NFL Fantasy Football

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NFL Players Have Fantasy Football Draft

Posted: Jul 2nd 2009 11:40 AM ET by Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Fantasy Football, NFL Fans

1 COMMENT
DeAngelo Williams Cato JuneAmong the most tired arguments against fantasy football are that people playing it need to "get a girlfriend" or "get a life." First of all, as an avid fantasy football player, I'd like to point out that my wife probably wouldn't appreciate it if I got a girlfriend. Secondly, when seven well-known NFL players play, how can you really question if it's "cool" while comparing it to Dungeons and Dragons? Just get over yourself and try it before knocking it. It's fun.

Mini-rant aside, NFLplayers.com held an 8-team draft last week, pitting Leon Washington, Roy Williams (Cowboys WR), Ronnie Brown, Robbie Gould, Matt Forte, Cato June and DeAngelo Williams against one lucky fan. Let's see how they did.
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NFL Playoff Fantasy Football Guide

Posted: Jan 2nd 2009 3:45 PM ET by Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Arizona Cardinals, Chargers, Colts, Dolphins, Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Giants, Panthers, Ravens, Steelers, Titans, Vikings, AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, NFC West, Fantasy Football, NFL Playoffs

2 COMMENTS
There are several different fantasy playoffs models, so it's difficult to accommodate everyone when doing any set of fantasy advice for the real playoffs. Most common models require you to do a bit of prognosticating as far as the actual game winners. To that, I say good luck. This isn't like last year, where we all knew the Patriots were going to the Super Bowl. This season the playoffs are wide open, and no, I don't think the Giants are a sure thing to make the big game. They are the surest bet, but it's still a bet.

Anyway, we're going to analyze some of the players.

First, here are the regular-season defensive rankings for the teams playing this postseason.

Team (overall rank, rushing rank, passing rank, scoring rank)

Pittsburgh Steelers (1, 2, 1, 1)
Baltimore Ravens (2, 3, 2, 3)
Philadelphia Eagles (3, 4, 3, 4)
New York Giants (5, 9, 8, 5)
Minnesota Vikings (6, 1, 18, 13)
Tennessee Titans (7, 6, 9, 2)
Indianapolis Colts (11, 24, 6, 7)
Miami Dolphins (15, 10, 25, 9)
Carolina Panthers (18, 20, 16, 12)
Arizona Cardinals (19, 16, 21, 28)
Atlanta Falcons (24, 25, 22, 11)
San Diego Chargers (25, 11, 31, 15)
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Peyton Manning Really Wants to Play, and Win, Sunday Against Tennessee

Posted: Dec 26th 2008 10:55 AM ET by Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Colts, AFC South, Fantasy Football

4 COMMENTS
Normally a statement like the title would be as meaningless as some of those Christmas gifts you received from a distant relative in the gift exchange this past week. Saying Peyton Manning wants to win a football game is definitely like giving someone his third pair of driving gloves. It's a totally unnecessary -- and totally unwanted -- gift. Still, this week it's news. The game means nothing to the Colts. They are the fifth seed in the AFC, no matter what. Their opponent, the Tennessee Titans, have already wrapped up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Really, the game doesn't mean anything to anyone outside of fantasy footballers. Peyton would disagree with that statement.
"We'd like to continue our winning streak, and go into the first week of the playoffs coming off a win. We'd like to keep the momentum going. We're going to do whatever it takes to keep that going."
I don't know if I can buy that.
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Injuries to Watch: Turkey Day

Posted: Nov 26th 2008 7:00 PM ET by Ryan Dembinsky (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Fantasy Football, NFL Injuries

0 COMMENTS

Be careful folks; don't let that Tryptophan spin you into a snooze on Thanksgiving Day before carefully setting that fantasy lineup. There are a couple of critical injuries to keep an eye on for Thursday, so take note as you prepare your for your last hurrah before the fantasy playoffs. As always, please feel free to chime in with opinions, updates, and rumors in the comments.

The Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals are sitting pretty from a fantasy perspective. Everybody is good to go.

The Dallas Cowboys

Tony Romo - Tony Romo went back to wearing a splint on his finger during practice on Tuesday, but he will play on Turkey Day. Whether or not he plays with the splint is unknown at this point, but regardless, after last week's gigantic numbers, start him no matter what, because he should pick apart the porous Seattle defense.

Jason Witten - Witten continues to nurse his sore ribs, but he will definitely play on Thursday. The real question is do fantasy owners stick with Witten despite his one catch per game average over the past four games? I would say yes, start Witten on Thursday, because the Seahawks have a below average pass defense and he should return to form. Witten also has a tendency to score touchdowns on Turkey Day (two TDs in three years), so keep him in there.

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Brandon Jacobs Will Not Play Today in Arizona

Posted: Nov 23rd 2008 2:57 PM ET by Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Arizona Cardinals, Giants, NFC East, NFC West, Fantasy Football, NFL Injuries

0 COMMENTS
Jay Glazer, disputing an earlier report from, um, Jay Glazer, is reporting that Brandon Jacobs will not be active for today's game against the Cardinals in Arizona.

The Giants have the best rushing offense in the NFL, and that's not entirely due to Jacobs. The offensive line is stellar, and the duo of Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw will be more than adequate in attempting to replace the production of the studly Jacobs.

Jacobs will be fine moving forward, and probably could have played this week. The Giants just figured to play it safe and make sure he's completely healed before bringing him back. The 9-1 record and the abilities of Ward and Bradshaw had to have made the decision much easier.

Fantasy Spin:
I'd definitely get Ward active in almost all formats, and Bradshaw is a quality flex play or RB3 in larger leagues. I still expect the Giants to lean heavily on the run, but this does bump up the value of Eli Manning a hair.

Adrian Peterson Sits First Two Series

Posted: Nov 23rd 2008 2:47 PM ET by Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Vikings, NFC North, Fantasy Football, NFL Injuries

3 COMMENTS
Adrian Peterson was not on the injury report this week, yet he wasn't a starter for the Vikings today in a pivotal game at Jacksonville. The Vikings were still able to put together a touchdown drive, and Chester Taylor scored a rushing touchdown.

Peterson did enter the game on the third series, ripping off a 21-yard run on his first carry, so he's obviously healthy. Peterson also doesn't seem like the type to have gotten himself into the doghouse or warrant a benching for disciplinary reasons.

There were some reports this week that Brad Childress was concerned about the workload of their star workhorse, so perhaps they are just trying to limit his wear and tear by holding him out for a few series.

Still, it's kind of odd. Whether or not a player is the named "starter" is usually a formality and pride-type thing for players.

Update: Via PFT, the Vikings simply made the move to "mix things up." This doesn't make sense to me. You don't take out one of the best players in the league just for the sake of variety. Can you imagine the Colts starting Jim Sorgi for a few series tonight "just to mix things up?" Quite odd, move, though it didn't hurt the Vikes, as they are on their way to victory.

Colts Still Unsure About Bob Sanders' Status

Posted: Nov 21st 2008 2:13 PM ET by Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Chargers, Colts, AFC South, AFC West, Fantasy Football, NFL Injuries

1 COMMENT
It's been well-documented by pretty much everyone who's ever watched a football game that the Indianapolis Colts' run defense is a sieve when Bob Sanders doesn't play. Even though they won last week, the Colts were shredded on the ground by the Houston Texans, specifically rookie Steve Slaton. Slaton went for 156 rushing yards on only 14 carries.

This week, the Colts get to face LaDanian Tomlinson and the San Diego Chargers. I don't think it would be overstating things to say that the game hinges upon whether or not Sanders -- the reigning defensive player of the year -- is able to play. Sure, the defense still isn't great against the run when he plays, but they are able to make enough stops to win the overwhelming majority of their games.

As of today, it's still up in the air:
The status of Sanders won't be determined until Saturday or Sunday. He hasn't practiced since experiencing swelling in his right knee in practice leading up to last Sunday's game with Houston.
Fantasy Spin:
I'd be starting Tomlinson regardless, but if Sanders doesn't play, LdT is easily the top fantasy player for the weekend.

Don't Count on Steven Jackson Playing

Posted: Nov 14th 2008 2:30 PM ET by Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Rams, NFC West, Fantasy Football, NFL Injuries

1 COMMENT
Yes, this is your semi-daily obligatory Steven Jackson update. Woo hoo!

So the fact that SJax practiced Wednesday was basically a tease to St. Louis fans -- well, sort of, judging from their message board community, it seems like most hate his guts at this point -- and his fantasy football owners. Apparently the coaches reviewed the tape of Wednesday's practice and he didn't look like himself, and now the thigh is swollen again. His chances of playing, according to head coach Jim Haslett?
"I doubt if it'll happen to be honest with you," Haslett said. "But we'll see. You never know."
Jackson himself is quite unhappy.
"When I initially hurt myself in the Dallas game, I kind of thought maybe a day or two," Jackson said. "I really didn't think I would miss a game, let alone two or three. So it's frustrating because my thoughts were it was just kind of a strain, that I would probably need a couple days off and I'd be back. But for it to linger like this, it really makes you wonder what's really going on there."
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Steven Jackson Practices Wednesday, Big Test Coming Today

Posted: Nov 13th 2008 9:15 AM ET by Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Rams, NFC West, Fantasy Football, NFL Injuries

0 COMMENTS
Even though nearly every Rams fan can't wait to remind you that Steven Jackson is "selfish," because they are still bitter he held out in the preseason, no one can deny that this sputtering offense most definitely needs him on the field. The one time this season they actually looked like a functioning offense he was busy puncturing the Cowboys defense for 160 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Since the snafu of Jackson trying to make it back too quickly a few weeks ago, Head Coach Jim Haslett has taken the approach that Jackson won't be playing on Sunday if he isn't able to practice full-go during the week.

Wednesday Jackson was able to practice, but he wasn't full speed.
"He worked better today. We'll work him tomorrow and then hopefully make a decision," coach Jim Haslett said. "I know it's a lot better, but is it good enough? I don't know yet."
Thus, neither do we. Look for some news on this situation tomorrow, because it appears the big test will come Thursday in practice.

Dynasty Diaries: Most Talented Rookie Running Back Class Ever

Posted: Nov 4th 2008 5:00 PM ET by Matt Snyder (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Broncos, Chiefs, Cowboys, Lions, Panthers, Raiders, Ravens, Steelers, Texans, Titans, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, NFC West, Fantasy Football, NFL Draft

2 COMMENTS

With Ray Rice and Tim Hightower announcing their presence with authority this weekend, we are continuing to witness easily the best draft class of running backs in NFL history. No class even comes remotely close to this one, should even half of the guys continue to make good on the potential we've seen through just a half season.

You know what that means in fantasy football ... lots of possible horses to lock up for their entire career on your keeper league team. You know there are people out there who drafted LaDanian Tomlinson his rookie year and have enjoyed every single season of his production since. Does this year's draft class sport one of those?
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