Fantasy Football preview OBOD style

Just wrapped up my uber-crazy keeper league draft last night and the fantasy wheels are turning in my head, so it would be very uncool not share it with our great readers. Chris and I were talking and I half-joked that maybe I should write the fantasy preview solo this year since I won both of my leagues last year (standard and keeper) and crushed Chris in one of those leagues (I am sorry buddy, but I will not let you live that one down for a while). Chris actually agreed that I should just run with the fantasy preview, probably so he could steal my advice.  We all need a little help from our friends, right?

I am not going to give a rankings or anything like that because that is just overkill at this point. So like last year, here are some names you should remember at draft time.  Without further adieu….

Quarterbacks

If I’m #1  – Aaron Rodgers – A homer pick? Maybe, but it’s true. Many people have Brees ranked #1 and quite frankly you can’t go wrong with either guy.  I just think Rodgers has better weapons, which does come into play when drafting your QB1.

Back up off me – Jay Cutler – Everyone thinks Cutler will put up big numbers with Martz in town. As I recall, Martz’s system is geared on making smart, quick decisions, which let’s just say isn’t in Jay’s wheelhouse.

Don’t sleep on me – Tom Brady – Not so much a sleeper, but is getting picked too low. I would rank him as high as #3 behind Rodgers and Brees. Brady and Moss are both playing for new contracts. Enough said.

Midnight sleeper – Tim Tebow – Before you leave right now, do I think Tebow will be a stud this year? Absolutely not, but he is one Orton injury away from having a Vince Young-esque rookie year. Also don’t forget about his goaline opportunities.

Running Backs

If I’m #1 – Chris Johnson – CJ wants 2,500 yards and who says he can’t come close?

Back up off me – Ryan Matthews – Wait, I am the only one not on the Matthews bandwagon? He will good, just not that good this year. He dominated the WAC, not the SEC, and plays for a team who likes to throw a lot.

Don’t sleep on me – Montario Hardesty – Cleveland does not have that much talent, but they do have a good offensive line. Harrison will get his touches, but talent usually wins out by the end of the year, which Hardesty has more of.

Midnight sleeper – Ryan Torain – What do Clinton Portis, Willie Parker and Larry Johnson all have in common? Slow, old and not that good anymore. Just look at Shanahan’s history of turning pedestrian backs into fantasy studs and oh yeah, he drafted Torain in his last draft with Denver.

Wide Receivers

If I’m #1 – Andre Johnson – Until someone proves otherwise.

Back up off me – Desean Jackson – Fitz is too easy with that QB mess, so it is Jackson who I am staying away from. His 62 receptions were just as many as he had as a rookie, so he just had more big plays, which is always a gamble. Maclin and Celek cuts into those numbers even more and Kolb isn’t McNabb quite yet.

Don’ t sleep on me -  Pierre Garcon – I’m really big on Garcon this year. Wayne is another year older and Garcon’s numbers were off the hook down the stretch and the playoffs. Manning will go to him early and often this year.

Midnight Sleeper – Legedu Naanee – Malcolm Floyd is a sleeper in many leagues with or without Vincent Jackson, but don’t forget about the guy who is actually replacing Jackson in the starting lineup. Naanee has big play potential and will get his crack right away in Week 1.

Tight Ends

If I’m #1 – Antonio Gates – Finley will be at the top of this list some day, but Gates is still the man. He also is still the clear #1 option in a very potent offense.

Back up off me – Kellen Winslow – Josh Freeman and rookie wide receivers means Winslow will be the focus of every defensive coordinator facing the Bucs.

Sleeper – Tony Scheffler - Pushed out in Denver, but may have found a good home in Detroit of all places. Stafford needs a safety valve and Scheffler will be just that until Pettigrew comes back to 100%.

Midnight sleeper – Rob Gronkowski – He is getting more and more noticed by the day, but has top-10 potential this year as rookie playing with Brady. Could be a touchdown vulture, which is just fine for a tight end.

Defense/Special Teams

If I’m #1 – New York Jets – I am excited as ever to see how the Jets’ year unfolds on offense, but I have a feeling this defense will be just as tough as they were last year. A motivated Cromartie might also be a steal, as there are eight hungry lil’ Antonio’s out there.

Back up off me – Chicago Bears – Why does everyone still think they are elite? Urlachers is already banged up and Peppers has no motivation to play hard with his new deal. What am I missing here?

Don’t sleep on me -  Miami Dolphins – No Joey Porter or Jason Taylor, big whup. Parcells is quietly building a strong defense with Sean Smith and Vontae Davis on the corners and picked up a beast in Dansby during free agency. First-round pick of Ordick could also help out the unit this year.

Midnight sleeper – Detroit Lions – Don’t laugh just yet. Not saying you should go out and draft them, just keep an eye on them. Sacks and turnovers do give you points and with players like Suh, Delmas, Levy and Vandenbosch, the Motor City Kitties might be worth a look as a bye week filler.

Kickers

I have never drafted a kicker outside of the last round and neither should you. My advice, pick the top-ranked kicker left when your last pick comes up. That’s all you get from me here.

Will this sage advice win you a fantasy title? Remains to be seen, but it will help you beat Chris Lempesis. That much I can guarantee you.

-Adam Somers

Underreported storylines for the 2010 season

Closing in on the final preseason game and many of the similar themes keep coming up: The health of Al Harris; Rodgers to Finley becoming very dangerous; the impact of rookies Burnett and Neal on defense; the TE conundrum; can the special teams improve?, etc.

However, there are plenty of storylines, good and bad, that are being buried. And they all could play large role in how the 2010 season plays out.

Can Clay Matthews avoid a “Sophomore Slump?” – One of the biggest areas of need on this team is the pass rush, but that is not anything new.  However, almost everyone (myself included) are expecting great things from Matthews this season, building on his dominating rookie campaign.  But I have to play devil’s advocate for a second and throw around the old sports cliche – “sophomore slump.”  You hear it all the time in every sport when a rookie has success, like Matthews did.  The unfortunate thing is that this does hold true sometimes.  If it does and Matthews slumps, where does the pass rush come from? Brad Jones? Brandon Chillar? Brady Poppinga?  Frank Zombo?  Those names strike fear into not one offensive coordinator in the league.  This question has to be asked since Matthews has missed almost all of camp to this point.  I don’t think he will suffer a slump with his work ethic and football acumen, but I also thought A.J. Hawk was on the cusp of greatness after a solid rookie season.
Continue reading Underreported storylines for the 2010 season

On a day when roster cuts are to be made, the Packers cut no one

Tuesday was the first of two scheduled cutdown days for NFL teams, with every team mandated to get down from 80 to 75 players.

The Green Bay Packers took a different approach. They cut no one.

Instead, the Packers placed three players on the PUP list and one more on injured reserve (they had only 79 players to begin with, not 80).

Cornerback Al Harris, strong safety Atari Bigby and running back James Starks were put on the PUP, meaning each player will be unavailable to practice and play with the team for the first six weeks of the season. They will all be eligible to return for the start of Vikings week, part one, in late October. Even if they aren’t quite ready yet at that time, each player is given three weeks to practice – without counting on the roster – before the team has to make a decision. The player has to be cut, activated to the roster or placed on injured reserve after those three weeks are up.

Speaking of injured reserve, that’s where promising rookie running back Quinn Porter found himself Tuesday. His season is now over.

Now that we’ve taken care of the specifics, let’s break down what this all means for the Packers.
Continue reading On a day when roster cuts are to be made, the Packers cut no one

With one preseason game left to go, here's how the 53-man roster should look

Originally, I had planned on doing two roster prediction pieces – one midway through the preseason and one at the end, before the final roster cuts are made.

But since you guys and gals seemed to like the first one so much, I’ve decided to throw in a bonus roster piece. And don’t worry – I’ll have another one of these up after game four Thursday also. The Green Bay Packers will cut five players Tuesday – we’ll have reaction on that later in the day – and have until Saturday afternoon to get their roster down from 75 to 53, in case you weren’t sure.

(Quick aside: Keep an eye out for OBOD’s season/fantasy predictions, both of which should be up within the next week.)

As always, before I begin, I’d like to remind Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he should, please, not sue me for, basically, ripping him off. Imitation…flattery…remember?

Enjoy.

Quarterbacks (2): Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn

Comments: No change here from last time. I still haven’t seen enough from Graham Harrell to warrant giving him a spot, especially with this team so deep at other positions. There’s an outside chance he could change my mind with a great showing Thursday, but I doubt it. Lock him up a spot on the practice squad.

Running backs (3): Ryan Grant, Brandon Jackson, Kregg Lumpkin

Comments: First, let me say this idea that the Packers will keep only two backs and use John Kuhn as the third guy there is completely ridiculous. With the pounding NFL backs take, three full-time backs is a must. The Packers would be just one injury away from Kuhn seeing significant time at the position. Do you really want that? I don’t. Now, for the change here, Lumpkin is in and Quinn Porter is out. Porter’s got more potential, yes, but his ankle injury dooms him. Plus, there’s just something about Lumpkin that I like. He’s managed to hang around in some form or another for over two years now – that says something.
Continue reading With one preseason game left to go, here’s how the 53-man roster should look

Training camp stew: 8/29/10 edition

The Green Bay Packers had been very quiet since Thursday night’s preseason pounding of the Indianapolis Colts.

(One more game and it’s finally over.)

That changed Sunday.

The Packers got back to work on the practice field and there was some fairly significant news to come out of it. So, that being the case, we’ve decided to whip up a batch of training camp stew for you. Not a bad way to start off the week, right?

As always, the information in this report comes courtesy of the fine folks at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Green Bay Press Gazette and ESPN Milwaukee’s Jason Wilde.

  • Well, we have a winner in the left guard battle: Daryn Colledge. Head coach Mike McCarthy made the announcement after practice today and, really, it comes as no surprise. Colledge, despite getting a better-than-expected (at least in my mind) test from Bryan Bulaga, has been solid in camp for the most part. And with the offensive line, as a whole, playing so well, McCarthy clearly did not want to mess with that, even if it means rolling the dice with a player who has experienced an up-and-down career. The move also means Bulaga can fully heal up, as he’s been dealing with a hip flexor throughout camp.
  • Still, even with Colledge winning the job, I don’t think his leash is all that long. Bulaga has shown he can play the position – and play it well – and my best guess is that McCarthy won’t be afraid to go to him at that spot if Colledge has a tough start to the season.
  • Continue reading Training camp stew: 8/29/10 edition

2010 preseason game three vs. Indianapolis: America, meet No. 88

There were a great many positives to take away from the Green Bay Packers’ 59-24 pounding of the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field on Thursday night.

The offensive line, Ryan Grant and Aaron Rodgers all turned in very good performances. The defense wasn’t perfect, but rebounded after a tough start to play well, despite the absence of a few key players. The much-maligned special teams unit had some blips of trouble, as always, but was much better overall than it had been in the first two preseason games.

But if you’re looking for the biggest positive, you need look no further than the 6-feet, 5-inch, 247 pound wrecking ball of humanity that is tight end Jermichael Finley.

With six catches for 85 yards and a touchdown in just one half of play, Finley showed himself to be a true matchup nightmare, capable of punishing opponents in a variety of ways.
Continue reading 2010 preseason game three vs. Indianapolis: America, meet No. 88

What I'd like to see from Packers/Colts

Well, the third preseason game is here. And, as Denny Green once famously informed us, this is the one that teams do not, in fact, play like it’s bull(expletive), bull(expletive)!

That could be especially true in this one, as the Green Bay Packers take on the Indianapolis Colts and some cat named Peyton at Lambeau Field tonight at 7 p.m. Lambeau Time on ESPN.

As usual in game No. 3, we should see the starters for each team play at least one half. That’ll be good, but here’s what I’d like to see from the entire team – starters, backups and guys who will be bagging groceries in a week:

Offense

  • A clear-cut winner emerge in the Daryn Colledge/Bryan Bulaga battle at left guard. Of course, that doesn’t mean I want to see one player struggle more than the other (even I don’t dislike Colledge that much). Rather, I’d like to see one guy turn in a dominating performance and win the job outright. It’s time to get the starting five set.
  • A lot of the running game in the first half, Brandon Jackson in particular. We all know what Ryan Grant can do and, while I think he should get a decent amount of carries, Jackson should be the main guy when the starters are in. He’s been good in the first two games, but it’s time for him to be tested against another team’s starters.
  • Greg Jennings on the sidelines in sweats, please. Don’t need his back spasms getting any worse.
  • Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson and James Jones make some plays in the first half. Those guys have been quiet in the first couple of games – Driver was out last Saturday, though – and it’d be nice to see them become involved.
  • Jermichael Finley just keep doing what he’s been doing.
  • Continue reading What I’d like to see from Packers/Colts

Two games in, here's how the 53-man roster should look

(Note: The Stew will return later Tuesday. I promise.)

With 21 training camp practices, a “Family Night Scrimmage” and two preseason games under their collective belt, we’ve seen enough of a body of work to begin determining what the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster could look like come Sept. 12.

But what should it look like?

Obviously, this is just one man’s opinion, but if I were running the show in Titletown, here’s how my roster would look, as of now. I’ll provide comments after each position, as well.

(Also, please don’t sue me for ripping off your idea, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Greg Bedard. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? Right??)

Quarterbacks (2): Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn.

Comments: If I had done this 10 days ago, I might have included Graham Harrell on here. But Harrell is still far too raw to deserve a roster spot, especially with how deep the team is at other positions. He’s a practice squad guy, though, for sure.

Running backs (3): Ryan Grant, Brandon Jackson, Quinn Porter.

Comments: As I’ve said before, if James Starks is healthy, this spot is set. His hamstring just isn’t healing, though, and I think he’s headed for injured reserve. Porter and Kregg Lumpkin are battling to a near deadlock, as of now, but Lumpkin’s injury and the fact that the team really seems to like Porter’s potential gives Porter the nod by a hair.

Fullbacks (2): John Kuhn, Quinn Johnson.

Comments: Kuhn has been getting some reps at running back recently, due to the team’s injury issues there. He hasn’t been terrible and is far too valuable in goalline spots to be let go. Johnson, while still raw, is very powerful and provides a change of pace as Kuhn and Korey Hall are, essentially, the same player. That earns him a spot.�
Continue reading Two games in, here’s how the 53-man roster should look

2010 preseason game two vs. Seattle: What to say about this one?

With the “dress rehearsal” preseason game – i.e., game No. 3 – against the Indianapolis Colts just five days away, Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy took a cautious approach Saturday night against the Seattle Seahawks.

In other words, a lot of players didn’t play.

The entire starting linebacking corps was out, for example, as were Charles Woodson and Donald Driver.

Still, some things of note came out of Green Bay’s 27-24 road win over the Seahawks. Since the Packers were shorthanded, to say the least, for this one, it seems sort of silly to write an actual game recap.

Instead, let’s take a trip to the question department to discuss some of what went on:

  • Question: What, if anything, should we make of the collective performance of the “starting” units?

Answer: If you believe the preseason means anything – and everyone has differing opinions on that - you could say that the Packers very much were who we thought they were (copyright, Denny Green). In other words, this game didn’t change my feelings on the team one bit.

The starting offense was once again fantastic, with two scores in two drives. Aaron Rodgers personified this with yet another sterling showing (8-of-11, 116, two touchdowns, 20-of-24, 275 yards, three touchdowns, no picks in just over two quarters of preseason play). Jermichael Finley and Greg Jennings are clearly the top two targets and the offensive line looked great (and was much better in run blocking). Again, all pretty much what you expected.
Continue reading 2010 preseason game two vs. Seattle: What to say about this one?

News on Bigby disheartening in the wake of Harris' struggle

(Two notes: First, the Stew will return next week. Second, big props to OBOD reader Kathy Wutkowski, who gave me the idea for this post. Writer’s block hits us all, sometimes, you know?)

Good thing Morgan Burnett got all those offseason reps with the starters, huh?

I say that because, on Thursday, we found out Atari Bigby’s return from ankle surgery could be much later rather than sooner. Originally told he’d be out until early September, we’ve now learned Bigby is indeed a candidate to be placed on the PUP list, meaning he may not be available to return to the Green Bay Packers until week seven, at the earliest.

Bigby told reporters he was unaware his ankle injury was as bad as it was. He also said that, had he known it was that bad, he would have opted for surgery much sooner than the Aug. 6 date of his procedure.

And, as an old friend of mine used to say, I’m calling shennanigans on this one.

That’s right – I think Bigby is lying through his teeth.
Continue reading News on Bigby disheartening in the wake of Harris’ struggle