Category — Fantasy Football Tips

Start ‘em!

These are players who figure to have a breakout week. Notice that you won’t find any fantasy studs, for the obvious reason that you should be starting those players week in and out. It doesn’t matter that Steven Jackson hasn’t taken off yet — you still need to start him. It’s early, a lot of top players are in a slump right now. Don’t lose faith and take a chance on someone who might have a good week — you’ll probably just get burned.

Cadillac Williams — He might only have 121 yards this season, but the Rams have a very porous defense when it comes to stopping the run. Ranked 25th in the league, they’ve been shredded for nearly 140 per game. Expect Jon Gruden to take advantage of the weakness and put the ball in Williams’ hands this week.

LT. The initials that once stood for the most feared linebacker in the history of football now represent the most feared running back since Barry Sanders. LaDainian Tomlinson has the uncanny athleticism to dodge tacklers, throw tight spirals, break through defenders’ tackles, and catch out of the backfield.

And after the 2006 season, everyone confidently predicted Tomlinson would be the consensus first overall pick in every fantasy league under the sun for the 2007 season. After all, a record setting 186 points (the 755 of football) and 28 rushing touchdowns allows a prognosticator to make those sorts of predictions.

And they weren’t wrong. LT has been on the cover of just about every fantasy publication and on the tip of the tongue of every fantasy owner with the first overall pick in their respective draft.

Denver made some noise this offseason, signing three key veterans to add some much-needed experience to the offense. The result? Three starters who could make the difference between a Super Bowl and missing the playoffs entirely.

But can any make the difference between a fantasy title and competing in your league’s “toilet bowl?”

Absolutely.

All three are projected to be drafted post-first round, including Travis Henry. Expected to go in the second round of most drafts, Henry poses a threat to opposing defenses. Not only is he now a part of The System, but he’s the most talented back to enter the system since Clinton Portis.

If you don’t already know, Frank Gore broke his hand in practice Monday — the team’s first padded practice — and he could miss all four of the team’s preseason games, not necessarily due to injury.

Reports say that Gore could potentially be healthy enough to participate in games by the third or fourth preseason game, but head coach Mike Nolan isn’t so sure Gore will play in either game for obvious reasons.

“We’ll wait and see,” Nolan said. “It’s a little too early to tell on that. At the same time, we expect him back, but we’re not going to do anything with him for the rest of the week. Next week, we’ll re-evaluate him and hope to get him out on the field, but he’ll probably have a cast on him.”

Did the Denver Broncos walk away with a steal when they acquired Brandon Stokley?

Often criticized for being injury-prone, Stokley was the biggest surprise of the Broncos’ camp when he played opposite Javon Walker on the opening day of camp as Jay Cutler’s number two target.

“This is a big step for me,” Stokley said. “I’m ahead of schedule. … As far as I’m concerned, I’m full go. I’m ready to go. It felt great out there.”

Could he prove to be a capable fantasy wide receiver?

Probably not. As much as I can appreciate Stokley’s recovery, he remains an injury waiting to happen. And even if he doesn’t, the best you can expect is for him to line up as the team’s number three wide receiver, a position he will battle veteran Rod Smith for.

Sorry, Michael Vick. You aren’t getting any special treatment. On the contrary, you’re being made an example.

In a hearing today, the court initially ruled that Vick would need to begin preparing for trial to begin October 4. After a little whining from Vick’s team of lawyers, the judge — not sympathetic — ruled that trial will be pushed back 8 weeks, to November 26. Vick’s lawyers were hoping for something more like 8 months.

Vick also heard the dismal news from his prosecutors: “We’ve already charged you with serious crimes. You might want to consider a guilty plea. We are going to file more charges next month. That gives you a few weeks to think about the guilty plea. If you come and talk to us about pleading guilty and testifying for us, there will be no more charges against you. If you do not, the charges and the potential punishment will grow quickly.”

Every fantasy football draft is going to see at least one owner pondering over whether or not he or she should draft Peyton Manning in the first round. It’s generally the owner with a mid-round pick, 6-8 is usually the position where he is at a higher value than a running back.

So, do you pull the trigger? What’s the earliest position where drafting Manning is a smart move?

Let’s assume you have a 12-team league, the average and, in my opinion, optimum number of players. Your rules are also the average: 6 points for any touchdown except passing, 4 points for each passing touchdown, 1 point per 10 yards receiving/rushing, 1 point per 25 yards passing, -1 point for interceptions.

Vince Young took the league by storm last season as a rookie, throwing for nearly 2200 yards and rushing for 552 more. And though he earned the NFL’s rookie of the year award, Young also managed to put up enough fantasy numbers to rank 12th among all quarterbacks.

Impressive, to be sure. Unfortunately, it’s a bit deceiving because that was merely the final result.

Young, like all rookies, had his share of bumps along the way. On three occasions he failed to throw for at least 100 yards and in only 4 games did he throw for more than 200. To his credit, he did manage to rush for at least 40 yards and a score in two of the three sub-100 games.

Last season the Saints were predicted to disappoint (again), the Cardinals to be the league’s sleeping giant, and Peyton Manning was still considered a choke artist. Then we all watched as the Saints pulled off a miracle, the Cardinals never awoke from their slumber, and Peyton Manning is now on the same pedestal as Tom Brady (a notch higher, in this writer’s opinion).

Hey, no one can get ‘em all right. But I’ll still try.

Just kick back and watch as the following 10 predictions come to fruition by the end of the season.

Sleepers. Underrated. Whatever you want to call them, these 10 players are poised for a breakout few are predicting.

10. T.J. Duckett (RB, Detroit Lions) — He might be third in the rotation, but Duckett is the Lions’ goal line back. And with an improving offense, he should see plenty of red zone and short yardage situations. Consider him a reincarnation of Jerome Bettis, circa 2005, someone who will score touchdowns while not putting up a little yardage. The best part is that he’ll be drafted late — think rounds 13-14 — where he’s undervalued.

9. Donovan McNabb (QB, Philadelphia Eagles) — Everyone is nervous McNabb will get hurt. And maybe he will, but until he does he’s easily a number one fantasy quarterback, someone who will average 250 yards and 2 touchdowns each game he starts.