obligatory olympics post, phelps, et. al

So the Olympics have been going on, obviously, and I have found them more worthless than normal. First of all, the basketball games are like not on TV at all ever. Everything is on tape delay with the time change, and I understand why gymnastics will pull in a bigger target audienc over bball (women), but throw me a bone and give me a game at like 11 pm or something. I don't want primetime just show me SOMETHING. Ugh. Regardless, we have been destroying everyone and it looks like we will end our incompetence in international play is coming to an end. Finally.

I have watched several baseball games and I am a bit confused by the roster we put together. I don't know how it works or anything like if MLB teams can block certain guys from going (this must be the case, obviously I don't care enough to look it up) but we do not have a very studly minor league all star team at all. That being said, it seems we will medal, so that's nice. Couple quick notes on the team and things. First, Nate Schierholtz. I have no idea in any capacity of my mind why this kid has not been given an extended look by the Giants in their outfield. They play 40 year olds next to Fred Lewis and are going nowhere this year. He has nothing left to prove in the minors and could be a very solid big league outfielder. Dexter Fowler is a freak. Rox have a really really nice prospect there. Kids 22, freak athlete 5 tool outfielder. Power should develop and he looks like he can be a 30/30 guy if he keeps randalling. LaPorta is serious, part of the CC trade, he will be a big bopper for the Tribe hopefully at the beginning of next year. Casey Weathers will be closing for the Rox soon, he's got some electric stuff. Ok enough base.

Gymnastics. Watching this once ever four years I can deal with to some degree. I have been temporarily blinded at times from the glare off Nastia Liukins forehead when they show closeups of her, which is never good. Shawn Johnson's thighs are disgustingly massive. There is no chance that any of the Chinese girls have grown hair in places which we do not speak of. But watching these girls jump around and flip about is mildly entertaining. But sadly, my favorite part about the gymnastics is when they cut to Costas and that Eastern European guy and he loses his mind goes insane every time Costas asks him a question about anything.

Phelps. Phelps is a merman droughner. They have shown his mother a billion and a half times in the stands, and there is 0 chance that with half of his genes coming from that cow that the other half come from anyone not named Aquaman, I have decided. That being said, he is as close to a merman as you'll find. They showed the thing about his body like legs are such that he should be 6'0 and his wingspan is like 6'9 or something, just a freak. The announcer that did all the Phelps races also was a fucking genius. It would be like 10 seconds in and he was screaming and going crazy; I'm surprised he didn't have a heart attack or two during the course of the games. But Phelps won everything, world records, Lindsey Lohan texted him and wants his merdong, and he looks like Tim Lincecum on steroids. Win.

Misty May-Treanor is married to Marlins backup C Matt Treanor. That is great. Kerri Walsh, no relation to Adam Walsh. Olympics have too many worthless things in them for me to really like it. They are for girls, I have decided. Also, memo to NBC: never, ever, ever televise the marathon. Seriously, come on. Same with rowing. I guess this list could be way too long but eoh. I digress.

Being Alon Malkovich

As insomnia sweeps over me like the Mets vs. the Nats (yesss) here are some football things, in no order, that I've been thinking about (click More...):





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Saints:

• Wait... the Saints still have Jason David as their #2 corner? Exsqueeze me? Baking powder? Jason David is so fun to watch because he is the most infamous defensive player of this generation and he actually lives up to it.
• Reggie Bush is possibly the most athletic human ever created and he has the highlights to show for it (just check youtube). Unfortunately for Reggie and the Saints, he still only managed 3.4 yards per carry in 7 tries against the Texans.

Falcons:

• Why aren't people higher on Michael Turner? The Falcons gave Warrick "3.2 yards per carry" Dunn 227 carries last season and Jerious Norwood 103. They clearly would've loved to run the football last season had it been an option... Well now it is! Since 2004, Turner's rookie year, in games where he has gotten 10 or more carries his totals are: 136 carries for 786 yards. That is an OUTSTANDING 5.78 ypc and if you don't think he is going to get at least 250 carries you are crazy. He is really sick. Look for the dirty birds to run the ball about 500 times this season. They didn't give "Burner" a six year deal for nothing.

Cardinals:

• Leinart and Warner are both NFL starting QB material. The Cards should go with Leinart because he is the future and they aren't going anywhere this season but if head coach Ken Whisenhunt starts getting pressured to win some games, watch out for him to frantically give the job back to Warner.
• Edge looks determined to prove the critics that say that he is too old to be productive wrong, and I believe in him, however rookie Tim Hightower looks good too and may be stealing the goal line carries.

Chiefs:

• I haven't seen Larry Johnson much this season, and he did finish with good numbers in his last preseason game but in the few highlights that I did see he looked slow as hell. I don't know if I'm the only one, but from what I saw it seemed to me that he lacked the explosiveness that made LJ, LJ.

Texans:

• Steve Slaton not only ran the ball very effectively last preseason game but he also picked up blitzers like a vet. He's going to win the starting RB job, and he is going to be good.

Jets:

• It befuddles me how in 2005 we used a second round pick to draft Mike Nugent who is an average kicker at best.
  
• I also cannot believe how strong Vernon Gholston (Geohlston) is as I now watch a replay of him shoving some Redskins player 5 yards out of bounds as if he was a 3 year old.

Dolphins:

• I've said it before and I'll say it again: Chad Pennington playing for the rival Dolphins against my Jets will test my fan-hood probably like nothing else ever will. Watching Chad carve up the elite Jacksonville defense was extremely pleasurable for me as I just want him to succeed.
• Speaking of carving up the Jags' D, the Dolphins might have a very, very good running game this season if Ronnie Brown can make it back healthy. The reason I'm pointing this out is not just because Ronnie is so very sick, but it is also because Ricky Williams made the Jags' first team defense look like Swiss cheese. Ricky is back.

Chargers:

• Their D can make anyone look bad, and a lot of teams look awful.

Ravens:

• Hopefully we get to see Ray Rice lay out some high profile linebacker soon so people will stop posting clips of the Mo Jones-Drew + Merriman thing and because it would be awesome. I like him.
• Oh yeah and their QB situation? Troy Smith looks extremely uneasy and flat-footed in the pocket to me, and Boller is Boller is Boller is Boller is Boller... if you know what I mean.

Bills:

• Man, I'm so sick of hearing about the new trendy pick for surprise team blah, blah, blah. The Bills suck. Marshawn is sick, but as a team they suck.
  
• Trent Edwards' "dazzling" performance against the Steelers defense is overrated. He did most of it against their second team defense. I hope they go 0-16.

Broncos:

• I love absolutely everything that I've read and heard about rookie WR Eddie Royal. The little bit that I have seen from Mr. Royal, I also LOVE (sleeperererereerererer).
• Over/under on how many different teams Patrick Ramsey will have played on by the time his NFL career is over: 7.
• Brandon Marshall is this years' Braylon (minus 2 games).

Raiders:

• People get so obsessed with Jamarcus Russell's "nuclear bomb" arm (I couldn't think of anything stronger) that they forget about his 2006 LSU campaign. Russell finished '06 with 3129 yards, 67.8 completion percentage, 28 TDs, 8 INTs and 142 yards rushing in 13 games. He wasn't picked first overall to be a circus attraction, he was picked first overall to be a game-changing, franchise QB.

Titans:

• You know how in the Fifth Element the girl learns all of the world's history in a matter of minutes? I wish I could quickly do that right now so I could find someone to compare Chris Johnson to. He's the fastest kid alive.
• Also rookie Lavelle Hawkins had a nice touchdown and I can't wait for his next blog post.

Panthers:

• Richard Marshall's TD against the Eagles was the coolest thing ever.
• Deangelo Williams is very underrated.

Seahawks:

• Their stadium is sooooooo cool and their fans are sooooooo loud. It's a shame that they will do nothing this year.
  

Lebron gets a new friend! YAY! Mo to the Cavs

Another player with considerable talent was traded for absolutely no player of worth yesterday as we see the Cavs heist of PG Mo Williams. I don't care to look at the Bucks end of this deal. I hate the Bucks and I hate the continued and unflinching ineptitude of their front office. The Thunder (I can't tell if this is the stupidest worst fucking name for a team ever, or if I love it....I think I just miss the Sonics) get rid of Luke Ridnour which was VERY necessary for them so McMillan won't even get to think about sending him out to cut into the time of baby Earl or Rookbrook. Ridnour is also white, bad, unathletic, annoying, and stupid; I hate him very much. But anyway, the purpose of this post is to look at the Cavs. Since they won the Chosen lottery (get it? like, Chosen One, haha! YES) back in 2003 they have done a tremendous job of surrounding Lebron with horrible shit. Mo Williams will be the best player to wear a Cav uniform and share the floor with James. Even though those surrounding Lebron have sucked, he is the best player in the league, and was still capable of taking his team of scrubs and random parts to the NBA finals on '06 and one game within the Eastern Conference finals in '07. Adding Mo to the fold makes their roster significantly better.

Since the Cavs got Lebron they have not had a point guard. Trade rumors surrounding this team acquiring a PG have never been in short supply and even though Danny Ferry has proven to be a pretty bad GM thus far, you have got to give him some credit on this deal. First of all, he gave up nothing. Secondly, Mo Williams is a perfect fit on this team. Danny Ferry wins. But Ferry in the past? Nooooootttttttt so good. Not as bad as Shaq randalling him up the ass, but still, lose. This team is really, really, REALLY poorly assembled. It really is a testament to how insanely good Lebron is to see how far they have been going in the postseason these past couple years. But given the crap on this team, Mo improves them vastly.
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Mo Williams is a true point guard, and not in the sense that Eric Snow is, but in the sense that he is actually good and is a true point guard. He put up 17-6 his last two years for the Bucks, can stretch the floor with his 3 point range, and can take it to the rim as good as any point in the league. His acquisition will allow them to slide Delonte West over to the 2/combo G where he belongs and also takes the ball out of his hands more on offense which will also improve this team. He can just focus on playing D and whatever he gives you on offense is gravy. It also allows them to bring Booby Gibson off the bench and use him strictly as a three point specialist and offensive threat. Booby will now never, ever be forced to run the offense again, which is also a tremendous bonus for this team. Whether he is on the floor with West or Mo, he can just run up and down the floor and worry himself with draining threes. West and Gibson can both be shifted into roles more suiting their skillset with the addition of Mo. Mo also gives opposing defenses a player to worry about. He is an all-around offensive talent who is capable of scoring in a mulititude of ways. Everyone else on the Cavs not named Lebron are entirely one dimensional offensive players, more or less. West is probably the best all around offensive threat on this club before Mo, and that is not saying much. Wally is a shooter and is good at wearing suits to games, Gibson is a shooter, Pavlovic shoots and is also good at getting hurt, Varejeo is just awkward, Z is huge and just does things on the block that they teach in Eastern Europe, and Ben Wallace doesn't know how to score anywhere but on the free throw line where he is like drainage on the Bandy tract. While most teams are trying to put together trios of genius, the Cavs now have theirs. Lebron, Lebron and Mo.

The addition of Williams assures the Cavs that they will be over the cap for next offseason but under the luxury tax. They will, therefore, not be able to add anyone through free agency. However, they do have Wally's massive expiring deal which they could trade to get someone who isn't worthless prior to this years trade deadline. Outside of that, their hands are pretty tied. Given how fucking bad Ben Wallace was for them last year, it looks like they won't be able to rid themselves of Z. But, mortgaging their cap space for a young talent like Williams looks to be ok. He is very, very underrated, largely because he plays in Milwaukee for a horrible team, and point guard was definitely the biggest hole on this team. So for Lebron's final two years with the Cavs, they are making a push at it now. I would be surprised to see them not be able to get some type of actual good player for Wally's contract to some team looking to relieve cap space once they drop out of contention as this season progresses. The only, ONLY conceivable way that the Cavs would be able to resign Lebron would be if they surround him with enough non-dead weight pieces of shit and he carries them to a championship. We'll see how far he can carry these humans now.

There is no doubt that Mo will fit in nicely with this club. He will score and stretch the D and all that good stuff, but I believe the one thing that this team needs more than anything is Ben Wallace. If (a HUUUGEEE if) his body isn't completely broken down as it appears, some for of the old Ben would be tremendous. They need the rebounding, defensive intensity, et. al. that Wallace is known to bring to the table. Now more than ever, with scoring at the 1,3, and 5 spots, defense at the 2 (which they already have in Delonte) and 4 is absolutely crucial. Z is an immobile huge ogre who gets boards only when the ball bounces off the rim and directly to where he is standing. Wallace, obviously, is one of the leagues best rebounders when healthy. He is a tremendously active defender and a fierce competitor. I do not think that Varajeo is the answer there and I think that 30 minutes per game of Ben Wallace is what this team needs to take that next step. Their team defense would be so, so much better. Lebron is an outstanding defender, as is Delonte, and between them they can more or less shut down any swing men / guards on the opposition. They need Wallace to be a similar force on the interior.

Points and scoring was never REALLY a problem for this team. I mean we all know what Lebron did in the Pistons series in '06, so obviously, he can score enough regardless of the incompetence surrounding him to beat some teams in the playoffs. Mo Williams will undoubtedly take some pressure off and make things easier for him on offense. What I'm trying to say is, is Mo really the difference maker that vaults this team into some new echelon in the East? No. Definitely, absolutely not. But, it is a step in the right direction and was badly needed. If Ben Wallace sees a resurgence of sorts this year and can stay somewhat healthy, then I think this team is serious. A starting 5 of Mo-West-King-Wallace-Z with Booby, Varajeo, Wally and Pavlovic off the bench would be a terrific rotation. Wallace, in my opinion, is the lynchpin and their team defense will be merely average if he is not in there. Mo will improve the fluidity of their offense but not really improve them defensively at all. But, if Wallace is right this year, their defense will be really, really good and the addition of Mo to improve the offense will prime the Cavs to make a deep run in the playoffs.

The Super Bowl Champs: season preview, defense

Our defense was, like most things about us, is incredibly underrated. We were 2nd in the NFC in yards allowed per game. Bet you didn't know that. Before I get into the players, Steve Spagnuolo, our D coordinator (and former Eagles linebacker coach, thanks a lot), is unreal. He did a great job last year, was creative and aggressive with his game plans, and always put our defense in a position to succeed. He deserves a lot of credit in getting the absolute most out of our personnel. Ok, so on that note, let's get into it.
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Defensive Line:
Our defensive line was very, very good last season. We consistantly got pressure to the quarterback and finished first in the NFC in sacks. However, the retirement of Michael Strahan was the biggest loss to our defense this offseason and his shoes will be tough to fill. But, his opening at the DEnd position will be filled this year by Justin Tuck who we just resigned to a fat deal this offseason. Tuck was lining up at end and tackle last season as there was no spot anywhere on the defensive line for him to start. But, he has a tremendous amount of ability. The new contract we gave him proves that our high ups think he is ready to start at DE for us and be an impact player. I think he will not make Giant fans miss Strahan too much. Osi does not need much introduction, he a premier DE in this league. At tackle, we return both starters from a year ago Barry Cofield and Fred Robbins. Both are huge and good. And neither get the notoriety that they deserve. With Tuck replacing Strahan, many who do not know the Giants well enough think that our defensive line will be hugely downgraded from a year ago, but that is not the case. This starting front will continuously pressure the quarterback and once again be a huge strength for our defense.

Linebacker:
The other key loss to our defense was Kawika Mitchell who signed with the Bills this offseason. We brought in veteran Danny Clark to replace him on the weak side. Clark came to us from Houston and is just 2 years removed from a 113 tackle season with Oakland. He has been running with the first team in camp and has reportedly looked great. Of our starters on D, he is the only non-rookie to be entering their first seasons with the Giants and so he is still getting acclimated to a group of guys who all know each other very well. Antonio Pierce returns to the middle linebacker position and is the undeniable leader of this group. He said he has been impressed with Clark in camp so far and that's pretty much all we need to know to be satisfied with this guy entering the season. I have also taken a strong liking to Clark in reading about him since camp. He wants to prove that he belongs as a starter on this squad, and he is eager to earn the respect of our top defense. He will fit nicely at outside linebacker and I expect an 90+ tackle season from him. Pierce, already mentioned, is the leader and boss of our linebacking crew. he is a tackling machine and has never had a sub-100 tackle season since being with the Giants. He is a rock at MLB. I am very, very excited to watch Mathias Kiwanuka on Sundays. I was devestated when he went down with a season ending injury in week 11 last year. Last season was his first at LB as a converted DE and he really started to figure it out in the couple games prior to his injury. He gives us a legit blitzing option and I think can blossom into a special linebacker this season for us. I have high hopes for him this season and he gives Spags a lot of different options in terms of his versatility. Our depth at linebacker is also phenomenal. Kehl, DeOssie, and Blackburn are all very solid guys off the bench. Kiwanuka was a big question mark for this group entering last year, but he began to emerge as an impact player in the weeks prior to his injury. Clark, I guess, can be deemed a question mark because he is new, but if we absorbed Kiwanuka's loss with the same guys last year and won the super bowl, we obviously have capable reserves. A lot to love about this group this season.

Secondary:
Our secondary is easily the weakest unit on our entire football team both offensively and defensively, but I still believe it to be average. Basically, everything about our secondary pissed me off to no end last year. I hated everyone but Ross. They all sucked. They were old. They were just fucks. But for some reason they started to play very, very well as a unit in towards the end of last year and into the playoffs. So, individually, let's see. Our starting corners will be 2nd year man Aaron Ross and Corey Webster. Ross started basically all year for us his rookie season and played very well. We had no other viable options to start and I was pleased we just sent him out there and let him play through his mistakes instead of starting Dockery or some other asshole. With a year under his belt I expect him to take another big step forward. Opposite him is Webster. Webster was maddening last year. He was so, so, sooooooooo worthless for basically the entire year. He could barely make his way off the bench and everytime he was out there it seemed like he was either commiting a penalty or trying to get his head out of his ass. But he did manage to dislodge it on week 15 and started to droughn opposing wide outs. We left him in single coveraged on TO and Moss in the playoffs and he was absolultely amazing. Now, am I sold on him? Kind of. There is one thing I noticed that caused his transformation from bench fodder to shut down corner: his aggressiveness. I think he learned how to play cornerback given the constant and unrelenting pressure we put on the quarterback. He was jamming his guy at the line more and not playing so far back off of them. He has all the physical talents to be a good corner in this league but his mild form of mental retardation was preventing him from consistently seeing field time. I think he might have figured it out last year. He got more physical and looked like a different guy out there. Could it have been a mirage? Of course. That stretch he had for us in the playoffs last year was unreal. But he has been playing reasonably well in camp so far, as far as reports have been going. But he does seem to be prone to make poor decisions. He really is still an unknown commodity. I would not be surprised if he regressed horribly and is the same Corey Webster that we have grown used to or if he will build upon his immensely successful postseason play and prove to be for real. We'll see. This year, with Madison in a 3rd corner role, I love him. Webster and Ross can still learn a lot from him and as he will be relied upon less in a reserve role, I will not be screaming at the TV as much when he fucks up. Dockery sucks. Whenever he does something good, I need to be pinched. Whatever. Now, Kenny Phillips. This guy is serious. He is our first round draft pick rookie safety out of THE U. He has tremendous closing speed and great athleticism. He hits REALLY hard, and we already have had to tell him to ease up in camp and tackle softer. He has been recently running with the first team in camp and looks to have claimed the starting free safety spot. I can't wait to see the first time he unloads on some unsuspecting randall catching some crossing rout over the middle of the field. Maybe he can break TO's ribs or something. That would end his season right? We brought in Sammy Knight in free agency to compete for the other starting safety job but it looks like James Butler will start there. Butler is ok, I guess. A timeshare of Knight and Butler could be good, keeping them both fresh, and making them combined sort of like one averageish safety. Eh. But Phillips is the man, and he will be great for us. He has a great nose for the ball and he is one of the most exciting safeties we've had in a while. Michael Robinson also gives us further depth at the position. Secondary is ok.

So that's the team. A very underwhelming list of names on paper, but as a unit, these guys can play. I mean, 2nd in the NFC last season in yards allowed. Everyone says that we didn't improve enough, etc. etc. It's a joke and a poor argument when assessing this team. How much room for improvement do we have on this side of the ball? Our defense is stout and it will be good again this year. Again, nobody gives our defense much of a look, and for no good reason. Kiwanuka back will be huge for us. Even a suspect secondary can look great with the pressure we constantly put on the quarterback. This was surpremely evident last season.To this same effect, judging by what kind of ripping we have been taking around the football world, it is like returning largely -almost exactly- the same team that won the super bowl last year is a bad thing. The only signficant loss to our entire loss is Strahan, and we already have Tuck to slide into his spot. Shockey was wearing ripped jeans an ed hardy tshirt and a nascar trucker hat when we were beating GB, Dallas and NWE. The Giants are a good football team with the ability, as we saw last year, to be great.

The Super Bowl Champs: season preview, offense

Look at that sexy beast. OOOKAAAYYYYYY GMEN. Your defending super bowl champs will be previewed henceforth. The Giants are an extremely well rounded team and are quite strong in mostly every facet. They are not the best team in their division and will not finish ahead of "America's Team", but I would be very surprised if they did not make it into the playoffs as a wild card team. They are getting just a small minutiae of respect league-wide, in the media, among pundits, and in the blogosphere. That being said, I could not be happier. The Giants are in camp and going about things with a business as usual attitude. Even though we won the bowl last year, we are hungrier than ever due to the lack of respect. Every last player on our roster is ready to prove this year that we are for real. There remain basically no starting positional battles on offense or defense, and with only one pre-season game done, that is a very rare and very strong luxury. Not very many teams can say that their offensive and defensive starters are all locked up and good to go this early, but we can, and I love it. I fully expect a second place finish, and while we are playing in the most difficult conference in the NFC, I would be surprised to see us miss the playoffs. So 2 parter here, O now and D later.
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Quarterback:

I'm sold on Eli Manning. I absolutely hated him and cursed him to the deepest darkest depths of hell pretty much every game during the '05 and '06 season. He just pissed me off. The inconsistency, the way he looked, the blase attitude, whatever. Everything and nothing at the same time. His numbers were largely the same both years and we were not even that bad, it was just like. ELI. GODDAMMIT. Alas, words escape me. But, after '05 and '06 passed and entering last season, I decided to just like him. Why not? We were stuck with him after all for a few more seasons, and we were going to live or die with him at the helm. So it was hard at first, er, very hard. But I slowly warmed up to it. We started off the season lukewarm kinda plodding along; Eli would gem and then suck a dong on alternating Sunday's depending on nothing of any consequence at all. And then there was a change on the field that made his personality (still unchanging) more acceptable and sort of sweet (no homo). He got better. I watched every single Giants game last year. When Shockey went down in week 12 and kinda faulked around for a couple more weeks until he was shelved for good, Eli looked like a completely different quaterback. He was more poised in the pocket, and finally looked to his slot receivers more. With Shockey, Eli would never consistently stay with the progression of passing plays and if his primaries weren't immediately available he would often panic and just dump down to Shockey or shit his pants. And if he did the latter, Shockey would give him an earful on the sideline. He never really spread the ball around before Shockey went down and he seemed to distract Eli both on the field and on the sidelines (I hated Shockey on the Giants). Eli started to just look better. His numbers were still very underwhelming last season as a whole, and they were pretty much right in line with what he did in '05 and '06. Regardless, he made tremendous strides towards the end of the regular season/playoffs and the maddening inconsistency from game to game stopped (sort of? enough that I was pleased, anyway). I am fully comfortable with him under Center for the first time since he came here. I am not expecting him to have some monster insane year numbers wise, because our offense is so run-heavy, but I do think that it will be his best yet as a pro. David Carr is a pretty boy scrub. He holds on to the ball forever in the pocket, looks like an asshole, and is just bad. Anthony Wright is Anthony Wright. I miss Jared Lorenzen :(. If Eli goes down, our season is undisputedly fucked. I do really like Andre Woodson though. Even though is has a pretty awkward throwing motion, I loved watching him compete at Kentucky last year. I was thrilled that we grabbed him late this year in the draft and hopefully he will turn out to be a capable backup for Eli and has the upside to be a starter in this league.

Wide Receiver:

We will be returning our 1 and 2 wide outs from last year in Plaxico Burress and the ageless Amani Toomer. Plax had a serious year last year despite being questionable every game and thusly driving his fantasy owners mad (WR version of Westbrook). But anyway, dude put up 70-1025-12 last year and was a monster. He and Eli really clicked in the red zone last year with their timings on fades and such things like this and Plax should total 10+ tds again this season. It remains to be seen if his contract disputes will be settled. Either way it is a win for the Giants, if it does settle, then he will have incentives to play for to get more cash and if they don't then he will want to compile a big year so he can garner a new fat contract. Even though he never practices, he is always a force come game day. Toomer is the perfect complementary receiver to Plax. He is a solid possession receiver for us, and although he did have some bad drops throughout last season, he's fine. He runs precise routes and is a smart player, he will have another solid yet unspectacular year. The most exciting thing about our wide receiving corps to me is Steve Smith. I was touting him very highly last year and his season ending injury killed me. I hate Sinorice Moss, and I hope to god that he is cut even though he probably won't be as his name keeps annoyingly popping up favorably on the practice reports during camp, but Smith's injury meant more time for that little fuck. Anyway, Smith is fully healthy and will be our slot guy. Toomer's days in the NFL as a starting wide receiver are numbered and I cannot wait to see Smith emerge this year as our future #2. He has great ability and he will give Eli another potent offensive weapon. Dominic Hixon, Michael Jennings, and Brandon London have also been both having great camps and nearly every interview with Coughlin they have been mentioned even though one or two are likely to be relegated to the practice squad. We have very good depth at wide receiver, and with my expected emergence of Steve Smith, it will only get better as the season progresses.

Running Back:

Brandon Jacobs proved two things last season: 1-he is a monster, beast, animal who loves destroying any human from D lineman to D back in his path and 2-he has a penchant for being in street clothes on Sunday. He played in only 8 FULL games last year, but when he was in there, he was a destructive force. Watching him run is truly a great thing; his combination of size, speed, and power is very exciting. He doesn't have that breakaway speed but there were games where he would just break off runs of like 8, 9, 7, 10, 8, 12 yards all in one series. He was a MAN last year for us running between the 20s and he will fill that same role for us this year. He averaged a ridiculous 5.0 yards per carry last year. His demeanor is also SERIOUS, which I obviously love. He is all business and all football. When reporters asked him about his contract situation and its current murky situation as he arrived at camp he rebuffed them said something along the lines of (Plaxico, are you listening?) "I just got to camp motherfucker. This is football time. I need to get reps in and get ready for the season. I don't want to be talking to my agent about contract bullshit. If I put up the numbers I am capable of over a full season I will get my payday." That's bad. Our fullback is Madison Hedgecock. Just wanted to mention his name, it's funny. He's pretty good. Continuing now. Early on in the season when Jacobs was largely banged up, we turned to Derrick Ward who proved to be more than a scrub. Weeks 1-5 he played great for us until he got hurt and was out until his triumphant 24/125/1 game in week 13, only to get hurt again and end his season. He finished the year with 602 yards and averaging 4.8 yards per carry. He was being used as our change of pace back with Jacobs in the early going, got that one game all to himself, and that was his year. He was very effective filling in for Jacobs last season when called upon. However, I hope that his role this year is greatly diminished, because when he did finally go down we got yet another droughner in his stead: Ahmad "I don't have to go to jail, bitch" Bradshaw. While Ward is a serviceable and capable back, Bradshaw has the ability to go get six every time he touches the ball. He will be our change of pace guy this year to couple with Jacobs. I hope Ward is reserved to like 2 carries a game because when we have both Jacobs and Bradshaw healthy, he should not be seeing the field. Bradshaw is the lightning to Jacobs' thunder in our running game-yes, this is the best analogy I am capable of. After Bradshaw's breakout game vs. Buffalo, I found myself wanting to see more and more of him. He is a far better receiving option out of the backfield than Jacobs. He looks to be our 3rd down back this season and will be given -hopefully- a few series' per game. If we can get these guys healthy all year (ok fine, 13 weeks would be UNREAL), our already run game will be very scary. And also, can we please cut Reuben Droughns? If he makes our roster I will be very pissed, and there is no reason why. He is SOSOSOSSO clearly the worst of our 4 backs, if he can even be called a running back still, and the one thing that he supposedly does "well" is goal line which he sucked so badly at when given those carries last year.

Tight End:

Enter Kevin Bossman. Shockey is finally gone; the circus that perpetually surrounded him has moved onto Bourbon Street where he can drink hand grenades until he passes out in a gutter and defecates in his pants. While I did love Shockey's competitiveness and overall genius personality, there was no doubt in my mind that we would be better off without him. Sluts at the Jersey Shore will lament his leaving / shotgun a beer in his remembrance for sure. His personality will be missed in the locker room and during practice - no doubt about that - but his loud mouth and constant displeasure with his offensive role will not be. Boss is obviously not the type of pass catching threat that Shockey is, but he is serviceable and is capable as he proved late last season and into the playoffs. Michael Matthews is also a good pass blocking tight end who I think will get more time this year as we do some more creative things with our wide outs. Given the structure of this offense, the decreased role that will be placed on the TE in terms of our schemes I think will work out fine. As I mentioned earlier, I think Steve Smith is primed for a great year. We will be lining up 3+ wide outs and spreading the field a lot more this season, I believe. This also lets us run some draws for Bradshaw which is one facet of his game in which he excels. I think Boss will be a fine TE for us this year. He is not as good as Shockey in terms of pass catching, but we don't need him to be. Boss has very good hands though, and obviously whatever he does for us fits because we won the grand dong bowl fest last year with him at TE, not Shockey.

Offensive Line:

Our O-line is the best in the NFL that nobody talks about. We are privileged enough to return all of our starting linemen: from left to right Diehl, Seubert, O'Hara, Snee, McKenzie. No sexiness, (none of these 5 were first round picks) no Hutchinsons or whatever, just a group of 5 very solid guys with great rapport. They are a GREAT run blocking offensive line, as evident by our dominating run game last season (4th in the NFL), and they are above average at pass blocking. We also signed former Pro Bowler Shane Olivea this off season, and while he has been missing in action at camp over the past several days, he was reportedly starting to really show flashes in his most recent practices. He will join Whimper, Goddard, and Ruegamer to give us great depth. Our linemen are all gritty, tough, and hard nosed football players; each earned their spots and they are a great unit. They really started to shine for us last season as we entered the second half. This group is very comfortable with each other out there and I fully expect a dominating season out them from week 1 to whenever our playoff run ends.

Rising and Falling Draft Stocks After Preseason Week 1

The preseason is often derided as inconsequential and unimportant; however, ignoring it will put fantasy owners at a disadvantage come draft day, as it serves as a sneak preview for players on the verge of break out seasons, especially rookies, who are seeing their first NFL game action. Well, the first week of the NFL preseason has come and gone, and there have been surprises and eye openers already that I think will effect upcoming drafts, especially the important and often league winning task of targeting which sleepers specifically are worth drafting and where. Here’s a list (in no particular order) of players who’s fantasy stocks are rising and falling after the first week of the preseason.

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Rising:

Jason Campbell QB-Wash: Jason has looked very good in training camp so far this summer, and he has continued to impress in his first two preseason games. He was perfect in the Hall of Fame game about a week ago and was 7-10 for 71 yards, leading the team on a 12 team TD drive against Buffalo in their second game. With Cooley, the addition of two rookie receivers with potential, and a healthy Santana Moss and Clinton Portis, Campbell has the weapons to be successful in the new west coast offense that was installed in Washington this season. With the increased attempts he has the chance to be a nice QB2 with upside.

Matt Leinart QB-Ariz: Leinart had a good outing in his first playing time in 10 months, completing 7 of 8 passes for 91 yards on a TD drive. Leinart has some value because he has some of the best receivers in the league to throw to, making him a sleeper QB2 with the potential to be startable if he can take this performance and roll with it. The Cards know that Leinart is their future and will give him every opportunity to start, despite the fact that they have the best back-up in the league in Kurt Warner. Draft Leinart as a back-up late and hope that he can play like this in the regular season in case your sugar daddy goes down at some point.

Larry Johnson RB-K.C.: 8 carries for 18 yds iiiiiiisn’t what you’re looking for from LJ in his first game back from a foot injury that knocked him out for the season in week 9 last year, but I believe that the fact that he’s playing at all is a good sign that he’s healthy. Plus, he scored a TD and is getting a chance to become assimilated with his o-line, which he didn’t have the opportunity to do last year in camp/preseason. He didn’t look great, but injuries would be the reason that I’d avoid LJ on draft day and this was a good first step to prove his health.

Chris Johnson RB-Ten: Tennessee took a lot of guff for drafting CJ in the first round in this years draft, as most experts graded him as a second round pick. They might have known what they were doing, however, as he has looked amazing in camp and showcased his mind boggling speed (he was the fastest player in the combine running a 4.24!!) in his NFL debut on a jaw dropping 66 yard run. This kid is not an every down back, so I don’t think that he’ll hurt LenOverWeight’s value that much. But if he gets 10 carries a game and a few receptions, he’ll have fantasy value because he has the chance to go the distance every time he touches the rock. I officially love him.

Felix Jones RB-Dal: Felix had 8 touches for 61 yards (6 rushes for 32 and 2 receptions for 29) against the Chargers on Saturday, displaying his explosiveness and elusiveness on a 28 yard swing pass and a 19 yard hand off. He’s described as a slippery runner with extremely good vision, and he showed these qualities, as well as showing that he can produce with limited looks as a complement to MB3. If the Cowboys run on average 30 times a game, Felix should get around 10-12 of those carries along with a few receptions, meaning that he’ll have value in fantasy, as he, like CJ, has the ability to break one off on every carry.

Calvin Johnson-WR Det: Caught 4 passes for 78 yards IN ONE QUARTER against the Giants first team defense on Thursday. Okaaaaaaay Calvin, that’s what we were all waiting after your freakishly athletic and talented self got drafted 2nd overall last year by a team that needed almost anything BUT another receiver. Dude could be ready to explode this year in Detroit, which I say not because I love their offense but simply because he’s practically unguardable (6-5, 240lbs with 4.35 speed--EW). He can be had for fairly cheap on draft day, as he’s going around rd 7 as a WR2/3; however, he has the potential to be this year’s Braylon.

Robert Meachem WR-N.O.: First round receiver plus Saints pass-happy offense equals chance to be amazing. Meachem pretty much redshirted his rookie year last season, as he was sidelined for its entirety due to knee surgery. The Saints are excited about what he can add to their offense this season, as he appears healthy and studly. He has a good chance to beat out Devery Henderson as the Saints third WR and could even push David Patten for playing time if he can show that his 4 receptions for 129 yards and a TD weren’t a fluke in week one. He has explosive, big play ability, which will allow him to fit in perfectly with the Saints offense, which he displayed on a sick 60 yd TD reception. I’d try to draft him late as a sleeper WR and try to trade him early if he has a big game, as he’ll probably be inconsistent throughout the year.

Santonio Holmes WR-Pitt: He’s essentially the number one WR in Pittsburgh now, which is a valuable commodity on an offense that should be even more potent than it was last year. He was used more as homerun hitter last season with Hines used more as a chain mover, but the Steelers want to get Santonio involved more in possession receiving, which should mean more looks. Also helping his case is the fact that it’s his third year in the league and the fact that he nearly broke 1,000 yards last season playing in only 13 games. He looked good in his limited time this weekend against the Eagles, scoring a 19 yard TD in his only series. That is the prototypical Santonio play and one that owners should expect to see a lot this season. I can see him gaining around 1,200 with 10 in 08.

James Hardy WR-Buff: This humongous rookie WR should have value this year as a red zone target for Trent Edwards (or whoever the starter ends up being in Buffalo), and we got a glimpse of his potential in that area this weekend, as his only catch was a 16 yard TD from J.P. Losman. The 6-6 Hardy had 36 TD’s in only 30 games at Indiana in his college career, as he clearly presents match up problems in that area. I expect him to continue his red zone dominance in the NFL and think that it’s easily within his reach to gain 650+ yds and 7+ TD’s this season.

Roddy White WR-Atl: Roddy had a very good season last year (1,202 yds and 6 TD’s) with scrubs Chris Redman, Byron Leftwich, and Joey Harrington getting him the ball. That kind of production from those asses is very impressive, as Roddy was able to display his first round talent and enjoy a breakout season in his 3 year. The big question is whether or not he can repeat that performance on a team that still has a questionable QB situation. Well, the fact that Matt Ryan not only had a very impressive showing in general (9-15 for 113 yds) but also threw a TD pass to Roddy is an extremely good sign for the fourth year wideout. This outing was a good indication that Ryan will win the starting QB job, solidify the position, and find Roddy, his best receiver, often in 08, helping to erase some of the doubt surrounding Roddy heading into the season.

Falling:



Edgerrin James RB-Ari: Tim Hightower looked pretty solid (5-23 with a TD) and might steal some precious goal line carries from Edge this season who is 30 years old and might be on the verge of breaking down. Edge should still get the vast majority of the carries, but it’s concerning that it was it was Tim who got the goal line looks preseason week 1 and that Hightower might be emerging as a back up to push Edge for playing time. This is just another red flag in an increasingly alarming season for a RB who has to slow down eventually (right?).

Julius Jones RB-Sea: Honestly, can anyone possibly be surprised by this? He played pretty horribly this past weekend (4-15, 1-3), getting outplayed HANDILY by Maurice Morris (6-62). This backfield has timeshare written all over it, rendering both backs essentially worthless (surprise, surprise). If someone put a gun to my head and forced me to draft one, I’d take Mo Mo.

Jonathon Stewart RB-Car: I’m not sure if anyone’s draft stock fell any more than first rounder Stewart’s this weekend, as the RB that he was supposed to supplant easily for the starting role, DeAngelo Williams, looked sick (9-55), while Stewart’s toe prevented him from playing at all. His toe surgery was a concern for teams even before the draft and now it looks like it won’t be as easy as once thought to take the majority of the carries from fellow first rounder Williams. In fact, word from Panthers camp is that DeAngelo will actually get more carries than Stewart in 08, making the situation look like another dreaded committee. Let someone else draft Stewart and his hype.

Willis McGahee RB-Bal: Knee surgery a few weeks before the season starts on top of a second round RB, Ray Rice, that has looked very good at camp is not a combination that spells success for Willis in 08. He’ll be out 2-4 weeks because of the knee, meaning that there’s a chance that he misses time in the regular season. Factor in the Ravens poor o-line, as well, and Willis is simply not worth his second round average draft position. By-pass Willis in drafts but target Rice late, as he may be startable in fantasy sooner rather than later.

Ahman Green RB-Hou: If you needed any proof that Ahman is now a joke look no further than the fact that he hurt his hamstring on his first carry of the preseason. On top of this, he has looked slow and terrible in camp and should be avoided like plague on draft day. His back up situation is cloudy but, as Chris Brown is hurt and Darius Walker sucks, the front runner has to be 3rd round pick Steve Slaton, who now has fantasy value, especially since he’s not even getting drafted right now, so his value is incredible.

For the record...

With my Mets in a very tough battle for the NL East and the Giants underway in trianing camp with the NFL season rapidly approaching, I still find myself thinking about the NBA maybe too much. But regardless, I have been giving a lot of thought on the various offseason moves etc. and I have decided who I like to win the title this year

The Houston Rockets

They are so fucking good with Artest. The more I think about the Yao-TMac-Artest trio coupled with their already insane team defense which will be bolstered even more by Artest I just think this team is now the best in the West. Artest is truly a special player who has been given little attention for his game due to the fact that he is utterly insane. But, now finally on a good team and with plenty of national games on the docket, this will prove to be the best offseason move by any team in the NBA. The lack of a good point guard does not bother me very much because TMac largely dominates the ball on offense anyway. Their bench is very deep and very, very good. Artest in the locker room is a big question mark surrounding this team, in my mind. He is fucking batshit crazy berserk and nothing will change that. But I do think that playing with a TMac and Yao and with a legit shot at a title, he will not act out and do as many crazy things as normal. I think they will see the Celts in the finals this year and smite them. Yes there is significant injury concern, but this obviously is barring that none of these three miss any significant portions of time. I'm on the bandwagon, and I love this team this year.

RB Ranks Pt. 1

Training camps are in full swing and the preseason started this weekend, meaning that football season is finally here, and I don’t seem so weird for checking Cowboys blogs obsessively everyday. This means that it’s also time for fantasy and drafts and amazingness of that sort to begin as well. Hopefully, everyone read my QB rankings a few weeks ago, and now it’s time for the running backs. The annoying thing about RB’s is that typically 5 of the RB’s finishing in the top 10 of one fantasy season won’t repeat the feat the next year, which means that we can probably expect (due to injury, age, or circumstance) 5 of the following top ten players from 07 to drop out this coming year: LT, Westbrook, Addai, AP, Portis, Lewis, Barber, McGahee, James, and Gore. Sounds crazy right? Well, when you compare that list to 06‘s top ten (LT, LJ, S Jax, Gore, Parker, Westbrook, MJD, Rudi, Deuce, and Addai) it doesn’t seem so far fetched, as 6 of those players did not repeat their top 10 performances in 07. I’m too big of a puss to knock 5 07ers out of my top ten for 08, but I did give 3 the boot. Follow the jump to check out the rankings and find out which ones.
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Tier One

1. LaDainian Tomlinson: If health were not an issue concerning A-Pete, he’d be my top back, due to soon to be discussed issues. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, they are, and that’s why I think LT is the safer pick here, combined with his proven ridiculous consistency (7 straight seasons of AT LEAST 1600+ total yds and 10+ tds). The risk with LT is minimal but does include his return from an injured MCL from last season (which from all reports is fine), the injury to C Nick Hardwick (who’s currently probable for week 1, but who knows), and the loss of the best battering ram FB in the league, Lorenzo Neal (they drafted FB Jacob Hester out of LSU in Rd 3 though, so that’s probably no big deal either). Injury is a concern for all RB’s because of the pounding they take, especially for older ones, but the Chargers have always been careful not to overuse him, and he’s only missed one regular season game in his 7 years as a pro. Compare that to Peterson already missing two last year and being injury prone in college, and you have the reason that I’d take LT first at the RB position.

2. Adrian Peterson: Minnesota has a very good o-line, their top 3 rushers all finished with at least 5.4 ypc last season (Mewelde represent), which is reason enough to love AP. His injuries are a little worrisome though, as he missed time last year and had problems at Oklahoma, as well. His upside is higher than LT’s, as he showed last year (images of him breaking the single game rushing record against the CHARGERS come to mind here) in only his rookie season. Free agent/draft-wise they didn’t do much to improve their offense (Berrian could stretch the D a little), but AP showed last year that that doesn’t matter anyways.

3. Brian Westbrook: We have a love-hate relationship, Brian and I. While he plays for the hated Eagles, I also love how much he owned for me last year, leading the league in yards from scrimmage with 2,104! Westfaulk should probably go first in PPR leagues, as he had 90 last year on top of 12 TD’s. Philly’s offense could even be improved this year with a fully healthy McNabb (ha) and the addition of speedster DeSean Jackson from Cal. The fact that he’s remained fairly healthy the last two seasons, combined with his heavy workload, makes me think that he might be due for a set back. Westbrook’s health, however, has always been a concern, (he’s questionable every week it seems), but his proven full season productivity is more than enough to make him a candidate to finish first at RB by the end of the year.

Tier Two

4. Steven Jackson: Jackson‘s upside is just too hard to ignore here. His offense isn’t nearly as good as Addai’s or Barber’s, but it has to be better than last year and so should he. Most of their failure on offense last year was due to the fact that the o-line was never fully healthy, nor did it have a chance to develop any sort of cohesion. The fact that S Jax is holding out and has missed all of training camp, so far, is a bit worrisome, but he’ll play eventually (if he isn’t signed by late August, then don’t draft him here) and has the potential to reach 2000+ yards from scrimmage like in 06. Things really couldn’t have gotten any worse last year for him, and he still finished with respectable numbers with nearly 1,400 yards from scrimmage in only 12 games.

5. Joseph Addai: Addai comes with more risk than one might think, as he averaged only 45.7 ypg and 3.3 ypc in his last 10 games (eww), including the playoffs. Despite all of this he had 1,400+ yards from scrimmage and 15 total td‘s, a statistic which serves to highlight Addai‘s greatest attribute, the fact that he plays for the offensive juggernaut Colts. He will score TD’s for you without a doubt, and if he can figure out how to maintain consistency throughout the year, he will be a stud muffin.

6. Marion Barber: Much like Addai, the fact that Barber plays on a sick offense helps his draft stock. He’s had 28 TD’s the past two season without even starting, while averaging 4.8 ypc. He only had 204 carries last season yet still finished with 975 yards in essentially 15 games as Julius Worthless‘s back up. This year he will receive an increased work load for sure with the blessed departure of JJ. 50-100 more carries means anywhere from 200-450 more rushing yards on top of around 300 receiving yards and 12+ TD’s. One of the risks is that the addition of 1st round pick Felix Jones (who has looked stellar in camp) will steal too many carries from Barber, keeping him closer to 200. I think that Felix’s presence, however, will simply help keep MB3 fresh and make him more consistent throughout the year, as Wade Phillips has already said that Barber will see an increased role (they didn’t pay him $45 million over 7 years for nothing). Can Barber handle the full load while maintaining his 4.8 ypc? It might drop a few points, but I believe that it’s a less risky proposition than those concerning the rest of the backs below him on this list.

7. Frank Gore: I’m not a huge proponent of the argument that a top RB should be passed up because of the poor offense that surrounds him (just look at Adrian Peterson). The idea that opposing defenses merely have to key in one player to stop the offense is usually off base (people try this argument on Ryan Grant and the Favre-less Packers); however, this argument, as it relates to Gore, I believe is spot on. The Niners offense last year was LAUGHABLY bad (dead last in yards per game, yards per play, points per game, total points, sacks allowed, 3rd down conversion %, 1st downs per game, and pretty much anything else you can think of). Why should they be better this year? Martz? Yeah he’ll utilize Gore as best he can, but how well can his system work on a team that already allowed the most sacks in the league last year? Not to mention they have two jokes competing for the starting QB job, two okay receivers (Bryant Johnson and the over-the-hill Isaac Bruce), and the worst or second worst (Chiefs might win this prize) o-line in football. I can’t see NFL defenses doing anything BUT game plan solely to stop Gore, who on top of all that has had more surgeries than Madonna.

Tier Three:

8. Marshawn Lynch: The upside with Lynch is that he’s the unquestionable feature back in a offense that showers him with carries, piling up 280 last year in 13 games. That statistic, however, also highlights his downside, as he only played in 13 games. This is pretty understandable for a rookie, playing in the more physical and lengthier NFL, and getting a heavy workload, but next year will tell whether or not missing 3 games is a trend or an anomaly for him. With only a paltry 18 receptions last season, Lynch still averaged over 10 ypr, meaning that they need to get him the ball more as a receiver. Fortunately, new offensive coordinator Turk Schonert, who is a QB specialist, intends to do just that. He also wants to get Lee Evans more looks, and one of the ways he plans on doing both of these things is by motioning Lynch out wide and drawing a safety off of Evans, creating single coverage for both of them. This has been effective in camp so far, as Lynch has be catching even deep balls for the weapons-thin Buffalo offense, something that owners can’t wait to see starting in September.

9. Ryan Grant: People who are underrating Grant this year simply did not see him play in 2007. There can be no other explanation because this kid is sick and the real deal. I picked him up after his Monday night performance against Denver in October last year and will forever be thankful. He averaged 5.1 ypc, as the Packers featured back from that point on, racking up nearly 1,000 yards in 7 games and scoring 8 TD’s. And from watching most of those games, I can tell you that he could’ve had more TD’s had Favre not been trying to break the all-time record by throwing 2 yarders constantly. Another statistic that should be getting your mouth water is that fact that he also had 30 receptions in only 7 games; basically, he put up a seasons worth of production in 7 games, and I cant wait to see what he does with a full one. Detractors (idiot owners/writers) are worried that opposing defenses will stack 8 in the box to stop Grant now that Favre is gone. These people simply know nothing about football and should be ridiculed accordingly now and when your team rapes them, while they wonder why Rudi Johnson isn’t better. The fact of the matter is that Green Bay’s offense will not change fundamentally because of the departure of Favre. Green Bay isn’t expecting Brian Brohm to come in, learn a simplified version of the offense, and be productive. Aaron Rodgers has had three and a half years to learn this offense and knows it forwards and backwards, learning from Favre along the way. Plus, he still inherits veteran Donald Driver, rising star Greg Jennings, and the admirable James Jones, in other words, one of the best receiving corps for a spread offense in the NFL. Opposing D’s simply cannot stack 8 in the box against that spread offense, and they will not. Steal Grant at any point in round 2 and you’ll essentially have been given two first rounders.

10. Clinton Portis: The fact that he’s one year away from playing sparingly in only 8 games along with a new pass-first, Jim Zorn offense in Washington pushes Portis this far down my list. Throw in the fact that he only rushed for 3.9 ypc, and there is even more cause for concern. He did, however, have 1,600+ yards from scrimmage with 11 TD’s last season, and he’ll only have just turned 27 by the time the season starts. Portis has only played a full 16 games in three of six season, so are you willing to flip a coin, as to whether or not he’ll be healthy all season in 08? I don’t think I am, plus I like guys like Grant, who are typically drafted after Portis, more. So unless Portis takes a steep tumble and falls to me in third or something, which he won’t, then I won’t be taking a chance on him this year.

Tier Four:

11. Willis McGahee: The Ravens had a bevy of early picks in this years draft and did what they could to address their pathetic offense in 07, drafting a QB (Joe Flacco) in round 1, a RB (Ray Rice) in round 2, and a OG (Oniel Cousins) in round 3, as well as an OT and WR in the 4th. The only really important name you need to know concerning Willis is Ray Rice (5-8, 200 lbs), who a lot of people are comparing to MJD. This kid could be as good or better than MJD, and has been so spectacular in camp that people are thinking that he and Willis might come closer to splitting carries than merely having Rice as a back up. If you draft McGahee, make sure you get Rice to handcuff him because he could explode if Willis gets injured and might be startable even if he doesn‘t. On the other hand, Willis is a pretty dependable back and did well in his first season with Baltimore with 1,400+ yards from scrimmage and 8 TD’s but consider that his ceiling, especially with the undoubted emergence of Mini Ray.

12. Larry Johnson: If all of these other randalls have been drafted, LJ is still there, and you still need a RB, then you almost have to take him. Anybody with a cursory interest in fantasy football knows that 400+ carry seasons (like LJ had in 06) are the kiss of death for RB’s, which is why I steered completely clear of LJ in any drafts last year. People mistakenly believe that it was his shoddy o-line that made LJ a bust last year, but it was actually his 416 carries in 06 (although his o-line didn’t help). He returns this year with an improved o-line (thank you top 15 pick Branden Albert) and with a foot that is supposedly healed, but who knows what minor play could cause him to miss significant time. From reports out of camp, it looks like he’s back, but his health risk is still substantial and a lot of owners are refusing to draft him in the first round, but IF IF IF he can stay healthy….you just got LJ in round 2 AND his little friend: 1,700 total yards.

13. Darren McFadden: Everyone wants this year’s AP, and maybe he’s out there and maybe he’s not, but DMac certainly has the skills to be just as good and without the injury risk. He has been unreal in camp so far and has apparently been picking things up quickly even for a rookie, especially since they’re throwing a lot at him, having him line up in multiple formations and out wide (he’s been billed since college as a stronger Reggie Bush and a better route runner). People who are worried about Fargas taking a lot of carries can take some solace in the fact that Chester Taylor is much better than Justin Fargas, and he was sent to the pine when it was seen how ridic AP was. Some concerns are that Oakland’s o-line really isn’t very good (especially compared to Minnesota‘s), one of the worst in league in pass blocking, and that they are an injury away from being an absolute mock. But they still managed to finish 6th in rushing last year and should be fine as long as they can at least keep Jamarcus upright. Javon Walker might not do much this year to help their offense but between him, Drew Carter, and Ronald Curry the Raiders at least have some decent wide out targets for Jamarcus and Co. to move the chains for DMac.

14. Jamal Lewis: Cleveland essentially punted this years draft for free agents and Brady Quinn, which history tells us isn’t the smartest thing to do (Redskins) but whatever (it works in Madden), and it’s Cleveland (Tim Couch LOL…okay okay recent drafting has been better). Jamal Lewis has the cushy privilege of other people extending a career that should already be over. Those other people include his sick o-line, which is the second best in the league in my opinion, Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow, and Derek Anderson (and maybe even Donte Stalworth). Any running back could prosper in this heavenly system and a better one could be amazing but, alas, no. This would have been the perfect draft to get Jamal’s replacement too, but apparently they think they can squeeze a little more out him this year, and I believe them because the job could hardly be easier. The reason to be worried with him is that he’s entering the 8th year of his career with over 2,000 carries and this is around the time that RB’s become worthless, but I think he has a over 1000 left.

15. Edgerrin James: Sure James hasn’t approached his Colts days numbers, which is why he’s not closer to the top of this list, but what he’s been doing in Arizona (1,400 and 7 in 07) is more than fine for where he’s going in drafts. This dude is the model of consistency, and while, like Jamal, he’s coming dangerously close the age and number of carries where most runners slow down, he’s still the only serious contender for carries on the Cardinals. He should get around 300 carries again in 08 (he had 324 in 07) behind an o-line that is pretty solid and for an offense that will be good enough to move the chains and put him into positions to score.

AFC Preview: Up and Right!

Featuring Alon AND Walsh!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're gonna do this division by division you little randalls, two divisions per post (that makes four posts total for the mathematically challenged/retards), starting with the one and only:

More...

AFC East

Walsh: 1, New England 2, New York 3, Buffalo 4, Miami
Alon: 1, Jets 2, Pats 3, Fins 4, Bills

Walsh: No big surprises here. The Patriots will coast their way into the playoffs and should win the division by at least 3 games. Not much to say about the Pats, they are sick and did not make any very significant or notable changes to their roster. They should at least make it to the conference championship game this year. The Jets are vastly, vastly improved from last year. They made tremendous acquisitions on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football which they desperately needed to do following a terribly disappointing 4-win 2007 season. In a very weak AFC East division, combined with a relatively easy out of conference schedule, it is reasonable to expect an 8 win season out of this football team. They have such a different team this year than last it is difficult to predict how the Jets will fair. They probably don't know what to expect themselves. I can see them stumbling a bit as they learn to play together initially but finishing quite strong. Ultimately, in the wild card picture, they will be on the outside looking in. But for 2009, I think the playoffs will definitely be on their radar. The Bills kind of suck. They went 7-9 last year in what could have easily been a 5-11 season. Their defense was dead last in the AFC in yards per game, and while they did make a few notable off season acquisitions in Kawika Mitchell and Marcus Stroud, their defense looks to be average at best. Offensively, there's a lot to like about rookie James Hardy who could as the season progresses emerge as a serious #2 wide out opposite Lee Evans. And Marshawn Lynch will only continue to improve. But last year they averaged a paltry 277 yards/game good for second to last in the AFC. And this can be attributed to their abysmal quarterback play. Entering this year, much of the same will occur. They are still stuck with Edwards and Losman who will give them inconsistent and below average play at the quarterback position which will faulk their offense all season. It's tough to see the Bills being much better than they were last year. The Dolphins were good last year. Hm. They did make terrific moves this off season bringing in new personnel in Parcells and Sparano. Parcells has a proven track record for turning around troubled franchises and Miami should be happy to see him take their joke of a team as his newest reclamation project. So they shed some older faulks like Taylor and Zach Thomas and have undergone the rebuilding process. I really, really like Chad Henne to be a solid NFL quarterback, he's got good arm strength, good size, good accuracy, and is intelligent. The fact that they drafted him shows that the new regime is not buying what John Beck is selling. Hopefully they won't be forced to use Henne this year in an unfavorable situation on what looks to be a horrible team, but I can see Henne being their quarterback of the future. Ronnie Brown will be just one year removed from ACL surgery and he will not last the season. Once he goes down, their running back situation is very suspect and could prove to be a huge problem for them. It will be a very important season for Teddy Ginn, as he could prove to be a HUGE bust by idiot old regime Fins, and this will likely be a make or break year for him with this team. Overall, this team still sucks and is a joke. They are still a couple years removed from being competitive, but they will obviously win more than 1 game this year. Yay for fins fans.

Alon: I've already written pretty extensively on the Jets for this wonderful blog and I feel there isn't much else to say. Here are links to my past Jets posts about the defense, offense and Favre acquisition. I hate the Pats although realistically they should finish first. Is this a biased post? Absolutely it is. F*** the Pats. I can have my fun... Anyway... Brady is amazing, Randy is amazing, Welker is amazing. Their O-line is very good but has shown an extreme weakness to speed pass rushers as they struggled last season against the Colts, Eagles, Ravens, Giants and the Giants again(cue in Giants fans' circle jerk session). The Jets have added some serious speed coming off of the edge in Pace and Gholston and I hope they severely ruin Brady's model shoots. The Pats' biggest strength on defense by FAR is their d-line featuring a good Ty Warren and the two unbelievable ones; Vince Wilfork and Richard Seymour. Other than the d-line I think Pats fans are in for a surprise this season as far as overall defense goes. Their linebackers are jokes. Vrabel is 33 and couldn't be slower, Bruschi is 35 and couldn't be slower, Hobson (maybe rookie Jerrod Mayo will take this over) is just a body with average speed and decent tackling ability and Adalius is sick. I suspect opposing offenses to take full advantage of these guys' horrible speed. Their secondary is also not very good at all. They lost their stud Asante Samuel and his boyfriend Randall Gay (get it? Gay! owned). It looks like their two starting corners will be Ellis Hobbs and Fernando Bryant who both have very good speed. Besides good 40 times neither of them can tackle, not to mention Hobbs is 5'9" and Bryant is 5'11". Rodney Harrison is a steroided up 36 year old which is a recipe for disaster and their other safety will either be the pretty solid James Sanders or the inexperienced Brandon Meriweather, so I'm not too worried there either. Favre is going to pick these guys apart, and to be honest, so is Chad, Trent Edwards, and every other QB they face except for Alex Smith. I think the Dolphins have been making all the right moves so far this off season. Although obviously the loss of Jason Taylor hurts them this season among others (Booker, Chatman, Traylor) I feel that their additions are much more important. The biggest and most recent addition is Chad Pennington. Chad, with what will be a solid o-line and good running game (especially if Ronnie Brown is at full strength) is a very capable quarterback. You probably hate him but he wins games. The Fins also added Akin Ayodele, Jason Ferguson, Justin Smiley and Ernest Wilford (as you spit out your coffee thinking, "Those are their key additions?!??! Man the Dolphins suck!") True! The Dolphins suck! But there were only two teams last season that were actually WORSE in yards per game AND yards allowed per game and those two teams were the 49ers and the Buffalo Bills. I am sorry Bills fans, but you guys are WAY overrated. I like the moves that the Bills made a LOT but I like it more for the 2010 season than for this one. Bills drafted CB McKelvin in the 1st round and WR Hardy in the 2nd round. They also traded for Stroud and signed Kawika Mitchell. I like all of these moves. McKelvin could be sick, but rookie corners are usually not and I think Hardy eventually will be among corner-backs' most feared guys to lineup against (mostly in the red-zone) standing at a towering 6'7". Kawika is a slightly better than average tackler and Stroud can maybe put together a healthy season and return to 2004 form. Wait a second. Stroud has only played in 20 games the last two seasons combined and hasn't impressed since 2004. Hmm... The Bills' all around most valuable player is their left tackle Jason Peters and he is still holding out for a contract extension. Are you kidding me Bills? We're talking top tackle in the NFL and they aren't showing him ANY love. With Peters the Bills have a below average line, without Peters they have one of the worst o-lines in the NFL. Their starting QB Trent Edwards I do like to be a SOLID QB in the future but he has only started ten total games and not impressed me too much. His ceiling to me seems to be a game manager as he finished with 8 interceptions and 7 touchdowns in 10 games, but if you subtract week 14 against the Dolphins (of course) then he only had 3 touchdowns and 8 picks in 9 games. I love Marshawn Lynch and think he is sick but frankly an inexperienced game manager in Trent Edwards limits this offense to the bottom of the barrel for yet another season.

AFC North

Walsh: 1, Cleveland 2, Pittsburgh 3, Baltimore 4, Cincinnati
Alon: 1, Cleveland 2, Pittsburgh 3, Cincy 4, Baltimore

Walsh: Faulk Pitt and Big Ben, I think that Cleveland owns their division games and takes the division this year. They are sexier. The Browns defense was abominable last year allowing the second worst yards per game in the AFC. They added Shaun Rogers, who is one of a few DTackles in the NFL with real game changing ability. If he is able to play at least 12 games, his impact on the defense as a whole will be huge. But, if he plays like 6 games, they could be in trouble. Other than Rogers, Cleveland will be returning basically the same defense as last year. Both of their corners, Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald, were rooks last year, and they should be much improved this year. I think that the defense will be completely contingent upon Rogers' ability to stay healthy. If he can be healthy, their defense will be average; if not, they will be quite bad. But, regardless, they have shown last year that they have the offense for it to not matter much. They were 4th in yards per game and added Stallworth. Super scrub DAnderson really excelled in their high powered offensive system last year and there is absolutely no reason to believe he will not do the same this year. Their OLine is one of the best in the game; Jamal Lewis looked rejuvenated last year running behind them and is always good at punching it in on the goal line. Braylon completely busted out and has cemented himself as one of the best wide receivers in the entire league. Kellen Winslow similarly broke out to prove to be one of the best pass catching tight ends in the league. Once they get Jurevicius back and get him going in the slot, they will be a pick your poision offense with serious options at WR123 RB and TE. The Steelers are the most popular pick to win this division but lets go against the grain here, EOH?! I hate Ben. I love Mendenhall, but I hated the Steelers taking him as they had no need at running back and great needs at offensive line. They have the toughest sked in the league they have the Colts, Pats, Boys, Gmen, Philly, Tenn....etc. I think they will have a VERY difficult time winning 10 games this season. Their offensive line was horrible last year, they lost Faneca, and I'm ABSOLUTELY drafting Roehltishglithshburger in every single fantasy league I'm in where concussions are a category. The AFC's best defense will return, and should own again. But, schedule, offensive line woes, I just don't see the Steelers winning the division this year. The Ravens are a team I like to bounce back with some type of moderation from a down year in 2007. They are returning the entire defense and they look to be healthy to some degree, certainly more so than last year. Their red zone defense last year was an absolute joke as they ranked 4th in yards per game but somehow ranked 12th in the AFC in points allowed. Their red zone defense must improve, and I think it will. Offensively, we'll see what they get out of the quarterback position this year. Boller is Boller, and we'll see if Flacco emerges to significantly contribute this season. I hope Troy Smith gets a look at QB, I mean, Boller just sucks, so why not? But, if they can put up 17 points per game again as they did last year they should be good for third in this division. I am really, really down on the Bengals this year. This has got to be the year they fire Marvin Lewis, I am frankly surprised they are entering this season with him as this team has been going nowhere for the past couple years. Their offense will be good again, as usual, and their defense will be an absolute joke, again, as is the trend with Lewis run teams. Carson, TJ, Chad, blhablhab they will score points. Yes, fine. But they will stop no one. This team peaked several years ago and have done nothing to significantly improve since. They did not sufficiently address their defense this offseason (to be fair, it was an impossible task), Lewis will get fired, they will suck, finish last in the divison, and begin to rebuild.


Alon: I honestly like the Brownstains a lot this year. If you don't know about their offense well then you were living under a rock all last season. Their offense is sick. They have probably the best o-line in the NFL (sorry Peter), the best young wide receiver in the NFL in Braylon and the best young pass catching TE in the NFL in Kellen Winsnotslowwinsfast. They're rushing attack is led by the still good and apparently in the best shape of his life Jamal Lewis. The QB position is handled by third year Derek Anderson who had a great year last year. The Browns finished 8th last season in points and I think they'll climb up even further to top five this season. Their defense is lulu woohoo chuchu. The secondary is young, athletic and should improve some. The D-line was terrible last year and thats what the Browns' management targeted to improve through trade and thats exactly what they did. Welcome Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams to the line. Rogers is SO overlooked because he has played his whole career on a defense that has been consistently among the worst in the NFL; the Detroit Lions. Rogers is a rare and special talent. He has the size and strength to effectively play nose tackle in the 3-4 and he also has the speed and pass rushing ability to pressure the QB. He obviously will not get as many sacks as he has been getting in Detroit b/c they run the 4-3 there, but he'll probably still get at least 4 which is very good. Him clogging the middle and former packer DT sack machine Corey Williams on the end are TREMENDOUS additions. They combine to be way over 600 pounds of muscle, mayonnaise and mustard, and they will very effectively take up maybe four guys at a time between them leaving their young athletic linebackers to feast on the baby opposing running backs and quarterbacks. Other then McGinest; Andra Davis, Kameron Wimbley and D'Qwell Jackson are all in their prime athletically, and makeup a very underrated linebacker core. The Steelers are still good, but they are no longer top tier. First of all, can I start by saying that Ben Roethlisberger two years ago finished with 18 TDs, 23 INTs, 59.7 completion percentage and got sacked 46 times (5 fumbles). Last year Big Ben finished with 32 TDs, 11 INTs, 65.3 completion percentage and got sacked 47 times (9 fumbles). What a jump. I feel like he'll slow down a little this year. That is too big a jump for me to believe. Those sack numbers are mind boggling, in a bad way. The Steelers lost pro-bowl guard Alan Faneca and now have an even worse o-line. I like their receivers, all of them, I like Willie Parker and Mendenhall but on teams with bad o-lines I flat out don't trust their offenses, sorry Pitt. Their defense is still elite of course, obvi Blitzburgh, and they very well may snag a wild-card spot, but sorry, I think the Browns take the division. The Bengals should've had a top tier offense last season but they finished 11th in points. Wait a tick. They finished 11th on what was considered a HUGE down year? Interesting... It seemed as though everyone took a step back for varying reasons. Carson got sacked actually 19 less times, had his completion percentage and yards go up as well. Touchdowns went down though and picks went up because the Bengals were always losing. Carson constantly had to try and make outstanding throws that the defense was prepared for because the Bengals HAD to throw. Keeping an opposing offense forcing to put the ball in the air because YOUR offense has provided a substantial lead can make any defense look good. It really all comes down to the running game for these Bengals. Rudi Johnson some say has completely hit a wall and some say will bounce back to top form. Time will tell. I think somewhere in between. The Bengals defense will remain very poor but their offense will at least keep them out of last place. The Ravens are bad. I'm sorry they just are. Willis McGahee is their "bright light" on offense and he is so mediocre it is sickening. They pretty much have no offensive tackles so that combined with McGahee limits them to no big play running game potential (Willis only had 5 carries of 20+ yards). They're hoping that their newly drafted back Ray Rice can change that and make some big plays but I really can't see that happening with no tackles to lead the way. Again, no tackles absolutely kills a passing game. The Ravens QBs last season combined to get sacked 39 times and fumbled the rock 16 times! And that was with 11 games played by the retired future hall of famer Jonathan Ogden!!!!!!!! Ugh. I hate their offense. Their offense is so horrible that it led the Ravens to the worst turnover differential in the NFL last season. I'm sorry. I'm not going to even go into their defense. With an offense that bad, consistently providing the defense with no rest and horrible field position, it's not even worth talking about. Ew. Eeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.... Please don't kill me Ray Lewis...