Fantasy Football Express - Fantasy Fooball Advice

2011 Fantasy Football Top 36 Rankings

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:33:00 +0000

Fantasy Football advice, rankings, and draft strategies here at Fantasy Football Express! This 2011 Fantasy Football Ranking list of the top 36 draft picks gets you through the 3rd round of your fantasy football draft. These rankings are up for debate, but just like any other year, this is the ranking I am using to draft my own teams. They may differ from you, you may like some picks, you may hate others, but this is just me sharing my thoughts. Good luck in 2011!

1. Adrian Peterson - 300+ carry potential, don't care if his O-Line stinks, McNabb will spread it around
2. Arian Foster - I want to see him do it again consistently before I pick #1, but can go either way
3. Chris Johnson - Should be more consistent this year
4. Jamaal Charles - This guy could be #1 by week 6
5. Ray Rice - Offense looks good, ready to take that next step
6. Michael Vick - This guy can make or break your entire week, I like having that potential
7. Aaron Rodgers - Best QB on the board by far
8. Michael Turner - I'm not buying the whole "Atlanta's going to air it out more" routine, Workhorse
9. Maurice Jones-Drew - Stay healthy and could be a great value here
10. LeSean McCoy - Love the potential but has less hype
11. Steven Jackson - Now that he's finally moved down a bit, might get better value
12. Frank Gore - Stay healthy please!
13. Rashard Mendenhall - Primed for a big year
14. Darren McFadden - Also needs to stay healthy but has big game potential
15. Andre Johnson - Still number 1 most dangerous
16. Calvin Johnson - If Stafford has a big year and stays healthy, watch out!
17. Hakeem Nicks - Big step up coming
18. Roddy White - Atlanta says they will throw more
19. Larry Fitzgerald - Success lies in the hands of Kevin Kolb
20. Matt Forte - Same deal as last season
21. DeSean Jackson - Big game potential
22. Peyton Hillis - Was consistent all season last year
23. Ahmad Bradshaw - I predict growth this into a top RB
24. Shonn Greene - Also predict growth into a top RB
25. Miles Austin - Great for yardage leagues, durable, consistent
26. Greg Jennings - Has the best QB in game throwing to him
27. LaGarrette Blount - Nice value if he can build on last season
28. Knowshon Moreno - Seems like a serviceable option
29. Drew Brees - Depending on league rules, might be able to move up a bit
30. Tom Brady - Same as Brees
31. Philip Rivers - See Brees/Brady
32. Vincent Jackson - Looking to make up for lost time, contract year
33. Mike Wallace - Has DeSean Jackson type big game ability
34. Reggie Wayne - If Manning is healthy by game time he'll produce as usual
35. Antonio Gates - Depends if he's healthy, if unsure, I'd pass altogether.
36. Jahvid Best - Lots of potential but depends on success of Stafford.

Super Bowl XLV Features Two Premier Fantasy Defenses

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:19:00 +0000

When it comes to fantasy football, most people focus on the quarterbacks and running backs that are the so-called franchise players of your team. But as we do our deliberating, analyzing, examining and picking of the NFL spread for Super Bowl XLV, fantasy players might take notice that the big game will feature two of the premier fantasy defenses from the 2010-11 season.

As they say, defense wins championships and this year’s Super Bowl champ will definitely be led by a stellar unit.

For starters, these two defense were ranked first and second in scoring defense in the NFL. The Steelers allowed just 14.5 points per game while the Packers allowed a mere half-point more at 15 points per game. From week to week – in fantasy or reality – these were the two most reliable units in the sense that you knew you could start them and you probably weren’t going to see a negative number next to their scoring total.

As far as sacks are concerned, once again, both of these teams ranked first and second in the NFL. The Steelers led the NFL with 48 sacks while the Packers finished up 47. In leagues where defense was tag-teamed with special teams, which admittedly is most of them, these two teams still ranked top 10. Combined, they had just one special teams return for a touchdown, which was notched by the Steelers back in Week 2.

But when it comes to defensive touchdowns, that’s another story. The Packers finished with four defensive touchdowns, which was the third-most in the NFL. The Steelers were just one behind as they totaled three.

As Super Bowl XLV approaches, most of the focus is on the two quarterbacks in Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers – and the two offenses – but clearly, we are going to see two premier units on the field on Sunday, February 6th.

Packers, Bears, Jets and Steelers - The 2010 NFL Playoffs has been Upset after Upset

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:22:00 +0000

Just a few weeks ago everyone was knocking the NFL playoff system after allowing a team with a losing record to enter the playoffs. To make it worse, that team got home field advantage.....what a joke! The Seattle Seahawks, all fired up, came out and put a C.O.W.A. stamp (Can of Whoop A$$) on the New Orleans Saints. Did anyone see that coming? Vegas did!

So now, what are your superbowl predictions? I originally picked the Cowboys and the Patriots....and I was obviously drunk when I made that prediction. But, these upsets just keep coming and coming week after week. If you're a betting man, wow, this is the best time of the year! There's nothing that makes these games more fun to watch. Who picked the Patriots -9.5 last night?
Just when you thought the charades were over, the New York Jets, mouths wide open and everything, put a beat down on the New England Patriots on the Pats' home turf. Ouch! What a game though! I'm a Giants fan myself and while I'll never switch sides, I love being in the middle of the action when a New York team is in the playoffs. The passion and desperation Jets fans have for producing a winner is unmatched. No team has been crapped on more in their home town (well, maybe the Mets) than the Jets so its fun to watch people go nuts. On Friday, you can tune into the Fan and get people saying,"I don't know. I just don't think the Jets can do it this weekend. Bla bla bla". Now today, Monday, it's, "I knew the Jets could do it! They we're destined to win!" Man, I love New York!

Baseball hot stove, college basketball, mid season NBA, NFL playoffs..... it's a great time to be a sports fan! Enjoy it while you can! With four teams left, my prediction for Superbowl.....

Packers 27 vs. Steelers 24

The Fantasy Man - Week 8 Fantasy Football Advice

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 15:16:00 +0000

Check out the Fantasy Man's Week 8 Fantasy Football Decisions at Draftopia! I threw in two sleepers of the week for you and some analysis on the biggest question marks of the week! Good luck!

The Fantasy Man - Fantasy Football Week 6 Advice

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 14:50:00 +0000

It's week 6 everyone!!! YAY! I posted my advice for this week over at Draftopia, check it out! I lost out on Jonathan Stewart last week on being a big sleeper but I think I got a good one this week! I even threw in a sell high candidate! So check out The Fantasy Man's Week 6 Fantasy Football Advice article over at Draftopia! It's free. Good luck this week!

The Fantasy Man - Week 5 Fantasy Football Advice

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 12:07:00 +0000

The Fantasy Man's Week 5 Fantasy Football advice article can be found over at the new fantasy sports paradise called Draftopia. Last week in this very spot I predicted Terrell Owens as the Sleeper of the Week and he blasted off with 200+ yards and a TD! This week, my Sleeper of the Week looks like it's going to be Jonathan Stewart. I love picking these guys that everyone in the world gets down on, you start dropping these guys and BAM!!... they have a big week, happens all the time. This week it's going to be Stewart! For more on that and more advice for Week 5 head over to Drafttopia. Don't worry, it's free. I just don't feel like typing the same article twice. Good luck this week.

The Fantasy Man

The Fantasy Man - Week 4 Fantasy Football Hits

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 14:33:00 +0000

I haven't quite made an official announcement yet but I have focused much of my fantasy football attention over to a new fantasy sports site called Drafttopia. Drafttopia wants to be your fantasy sports paradise. Drafttopia plans to create a dynamically new fantasy sports platform designed for YOU, the fantasy football player, manager, fan, etc. Still in it's early stages, Drafttopia has already signed some knowledgeable people in the industry to offer you the best advice and help you win your leagues. Click on the site and click a sport and you'll see articles written on a daily basis for most sports. The Fantasy Man is currently one of two fantasy football writers on Drafttopia and word on the street is that The Fantasy man will head up the Fantasy Baseball portion next spring!

This week, I offered my weekly fantasy football advice over at Drafttopia. You can find my Fantasy Football Week 4 Decisions there. There's a good chance that's where my weekly article will end up before Sunday's games but I'll make sure a post a blurb here too!

For some quick decisions not posted in that article for the few of you Fantasy Football Express fans....
- Start Louis Murphy andZach Miller - Houston Pass D is last in the league
- Start Darren McFadden (See the Drafttopia article on McFadden)
- Bench Mike Tolbert - Unless you want to vulture a TD or two and have a FLEX spot open
- Bench Jonathan Stewart - I can't take it anymore
- Bench Joe Flacco - This is risky but Flacco has been far from stellar and Steeler D will make him throw
- Start Carson Palmer - I love the "Carson Palmer stinks talk", watch him blow up this week!
- Mike Sims-Walker - See Carson Palmer!
- Need a Defense? Why not pick up the Seahawks (great against the run) or the Lions (picking up sacks and interceptions)
- Bench both Mike Williams'. I'm tired of looking at these guys on my teams.
- Bench Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower... too much of a headache.
- I'm actually benching Ray Rice this week in a league aganst the Steelers
- I'm starting Rashard Mendenhall against the Ravens after Peyton Hillis lit them up
- Sleeper of the week: Terrell Owens whom everyone dropped this week!

Good Luck!
The Fantaay Man

The Fantasy Man - Fantasy Football Week 2 Questions

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 16:32:00 +0000

Fantasy football advice for week 2 is here! Not to many tough questions this week since we have somewhat of an idea as to how some players "should" perform. Below are some of the questions I've been dealing with in my 7 leagues....

Check out www.Draftopia.com as YOUR Fantasy Sports paradise!

Matt Forte - I actually have a team where I drafted Arian Foster, Matt Forte and Darren McFadden along with my first round RB. Uggh, decisions, decisions. The big plus for Forte is that the Cowboys are terrible against pass catching RB's and since the Bears are a pass first offense, you have to like this matchup. I also think the cowboys will win which means the Bears are playing from behind with Forte as the #1 pass option.

Darren McFadden - Great week the first week but the only reason he's a mention is because Michael Bush is still out and the Raiders are home against the Rams. You can look to McFadden to have a similar week as last week while catching a few passes and maybe a TD. I think he's a better play over a guy like Jamaal Charles or even Beanie Wells with a full load of touches plus some receiving opportunities for you PPR hounds. McFadden still needs to prove himself and this is a game where he has to show he's capable and not a one week wonder. I like it.

Jamaal Charles - Yes, the Chiefs are in Cleveland but no, I still don't like Charles as any more than a desperate flex play. It's clear that Charles is a more dynamic back over Thomas Jones but Charles only had 11 carries last week for 92 yards and a TD. However, the TD run was a 56 yarder. Take that out and Charles was only so-so. Does anyone think Charles is going to get 20+ carries this week? I don't. Throw in T-Jones at the goalline and a does of Dexter McCluster and your going to miss out on fantasy points with someone on your bench. I like Charles only if you don't have a better option. Also, it's not like you can sleep on Cleveland either. So there's no guarantee that the Chiefs will be winning and running the entire game.

Beanie Wells - Still nursing the bruised knee and is still inactive. Leave on the bench.

Randy Moss - Will be covered by the Jets' Darrelle Revis. That's all I need to say. I am taking a risk and benching Moss in 3 different leagues. I need points! Period. Even id Moss grabs 40 yards and a TD that's a solid 10 points but getting the 6 TD points is just too risky against a stout Jets defense and the best cornerback in the game. It's just not a good play. However, those of you who like to play emotion, maybe you get a nice game out of Moss who is looking for that contract extension. If he wants that exstension, he's got to perform! I'm still benching him this week. It's ballsy, but I need to give my teams a greater chance to win.

Mike Thomas - I guarantee he's most likely on your waiver wire. Thomas is speedy and scrappy but he's Jacksonville's version of Wes Welker. We love Wes Welker types. Big sleeper who gets return/kickoff yardage.

Danny Amendola - See Mike Thomas. Another sleeper who led the Rams in catches last week.

Steve Breaston - Larry Fitzgerald is questionable and Early Doucet is out which means there should be a heavy dose of Steve Breaston this week. If you have room to activate Breaston, go for it.

Percy Harvin - Looks like he will play this week even with the hip injury this week. Brett Farve will be passing heavy this week so Harvin makes for a decent 3rd WR or Flex play.

Big Game Alert - This week the big game alert will go to Malcolm Floyd. Jacksonville blows against the pass and Floyd had a down game last week. Runner up goes to Steve Breaston.

Bust of the Week - Randy Moss, which sucks because I have him on 3 of 7 teams! Darrelle Revis is to ridiculous to justify trusting Moss this week.

The Fantasy Man - Week 1 Fantasy Football Decisions

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 14:37:00 +0000

Fantasy Football advice is finally here!!! Anyone make a few bucks betting on College Football yesterday? I'm going to try to whip out a quick post like this on saturday nights or sunday mornings depending on my work schedule to get you my thoughts on some of fantasy football's toughest decisions. Deciding on who to activate or bench can be tricky and can be the deciding factor in winning or losing a week in head 2 head leagues. Below is a list of thoughts on what I'm deciding between. I have about 6 serious fantasy football teams this year so between all of them, you might be looking at the same problems as me. In the end, I'm merely a suggestion box. Don't come crying to me when you start Jamaal Charles this after all his preseason hype and he goes poo-poo style all over your statbox. So let's start there....

- Jamaal Charles - He's probably a solid play in PPR leagues with Dexter McCluster likely OUT for today as he'll have to pick up some of the receptions/carries that would have gone to McCluster. However, Thomas Jones is still in the mix and will probably grab the goal line carries. It's still unclear how they will use these two overall. So week one is kind of a test. After this week, I think we'll see more Charles and less Thomas, but this week is certainly a risk. I have a team that starts 2 RB and a flex and I have Stephen Jackson, Jamaal Charles, Matt Forte, and Arian Foster. I'm sitting Charles with Matt Forte healthy and looking good plus he's up against Detroit. Hard to pass that up. So I'm benching Charles' risk for Forte's upside. If my plan blows up, so be it. If you have a star RB and you have a Forte, Tim Hightower, or Foster on the bench, they are the safer plays over Charles playing against weak defenses. San Diego is a solid defense so I thinking it will be a tough week for Charles.

- Beanie Wells - Enough already! Just bench the guy! Tim Hightower is your guy this week against the St. Louis Rams. If he comes out and gets 8 carries and scores a TD then whatever. If you handcuffed Wells with Hightower in the draft, use Hightower this week and bench Wells.

- Michael Bush/Darren McFadden - I'm passing on both RB's this week. I had McFadden as a sleeper on just about every team I own but he's on the bench on every one of those teams. Bush has the thumb injury, it looks like he'll play but is he really going to be that effective? Tennessee's defense is the deciding factor for me. I think McFadden will have the bigger day of the two but how big? Who knows.

- Braylon Edwards - In shallow leagues like 8 or 10 team leagues where you use 3 WR's, I'm passing on Edwards for a Jabar Gaffney, Mike Thomas or Mike Williams in TB. Edwards is in a contract year but there's no question that the Jets will run first, Sanantonio Holmes will be #1 when he gets back and this week they play the Ravens who are solid against the pass. Gaffney will be part of a pass first offense in Denver this week as the #1 over Eddie Royal, Mike Thomas is #2 and only one of a very few viable offensive options in Jacksonville (and returns punts/kicks if you count that), and Mike Williams is the only other viable WR in Tampa Bay other than TE Kellen Winslow. So all three make nice plays this week.

- Kyle Orton - At QB, a guy like Orton jumps out because the RB corp is suspect while Jabar Gaffney and all his preseason hype seems on the rise. If your desperate for a QB and don't want to rely on a Matt Stafford or Sam Bradford as your #2, Kyle Orton makes sense here.

My fantasy football philosophy this year is ..... "If it gives you a headache, just bench 'em!"
My favorite quote of the week... "If you have to think about it, it probably is!" - Mike The Situation

The Fantasy Man

The Fantasy Man - RotoCommunity.com's MIC WARS Fantasy Football Draft Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:21:00 +0000

Just finished a fantasy football draft on Yahoo! for RotoCommunity.com 's Mic Wars Fantasy Football Expert League which consisted of some fantastic fantasy football podcasts hosts. Thanks to Dave Gawron of Roto Community for the invite.

10 team league, 1 point PPR, 4 points Pass TD, everything else normal, 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1TE, 1WR/RB/TE, 1K, 1DEF, 6BN.

This league is obviously Wide Receiver heavy, so getting top WR talent is necessary, but, if you know where the cracks are, you can find light. Of course, I open up the draft room and I have the first pick!!! Great, now by the time my 2nd/3rd picks come, all of the good WR's are gone! Gotta love the game!

R1 - Adrian Peterson - I love doing the opposite of what the magazines promote!
R2 - DeSean Jackson - All th eno brainers are gone, slight risk with new QB but super explosive.
R3 - Peyton Manning - I know, I know, QB is deep.... I just couldn't resist. Like I always say, I like to get the best at a position!
R4 - Steve Smith (NYG) - I hope I got the NYG Smith and not the other. PPR league so he made sense.
R5 - Antonio Gates - Best at the position, just missed Dallas Clark by a pick or two.
R6 - Mike Wallace - The guy will be a beast this year!
R7 - Reggie Bush - He's the fantasy football version of Rickie Weeks and its 2010, stock down and I like surprises.
R8 - T.J. Houshmandzadeh - A little risky, if Seattle moves him, could be a steal!
R9 - Ricky Williams - Who knows with this guy. It's bench player time anyway.
R10 - LaDanian Tomlinson - I think He'll surprise early and be better than expected, good value here.
R11 - Darren McFadden - Great for PPR, great preseason, Should start the first few games.
R12 - Ben Roethlisberger - Can't get a better back up then him.
R13 - Julian Edelman - Another Wes Welker type? PPR baby!
R14 - Heath Miller - Solid TE backup.
R15 - Nate Kaeding - Top Kicker in my opinion... I like to have the best and didn't have to stretch.
R16 - Batimore DST - I had the last pick and still landed Baltimore, I'll take it!

So that's it. Anyone see any holes? Probably could have picked a stronger WR earlier, maybe instead of Manning and then waited on a QB but I couldn't resist. You can wait until the later rounds and grab a Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco or Jay Cutler and be fine or you can go this route and draft some value WR later like Houzamadaddy, Wallace and Edelman for example. Overall, I actually like it but we'll see what happens. Thoughts?

The Fantasy Man
Fantasy Football Express

The Fantasy Man: Stuck with the 8th Pick in the Draft?

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:49:00 +0000

As if the fantasy gods are beside me every year routing for me to lose, I can't help but notice that I seem to land the 7th, 8th or 9th pick every freakin' year in just about every draft. Never fails. Last night, I participated in a $100 money league with yup, you guessed it, the 8th pick in the draft. This is a PPR league so strategy changes a bit. I am splitting this team with a friend so it's good that we can bounce ideas off each other which ended up being the inspiration of this post. This post is more about deciding what to do with an 8th pick in a PPR league specifically.

It's no secret that the talent drops off dramatically in the first round at running back once Frank Gore, Stephen Jackson, and Michael Turner are gone because after that every running back you look at either has a huge question mark, is unproven, or is stuck in a platoon role. So what do you do?

We had the 8th pick, it's PPR and we new in advance that Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Ray Rice, and Frank Gore were definitely going to be picked first leaving us to choose from Michael Turner, Stephen Jackson or Andre Johnson. Here's the problem with each....
Turner - He doesn't catch passes but he'll score more TD's
Jackson - Catches passes but how many more TD's than 4 will he score this year?
Johnson - There's more solid upside receivers later on than there are full-time running backs.

Next, we was between Jackson or Turner, but who would be the best option in our league. Using the average of typical fantasy projections from various sites, here's a summary of our thoughts...
- Turner in a better offense, should have more running opportunities with team playing ahead.
- Jackson quite the opposite as the Rams offense looks to be slightly better than last year but overall, not great so they'll probably play from behind a lot.
- Jackson will be the main focus in the offense, so he'll get a majority of the opportunities. On the flip side, defenses will forcus more on stopping him.
- A new quarterback will depend on Jackson for depenability and will look more his way in short passing situations which will help rack up more than the expected amount of catches.

When you break down the projected numbers assuming 6 points for TD's, 1 point, 1 point for catches and 1 point per 10 yards for running and receiveing, the numbers look like this.....
- Turner doesn't catch passes but will score about 15 TDs (90 points) on 1500 (150 pts) yards and lets say he catches 5 passes (5 pts). That puts Turner at about 245 total fantasy points give or take a few.
- Jackson does it all on a bad team. Assuming the Rams are slightly better than last year and given that S-Jax runs for about 1400 yards (140 pts) and 300 (30 pts) yards receiving with say 40 (40 pts) catches and 10 TD total (60 pts) that gives us about 270 points total.

So there you have it. If the average projection is right, Stephen Jackson will prove more valuable. Plus, we decided that in a PPR, the extra catches Jackson gets will outweigh Turners TD production. Of course, Turner can come out and score 20 TD's and we'll look like idiots. But at the same time, Stephen Jackson can stay healthy and rack up 1800 yards and 10 + total TD's! So Stephen Jackson was our target with the 8th pick.

As it turned out, it went Johnson, Peterson, Rice, MJD, Gore, Johnson, Turner and then we took Jackson... so our mind was made up for us anyway. In a PPR league, if you're going to go RB with that first pick, you really want a guy who's going to catch passes. Plain and simple. If you steer clear of the the non-catcher and the platoon guys, you'll be better off overall. Good luck in your draft!

The Fantasy Man
Fantasy Football Express

2010 Fantasy Football Tight Ends Rankings

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:16:00 +0000

2010 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

The Fantasy Man on FACEBOOK l TWITTER I LINKED IN

1. Antonio Gates - Has a bad foot which he's had for years but he's #1 when healthy
2. Dallas Clark - You know what your getting
3. Jermichael Finley - This year's TE hype machine
4. Vernon Davis - On the rise with major upside, most athletic of the bunch
5. Jason Witten - He's still top 5 in a great offense
6. Brent Celek - Big target, Kolb likes Celek as a target and should have a stellar season
7. Kellen Winslow - Probably the best receiver on team right now, heavy work load, always an injury risk
8. Owen Daniels - Should be his best year yet
9. Tony Gonzalez - Still a producer but starting to fade
10. Visanthe Shiancoe - He's more a 5-7 TD guy than a yardage guy but with Sydney Rice out, he could get more looks
11. Heath Miller - Solid all-around TE, could get heavy work the first few weeks without Big Ben
12. Greg Olsen - Cutler's favorite target, Mike Martz offense, should be better than last year
13. Zach Miller - Catches a lot of passes for solid yardage but could lack TD's again
14. Dustin Keller - Has the upside to be a top TE, nice sleeper pick
15. Kevin Boss - Won't rack up yardage and catches but he'll rack up 5-7 TD's
16. Chris Cooley - Should be back as the starter but he'll end up splitting time with Davis
17. Fred Davis - This guy looked like a superstar in the second half last year, he could be a nice red zone threat
18. Jeremy Shockey - You'll have to deal with the injury bug
19. Jermaine Gresham - Bengals spent a first round pick on this guy and should start
20. Tony Scheffler - Good receiver who can take advantage of Brandon Pettigrew's injury
21. Rob Gronkowski - Rookie who should start with Ben Watson in Cleveland
22. Jared Cook - Bo Scaife still in the mix but this guy could take over at some point in the season

The Fantasy Man

The Fantasy Man - First Fantasy Football Draft of the Year!

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:11:00 +0000

I know I've been late to the party this year as far as producing some fantasy football content but I finally got around to drafting my first team. It's a private league, 10 team, non-PPR, with a $25 entry fee, so we have something to play for.

We drafted at NFL.com which is actually a first for me. I'll be honest, the draft software wasn't bad. I know they did a new design and such and it was solid. If there was one thing I would have like to see is that there be more options when editing rankings for the autodraft. For example, I'd like to see an option where I can rank my players but also rank what positions to draft at each pick. I don't like getting stuck on autodraft with seven tight ends picked because thats all I had in my queue. Other than that, I liked the software. It was simple and has the basics without there being too much flash.

Anyway, on to the draft. It was 10 teams, 1QB, 2RB, 2WR, 1Flex, 1TE, 1K, 1DEF and 6 bench spots. Pretty basic. QB's get 4 points for TD's and 1/25 but with -2 for Interceptions, WR's get 6 points and 1/10, and RB's get 6 points and 1/10. I had the 3rd pick so I figured I'd be happy with either Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson or Maurice Jones-Drew and I landed MJD. Here's how it played out...

1. Maurice Jones-Drew RB
2. Randy Moss WR
3. DeAngelo Williams RB
4. Beanie Wells RB/FLEX
5. Percy Harvin WR
6. Vernon Davis TE
7. Jay Cutler QB
8. Joe Flacco QB
9. Justin Forsett RB
10. Malcolm Floyd WR
11. Heath Miller TE
12. San Francisco 49ers DEF
13. Ryan Longwell K
14. San Diego Chargers DEF
15. Dez Bryant WR

So obviously it's a pretty shallow league. I was banking on the fact that QB's only get 4 points for touchdowns so I wanted to be strong at RB/WR/FLEX knowing I could get solid QB's later. When I chose Jay Cutler, I couldn't decide if I wanted Cutler, Joe Flacco or Matt Ryan. Problem was, they all had bye's week 8. So I grabbed Cutler and then Flacco as insurance. I figure by week 8, I'll trade either one and pick up a fill-in like Chad Henne for that week.

My big thing this year in the beginning of a draft is to grab running backs who have the full-time job. I don't want to mess with a platoon situation and I don't want to pick Jamaal Charles in the 2nd round pretending he's going to be insane because he's not, at least in the beginning, as Thomas Jones is going to take away plenty of carries for example. So If I was going to pick a 2nd round RB, I wanted someone I could count on full-time. That didn't happen so I was torn between Randy Moss and DeAngelo Williams. Anytime you have a chance to grab the best at the position, you do it, so I grabbed Moss. When the snake pick came back shortly, Williams was still there. I was deciding on Reggie Wayne and Williams but I thought I could get some solid WR value picks later on so I went strong on DeAngelo. Beanie Wells and Pecy Harvin were my upside picks. I liked Wells as he was one of the few left with top notch upside and I like Percy Harvin considering Sydney Rice will be out for a while, so Harvin will easily be #1 in Minnesota. Keeping the momentum the same, I wanted a top TE and I think I did well with Davis and his upside, I mentioned the QB situation, and then I stole Justin Forsett in the 9th. That's the value pick right there and my personal steal of the draft. I drafted Forsett on the bench but I'm thinking once someone falters I can sub this guy in fairly easily.

Malcolm Floyd and Dez Bryant are high upside bench picks and probably the first to go if they don't perform and I need to make moves. I got a top defense in San Francisco and another top defense in San Diegio along with the top kicker in the league in Ryan Longwell. I went with San Diego because first, I like to have that strong bye week fill-in, second because the waiver wire is still full of useful players, and third I like to use a top defense in that trade offer with that extra QB I have for a top player later on. That kind of deal never fails it seems. Other managers looking for an opportunity to strengthen their QB and DEF can do this at the same time and it's tough to pass up when your in the playoff hunt.

Overall, I'm happy with this team. I won't say it's the best but the upside is there for it to be the best. I don't feel I reached to much except for the kicker and defenses but at that point, I already had a solid set of starters and bench. As with all upside type teams, this one could be a disaster as well. Randy Moss contract year, DeAngelo Williams somewhat disappointing last year, Beanie Wells on the rise, Justin Forsett value pick, and Jay Cutler with a Mike Martz offense can make this team insane. Jay Cutler throwing 30 interceptions, Beanie Wells breaking down, Randy Moss getting emotional and DeAngelo Williams accepting mediocrity could make me start praying for fantasy baseball a lot sooner!

The Fantasy Man

2010 Fantasy Football Running Backs Rankings

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:13:00 +0000

2010 Fantasy Football Running Backs Rankings

The Fantasy Man on FACEBOOK l TWITTER I LINKED IN

1. Adrian Peterson - Better team, more consistency, durable, will catch passes, you can't go wrong here
2. Chris Johnson - Who doesn't like this guy? But, if you think he's going to repeat what he did last season, your going to hurt your fantasy team. Expect a great year, but don't expect Johnson to become the greatest RB whose ever played, which is what everyone is making this guy out to be
3. Maurice Jones-Drew - It's too bad his team stinks but two upside WR's could help relieve some pressure and give MJD is best year yet
4. Frank Gore - He's a yardage freak and I think SF offense will be surprisingly better, slight injury risk
5. Michael Turner - I like Turner over Rice in non-PPR for the TD's and yards, complete runner but doesn't catch passes
6. Ray Rice - He's all over the place, simple as that but I'd rather go with Turner for consistency, in PPR Rice is king though
7. Stephen Jackson - I know, should probably be lower because of his team and injury risk but he can be insane if the Rams can just figure out the basics on offense
8. Rashard Mendenhall - Looks like he'll be a 300+ carry guy since Big Ben will misses a few games
9. Cedric Benson - Last of the true full-time RB's that you can count on...on paper
10. DeAngelo Williams - Dynamic runner, will rack up yards but lose TD's to Stewart
11. Ryan Grant - He's as solid and durible as they come but usually starts off slow
12. Knowhon Moreno - Solid down the stretch last year, will be the main guy in 2010 with upside
13. Ryan Matthews - The first hype machine of 2010, everybody "loves" this guy which is funny since no one has seen him play in the NFL yet, don't get too caught up just yet, this is where you can kill your draft
14. Shonn Greene - The second hype machine of 2010, could be a beast but has LT to share with
15. Beanie Wells - The third RB hype machine of 2010, but will get plenty of opportunities to run with Leinart still learning
16. Jonathan Stewart - All in all, Stewart is more versatile of the two and will get more TD opps
17. Ahmad Bradshaw - He's healthy, looks great in preseason, will be out there more to keep Jacobs healthy, best year coming up
18. Jamaal Charles - If it wasn't for Thomas Jones, he'd be top 10, can't rank much higher if he's sharing the backfield
19. Justin Forsett - Should be the full-time runner and grow on last years success
20. Brandon Jacobs - 3rd down back, TD machine in 2010
21. LeSean McCoy - No solid back up, Kolb risky and may have to rely on the run so full-time opps will be there
22. Joseph Addai - Brittle, but catches passes and will get plenty of opportunities
23. Clinton Portis - Should get most of the opps in WAS but Shanny will keep him fresh i.e. Larry Johnson
24. Marion Barber - A bruiser who must share time but will probably lead the three in TD's
25. Felix Jones - The one in Dallas with the most potential
26. Ronnie Brown - If healthy could continue where he left off last year before he got hurt
27. Jerome Harrison - Not many options in Cleveland and he was solid last season
28. Matt Forte - Probably somewhere between 2008 and 2009 but Cutler is too pass happy
29. Michael Bush - Should be the starter in the beginning, big, breaks tackles *SLEEPER ALERT*
30. Reggie Bush - Does it all, catches, runs, amazes but isn't offenses main focus and is injury prone
31. LaDainian Tomlinson - I bet he produces more then your expecting... you read too many mags
32. Tim Hightower - Last year everyone said he's lose his job, and he was great all year, will catch passes while Wells runs
33. Arian Foster - Looks like a starter so far this preseason *SLEEPER ALERT*
34. Donald Brown - Value is down because of poor rookie season, Addai is brittle so he should provide some surprising value
35. Chester Taylor - He's a catch machine, nice for PPR
36. Thomas Jones - Will split with Charles but will work more than expected
37. Jahvid Best - Rookie who should get plenty of opportunities to play in Detroit
38. Willis McGahee - TD machine if he can stay healthy
39. Cadillac Williams - Should be the "Earth" to Wards "Wind"
40. Fred Taylor - Could be a strong starter but will probably fade down the stretch
41. Ricky Williams - He's older, but doesn't have the mileage since he missed a few years, fresh legs
42. Tashard Choice - One of three backs who could break out but won't be the main focus
43. Fred Jackson - Could rack up yardage and catches but TD's will be low
44. Darren Sproles - Change of pace back for Matthews
45. Derrick Ward - Dynamic runner if TB offense can get their act together
46. Laurence Maroney - If Fred Taylor bites the dust, he'll take over and be decent
47. Steve Slaton - Neck injury last year but lost some weight this year to get speed back, risky
48. Darren McFadden - Super low value for a playmaker who underperformed but will start behind Bush, could be a second half sleeper
49. Larry Johnson - Mike Shanahan loves RB's so you might catch lightning in a bottle with LJ
50. C.J. Spiller - Must compete for yardage with Fred Jackson since neither will get many TD opportunities

The Fantasy Man

2010 Fantasy Football Wide Receivers Rankings

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:56:00 +0000

2010 Fantasy Football Wide Receivers Rankings

The Fantasy Man on FACEBOOK l TWITTER I LINKED IN

1. Andre Johnson - Arguably the best WR but he hasn't been a TD machine, maybe that changes this year
2. Randy Moss - Brady/Moss should outperform last season
3. Reggie Wayne - Reliable, durable, consistent
4. Larry Fitzgerald - Warner gone, Boldin gone, Leinart in, young RB's, who are defenses going to focus on?
5. Calvin Johnson - Stafford with a year under his belt means CJ could have his best year yet, TD machine
6. Miles Austin - Big break out last year and Dez Bryant can help or hurt him
7. Roddy White - Ryan/White with another year of experience and Turner to refocus defenses
8. Brandon Marshall - PPR monster
9. DeSean Jackson - Super big play ability but is Kolb for real?
10. Sidney Rice - Farve back, huge physical WR, up and coming
11. Marques Colston - Many option in New Orleans keep him from being a superstar but still a top target
12. Anquan Boldin - Let the Flacco-Boldin connection begin but he's an injury risk
13. Greg Jennings - Has big play ability but Rodgers has too many other options
14. Steve Smith (NYG) - Catches a ton of passes and has big play ability
15. Steve Smith (CAR) - Might want to see what happens with the QB situation
16. Wes Welker - Preseason says he's back baby!!!
17. Chad Ochocinco - I think he'll still be the go-to guy in Cincy
18. Pierre Garcon - Has size and speed and will be #2 next to Wayne
19. Vincent Jackson - Out for a few games but should have a great second half, stash away
20. Mike Wallace - *SLEEPER ALERT* Not much to say, just watch this guy take off even w/o Ben
21. Mike Sims-Walker - Wore down in the 2nd half, Garrard not a TD thrower but MSW has #1 talent
22. Michael Crabtree - Lacks speed and but should catch a lot of balls and make plays
23. Dwayne Bowe - Has the talent, the size, the speed but he's a pain in the a$$ with coaching staff
24. Hakeem Nicks - Nice size/speed, could be Eli's Plaxico
25. Percy Harvin - This guy can be amazing if Farve can keep his head on straight
26. Dez Bryant - Tabbed as "the next Randy Moss".... whatever, he's still young enough to have the upside
27. Terrell Owens - Has to share with Ochocinco and Antonio Bryant, maybe one last harrah...who knows
28. Hines Ward - Was great last season but Big Ben out half the season
29. Donald Driver - He's aging but I bet he still has a bit left in the tank
30. Santana Moss - One name..... Donovan McNabb! Moss is the older slower version of DeSean Jackson
31. Mike Thomas - Caught 77% of passes thrown to him last season *SLEEPER ALERT*
32. Malcolm Floyd - 6'5" monster, red zone threat with VJ out of the mix for a while, *SLEEPER ALERT*
33. Jeremy Maclin - "You don't know what you have until it's gone"
34. Jabar Gaffney - Looks to be #1 in Denver right now, no one looking at this guy *SLEEPER ALERT*
35. Antonio Bryant - Has upside, sharing ball with 85 & T.O, I bet he emerges as a #2 over one of the stars
36. T.J. Houshmandzadeh - Two disappointing years
37. Steve Breaston - Becomes #2 with Boldin gone but will Leinart be able to connect
38. Devin Aromashodu - Caught 22 passes for 282 yards and 4 TD's final 4 games, *SLEEPER ALERT*
39. Johnny Knox - Speedy and bigger than Hester
40. Devin Hester - Aromashodu seems to have more upside but who will Cutler like more?

2010 Fantasy Football Quarterbacks Rankings

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:07:00 +0000

2010 Fantasy Football Quarterbacks Rankings

The Fantasy Man on FACEBOOK l TWITTER I LINKED IN

1. Drew Brees - He's the sure thing, tons of weapons, durable as they come
2. Peyton Manning - Same as Brees, coin flip here for me as I like the durability and consistency
3. Tom Brady - Down year last year maybe because of injury means upside for this year
4. Aaron Rodgers - He's great and all but let's tone down the hype a bit
5. Tony Romo - Durable with a great offense
6. Philip Rivers - I wouldn't be surprised if this guy breaks the top 5 this year
7. Matt Schaub - Always hurt but spreads the ball around when healthy
8. Joe Flacco - Big sleeper pick in just about every mag/website but now has Anquan Boldin
9. Jay Cutler - He's an interception machine even in the Mike Martz offense, no star receivers
10. Brett Farve - He has weapons, he's durable, he's 60 something and still better than half these scrubs
11. Matt Ryan - Extreme upside, Michael Turner takes a lot of focus off the rest of the offense
12. Carson Palmer - Is this guy healthy? Used to be highly touted, two aging superstar receivers
13. Eli Manning - He looked pretty bloody the other day so I don't know....
14. Donovan McNabb - I bet you he comes out of the gate strong
15. Kevin Kolb - I'm thinking the Matt Cassel of last year
16. Chad Henne - Another one of the hype machines where the mags/sites are setting you up for disaster
17. Ben Roethlisberger - He'll miss 6 games and be out of shape, good if he's your week 10 replacement
18. Mark Sanchez - Has some upside and a wealth of capable receivers
19. Vince Young - Turned the page late last year, he's either boom or bust in 2010
20. Matthew Stafford - The Lions still suck so don't go crazy just yet other than your #2
21. Matt Leinart - All saying he's going to hand off all year, I say he's had plenty of time to learn, sleeper
22. Matt Hasselbeck - boring, no upside pick
23. Matt Cassel - Could be a nice low value pick as a #2
24. David Garrard - Too inconsistent but has MJD and two capable WR's in Thomas and Sims-Walker
25. Alex Smith - Just when you think the ship has sailed, this guy could break out, the Rickie Weeks of 2010
26. Sam Bradford - You never know with rookies

I'm not even going to waste your time trying to get to 30....

The Fantasy Man

The Fantasy Man's Fantasy World Week 11 Contest Strategies??

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:56:00 +0000

So we're just over the halfway point of the NFL season and this new www.FantasyWorld.com games has been one of the best fantasy games I've ever played. What makes it great is all the prizes and different chances they give you to win! Fantasy World is now registering for the Week 11 contest which now gives you about a day and a half left to register and get your team. Make sure you join The Fantasy Man's Fight Club too!

Alright, so maybe your new to this game or you've been playing all season and now it's time to come up with a decent strategy. Since this is a survivor pool type of game, you have to get picky with the player you trot out there each week to avoid elimination. In the beginning of the season, the theme was to save your best players for later in the season. If you're playing in the new Week 11 contest, I'd say it would be smart to play with the best available players.

The bye weeks are done, so that means everyone is available. Since there is only 7 games left, realistically, a great strategy would be to use the best 7 players at each position just mixing them up depending on matchups. There's only 7 games left so why save players. What happens if you save a player until say week 15 and that player gets rested for the playoffs? Exactly. You lose. So the simple strategy is to pick the best possible players depending on matchups.

Now let me throw in the curveball. The players you use score points as well and that's how Fantasy World determines standings. So make sure you're giving yourself the best chance to win and climb up the standings. Use those top players who play weak defenses. Use the top QB each week that plays a bottom 5 pass defense. Use a top 5 RB who plays a bottom 5 run defense, etc.

Want to win this Fantasy World Week 11 contest? This is the best way to do it. So simple it's right in front of your face! Remember to join The Fantasy Man's Fight Club!

So hurry up and sign up for Week 11! Pick a smart team and good luck!
Do work son!

FM

The Fantasy Man's Week 5 FantasyWorld Guide

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 02:00:00 +0000

This game is freakin' torture...... but I love it! It just goes to show that even the best of the best in fantasy sports can't consistently predict performances on a week to week basis. No, I'm not talking about me, I'm talking in general! I'm surprised anyone is even still reading this! I have 3 slots left..... QB, Offense and Defense. I have used all my flags and have had just about the worst luck possible like using Santana Moss a week before the explosion, or using Greg Jennings with a flag and get 103 yards and no TD. How about using Zach Miller the first week and finding out the Raider can't combine for more than 29 yards total in a game. Unbelieveable! So the first request here is...... if you guys have any horror stories with your picks these first few weeks, feel free to jot them down below in the comments section. I want to here how some of these players have screwed you they way some have screwed me!

Anyway, onto week 5. This is a great week for matchups with many possible one-sided games like the Giants over Oakland, Pittsburgh over Detroit, Dallas over Kansas City, Philly over Tampa Bay, and Minnesota over St. Louis to name the no brainers so it's these games where we may want to concentrate our efforts. These are also great games to consider in the normal survivor pools.

Now that we're all starting to slowly leak positions every week is getting more crucial when it comes to making smart picks. For me, it's knowing which defenses are weakest but it's not just the total defense, it's knowing which defenses are weakest in regards to pass and run. While Kansas City, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Cleveland are 28th-32nd, in that order, have the weakest total defenses, Arizona is and Tennessee is 30th and 32nd in pass defense and San Diego, Houston and Carolina 28th, 29th, and 32nd in run defense. Point is, don't just look at the total defense. Use Running Backs who play against San Diego, Houston and Carolina and use Wide Receivers who play against Tennessee, Arizona, Jacksonville, etc. .

With that being said....

Quarterbacks
I might be a little leary on Eli Manning's injured heel and I don't know if I trust Donovan McNabb this week as one knock to the ribs and it could be lights out early in the game. Peyton Manning against the worst pass defense in the league, Ben Roethlisberger against the Lions, and Matt Schaub against Arizona are pretty much no brainers for 200 yards and a TD.
The Fantasy Man Recommends: Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Schaub

Running Backs
Carolina has the worst run defense in the league which means maybe a solid outing from Clinton Portis. Brandon Jacobs has been half a bust this year too since he's not getting the goal line carries but the Giants play a weak run defense in Oakland and Jacobs makes for a great pick. If you really want to get sneaky, I still feel like Larry Johnson is going to bust out a big game one of these days and he's up against Dallas who has a weak defense as well. That's a super risky play since Johnson has played like poop, but if your desperate, why not take a shot?! Two other RB's that pop out at me are Michael Bush in Oakland and Knoshawn Moreno in Denver. With Moreno, Correll Buckhalter is out for Sunday. With Bush, the Oakland pass is terrible so they'll probably depend on Bush and Justin Fargas. One of those two guys could have a 60 yard 1 TD game as all Oakland is going to do is run!
The Fantasy Man Recommends: Adrian Peterson, Clinton Portis, Brandon Jacobs

Wide Receivers
Terrell Owens has been a huge bust this year but Cleveland is 21st against the pass giving up 226 yards a game. Reggie Wayne certainly makes for a great pick as Tennessee is worst in the league against the pass while Wayne gives you a great opportunity to actually get the TD. I'm also liking Santonio Holmes or Hines Ward against the Lions. Holmes has been slumping but due for a breakout while Ward has been solid all season and is Big Ben's go-to guy. Mike Sims-Walker has busted out of nowhere the last two weeks and he's a guy with a ton of talent mixed with size and explosiveness. He's probably fantasy's best kept secret right now. If he blows up this week, he'll be gone from every waiver wire! Grab him now and take a shot with him this week against Seattle. I might be a little leary on Steve Smith or Mario Manningham because of Eli Manning's injured heel and I just don't know if I want to recommend Santana Moss who has been hot the last two weeks.
The Fantasy Man Recommends: T.O., Reggie Wayne, Hines Ward, Mike Sims-Walker

Tight Ends
There's not many options out there you can trust. Brent Celek and Chris Cooley jump out at you but if you've used the best, Marcedes Lewis in Jacksonville has been putting up some quiet numbers. Visanthe Shiancoe makes sense as well since it looks like Brett Farve is having a decent year and plays a somewhat weak defense in St. Louis.
The Fantasy man Recommends: Brent Celek, Visanthe Shiancoe, Marcedes Lewis

As for Offense and Defense, I kind of already mentioned the way to go above. Going both ways with the Giants, Vikings, Steelers and Eagles makes sense as the teams with 24+ point potential offenses and 19 points or fewer for defense.

That's it. Let's keep it simple this week, don't over think it. The matchups are easy this week and should make for easy choices, or so it seems. Feel free to send your horror picks in the comenst section below and if you're signing up for the Week 8 game, make sure you join my Fight Club (Team Fantasy Man)!

The Fantasy Man's Week 4 Fantasy World Guide

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:07:00 +0000

I'd first like to send a shout out to Greg Jennings and Fred Jackson for screwing me in week three by each not scoring touchdowns. Thanks guys. I appreciate it. I did predict that these gentlemen would have solid games but it just goes to show you how tough it is to predict specific performances and thus making this $1,000,000 prize quite the feat if someone can legitimately do it.

So on to week 4 we go and like each week before, there seems to be some easy picks but let's get started and see where this takes us....

Quarterbacks
The one team that seems to make the most sense across the board is the Indianapolis Colts who host the Seattle Seahawks in what should be a blow out of some kind. Seattle is suffering through numerous injuries which should make for an easy day for Peyton Manning and a no brainer choice for this game. What can you say about Mark Sanchez? He reminds me of Ben Roethlisberger a few years ago and New Orleans doesn't have the best defense out there so I like Sanchez' chances of throwing for 200 yards and a TD. It's a risk, but it's a good chance to use a lower ranked player against a team that has given up an average of 267 passing yards per game. Matt Schaub makes for a great choice against Oakland and Jay Cutler against the Lions which is one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL. This week might also be a good week to get Eli Manning out there. Eli has been fantastic this year and we know the Chiefs don't have a great defense so I like the potential here too.
The Fantasy Man Recommends: Peyton Manning (safe), Jay Cutler (safe), Eli Manning (moderate), Mark Sanchez (risky), Kyle Orton (sleeper)

Running Backs
Running backs has been a somewhat predictable position in this game but many of us made the assumption that Fred Jackson was going to make a statement in his final full touch game last week. Jackson is 4th in the NFL in rushing so I don't think he'll land on the bench as much as some think, but we certainly can't use Jackson this week. Cedric Benson makes for a no brainer pick against Cleveland as he's been the biggest force in the Bengals offense so far this season. We thought Brandon Jacobs was going to bust out last week against the Bucs but now we think it's going to happen this week against the Chiefs. Plus, throw in the fact that Ahmad Bradshaw might be limited this week with an injury, it should mean that Jacobs should handle more of the load. If Jacobs doesn't score a TD this week, I'm giving up!
The Fantasy Man Recommends: Cedric Benson (safe), Brandon Jacobs (moderate)

Wide Receivers
Uh.... no comment. It doesn't matter what I say here because the opposite will happen. Do you pick Steve Smith or Mario Manningham? Who knows, but I like Smith because is the go-to guy for Eli. T.O. was a none factor last week but has an easy matchup against the Dolphins and should be in for a big game. Chad OchoCinco against Cleveland is a no brainer, and Brandon Marshall against the Cowboys could be a nice sleeper pick. Devin Hester and Jericho Cotchery also make nice sleeper picks while Andre Johnson and Reggie Wayne seem like the safest picks. Does anyone even have their WR slots left???
The Fantasy Man Recommends: Andre Johnson (safe), Reggie Wayne (safe), Chad OchoCinco (moderate), Terrell Owens (moderate), Devin Hester (sleeper), Brandon Marshall (sleeper)

Tight Ends
It's been tough to pick TE's the last few weeks so we'll keep it simple. Huge game last week from Vernon Davis who is San Fran's best WR and they're playing St. Louis. Greg Olsen's performance last week was encouraging and Chicago plays one of the worst defenses in the league.
The Fantasy Man Recommends: Vernon Davis, Greg Olsen, Dallas Clark, Owen Daniels, Kevin Boss,

Offense
As I mentioned earlier, the Colts seem like the team of the week with the easiest game. They rarely lose at home and Seattle is broken down right now with injuries. The Cincinnati Bengals are hot right now and I don't think playing away at Cleveland should be too tough. Cincy is your sneaky pick of the week and is a great opportunity to knock out a risky team early to save some of the better teams for later. Houston was my sleeper team going into this season and although they've been giving up points, they've been scoring plenty while Oakland has shown they're not ready to win games. Of course, whoever plays St. Louis or Detroit is always a recommendation as well.
The Fantasy Man Recommends: Indianapolis, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago

Defense
Many of the big defenses are playing other good defensive teams so this is a tough week. I certainly like Cincinnati against Cleveland, Indianapolis against Seattle, and the Giants against the Chiefs. Those seem like no brainer games. San Fransicco against the Rams is a good one as the Rams' Mark Bulger will be out on top of the fact that the Rams stink.
The Fantasy Man Recommends: Indianaplolis, New York Giants, Cincinnati, San Francisco

Strategy to Think About
Keep in mind that as you are choosing players, you are also accumulating points as you go. This makes it even more important to play the matchups. You want to pick the players who will not only score the minimum, but you want players who have the opportunity to break out each week so you can move your team up the Fantasy World standings. While Cedric Benson for example seems like an easy pick, there's no question that we're all waiting for Brandon Jacobs to bust out that 3 TD kind of game. It's just something to think about. While sneaking in and taking Cincinnati to beat Cleveland, it's probable that Indianapolis will blow out Seattle and score more Fantasy World points. Obviously if you use Indy now, the less risky team, you risk having to count on risky teams later. Just something to think about. Me personally, I'm looking at the games where I can maximize points while still making sure my positions survive. So using Indy now as an offense with all the Seattle defensive injuries and Indy as defense while Matt Hasselbeck is injured makes a lot of sense, as does using Peyton Manning this week. It's all about Indianspolis and we might be putting all our eggs in one basket, but if Manning delivers, we'll be in for another week of survival!

Good luck in Week 4!

The Fantasy Man's Week 3 Fantasy World Fantasy Guide

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:12:00 +0000

It looks like it was a pretty tough week for fantasy guru's at www.FantasyWorld.com . Positions were dropping like flys as the day progressed on Sunday. How about those people who picked Randy Moss in this great survivor pool game, or the guy who listened to me and picked the Redskins to slash the Rams? Tough week! It's a new week though and there are a ton of opportunities to gain more points and get yourself back into the running at least for that $10,000. If you are still in the running for the million, good luck!

Last week we talked about some basic strategies as well as my personal Fantasy Man strategy. To remind you, I am looking to pick lower ranked players (outside of the top 20 at each position) who either will fade down the stretch or who have yet to fully prove themselves. I'm looking at players who aren't the obvious but have a great chance to cover the numbers we need. Then, in the middle to later weeks I will start to fuse in the superstuds with solid matchups. I'm still sticking with it despite having to use a few flags this week. Below is what I am thinking by position.

Quarterbacks
One player that jumps off the page at me is Aaron Rodgers because he gets to throw against St. Louis. Now, for any of you who chose Santana Moss last week knows the Rams were actually able to post soild defensive numbers to keep the Redskins from advancing in this game. Problem there is that Washington's Jason Campbell is not throwing the ball well. I do not feel that Rodgers will have the same problem. He's on his way to being an elite QB and I am also looking at the fact that Greg Jennings, the Packers best WR, has so far been a non-factor. I think that changes this week as Rodgers finds a way to hook up with Jennings. Matt Schaub has a great matchup this week against Jacksonville who made Kurt Warner look like the 2007 Tom Brady. Philip Rivers against Miami is a solid matchup as well. Rivers was solid against Baltimore who is one of the league's best defenses and since Miami is better against the run, there's a good chance Rivers will air it out. There's not many lower ranked players here I trust for a week so I am sticking with solid plays here all the way through.
The Fantasy Man's Recommends: Aaron Rodgers, Matt Schaub, Philip Rivers

Running Backs
I'm lovin' Brandon Jacobs this week against Tampa Bay. Their run defenses has holes (See Fred Jackson last week) and Jacobs is oozing with big game potential. I'm not saying this because I'm a Giants fan but it looks like the Redskins and Cowboys really honed in on Jacobs the last two weeks. And, let's be honest, are any of you guys worried about Jacobs getting a TD? No, it's the 60+ yards that's been tough. I think that changes this week. I like Fred Jackson this week because it's potentially his last week to carry the load with Marshawn Lynch eligible to come back in week 4. Jackson has been a superstud these past two weeks and I just have a hunch he wants to do his best to keep these carries coming. Plus, it's an opportunity to use a player for your RB slot that ranked no where near the top 20 when the season started making him extremely valuable this week for this game. Felix Jones is another guy like Jackson who ranked low in drafts but could be usable this week if Marion Barber is out. ESPN says Barber is 50/50. If Barber is out and Jones starts, he's almost guaranteed to drop 60+ and a TD, he's too explosive not too. One other player that fits this mold is Darren Sproles. Same situation, ranked low, and LaDanian Tomlinson probably out make Sproles against Miami a solid pick too. These last 3 players I mentioned fit The Fantasy Man strategy to a tee.
The Fantasy Man Recommends: Brandon Jacobs, Fred Jackson, Felix Jones(If Barber out), Darren Sproles(If LT out)

Wide Receivers
It's ridiculous how much these guys change week to week. You have to expect Randy Moss to have a big game at some point soon but I might wait on him until Tom Brady figures it all out. Greg Jennings makes sense to me since I feel that Aaron Rodgers should have a big game and since Donald Driver was the WR of choice last week, I think Jennings is still the real go-to guy. So I don't see Driver having the game, I see Jennings having the game this week. No statistical proof, just a hunch to be honest. Matt Schaub against Jacksonville makes Andre Johnson a solid pick to have another decent game and you have to like what Vincent Jackson has done the last 2 weeks. Can he score a TD in 3 consecutive weeks? That's the question with V-Jax. The 60 yards will be there but will he get the TD? And lastly, while everyone is loving New York's Mario Manningham, don't get caught up in the hype. Manningham is a nice option heading into week 3 but it's New York's Steve Smith who is really Eli Manning's go-to WR making Smith a less riskier pick than Manningham and a player who fits The Fantasy Man Strategy.
The Fantasy Man Recommends: Greg Jennings, Andre Johnson, Vincent Jackson, Steve Smith

Tight Ends
It's hard not to like the Jets' Dustin Keller as Mark Sanchez' go-to guy in the end zone. We all know young QB's need a quality TE to dump the ball off too and Sanchez-Keller fit that mold. Kellen Winslow looks like a TD hog and with Antonio Bryant hurt, it's tough to pass on Winslow despite the Bucs playing the Giants. Chris Cooley against Detroit makes sense as it seems that Cooley is the best receiving option in Washington at this point. Choose wisely though, there's not to many solid options going week to week and usually, there's a TE or two that emerge later in the season. This is a position where you are probably going to need to look at the best match ups and the higher ranked TE's early.
The Fantasy Man Recommends: Kellen Winslow, Dustin Keller, Chris Cooley

Offense
Green Bay at St. Louis - Green Bay can easily score the 24+ points.
Cleveland at Baltimore - Baltimore defense great, Cleveland stinks all-around
Miami at San Diego - Chargers can win and score 24+ points

Defense
Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Denver all make sense. The sneaky pick of the week would be Denver who has been super solid defensively the past two weeks.

Flag Strategy
I'm willing to bet there are many of you who needed more than 3 flags this week. If you are in that position, I'd make sure I use them on my main player positions like QB, RB, WR, and TE as these are the easiest to predict. Trying to predict a team finish with 24+ points or a defense to hold a team to under 19 points is too tough over a full season. Use your flags on the positions you can more easily predict. If you have to decide between QB, RB, WR and TE, it's TE that will be the toughest to predict later in the season because there is a much smaller list of solid players then the other positions. WR has the most available talent, then RB and QB in my opinion. So use your flags wisely. Think ahead.

Good luck in week 3!

The Fantasy Man's FantasyWorld.com Survivor Pool Week 2 Fantasy Guide

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:35:00 +0000

Want to win that www.FantasyWorld.com $1,000,000 and have all 6 of your player slots make it through to week 3?? Then follow Team Fantasy Man. My name is Mike Kuchera and I got the goods baby!

Less than 24 hours away to Sunday's first Week 2 kick off and there's so much to talk about when your trying to win $1,000,000! Let's first make sure you join my "Fight Club", its Team Fantasy Man. Anyway, there's so many good options this week and so many different strategies to try out it's mind boggling! Let me just throw some ideas out there for you guys to ponder. I don't think anyone can say exactly the best way to attack this game since its the first season. Many fantasy "experts" are going to tell you they have the goods, but let's be honest, this is simply a game of predictions. You have to predict yards and touchdowns and get lucky. That's tough, but with a little guidance and most importantly, common sense, we can make this work. We'll look at the positions, some common sense overall strategies, and player recommedations below. Follow me...

I personally feel like we have to attack this league like a normal football survivor pool. By that, I mean it might be in your best interest to choose the players who are not necessarily the best in the early weeks as to save those players for when you really need them, as in weeks 12-15. There is some risk there as playoff teams might decide to hold back their stars, leaving some star players unusable late in the season, so keep that in the back of your mind.

I am looking at players who are hot now, but have a great chance to fade late in the season. Then using my superstars in the middle games where matchups are favorable, and take that risk later where up and comers will probably have a better chance at helping you be successful late. That will be The Fantasy Man strategy going forward. Obviously we know who the superstars are but this is a strategy that is going to work best with Running Backs at this point in the season. More on RB's in a bit. Let's look at the positions first.

The Quarterback position doesn't have many teams with young players waiting in the wings, so you can take the QB position week by week with favorable matchups. One guy I'd like to get out there early and out of the way is Brett Farve. The Vikings play the Lions this week and despite the game being in Detroit, I have a hard time believing that Brett Farve won't throw a TD and 200 yards. The other guy I like this week is Matt Hasselbeck because he has a quality offense (I know it was the Rams last week but the Seahawks looked decent) and I personally don't think Hasselbeck is a quality fantasy player, so he's a guy I'd like to get out there early, I don't trust him late in the season and its not like San Fran has a fantastic defense. Kerry Collins is a guy who makes sense this week. He put up 244 yards against Pittsburgh while Mark Sanchez last week lit up Houston.
Fantasy Man's Tricky QB Recommendations: Kerry Collins, Matt Hasselbeck, Brett Farve

At Wide Receiver, same thing, you have some young players waiting in the wings like a Hakeem Nicks, Darrius Hayward-Bey in Oakland, Percy Harvin in Minnesota, etc., but these are players you just can't trust right now but maybe we could use later. So like with QB's, you might as well use players you know should perform now but could fade down the stretch while using favorable matchups. Santana Moss is a guy that jumps off the page simple because he is coming off a down week, Jason Campbell has no one to throw too other than Chris Cooley and the Redskins are playing the Rams. I just don't trust Santana down the stretch. Percy Harvin or Bernard Berrian make sense being that I expect Brett Farve to throw for 200+ yards and a TD against the Lions and those are his two top WR's. All you need is 60 yards and a touch. If I had to pick between the two, I'd might go Berrian in hopes that he is a bigger part of the offense this week. It's a super risky pick, but wouldn't you hate to be the guy who picked Andre Johnson last week? The Lions were tough against the Vikings last year, so I'm not expecting a blow out. I'm just throwing out options, but, if you ask me to pick one...
Fantasy Man's Tricky WR Recommendations: Santana Moss

Now, back to Running Backs. Players to use early who may fade down the stretch who are more valuable to you now:
Larry Johnson - Has a history of tearing up Oakland and coming off a down week.
Darren Sproles - LT out this week but they play Baltimore. That's too risky!
Cedric Benson - Does anyone see him being consistent?
Jamal Lewis - He thinks he'll be solid, so he's more useful early. I don't trust him late.
Julius Jones - See Cedric Benson! Use when they play weak defense.
Mike Bell - Pierre Thomas probably still out this week but Philly D is tough.
Thomas Jones - Leon Washington is going to steal more and more carries.
Cadillac Williams - Has to split with Derrick Ward who I think will be more valuable later.
LT - He's out this week.
Joseph Addai - Donald Brown waiting in wings.
Fred Jackson - He's getting all the carries this week and next.

Running Backs who may be more valuable down the stretch:
Darren McFadden - He is the AP of 2009 according to everyone! He'll phase out Bush and Fargas eventually.
Derrick Ward - Bucs paid too much money to have him split carries. Cadillac is a fluke.
Donald Brown - Once Addai gets hurt, Brown gets all the carries.
Leon Washington - Thomas Jones will get phased out at some point.

This is somewhat an easy week. Clinton Portis goes up against the Rams and Adrian Peterson against the Vikings. I'm saving Peterson and since Portis is a top RB, he is also a yardage guy so I might save him as well even though he's an injury risk making him a solid option this week against a weak defense. As for Larry Johnson, man is everyone down on him. He was terrible last week but the Chiefs played the Ravens who probably have the best run defense in the league next to Pittsburgh. That means I am staying away from Darren Sproles this week. LJ has also had success against the Raiders who had trouble stopping Sproles last week and LJ also will probably have Matt Cassel back which means less coverage for LJ. Fred Jackson is going on week 2 of his 3 week tirade of full carries and I don't see the Bucs being able to stop Jackson. If the Patriots couldn't do it, I don't see the Bucs stopping him. The one knock on Jackson is that he makes a great fantasy player this week but he also catches a lot of passes. It would suck in this game if he had 150 total yards and a TD and 100 of those yards were passing yards. Great for fantasy owners, bad for Fantasy World owners. The upside is that you can use up Jackson this week and not a superstar and be pretty confident he'll crack 60/1.
Fantasy Man's Tricky RB Recommendations: Larry Johnson, Clinton Portis and Fred Jackson

At Tight End, there's not much debate on what to do. In this situation, it might actually be best to get the mid-level guys out of the way early because there are usually a few TE's who emerge late in the season like a Greg Olsen or an Owen Daniels or a Kevin Boss a la 2008-2009. Now, these are the mid-level guys but they should get you close to 50 yards OR a TD. You don't need both here. I love a guy like Zach Miller against a somewhat weak Chiefs defense. Chris Cooley against the Rams makes sense as does Visanthe Shiancoe against the Lions.
Fantasy Man's Tricky TE Recommendations: Zach Miller or Chris Cooley

Picking an Offense to get 24 points or more or a Defense to score 19 points or less is tricky. Best way to do it is to play matchups and use the weaker teams with decent offenses who play even weaker teams with worse defenses. Perfect example last week was Seattle vs. St. Louis. The Seahawks won 28-0. This week, I really like the Washington/St. Louis game. I like Washington here not only in this game, but in any regular survivor pool as well. The Redskins defense is super solid while they have upside on offense. You can go Redskins/Redskins for offense/defense and this way you only eliminate one team. In the future you can do this with whoever plays the Lions and the Rams going forward when good match ups exist. I don't want to be the guy who picks a team that loses to the Rams, and I don't see that happening this week.
Fantasy Man's Tricky Offense Recommendations: Washington Redskins, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons
Fantasy Man's Tricky Defense Recommendations: Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings

The "Common Sense" Strategies:
1. The Rams and the Lions are the worst teams in the league on defense, so taking advantage of that each week is a solid strategy until we can see how the rest of the league shapes up. So since you are choosing mostly offensive players each week, looking at the match ups are most favorable.
2. Don't bust out all the superstars too early, you have to play match ups. If someone lucky player wins the million dollars, they will have gotten lucky with a few picks at different points in the season.
3. Read team reports and news updates. Make sure the players you are choosing are healthy and definitely playing.
4. Keep in mind that we are only playing 15 weeks here. So you only need to realistically choose the top 15 players in each category. Give or take a few players here or there and you don't really need to go beyond the top 20 or 25 to find a good pick each week. Don't over think your picks.
5. Remember that good solid players will emerge later in the season as injuries and bad performances play out, so don't be afraid to use the star players in the middle weeks.

I'm guessing that's enough information for one week for you guys to digest. Most importantly, I am here to help see this game become successful, so feel free to shoot me any questions. Also, please make sure you join my "Fight Club" (Team Fantasy Man)!!! Play in a league against The Fantasy Man!

Good Luck and let's win that Million!...... or a day with Kim Kardashian!

Who Loves Kim Kardashian??!!

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:36:00 +0000

Can you say Kim Kardashian??!!! How about Bow Wow, The Game, or Gilbert Arenas?? How about $10,000??!!! Have you ever played a fantasy games with those stars as prizes?

I already know what you guys are going to say..... "Mikey, what fantasy game are you trying to sell us this time?" C'mon guys, its not that bad! Have I ever touted a bad fantasy game? I think not. Besides, if I'm into a new fantasy game, then it must be good!

www.FantasyWorld.com brings you a new type of fantasy game, Fantasy World Survivor Football 2009. No, it's not your typical survivor pool where you pick a winning team each week and move on until you lose. Nope, it's more fun than that but just as easy! When you sign up, be sure to join the "Team Fantasy Man" Fight Club league.

Actually, at www.FantasyWorld.com, you pick a roster of fantasy football players, one per position, and if they meet the scoring standards each week, you keep that position slot all the way. If you make it to the end with ALL your positions perfectly still intact, you win $1,000,000!!!! Simple as that! On top of that, you get three "flags". If in a week you lose a position, you can use one of your flags to get it back to stay in the mix for all the other prizes!!!

Looking below, who can't predict when a QB will throw for 200 yards and a TD?? Sounds pretty easy to me, but we'll see! Can you do it?? Here is how the scoring by position breaks down...

In order to survive your players must meet the following thresholds:
QBs: At least 200 passing yds AND 1 Touchdown
RBs: At least 70 rush/rec yds AND 1 Touchdown
WRs: At least 60 rush/rec yds AND 1 Touchdown
TEs: At least 50 rush/rec yds OR 1 Touchdown
Offense: At least 24 points scored
Defense: 19 or fewer points allowedIf a player fails to meet this threshold the team loses that roster slot for the remainder of the season, that's where the Challenge Flags come in. Note: Points scored and allowed by a team count regardless of which unit is responsible (e.g. If the Colts defense scores 6 points on an interception return, those points count for the Colts offense). You cannot use a flag though to win the million, but you could use the flags for all other prizes. To win the million, you muct be perfect each week!

For tips on how to play or a video about the game, click here.

Now, of course, what would a great new fantasy game be without a bunch of prizes?
How about a shopping spree and a day with Kim Kardashian?!!
How about a day and a basketball game with Gilbert Arenas or Bow Wow or The Game?
How about a big screen TV, a PS3, or a Nintendo Wii?

There's great prizes, many chances to win and you don't have to spend every waking moment looking at your team. It takes 2 minutes to set your lineup each week and that's it! Its only $25 to get your team. Make sure when you sign up you click on "Fight Club" and join the "Team Fantasy Man" Fight Club to be in my league!

Hope to see you guys there! Good luck!

2009 Running Back RB Rankings

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Adrian Peterson, MIN - What can I say, he's best all around. Break out speed and skills, big play potential, 1760 yards on 363 carries and 10 TD's last season. There's a good chance he'll break the 300+ carry mark again which makes him the clear cut #1 and a great chance he nails down more than 10TD!

Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC - He's small in height but dude has burst! Analysts feel this will be his best year yet since the Jags released Fred Taylor. Greg Jones will be in the mix for some goalline carries but this will be a huge year for Jones-Drew who also had 565 receiving yards! He's only 24, the unquestioned starter, and a fantastic receiver and that's why he's #2 on this list!

Michael Turner, ATL - He's for real, top notch offense, should continue where he left off last year. Everyone is dubbing him as the "safe" pick. He's durable and although he had a couple of forgettable games in 2008, overall he was stellar. Expect close to the same type of production in 2009. I Rank Jones-Drew over Turner because of the extra receptions and receiving yards you get from MJD.

Stephen Jackson, STL - This is the last year I rank Jackson this high! If he doesn't perform, thats it! Monster size and if he stays healthy, should be his best year yet! Of his last 5 games in 2008, Jackson had 90+ yards in 4 of them scoring 3 TD. He's also a great receiver. This is the year he becomes an elite as he'll get a heavy workload and a ton of receptions.

Matt Forte, CHI - Great receiver in which he led the Bears with 63 receptions. I don't think Kevin Jones will be much of a factor so I'm looking for a nice follow up season with the addition of Jay Cutler. Most will tell you that Forte could lose touches with a QB like Cutler but being such a great receiver, I think you can expect the opposite.

Frank Gore, SF - If he can stay healthy, Gore has the potential to be a beast if used correctly. He's the focal point of the offense but if the 49ers can spread the ball around enough, Gore could have another productive season. He only missed 2 games last year but he averaged 4.3 yards per carry which is enticing. He's got good hands and speed, you can't let him go much further than this.

Brian Westbrook, PHI - Every week I play him, he kills me! Ranks #1 in my opinion for receiving yards and PPR leagues! Had knee surgery in off season and ankle surgery in June to remove bone spurs. He may miss the beginning of camp and he's good to miss a few games during the year but when he plays, he's gold. he's the Chipper Jones of fantasy football! You might want to handcuff Westbrook with LeSean McCoy.

Clinton Portis, WAS - Still plenty left in the tank, only 27 years old so this could be his best season yet! Assuming he stays healthy he's pretty reliable week to week, a work horse, with a good offensive line. He's been in the league 7 years so most people are looking for the next Adrian Peterson. Grab Portis in the mid to late first round and you'll be happy this season.

Brandon Jacobs, NYG - Monster size, biggest RB out there, overall carries should increase with Derrick Ward out of the picture. This dude is 6'4" and can bulldoze 5 defensive linemen at once. He won't make many receptions but his TD total should increase a bit and his offensive line is intact! He's also only 27.

Chris Johnson, TEN - Even with LenDale White getting goaline carries, Johnson will be a a top-notch player this season with stupid break out speed and vision. Johnson had 10 TD's in 2008 while splitting time with White. Expect Johnson to exceed last years numbers.

LaDanian Tomlinson, SD - He's on the decline but still better than most of this list. This is a make or break season for LT. He has to prove if he's done or not, and he's only 30. LT did however suffer toe and groin injuries last season, so I can't go too crazy that he might be in a decline. Many will say he's finished but if you get 1500 yards and 13TD, I'll take that at the end of the 1st round! Bad news is he's on the decline. Good news is he can still bust out a quality season in which you can get him late 1st round to early second round. You'll have to handcuff with Darren Sproles.

DeAngelo Williams, CAR - He's a guy who can bust out a 90 yard TD run in the 1st quarter and then do nothing the rest of the game. What I like about Williams is that he's playing for a contract this year and with Jonathon Stewart waiting in the wings and splitting time, Williams can follow up last years break out with something better. He's slightly risky this early but the pay off could be huge!

Joseph Addai, IND - I'd love to rank him higher but he's always hurt! What else can I say? Great speed and skills but this guy can't stay on the field. Addai is however somewhat of a sleeper here in the second round. I say that because he was a top 5 pick last season and he's only been in the league 3 years.

Marion Barber, DAL - He's a bruising back, does his best work in the 4th quarter but was somewhat disappointing last season knocks him down a bit. Here is another guy who was top 10 last season who could out produce his draft position.

Marshawn Lynch, BUF - 3rd full year means stats could get a nice boost as Buffalo offense is getting better and the field opens up with the addition of Terrell Owens. This will be Lynch's best year but he'll probably have to share the TD's with TO.

Larry Johnson, KC - How the mighty have fallen, he's not old, he's still powerful, and now has an offense around him. I like Johnson to have a sneaky bounce back year. Everyone is down on this guy. Yes, he's 30 and has done poop the last few years, but he's oozing with a "come out of nowhere" type of season. I mean, he's only been playing in the NFL for 6 seasons, its not like he's totally banged up. I just have a hunch about LJ and he makes a great pick if he falls into the 3rd round!

Steve Slaton, HOU - 2nd year, will probably crack top 10 by seasons end, lots of receiving yards and you can certainly bump him up a few spots in PPR leagues. Ran for 1200+ yards last season and started as the 3rd RB on the depth chart. Now he's the primary RB and shouls have a nice follow up season.

Ronnie Brown, MIA - Brown has 1st round potential if he stays healthy. Simple as that. Scored 5 TD's in that game last year and then after that he didn't do much. Age 27 and only in the league 4 years so there is still time to break out finally.

Ryan Grant, GB - Super slow 1st half last season but picked it up in the 2nd half, his stock could rise quickly. Makes for a nice pick as a second pack at the end of the 2nd round.

Reggie Bush, NO - He's all over the field and his fantasy stats are all over the place too, maybe this year we get some kind of consistency. I just can't rank him higher until we see if he can show any kind of consistency. Bump up a few spots for PPR leagues.

Darren McFadden, OAK - 2nd year and with some consistency really has the potential to break out. He's got Adrian Peterson break out potential and is my favorite sleeper heading into 2009/10.

Knowshon Moreno, DEN - WIll probably be behind Corell Buckhalter on the depth chart but since Bucky is always hurt, you'll probably get a nice 2nd half from Moreno. He's a huge risk but a nice stashee at draft time. Probably won't be a Forte/Slaton but should be better than a McFadden of 2008. Can't be much of a super sleeepr if everyone is picking him in the late second round....

Kevin Smith, DET - Scored 8 TD's on 976 yards last season. Now has a real QB (a rookie who should hand off a lot in the beginning) and the offense overall is looking better. Smith makes for a nice RB who should out perform his draft position!

Pierre Thomas, NO - Double coverage on Bush helps open up running game for Thomas. He could sneak up and get you a consistent 80+ yard sa game and a 7-10 TD with a good season. All depends on Bush!

Thomas Jones, NYJ - He's a full-time RB who I simple have no interest in. He's 30 with 9 years in so I can't imagine much of a better year than last year. Maybe more carries with the rookie under the snap but I can still remember the poop of a year Jones had before Farve landed on teh Jets. Yes, I am a Giants fan and live in NY so I get a double dose of Thomas Jones every Monday on sports radio!

Chris Mulligan's Week 15 Forecast

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:07:00 +0000

Chris Mulligan's Week 15 Forecast

Favorable Matchups

- The Chargers travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs and Tyler Thigpen. Thigpen has been a huge surprise this year and he’s getting better every week. In the first meeting against the Chargers Thigpen threw for 266 Yds and 3 TD. This time he gets the Chargers 30th ranked pass defense at home. Thigpen should be one of the best QB starts of the week. Prediction: 285 PaYds 3 TD.

- Steve Smith is absolutely on fire right now. He has three straight games with over 100 RecYds. The Panthers get a great matchup this week as the Broncos travel to Carolina and bring their 27th ranked pass defense with them. Even with the dynamic duo of running backs that the Panthers possess, Smith has gotten his numbers. I expect the Panthers to absolutely shred the Broncos with Smith being a big part of that shredding. Prediction: 125 RecYds 1 TD.

- The Texans will host the Titans the week and I’m looking for Chris Johnson to have a huge game. Johnson has had back to back 100+ RuYds in his last two games and I can’t wait to see his speed on the turf this week. Also in Johnson’s favor is the 127 RuYds/G that the Texas are giving up. It should be another big rushing day for the Titan’s duo. Prediction: 135 RuYds 2 TD.

- Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will travel to Jacksonville this weekend to take on the decimated Jags defense. Injuries have really depleted the Jags D and players are dropping like flies. Rodgers has thrown for 290+ Yds in his last two games and 2 or more TD in his last four games. The Jags have pretty much threw in the towel and can’t wait for this season to end. Prediction: 310 PaYds 3 TD.

- Thomas Jones has been the reason that the Jets are where they are right now. Now the Jets take on a struggling Buffalo Bills team. The Bills are middle of the pack in RuYds/G but they are a team that is falling apart. Now they have to play on the road against a very potent run game in the form of Thomas Jones. Prediction: 110 RuYds 2 TD.

Unfavorable Matchups

- Matt Ryan and the Falcons will take on the Tampa Bay Bucs this weekend in Atlanta. Ryan has been awesome this year but I’ve got a feeling that this weekend will not be one of his better games. The Bucs defense has to be embarrassed by the beating that the Panthers gave them on Monday night and should respond like they have most of the year. Ryan could struggle against the 4th ranked pass defense and could be up against his toughest challenge yet. Prediction: 185 PaYds 1 TD.

- Randy Moss travels to Oakland to take on his former team. It may be a long day for Moss and the Pats passing game. The Raiders don’t stand out as a great defense but just about everyone who has traveled to Oakland has struggled. The Raiders are the 7th ranked pass defense in the league giving up only 206 yds/g. Prediction: 4 Rec 45 RecYds 0 TD.

- Ronnie Brown has had himself a very good season. However he has only one 100 yard rushing game in the last seven weeks. The Dolphins will host the 49ers this weekend and I’m looking at Brown to once again be held under 100 yds. The 49ers have been playing much better since Mike Singletary took over as coach and the defense has been playing very well. Prediction: 65 RuYds 0 TD.

Sleeper Defenses For Week 15

- I really like the Dolphins defense this weekend against the 49ers. Frank Gore is banged up and it’s unsure whether he will start or not. I like the Dolphins D even if Gore plays hurt. I see the Dolphins being able to shut down the 49ers run game and coming after Shaun Hill. Hill has been very good since taking over at starter but the 49ers have struggled mightily on the road. Now they are traveling to the East Coast where every West Coast team has struggled. The Dolphins defense could have a field day on Sunday.

- The Raiders defense has been great against the pass but horrible against the run. Good thing for them this weekend is that they are facing a team that has nobody to run the ball. It could be a long day for the Patriots against the Raiders defense in the Black Hole. Matt Cassel has been amazing but every East Coast team that has traveled to Oakland has had problems. I’m looking for the Raiders D to play a strong game on Sunday.

- The Bengals are competing for the worst franchise in all of sports but their defense has a great matchup this weekend. The Redskins are in turmoil with Clinton Portis and Jim Zorn going at it. Portis is banged up and has been for a few weeks now. Jason Campbell has been awful for the last month or so. All of this adds up to an offense that is heading downhill fast. Now they are on the road in Cincinnati. I just don’t see the Redskins doing much on offense they rest of the way.

Quick Notes

- Matt Hasselbeck is struggling with a back injury but says that he wants to play this weekend against the Rams. Who wouldn’t? I’m sure that he will have to practice some on Friday to get a shot to start on Sunday. Seneca Wallace actually had a pretty good game last week and gets a favorable matchup against the Rams. Keep an eye on Hasselbeck’s progress up to Sunday.

- It’s still unsure whether or not Marion Barber will play this week against the Giants. I like Tashard Choice this week whether Barber plays or not even if it’s against the Giants. Choice had a very good game against the best defense in the league at Pittsburgh. I like Choice at home on the fast turf even better.

- It looks like Kellen Winslow will once again be out. The Browns play the Eagles this week and it would have been a tough matchup even if he did play. It’s now an ankle injury that is keeping Winslow out. He has been one of the biggest disappointments of the season. It’s going to be tough for Winslow to shed the injury prone stigma. The guy is a mess.

Chris Mulligan's Week 14 Forecast

noreply@blogger.com (The Fantasy Man) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:30:00 +0000

Chris Mulligan's Week 14 Forecast...

Excessive hours of work last week prevented me from bringing you the Week 13 Forecast but I’m not letting it stop me this week. As most leagues are in the final week before the playoffs and some of you are desperately needing a win in Week 14 to make it in. The cupboard is pretty bare as far as free agents go but I’ll try to find a couple of guys that could help and as always bring you the matchups to look for.

Favorable Matchups

- Matt Cassel struggled last week against the dominant Pittsburgh defense but it’s going to feel as if he’s playing against high school guys compared to that when the Patriots look to carve up the worst pass defense in the league in form of the Seahawks. The downside could be that the Pats could put this game out of reach too early for him to rack up a ton of yards. If Cassel is your back up you may want to think about making a switch to him this week. Prediction: 295 PaYds 3 TD.

- One game that is sure to get ugly quickly is Arizona at home against St. Louis. The Rams are completely hapless and inept as a team. Anquan Boldin has been the prime target of Kurt Warner for the last few weeks but I’ve got a feeling that Larry Fitzgerald gets the bulk of the catches this week. He may not need many to turn them into a high output of production. Prediction: 7 Rec 145 RecYds 2 TD.

- Peyton Hillis, that’s right, Peyton Hillis is emerging as a quality starting running back for the Broncos. Last week Hillis notched his first 100 yd. game and he could repeat that again this week as the Broncos face the 31st ranked defense in the league in the Kansas City Chiefs. The former Arkansas back has always shown he could be a weapon out of the backfield is proving it on the big stage and should be taken seriously as a valuable fantasy player. Prediction: 115 RuYds 2 TD.

- Brett Favre will lead the Jets against the San Francisco Singletarys this week. The Jets are looking to bounce back this week after a disappointing loss to the Broncos a week ago. The Jets didn’t looked horrible last time they were in the Bay against the Raiders but Favre is 8-0 lifetime against the 49ers. This is also a big game for the Jets considering the Dolphins are hot on their tails. The 49ers pass defense hasn’t been exactly stellar this year either ranking 28th in the league. I’m looking for a big game from Favre in week 14. Prediction: 309 PaYds 2 TD.

Unfavorable Matchups

- Willis McGahee is likely to play this week which is bad timing for him and his owners. The Ravens will take on the 7th ranked run defense in the league in the Redskins this week and McGahee hasn’t shown the ability to get the job done like he has in the past. The Ravens will need to establish the run to win but it’s going to be tough sledding in Week 14. It could be a long day for the Ravens’ run game. Prediction: 67 RuYds 0 TD.

- DeAngelo Williams has been awesome for the last month and the Panthers have benefited greatly from his production. However he and the Panthers will host the 9th ranked run defense in form of the Buccaneers. The Bucs have shown the can play on the road and I feel that the are simply the better team. With an average passing game with Jake Delhomme, the Bucs should be free to focus on stopping Williams and the Panthers run game. Prediction: 55 RuYd, 1 TD.

- Eli Manning will be tested this week against a hungry Philly defense who will be defending their home turf and looking to stay alive in the Wild Card hunt. The Giants don’t need this game and the Eagles do desperately. Manning could struggle with the aggressive Eagles D as they will no doubt be bringing the pressure, trying to get in Manning’s face and throw him off of his timing. This could be the week that the Giants show signs of missing Plaxico Burress as well. Prediction: 189 Pa Yds 1 TD 2 INT.

- Lee Evans hasn’t been outstanding this year with Trent Edwards as the Bills starting QB and Week 14 looks even more bleak as Edwards will likely sit due to injury giving J.P. Losman the start. Losman has been horrible when given the chance to play. Evans looks to have lost a half a step too. The Dolphins are hungry for a win and will be doing everything that they can to shut him down. Prediction: 5 Rec 68 RecYds 0 TD.

Scouting Free Agents

- With Marion Barber suffering from a dislocated toe and being questionable for this week Tashard Choice is the Cowboys only option. It’s the worst possible matchup for the Cowboys as they have to travel to Pittsburgh but Choice could at least possibly get you a touchdown. Even if Barber plays, Choice could see a good amount of touches. Choice holds a number of records at Georgia Tech and has looked good when given opportunities.

- Harry Douglas has put up some decent points in the last two weeks for the Falcons. He found the end zone last week and had 92 RecYds the week before. The Falcons have a favorable matchup against a suspect pass defense in the Saints. If you’re looking for a 3rd WR for this week Douglas could be your man.

- Many owners dropped Matt Schaub after his injury but he is back this week. Good timing for him too as the Texans face the disappointing Packers defense this week. Schaub was on his way to establishing himself as a top 12 fantasy QB before his injury. He might be a bit rusty after the layoff but he should still put up quality numbers. If he is available you shouldn’t hesitate to pick him up.

Quick Notes

- It looks like Anthony Gonzalez could be out this week for the Colts but it also looks like they will be getting Bob Sanders back. This is huge for the Colts defense and their owners. If you were starting Cedric Benson it could be the time to look for an alternative option.

- Brian Westbrook should be ready to go against the Giants this week and if the Eagles have any shot of beating the G-Men they are going to need him. Westbrook owners knew what they were getting into when they drafted him so we can’t call his injury plagued season a disappointment. It’s not a great matchup for Westbrook but he’ll get his numbers if he plays.

- The same could be said for Clinton Portis this week as it looks as if he’ll play this week. It may not be a great idea playing hurt against the Ravens because they can turn hurt into injured very quickly. Portis is an iffy start this week considering the injuries going in and the matchup. If he does play there is a good chance he doesn’t finish the game.