all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. Here are our picks for Week 10 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

BAL, NYJ, IND, HOU, MIA, MIN, BUF, TB, NYG, KC, SF, SEA, NE, PHI

PHI 27 - WAS 20 - Total Points

Away 27 - Home 20

Our record this season: 80-50
Week 9: 11-2
Week 8: 8-5
Week 7: 9-5
Week 6: 11-3
Week 5: 4-10
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 10 Waiver Wire

2010-11-09T22:37:00.002-05:00

It has become customary to do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday night. The show was posted and running on the site at 10:45pm ET. Here are the waiver wire pickups, in no particular order:

QB - Matt Cassel
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Josh Freeman
Troy Smith
David Garrard
Drew Stanton
Matt Hasselbeck
Tony Pike

RB- Clinton Portis
Mike Goodson
Marcel Reece
Javarris James
Reggie Bush

WR- Jacoby Ford
Danny Amendola
Nate Burleson
Nate Washington
Brandon Gibson
Bernard Berrian
Earl Bennett
James Jones
Sidney Rice/Vincent Jackson

TE- Brandon Pettigrew
Jimmy Graham
Joel Dreesen
Randy McMichael

PK- Mike Nugent
Josh Scobee
Neil Rackers

DST- Tampa Bay
Seattle
Tennessee
San Francisco

Week 9 - Three Way

2010-11-02T21:50:00.003-04:00

I whiffed on Dexter McCluster - he was injured & I didn't have that info on Tuesday. Orton and Garcon were good but not amazing. Philip had guys that didn't kill you but didn't win your matchup for you either. We press on this week with more Three Ways...

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 9:

Heath:

QB- Chad Henne
RB- Peyton Hillis
WR- Roddy White

Philip:

QB- Mark Sanchez
RB- Tashard Choice
WR- Hines Ward

More Sleepers: Lance Moore, James Jones, Rob Gronkowski, Ben Watson, Charlie Whitehurst, Arizona DST, Fred Jackson, Tim Hightower

Week 9 NFL Picks

2010-11-02T21:47:00.002-04:00

Each week, Philip and I are picking all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. Here are our picks for Week 9 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

BUF, NYJ, SD, BAL, ATL, NO, CLE, ARZ, NYG, OAK, PHI, GB, PIT

PIT 23 - CIN 13 - Total Points

Away 23 - Home 13

Our record this season: 69-48
Week 8: 8-5
Week 7: 9-5
Week 6: 11-3
Week 5: 4-10
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 9 Waiver Wire

2010-11-02T21:32:00.002-04:00

It has become customary to do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday night. The show was posted and running on the site at 9:45pm ET. Here are the waiver wire pickups, in no particular order:

QB - Derek Anderson
Chad Henne
Troy Smith
Jason Campbell
Tarvaris Jackson
David Garrard
Josh Freeman

RB- Marcel Reece
Keiland Williams
Donald Brown
Javarris James
Chester Taylor

WR- Darius Heyward-Bey
Robert Meachem
Nate Washington
Lavelle Hawkins
Steve Breaston
Brandon Gibson
Bernard Berrian

TE- Jermaine Gresham
Jacob Tamme
Donald Lee
Michael Hoomanawanui
Delanie Walker

PK- Dan Carpenter
Sebastian Janikowski
Robbie Gould
Lawrence Tynes

DST- Oakland
Seattle
Atlanta
Arizona
Buffalo
Chicago

Week 8 - Three Way

2010-10-26T21:56:00.002-04:00

I jammed on my three way and sleepers last week, except Robert Meachem. Philip? Not so much. Josh Freeman was good but the other guys should've been sleepers. This week, PG's not digging as deep.

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 8:

Heath:

QB- Kyle Orton
RB- Dexter McCluster
WR- Pierre Garcon

Philip:

QB- Matt Cassel
RB- LaDainian Tomlinson
WR- Danny Amendola

More Sleepers: Dez Bryant, Jahvid Best, James Jones, Mike Wallace, Rob Gronkowski, Jonathan Stewart

Week 8 NFL Picks

2010-10-26T21:48:00.003-04:00

Week 8 NFL Picks
Each week, Philip and I are picking all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. Here are our picks for Week 8 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

NYJ, DEN, DET, KC, STL, MIA, DAL, TEN, NE, SEA, TB, NO

HOU 24 - IND 31 - Total Points

Away 24 - Home 31

Our record this season: 61-43
Week 7: 9-5
Week 6: 11-3
Week 5: 4-10
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 8 Waiver Wire

2010-10-26T21:41:00.002-04:00

It has become customary to do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday night. The show was posted and running on the site at 9:45pm ET. Oh look, this post updated at the same time -- awesome!!

QB - Matthew Stafford
Jon Kitna
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Sam Bradford
Matt Moore
David Carr
Todd Bouman
Bruce Gradkowski
Tarvaris Jackson

RB- Legarrette Blount
Mewelde Moore
Willis McGahee
Fred Jackson
Darren Sproles
Dexter McCluster
Mike Hart

WR- Steve Johnson
Jordan Shipley
David Gettis
Deon Butler
James Jones
Patrick Crayton
Blair White

TE- Jimmy Graham
Jacob Tamme
Donald Lee
Michael Hoomanawanui

DST- Washington
Dallas
Tennessee

Week 7 - Three Way

2010-10-21T19:12:00.002-04:00

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 7:

Heath:

QB- Matt Cassel
RB- Willis McGahee
WR- Robert Meachem

Philip:

QB- Josh Freeman
RB- Danny Woodhead
WR- Danario Alexander

More Sleepers: Deon Butler, Steve Smith (CAR), Joe Flacco, Knowshon Moreno, BenJarvus Green-Ellis

Week 7 NFL Picks

2010-10-21T19:10:00.001-04:00

Each week, Philip and I are picking all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. Here are our picks for Week 7 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

BAL, WAS, ATL, PHI, PIT, TB, NO, KC, CAR, SEA, DEN, NE, MIN, DAL

NYG 20 - DAL 27 - Total Points

Away 20 - Home 27

Our record this season: 52-38
Week 6: 11-3
Week 5: 4-10
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 7 Waiver Wire

2010-10-21T19:06:00.002-04:00

It has become customary to do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday night. The show was posted and running on the site at 11pm ET.

QB - Matthew Stafford
Colt McCoy
Bruce Gradkowski

RB- Chris Ivory
Danny Woodhead (PPR especially)
Derrick Ward
Dexter McCluster

WR- Danario Alexander
Anthony Armstrong
Patrick Crayton
Mike Williams (SEA)
Jason Avant
Robert Meachem
Craig Davis
Deon Butler
Steve Smith (CAR)
Deion Branch
Michael Jenkins

TE- Heath Miller
John Carlson
Evan Moore
Fred Davis
Bo Scaife
Andrew Quarless
Michael Hoomanawanui

DST- Kansas City
Seattle
Dallas
Denver

Week 6 Three Way

2010-10-14T21:35:00.002-04:00

I hit on Matt Forte in a big way in our Three Ways last week. Matt Ryan had an average day, but didn't hurt you. Dez Bryant was injured after catching 3 balls for 22 yards - that's a miss. Philip hit big time on Shaun Hill again, but Cadillac Williams did nothing. Cotchery was targeted a bunch, had a big gain called back due to penalty and dropped a TD - so, good idea but not the best execution on Jerricho's part. The sleepers were more miss than hit - Torain and Garcon went well, but the rest of the bunch were pretty brutal. It was tough pickings this week.

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 6:

Heath:

QB- Vince Young
RB- LaDainian Tomlinson
WR- Mike Williams (TB)Philip:

QB- Josh Freeman
RB- Mike Hart
WR- Danny Amendola

More Sleepers: Favre, Matt Cassel, Ryan Torain, Ricky Williams, Mike Wallace, Derrick Mason

Week 6 NFL Picks

2010-10-14T21:31:00.002-04:00

Each week, Philip and I are picking all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. Here are our picks for Week 6 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

NYG, DEN, CHI, MIA, HOU, PIT, SD, NE, PHI, NO, SF, MIN, IND, TEN

TEN 31 - JAX 23 - Total Points

Away 31 - Home 23

Our record this season: 41-35
Week 5: 4-10
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 6 Waiver Wire

2010-10-14T21:19:00.003-04:00

It has become customary to do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday night. The show was posted and running on the site at 11pm ET.

QB - Matthew Stafford
Vince Young
--------------------------------
Max Hall
Kevin Kolb
Matt Flynn
Jason Campbell
Colt McCoy?
David Carr??
Josh Freeman
Charlie Whitehurst

RB- Donald Brown
Marion Barber
----------------------------
Mike Hart
Deji Karim
Derrick Ward
Brandon Jackson
Brandon Jacobs
Jerome Harrison
Keiland Williams
Mike Bell

WR- Hines Ward/Mike Wallace
Pierre Garcon
Michael Crabtree
Lee Evans
Brandon Tate
Dez Bryant/Roy Williams
Mike Sims-Walker
Steve Smith (CAR)
----------------------
Kenny Britt
Danny Amendola/Laurent Robinson/Brandon Gibson/Mardy Gilyard
Nate Burleson
Deon Butler/Golden Tate
Anthony Armstrong
Mike Thomas

TE- Owen Daniels
Heath Miller
-----------------------
Marcedes Lewis
John Carlson
Andrew Quarless
Michael Hoomanawanui

DST- Miami
Chicago
NY Giants

If players are listed above the line (----------------), then they were probably drafted and may have been dropped at some point due to injury or poor performance. It's only Week 6 - there's a lot of football left and the NFL season, remember, is a death march. Teams need all able bodies as the season wears on.

Week 5 Three Way

2010-10-10T08:57:00.002-04:00

We hit on everyone except WRs with in our Three Ways last week. Gradkowski and BJGE hit pay dirt, but Santana Moss inexplicably had one carry for 5 yards and NO catches. Philip hit big time on Shaun Hill and Danny Woodhead scored again, but Jacoby Jones did nothing. And again, I'm 50% on sleepers: Hernandez, Cooley and Chris Ivory worked out, but Blair White, Hasselbeck and Parrish did not.

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 5:

Heath:

QB- Matt Ryan
RB- Matt Forte
WR- Dez Bryant

Philip:

QB- Shaun Hill
RB- Cadillac Williams
WR- Jerricho Cotchery

More Sleepers: Ryan Torain, Chris Ivory, Pierre Garcon, Sam Bradford, Todd Heap, Ben Watson, Arrelious Benn

Week 5 NFL Picks

2010-10-07T23:09:00.003-04:00

Each week, Philip and I are picking all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. Here are our picks for Week 5 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

BUF, DEN, CLE, IND, CIN, WAS, DET, CAR, HOU, NO, DAL, SD, SF, NYJ

MIN 13 - NYJ 20 - 33 Total Points

Away 13 - Home 20

Our record this season: 37-25
Week 4: 8-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 5 Waiver Wire

2010-10-07T22:56:00.002-04:00

It has become customary to do our waiver picks on the show, so if you want these in a timely fashion - listen up on Tuesday night!

QB - Kevin Kolb - He's baaack!
Sam Bradford - doesn't look like a rookie in the box score
Shaun Hill - we just dumped Eli Manning to pick him up
Ryan Fitzpatrick - a one week flyer - Jacksonville on the road = horrible
Max Hall - Derek Anderson is on the bench and this is the best the Cards can do
Ben Roethlisberger - If he wasn't drafted in your league - PICK HIM UP ALREADY!

RB- Mike Bell
Ryan Torain
Chris Ivory
Ladell Betts
Fred Jackson
Michael Bush
Legarrette Blount
Kareem Huggins
Brandon Jacobs
Mike Hart

All of the above RBs have injury situations with the starters ahead of them or have been linked to reports of getting more touches - do some research and pick up who you can as some of these guys will start this week!

WR- Brandon Tate
Roy E. Williams
Santonio Holmes (see Roethlisberger)
TJ Houshmandzadeh
Harry Douglas
Davonne Bess
Danny Amendola

TE- Tony Moeaki
Aaron Hernandez
Brandon Pettigrew
Ben Watson/Evan Moore

www.32teamsfantasy.com

2010-10-02T14:12:00.002-04:00

Yes, that's our website and new home of our weekly podcast! Here it is again...

www.32teamsfantasy.com

If you are already subscribed through CBS Radio and/or chataboutit.com, you may have to re-subscribe on iTunes, but all our shows can now be seen on our own website. We are very excited about it and we really need to thank Nate Rausch of www.soundmind.org for his invaluable assistance in making our simple website a reality.

We will still bring you the same excellent content on this blog, on facebook and all other avenues of contact. But it feels good to say: See you on the world wide web at 32teamsfantasy.com!

Week 4 Three Way

2010-10-02T14:03:00.003-04:00

We weren't so hot with our Three Ways last week. I got it all wrong, but my sleepers (as usual) panned out. I'm trying a different strategy this week and going with a few household names that may get over in a big way. My sleepers are strong, I feel. Philip hit on Henne and no one else. We are both wrong about Camarillo - why can't Favre turn him into a star? Maybe Greg's not that good....hmmm...

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 4:

Heath:

QB- Bruce Gradkowski
RB- BenJarvus Green-Ellis
WR- Santana Moss

Philip:

QB- Shaun Hill
RB- Danny Woodhead
WR- Jacoby Jones

More Sleepers: Aaron Hernandez, Chris Cooley, Blair White, Matt Hasselbeck, Chris Ivory, Roscoe Parrish

Week 4 NFL Picks

2010-10-02T14:00:00.001-04:00

Each week, Philip and I are picking all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. Here are our picks for Week 4 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

NYJ, BAL, CLE, TEN, NO, GB, SEA, SF, HOU, IND, PHI, SD, NYG, MIA

NE 21 - MIA 28 - 49 Total Points

Away 21 - Home 28

Our record this season: 29-19
Week 3: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 4 Waiver Wire

2010-10-02T13:51:00.003-04:00

We did our waiver picks on the show, basically as an homage to the Sports Outlaw who beat us last week in the Buffalo Wild Wings League. Here are his waiver wire recommendations. I'll add my own, being that this is Saturday, and I'm VERY late posting this week. You gotta listen to the show, though!

QB - Kyle Orton
Mark Sanchez

Matt Hasselbeck, Sam Bradford, and Bruce Gradkowski are my picks on the waiver, should they be available - all are useful this week, if you need a Romo-replacement

RB- Ken Darby
BenJarvus Green-Ellis
Marshawn Lynch
LeGarrette Blount

Chris Ivory and Ladell Betts should be added to this list, and a flyer on Willis McGahee as well, should the Ravens and Ray Rice be lying about the extent of his injury.

WR- Lance Moore (ya think??)
Louis Murphy
All DENVER WRs
Danny Amendola

Here's a play that might blow up this week and he's on my list: Blair White

TE- Tony Moeaki
Aaron Hernandez

I also like John Carlson, Todd Heap and Heath Miller this week. TEs always seem to play a part in that BAL/PIT rivalry.

Week 3 - Three Way

2010-09-25T10:54:00.004-04:00

Last week, we did all right with our Three Ways: Henne didn't have a big fantasy day but he didn't hurt you, same with Bradshaw, Mike Williams scored and was better than a lot of other guys out there. Philip had the right situation but the wrong guy with Norwood, completely whiffed on Trent Edwards, then was spot on about Santana Moss. Our sleepers continue to be a 50/50 proposition: Campbell and Harrison didn't happen, but Aaron Hernandez and Manningham sure did.

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 3:

Heath:

QB- David Garrard
RB- Jonathan Stewart
WR- Demaryius Thomas

Philip:

QB- Chad Henne
RB- Laurence Maroney
WR- Greg Camarillo

More Sleepers: Marcedes Lewis, Jordan Shipley, Lance Moore, Justin Forsett, Bruce Gradkowski, Tony Moeaki

Week 3 NFL Picks

2010-09-23T13:27:00.002-04:00

Each week, Philip and I are picking all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. Here are our picks for Week 3 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

TEN, KC, DAL, CAR, BAL, NO, PIT, MIN, NE, WAS, JAX, SD, OAK, IND, MIA

GB 31 CHI 16 - 47 Total Points

Away 31 - Home 16

Our record this season: 21-11
Week 2: 11-5
Week 1: 10-6

Week 2 Waiver Wire

2010-09-21T15:16:00.004-04:00

If you're having a hard time scoring points, here are some guys we like who may be available in your league this week...

Quarterbacks

Kyle Orton DEN - You could do worse than 300 yds and 2 TDs
Josh Freeman TB - He's making good decisions and has developing chemistry with his rookie WR Mike Williams
Bruce Gradkowski OAK - If he starts, there's a good matchup with the Cardinals this week
Jimmy Clausen CAR - He looked good moving the offense late in the game on Sunday. Now, he's been named the starter

Running Backs

Jason Snelling ATL - He's a strong backup who blew up on Sunday after Michael Turner left with an injury. Check the status of Turner before you get your hopes up too high for immediate help.
Mike Tolbert SD - Again, he came in after Ryan Mathews went out with an injury. He looks to be the short yardage back, though, before the injury. He's worth a look in deeper leagues.
Marshawn Lynch BUF - Either his role with Buffalo is expanding under the new coaching regime OR his performance on Sunday was an audition for another team to trade for him (Green Bay??)
Heath Evans NO - Reggie Bush is out 6 weeks and all of the other RB options seem to be hurt. Do they turn to the versatile FB with the awesome first name? Sean Payton called for that onside kick in the Super Bowl...anything is possible.

Wide Receivers

Mike Williams TB - 2 TDs in two weeks - he's no ordinary rookie.
Louis Murphy OAK - He's the most consistent WR on the roster. He's a good pickup if you feel that the QBs can get him the ball consistently too.
Demaryius Thomas DEN - He looked very polished in his debut on Sunday. Orton seemed to favor him, too.
Kevin Walter HOU - He may have been drafted in your league or overlooked due to the Jacoby Jones hype. If Schaub is going to throw for 400 yards, then there are enough fantasy points there to spread around.
Golden Tate SEA - He's an electric talent, and with the dearth at WR in Seattle, expect him to move up the depth chart as the season goes on.
Jordan Shipley CIN - He catches everything they throw at him AND he gets open consistently with so much attention paid to the TOcho Show.
Danny Amendola STL - We're talking a slot receiver that a rookie QB can count on. PPR league players take notice.
Greg Camarillo MIN - This is more of a hope on my part. SOMEONE has to develop and catch footballs from Brett Favre. If Favre can make Chansi Stuckey fantasy relevant, then Camarillo has a shot too.

Tight Ends

Martellus Bennett DAL - If Jason Witten is out with a concussion, here's the crazy man ready to hop into your lineup.
Marcedes Lewis JAX - He's proving to be a more reliable fantasy play than MJD in this young season.
Aaron Hernandez NE - Tom Brady trusts him, we liked him in the preseason, he can help your fantasy team if you're saddled with a guy like Owen Daniels or Heath Miller right now.
Tony Moeaki KC - He leads his team in targets...and he's from Tonga...'nuff said.
Brandon Pettigrew DET - Dude can block and he can catch the ball. Last season, he was putting up healthy Owen Daniels numbers before he got hurt. He's definitely worth a look.

Defense/Special Teams

Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins
Cincinnati Bengals
San Diego Chargers

Week 2 - Three Way

2010-09-19T09:34:00.006-04:00

Last week, Matt Stafford was on his way to a fine fantasy day before his injury, Hightower had a good day (although he fumbled twice), but the sleepers woke up! Hello Arian Foster and Derek Anderson was better than Schaub & Brees. Philip had Mike Thomas - he was all over it! Crabtree was the worst call of the day, as were any and all 49ers.

We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (starter quality = top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 2:

Heath: I like these guys to score TDs today...

QB- Chad Henne - if they have a shot, it will be through the air - beware of Wildcat, though!
RB- Ahmad Bradshaw - until they clean up the defense, start all RBs v. Indy
WR- Mike Williams TB - Freeman takes advantage of the poor secondary ala Eli to Nicks

Philip:

QB- Trent Edwards (garbage time TDs save the day)
RB- Jerious Norwood
WR- Santana Moss

We both like Henne and Moss today, btw.
More Sleepers: Jason Campbell, Jerome Harrison, Mario Manningham, TE Aaron Hernandez

Did you know that Tom Brady is 13-3 all time vs. the NY Jets?

Week 2 NFL Picks

2010-09-17T13:36:00.003-04:00

Each week, Philip and I are picking all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. Here are our picks for Week 2 with the tiebreaker being the total score home-away for the MNF game:

ATL, CAR, KC, PHI, TEN, MIA, CIN, DAL, GB, STL, DEN, SD, NE, HOU, IND

SF 13 N0 27 - 40 total pts

HOME - 13 AWAY - 27

Our record so far: 10-6 (yes, we picked Lions and we're still hot about it)

Passing Notes: NFL Preview with 32 Teams

2010-09-17T13:33:00.000-04:00

Passing Notes: NFL Preview with 32 Teams: "Today on the broadcast we talk with Heath Kelts of the fantasy football call-in show (and blog) 32 Teams. Kelts and co-host Philip Galins..."

32 Teams 9/14/10 - NFL Week 1

2010-09-15T14:06:00.001-04:00

Philip and Heath cover all 32 Teams for Week 1 and preview Week 2 Waiver Wire plays & Sleepers....

Week 1 - Three Way

2010-09-10T14:35:00.004-04:00

Each week, Philip and Heath will have a three-way and let you in on the action! No, it's not what you're thinking. We're talking fantasy football, not fantasy island!?! We will each give out our picks of a top QB, RB & WR that we see doing well that weekend (top 10 in fantasy points at their respective positions that week). These aren't the obvious picks of Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, but more of the guys you have to dig deeper to find.

Here are our Three Ways for Week 1:

Heath:

QB- Matthew Stafford
RB- Tim Hightower
WR- Jabar Gaffney

Philip:

QB- Vince Young
RB- Chester Taylor
WR- Mike Thomas

More Sleepers: Derek Anderson (yeah, you read that right), Arian Foster, & Michael Crabtree

Week 1 NFL Picks

2010-09-10T14:15:00.003-04:00

Each week, Philip and I are picking all the NFL games as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League. These are straight up picks, no point spreads involved. Here are our picks for Week 1 with the tiebreaker being the aggregate total score home-away for both MNF games:

NO, NE, TEN, DEN, CLE, DET, NYG, ATL, MIA, HOU, GB, ARZ, SF, WAS, BAL, SD

BAL 17 NYJ 16 - 28 total pts
SD 27 KC 16 - 43 total pts

HOME - 32 AWAY - 44

First Time FF Player advice & Draft Recap

2010-09-10T11:16:00.004-04:00

My wife and a bunch of ladies are getting together tonight to start an all ladies, first timer Fantasy League. They are a little late to the game, as the season started last night. They will start their season in Week 2 - good for them! They asked me for advice. Here's what I told them:

1. You should draft the "core" of your team in the first 6 rounds of your draft (2RBs, 2WRs, 1QB, 1TE), not necessarily in that order.
2. The next rounds (7-9 or so) are for the best players available who you have targeted but didn't draft yet and also addressing bye week issues from your first six picks (usually RBs & WRs since you should have at least two of each by now).
3. The following rounds (10-15) are for depth on your roster by drafting your backup QB, TE, and drafting your starting Defense/Special Teams unit (DST), and RBs & WRs that you are "swinging for the fences" by drafting (aka finding a guy who scores a lot of TDs or is targeted enough to produce a ton of yardage each week who isn't predicted to do so).
4. The last two rounds (16-17) should go one of two ways: Kicker in the 16th, then a DST or sleeper pick in the 17th - or the reverse of that.

5. DO NOT draft your kicker before these rounds and DO NOT draft two kickers - it's a waste of a draft spot that you could use on a position player that really makes a difference. By "sleeper", we mean a player that you like to do well this year that most people don't really know about - a player that comes out of nowhere to have a breakout season due to injury to guys ahead of him, trade to a new team, &/or change in offensive system or scheme.

6. At the end of your draft, you should have 2QBs, at least 5RBs, at least 5WRs, 1TE, 1K, 1DST - that's 15 out of 17, if you're counting. You can use those other 2 spots any way you like: another RB, WR, backup your TE or add a backup DST. If you draft a backup at any position, you should double check that they don't have the same bye week (ie - drafting Tony Romo and Brett Favre is a bad idea - they are both off Week 4).

7. My last piece of advice: don't drink before round 9 during your draft. You'll like your team better the next day.

************************************************************************************

Looking at my own drafts this season, maybe I need to follow the blueprint a little more. However, I think that's part of the fun - deviating on the fly based on what's happening in your draft and who's still on the board. I targeted SF 49ers defense in all my drafts, but made the decision not to based on the QB run in one of the leagues. RB was the really tough position to get right this year. We'll see how "right" we all are in a few weeks, though, right??

Draft #1: Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars League - our team, the Maury Conklin Group, that Phil and I drafted in the 8 slot of a 12 team PPR league of bloggers and fantasy experts (by round):

1. WR Randy Moss
2. WR Austin Miles
3. RB Ryan Grant
4. TE Antonio Gates
5. RB Ronnie Brown
6. RB Ahmad Bradshaw
7. QB Eli Manning
8. WR Derrick Mason
9. Jets DST
10. QB Ben Roethlisberger
11. 49ers DEST
12. WR Jerricho Cotchery
13. RB Kareem Huggins
14. WR Lance Moore
15. WR Dexter McCluster
16. RB Rashad Jennings
17. K Matt Prater

There's a previous blog post analyzing this draft more in depth. We're weak at QB but feel good about our other positions, overall. Our depth is developmental and provides for some movement when we need to make some Free Agent moves. We're waiting on Huggy to emerge and take us to the promise land later this season. Jennings and McCluster are our sleepers too.

Draft #2: The Whiplash Fantasy Football League, a ten team dynasty league, we keep 6 at any position each year - this means our first round is really the 7th in other drafts. My team, the Opa Locka Bowlsnappers, is the only three-peat champion in the league's nearly 25 year history. I drafted in the 8th slot due to my 3rd place finish last season. The draft order goes 1-10 each round - no serpentine.

Keepers:
QB Drew Brees
RB Ray Rice
RB Chris "Beanie" Wells
WR Marques Colston
WR Steve Smith (NYG)
WR Mike Wallace

1. RB Justin Forsett
2. RB Ricky Williams
3. WR Santana Moss
4. TE Zach Miller
5. 49ers DST
6. RB LaDainian Tomlinson
7. RB Kareem Huggins
8. QB Ben Roethlisberger
9. WR James Jones
10. RB Willis McGahee
11. WR Danny Amendola
12. Chargers DST
13. K Stephen Gostkowski
14. WR Lance Moore

I don't feel so good about this draft, overall. I'm VERY weak at RB (we start 3 each week) and I kept the wrong player (WR Mike Wallace) thinking that RB Ahmad Bradshaw would fall to me at #8. He was gone at #5 - Wallace would've fallen to 8. I spent a good portion of the rest of the draft trying to fix this issue.

I feel good about where I got Zach Miller, but I overpaid for the 49ers and Huggins. I like the handcuff of McGahee to Rice - RayRay's my franchise, after all. There will be better options out there in Free Agency than Danny Amendola, so I moved him this week to pick up RB Peyton Hillis. I think he scores a TD or two Week 1 in Tampa Bay.

Draft #3: The Foodstamp League, a 12 team redraft PPR league. My team BigBen'sBathroomPass drafted in the 8th slot. That must be my number this year - I better not finish that way, given the value I was able to find in this draft:

1. RB Maurice Jones-Drew
2. WR Miles Austin
3. QB Tony Romo
4. RB Jahvid Best
5. WR Hakeem Nicks
6. WR Dwayne Bowe
7. WR Santana Moss
8. RB Ahmad Bradshaw
9. RB Jerome Harrison
10. TE Heath Miller
11. WR Dexter McCluster
12. WR Jabar Gaffney
13. RB Leon Washington
14. Chargers DST
15. RB Peyton Hillis
16. K Nick Folk

The biggest surprise I had here was enjoying MJD falling to me in the 8th slot. Here I got one of the big stud RBs normally not around past the 4th pick at a late 1st round price. I then decided to go big on WRs in this draft - we have to start 3 of them AND a flex RB/WR, so having many strong options each week is key to winning this league. There was a big premium early on the elite QBs, so Romo was good value in the 3rd round. I like where I got Heath Miller as Zach Miller went 2 rounds before. I'll look for a Jermaine Gresham or Tony Moeaki to possibly emerge as a starter on the waiver wire - Heath should be good for the foreseeable future as a good outlet for Dixon in PIT. I LOVE where I got Leon Washington and Peyton Hillis - awesome value, if they do what I think they can this year. The Charger DST has the benefit of the easiest strength of schedule in the NFL. I'll pick up another DST if they falter - some team always emerges that no one thinks will do well. I already moved Nick Folk in favor of Adam Vinatieri, who may have more opportunities vs. Houston in Week 1.

Draft #4: The Six Boroughs League, a ten-team PPR keeper league. We keep 3 at any position. This is the inaugural season. Philip and I are both in this league. My team, the Randolph Ruinators, drafted in the 10th slot of our serpentine draft.

1. WR Randy Moss
2. WR Miles Austin
3. RB Jahvid Best
4. QB Peyton Manning
5. RB Matt Forte
6. RB Ronnie Brown
7. TE Zach Miller
8. WR Santana Moss
9. Jets DST
10. 49ers DST
11. RB Leon Washington
12. WR Louis Murphy
13. RB Kareem Huggins
14. RB Peyton Hillis
15. QB Eli Manning
16. TE Todd Heap
17. WR Laurent Robinson
18. WR Lance Moore
19. K Neil Rackers

Ah, the joys of the "sandwich pick" 10th slot. It's really enjoyable to draft in the 1st or 10th slots because you can target 3 or 4 players, then get two at a time. My strategy here was to get keeper quality players in the first 6 rounds, get an elite QB, wait on TE till after the 6th round, grab the best DSTs as a pairing, and then get my sleepers as a pairing. I was able to accomplish ALL that, and then I had what was my favorite value sandwich pick pairing: Eli Manning and Todd Heap in the 14/15th rounds. To have both Mannings appeals to the Saints fan in me, and Todd Heap was so good during the fantasy playoffs last year, it gives me faith that he can fight off the two rookie TEs and beat single coverage more often this year with all the new weapons in the BAL offense. This was, I feel, my most balanced team that I was able to draft this year.

So, what do we learn from all this? Well, there are many ways to skin a cat, and if you know the rules of your league and the players, you've got to be flexible with your draft strategy if circumstances dictate it.

Buffalo Wild Wings All Stars Draft - The Maury Conklin Group

2010-09-01T09:39:00.007-04:00

Philip and I drafted our team (The Maury Conklin Group) for the Buffalo Wild Wings Fantasy Football League this past Monday night, August 30th. While we like our team and our chances, there are questions at RB and QB that only the season can answer. The league is very savvy, and it seemed every time we targeted 2 or 3 players for our next pick, we would be reduced to one of those options when it was our turn. Visit the league site on Buffalo Wild Wings' site, where all the bloggers will post their progostications and predictions all season long: http://ff.buffalowildwings.com/

Here are the rules/scoring for the league just in case it resembles a league that you are drafting: http://games.espn.go.com/ffl/leaguesetup/settings?leagueId=731393

YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW YOUR LEAGUE RULES BEFORE YOU DRAFT!!

12 TEAM LEAGUE - PPR - REDRAFT - SERPENTINE DRAFT ORDER
Roster: 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1RB/WR FLEX, 1TE, 1K, 1D/ST - 7BENCH

QB: We made the decision early on that we were going to wait on drafting our QBs by pairing a QB2 with Ben Roethlisberger. We got Eli Manning in the 7th and Roethlisberger in the 10th. Looking back, we probably could have waited a round to get Eli and grabbed Ricky Williams or Cadillac Williams with our 7th rounder - he was on our radar there. Ricky went to the FFLibrarian right after us, and The Sports Outlaw grabbed the Caddy a few picks later. Roethlisberger in the 10th round became a matter of urgency as we didn't want to miss out on him, kill our draft strategy and wind up with Kyle Orton or Matt Cassel. Ouch, that would've hurt.

RB: Wrapped up with the decision to wait on QBs was a deal made to NOT draft Shonn Greene in the 3rd round or earlier. When we did the mock draft for a 12 team league in the 8th slot (our slot), we both saw that Greene (our #17RB) could be available. In a PPR league, I see that as overpaying for a guy who didn't catch a pass last year, and may only catch 10 this year at most. We wanted guys who would be featured in the run game AND the passing game. Sure enough, Shonn Greene went in the 2nd round - not a good value pick, in my opinion. We went with Ryan Grant in the 3rd round - our #10RB - he was the 17th RB off the board, so we got some value there. Then, we were looking at Matt Forte, Ronnie Brown and CJ Spiller for our 5th rounder. By the time we got to our pick, we took the oft injured Dolphin because Spiller and Forte were gone. He's generally a strong starter to your fantasy season, though, so we made some plans to draft later in the year guys who may emerge as starters. We took Ahmad Bradshaw in the 6th round, Kareem Huggins in the 13th (did you see Derrick Ward was cut yesterday!?!), Rashad Jennings in the 16th, and if Dexter McCluster can be a RB for roster purposes (gotta ask Wingo), he's a flex option for sure - we got him in the 15th round.

WR- In a PPR league where you have to start 3 WRs and a FLEX each week, you can't have enough stud WRs to keep you competitive. We agreed that our first two picks should be stud WRs and we got just that in the first two rounds: Randy Moss and Austin Miles respectively. We took Derrick Mason in the 8th round - we both believe that the Baltimore offense will be improved in their 3rd down conversion rate with Boldin onboard. This will open up TD opportunities for everyone in the offense. We got Jerricho Cotchery in the 12th, Lance Moore in the 14th, and then our rookie sleeper Dexter McCluster in the 15th. We debated on Cotchery, but Philip convinced me he's going to catch 4-7 balls a game just to keep the chains moving. We went with Moore due to his health, very strong camp, and we're not buying into all of those WRs in New Orleans staying healthy all year long. When one of them misses time, here comes Lance Moore in the slot. McCluster was one of two sleeper players that I identified before the draft to take a chance on. He's going to line up all over the place, run reverses, catch passes, hopefully return punts as well. We love our WRs in the Maury Conklin Group.

TE- I really wanted to get a stud TE for our team, a guy that you just plug in and forget about him. So yeah, we overpaid for Antonio Gates in the 4th round, but who else is really going to catch TDs with VJack out of the picture? Malcom Floyd, sure, and maybe Naanee catches a few, but we really like Gates this year. When no one took a TE yet, and we're sitting there in the 4th round and have our #1 TE, one of three TEs to have over 1000yds receiving last year just sitting there? We had to grab him.

DST- We did it again - overpaid for a position, but saved ourselves some headaches on a week-to-week basis. We got our #1 (SF 49ers) and #2 (NY Jets) Defense/Special Teams in the 9th and 11th rounds. We shouldn't have to make any moves to fix our DST problems or pick up a DST unit for a particular matchup during the season. We just have to choose the better matchup for these two each week. And oh yeah, nobody can start the Jets or 49ers against us.

K- Matt Prater - yeah, he's a kicker and we got him in the last round, like everyone should.

32 Teams - DST Rankings

2010-09-01T09:32:00.001-04:00

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMs – 32 Teams Rankings – Tuesday, August 31, 2010

32 Ranking Team Name – (2009 Pos Rank – 2009 Fantasy Pts) 2010 Projection – ADP by round

1. DST1 San Francisco 49ers (4-134) 147.5 – 11th round
SAN FRANCISCO – Two big reasons that I have the 49ers as my #1 DST is their superiority on Special Teams and their division is easier to navigate than the Jets. They are also relatively healthy, with no major injuries to their starters (at the time of this writing). The return game ranks 2nd, the D-Line ranks 4th and their secondary ranks in the middle of the pack at 14. WRs Ted Ginn Jr. and rookie WR Kyle Williams will handle the Punt & Kick Return duties this season. Tougher opponents on their schedule include home games vs. NO, PHI, ARZ and road games @ CAR, GB, ARZ, SD

2. DST2 New York Jets (8-118) 137.5 – 8-9th round
NEW YORK JETS – It’s hard not to like the Jets DSTs, with the #1 ranked D-Line and Secondary. The real knock on them is the special teams, and while I like Mike Westhoff and he does a great job, he lacks the sheer numbers and bodies to be able to keep specialists on the roster. The Special Teams ranks 24th. Rookie CB Kyle Wilson figures prominently in the preseason story about this unit. He will start if there is no Revis, with Cromartie on the other side. It looks like a deal with Revis is happening soon, so Wilson can get back to returning punts. The team wants WR Brad Smith to be the main KR guy, but others like WR Jerricho Cotchery and Jim Leonhard will be back there when the weather is tough. They’re the “hands” team. Quality opponents on their schedule include home/away vs. MIA, NE, then home dates vs. BAL, MIN, GB, CIN and away @ PIT. Only 9 quality opponents make this an attractive unit as well as away games vs. CLE and DET in weeks 9-10.

3. DST3 Cincinnati Bengals (19-108) 135.5 – 15th round
CINCINNATI – I’m very high on this unit mainly because of balance: the D-Line is ranked 11th, Secondary ranked 9th, Special Teams ranked 6th. They are moving toward a multiple front defense to confuse offenses, they added Adam Pacman Jones to a very good secondary and it looks like he’s making the most of his opportunity as a nickel corner. A concern is the recent injury of S Gibril Wilson, and that would bump this unit down a bit for me if he were lost for the season. Chris Crocker and Robert Geathers are banged up right now, but otherwise the unit is relatively healthy. RB Bernard Scott is on kickoffs, with WR Andre Caldwell & Pacman Jones as the backups. WR Quan Cosby is fighting to make the roster as the KR specialist, with Jones and rookie WR Jordan Shipley as his main competition. Dave Rayner v. Mike Nugent is the kicking battle. The Bengals’ schedule includes home/away v. PIT & BAL, home vs. MIA, NO, SD and away @ NE, CAR, IND, NYJ. 11/16 quality opponents.

4. DST4 Philadelphia Eagles (2-160) 133.5 – 11th round
PHILADELPHIA – This group has a bunch of strong LBs, maybe the best of Andy Reid’s tenure as head coach. Akeem Jordan, Stewart Bradley and Ernie Sims may become household names in the City of Brotherly Shove before we know it. The strength of this DST is the D-Line and Special Teams, with the Secondary more in the middle of the pack – they finished as the #2 fantasy DST in 2009. Rookie additions at DE and S (Brandon Graham & Nate Allen) look to contribute right away, adding to a rotation of very capable guys. They could be the best fantasy defense out there, if it weren’t for their brutal schedule. Home and away games vs. all their division foes are brutal as none of the teams are pushovers, then tougher opponents include visits from GB, IND and MIN as well as road games @ SF and TEN. That’s 10 quality opponents out of 16 on their schedule, if you’re scoring at home. Kickoff returns will be handled by a DB – either Ellis Hobbs, Macho Harris, or Quinton Demps. Punts will be covered by WRs DeSean Jackson and/or Jeremy Maclin – Jason Avant has also been added to the mix, for depth purposes.

5. DST5 Baltimore Ravens (6-120) 130.5 – 11th round
BALTIMORE – If you draft the Ravens as your #1 DST, you will have some baggage that will come with it. A litany of injuries: CB Domonique Foxworth (torn ACL) is out for the year, Ed Reed could start the year on the PUP list & miss the first 6 weeks, rookie Sergio Kindle may miss the season due to a fractured skull, and Cary Williams is suspended for the first two games just to name a few obstacles to this unit being elite. They still have Ray Lewis, though, and Terrell Suggs is blowing everybody up that he sees. Dawan Landry and Tom Zbikowski are emerging leaders and a couple of hard-hitters from the safety positions. There is an interesting mix of young players with the old, and the front seven should be fine. It’s the CB position that is question at this point – monitor closely. They will still be a good defense, maybe not an elite one. Returning kicks are RB Jalen Parmele, CB Prince Miller, WR David Reed, S Tom Zbikowski, WRs Mark Clayton and Donte Stallworth. The D-Line is ranked 2nd, the secondary ranked 6th, but the special teams are ranked 25th in the league. Shayne Graham v. Billy Cundiff – the schedule includes home/away vs. PIT & CIN, then home vs. MIA & NO, away games @ NE, ATL, HOU – not a terrible schedule, really, which is why I have them in the top 5.

6. DST6 Green Bay Packers (3-143) 130 – 10th round
GREEN BAY – You wouldn’t know by looking at this unit in the wild card game vs. Arizona last year, but the Packers have a very highly ranked fantasy defense - #3 last season. They have a super talented OLB in Clay Matthews, although he’s going to miss a couple of weeks with a pulled hamstring. He should be fine once the season nears. Atari Bigby is nursing an injury as well, but the real concern is CB Al Harris’ knee – both started camp on the active PUP list, but Harris is a candidate for the inactive PUP and his status for Week 1 is in question. Having said that, the D-Line ranks 3rd in the league, the secondary 7th – the real struggle for this unit has been on Special Teams (ranked 26th). Return specialist CB Will Blackmon is still coming back from offseason knee surgery. WR Jordy Nelson has picked up the slack in his absence, but now there’s some competition: RB Brandon Jackson has been working on kickoffs as well as CB Tramon Williams, although he seems less likely to stick due to his defensive role. Two undrafted rookies have also been working on returns: RB Quinn Porter and CB Sam Shields, with Shields being the more heralded of the two. Quality opponents include home/away vs. the Vikings, road games @ PHI, WAS, NYJ, NE, and home games vs. DAL, SF, and NYG. (9 out of 16).

7. DST7 Dallas Cowboys (25-102) 129 – 12th round
DALLAS – Last season, the Cowboys did not allow a 100 yard rusher all year long. They had a slow start and a strong finish, from dealing the Saints their first loss in Week 15 into the playoffs. They finished as the 25th fantasy DST last year. They are an aggressive unit, led by DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer. Gone is Ken Hamlin and in is Alan Ball, the new starter at FS, who should bolster a big weakness in the secondary, ranked 25th in the league. The strength is up front on the D-line and in the LB corps (ranked 7th), with the Special Teams in the middle of the pack (15). The return game should get a boost from rookie WR Dez Bryant (when healthy) and the team likes what they see out of rookie CB Akwasi Owusu-Ansah (say that 5x fast), who’s recently recovered from shoulder surgery in March. In the meantime, it will be RB Felix Jones and WR Miles Austin on kickoffs and WR Patrick Crayton on punts. These regulars, however, probably won’t see much action in the preseason. Lesser names looking to make the team will be given most of the return duties in the first few games. Quality opponents on their schedule includes home/away games in their division – again, no pushovers there – home games vs. TEN, NO, and away games @ MIN, GB and IND (11/16 quality opponents).

8. DST8 Minnesota Vikings (12-115) 127.5 – 9th round
MINNESOTA – There were a lot of high expectations for this unit last season and they were mostly met, but fantasy-wise, they weren’t as effective down the stretch for the fantasy playoffs. A big factor was the loss of MLB EJ Henderson in Week 13. Well, the Vikings got some good news in that Henderson is back on the field less than 8 months after breaking his femur. He is being worked back in a rotation with Jasper Brinkley until he’s 100%. Another concern for the defense is the status of CB Cedric Griffin (torn ACL) – he’s on the PUP right now. They’re rotating Lito Sheppard, Asher Allen and rookie Chris Cook, who’s turned some heads in camp with 3 interceptions in one practice. As good as the pass rushing D-Line and LBs are, the secondary is in the bottom half of the league and the special teams rank among the league’s worst. I was surprised to read about the special teams because I thought Percy Harvin solved a fair bit of that last season. He’s had time off because of the death of his grandmother and he’s been bothered by migraines again. Harvin is the main Kick Returner and once he returns, they want to work him into the rotation for Punt Returns as well. The main PR is Darius Reynaud, who has a sprained ankle right now. There is also talk of WR Bernard Berrian fielding some punts as well. Guys you will see in preseason games on kickoffs and punts: WR Jaymar Johnson, WR Ray Small, RB Ian Johnson and RB Albert Young. Their schedule includes very strong road opponents. It’s a good thing Minnesota can run the ball. Away games @ NO, NYJ, GB, NE, WAS, and PHI – Home games vs. DAL, GB, ARI, NYG. If you believe in the Chicago Bears being more than what they were, you can have as many as 12 out of 16 quality opponents on the Vikings schedule this year.

9. DST9 Pittsburgh Steelers (20-108) 126.5 – 11th round
PITTSBURGH – I have the Steelers ranked 9th overall based on their schedule, overall health of the unit and the healthy return of Troy Polamalu. Ziggy Hood has been the early talk of camp, DC Dick LeBeau’s induction into the Hall of Fame last week, and now it’s more focused on Polamalu and what the defense is actually doing. Last season, the Steelers found a return specialist in RB Stefan Logan, but he’s being pushed by rookie WRs Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown, who have both showed enough speed & ability on returns to make Logan a camp casualty – stay tuned. The schedule includes home/away v. BAL & CIN, then home dates v. ATL, NE, NYJ and away @ TEN, MIA & HOU. They will miss Roethlisberger for the first 4 weeks, but this defense may take that as a challenge to take matters into their own hands and get out to a stingy start: ATL, @TEN, @TB, BAL are the first 4 opponents.

10. DST10 New York Giants (21-105) 125 – 16th round
NEW YORK GIANTS – I probably should have the Giants ranked a little lower than #10 since their neither the D-Line, LBs, secondary, nor the Special Teams rank in the top 15 in any category. I am putting this ranking on the overall health of the unit, new DC Perry Fewell, and the favorable non-divisional schedule they have. Kenny Phillips is back, which is the biggest news for Big Blue. He’s not 100% yet and they are working him back slowly, but when he is back at Safety, there is more success for the defense as a whole. The additions of Keith Bulluck and Antrel Rolle give this unit more accountability, something that was horribly missing last season. Perry Fewell has been experimenting with formations and position changes for players (Kiwanuka & Chris Canty at OLB, Dave Tollefson at LB, etc.), as well as D-linemen intentionally not putting a hand on the ground at times to give the offense a different look. He’s more vocal than Bill Sheridan, and he seems to have the players’ attention. The schedule, even though it includes away/home vs. the NFC East only has 4 other quality opponents: @IND, TEN, @MIN, @GB. An issue that will need to be resolved is the loss of return specialist WR Domenick Hixon, then his possible replacement Chad Jones was in a car accident, leaving who to return kicks and punts? CB Aaron Ross, WR Mario Manningham, RB Danny Ware, and WR Sinorice Moss will all see time on return duty this preseason. We’ll see how it shakes out.

11. DST11 New Orleans Saints (1-168) 123.5 – 14-15th round
NEW ORLEANS – The Saints scored 9 DST touchdowns and had double digit fantasy points in ten games last season. Now, it’s not possible to predict that many TDs again, the unit remains mostly in tact with the re-signing of Darren Sharper, who recently came off the active/PUP list. It’s the loss of LB Scott Fujita they may feel more, as Clint Ingram (knee injury) has been mostly a disappointment as his replacement. The Saints will address the LB situation with more of a committee approach. The Saints’ D-Line ranks 8th, the secondary 3rd, and the special teams are middle of the pack at 17. Courtney Roby is the main KR, along with Rod Harper, who also sees time on punt returns. RB Reggie Bush, WR Lance Moore and DB Tracy Porter are the punt returners. The schedule is tough – duh, they won the Super Bowl – with several tough away games @ SF, ARI, DAL, CIN, BAL and visits from MIN on opening night and PIT after Roethlisberger is back. These are on top of the NFC South home/away schedule. The Saints traditionally have had a hard time with the Bucs, of all teams, and there has never been a repeat winner of the NFC South since the division was formed.

12. DST18 San Diego Chargers (10-116) 121.5 – 20th round
SAN DIEGO – The Chargers have the easiest Strength of Schedule in the NFL this year, with a strong start for all players on offense expected. The same should go for the defense, although the D-Line is ranked 25th and the 16th ranked secondary lost starting CB Antonio Cromartie to the Jets. The real value is the 9th ranked Special Teams on this unit – RB Darren Sproles (nursing a bum shoulder right now) is an excellent return specialist and he does a good job on 3rd downs in the offense as well. They have home games v. ARI, NE, TEN, SF and away games @INDY & CIN. If you count DEN as a quality opponent in their division as well as ARI, that’s 8/16 quality opponents – easily the least on this list.

13. DST13 New England Patriots (22-105) 121 – 17th round
NEW ENGLAND – The Pats are really focused on improving on defense and running the football this preseason. Injuries have slowed some of the progress, with Ty Warren out for the year, CB Leigh Bodden’s knee, and Derrick Burgess’ late report to camp. They’re really high on ILB Brandon Spikes and see big things for him and Pat Chung appears to be in the lead for the starting SS job. Rookie P Zoltan Mesko may be the biggest improvement on special teams. He landed all 5 of his punts inside the 20 vs. the Saints. NE likes to use multiple return men, but here are the main players: WR Brandon Tate, WR Julian Edelman – Maroney, Faulk, Welker, Morris, rookie WR Taylor Price can also see time in addition to guys from the secondary. Their schedule includes home/away vs. MIA, NYJ, then visits from CIN, BAL, MIN, IND, GB and away games @ SD & PIT. 11/16 quality opponents – many of them at home, though.

14. DST14 Indianapolis Colts (24-102) 119.5 – 17-18th round
INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts aren’t a great defense, but they’re not the worst either. They ranked in the middle in all categories last year: 15th D-Line, 12th in the Secondary, and 13th in Special Teams. They’re hopeful about the health and availability of S Bob Sanders (again) this year. He’s looked excellent in camp and appears to be healthy and ready to play. He’s missed so many games throughout his career, though, that it’s hard for me to be as optimistic. If he plays, then there will be an adjustment period since they’re not used to playing with him. The real concern seems to be that they’re hemorrhaging points in the preseason, not playing physical. My sneaking suspicion is that they’re saving it up for the regular season, but it’s cause for concern. The KR/PR duties will be handled by a combination of players: WR Brandon James, DB Ray Fisher, and RB Devin Moore. The schedule for the Colts is no walk in the park: home/away v. TEN, HOU, then home vs. NYG, CIN, SD, DAL and away games @WAS, PHI, NE. 11/16 quality opponents, and possibly a fair amount of them being shootouts for Manning & Co.

15. DST15 Chicago Bears (15-110) 117 – 15th round
CHICAGO – The biggest news for the Bears defensively is the FA addition of Julius Peppers, who for all the talk about his reputation for not giving full effort, has been a model player for Chicago thus far. There is competition all over the defense and DC Rod Marinelli has been pleased with what he’s seen thus far. A valid question about this defense is the pressure applied by the offense’s ability (or inability) to create first downs and stay on the field. If they score as quickly as Mike Martz would like, the defense cannot get a rest, and if they are ineffective, they cannot get a rest. It’s a balancing act that remains to be seen. The real value on this DST may be the Special Teams – ranked #1 last season, even though Devin Hester wasn’t the featured return man. WR Earl Bennett and WR Johnny Knox will share the load along with DB Danieal Manning, with Hester and WR Rashied Davis (if he makes the final roster) available for spot duty.

16. DST16 Carolina Panthers (11-115) 115 – 21st round
CAROLINA – Gone is Julius Peppers, and one can wonder where the pass rush will come from in Carolina this season. Injuries have depleted the D-Line: Louis Leonard is on the PUP list with an injured knee, and Tank Tyler is recovering from a knee injury he suffered in Week 12 last year. The LBs are being reshuffled: Jon Beason is being moved from MLB while Thomas Davis is completing his recovering from a second ACL injury. There have also been a rash of injuries that have slowed the defense’s progress at the start of camp. The strength of this unit is the 4th ranked secondary, though, and they will have to be sharp as 4 of the first 5 teams they play have strong passing offenses. The punt and kick return duties will be handled by any combination of players, as there is open competition for all slots. Here are the possible return men, by position, in no particular order: WRs Kenneth Moore, Dexter Jackson, rookie WRs Armanti Edwards, Trent Guy, RBs Tyrell Sutton, Mike Goodson, CBs Captain Munnerlyn, Brian Witherspoon, and rookie CB Robert McClain. The schedule includes home/away vs. NO, ATL as well as home games vs. CIN, SF, BAL, ART and away games @NYG and PIT. 10/16 quality opponents.

17. DST17 Houston Texans (16-110) 115 – 21st round
HOUSTON – The Texans have built their team around defense and in the game v. the Cowboys over the weekend, they showed their promise. Mario Williams was a force and seems fully recovered from a hip injury that kept him out earlier in the preseason. The LBs and secondary were running to the football, and frankly, they looked more physical than the Cowboys. This unit will miss LB Brian Cushing for the first four games of the regular season due to violation of the league’s banned substances policy. The team appealed the suspension, but it was upheld by the commissioner. It may cost him his Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Stay tuned. The DLine is ranked 9th, the secondary is ranked 11th (although they lost Dunta Robinson), but the special teams is ranked 28th. The Texans were hopeful that WR Trindon Holiday could be their return specialist, but he was lost for the season after suffering ligament damage to his thumb. WR Jacoby Jones may have to resume PR/KR duties, but he’s the #2 WR. WR Andre Davis, CB Brice McCain, and FB Vonta Leach are still in the mix for return duties. The schedule includes home/away vs. IND, TEN, then home games vs. DAL, NYG, SD, BAL and away games @WAS & NYJ. 10/16 quality opponents.

18. DST18 Denver Broncos (5-123) 112.5 – 15th round
DENVER– The biggest disappointment is the loss of OLB Elvis Dumervil, the main pass rusher of the group. They’re hoping that if all goes perfectly with his rehab that he can be back in December – highly optimistic thinking, I’d say. The Broncos couldn’t stop the run last year, so they revamped their D-Line, ranked 16th in the league last year. The secondary is a top ten unit, anchored by Champ Bailey and last year’s addition S Brian Dawkins. The special teams are a strength (ranked 7th), and along with the schedule, are the only reason to draft this DST. Eddie Royal was the main KR/PR last year, but the team is hoping that CB Perrish Cox can assume that role. If he can’t, then Royal can do it again, but with more of a committee approach with WR Kenny McKinley & CB Alphonso Smith. Their schedule isn’t bad, mainly because of their division. Home/away vs. SD, home dates v. IND, NYJ and away @ BAL, SF, ARI.

19. DST19 Miami Dolphins (18-109) 110 – 18-19th round
MIAMI – The biggest addition to the Dolphins defense has to be ILB Karlos Dansby. In fact, the LB group as a whole has experienced the biggest upgrades this offseason, as they are very high on rookie OLB Koa Misi as well. Rookie DL Jared Odrick is fitting in nicely along the D-Line, where there will be a rotation including Charles Grant and Marques Douglas. The Fish have lost DL Phillip Merling and LB AJ Edds for the season and CB Will Allen just got his knee scoped, so they are looking for guys to step in and make plays. The secondary is a real mess, ranked 31st last year, the real strength is on special teams. WR Davone Bess is the main return guy, but now he’s being pushed by WR Brian Hartline and Ryan Grice-Mullen. Other guys are getting a shot to return as well. We’ll let you know if anyone stands out. Miami’s schedule includes home/away vs. NE, NYJ, then home games vs. TEN & PIT, away @ MIN, GB, CIN & BAL. 10/16 quality opponents.

20. DST20 Tennessee Titans (17-110) 107.5 – 18th round
TENNESSEE – The Titans D had real issues in the secondary last season and need CB Cortland Finnegan to be healthy for this unit to rank better than 28th in the league. The strength of the defense is the D-Line, even though they’ve lost Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosh over the past few years, they haven’t skipped a beat and have gotten younger in the process. The Special Teams are a bit of a mess, though, ranked 31st in the league, and they’re trying all kinds of guys on kickoffs and punts – too many to mention here. Keep an eye on the box scores if you’re in a league that rewards kick/punt return yardage to see if one of the offensive skill players emerges, making them more valuable. Their schedule includes home/away vs. IND, HOU, then home dates vs. PIT, PHI, WAS and away games @NYG, DAL, SD, MIA – 11/16 quality opponents.

21. DST21 Washington Redskins (30-74) 106 – 21st round
WASHINGTON – The Redskins could be a sleeper DST in fantasy this year. The offense should be improved and with all the talent that Washington has gathered over the years will be utilized differently under new DC Jim Haslett and the switch to his 3-4 scheme. The story has been Albert Haynesworth and the conditioning test, but really, the story should be how the defense is ahead of the offense in camp. If Haynesworth, Maake Kemoeatu and Adam Carriker can get it together, this would be a strong front against the run, to be sure. The LBs should benefit from a step forward by Brian Orakpo and the potential for a strong year from Andre Carter making the switch from DE. The secondary is bolstered by DeAngelo Hall and LaRon Landry, and London Fletcher is the underrated LB on the defense. This group is deep, overall, in drafted talent. The return guys are WR Devin Thomas on kickoffs and CB Philip Buchanon on punts. Two rookies will get a shot at displacing them: WR Terrence Austin and WR Brandon Banks. Many others are also competing, but these are the main players thus far. Out of all the teams in the NFC East, the Redskins have the easiest schedule – they play home/away vs. the divisional foes, then home dates vs. GB, IND, MIN and a road game vs. TEN (10/16 quality opponents).

22. DST22 Buffalo Bills (13-112) 102.5 – 21st round
BUFFALO – This unit could be a sleeper if the whole team was better, but the offense may put the defense in some tough spots this season. They’re switching to a 3-4 scheme in Buffalo, they lost Aaron Schobel (released and will either retire or sign with the Texans, it seems), but there is optimism that this group could stop the run better than last season. The secondary is top notch, ranked 2nd and the special teams are excellent as well, ranked 3rd. It’s the 21st ranked D-Line that is troubling. OLB Aaron Maybin is a focal point this preseason, taking the next step to being more of a pass rushing force, something that this defense sorely lacked last year. The Bills have some excellent returners: CB Leodis McKelvin, Fred Jackson (when healthy), CJ Spiller, RB Chad Simpson, WR Chad Jackson and last but not least WR Roscoe Parrish, now out of the doghouse to try and gain back his role as the main PR option. The schedule includes home/away vs. the AFC East, then home vs. PIT, road games @ GB, BAL, CIN & MIN will be tough ones. 11/16 quality opponents, with 7 of them on the road…ouch.

23. DST23 Arizona Cardinals (7-119) 102 – 20th round
ARIZONA – The Cardinals lost LB Karlos Dansby (Miami) and DB Antrel Rolle (NYG) in free agency, which will hurt this unit. All the Cardinals picks are signed, now that rookie 1st rounder NT Dan Williams is in camp. They have high hopes for the rookie to stuff the run and play in the middle between Darnell Dockett and Calais Campbell. The secondary was torched by the Packers in the playoffs, but they escaped that game with an OT victory. They added Kerry Rhodes (Jets) to help out Antonio Rogers-Cromartie. The special teams are a strength of this unit, ranked #10 in the league. RB LaRod Stephens-Howling is the primary KR option, and WR Andre Roberts is the favorite to win the PR job. Arizona would like Steve Breaston to concentrate on being a starting WR rather than get knocked around on special teams, which is understandable. The schedule is favorable, due to weaker opponents in the division. Only 6 quality opponents, by my count: Away games @ SD, MIN, SF and home games vs. NO, SF and DAL.

24. DST24 Tampa Bay Bucs (9-116) 101.5 – 20th round
TAMPA BAY – The youth movement that is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continues with the drafting of DTs Gerald McCoy and Brian Price, but they otherwise stood pat on a unit that was worst in the NFL stopping the run last season. The D-Line is ranked 31st, the secondary 13th, but the real strength is on special teams, ranked 5th in the league. The return game missed RB Clifton Smith, who was plagued by concussions last season. WR Sammie Stroughter stepped in and did well, until he broke his foot. Then, WR Micheal Spurlock was brought back to finish the year. Smith is the favorite to retain his job, with Stroughter as the backup and starting slot receiver. The schedule is a tale of two cities: easier at home, brutal on the road. In addition to the home/away schedule vs. the NFC South, the Bucs will play @ CIN, ARI, SF, BAL, WAS and host PIT without Roethlisberger.

25. DST25 Kansas City Chiefs (14-111) 98.5 – 21st round
KANSAS CITY – The Chiefs have a tough time stopping the run and generating consistent pressure on the QB. Both of those situations don’t point to a great deal of success on defense. The D-Line is ranked last in the league. However, the secondary is stellar, ranked 8th in the league. The special teams are also very good, ranked 11th. There has been a real effort to shore up the LB group this preseason. With LB Derrick Johnson in Coach Haley’s doghouse, though, it doesn’t make sense how that’s supposed to help. The return roles are pretty clear: rookie CB Javier Arenas is the return specialist on kickoffs and punts. It’s unclear when rookie WR Dexter McCluster will join Arenas on punts, as was the plan when they were both drafted. The Chiefs schedule includes home/away v. SD, DEN, then home games vs. SF, ARI, TEN and an away game @ HOU. A weak overall schedule, but if you can’t stop the run…??? 8/16 quality opponents.

26. DST26 Cleveland Browns (23-104) 97 – waiver wire
CLEVELAND – The Browns added a lot of bodies to the defense in the offseason, looking to improve: Start-worthy additions include S TJ Ward and CB Joe Haden who were added through the draft, they also signed OLB Scott Fujita as a free agent. The Browns are still waiting for DL Shaun Rogers to be healthy enough to participate in camp – they want to move him around on the line to create favorable matchups and improve the pass rush. He’s expected to be ready for Week 1. The team is set with WR Josh Cribbs at KR/PR/RB/QB – he’s the top returner in the league. But who would spell him if he were injured or couldn’t be on the field for some reason? The backups are WR Syndric Steptoe and CB Gerard Lawson, and the Browns are trying out other options in the preseason as well. The schedule is absolutely brutal, mainly because of the home/away games vs. BAL, PIT & CIN, add to those six home games vs. ATL, NE, NYJ, CAR and away @ NO & MIA and that equals 12/16 quality opponents for the Browns.

27. DST27 Atlanta Falcons (26-102) 95.5 – 21st round
ATLANTA – Perhaps you could use the Falcons DST as a bye week replacement if things work out right for them as the season goes on. Right now, they are pretty good against the run, but they got killed with the pass most of last season. They signed Dunta Robinson to help shore up the pass, drafted OLB Sean Weatherspoon and DT Corey Peters to stuff the run, and John Abraham has participated in an offseason program (Bommarito Performance Systems in SoFla) to improve his pass rush and overall performance. If they can add some speed in the return game and all of the above breaks just right, then the Falcons can be much more effective on defense and worth picking up for more than just that matchup vs. CLE, TB or SEA. After injuries to RB Jerious Norwood and WR Harry Douglas last year, WR Eric Weems stepped in to fill the void in the return game. Neither Norwood nor Douglas are healthy enough right now to take the job away from Weems, but rookie CB Dominique Franks is challenging for the job. There are others with return experience who will appear in the preseason, but Franks seems to be the main competition. The schedule doesn’t do the Falcons any favors, save for the tougher non-divisional matchups are at home vs. ARI, SF, CIN, BAL, GB, then road games @ PIT & PHI – add NO & CAR home/away to the list and that’s 11/16 quality opponents for Atlanta this year.

28. DST28 Oakland Raiders (29-77) 92.5 – 21st roundOAKLAND – The Raiders were 7th in pass defense last year, so that is a positive for this group. There’s a new DC in town as well. John Marshall’s system is a read and react defense. Additionally, CB Nnamdi Asomugha has lobbied to play against the #1 WR no matter where he lines up rather than just play on one side. Is he looking to start his own “Asomugha Land” like “Revis Island”? Either way, it’s a positive sign that he’s motivated and wants to make plays. The Raiders were horrible against the run last year, though, so there are wholesale changes afoot in Oakland that are cause for optimism in the East Bay Area. DL Richard Seymour was brought in not just for his ability, but for his leadership, add a bunch of draft picks on defense and this unit has a chance to be improved up the middle. A lot is going to be expected of MLB Rolando McClain to stop the run this year. At best, they are backup DST – at worst they are the 28th ranked DST as I have them. It wouldn’t surprise me, though, to see the Raiders and Broncos switch places on this list by the end of the year. Rock Cartwright and Johnnie Lee Higgins are slated to handle most of the return duties. The Raiders want WR Jacoby Ford to be a return specialist, but injuries are holding him back this preseason. Their schedule features home/away vs. SD, DEN, then home games vs. HOU, MIA, IND and away games @ TEN, ARI, SF, PIT. 11/16 quality opponents.

29. DST29 Seattle Seahawks (28-92) 91 – 21st round
SEATTLE – It’s tough to get excited about the Seahawks defense as a fantasy prospect, but they do play in the NFC West and generally play well vs. the Rams twice a season. There are talented players like Marcus Trufant (who has been resurgent to his 2007 form in camp right now), Aaron Curry, Jordan Babineaux, Lofa Tatupu and rookie Earl Thomas on the roster. We just don’t know what to expect from this unit under the new coaching staff, save for they will struggle. DC Casey Bradley is in his 2nd year in Seattle, so there is continuity of coaching on this side of the football. The special teams unit is in search of a long snapper. After several guys have come through and either got injured or just didn’t stick. They recently picked up Clint Gresham off waivers from the Saints. The return duties have been divided up between rookie WR Golden Tate, RBs Leon Washington, Justin Forsett, CBs Josh Wilson and rookie CB Walter Thurmond. Whoever earns the PR and KR roles will depend on workload and health factors. The schedule has only 7 quality opponents: home vs. SF, ARI, NYG and away @ SF, ARI, SD and NO.

30. DST30 St. Louis Rams (31-69) 87.5 – waiver wire
ST. LOUIS – I have looked at the schedule for at least the past three years to see who is playing against STL in the fantasy playoffs and have targeted players based on those matchups. This year really isn’t any different, save for they might move the ball a little better on offense. Steve Spagnuolo may be a great defensive coach, but he needs more talent. And aside from James Laurinaitis, Oshiomogho Atogwe and Chris Long, the Rams need work on defense. They were also hit with a rash of injuries last week, which doesn’t help, but nothing was of the season-ending variety. The special teams are a strength, with WR Danny Amendola emerging last season as the return specialist. The Rams drafted WR Mardy Gilyard and he will push for time as a return man, as soon as he heals from a wrist injury sustained over the weekend. The schedule, aside from NFC West foes, has 3 quality opponents: WAS & SD at home, NO on the road.

31. DST31 Jacksonville Jaguars (32-64) 86.5 – waiver wire
JACKSONVILLE – The Jags lack a pass rush and there are questions in the secondary. They signed Aaron Kampman to shore up the D-Line, and he’s in the rotation after recovering from ACL surgery. CB Rashean Mathis wants a new contract and he’s missed practices to express his disappointment. The team needs his leadership, though, and so hopefully something will get worked out either before or during the season. Rookie CB Scotty McGee will be the punt returner and rookie RB Deji Karim will be the kickoff returner. I wouldn’t expect too much from the Jags this season. They have home/away vs. IND, TEN, HOU – home games vs. PHI, WAS, and road games @DAL, NYG. Leave them on the waiver wire.

32. DST32 Detroit Lions (22-53) 85 – waiver wire
DETROIT – The Lions are expected to do better this season. They’ve made efforts to improve their D-Line by signing Kyle Vanden Bosch and drafting Ndamukong Suh. If successful, the stronger pass rush should take some pressure off the porous secondary, ranked 32nd in the league. The special teams are improved, although there’s a shakeup in who will be returning punts and kicks this year. WR Derrick Williams was drafted to be the specialist last year, but it never materialized. He’ll get another shot this year, and several players will join in. On kickoffs: RBs Aaron Brown and Jahvid Best, and on punts WR Tim Toone. If Dennis Northcutt and/or Nate Burleson see any work with the return teams in August should be monitored. The schedule is forgiving, though, not as much as the Rams’ schedule because of the strength of divisional opponents. In addition to playing home/away vs. the NFC North, the Lions will host PHI & WAS, and play @ NYG & DAL. 10/16 quality opponents on the schedule…ouch.

32 TEAMS live on cbs radio online

2010-08-17T18:38:00.000-04:00

32 TEAMS - we'll be covering the Defense/Special Teams for the NFC teams, chatting Fantasy Football with Olden Polynice and looking to hear from Vikings TE Visanthe Shiancoe...tune in tonight - live at 7:05PM ET!

Live Streaming by Ustream.TV">

32 Teams PODCAST link & Stats reminder

2010-08-15T09:49:00.003-04:00

Chat-About-It is powered by CBS Radio. Recently, there has been a merging of all the CBS entities on the web. This caused a disruption in our podcasts being available for download from the new site. Here is the URL for the podcasts for you to cut and paste into your browser...

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/audio-on-demand/chat-about-it-shows/

We will cover NFC Defense/Special Teams units this Tuesday, August 17th. And just a reminder about all the statistics, ADP rounds, etc. on this blog: they are calculated for a 12 team redraft league. So, make adjustments for 10 team, PPR, dynasty, keeper leagues accordingly.

32 Teams joins the Buffalo Wild Wings Fantasy Football League

2010-08-12T22:07:00.003-04:00

We are pleased to announce that 32 TEAMS - The Real Fantasy Football Show is one of twelve bloggers/websites represented in the Buffalo Wild Wings Fantasy Football League. The league includes an NFL Pick'em contest as well as fantasy match-ups every week of the NFL season. We're looking forward to interviewing and beating our commissioner Trey Wingo from ESPN and as many of the bloggers we can on our way to Pasadena for the the grand prize of participating in the Pick'em Challenge Flag Football Game.

Check out the Buffalo Wild Wings site at http://ff.buffalowildwings.com/ - we will be contributing to the content of that site as well as here on our own blog.

Root on a couple of regular guys who talk football vs. bloggers who have been at it for a lot longer than we have.

TEs - 32 Teams Rankings

2010-08-11T06:23:00.001-04:00

TEs – 32 Teams Rankings – Tuesday, August 10, 2010

32 Ranking Pos Rank – Player Name – (2009 Pos Rank – 2009 Fantasy Pts) 2010 Projection – ADP by round

1. TE1 Antonio Gates (3-163) 146 – 3-4th round
SAN DIEGO – Antonio Gates was one of three TEs with over 1000 yds receiving last year. He only had 8 TDs, which is low for him, otherwise he would’ve finished as the top fantasy TE. Instead, he finished 3rd. This year should be even better for Gates, especially in the red zone, where his targets should go up.

2. TE2 Dallas Clark (2-171) 139 – 2-3rd round
INDIANAPOLIS – Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne each accounted for 100 receptions and 10 TDs in 2009. Clark has improved in receptions and yards in each of the last four years, culminating in a career best finish that ranked him 2nd among all TEs last year. There’s not much to criticize about him as a player – pencil him in for 80-90 catches, 1000 yards and a top 3 finish among TEs. The other TEs are Gijon Robinson, Tom Santi, and Jacob Tamme.

3. TE3 Vernon Davis (1-174) 138– 4th round
SAN FRANCISCO – Vernon Davis finished as the #1 fantasy TE last season. Mike Martz was gone, Davis was healthy and was the beneficiary of 14 TD catches. It’s easy to see that 4-6 of those TDs could be Crabtree’s this year, which brings Davis’ ceiling down as a fantasy prospect. Still, though, he will be a very good option for your team, barring injury, of course. Delanie Walker is the backup.

4. TE4 Jason Witten (8-115) 135 – 4th round
DALLAS – Jason Witten was the 1st and 2nd best fantasy TE in 2007 and 2008, respectively, and last year finished 8th as he only caught 2 TDs all year. The Cowboys have focused on redzone production this offseason and want to get back to Witten, which could mean a return to his earlier stats. The backup is Martellus Bennett, who the team likes, but he’s been inconsistent.

5. TE5 Jermichael Finley (13-95) 133 – 4th round
GREEN BAY – IF he can stay healthy, Jermichael Finley can be a fine TE1 on your fantasy team. If not, then you’ll be mad that you had to take him so high in your draft. The image of Finley dominating in the playoffs left an indelible imprint on his fantasy value, but apparently his knee injury from October of last year did too, as he is still experiencing tendonitis in that same knee. There are also several other receiving options on the Packers, which would make for competition for targets. The other TEs on the roster: Donald Lee & Spencer Havner, both of whom we’re spot starters when Finley was injured.

6. TE6 Tony Gonzalez (5-122) 120 – 5th round
ATLANTA – Tony Gonzalez had his worst season since 2002, with135 targets for 83recps. 867yds. and 6TDS, however he was the TE with the most targets in the red zone (25). While he’s not the elite guy he once was, he should be able to put a nice year together for your fantasy team and get back over 1000 yds receiving again.

7. TE7 Kellen Winslow Jr. (7-118) 115 – 7-8th round
TAMPA BAY – Kellen Winslow finished seventh among fantasy tight ends with 884 yards and 5 touchdowns on 77 catches. He was the team's most reliable receiver and was fairly consistent all season, with six games of 75 yards or more. There are concerns about his right knee that has been operated on 5 times, with another procedure this offseason. Also, he has yet to catch a TD from Josh Freeman, but that should change relatively early with Josh as the full time starter. The main backup is Jerramy Stevens.

8. TE8 Brent Celek (4-145) 111 – 5-6th round
PHILADELPHIA – Brent Celek burst up to elite TE status when Cornelius Ingram went down with a season ending ACL injury last year, leaving Celek as the full-time TE. The plan was for them to share the TE targets last year and that may be the case this year. However, that plan could be changed because of Celek’s success and Ingram’s knee is still not 100%. Celek and Kevin Kolb are roommates and good friends off the field – don’t discount that chemistry and trust, even though I’d feel more confident about Celek if McNabb was around. Rookie Clay Harbor was drafted to provide depth and will compete with Ingram for the backup spot.

9. TE9 Zach Miller (12-98) 108 – 9th round
OAKLAND – Zach Miller led all Raider receivers in catches, yards, and touchdowns last season. He and McFadden were the top receiving options. This should only be enhanced with Jason Campbell under center, attending practices, working out, participating as a professional football player. I feel that Miller could be a viable starting TE option this year given the history Campbell had with Cooley and Fred Davis last season.

10. TE10 Owen Daniels (17-81) 106 – 7th round
HOUSTON – Owen Daniels had 78 fantasy points through 8 games before going down with an ACL injury last November. He was having a monster season and would’ve projected to be the #1 fantasy TE (156 pts) if he could’ve kept up this pace. Now, he’s not expected back from injury until Week 1, possibly the last week of the preseason at the earliest. This tempers the fantasy forecast for him, with a slow start expected. And, oh yeah, Daniels is in a contract year. Who gets the snaps in his absence? Joel Dreessen, who’s more of a blocker, but filled in nicely last year. James Casey, who saw limited time last year and shows promise this offseason now that he’s solely focused on playing TE. The Texans drafted a rookie TE in the fourth round as insurance: Garrett Graham **sleeper alert**– he’s more of a dynasty prospect should Daniels move on to another team at the end of the season. They both went to Wisconsin, btw.

11. TE11 Heath Miller (9-114) 106 – 12th round
PITTSBURGH – When Heath Miller came into the NFL, one of the owners in my dynasty league drafted him too high thinking I wanted him on my team just because we had the same first name. I didn’t. He should benefit from the absence of Santonio Holmes, believe it or not, and either Leftwich or Dixon will be happy to have him as a checkdown option. 60-70 receptions and 700 yards are not out of the question for Heath – not bad for a 12th round pick, huh? Matt Spaeth is the backup here – the other two guys are blockers in the run game.

12. TE12 Visanthe Shiancoe (6-122) 102 – 8-9th round
MINNESOTA – Last year, Visanthe Shiancoe joined a list of fantasy TEs brought to prominence by the fact that Brett Favre likes to target TEs in the red zone. Shiancoe caught 11 TDs with over 500 yards last year and showed consistent hands all year. As long as Favre comes back, those numbers should be about the same, red zone targets and all. It’s tough to count on TD production year-to-year, though, so think more around 7-8 TDs instead of 11. Jim Kleinsasser is the backup.

13. TE13 Chris Cooley (26-43) 95 – 9th round
TE21 Fred Davis (16-86) 65 – 19th round **value pick**
WASHINGTON – Chris Cooley has five seasons with at least 700 yards and four seasons with at least six scores -- none of them with a strong fantasy producer at quarterback. Even with third-year talent Fred Davis flashing his potential after Cooley missed nine games last year with an ankle injury, Cooley will remain a significant part of the offense. His RAC abilities and consistent production can’t be ignored. Fred Davis may be the 2nd best receiving option on the team behind Santana Moss and he showed lots of ability when Cooley was out last year, so expect more 2 TE sets to get the better receivers on the field.

14. TE14 John Carlson (11-99) 90 – 11th round
SEATTLE – John Carlson started last year off with a bang (21 fantasy pts), then saw mediocre stats for several weeks as he was kept in to block with injuries to the O-line, and then came on late toward the fantasy playoffs. The new regime in Seattle likes to run 2 TE sets, and with Chris Baker as the blocking TE, this will free up Carlson to catch some passes. He has the upside to crack the top ten TEs this year, provided Hasselbeck and the O-line can stay healthy.

15. TE15 Dustin Keller (20-64) 74 – 11th round
NEW YORK JETS – Everyone in NYC is gaga over Dustin Keller’s production late last season and into the playoffs, but the breakout season that people predicted for him in 2009 never really materialized. He finished as the 20th fantasy TE for only 64 pts and his targets went up by only 4 for the season. If he’s going to breakout, the coaching staff needs to call his number more, and with all the new receiving options on the Jets (which includes Tomlinson out of the backfield too, a new thing for Gang Green), I don’t see it happening. Ben Hartsock is the other TE on the roster – dude is a mean blocker. If Keller goes down with injury, they will go outside the organization to replace him as a receiver.

16. TE16 Kevin Boss (15-87) 70 – 15th round
NEW YORK GIANTS – Kevin Boss is coming off his best season in his 4 year career (42 rec, 567yds, 5tds), but he also had offseason ankle surgery that may slow him down in training camp. He should be fine by the beginning of the regular season. Second year TE Travis Beckum will get the majority of reps in Boss’ absence (both of these guys are hurt right now, though). The Giants like his potential, but he’s yet to show the consistency & promise he showed in college at the pro level.

17. TE17 Jeremy Shockey (18-74) 57 – 13th round
NEW ORLEANS – Jeremy Shockey has an injury history and he’s not at all expected to play a full 16 game season. He’s had an apparent seizure during minicamp, then a back injury and most recently a sore knee. His injuries are making the way for rookie and former UM basketball standout **Jimmy Graham**sleeper alert** and David Thomas (not the Wendy’s guy) to stand out. Graham seems to be the long-term replacement and Thomas has filled in admirably when called upon.

18. TE18 Greg Olsen (10-109) 55 – 12-13th round
CHICAGO – Greg Olsen seems to have the most to lose in terms of fantasy value in the Mike Martz offense. Take a look at Vernon Davis’ year under Martz (31 rec, 358 yds, 2tds = 52 fantasy pts) and that’s what we might expect from Olsen. I would give him a little more just in case he lines up wide in the preseason. I’ll be avoiding the former UM TE in all formats, just as Martz’ offensive system does. The rest of the TEs are blockers mainly, and therefore useless on your fantasy team.

19. TE19 Tony Scheffler (22-53) 55 – 18th round
TE24 Brandon Pettigrew (24-47) 50 – 19th round
DETROIT – It’s not 100% clear how the Lions plan to use Tony Scheffler and Brandon Pettigrew this season. Pettigrew was showing good chemistry with Matt Stafford but then missed the last 5 games with a knee injury. He still finished as the 24th ranked WR in fantasy. Then, Detroit went out and got Tony Scheffler. Now, they say he’ll be used more as a WR, but with Pettigrew being the better blocker, why do I see a split workload here in two TE sets? You can take a flyer on one of these guys as a backup TE on your roster, but I wouldn’t count on either as your #1 starter.

20. TE20 Todd Heap (25-126) 57 – 18th round
BALTIMORE – Todd Heap played 16 games for the second year in a row and caught 53 passes for 593 yards and six touchdowns – his best year to date. His reward? The Ravens drafted two TEs to replace him and added more receiving options for Joe Flacco to limit his targets. This will be the last season we are talking about Heap as a top 25 TE in fantasy. Who are the rookies? Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson – Pitta seems to be the better pass catcher, but let’s see who can block AND catch passes. The Ravens are known to run the football just a little bit, don’t ya know?

21. TE25 Anthony Fasano (30-41) 55 – 21st round
MIAMI – In my redraft league last season, someone took Anthony Fasano in the 7th round – my jaw dropped and then one of the other owners berated and mocked the guy who made the pick, who was “rewarded” with 41 points and the 30th fantasy TE in a round where he could’ve picked Ray Rice….Ouch! Temper your enthusiasm for Fasano in this, his contract year, and leave him undrafted. While he’s a good option as a bye week fill-in, figure he should be on and off the waiver wire should you need him. The other TE in Miami is Joey Haynos, who has a massive wingspan and jumping ability. Good for you if you can figure out which game they’ll feature his skills in the redzone for the two fantasy relevant days he’ll have this upcoming season.

22. TE22 Bo Scaife (24-48) 52 – 22nd round
TE30 Jared Cook (70-7) 43 – 19th round
TENNESSEE – The Titans employ a TE by committee approach. Last year, three TEs caught 82 passes. If circumstances lead to one guy being “the guy”, then any one of these players can be a fantasy starter. They’re just spread too thin right now. Bo Scaife was the leading TE of the group last year, and caught 45 balls for 440 yards and 1td. Alge Crumpler is in New England now, which allows Jared Cook to leap up the depth chart to be the backup. Cook has Antonio Gates-like skills, but isn’t much of a blocker. This explains why he had only 9 catches last season. The third of this season’s triumvirate of TEs is third year pro Craig Stevens. Don’t draft these guys, please.

23. TE23 Ben Watson (19-70) 42 – 20th round
CLEVELAND – Ben Watson has the talent to be the top receiving option for the Browns, but my question is why did New England let him go? It must be that Brady lost confidence in him. Too many times did I see Brady slump a little after Watson wasn’t able to make the play that he was called upon to make. Now that he has Delhomme throwing the football to him, do we think this inconsistency in his play is going to get any better? I don’t think so. Alex Smith is a heck of a blocker, so he’ll see some time at TE. The guy to watch, though, as a receiving TE may be Evan Moore – he’s essentially an oversized WR, but his blocking is a question mark. The whole situation has committee written all over it, but let’s see what happens in the preseason and if Delhomme and Watson build any chemistry.

24. TE26 Zach Miller (37-33) 46 – 22nd round
TE28 Marcedes Lewis (21-63) 44 – 23rd round
JACKSONVILLE – Both Zach Miller (the “other” Zach Miller, I should say) and Marcedes Lewis will probably form a TE by committee for David Garrard and the Jags. Marcedes is the starter and had his best season in 2010 with over 500 yds and 2tds, but Miller had a strong finish that has many believing he could overtake Lewis for the starting job. Let’s see if he makes the most of this opportunity in training camp. With the lack of viable weapons at the WR position, we may see these guys play a prominent role sooner rather than later.

25. TE27 Jermaine Gresham (Rookie) 40 – 14-17th round
CINCINNATI – Reggie Kelly is listed as the starter for the Who Deys, but rookie Jermaine Gresham is expected to be the starter Week 1 as the pass catching TE. He will add a dimension to an offense that hasn’t had a viable pass catching TE in quite a few years. 30 receptions, 300-350 yards and 4-5 TDs should be about right for the rookie from Oklahoma.

26. TE29 Aaron Hernandez (Rookie) 34 – 21st round
NEW ENGLAND – Aaron Hernandez has first round talent but dropped to the fourth round in the NFL draft because of one word: Marijuana. Now, he hasn’t tested positive in the NFL, and only tested positive once at Univ. of Florida. No matter he smoked or didn’t smoke, his skills as a receiver and blocker are undeniable. He was called ‘our Percy Harvin’ last year at UF. In other words, he was the “mismatch maker”. I would think that Belichick could find a use for such a player in order to create mismatches vs. their opponents.

27. TE31 Shawn Nelson (50-19) 31 – 22nd round
BUFFALO – I can’t say that I’m not too excited by the Buffalo Bills fantasy-wise, but Shawn Nelson is a fast, talented guy who runs crisp routes and looked good as a rookie in limited duty. He could use to put on some muscle, which would improve his blocking. I just wish he played in a more potent offense. He’s a waiver wire guy at best, but with the lack of quality receiving options and the new coaching staff, he could garner 50-60 targets this year. Derek Schouman, Jonathan Stupar, and Michael Matthews are battling for a spot here as well. Ignore them on draft day.

28. TE32 Daniel Graham (36-34) 38 – waiver wire
DENVER– Daniel Graham is a strong blocker for the running game, yet he’ll probably grab 2-3 TDs this season and catch a couple of passes per game. The departure of Tony Scheffler opens things up for Richard Quinn, who has been compared to Graham throughout his career. Expect the same type of production from him, should the Broncos rely a little more on the TEs rather than the slot guys in the short passing game.

29. TE33 Tony Moeaki (Rookie) 40 – 19th round **value pick**
KANSAS CITY – I like Tony Moeaki a lot, and so do his teammates thus far. Reports of players chanting his name when he makes a play have become commonplace. This is a guy who has the opportunity to start, the talent to take advantage of the opportunity, and he can block. The only question with him is durability – he played in 20 games the past three years at Iowa. Still, though, Charlie Weis will find a way to get him involved. If healthy, 4-6 targets/game for 40 yards and the occasional score don’t seem unreasonable, which translates into 48 catches, 640 yards and 5 TDs over the season. That’s around 85 fantasy points, and would put Moeaki in the borderline starter/bye week replacement category. I have him ranked low because of these durability concerns. Leonard Pope and Brad Cottam are the backups.

30. TE35 Daniel Fells (28-43) 46 – waiver wire
ST. LOUIS – Daniel Fells was a part-time player last year, playing behind Randy McMichael. Now, he’s the starter in his third year, but I wouldn’t draft him – not utilized enough.

31. TE36 Gary Barnidge (46-24) 34 – waiver wire
CAROLINA – Gary Barnidge is in his third year, and if he could get a lion share of the targets, he’d be a viable fantasy option, but he shares targets with Dante Rosario and Jeff King, making all of them waiver wire fodder unless something changes about their opportunity.

32. TE41 Steven Spach (115-19) 13 – ouch
ARIZONA - None of the tight ends had more than a dozen catches last year, and for the most part they are afterthoughts both in the Cardinal passing attack and in fantasy football.

8/10/10 Show - AFC TEs & Kickers

2010-08-11T06:21:00.001-04:00

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2010-08-03T18:01:00.003-04:00

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WRs – 32 Teams Rankings

2010-08-02T12:58:00.002-04:00

KEY: Pos Rank – Player Name – (2009 Pos Rank – 2009 Fantasy Pts) 2010 Projection – ADP by round

1. WR1 Andre Johnson (1-213) 194.20 – 1^st round

WR47 Jacoby Jones (56-81) 88.80 – 14-15^th round **value**

WR63 Kevin Walter (63-75) 77.70 – 13^th round

HOUSTON – You’re probably going to have to be in the top 7 or 8 picks to get Andre Johnson, and he’s worth it. He’s been durable, a steady producer on a weekly basis averaging 10 targets and 97 receiving yards a game over the past three seasons. The only things that would scare me off are the schedule (fantasy playoffs: BAL, @TEN, @DEN) and injury history of Schaub. But will any of that matter with Andre Johnson catching the ball? Kevin Walter has seen his touches drop the past two seasons, and had 53 receptions for 611 yards and two touchdowns. He was also hampered by injuries last year, and now finds himself in a TRAINING CAMP BATTLE with speedster Jacoby Jones for the starting job opposite Andre Johnson. Jacoby Jones finished the season with only 27 catches but averaged 16.2 yards per reception and scored 6 receiving touchdowns. Andre Davis and David Anderson are the backups, although Davis has filled in admirably before.

2. WR2 Larry Fitzgerald (5-187) 184.20 – 1^st round

WR27 Steve Breaston (45-91) 112.50 – 7-8^th round

WR67 Early Doucet (103-27) 73.10 – 15-16^th round

ARIZONA – You shouldn’t worry about Fitzgerald’s totals with whomever is throwing the football. While his ceiling will be lower, he’ll still be good for 1000 yds and 10 TDs. Anquan Boldin is gone, leaving the door open for Steve Breaston to be the full time #2. I expect him to top 60 catches and approach 900 yds, although I’d approach him with caution. Early Doucet looked very good with Leinart in the playoffs last year and had two strong games – he’s the #3 but could push for #2 in camp. If Breaston were to go down with injury, then rookie Andre Roberts would be a hot waiver wire pick up. Watch him in the preseason to see if he’s deep sleeper material – he’ll be the #4 WR and KR/PR.

3. WR3 Randy Moss (2-204) 176.80 – 1^st round

WR51 Wes Welker (12-161) 86.10 – 6-7^th round

WR75 Brandon Tate (150-1) 68.10 - 20^th round

WR88 Julian Edelman (90-41) 51.80 – 21^st round/waiver

NEW ENGLAND – Watch if Torry Holt (66-70) has anything left – the Pats swung and missed with Joey Galloway last season, maybe Torry’s got something left and he and Randy Moss can cook it up ala Jerry Rice & Tim Brown. There are always some rumblings with Randy Moss about some issue or another (this year he’s in the last year of his contract and he wants a new one), but he’s up there with the greatest to ever play. He’s a top five fantasy WR 8 times in his career and had his 6^th 200+ point fantasy season (joining Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison and Terrell Owens in that elite group). He’s never missed a game since joining the Patriots. There are conflicting reports about Wes Welker – some say he will be ready for training camp and others say that he’ll start the year on the PUP list. I think that he won’t be ready or effective if he comes out early in the season. He’ll still cost you a 6^th or 7^th rounder, but that’s a high price to pay for a guy who won’t factor in until your fantasy playoffs…maybe. Still, though, it’s hard to pass him up in a draft because he’s had 3 consecutive years catching 110 or more passes. Not this year - he tore his ACL and MCL in the Week 17 game at Houston and is not expected to be fully back until mid- to late-November. I’d avoid or wait for him to drop to you in the 12^th round when everyone else is scared away. Julian Edelman is who will probably wind up doing the job replacing Welker. He even looked a lot like Welker last season. It may be that the Pats will employ more of a combination of **Brandon Tate** (deep sleeper) and Edelman. Tate was hurt last season and played very little, but they drafted him because he is explosive, when healthy. It’s a second to last round flyer on a guy who may blow up in the preseason and become over valued, but I’d pay attention to him and see if he earns a role in the offense. It’s like they’re looking for the new and improved Troy Brown, the way I remember the media talking up this pick in the 2009 draft.

4. WR4 Miles Austin (3-198) 171.60 – 1^st round

WR36 Dez Bryant 104.10 – 6-8^th round – better in PPR format

WR77 Roy Williams (38-99) 63.60 – 15-16^th round

DALLAS – Miles Austin is a stud WR, he’s Romo’s main guy, and should finish in the top 5 WRs this season. A good, late first or second round pick will land you a solid guy on your roster. Roy Williams is the #2 WR on the team, but my money is on rookie Dez Bryant making a charge and becoming the better WR, regardless of designation on the team. It’s a high price to pay to get him in the 6^th or 7^th round, but would be worth it in a dynasty or keeper league. I’d value him higher than Hakeem Nicks last season and I would expect that he’ll be the first rookie WR off the board in most drafts – 100 fantasy pts this year. Patrick Crayton (43-92) is the slot guy, but he was asking to be released so he can be with a team with greater opportunity. The Cowboys won’t release him, making him an insurance policy with the team, should something happen to the starting 3. Truthfully, I like him better than Roy Williams, but his attitude to the situation makes me shy away from him. The coaches may limit his opportunities – let’s see how this plays out. Sam Hurd and Kevin Ogletree round out the group, with Ogletree being more the dynasty prospect. 11 FORMATION: 1 TE 1 RB 3 WR – Cowboys ran 36% of their offensive plays out of this formation. If you line up Witten, Felix Jones, Austin, Dez Bryant, and Crayton out of this formation – it creates mismatches for the opposing defenses. They will be running more plays out of this formation in 2010 – bet on it.

5. WR5 Sidney Rice (8-177) 163.20 – 1^st round

WR17 Percy Harvin (24-128) 136.60 – 3^rd round

WR62 Bernard Berrian (50-85) 78.40 – 15-16^th round

MINNESOTA – 80 catches, 1100 yards seem pretty likely for Sidney Rice this year if Favre comes back, and we all believe that he is, don’t we? Rice went from the #90 fantasy WR to #8 last season – was he a one hit wonder? I don’t think so. Bernard Berrian is listed as the 2^nd WR on the roster, but his touches declined with Percy Harvin in the mix. He’s now a “possession receiver”, and unless he benefits from an injury to one of the starting two, he’s going to be starving for targets. So much was expected of him last season in fantasy, but he was dinged up in the beginning of the year, never really seemed to gain the trust of Favre, and so it was Rice who had the big year. Percy Harvin has become the playmaker and deep pass catcher for the Vikings. A strong rookie season (129 fantasy pts – 135 rush, 790rec, 6tds) and his play on special teams leads us to believe he can do it again. He’s put on 10 lbs of muscle in the offseason, which is good. The thing that can be maddening are these recurring migraine headaches that seem to plague him and his fantasy owners. Other guys on the roster: Greg Lewis is the 4^th WR, Jaymar Johnson (will see time if starters are injured) and Joe Webb (ex-QB they’re bringing along slowly).

6. WR6 Greg Jennings (20-140) 162.70 – 2-3^rd round

WR34 Donald Driver (19-141) 106.20 – 5-6^th round

WR71 James Jones (64-74) 68.90 – 17^th round

WR95 Jordy Nelson (89-42) 42.70 - waiver

GREEN BAY – Greg Jennings had his TD totals drop for the 3^rd consecutive year, from 12 in 2007, 8 in 2008 to only 4 in 2009. However, I’m going to believe the reports that I’m reading that the O-line is improved, that Aaron Rodgers can come close to his totals last season, and I predict that Jennings’ total TDs come back to the norm around 8 and he goes for 1200 yards, which would make him a nice WR1 on your roster. Last year started with concussion issues for him, then a litany of injuries (wrist, hip, knee, ankle) throughout the year held him back. Rodgers does a good job of spreading things around, which also limited him last year. Donald Driver is entering his 12^th season and he’s undervalued in drafts every year, although this year may be the one that breaks his streak of six 1000-yard seasons that he and his fantasy owners have enjoyed. He had offseason surgery on both knees, but he’s healthy and says he feels better than he has in years. He’s missed one game over the past six seasons, btw. If he falls to the 7-8^th round to you and you are looking for a solid WR3 to score you 100 fantasy pts or more, grab him. The bigger reason for Driver’s streak coming to an end is the emergence of James Jones (**sleeper**) and TE Jermichael Finley as big play options for the Packers. Jones has set a goal for 1000 yds and double digit TDs for the season. And while those goals are lofty for a guy who caught only 30 balls last year, he did score 4 TDs and looked like he had a nice rapport with Rodgers. We’ll see if the coaching staff gives him the targets – I’ll say 500 yds and 6 TDs are possible for him. 3^rd year WR Jordy Nelson (**deep sleeper**) is the 4^th WR and plays the slot for the Pack and works on special teams – he’s got potential, but he’ll only be a major factor if there’s an injury ahead of him on the depth chart. This could be a possibility with Jones’ injury history in his young career and the age/offseason surgery for Driver.

7. WR7 Roddy White (7-181) 162.20 – 2^nd round

WR60 Michael Jenkins (67-69) 79.10 – 21-22^nd round/waiver

WR100 Harry Douglas (inj) 39.80 - waiver

ATLANTA – Roddy White may be one of the safest plays you could make in the second round, if you look at his opportunity, talent, and supporting cast. He’s clearly the best WR on the roster, and no other WR is challenging him for targets (see Tony Gonzalez for that). He actually increased his targets by 20 last year finishing as the #7WR in fantasy. He’s also played all 16 games the past two seasons. Michael Jenkins catches 50 passes per season and shows up in some games. You got me if you can figure out when those games would be – but there will be a few. The guy who is interesting as a sleeper is Harry Douglas, who’s the ideal slot receiver – small tough and fast. Keep an eye on him in this preseason. IF healthy, he could be that extra weapon they need to make the offense more explosive and harder to defend. Last preseason he was lost for the year with a torn ACL, so let’s see if he’s mentally and physically ready to make catches in traffic again. Brian Finneran is still with the team as well.

8. WR8 Reggie Wayne (6-184) 162.20 – 1-2^nd round

WR53 Pierre Garcon (36-101) 84.20 - 5-7^th round

WR55 Anthony Gonzalez (inj) 82.50 – 13-15^th round

WR66 Austin Collie (30-109) 73.20 – 10-11^th round

INDIANAPOLIS – The guy who was on everyone’s sleeper list last year was WR Anthony Gonzalez. You could’ve gotten him in the 6^th or 7^th round and he was going to produce for your team every week in a steady way. Then in Game 1 vs. Jacksonville, his season ended with a serious knee injury. No fantasy points, no catches, nada, zip zilch! It’s just bad luck when something like that happens. On the bright side of the spectrum for the Colts: Reggie Wayne has been a steady Eddie of excellence. Hasn’t missed a game in 8 seasons, and hasn’t finished out of the top 25 WRs since 2002, with 4 top 10 finishes the last 6 years. I expect him to approach 130-140 targets with 80-90 catches for 1200-1300 yards and 8-10 TDs. There will be a TRAINING CAMP COMPETION between Gonzalez and Pierre Garcon for the #2 position. Garcon really stepped up in Gonzalez’ absence last year, and I expect he will beat out Gonzalez. Austin Collie will work out of the slot, but will also split wide as the Colts play matchups vs. the defense. Two more players to watch in training camp because Peyton throws the football to everybody: Sam Giguiere and Michigan St. rookie Blair White.

9. WR9 DeSean Jackson (4-187) 161.10 – 2-3^rd round

WR24 Jeremy Maclin (37-100) 119.00 – 7-8^th round

WR83 Jason Avant (59-78) 54.40 – 19-20^th round

PHILADELPHIA – If you feel that he can duplicate his finish as the #4 fantasy WR without McNabb, then DeSean Jackson would be appropriate value at the end of the 2^nd / early 3^rd round. He’s due for a monster contract extension and the two sides haven’t come to an agreement yet. He’s had 8 TDs that went for over 50 yards in the first two years of his career. It’s difficult to predict TDs, but he went over 100 yds. in both Kevin Kolb starts. Jeremy Maclin showed good route running skills last year (55 catches for 762 yards and 4 TDs as a rookie) and could top 1000 yds in Philly’s pass happy offense, if he stays healthy. A strong WR2 in the 8^th round with good upside, anyone? Buehller? Buehller? Jason Avant is a useful WR3 should one of these guys get banged up. He did well in that role last season, and can produce when called upon, particularly in a PPR league. The Eagles gave him a new 5-year, $18mm contract, to be their main backup. Hank Baskett and rookie Riley Cooper round out the roster. I still hate their fantasy playoff schedule @DAL, @NYG, MINN, though, as much as I like this group of WRs.

10. WR10 Marques Colston (13-157) 159.50 – 2-3^rd round

WR33 Robert Meachem (21-132) 106.60 – 7-8^th round

WR74 Devery Henderson (40-93) 68.10 – 14-15^th round

WR78 Lance Moore (104-27) 59.90 – 20^th round

NEW ORLEANS – Three of these guys will be worthy of drafting and will be solid fantasy players for you – which ones? Marques Colston may miss a few games due to an injury here and there, but he’s the most talented WR on the roster and should be good for 1000+ yds. and 8-10 TDs. He’s a guy you can steadily plug into your lineup each week and not worry about him (save for health issues). Devery Henderson is listed as the #2 WR on the team, but he had offseason sports hernia surgery (abdomen). He should be ready for camp, and is tremendous value in the 14-15^th round. Robert Meachem finally put it together last season, but then fell apart during the playoffs. He’s been injury prone his entire career as a pro, and is recovering from toe surgery, then missed OTAs, but they say he’ll be ready for training camp. Lance Moore (**deep sleeper**) might as well have been in the witness protection plan last season, mainly due to a hamstring injury and a high ankle sprain. He really fell out of favor as Robert Meachem took his job. However, Moore signed his tender offer a few weeks ago, is healthy, and he’ll be ready to go for training camp. He went from a top 15 WR in 2008 to 104^th WR with only 27 fantasy points in 2009. This guy was on everyone’s sleeper list last year. That’s bad. Why do I have the feeling that this year, with Shockey’s health in question and Meachem’s injury history, Moore might be the guy to fill in and put up stats again?

11. WR11 Calvin Johnson (22-131) 157.10 – 1-2^nd round

WR56 Nate Burleson (39-95) 82.10 – 11-12^th round

DETROIT – It was clear after watching Calvin Johnson drop from the third overall fantasy WR to 21^st, something besides a knee injury was bothering him last season. Is it all the losing the Lions have done since he joined the team wearing him down? Consider the fact that with nearly 140 passes thrown to him, Johnson finished the season with only 67 receptions for less than 1,000 yards. Maybe it was all the double teams he saw last year? No matter what the reason, it was clear that the Lions had to get Megatron some help in the offseason. Bryant Johnson (70-60) wasn’t the answer as the 2^nd WR – he started all 16 games for the Lions and only had 35 receptions for 417 yards and 3 TDs and only had one game all year with more than 50 receiving yards. These are not good numbers, and Johnson will be the #3 or #4 WR on the team in 2010 with the signing of Nate Burleson and Tony Scheffler. Burleson is a possession-type receiver with sure hands, which will be a welcome change for Matt Stafford. He would be a better WR in a PPR format as he’s there to move the chains and set up Megatron and the other WRs for big plays. 700 yards and 5 TDs are not out of the question for Burleson, if healthy. Scheffler was signed from Denver and while listed as a TE, what I’m gathering is that he’ll be used more as a WR and may be the #3 option in the passing game - Stay tuned. This could put the Bryant Johnson and Dennis Northcutt in danger of not making the team – both players had a hard time dropping the football last season.

12. WR12 Chad Ochocinco (14-157) 150.60 – 3-4^th round

WR40 Antonio Bryant (51-84) 96.70 – 8-9^th round

WR85 Matt Jones (drugs) 53.30 – 20^th round

CINCINATTI – Andre Caldwell (71-59)

13. WR13 Steve Smith (18-144) 148.40 – 3-4^th round

WR82 Brandon LaFell 55.20 – 22^nd round

CAROLINA -

14. WR14 Brandon Marshall (9-175) 145.50 – 2^nd round

WR68 Brian Hartline (62-76) 72.20 – 17^th round

WR86 Davone Bess (53-82) 52.30 – 13-14^th round

MIAMI – The Dolphins have not had a WR with the statistical capabilities of Brandon Marshall since Duper & Clayton, and rightfully, this has Miami fans excited. Off-season hip surgery and his history of off-the-field issues may scare some owners off, but all reports out of Dolphin-land are positive about his attitude and recovery from surgery. A top ten finish with 80 catches, 1000 yards and 10 TDs are not out of the question for him this season. There will be a TRAINING CAMP BATTLE between Brian Hartline, Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo (76-55) for the #2WR spot. Hartline really came on late last season and is the favorite to win the job – he runs nice routes and had good chemistry with Chad Henne. Bess seems very suited to the slot but could surprise with good stats this year. Camarillo will be there for touches should injury befall one of the others but his overall numbers should go down with Brandon Marshall around. As far as other backups go, the team has hopes for Patrick Turner, a 2^nd year guy from USC who has nice size but never seized the opportunity last season. Taurus Johnson out of USF, is an interesting prospect – keep an eye on him in camp as very deep sleeper. He made plays in an offense where the QB was looking to run first and throw second.

15. WR15 Hakeem Nicks (27-115) 139.60 – 4-5^th round

WR16 Steve Smith (11-164) 138.70 - 2-3^rd round

WR49 Mario Manningham (29-110) 86.50 – 12-13^th round

NEW YORK GIANTS – Hakeem Nicks is the sexy pick to break the top ten fantasy WRs this year. He played last season on a broken toe, missed time early in the season, wasn’t the starter until week 14, and still put up 790 yards and six TDs on only 74 targets. He finished as the #27 fantasy WR – many people feel he could be even better this year, IF the Giants don’t revert back to their running ways on offense. The “other” Steve Smith had a breakout season last year, finishing as the #11 fantasy WR. He’s really valuable moving the chains for Big Blue and caught 107 receptions (2nd in the NFL) for over 1200 yards, and earned himself a trip to the Pro Bowl. He should approach those numbers again, but with a few yards and TDs distributed to others – think 140 fantasy points instead of 165. Not too bad for a guy you can probably get late in the 2^nd or early 3^rd round. Mario Manningham showed flashes last season, both as a starter early and then playing from the slot later in the year. Now, he’ll probably only have real value if Smith or Nicks goes down with injury, but he’s a nice insurance policy who has started some games before. The team is also very high on Ramses Barden (6’6” with a monster wingspan and vertical leap), but maybe he’s just a red zone threat this year and a more viable fantasy option next year. They’d like to see more consistency out of him.

16. WR18 Hines Ward (16-150) 136.00 – 5^th round

WR19 Mike Wallace (28-113) 131.40 – 6-7^th round

WR84 Antwaan Randle El (82-49) 53.40 – 22^nd round

PITTSBURGH – Hines Ward is a ten-year veteran showing no signs of slowing down. There is no reason to not pencil him in for 1000 yds. and 6 TDs in 2010. There have been rumblings about him retiring after the season, and the team drafted two rookie WRs just in case Ward makes the move to broadcasting – we’ll see how this plays out – in the meantime, he’ll cost you a fifth rounder on your fantasy team. Gone is Santonio Holmes to New York, and replacing him as the Steelers #2 WR is second year man Mike Wallace. He’s got the speed to beat the defense, and as a rookie, he really gained the trust of Roethlisberger and finished as the 28^th fantasy WR on 78 targets. He’ll be seeing better coverage personnel now that he’s a starter, and the question becomes can he handle his new role or was he a one-hit wonder? This guy is a sexy sleeper pick by many experts out there and may be overvalued. I like him but I’d like to see how he looks early in games this preseason to answer some of the reasons to question his success. Does he have any chemistry with Leftwich? Can the O-line hold long enough for him to get open deep? Are they targeting him less because of the focus on the running game? This last question is an alarming reason (besides Big Ben) to de-value all the Steeler WRs. Antwaan Randle El has been brought back as the slot WR, although they drafted **Emmanuel Sanders** (sleeper – this year’s Mike Wallace??) and Antonio Brown, and either one of them could turn into a fine slot receiver. Arnaz Battle (who has the best website of all NFL players, btw – visit the “battle zone” at arnazbattle.com) was signed, which gives Pittsburgh a quality backup – he’ll play on special teams as well. Limas Sweed has been put on the IR with an Achilles’ injury and will miss the entire 2010 season.

17. WR20 Anquan Boldin (23-129) 131.00 – 3-4^th round

WR28 Derrick Mason (27-144) 112.20 – 9-10^th round

WR91 Donte Stallworth (susp.) 47.00 – 19-20^th round

BALTIMORE – The Ravens traded 2 draft picks for Anquan Boldin, then signed him to a five year deal to lock him up to the team for what may be the rest of his career. He should have similar numbers to his time in Arizona, with 130-140 targets and at least 1000 yards not out of the realm of possibility – a good value late in the third round. Derrick Mason will have value as well, but there are fears that with less targets that he won’t be able to help your team as much. Mark Clayton (69-60), Kelley Washington (79-55), Demetrius Williams, and Utah rookie David Reed who will work on special teams, round out the roster. This is the best group of receivers certainly Joe Flacco has ever had to work with, if not ever, for the Ravens. I like their fantasy playoffs too: @HOU, NO, @CLE

18. WR21 Malcom Floyd (52-83) 129.00 – 4-5^th round

WR79 Vincent Jackson (10-171) 57.90 – 6-7^th round

WR92 Legedu Naanee (96-36) 75.90 – 13-14^th round

WR99 Craig Davis (141-5) 40.10 – waiver wire

SAN DIEGO – Vincent Jackson’s stock is dropping like a rock – he’s suspended the first 3 games because of a second DUI offense, he did not sign his 2.5 million dollar tender offer, wants a new contract, and has threatened to sit out until Week 10 should he not get a new contract. The Chargers and Jackson are far apart right now in terms of expectations and negotiations – this one could get ugly before your draft. VJack’s going in the 5-6^th round right now, I’ve bumped him to 6-7^th round for dynasty players ONLY. If he’s sitting there in the 9^th round or later, take a chance on this working out. Anything higher for a guy making too many poor decisions is too high a price for me. Who benefits from this holdout?? Say hello to Malcom Floyd, Philip Rivers’ new #1 WR and likely sleeper candidate sure to jump up everyone’s draft board. Originally, Floyd would go somewhere in the 9-10^th round, but by the time we get into the third week of camp, why do I have the feeling he’ll cost you at least a 4-5^th rounder the longer Vincent Jackson holds out? He’s the unquestioned starter at the #2 spot if VJack signs a deal, and if that happens (a big if), then bump him down your list. Legedu Naanee is a name I saw on some deep sleeper lists last year, but now it seems that now is the time to have this guy on your radar. Again, this guy is a 19^th round pick if you’re in a league that carries a larger roster, but I’ve bumped him up to the 13-14^th round. I really don’t think the Chargers will think twice about moving forward with who is on the field practicing and playing in preseason games. Naanee has excellent size at 6'3" and 230 pounds. He's got terrific hands, good speed, and is absolutely fearless when going over the middle to make the tough catch in traffic. This is the guy who made Chris Chambers expendable last year, and he’ll be starting the first three games AT LEAST in 2010. Veterans Craig Davis, Josh Reed, and rookie Jeremy Williams will be in a TRAINING CAMP BATTLE for the slot receiver position in training camp. I like the rookie there, but Josh Reed could surprise and earn the job.

19. WR22 Michael Crabtree (65-72) 128.00 – 4^th round

WR65 Josh Morgan (61-76) 76.30 - 17^th round

WR96 Ted Ginn Jr. (77-55) 41.50 – waiver wire

SAN FRANCISCO – Michael Crabtree dropped in most drafts last year due to his holdout, but once he signed, he’s been a model citizen and player for the 49ers. He led all 49ers wide receivers in yardage despite missing the first five games of the season, and caught at least 3 balls in every game he played. Barring unforeseen injury to him or QB Alex Smith, he should put up good numbers as a WR2 on your fantasy team. 900 yds and 6-7 TDs are the floor for my expectations for him, but he could do even more than that given the schedule and the soft secondaries in the NFC West. Teams won’t be able to focus on stopping just him, with Gore and Vernon Davis occupying attention on offense. Now that Isaac Bruce has been traded to St Louis so he can retire, Josh Morgan is the clear #2 WR on the roster, although he’s really the 4^th receiving option on the team. He blocks well and that endears him to the Singletary and the coaching staff, he’s also in his third year (which is when most WRs finally put it all together). He’s responsible for making the most of his limited opportunities in order to keep the heat off the big three. Ted Ginn Jr. may be the slot receiver & has the opportunity to burn defenses with his speed, but will focus primarily on special teams – too many drops and 0,1,2 reception games (11 of those last season) proved to be his demise in Miami – maybe the change of scenery does him good. Other WRs on the roster include: Jason Hill, Brandon Jones, rookie Kyle Williams, and Dominique Ziegler – all of whom will struggle for playing time. In terms of fantasy, the third & fourth WRs aren’t really a factor on this team with so many options ahead of them.

20. WR23 Mike Sims-Walker (25-126) 125.60 – 4-5^th round

WR50 Mike Thomas (72-57) 86.40 – 15-16^th round

WR93 Jarett Dillard (130-10) 44.80 – waiver wire

JACKSONVILLE – Mike Sims-Walker stayed healthy in 2009 and showed that he could be a starting WR in the NFL. Now can he be a #1 WR on your fantasy team? Maybe not, but a WR3 with WR2 upside is fine. He’s in a contract year and has plenty to prove, along with his coach and QB. 900 yds & 6-7 TDs for around 125 fantasy points are good projections for him. The question is who will be the #2 WR that will line up opposite Sims-Walker? Torry Holt is gone and there is youth all around Jaguars country. All signs point toward the versatile Mike Thomas to be the guy. He’s only 5’8” & may be better suited for the slot, but he’s strong, has elite speed and is the all-time Pac-10 leading receiver with 259 receptions. He also runs the football as well as returns kicks. He will be in a TRAINING CAMP BATTLE for the job with Jarett Dillard, Kassim Osgood, the preseason wonder Troy Williamson, **Tiquan Underwood** (sleeper alert) and Nate Hughes. The Jags are looking for a playmaker to emerge. Dillard, Williamson (if he can put it together) and Underwood are the frontrunners to challenge Thomas for the job. I believe that Troy Williamson could be the guy, but he’s never shown he can produce when the opposing defenses play for real. Dillard has the strength and nose for the endzone to be productive. He was making progress last season until a leg injury sidelined him. A report from the OTAs have Tiquan Underwood as a guy to watch. "We really need a speed receiver to emerge, someone who doesn't just stretch a defense, but someone who can be a playmaker down the field. He's shown in these OTAs he can. (Monday), he made a tremendous adjustment on a deep ball." Stay tuned.

21. WR25 Lee Evans (35-103) 118.20 – 10 – 11^th round

WR81 Steve Johnson (152-2) 56.30 – 21-22^nd round

WR94 James Hardy (151-2) 43.60 – waiver wire

BUFFALO – It’s tough to get excited about Lee Evans this year, as there is a void at the 2^nd WR after they sent T.O. packing. This may draw more double coverage his way. There will be a TRAINING CAMP BATTLE between the other WRs for that spot: Steve Johnson has the talent and is rumored to be the #2 WR once the season begins – he’s gotten the most reps at that spot so far this offseason. James Hardy has been plagued by injury and inconsistency, but maybe rookie Marcus Easley will jump up and surprise everyone by earning the starting job in camp. Roscoe Parrish seems to be the third WR, if you believe what you see in mini-camp practices. Josh Reed has departed to San Diego, as Vincent Jackson insurance, presumably.

22. WR26 Jabar Gaffney (48-85) 115.50 – 13-14^th round **value**

WR43 Eddie Royal (99-34) 92.90 – 10-11^th round

WR69 Demaryius Thomas 71.10 – 11-12^th round

DENVER – Eddie Royal was the worst starting fantasy WR last season – 34 fantasy pts – 0TDs – and he dropped from #20WR in 2008 to #100WR in 2009. His head was spinning, learning all the WR positions. Hopefully he has all that down by now and can just go out and play. Josh McDaniels is saying that he sees Royal as more of a slot receiver. The departure of Brandon Marshall opens the door for Jabar Gaffney to be a starter and #1 option on the Broncos. I have to say that I like where you can draft Gaffney in terms of value and his upside. He knows the offense, the schedule favors him, and he’ll only cost you a 12^th or 13^th round pick. All eyes in camp will be on GA Tech rookie and first round pick Demaryius Thomas – When given the opportunity to take Dez Bryant with a clear need at WR, the Broncos went with Thomas instead – why? They didn’t want another WR with off the field issues. Scouts have compared him with Calvin Johnson, and he’s had the benefit of Rod Smith working with him in mini camp and OTAs. As we saw with Royal last year, is this offense too tough to digest quickly? He also had offseason foot surgery, but is back and ready to go. We’ll see what role Thomas will take on in the preseason. Other guys on the roster, battling for spots: Brandon Stokley (75-66) could be camp casualty, rookie Eric Decker could develop into an Austin Collie type in a year or two, Kenny McKinley is very fast but injuries have been a concern, Brandon Lloyd worked hard to make the team last season but didn’t do much with his opportunities. There are 4 other guys on the roster who were invited to camp. They’re clearly looking to find some gems in Bronco country.

23. WR29 Dwayne Bowe (54-82) 111.90 – 4-5^th round

WR52 Dexter McCluster 85.10 – 13-14^th round

WR57 Chris Chambers (34-103) 81.60 – 12-13^th round

KANSAS CITY – Dwayne Bowe had a tough 2009 – he was in the doghouse early in the season, then was suspended (four games -- substance abuse) toward the end of the season. The biggest problem, though, was that he was dropping too many passes. For a guy who was costing owners a 3^rd or 4^th round pick last season, he was bad news on fantasy rosters – you never knew what you would get by starting him. Chris Chambers came over from San Diego midseason and the change of scenery did him good, finishing 20 spots better than Bowe among all fantasy WRs last season. This season, the guy who everyone is excited about in Chiefs country is Dexter McCluster – he will probably be the second or third rookie WR taken in fantasy drafts this fall. The Chiefs plan to get him the ball in a variety of ways -- as a receiver, as a runner, and possibly as a Wildcat QB. McCluster had 1,700 yards from scrimmage last season at Ole Miss, and should operate primarily out of the slot for the Chiefs as a rookie -- perhaps similar to the way the Vikings used Percy Harvin last season. He’s got a high ceiling and if he looks good in the preseason, he could cost you more than the 13^th or 14^th rounder I am predicting right now. Jerhame Urban (former Seahawk, Cowboy & Cardinal) and Lance Long will also compete for reps out of the slot. Both are steady, team first guys who would get consideration should injury befall the starters.

24. WR30 Santana Moss (32-106) 111.20 – 6-7^th round

WR41 Devin Thomas (81-50) 93.90 – 12-13^th round

WR73 Malcolm Kelly (98-34) 68.20 – 19-20^th round

WASHINGTON – Santana Moss is 31 years old and showed signs of slowing down last year and his YPC are down in each of the last 5 seasons. How much of that was coaching, the QB, the lack of a supporting cast, or was it the beginning of the decline for Moss? He’s also been involved in an HGH scandal, and while there’s no suspension for Moss, a second offense would result in suspension of some type. There is upside here, though, for Santana. He’s got a better QB now, a hall of fame offensive mind as a head coach, and one can hope that McNabb’s presence can turn one of the other WRs around. Heck, Greg Lewis and Hank Baskett have had moments of fantasy relevance because of Donovan throwing the football in Philly. Can Devin Thomas be the recipient of his tutelage this year? He was supposed to break out last season, and the year before, but has never emerged. He caught only 25 balls last season, and he was a starter for 10 games – ouch! Early reports out of OTAs say that he’s having trouble mastering the playbook and playing mistake free – not the way to stick on a Mike Shanahan team. Maybe it’s Malcolm Kelly then– he too was supposed to break out last year, and the year before, he has only caught 29 balls in his career. If he can stay healthy, though, he could surprise. If these two don’t work out, here are the guys who would be in line for the opportunity: Joey Galloway (he’s 39), Bobby Wade (trying to make it on his 5^th team), Mike Furrey and rookie Terrence Austin. Maybe the most interesting of this bunch are Mike Furrey and Terrence Austin, although the rookie seems to be the return man more than a starting WR.

25. WR31 T.J. Houshmandzadeh (31-107)109.60 – 7-8^th round

WR58 Golden Tate 80.10 – 13-14^th round

WR90 Deon Butler (120-17) 48.00 – 22^nd round/waiver wire

SEATTLE – The only WR we can write in pen as a starter on the Seahawks depth chart is TJ Houshmandzadeh. He’s coming off sports hernia surgery in April, but should be ready for camp. He came over from Cincinnati last year, yet because there was no viable #2 WR, he had a hard time getting open. Add to that the difficulties along the OL in protecting Hasselbeck, he also couldn’t get the ball deep. Both of these factors led to a disappointing first year in the Northwest. Seattle is obviously looking for a #2 WR. There will be a TRAINING CAMP BATTLE between Deion Branch (78-55), rookie Golden Tate, and Deon Butler for that #2 spot. (and possibly Mike Williams). Rumors surrounding signing Terrell Owens have been squashed recently, which leads me to favor the youth movement in Seattle and say that Golden Tate will win this job in camp. He has good Run After the Catch (RAC) abilities and has looked good in the offseason, picking up the offense. Deion Branch is coming off arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason (surprise). At this point, he may be more suited for the slot rather than a starting job. This coaching staff owes him nothing and open competition has been Pete Carroll’s theme all along. I don’t see him staying healthy enough to emerge as the starter. Deon Butler has drawn praise from Carroll as the most improved player thus far in the offseason. If he can get off the line of scrimmage against starting DBs in the preseason, he stands a good chance to compete for the starting job. He needs to make plays, though – something he didn’t do much of last year. A real wildcard in this WR group is USC grad and former first round pick **Mike X. Williams** (sleeper), who has been working on his comeback after faltering earlier in his career. He’s been making the most of his opportunity with the Seahawks, impressing coaches and the GM in minicamps – Pete Carroll says that physically, it’s the best he’s seen him since sophomore year. Let’s watch and see if he makes a push to be the starting WR or if this is just lip service to build his confidence.

26. WR32 Devin Hester (44-91) 106.70 – 7-8^th round

WR39 Johnny Knox (60-78) 99.70 – 9-11^th round

WR59 Devin Aromashodu (80-53) 79.90 – 8-9^th round

WR97 Earl Bennett (49-85) 40.80 – waiver wire

CHICAGO – With Mike Martz as offensive coordinator in Chicago, everyone is high on the Bears’ WRs all of a sudden – I don’t know if I am totally sold just yet. Even though they will rotate 4 guys at the position, Devin Hester is projected as the #1 WR. He’s been working with former Martz protégé Isaac Bruce to improve his route running and understanding of the offense. The fact remains, however, that Hester doesn’t return kicks/punts anymore, only catches 3 TDs per season, and has never finished higher than the #44 WR in fantasy. He will cost you at least a 7^th or 8^th round pick, which is decent value for a guy who will probably get you 100 fantasy points. However, I think there are other, more explosive options to consider here. I sense that Johnny Knox and Devin Aromashodu are the better guys to have on this offense. Knox burst onto the scene (he was on a few deep sleeper lists last year as an undrafted rookie FA, btw) and showed he had the speed and hands to thrive in the NFL before missing the last three games of the year due to injury. Now, he made his share of rookie mistakes, but his ability to make plays will only be enhanced in Martz’ offense, if he can absorb the offense. If he shows in the preseason that he can’t, I’d be more cautious in approaching Johnny Knox this fall. He is entrenched as a starter on this team, mainly due to his excellent showing in the offseason workout program. Devin Aromashodu showed strong chemistry with Cutler at the end of last season when Hester and Knox were out with injuries, which is a big deal, given his inflated ADP right now. He’s listed as a backup WR, but could easily ascend the depth chart with an injury or poor play by the starters to be a viable fantasy option as well. Remember Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and Az-Zahir Hakim? Well, Aromashodu is better than Hakim. He’s at least going to cut into any production that Greg Olsen may have, but I see more happening for him this season. He may be overvalued to be drafting him in the 8^th round, and he’s on a lot of sleeper lists. The whole offense may start slow, we must remember, as there will likely be an adjustment period because the offense is new to many of the players. Let’s keep an eye on things and see how they develop. Other WRs on the roster: **Juaquin Iglesias ** (sleeper alert) – last year’s 3^rd round pick didn’t catch a pass during his rookie season, but has impressed the coaches with his showing in OTAs and mini-camp. Earl Bennett was supposed to have chemistry with Cutler from day one last year, but that didn’t seem to happen the way it was advertised. Having said that, he finished only 6 points behind Hester last season. Rashied Davis rounds out the position, but I wouldn’t count on him fantasy-wise at all.

27. WR35 Jerricho Cotchery (33-106) 105.90 – 9-10^th round

WR38 Braylon Edwards (42-92) 100.30 – 8-9^th round

WR42 Santonio Holmes (15-152) 93.30 – 8-9^th round

NEW YORK JETS – Jerricho Cotchery is one of the most durable options for Gang Green, and perhaps the most consistent. He runs good routes, has very good hands, and is terrific after the catch. Count on him for 100 fantasy points, 800 yards and 5 TDs. Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes may have more talent than Cotchery, but each has his warts. Edwards can make one of the most remarkable catches you'll ever see, and on the next possession he'll let a 40-yard pass bounce off his facemask. If he were simply able to cut his drops in half, he'd be an automatic top-10 receiver. That said, he opens up holes for the running game by being a viable receiving threat deep. He is also in a contract year. The Jets brought in Santonio Holmes, but he’s going to be suspended for the first 4 games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. In addition to his marijuana misdemeanor, there’s an accusation that he assaulted a female bar patron, and an incident on an airplane where he refused to turn his cellphone off during a flight to NYC after he was traded to the Jets. He is likely to be overvalued on draft day, but would be a better pick in a dynasty league if you feel that a year with Rex Ryan in NY will straighten him out. My opinion is that Manhattan can be an alluring playground for a guy with authority issues, so I will be avoiding this potential train wreck and hope last season’s 15^th ranked fantasy WR doesn’t appear in a lineup against me and cost me a game. 700 yards and 5 TDs are the numbers I see for him in the Jets’ run heavy offense. Other guys on the roster: David Clowney was injured most of his rookie season when he was on many deep sleeper lists when Brett Favre was a Jet. He was expected to do a bit better last year and that’s exactly what he did, a bit better. Brad Smith has seen his targets decline each of the last 3 seasons, and now he’s more of a gadget player than anyone you can think of having a positive impact on your fantasy team.

28. WR44 Kenny Britt (47-86) 91.20 – 8-9^th round

WR70 Nate Washington (41-93) 89 – 15-17^th round

TENNESSEE – There are two sides of the story concerning Kenny Britt. He didn’t start until week 10 in 2009, yet he still managed to have 42 catches for 701 yards and 3 TDs (16.7 yards per catch) on an offense that was driven by the running game. He also earned the trust of Vince Young as a playmaker he can count on in crunch time. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he was arrested in the off-season for unpaid parking tickets, showed up to OTAs overweight & out of shape, and only had 6 catches in the last 3 games last season. Nonetheless, he may be the most talented WR on the roster – talent normally finds its way onto the field, but if his conditioning doesn’t improve, Coach Fisher will have a hard time calling his number on Sundays. Nate Washington was brought in from Pittsburgh last year, and most of his stats came with Kerry Collins under center. The emergence of Kenny Britt and his inconsistency (catches only 50% of his targets) from game to game have tempered expectations for him this season, but if you don’t trust Britt, then Washington will benefit. Justin Gage (74-56) will be in a TRAINING CAMP BATTLE with rookie Damian Williams (USC – 3^rd round) for the slot receiver position. Williams is a tough, mid-sized WR who is not afraid to go over the middle and make big catches in heavy coverage. He has the tools and work ethic to be a good possession WR and could be a contributor on offense from day one. Gage lost time to a back injury last season and has missed 16 games over the past 4 years due to injury. The drafting of Williams is further evidence that Gage’s hope of being the #1 WR are being overshadowed by a youth movement at the position. All of that being said, the Titans are a run-first offense – the ceiling for all of these WRs is limited, unless of course Chris Johnson’s contract holdout bleeds into the regular season.

29. WR45 Mohamed Massaquoi (58-78) 91.20 – 12-13^th round

WR48 Josh Cribbs (73-57) 87.50 – 14^th round

WR89 Brian Robiskie (129-10) 49.50 – 19^th round

CLEVELAND – The one WR that you can probably count on as a bye week replacement or a flex option is Mohamed Massaquoi – he’s the most accomplished receiver on the Browns' current roster, although some will point to his inconsistency with drops and horrifically low target/reception rate (only 34 grabs in 95 targets). Could it be that he was a rookie or was it poor QB play? I say both. No matter, given the low Average Draft Position of the Cleveland WRs as a whole, there is value to be mined here – low risk, medium reward. There is a TRAINING CAMP BATTLE for the #2 spot between Chansi Stuckey (acquired in the Braylon Edwards trade), 2^nd year guy Brian Robiskie, and I’ll throw newly added veteran Bobby Engram into that mix as well. You would think that Stuckey would have the edge because of his experience, but Robiskie seems to have a solid hold on the position at this point. One Browns coach said: "He started strong, and then got better. He never let up. He's made a huge jump." The Browns say Robiskie now "runs" the pass routes, rather than going through them "robotically," as he did his rookie season. He earned the respect of veteran QB Jake Delhomme, who told the coaches how Robiskie is "exactly where he should be at exactly the right time." Engram can push for the #2 spot, but has been better suited to the slot through the best part of his career. It may be that he’s there to push Josh Cribbs, who is not the most polished WR, but has the ability to make plays in space. Cribbs has been paired with QB Seneca Wallace in running the Browns’ version of the Wildcat. The Browns drafted Carlton Mitchell in the 6^th round this past April, and he could make an immediate impact, given the lack of overall talent on the roster, Jake Allen was claimed off waivers from the Packers last year, but has yet to make an impact.

30. WR46 Donnie Avery (46-87) 89.80 – 11-12^th round

WR64 Laurent Robinson (111-22) 76.50 – 17^th round

WR98 Brandon Gibson (92-38) 40.30 -

ST. LOUIS – Donnie Avery was on many sleeper lists last year. He showed promise as a rookie, the Rams let Torry Holt go and made Avery the #1 WR only to have his sophomore season completely derail with various injuries. He had a stress fracture in the preseason, but played in Week one. Then he injured his ribs, hamstring, hip, shoulder and thigh. And finally, he ended his season with a concussion in Week 17. He STILL played in 15 games. He’s now 100% healthy, in his third season (a breakout time, traditionally, for wideouts), and has reassumed the #1 role – he has the talent, but can he stay healthy? Laurent Robinson won the #2 WR spot last year, but then HE went down with a broken leg and a sprained ankle in Week 3, effectively ending his season. IF he can stay healthy, he is expected to win the TRAINING CAMP BATTLE for the #2 job over Brandon Gibson, who looked good in relief of the injured Robinson last year. Gibson has enough quickness to create openings, but lacks top line speed and that may affect the team’s decision. The loser of this battle will be the #4 WR to make room for the rookie, 4^th round pick out of Cincinnatti, Mardy Gilyard, who appears to be a lock for the slot position. He’s an explosive, dynamic player who works well in the open field. The backups Keenan Burton and special teams standout Danny Amendola also saw time last season and filled in very well when called upon to do so, which should only aid the development of the receiving group as a whole.

31. WR54 Arrelious Benn 82.70 - 14-15^th round

WR72 Mike Williams 68.70 – 15-16^th round

WR87 Sammie Stroughter (91-39) 52.30 – 22^nd round/waiver wire

TAMPA BAY – There is a youth movement going on in Tampa Bay, and it’s clearest by looking at the WR position. In 2009, the Bucs found Sammie Stroughter in the draft and he paid off immediately as a dependable and effective slot receiver and return specialist before breaking his foot in Week 15. He’ll be back this year and the coaching staff loves his versatility and talent. In the offseason, the team let veteran Antonio Bryant get away as a free agent without making him a contract offer. Instead, they drafted Arrelious Benn in the 2^nd round & Mike Williams (different from the guy in Seattle) in the 4^th. Both are big, fast WRs worthy of fantasy consideration as both are expected to start Week 1. Early reports from mini camps and OTAs have Williams making big strides, looking like he’s right on track and ready to be a starter in the NFL. He has first round talent, but fell to the 4^th round due to character issues. If he can keep his head screwed on straight, he would be a steal in the 15^th round of your draft. Other WRs on the roster: Maurice Stovall, Reggie Brown, Michael Clayton, and Mark Bradley. Stovall has battled injuries and inconsistency, Brown was brought in as insurance should the rookies not work out, Clayton is around only because he makes too much money to be cut, and Bradley showed some flash in KC and will be battling for a roster spot.

32. WR61 Darrius Heyward-Bey (115-19) 78.80 – 19^th round

WR70 Chaz Schilens (84-48) 69.70 – 12-13^TH round

WR76 Louis Murphy (57-79) 65.30 – 16^th round

OAKLAND -

FREE AGENTS:

WR80 Terrell Owens (26-123) 57.90

As I write this, it seems that the Bengals are concerned with Antonio Bryant’s knee injury that they are serious about signing T.O. It could be as early as today or tomorrow that we’ll know if Owens will line up opposite Ochocinco. There were rumors swirling about the Rams having a serious interest in signing Terrell Owens, which on one hand could’ve been good for the development of Sam Bradford, but on the other hand, looking at any team that signs him, the development AND fantasy value of all the other WRs on the roster could be diminished (see Lee Evans last season). He doesn’t play on special teams and I don’t know that if he isn’t one of the starting WRs on opening day that he won’t completely implode and become a locker room problem. Let’s keep an eye on this and see what develops. In the meantime, let’s rate who they have on the roster without the services of T.O. Yes, he's signed with the Bengals.

Danario Alexander - an undrafted free agent out of Missouri is working out for NFL teams. He’s a first round talent, but went undrafted after injuring himself in the Senior Bowl – he’s had durability issues throughout his career. STL and CHI seem most interested in Danario, should he be healed from his latest setback. Let’s hear how he does, but he’s a guy you should know as every year an UFA steps up to fantasy relevance (Johnny Knox last year).

Laveraneus Coles (55-82) signed with the Jets for the time that Santonio Holmes is suspended. We'll see what happens with him after Holmes comes back.

32 Teams Correspondents

2010-07-15T08:22:00.003-04:00

32 Teams is looking for hardcore fans who follow NFL teams...

Do you read everything you can find about your favorite NFL team? Do you scoff at the television on Sunday morning when Chris Mortensen is giving injury information about your team that you knew the answer to on Friday? Then, we want you to be a team correspondent for 32 Teams!

What teams are available?

So far, we've got 8 teams covered out of the 32: Dolphins, Jets, Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, Texans, Browns, and Panthers.

What do I need to do as a correspondent?

First off, you need to join the facebook page and the blog. Then, when an issue comes up with your team that is fantasy relevant, we will call on you to help us out with the real answer. Another thing we ask is that we get your favorite fan pages, blogs and websites involved - send us links to where you go to on the web so we can contact them and in the interest of cross-promotion, ask them if they want to link with our sites.

Other than that, you can participate as much or as little as you want/can. If you want to come on the show and preview the TE position or the Defense/ST in August, that would be fine. If you want to simply send a blurb to my email, the blog or facebook page whenever you have an update or a juicy bit of knowledge that people could use, that is also fine. You could also just call me on the phone every now and then and I'll ask you stuff about your team. OR vice versa, like we began with - we can call on you when we need to know something. Really, the level of your involvement is up to you and how the season progresses. We want it to be fun - regular guys talking fantasy football - something you do anyway!

How can I become a correspondent?

Write up a preview of the TE position or Defense/Special Teams for your team, post it to the blog and/or facebook page, we will read it and then contact you to set up a phone meeting.

What are the benefits of being a correspondent?

We can't pay you (or ourselves) at this point, but we're working on it. We do, however, get free stuff from time to time, and we will share these free things with our correspondents. I know there is Buffalo Wild Wings schwag in the works, which is pretty cool. As the show grows, so do the opportunities of everyone associated with 32 Teams. We hope you can be a part of the fun!

RBs - "32" Rankings

2010-07-01T14:31:00.006-04:00

I've done these rankings a little differently to show roster depth and keep some value in perspective for the reader. Here are the "32" Rankings, where the top 32 players are listed along with their teammates at the RB position. This is what's on the clipboard - the notes I've taken about how I see it happening now, in June. It's going to change as the weeks roll on, as all of you already know.

Many times we are faced with injury concerns during the fantasy season. Getting a leg up on who the backups are now and whether or not they're a part of the team's plan to be utilized when starters go down can be critical to your success.

By backing up your RB studs with value picks at the end of your draft (ie Last year, Laurence Maroney and Cadillac Williams could've been had for a 16th round pick or later), you can find yourself vying for a championship. Look for opportunity for the backup player to turn starter and then look at ability to run the football and be successful in the NFL on and off the field - and oh yes, can he block? If he can't, then his opportunity to turn starter will never blossom into what you want it to be. Find all three in a player, you have your sleeper to take late in the draft.

RBs – 32 Teams Rankings - Thursday, July 1, 2010

What the numbers mean: "32" Rank- 2010 Projected Position Rank - Player Name - (2009 rank-total fantasy pts) - 2010 Projected Total Fantasy Points - ADP avg. draft position by round - 2009 stats rush, rec

ALL RANKINGS ARE BASED ON A 12 TEAM REDRAFT LEAGUE, STANDARD SCORING FORMAT

1. 1RB Chris Johnson (1-342) 301.8 – 1st rnd – 358-2006rsh 14td, 50-503rec 2td

TENNESSEE – Chris Johnson was a beast last year, and if he was on your team you were probably vying for a championship. He finished with twelve 100+ yard games and became the sixth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. He was also the leading receiver for the Titans, as he caught 50 balls for 503 yds – that’s over 2500 yards of offense and over 400 touches, folks. Out of the last eight RBs to have 350+ carries in a season, only two of them had similar seasons the following year, Adrian Peterson in 2009 and Tiki Barber in 2006. Now, CJ’s holding out for a new deal & asking for 30-40 million in guaranteed money. I don’t see Tennessee giving into this expectation, but I do see a fair deal being worked out and he’s back for 2 weeks in the preseason. Chris has a new RB coach (Kennedy Pola) and they’ve yet to have a day of practice together. Johnson will cost you a number one or two overall pick, unless he sustains an injury of some type in camp or the preseason. As far as backups go, gone are LenDale White and Chris Henry. However, Javon Ringer will compete with rookies LeGarrette Blount (yeah, the guy who punched Boise State defensive end Byron Hout in the face after Hout touched Blount on the shoulder.) and Stefon Johnson (practice squad) for the backup job. If Chris Johnson were to miss time, Ringer and Blount would split the load, I would think, with Blount as more of the between the tackles, goal line back. The fantasy playoffs look decent for the Titans: IND, HOU, @KC – none of those run defenses scare me.

2. 2RB Adrian Peterson (2-227)297.9 – 1st rnd – 315-1389rsh 18td, 43-436rec – 6fum
53RB Toby Gerhart (proj -83) 79 - 14th rnd – 95-375rush 5td, 22-154rec

MINNESOTA – If you have a top pick in your draft, ADP will be one of the top 2 or 3 players taken and he should be. He doubled his reception totals last season, making Chester Taylor expendable, he’s the clear starter and he’s finished as a top five fantasy back the past two seasons. His fumbling problem is a concern, but his TD totals more than make up for that.
Toby Gerhart will be used like Chester Taylor was, but has better abilities running the football –the guy just blows people up. His draft stock could rise in the preseason, if he’s able to bring his physical running style to the next level. Too bad he’s in a clear backup role, I was excited about him going to a team where he could compete for a starting job. Albert Young is the other backup and is very good, but doesn’t have the skills of Gerhart. Both backups would have value should Adrian Peterson go down with injury, with Gerhart as a handcuff and Young off the waiver wire.

3. 3RB Maurice Jones-Drew (3-270) 297.8 – 1st rnd – 312-1391rush 15tds, 53-374rec 1td

JACKSONVILLE – MJD is a true RB1. In every game last season, Jones-Drew scored a touchdown, had five receptions, or rushed for at least 60 yards. It's reasons like these that make MJD a top-three pick in every fantasy league this year. Now that he’s proved he can handle double the workload that he’s had prior to last year – can he do it again? Yes, would be a smart bet. If he gets injured, there are guys there who can do some things: Rashad Jennings is a bigger back, did a nice job last year averaging over 5 yds/carry with his 39 touches and has NFL pedigree. He’s the main backup, although the Jaguars drafted Deji Karim (**deep sleeper**) from Southern Illinois as a third down back/kick returner, and has a similar skill set to Jones-Drew, though not as dynamic. So, there could be competition in camp for the backup role.

4. 4RB Ray Rice (4-245) 287.8 1rnd – 254-1339rush 7td, 78-702rec 1td
47RB Willis McGahee (25-144) 114.9 10-11rnd - 109-544rush 12td, 15-85rec 2td

BALTIMORE – A favorable fantasy playoff schedule (@HOU, NO, @CLE) and the Ravens history of running the football has me very high on Rice and Willis McGahee, who has one year left on his deal. Yes, he vultured TDs from Rice last season (will that happen again?) and Ray may get less touches in the passing game with better WR options but Cam Cameron likes to keep the backs involved in his offenses, there shouldn’t be too much of a dropoff. Jalen Parmele is another back to watch, a special teamer and former Miami Dolphin under Cam Cameron.

5. 5RB Frank Gore (6-226) 248.3 1rnd – 229-1120rsh 10td, 52-406rec 3td

SAN FRANCISCO – Frank Gore is the main man here and should be again. He’s never had 10tds in a season before last year, and he did add 10 catches to his reception totals from the year before. He’s had injury troubles every year he’s been in the league, and that may scare most owners off given that he’s a high to mid-first round pick, going as early as #5 in drafts. He’s the clear #1 back, though, without a question he’ll get his touches. Glen Coffee is the back up, but when given the opportunity last season, he averaged 2.7 YPC. That’s just not going to cut it in the NFL. So, the Niners have Miss St rookie **Anthony Dixon** (handcuff sleeper) fall into their laps in the 6th round because of off the field issues. Dixon has a DUI against his name when in July 2009 an intoxicated Dixon and two empty champagne bottles were found in his car. He showed up out of shape several times in college and there are concerns about whether he is fast enough to succeed at this level. That being said, he has talent, is a good dynasty prospect as a future replacement for Gore down the line when Gore starts wearing down and those in redraft leagues will need to consider Dixon if he overtakes Coffee for the #2 RB position in training camp.

6. 6RB Michael Turner (22-146) 204.3 2 rnd – 178-871rush 10td, 5-35rec
62RB Jason Snelling (38-114) 71.8 16-17rnd – 142-613rush 4td, 30-259rec

ATLANTA – Turner followed up his #2RB season of 2008 with a #22 finish in 2009 with an ankle injury marring the latter part of his season- he was pronounced completely healthy this past March, but the team wants to “monitor” his touches so he can play all season. I like his fantasy playoff schedule (@CAR, @SEA, NO) but he doesn’t catch many balls, which lowers his value in PPR leagues. A sore hip flexor killed Jerious Norwood’s 2009, but he wasn’t effective before the injury. The team signed him to a RFA one year tender, but Snelling’s stint as a backup last season could put Norwood on the bubble – stay tuned. Jason Snelling did a good job and even caught 30 balls – handcuff him to Turner in your draft. Another back to watch is undrafted FA rookie Dmitri Nance out of Arizona State.

7. 7RB Steven Jackson (10-193) 246.5 1-2rnd – 325-1424rush 4td, 50-314rec

ST LOUIS - In 2006 - the last time Jackson played for a decent team - he had 2,334 yards from scrimmage, the sixth most in NFL history. Unfortunately for him, he hasn't played for a good team since. Everyone knows that he’s the best player on the team, so he has a target on his back. Yes, the same back he had surgery to repair a herniated disk. He says he’s recovered from the surgery and expects big things this season. What does the rest of the team look like is my question? He can’t be an elite RB scoring only 4TDs on 375 touches. His value is that there is no one else on the roster that can challenge him for carries unless he’s injured. They drafted Chris Ogbonnaya last year, and they’re hoping he can stay healthy and be a change of pace back to Jackson. Ken Darby is the guy who would get carries if Jackson goes down with injury. He’s faster than Ogbonnaya and would be worth starting if given the opportunity –though, not as good as Steven Jackson. The Rams have @NO, KC, SF for the fantasy playoffs, which doesn’t look good for St. Louis – they’re not expected to do well this year.

8. 8RB DeAngelo Williams (14-174) 207.3 1-2rnd – 216-1117rush 7td, 29-252rec
11RB Jonathan Stewart (11-188) 193.3 1-2rnd – 221-1133rush 10td, 18-139rec 1td

CAROLINA – Both Williams and Stewart can be top 15 fantasy backs as the Panthers ran it 525 times last season (2nd most in the NFL). DeAngelo is the better PPR back (#8 in RB rec in 2009). He missed 3 games with ankle trouble but got that cleaned up and will be ready for camp. Stewart had offseason surgery to repair a bone spur that was affecting his Achilles tendon and ankle all last season. He finished as the 11th best RB when injured. What can he do when healthy this year? Draft him and find out. Tyrell Sutton and Mike Goodson are the backups, more special teams guys, but Sutton would be the guy if one of the big 2 goes down.

9. 9RB Rashard Mendenhall (13-178) 220 – 1rnd -242-1108rush 7td, 25-261rec 1td, 3fum

PITTSBURGH – Everyone is expecting the Steelers to be a run first football team this year, with Roethlisberger missing at least the first 4 weeks. This may be true. There is news of using a FB as a lead blocker in Steeler land, and the coaches’ expectations made public that they expect more from Mendenhall – welcome back, Steeler Football. There seems to be an “open competition” between Mewelde Moore and Ga Tech rookie **Jonathan Dwyer** (sleeper alert) for the backup job, although I believe that Dwyer will become the goal line back and Moore keeps his job for this year. Dwyer reminds me a little of Michael Turner, the way he runs people over is a concern for injuries, though. He’s worth picking up late in your drafts as a guy to stash away. Moore is either your handcuff or a waiver wire pick, depending on the health of Mendenhall. The Steelers are home for the fantasy playoffs: CIN, NYJ, CAR. Keep an eye on who they get to replace Colon on the O-line - that's a big ? for this running game today.

10. 10RB Ryan Grant (8-208) 206.7 – 1-2rnd – 282-1253rush 11td, 25-197rec

GREEN BAY – Ryan Grant could be the 5th back taken off the board and possibly be worth it. As teams look to stop the Packers passing attack, the O-Line did improve as the year went on, Ryan Grant could be the guy to move up into the top 10 RBs. I don’t think he repeats the slow start he had last season. Brandon Jackson is the backup, and he is a serviceable replacement should injury befall Grant. The Packers have Kregg Lumpkin and are also very high on rookie James Starks (**deep sleeper**), who could compete with Jackson for the backup job. He has an injured hamstring, but should be ready for training camp.

11. 12RB Ryan Mathews (proj 17-190) 191.7 – 3-4rnd -
39RB Darren Sproles (35-123) 147.6 – 8-9rnd – 93-343rus 3td, 45-497rec 4td

SAN DIEGO – Ryan Mathews was the leading rusher in the NCAA last season (Shonn Greene was the year before, btw), and he brings his skill set to SD to replace Tomlinson. He should be one of the first two rookie RBs taken simply because of the opportunity he has in front of him in an excellent offense to succeed and score TDs. He’s good at everything, but nothing stands out and WOWs you as a special skill that he has – he’s master of being good at everything. He will get every opportunity to succeed and if healthy should rush for at least 1000 yards and double digit TDs in this offense. Sproles does have speed that wows you and if he’s going well, the coaches won’t feel compelled to take him out of the game because the other back is a future Hall of Famer. He returns punts and is on the kickoff team as well. If you get points for special teams play, he is more valuable. Chargers have KC, SF, @CIN for the fantasy playoffs, which isn’t bad – Mathews has a high ceiling and I like the value of Sproles this year, as his touches could go up. We need to look at that O-line, though. Jacob Hester is a backup to know on this team – he’s been used sparingly and has hung around on Special Teams. If something goes wrong with Mathews, you’ll learn his name when someone else is picking him up off the waiver wire. Two other guys are rookie Shawnbrey McNeal and Marcus Mason - aka the future Sproles replacement and the former Redskin backup RB.

12. 13RB Chris Wells (30-131) 208.2 2-3 rnd – 176-793rush 8td, 12-123rec
45RB Tim Hightower(26-141) 142.4 8-9 round – 143-598rush 7td, 63-428rec

ARIZONA – Retirement of Kurt Warner and signing of Alan Faneca has everyone believing that they will lean on the run more in Arizona. Both lead backs have good per carry avg. (4.2 for Hightower and 4.5 for Wells). Wells finished strong last season and has injury history, but Hightower will continue to catch screens and is a great RB4 later in your draft. Jason Wright and LeRod Stephens-Howling are the backups, with Howling more of a special teams guy, although they are interested in giving him a look on 3rd downs.

13. 14RB Pierre Thomas (20-155) 207.5 – 3-4rnd,147-793rush 6td, 39-302rec 2td
29RB Reggie Bush (54-116) 185.4 – 5-7rnd, 70-390rush 5td, 47-335rec 3td

NEW ORLEANS – Thomas does a lot with a little. He played in 14 games last year, started only 6 of them, yet ran for almost 800 yds, with a 5.4 YPC avg., caught 39 balls for over 300 yds and scored 8 times. He signed his FA tender offer but wants a long-term deal. They may sign him to a fair deal, as he is valuable and kept Mendenhall on the bench when in college. He’s never played a full season and is in a clear 3 headed RB situation, with Reggie Bush and 2nd year guy **Lynell Hamilton**, who will get his shot to replace Mike Bell. He did a fair job in the playoffs in that role, scoring vs. the Cardinals. He has value as a goal line back and injury replacement for Thomas &/or Reggie Bush. Reggie Bush finished last season just behind Steve Slaton as a RB54 – he’s better in a PPR format, going as early as the end of the 5th round. I’d also count on Saints RBs in the middle of the season rather than at the beginning/end based on the schedule.

14. 15RB Cedric Benson (15-172) 194.7 – 2rnd – 301-1251rush 6td, 17-111rec

CINCINNATI – Few RB situations exist in the NFL where there is one back to shoulder the load, but Cincy has one of them. Benson is your starter, and you know this going in. He’s also a guy who couldn’t start his boat without blowing into a breathalyzer, he’s never played a 16 game season, but he’s clearly cleaned up his life with his success last season and strong playoff showing. Now, there are assault charges pending over an incident in TX. Let's see how the facts shake out. Philip says that Benson is a guy who can't handle success. I say innocent until proven guilty. Bernard Scott is the change of pace back, but there are rumblings about getting a veteran backup for Benson (ala Larry Johnson last year)- he came off the practice field with a foot injury this past week. LenDale White is a rumor, Marshawn Lynch could be a possibility here, but the guys who will get first crack at the true back up job in camp will be **Cedric Peerman** and Walter Mendenhall (CUT 6/20). I like Peerman as a **deep sleeper guy and have since last season when drafted by the Ravens.

15. 16RB Shonn Greene (41-60) 191.9 – 2-3rnd, 109-541rush 2td, 0rec, 3fum
38RB LaDainian Tomlinson (19-156)140.2 – 7-8rnd, 223-730rush 12td, 20-154rec, 2fum

NEW YORK JETS – Shonn Greene has parlayed his strong work in the playoffs into the starting RB job for the Jets. He’s completely recovered from the torn rib cartilage suffered in the second half of the AFC Championship game, and should be a weekly contributor with that massive O-line blocking for him. Tomlinson may see some goal line carries as well as a 3rd down role on obvious passing downs. There is talk that they’re going to use these guys in tandem and ride the hot hand. Let’s see what Tomlinson has in the preseason (a first for him). His yards per carry have dropped in each of the last three seasons, from 5.2 to 4.7 to 3.8 to last year's bottoming out at 3.3. He has also seen his receiving yardage drop progressively over that since 2007, and last year's 20 receptions for 154 yards were easily the worst of his career (his previous career lows were 51 and 357). 2009 was also the first time Tomlinson failed to crack the league's top ten fantasy running backs. Rookie Joe McKnight is the third back, drafted out of USC, to replace Leon Washington who was traded to Seattle. He averaged over 6 YPC in college – let’s watch him and see if his game translates to the NFL.

16. 17RB Knowshon Moreno (34-161) 205.1 – 3-4rnd, 247-947rush 7td, 28-213rec 2td 4fum
52RB Correll Buckhalter (42-90) 118.4 – 14-15rnd, 140/642rush 1td, 31/240rec 2fum

DENVER – The Broncos want to run more of a power running game, which begs the question if Knowshon Moreno can handle the load. No runs over 18 yds, no 100 yd games, only 3.8 yds/rush compared to Buckhalter’s 5.3 yd. avg. makes Correll Buckhalter a better value play because you don’t have to spend a 3rd or 4th rounder on him. Still, Moreno will get a majority of the touches this season & should be a decent RB2 on fantasy squads. His reception totals may rise with Brandon Marshall gone as well, which is something to consider in PPR leagues. A decent fantasy playoff schedule is a plus (@ARI, @OAK, HOU) – let’s see how Knowshon looks in preseason games and if he’s more explosive than a 31 year old veteran with a history of knee trouble. JJ Arrington is back in the fold, and says he’s 80-85% healthy. Rumors of Brian Westbrook are being squelched with Arrington’s return…stay tuned. Lance Ball and NC State rookie **Toney Baker** (deep sleeper) are backups looking to make the roster on special teams.

17. 18RB Jamaal Charles (12-185) 191.7 – 3-4rnd – 190-1120rush 7td, 40-297rec 1td
42RB Thomas Jones (5-229) 95.4 - 8-9rnd – 332-1402rush 14td, 10-58rec

KANSAS CITY –Jamaal Charles is the first player in NFL history to have over 1,100 yards rushing on less than 200 carries. He didn’t take over the full-time load until week ten and finished as the #12 RB. He’s exciting to watch, regularly beats defenders to the edge with his speed, and was primed to be a breakout RB1 this season despite a shoulder injury he is rehabbing…then KC signed Thomas Jones. We have to temper our enthusiasm now, as Jones likely becomes the goal line back at LEAST. It also knocks Jones down as a fantasy RB because he doesn’t get to run behind the Jets O-line. You have to look at these players, however, because they have a decent fantasy playoff schedule (@SD, @STL, TEN). The team cut Kolby Smith last week, and Jackie Battle, Javarris Williams, and Kestahn Moore may be fighting for one roster spot between them, given that Dexter McCluster will be given touches out of the backfield as well.

18. 19RB Joseph Addai (9-197) 180.1 – 4rnd - 219-828rush 10td, 51-336rec 3td
40RB Donald Brown (58-62) 118.7 – 7-8rnd - 78-281rush 3td, 11-169rec

INDIANAPOLIS – Most of the value of the Indy RB group comes from scoring TDs at the goal line after the passing game gets into the red zone. Addai is one of those quiet producers at the position, a steady Eddie. He’s also in a contract year. This could mean that the coaching staff limits his touches so they can see if Donald Brown is the future or they could use Addai as usual and he gets to showcase what he can do if Indy doesn’t re-sign him in the offseason. Brown was unimpressive as a rookie, with only 3.8 yds/carry, playing 11 games due to knee injury, and his highest rushing total was 58 yards (45 of them came on one play). If he shows improvement, he could be a steal. Let’s look at him in the preseason. Mike Hart and Devin Moore round out depth at the position.

19. 20RB Felix Jones (40-93) 185.7 – 2-3rnd – 116-685rush 3td, 19-119rec
31RB Marion Barber (12-153) 96.8 - 3-4rnd – 214-932rush 7td, 26-221
53RB Tashard Choice (52-67) 78 - 11-12rnd - 64-349rush 3td, 15-132rec

DALLAS – Jerry Jones is a Razorback. He handpicked Felix Jones in the 2008 draft, and Jerry wants Felix to emerge even though Marion Barber has outperformed him in every facet of the game. Barber was slowed by quadriceps injuries last season, affecting his ability to perform. Jones has had durability issues as well (strained PCL), but he finished strong last year and played very well in the playoffs. Tashard Choice may be the value pick here, though. You can get him late in the draft, he’ll start a couple of weeks for you when the regulars are injured, worth the risk. Fantasy playoff schedule is middling (PHI, WASH, @ARI). The decision to take Felix Jones is risky given where you’ll need to take him, the fact that he had over 10 carries only 4x last season and his injury history.

20. 21RB Jahvid Best (162) 176.7 – 4-5rnd - proj. 200-900rush 6td, 43-300rec 1td

DETROIT – The first or second rookie RB off the board should be Jahvid Best, given the opportunity in front of him to start right away without much resistance. The two concerns about him are his size (5’10” – 199 lbs) and his concussion history. If you saw how his season ended at Cal last year, and watched his eyes roll up into his head, you’ll know why there are concerns – youtube it. He has all the tools of Ray Rice or a Brian Westbrook, however, and is the same size as Rice was when he was a rookie. Kevin Smith will probably be on the PUP list to start the year, as he blew out his knee last season and had a December operation to repair it. If you have space on your roster, you can draft him late as a RB3. For the backup job, Maurice Morris will battle last year’s rookie RB Aaron Brown (**sleeper**), who did well on special teams and carried the ball well when called upon. MoMo may be a camp casualty given his lackluster performance as a starter last season. DeDe Dorsey (via Indy & Cincy) will hold a roster spot until Kevin Smith returns.

21. 22RB LeSean McCoy (52-117) 177.7- 3-4rnd -155-637rush 4td, 40-308rec

PHILADELPHIA – I can see this going two ways: 1- McCoy shows the elusiveness promised when he came out of Pitt last year & he looks like Tony Dorsett, rushes and catches 1500 yards & scores 10 TDs in a high powered offense. 2- Committee Approach – Mike Bell and Leonard Weaver eat into LeSean’s carries and receptions while running a true West Coast offense this season. There are plenty of touches to go around with Bell as the goal line back, Weaver as Tom Rathman and McCoy as Roger Craig circa 1984 (1100 - 1300 yards). I vote for #2 – McCoy never looked the part or took the reins and finished as the 37th fantasy RB last year. They say he’s done a 180 this season& that would be welcome to Eagles fans. The fantasy playoffs don’t do the Eagles ANY favors: @DAL, @NYG, MINN …ouch. Tough to like the Eagles in crunch time this year, although there are players out there who will tell you that big players step up in big games. Is McCoy that big player? Eldra Buckley is the third back, but may give way to rookie Charles Scott, who is listed as fullback, but may line up at tailback to justify the guy being on the roster. It’s further evidence of how they’d like to use Weaver and play matchups in the running game like the Saints do. They won the Super Bowl, by the way, and it’s a copycat league.

22. 23RB Ronnie Brown (32-125) 171.6 – 3-4rnd - 147-648rush 8td, 14-98rec
24RB Ricky Williams(7-212) 161.8 – 5-6rnd - 241-1121rush 11td, 35-264rec 2td

MIAMI – Ronnie Brown had a Lisfranc fracture in his right foot end his season in Week 10, still he was the 32nd RB and was productive before the injury. He’s in the last year of his contract, has not signed his tender offer because he wants a new long-term deal, was rumored in several trades in the offseason, and was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and improper lane use in Atlanta. Still, he will be the Dolphins starting RB and will share carries with Ricky Williams. He had a screw removed from his foot last week and is holding off on running for 2 weeks while the foot heals. Ricky turned back the clock last year, rushed for over 1000 yds and finished as the #7 RB. Clearly his difficulties and motivations about football have been resolved and even after 10 years in the NFL, there is enough in the tank for Dolphin fans to yell RUN RICKY RUN on Sunday afternoons. Lex Hilliard and Patrick Cobbs are the backups to keep an eye on. Hilliard had some action as the #2 last season and Cobbs is back from ACL surgery rather quickly. He’s Mr. Versatility for the Fish, in the backfield, in the wildcat, on special teams, and is an excellent locker room guy. Other guys in camp will be Kory Sheets, who was brought in last year when Cobbs went down. He may not make the roster.

23. 26RB Ahmad Bradshaw (29-135) 164.9 – 6-7rnd,163-778rush 7td, 21-207rec
25RB Brandon Jacobs (29-135) 140.5 – 5-6rnd, 224-835rush 5td, 18-184rec 1td

NEW YORK GIANTS – Jacobs was a disappointment last year. After Derrick Ward left, he was supposed to be the battering ram back, physical and scoring TDs – he did not reach 900 yards and only scored 5 times. Now, Jacobs played on a bad knee all year long, an injury many believe would have sidelined other backs. He’ll be ready for training camp. On the other hand, Ahmad Bradshaw looked flat out better than him last year. Then after the Oakland game, Bradshaw had to wear protective boots to heal his ankles and feet on a weekly basis. Bradshaw had screws put in both feet to stabilize fractured bones and a procedure on his ankle, and should be ready for training camp. He’s in a contract year, and I expect him to have a slightly better year than Jacobs because of his involvement in the passing game. The backups Danny Ware and Andre Brown (Achilles injury) haven’t shown much to inspire confidence if Bradshaw & Jacobs go down this season. Gartrell Johnson (2nd year – Univ. of Miami) looked good for San Diego last preseason, and could be a guy to watch this year.

24. 27RB Matt Forte (18-159) 139.1 – 4-6rnd - 258-949rush 4td, 57-471rec
34RB Chester Taylor (43-83) 150.2 – 10rnd – 93-332rush 1td, 44-389rec 1td

CHICAGO – Forte was a big disappointment last season due to injuries (hamstring & knee) and poor blocking by the offensive line. He’s been training in Florida and has pronounced himself completely healthy, faster and stronger. Mike Martz is talking him up as the Marshall Faulk focal point of the offense as he’s an excellent receiver. If he gets hurt or slips up in any way, Chester Taylor will be the man here. They targeted him in free agency for a reason. I don’t like the O-line here and the fantasy playoff schedule is tough (NE, @MIN, NYJ). I like the upside possibilities just where will that put you at the end – can these guys help you win your league? Kahlil Bell showed some flashes last season but not enough to warrant a regular spot, Garrett Wolfe is a change of pace, Eric Bienemy or Eric Metcalfe type back.

25. 28RB Cadillac Williams (26-144) 160.5 – 6-8rnd, 209-816rush 4td, 29-219rec 3td
57RB Derrick Ward (49-74) 88.1 – 15 rnd, 115-414rush 1td, 20-150rec 2td

TAMPA BAY – Cadillac Williams played a 16 game season for the first time in his career and will be the unquestioned #1RB on the Bucs. He’s the first player in the NFL to come back from torn patellar tendons in both knees. Derrick Ward was brought in to be a part of a 2-2-1 committee approach with Cadillac and Earnest Graham, and never really got going. He attributed his poor year to his reaction to losing all the time. He’ll have a better year this season, as he’ll spell Cadillac to keep him fresh. Earnest Graham is listed at FB, but would be the #3 RB on this team and would carry the load with Ward should the Caddy break down again. I LOVE the fantasy playoffs for the Bucs: @WASH, DET, SEA.

26. 30RB Fred Jackson (16-170) 144.4 – 6-7rnd - 238-1062rush 2td, 46-371 2td
35RB C.J. Spiller (141) 129.9 – 5-6rnd – proj. 130-600rush 4td, 40-350 2td

BUFFALO – What a messy situation with Marshawn Lynch. Do they trade him or keep him as a 3rd down back, they’re asking for a 4th round pick. Let’s watch this in camp, perhaps a RB goes down with injury and there you have Lynch’s landing spot. Jackson is the starter here, I feel. He’s the better play this year only, then will give over to Spiller as the lead back in the RBBC

27. 32RB Michael Bush (54-82) 153.7 – 8-9rnd,123-589rush 3td, 17-105rec
43RB Darren McFadden (43-59) 117.6 – 104-356rush 1td, 21-245rec, 3fum

OAKLAND – Justin Fargas is gone and someone is going to have to pick up the slack. My money is on Michael Bush, the better rusher between the tackles. 140 – 700 yds translates to 200 – 1000 yds. With a QB that actually shows up to practice ready to work and Fargas out of the picture, I can see 60 more touches for Bush and 40 more targets for DMC. Michael Bennett and Rock Cartwright are the backups and if there are injuries to the lead backs, both have proven to be valuable waiver wire pickups in the past. I don’t love their fantasy playoff schedule, but their overall schedule is interesting.

28. 33RB Justin Forsett (34-124) 167.8 – 7-8rnd, 147-619rush 4td, 41-350rec 1td
51RB Leon Washington (74-44) 88.6 – 10-11rnd, 71-330rush 0td, 15-131rec
63RB Julius Jones (40-113) 72.4 - 17-18rnd, 177-663rush 2td, 35-232rec 2td

SEATTLE – LenDale White was let go and we later find out that he’s facing a 4 game suspension for marijuana use. He’s out of the picture & looking for a job (Bengals?). Justin Forsett was the best RB in Seattle last year, 5.4 Yards Per Carry led the team. 20 of his 114 carries came before his breakout performance in week 10. The numbers say he should be the starter, but concerns about his size (5’8” 194 lbs.) loom as Marshawn Lynch trade rumors persist – stay tuned. Justin is missing mini-camp because of his wedding – congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Forsett. Julius Jones is being given every opportunity to shine with the new Pete Carroll regime. There is “open competition” at every position is the motto in Seattle, another one is “the best players will play”. So far, the coaching staff likes what they see out of Jones. Leon Washington was looking pretty good last season through the first six games – 71 carries for 330 yds – but then broke his right leg in the Oakland game. He continues to rehab and there have been conflicting reports. 2 weeks ago, he was said to start the season on the PUP list, now there’s hope that he’ll be ready for training camp – they also said that they would take it slow with him. If you project last year’s stats out to 16 games, Leon gains 880 yards – I don’t see it working out like that. There’s also talk that FB Quinton Ganther (DUI - check on his status) becoming the goal line back. That would limit the value of all the other backs on the roster. This situation has committee written all over it. Unless Lynch gets to Seattle, I see Forsett earning the #1 RB in camp, Jones as #2, Washington as the third down back (and if Leon's completely healthy, Jones could be cut).

29. 36RB Clinton Portis (54-64) 143.6 – 7-9rnd – 124-494rush 1td, 9-57rec 1td
50RB Larry Johnson (55-62) 80 – 12-13rnd - 178-562rush 0td, 15-80rec 0td

WASHINGTON – Shanahan’s back and this can be a nightmare for fantasy owners, trying to figure out what Mike’s going to do about his RBs for the season, week-to-week, quarter to quarter, or even series to series. Clinton Portis was drafted by Denver when Shanahan was coach and did well there, but then after a pair of 1500+ seasons, Portis was shipped to Washington. Portis is listed as the #1 RB, but with Larry Johnson who looked decent in his games with Cincinnati last year and will compete for the lead back spot alongside Willie Parker and Ryan Torain. I like their playoff schedule: TB, @DAL, @JAX. This has a committee approach feel to it. I’ll be staying away or picking up one of these players late in my draft looking for value.

30. 37RB Jerome Harrison (14-146) 146.1 – 5-6rnd – 194-862rush 5td, 34-220rec 2td
43RB Montario Hardesty (110) 112 - 8-9rnd – proj. 170-717rush 5td, 14-100rec

CLEVELAND – Jamal Lewis is gone, Jerome Harrison spent most of the season on the bench behind him and then exploded for the best three game stretch ever by a fantasy RB. He’s earned the right to compete (again) for the starting job, wants a new contract, and should be a good receiver out of the backfield as the Browns play from behind a lot. The Browns drafted Montario Hardesty out of Tennessee (pro style offense) and he’s been getting the chance to impress in OTAs and has picked up things nicely. Both of these backs should be RB3s, but Harrison will cost you a higher pick than Hardesty. If one of them gets dinged up, there are others waiting in the wings: Peyton Hillis, Chris Jennings and James Davis. Hillis will stick with the team, Jennings and Davis may be in a battle for a roster spot – Davis impressed last preseason only to be injured – **sleeper alert**.

31. 41RB Laurence Maroney (31-130) 131.1 – 194-757rush 9td, 14-99rec – 4FUM
61RB Kevin Faulk (55-86) 88 – 83-376rush 2td, 36-323rec 1td

NEW ENGLAND – Laurence Maroney was good draft value last year. He was drafted 14th round or later and finished the season in between Beanie Wells and Ronnie Brown. That being said, he's never had 200 carries, 850 rushing yards, double digit touchdowns, or finished higher than #25 fantasy RB in a season. He’s also had a penchant for fumbling at the goal line and often finds a way to get in the coach’s doghouse. Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris (both are in a contract year) are both interesting veteran backups to take a chance on late in your drafts, but neither seems to stay healthy – watch them in camp to see how they perform. The guy for the future in terms of a dynasty prospect is **BenJarvis Green-Ellis**, however there are rumblings about him being on the bubble with his roster space being needed for younger talent – he’s in a contract year & has been on the practice squad before. My bet is that one of the veterans may be on the move. Kevin Faulk is a guy to take the round before you get your kicker in larger roster-sized PPR leagues, as a bye week fill-in, but usually he can be found on the waiver wire during the season.

32. 46RB Ben Tate (31-99) 97.5 – 4-5rnd, proj. 130-519rush 4td, 22-169rec 1td
49RB Steve Slaton (53-116) 92.2 – 8-9rnd, 131-437rush 3td, 44-417rec 4td - 6fum
48RB Arian Foster (66-50) 86.3 – 16-17rnd, 54-257rush 3td, 8-93rec

HOUSTON - There is a lot of speculation about what’s going to happen in Houston this year. Steve Slaton could make a comeback, Ben Tate could take over as a rookie lead back, Arian Foster could parlay his super strong finish as starter last season into a featured role, or we’re going to have a Denver Broncos ala Shanahan committee approach. It’s probably the latter. Slaton had surgery to fuse together bones in his neck and spine. His status, availability, and effectiveness as training camp approaches remain a bit of a question mark. Ben Tate started OTAs strong, but then strained his hamstring. Foster was impressing while running with the first team in OTAs. This is an open competition at this point, folks. And incidentally, the fantasy playoff schedule doesn’t do this RB group any favors: (BAL, @TEN, @DEN).

RB Rankings 2009

2010-06-11T09:03:00.003-04:00

This is last year's finishing order for RBs using standard scoring. I included the final fantasy point total so you can see the drop offs from RB1 to RB2 to RB3. If I gave you this equation at the beginning of last season: Knowshon Moreno + DeAngelo Williams = Chris Johnson, you would've said I was nuts. This list demonstrates the importance of getting a stud RB early, as there just aren't enough to go around in a 12-team league. It also shows why Johnson is holding out for more money...he's worth it!

1. Chris Johnson 342
2. Adrian Peterson 277
3. Maurice Jones-Drew 270
4. Ray Rice 245
5. Thomas Jones 229
6. Frank Gore 226
7. Ricky Williams 212
8. Ryan Grant 208
9. Joseph Addai 197
10. Steven Jackson 193
11. Jonathan Stewart 188
12. Jamaal Charles 185
13. Rashard Mendenhall 178
14. DeAngelo Williams 174
15. Cedric Benson 172
16. Fred Jackson 170
17. Knowshon Moreno 161
18. Matt Forte 159
19. LaDainian Tomlinson 156
20. Pierre Thomas 155
21. Marion Barber 153
22. Michael Turner 146
23. Jerome Harrison 146
24. Cadillac Williams 144
25. Willis McGahee 144
26. Tim Hightower 141
27. Kevin Smith 140
28. Brandon Jacobs 135
29. Ahmad Bradshaw 135
30. Beanie Wells 131
31. Laurence Maroney 130
32. Ronnie Brown 125
33. Justin Forsett 124
34. Darren Sproles 123
35. LeSean McCoy 117
36. Steve Slaton 116
37. Reggie Bush 116
38. Jason Snelling 114
39. Julius Jones 113
40. Felix Jones 93
41. Mike Bell 92
42. Correll Buckhalter 90
43. Chester Taylor 83
44. Michael Bush 82

First show and QB Rankings updated

2010-06-09T08:32:00.003-04:00

We started up with our first broadcast last night and aside from a few kinks here and there, it went pretty well. It's tough to get all 32 Teams covered in one hour, and so we'll be splitting up our RB shows by doing 16 teams next week and the remaining 16 teams the following week. We'll do the same with the WRs the following weeks.

Here are the QB 32 Rankings, which were updated from the show as I was riding home on the train...

QBs – 32 Teams Rankings - Tuesday, June 8, 2010

QB1
1. Rodgers, Aaron, GB
2. Brees, Drew, NO
3. Manning, Peyton, IND
4. Rivers, Philip, SD
5. Romo, Tony, DAL
6. Brady, Tom, NE
7. Schaub, Matt, HOU
8. Manning, Eli, NYG
QB1/2
9. Cutler, Jay, CHI
10. McNabb, Donovan, WAS
11. Ryan, Matt, ATL
12. Kolb, Kevin, PHI
13. Favre, Brett, MIN
14. Flacco, Joe, BAL
QB2
15. Palmer, Carson, CIN
16. Young, Vince, TEN
17. Stafford, Matthew, DET
18. Henne, Chad, MIA
19. Sanchez, Mark, NYJ
20. Garrard, David, JAC
21. Smith, Alex, SF
22. Roethlisberger, Ben
23. Cassel, Matt, KC
QB3
24. Leinart, Matt, ARZ
25. Freeman, Josh, TB
26. Campbell, Jason, OAK
27. Orton, Kyle, DEN
28. Moore, Matt, CAR
29. Hasselbeck, Matt, SEA
30. Bradford, Sam (R), STL
31. Edwards, Trent, BUF
32. Delhomme, Jake, CLE

We missed covering Josh Freeman from Tampa Bay last night. What I basically think is that he's a QB3 with upside. No Antonio Bryant to throw to, they drafted two rookie WRs to develop with him. The situation looks a lot like Cleveland last season but with a steadier presence at QB. As bad as Tampa Bay was last season, Freeman was unflappable. That's going to help him as he develops. Next year is his time to shine more than this year.

I also made an error last night. The most passes caught by a TE in a season under a Mike Martz coached offense is 38, not 19. Still, though, Greg Olsen will suffer in that offense. Just a point of clarification.

If you tuned in last night, thank you. And if not, you can still listen to the archive... http://chataboutit.com/32-teams-podcast-episode-1/

QB Rankings

2010-06-01T12:17:00.002-04:00

Looking forward to the first show, here are the rankings of the top 32 Fantasy QBs from 2009. I kept Favre as a starter, kept Roethlisberger where he's at, subbed in Leinart for Warner, put Kolb right next to McNabb, then put the split situations at the end of the list. This is a starting point - on June 8th, we'll be updating this list on the show and post it here and on the facebook page. These rankings will be updated throughout the season on a weekly basis, based on matchups.

QBs – 32 Teams Rankings - Tuesday, June 1, 2010

1. Rodgers, Aaron, GB
2. Brees, Drew, NO
3. Manning, Peyton, IND
4. Schaub, Matt, HOU
5. Brady, Tom, NE
6. Romo, Tony, DAL
7. Favre, Brett, MIN
8. Roethlisberger, Ben, PIT
9. Rivers, Philip, SD
10. Manning, Eli, NYG
11. Cutler, Jay, CHI
12. McNabb, Donovan, WAS
13. Kolb, Kevin, PHI
14. Leinart, Matt, ARZ
15. Campbell, Jason, OAK
16. Garrard, David, JAC
17. Orton, Kyle, DEN
18. Flacco, Joe, BAL
19. Palmer, Carson, CIN
20. Ryan, Matt, ATL
21. Cassel, Matt, KC
22. Hasselbeck, Matt, SEA
23. Henne, Chad, MIA
24. Sanchez, Mark, NYJ
25. Smith, Alex, SF
26. Stafford, Matthew, DET
27. Young, Vince, TEN
28. Freeman, Josh, TB
29. Delhomme, Jake/Wallace, Seneca, CLE
30. Edwards, Trent/Fitzpatrick, Ryan, BUF
31. Bradford, Sam (R)/Feeley, AJ, STL
32. Moore, Matt/Claussen, Jimmy (R), CAR

Welcome to 32 Teams' blog!!

2010-05-27T07:57:00.003-04:00

It's a new NFL season with a new show and a fresh slate of information to consider for your upcoming draft(s). I will post any and all thoughts about players' values from a fantasy perspective here, answer questions here and on the show, as well as post our "three way" segment picks, weekly "32 Rankings" and other special features.

Everything posted here that is related to the show, will be posted on our facebook page. The more copious analysis and hard numbers will be posted on the blog. Here is the link to join us on facebook....

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=108592212514482&ref=ts

Philip is in charge of the facebook site and I run the blog. If you have something to add or you disagree with my research and/or analysis, bring it on! Post your findings wherever you want, right here or on facebook - we'll respond to it. I am bound to be wrong about some things, miss a sleeper no one saw coming, but my goal is to dig deeper than most, devise strategies specific to the leagues I play in to finish in the top three before the season begins.

Here's the link to our radio show...

http://chataboutit.com/about/32-teams-the-real-fantasy-football-show/

We start up on Tuesday night, June 8th at 7 PM -if you can't tune in live, all shows will be archived on the site and can be downloaded to your computer and on any mobile device through a variety of different formats.

Our first show, we'll be recapping last season's good, bad and ugly, then we'll cover all 32 teams' QB situations. We also want to get real fantasy football players involved in the show, from all over the country.

How Can You Participate?

Be a Fantasy Correspondent for your favorite NFL team. Some teams are spoken for already, so tune in to find out how to be a correspondent and what would be expected.
We're also looking for Fantasy Football Couples - especially those who play in the same league. If you're in a relationship and your fantasy teams get in the way, let's talk.
"Widows" of Fantasy Football who lose their spouse/partner/boyfriend/girlfriend every Sunday to watching games and following stats. We want your stories!
Winners/Losers of Leagues - Have you won your league this past year? Did you come in last place? How did you do it? What did you do to prepare for your draft? Free agency? Did you just get lucky/ravaged by injuries and the Madden Curse? Your success or abject failure will lead us to highlighting what to do and what not to do while preparing for your draft.
Listen and Call In to 32 Teams - The Real Fantasy Football Show every Tuesday night at from 7-8 PM