Starting Fantasy Lineup
Sep
02
2010

2010 Funny Fantasy Football Teamnames

POSTED BY Big Jim | No Comments »

The following is a compiled list from Twitter and browsing the web:

4th Down Syndrome

Multiple Scorgasms

Romosexual Tendencies

My Vick in a Box

Steave Breastonlargement

Somewhere Over Dwayne Bowe

Skittles, Taste Dwayne Bowe

BP Oilers

Henne-nut Cherios

Body By Mangini

JaMarcus NoHustle

Jamarcus Russel Cholesterol Tussle

Chris Henry Too Soons?

Slob on My Kolb

LeFevour for More Cowbell

She Said No Ben.

Please help me expand on the list in the comments!

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Apr
29
2010

NFL Draft 2010: Impact on Fantasy Football

POSTED BY Big Jim | 2 Comments »

Today I want to discuss some of the picks made in this year’s draft that will directly impact fantasy football.  It is pretty difficult for a rookie in a skill position to make a big enough splash statistically to be relevant in fantasy football, but as Percy Harvin owners can attest to… it happens.  Rookies are also often drafted higher in keeper leagues so that you can reserve them for future seasons.

Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati, San Francisco 49ers – The 49ers traded up aggressively to get the 11th pick in the draft to get a new left tackle in Anthony Davis.  Davis is a prototypical left tackle at 6’5’’ 323 lbs; he has long arms and quick feet.  With their pick at number 17 they further fortify their offensive line with Mike Iupati.  Iupati is quick and athletic and is a sure fit at guard where he can pull around the edge and seal off lanes for Frank Gore.  These selections give the 49ers their physicality back up front and solidify Gore as my number four RB for next season’s draft.  Alex Smith also stands to benefit from better protection up front.

Sergio Kindle and Terrance Cody, Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens did not pick in the first round this year, but got two potential first round players with the 11th and 25th picks of round two.  The Ravens have been known as a defensive power house for years now, but since the emergence of Flacco, Ray Rice and now Anquan Boldin on the offensive side of the ball, the defense has slipped.  The 43rd pick landed the Ravens a great edge rusher Sergio Kindle who will be transitioning from DE to OLB. The 57th pick gives the Ravens a new 354 lb nose tackle in Alabama’s Terrence Cody, and has helped shore up the hurting front seven on defense.  With the addition of these two the Ravens do wonders for their defense and will return to a dominating force on that side of the ball.  As of now the Ravens are my number two ranked D/ST.

Jimmy Clausen, Carolina Panthers – I liked Matt Moore’s production at the end of last season, and was planning to list him as a sleeper for the upcoming fantasy football draft season. The Panthers first pick in this year’s draft didn’t till the second round and they jumped on the opportunity to nab the most pro-ready QB in this year’s draft class… Jimmy Clausen from Notre Dame was projected by many people to be a top 10 selection but he fell all the way down to the Panther’s lap at the 48th pick.  Armanti Edwards was a QB in college but the plan is to transition him to wide receiver and utilize his throwing ability for trick plays and option plays out of the wildcat formation.  And to completely kill any chance that Matt Moore is going to start for any extended period of time they also ignored plenty of available needed talent to draft Tony Pike who played for the Cincinnati Bearcats.  Clausen is now the most viable QB from a fantasy standpoint but let’s be honest, you shouldn’t be drafting any of these guys.

Toby Gerhart, Minnesota Vikings – The Vikings made a surprising and perplexing decision to move up in the second round to take Toby Gerhart with the 51st pick in the draft.  Gerhart is a big physical back that is adept running between the tackles.  In his 2009 Heisman Trophy campaign he racked up 1,871 yards and 28 TDs.  He led the country in both categories, but lost the trophy to Mark Ingram Jr. of the University of Alabama by the closest margin in the history of the award (28-points). As impressive as Gerhart is I don’t think that an offense that has Adrian Peterson can get the most out of him.  The issue is that because Gerhart is bigger physically than Peterson the goal line carries could very well go to Gerhart.  The Vikes needed to replace Chester Taylor who was shiftier than Peterson and was a better 3rd down back for screens and check down passes, and they did not get that back in Gerhart.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out and I won’t be downgrading AP from his number 2 spot because they will need him more on third down, but it will likely cost him some touchdowns by the end of the season.

Dexter McCluster, Kansas City Chiefs – The fourth pick in the 2nd round belonged to the Chiefs and they ignored a gaping need on the offensive line to add a dynamic playmaker at the running back position in Dexter McCluster.  While McCluster can do more than play RB all he can really do is take work from Jamaal Charles both on offense and in the return game.

Sleeper picks from the draft for the coming fantasy season: CJ Spiller (BUF), Dez Bryant (DAL), Demaryius Thomas (DEN), Ryan Mathews (SD), Dexter McCluster (KC – deep sleeper)

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Mar
08
2010

NFL Free Agency Week: Impact on Fantasy Football

POSTED BY Big Jim | No Comments »

With the first weekend of free agency drawing to a close its time to look at how the moves that have been made so far impact next years Fantasy Football season.  Many big-names have changed teams during this week, and  will shake up next seasons pre-draft rankings quite a bit.  Here are the roster moves made so far during this free agency period that have an impact on fantasy football:

Anquan Boldin traded to Ravens – The biggest move of the free agency period was not a signing, but a trade.  With the addition of Anquan Boldin to the Ravens offense three different players all receive a bump in my rankings; Joe Flacco, Anquan Boldin (shocker!), and Ray Rice.  The biggest weakness of the Ravens last year was balance in the passing game.  They have been lacking a serious play-maker at the wide receiver position, and Flacco’s production was hurt the worst by it.  Mason is getting old and may not be back in a Ravens uniform next year, but with the addition of Stallworth and now Boldin the Ravens will finally have two polished receivers that can stretch the field AND get open over the middle.  The impact on Ray Rice will also be significant, with Boldin on the roster the Ravens will have a balanced offensive attack instead of the Ray Rice show that was last season.  Next year he wont be a surprise, people know what he can do now and without a balanced attack he would be vulnerable to being schemed against.  With game-breaking talent at wide-out defenses will need to respect the deep ball and Rice will remain a top tier back.

(Baltimore Sun photo by Gene Sweeney Jr. / September 23, 2007 )

Antonio Cromartie traded to the Jets – Another trade tops my list of moves made during free agency week, and yes I know it was the day before but its so significant I’m sneaking it in!  This move will solidify the Jets as my #1 Defense for next season barring some unforeseen incident.  While Cromartie  is certainly no Revis, he is a very gifted player filling the area of biggest need for the Jets already number one ranked defense.  Oh, and the Jets were already first in the league in passing defense last year… 30 yards fewer per game than the number two Bills.

(AP Photo/Chris Park)

Bears sign Chester Taylor – I am really excited to see what Taylor can do outside the shadow of Adrian Peterson… but I do not think we will know his full potential until at least next year.  The Bears have no picks in the first two rounds, and have an offensive line that could use quite a bit of work.  Good news for the Bears however, this is a VERY deep draft class at offensive line and there is a real chance they could find a diamond in the rough.  Taylor is a very complete back and he will likely take over the primary role leaving Forte to handle third downs.

Taylor runs through an arm tackle.

Lions sign Nate Burleson – Calvin Johnson finally has someone that could pull some double teams away from him… ok not quite. However,  Burleson has 7 years of experience and a fair few left in him.  His veteran leadership and experience at being on mediocre teams could go a long way to helping the Lions on the road to average.  And lets face it, with a tough and talented kid like Stafford at the helm they could get there pretty quick.  Burleson will likely see similar production as he had in his disappointing last season, but he could really help Megatron get open a couple more times per game… and that is certainly a good thing.

(AP Photo/Marcio Sanchez)

Bears sign Julius Peppers – The Bears make my list twice since they needed to use the limited free agent pool as their draft, and lets face it… you cant draft the best pass rushing defensive end and that is what the Bears got in Peppers.  The biggest weakness for the Bears defense last year was… well… their offense.  With Cutler throwing such a large number of interceptions as well as the Bears’ inability to extend drives and provide some rest for their defenders, just about every game the defense was worn out by the fourth quarter and unable to stop much of anything.  Hopefully Taylor and Manumaleuna help to extend drives and give those poor guys a break.  If the Bears find a good lineman or two, their defense could be a top5 fantasy defense again soon.

(REUTERS/Jason E. Miczek)

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Feb
03
2010

The NFL Playoffs: What have they taught us?

POSTED BY Big Jim | No Comments »

This is an interesting time to do some scouting very early for next year’s fantasy football team and now is the best time to start taking notes on players that made the Playoffs.

Among the biggest stand-out teams in this year’s playoffs are the New York Jets.  The player everyone will want to know about is Mark Sanchez, and I don’t see any way that Sanchez is a viable fantasy option outside of very deep formats.  The forecast that I see for him is similar to that of Joe Flacco.  His performance this season was streaky, but he made plays when it mattered most and he will continue to do so.  I think the Jets are likely to repeat a playoff berth and possibly even win the division.  With that said the player I see making the biggest impact on fantasy rosters next season is Shonn Greene.  The way Ryan and the Jets used him at the end of the season led me to believe that Thomas Jones was worn out.  I would expect Greene to take the majority of the work starting early next year so that Jones is able to contribute the entire season.  I envision Jones getting most the short yardage work and splitting goal-line carries with Greene, who will take up the primary rushing role.  Braylon Edwards will likely remain a Jet going into next season but when you think about drafting him think about the pass that bounced off his face mask in the the open field against Buffalo, because no matter who throws the ball Edwards has a problem with drops.

Another team that I felt stood out was the Baltimore Ravens.  With how young Flacco is it would be hard for them to be playing instead of Manning and the Colts, but all this post-season time he is seeing early in his career will help him to develop into a premiere QB in the league.  He may not yet be a starting Fantasy Football QB but that is not much his fault… If the Ravens can get some deeper talent at WR he will end up top 10 at his position next season.  Ray Rice never slowed down, all season.  He gained respect among Fantasy owners every time he touched the football this season and the Playoffs was no different.  He is a threat in both dimensions of the offense and will mature with the rest of that offensive unit.  I also respect the Ravens because of their Defense, which at times struggled and faced injuries to big play-makers but they kept Flacco and their offense in almost every game and they will lead the Ravens back to the Playoffs again next year.

The biggest disappointment this post season was the Cincinnati Bungals.  They swept their division by playing smart and disciplined in all three phases and with a punishing run game.  These are the most important elements to playoff football, but they still broke down at the end and took an early exit against the Jets.  I saw great things come from the Bengals all season and after the unfortunate passing of their teammate, they never quite seemed the same.  Not that this is why, but it definitely crushed the momentum they had built for themselves and following that incident Cedric Benson was ROBBED of Comeback Player of the Year and they were snubbed by the Pro Bowl.  All these distractions broke the focus of the team down and cost them a chance to make a deep run into the playoffs.  Next season they are hopefully able to retain focus deep into the year and Palmer has one last shot to win a Super Bowl because after that they may need a new QB.

Hard to call losing with such a profound effort a disappointment but I expected the Packers to go deep this year, not out in the first round.  It made for a fitting end to Warner’s career who is too often forgotten as one of the most incredible football players of our time, but I view it like the Packers do, a loss, and a big one.  Rodgers has yet to step up and really fill the shoes of Favre, and lasting long enough to beat him (or even face him) in the Playoffs would have done just that.  Next year will be another phenomenal fantasy campaign for Rodgers and a fair few Packers, but that is little consolation if they are one and done in the post season again next season.

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