Xeris

Future HOF'er no doubt.

It helps to have receivers that can actually catch the ball. Way too many drops!

1,500's in the bag. I can definitely see why you guys were so high on him

No, but the point he's trying to make is the same that I was earlier. Tennessee just isn't a very good football team right now and they didn't show LeShoure any respect, and he didn't do anything to force them to. He ran with some power and generally gained positive yards, but he didn't show any elusiveness and doesn't appear to have a 2nd gear when he breaks the line of scrimmage. That matters because the majority of front sevens they are going to face from here on out will be much stouter than Tennessee's. So its logical to expect that he will likely do even less damage against them. Detroit's not a running team. They fed him the ball in an effort to force the safeties up so Calvin could make some plays downfield, but that didn't happen. Again, its more than logical that that strategy will be even less effective against a team like say Chicago, GB, Houston, Arizona, etc. So the point we're trying to get across is they aren't likely going to be able to feed the guy the ball 26 times and be able to stay in the game with some of these stronger teams. That's going to force them to throw the ball more, in which case LeShoure's not likely to get as many opportunities. Smith is definitely a better receiver out of the backfield, so he might not even be on the field as much. I have no doubt LeShoure will still get a few carries and most likely see the goal line opportunities, but I don't see him being a reliable start week in and week out and I certainly don't see how he's going to post anywhere near 1500 yards. As a Stafford owner, I REALLY wish that wasn't the case, because if Detroit could have an effective run game, that would definitely open things up downfield; but if LeShoure can't do significantly better than he did against Tennessee, it just ain't going to happen.

LOL, what exactly is it that I'm wrong about? They showed zero respect to the Detroit run game, playing the safeties back to limit the big play to Mega and inviting them to run. At no point did LeShoure force them to bring up the safeties to stop him. He only averaged 3.8 ypc with 7 or less in the box. Let's face it, Tenn is one of the softest defenses they'll play this year and they don't exactly have a high octane offense. 1500? Not a snowball's chance.

I know a lot of guys are optimistic about LeShoure, but after watching that game Sunday, i'm not sure there's much much value to be had with any RB in the Detroit backfield. Tennessee played their safeties 20 yards off the line for the entire game and they were even dropping their LB'ers back. Leshoure ran with some power, broke some tackles and gained positive yards, but at no point did he ever do enough to change the titans game plan and force those safeties up. They invited Detroit to run and showed them no respect. So despite a pretty good stat line for Leshoure, it wasn't a very effective game plan. If you look at their upcoming schedule, it sure isn't going to get any easier. Unless LeShoure has more than what was shown Sunday, Detroit's going to have to go back to slinging it, in which case Smith is the better receiver out of the backfield. I can see a full blown RBBC where Leshoure is the short yardage option and Smith is the guy when they have to throw it. Mix in a little Bell on top of that and can you really rely on any of them to consistently produce?

Shanahan said Garcon hasn’t had any additional tests on his foot because the extent of his injury is known. Garcon remained on the field after practice to take some stationary passes, but still hasn’t been able to go full speed. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2012/09/20/garcon-j-wilson-meriweather-all-limited-in-practice/

I don't get all the Leshoure optimism. The dude had a complete achilles rupture. That's a devastating injury that ends more careers than not. Go ahead, name someone that has come back from that injury and been anywhere near the same. I'm sorry i just don't see how this hasn't robbed him of more than a step.

I have both, but I just can't see starting Cobb over Jackson at this point. I would agree that Cobb may possibly have a higher ceiling in any given game, but he also has the lower floor as well. Not sure if you watched the TB game in week one. Jackson was targeted something like 10 times and, even more importantly, when the game was on the line and they needed to move the chains, Jackson got the ball. There is absolutely no question who TB's #1 WR is. He will get his looks each and every week. His #'s may have not been that good week one, but they were close on a couple of big plays, which would have completely changed the conversation. Cobb on the other hand, while in a better offense, is definitely lower on the pecking order. Once Jennings is back he will be at least third if not fourth behind Jennings, Nelson and likely even Finley. I understand they want to get him involved more and are looking for creative ways to do so, but it looks like he's more of a situational play and far from the focal point on that offense. That means his touches will likely be very inconsistent, as will his production. I would think there would have to be a long term injury for him to have the consistency to move ahead of Jackson, at least in my eyes.

A groin pull with only four days for recovery? I don't see him playing.

I had him the last two years and have seen every game. Last night was the first preseason game I've seen him in this year. Overall, I thought he looked good. He very well may have lost a step, but is still one of the fastest guys in the league. IMO, the run blocking was his major issue last year. While that certainly looks improved, he's still getting hit in the back field a lot and the cutback lanes aren't there like they used to be under Fisher. Perhaps that improves, but at this point, its hard to really say with any certainty. They're going to be starting a green QB and you know defenses are going to key on CJ and make Locker beat them. If the kid responds and the o-line continues to improve, he may have a big year. If not, his numbers will probably look a lot more like last years than 2009's. I've got the 7th pick in my draft and I am tempted to take a chance on him, but at the end of the day, I'll probably end up passing. Too many ?'s at this point to use a high pick on him IMO.

Oh my!

Don't worry, you're going to have plenty of opportunities to see that run again.

He got Faulked!

That sucked! I have Gronk and my opponent had Hernandez. If they had gotten that call right or NE challenged, I would have won the week and would be in first place in the standings. Instead, I lose by 2 freaking points. Gotta love fantasy football.

What's your thoughts on Fasano? I thought he looked pretty good against the Pats. Will he get those kinds of looks every week, with Miami's new "aggressive offense", or was it just a case of them having to play catch up?

TD Ryan, a little harsh, but he pegged it. Chad very well may have lost a step, but his game never was about pure speed. Deon Branch has definitely lost a step, much moreso than Chad IMO, but came back to the Pats and had great success. Why? Because he is a good route runner with good field awareness. By all accounts, 85 is one of the best route runners in the league with uncanny field awareness and imo physically more gifted than Branch. No knock on Branch or Welker, they both are fine route runners, but Brady has never played with anyone with his kind of ability in those particular attributes. Chad faced constant double coverage in Cincy and lets face it, Palmer couldn't deliver the ball into double coverage. I don't think anyone would argue that Brady isn't more accurate than Palmer and as i alluded to before, I don't see him being double covered with their other threats. Thats going to leave Chad in single covered to work the sidelines, the red zone or find soft spots if its zone. That could get scary with Brady chucking the ball, but of course he has to get comfortable in the scheme in order to work his game.

Slow down guys. It's blatantly obvious he's not comfortable in the offense yet, we all know that. He had an extremely shortened offseason, which has obviously hurt, but that's not going to last forever. 85 may be a touch crazy, but he's not stupid. He will learn the offense but its going to take some snaps. He's working hard at it and I'm sure I'm not the only one that noticed where he was every time the camera panned to Brady on the sideline. They looked like they were chained at the hip. So he's motivated to get it figured out. Further, I've seen absolutely no evidence that his skills have diminished. He made a heck of a catch on the sideline last night and I noticed very good separation on a couple plays but Brady wasn't looking his way. He needs reps, but he will get comfortable. Right now he's obviously not where he is suppose to be, but 85 has one of the best reputations in the league as a route runner. Think about what happens once he does get comfortable. No one will be able to double cover him with those two TE's and Welker keeping the safeties occupied. So you have Chad Ochocinco facing single coverage, running precise routes with the most accurate QB in the league chucking him the ball. Stop and think about that!

Jimmy 8-ball

Good post. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Perry is by far the more talented back. Really not even close IMO. That said, the guy simply has shown absolutely no ability to stay healthy. I think even if he doesn't come down with another injury any time soon, the coaching staff will go easy on him, limiting his carries...ie...RBBC. As a Palmer owner, i hope I'm proven wrong, but thats the way I see it.

Wonder how Boldin would look in Orange and Black ...not that that its doable

Yeah. How many times have you seen him play in person when he was healthy? If you haven't, then why are you flapping your gums? Belushi, I'm not a homer and yes I have seen several of those guys play in person. Granted he's no LT or ADP, but no where did i say he was? After seeing him play when fully healthy, yes I stand by it, I would definitely put him in the top third of the league right now if healthy, but thats a huge if. He's a complete back. He runs with good power, pretty good speed, has nimble feet, great vision, sets up his blocks as well as anyone, has very good natural hands, knows how to pick up a blitz and above all finishes his runs. He may not be the best in any single category, but he can pretty much do it all. I really like how he knows how to use his blockers. He's patient, he lets his holes develop and then has excellent vision to see it and enough burst to hit it. In that aspect, he reminds me a lot of Priest, and no, before some smart a$$ says it, I'm not claiming he was as good as the preacher in his prime...just simply stating he uses his blocks in much the same way. His receiving skills really caught my eye as well. He's very dangerous in the flat and I absolutely love how he likes to lower that shoulder and finish his runs. He likes to punish tacklers and keeps those legs driving, just like a RB should finish. Give him ten touches and one of them he'll make you say wow, that guy's pretty good. Now, with all that said, he constantly seems to have injury issues. I know he's had lingering hamstring issues and if I'm not mistaken he's had a bum knee and maybe a foot as well. I can't remember. Whatever, he's had a lot of problems with his wheels. I'm sorry, but as much as I like watching him play football when healthy, I can't see risking much of a pick on a RB with bad wheels. If he's still around when i'm looking for my 4th RB, I may take him, but thats about it.

Oh absolutely! I am making that judgement after watching him, live and in person for the Bengals against NFL oponents as well as a couple of training camps i've sit in on. Obviously you have not had that opportunity as the vast majority of those on your list couldn't hold his jock and you would know what I'm talking about if you had seen him healthy. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking you, that's my whole point, seeing him healthy is an extremely rare occurence. But yes, believe it or not, from what I've seen of him, he's a complete package. He's the rare kind of player when you see him in person, you're just like wow, that guy is something special. Unfortunately, he always has some kind of injury slowing him. So, I'm not overly optimistic that we'll ever get to see what he can do healthy.

Perry is by far the most talented RB on that team. In fact, IMO he's one of the most talented RB's in the league. I would actually rank him in the top 10 (talent wise). He is a very fun guy to watch. Unfortunatley, he just can not stay healthy. With his kind of injury history, even if he is named the starter, i would think the coaching staff would probably try to limit his carries. While I would love to see what he could do if he could stay healthy, he is a definite gamble. I personally couldn't justify risking a very high pick on him at all.

He's the 7th ranked RB in my league. I drafted him in the late third round. Pretty good value IMO. To answer the original question, I have Portis, Cooley and picked up "the other" AP a couple weeks ago as my #4 RB.