Kilroy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_SZ1EgvU1o Terrell Owens Wants His #81! I've always been a fan of Owens and this clip has only made me that much more of a fan. Owens lets it be known part of the reason he was willing to sign with the Seahawks was based upon him being assured he'd get his #81. Golden Tate wants $81,000 for it though and Owens isn't about to pay that. Owens also keenly surmises that Tate is only wearing number 81 because of himself and how great a receiver he is to begin so Tate might as well give the number to him anyway. Let's face it, we all know he's right - give him his damn number Tate! As a fan I'm hoping Owens puts up at least 60/750/6. Of course anything better would be welcomed as well.

This is from Adam Caplan's Twitter account: I'm told Rams KR/WR/PR Danny Amendola (dislocated elbow/torn triceps) is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Darren McFadden should be able to match or surprass last year's totals provided he stays healthy. I believe he'll produce 1800-2000 total yards, along with 60+ receptions and 10 or more TDs. Head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Al Saunders have the highest of praise for this guy and the Raiders offense will be run through him. I think he should be right up there with the likes of Arian Foster, Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, and Chris Johnson.

I don't know if there is any truth to it, but rumors have been going around that the Cardinals may have drafted CB, Patrick Peterson with the intentions of trading him to the Eagles for Kevin Kolb and the Eagles first round selection G/T, Danny Watson. I'm not sure if anything else would be involved. Some reports have shot the possibility down saying it's against the rules for the Eagles and Cardinals to agree to such a deal before the draft and wait until after the lockout to offically make the trade. I'm wondering if it could workout that there was no deal in place and the Cardinals took Petrerson knowing he could both help their team if they keep him, and be a potential bargaining chip in a deal for Kevin Kolb if they choose to pursue him after the lockout.

If you have to go back five years to name the last good season Bulger had that's really not a good sign. And at 34 years of age, he is far from young. He's not even in the middle of his career at that age, he's towards the end of it. In general I tend to think 34 is considered old for most quarterbacks of Bulger's status. He probably has 2-3 more years left before he retires. As for the type of numbers he could post if he were the Cardinals starting quarterback I wouldn't expect 3500 yards or any better than 20 touchdowns. Besides the fact he is an injury prone player he simply hasn't shown us much of anything over the last 4 seasons. I also think the Cardinals are going to become more ground oriented in coming seasons more so than they have over the last few years. That wouldn't help Bulger's statistics any either. I realize Warner had a 4-5 year span where he didn't do much either, but his and Bulger's careers really aren't comparable. Bulger is no better than a back-up or mediocre starter (at best) at this point in his career in my opinion.

And....? The Cardinals may sign Bulger, but I don't think any team could have all that much confidence in him as starter at this point in his career. That's not to say he couldn't end up the Cardinals starter if they sign him, but I don't think it's a scenario the Cardinals and Ken Whisenhunt would be excited about. My thoughts are that they'd sign Bulger as a Plan B, but they would like to acquire Kevin Kolb as their starter and have Bulger as a back-up.

Since I've made this thread I've been hearing that the trade would actually be Kevin Kolb for Peterson. The Eagles would still keep Watkins.

If that's the case you should definately make the trade because in another 1-2 years you'll be getting far less for Turner (if you were able to get anything at all for him at that time).

I'd say it's a pretty decent trade. I may try to get more from the other guy, like a second or third round pick in the dynasty draft (and include your third or fourth), just to see if he'd go for it. If he came off as hesitant and likely to back out than it's a worthwhile deal to make (especially if your in a PPR league as it decreses Turner's value). Turner may have another solid season (maybe two) ahead of him, but he is close to reaching that age that most backs suffer big drop-offs in fantasy production. He's 29 this season and the type of back he is only makes him vulnerable to wearing down more quickly than the more elusive backs in the league. The fact he didn't get many touches early in his career may allow to be valuable until he's 31, ut his value is still on the decline. In a dynasty league, trading an aging running back for young talent like Maclin and Wells is a solid investment. It wouldn't be beyond reason to even think Wells may produce better fantasy production than Turner within the next 1-2 years. There's a possibility it could hurt you this season, but in the big picture it'd be a solid deal for you (even without the draft pick I mentioned trying to get being part of the deal, that would just solidfy it more as something you should definatley do).

I remember that year. But seriously, I love the way he ran the ball. There's only been a handful of guys that have ran it like that since - Marion Barber comes to mind, and lets face it, he's already shown signs of breaking down as a result and proven he can't sustain as the primary back over a full season. Jerome Bettis did and lasted a long time in the NFL. It's pretty impressive considering the type of rusher he was.

I'm disappointed Jerome Bettis didn't get in (outside of Reggie White, Bettis and Drew Bledsoe are my favorite players of my lifetime). I guess he loses some acknowledgement because he wasn't an all-purpose back, but to me that's part of his allure. For the type of back he was, and considering the era he played in, it's very impressive to me that he lasted as long as he did as a relevant player in the NFL and ranks 5th all-time on the NFL rushing list with 13,662 yards compiled on the ground. He also ranks 11th all-time with his 91 rushing touchdowns, which is nothing to sneeze at. I can't say I'm shocked he wasn't voted in this year considering the other players that were eligible, but I sure hope he makes it in there soon. He deserves it. My 5 votes probably would have gone something like this: 1. Marshall Faulk 2. Richard Dent 3. Chris Carter 4. Tim Brown 5. Jerome Bettis

I was rooting for the Packers because outside of Hines Ward there aren't really any Steelers players that I take a liking to. I'll also admit that I really didn't want to see them win their 7th Super Bowl, but the main reason has to do with the fact I don't like most of the players that make up the team. I have nothing against them, I just don't have any rooting interest in them the same way I can root for a Donald Driver, Aaron Rodgers, or Clay Matthews.

Congrats Packers fans. I thought that was a pretty good Super Bowl. I was a little worried (I was rooting for the Packers) that Roethlisberger may find a way to lead the Steelers to victory even when they were down 21-3, but Aaron Rodgers was just too damn good. That's the kind of quarterback you want. A guy who can put up points and even when the other team keeps up the pressure with touchdowns of their own he still continues to drive his team down the field. Very impressive. As an Eagles fan I just really hope that Michael Vick will prove he's capable of doing such things. God it would be nice if the Eagles could finally win a Super Bowl, but that's another subject. Congrats again to the Packers and their fans.

Congrats Packers fans. I thought that was a pretty good Super Bowl. I was a little worried (I was rooting for the Packers) that Roethlisberger may find a way to lead the Steelers to victory even when they were down 21-3, but Aaron Rodgers was just too damn good. That's the kind of quarterback you want. A guy who can put up points and even when the other team keeps putting on the pressure he still continues to drive his team down the field. Very impressive. As an Eagles fan I just really hope that Michael Vick will prove he's capable of doing such things. God it would be nice if the Eagles could finally win a Super Bowl, but that's another subject. Congrats again to the Packers and their fans.

. . . the Eagles offense is scary good! Seriously though, it's as if the Eagles can't be stopped. With weapons like DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin at receiver, and Brent Celek at tight end, it's like he finds someone open everytime. And when he doesn't? Well, he simply takes off and picks up the yardage on his own. The only negative thing I can find to say about him is that yeah, he will get sacked a few times here and there (and oh, that whole dog fighting thing too, but who cares about that, right?). Give Andy Reid credit for realizing how sick this offense is with Vick running things. Reid is usually characterized as being too stubborn, which he has been and can still be fairly often, but he made the right decision in benching Kolb for Vick if his primary objective is to win. ETA: My apologies for starting another Vick thread . . .

I knew that would be coming - and fairly so. And since last week's win was against Detroit, I suppose I should tone it down a bit. But that said, anyone that has seen Vick the past 3 weeks has to be impressed with how he's played. He isn't looking to run all the time, he's actually playing within the pocket and looking downfield instead of taking off at the first signs of pressure.

When we're talking about Orton and Henne, I don't think either QB is going to make much difference in how Marshall performs. It's not as if one of them is on the level of a Philip Rivers - or better - and the other isn't. In general, most receivers that switch teams tend to have a down year during their first season in a new uniform. That aside though, the Dolphins are a run first offense and I find it hard to believe Marshall will grab 100 plus receptions again. I'd be surprised if he reached the 90 mark. If Marshall is to surpass 90-100 receptions I think it will be becuase their defense lets them down and they find themselves playing from behind often, or their ground game will have to be so disappointing that their air attack becomes their best options to move the ball and put points on the board. I don't think either of those scenarios will play out though. My reason for thinking he'll drop from the Top Ten isn't about who his QB is, it's about the offensive scheme he'll be playing in. I'm not knocking his talent (he's actually my favorite receiver behind Terrel Owens), I just don't think a Top Ten performance is in the cards for him this year.

Like others mentioned, I think half a point per receptions is the best way to go. No points for receptions seems to favor RBs a bit too heavily. A full point per reception tends to favor WRs a bit heavily and makes the Top 4-5 RBs very valuable. After that though the RBs tend to become a bit too evenly valued as the guys that get receptions but don't score a bunch of TDs or approach 1000 yards rushing achieve a status on par with RBs that score TDs and rush for a 1000 yards or so, but fail to get more than 5-15 receptions in a season. If you give a half point per reception everything tends to work itself out fairly well without RBs or WRs having an obvious advantage over the other. It also takes care of the problem of a bunch of RBs getting lumped together regardless of their different skill sets.

Thank you, Tigers. Sounds like a worthwhile idea, and I wouldn't mind doing it, but it's something that would need to be run by Mike before being done. At this point it may be something that could be looked at for next season as opposed to this year. If Mike were on board with it though I'd give it a go. I understand what you're saying about some of those guys, but nonetheless the purpose of the article is to identify the most likely candidates to drop from their Top Ten status of a year ago. Last year was odd at the RB position with two guys over 30 cracking the Top Ten, but it is what it is. I don't want to be tagging other guys as players likely to fall from that status simply because they aren't obvious picks. If I believe it I'd name them, but I see no reason to expect Chris Johnson, Adrain Peterson, MJD, Ray Rice, or Frank Gore to fall frop the Top Ten. That leaves only two other backs other than the three I listed as options I could see falling from the Top Ten. The only reason Steven Jackson may not do so is do to the injury risk he always comes with. If he's healthy though, he should be a Top Ten RB. And as for Ryan Grant, I could've pegged him, but he gets nearly all the touches at RB in a high powered offense and as such should be able to rush for about another 1200 yards with 8-10 TDs (along with the receiving numbers he'll post). Of the three I did name, I think some out there may still feel Addai could be a legit RB1. As for Ricky Williams, it seems some think he may have another 1000 yard season in him. And with Thomas Jones, I think he may be more productive in Kansas City then some are expecting, but hard to see him cracking the Top Ten. As for the other players you named, I wouldn't have listed Ben Roethlisberger if the only reason I felt he wouldn't be a Top Ten QB was do to the 4-6 game suspension he's facing. That's why I made sure to mention I don't think he'll perform at a Top Ten level on a game-to-game basis once he does return. In regards to Vincent Jackson, I admit he's a bit of a "gimmie" considering his current 3-game suspension and threat to sit out the first 10 weeks of the season. But with that said, Miles Austin and DeSean Jackson were the only other wide receivers (aside from Brandon Marshall and Sidney Rice) that I would've tried to make a case for missing the Top Ten this year - I really don't see them missing the cut though, so that's why I went with Vincent Jackson.

The scoring format I used (it's mentioned at the top of the article) has RBs getting half a point for receptions. I don't see Greene getting many either, which is part of the reason I ranked Mendenhall ahead of him. I'm not sure what to expect from Mendenhall in terms of receptions, but he should have a good number more than Greene - maybe somewhere in the 35-45 range I was thinking. For a Dynasty League (and maybe even some redraft leagues) - yes. I was going to make it a Top 60 list, but the amount of time it was taking was a bit too much, so for now it's the Top 50. In the future though I wouldn't mind making a Top 60-65 list for RBs. The WRs are going to be a Top 60 ranking, but I know with those I could go a good 80 deep. It's just a matter of how much time it takes to go through ranking them and researching the info to put worthwhile commentary in the comments section. Down the line though the rankings may get a 10-20 players deeper at RB and WR.

I found myself looking at Moreno's production in 2009 and tend to think he should be able to build upon that - especially since he entered 2009 having been banged up in the preseason (injured knee). I think it may have slowed him down a bit one way or another. I'm also wondering whether or not Buckhalter will get as much work in 2010 as he did last season. With Moreno having a full year within the offense under his belt now McDaniels may leave him in for packages that went to Buckhalter last year. I also gave him a slight edge based on the fact we've seen him in the NFL and got a sampling of what he's capable of. That said, Ryan Mathews is on one of the more highly regarded offenses in the league. He's been drafted into a good situation and will definately get the opportinity to be productive right away. That being the situation, I could see someone making the case that they'd swap Moreno (#7) and Mathews (#9). And with Mike's comments on Shonn Greene, I could also see swapping him (#10) and Mendenhall (#8). I'm curious as to how high up Mike would place Greene for Dynasty purproses.

Those are pretty high expectations for McCoy in my opinion. He may get the most touches among the Eagles running backs, but it could be a three headed monster in Philadelphia, much like when Reid used Duce Staley, Correll Buckhalter, and Brian Westbrook in 2003. This year you could see a lot of touches being split among LeSean McCoy, Mike Bell, and Leonard Weaver.

I take it you're referring to the Ryan Howard extension? I'm kind of surprised they did it, but for the reputation of the franchise amongst their fans I think it was a good move. For too many years the Phillies tried to claim they were a small market team and never showed a true commitment to winning. Now they have stars like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins, and still manage to add to that core with the addition of arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Roy Halladay. They've reached the status of an elite franchise within their sport and have actually shown the desire and commitment to maintaining themselves at that level. It's a stark contrast to how they use to operate. I'm not even a Phillies fan (I love the Eagles, and root for the 76ers and Flyers, but I grew up and have remained a Yankees fan), but I have to credit them for not only establishing themselves as an elite team in MLB, but for having their front office finally operate like one.

DeSean Jackon (WR, PHI) is in a similar situation. He hired Drew Rosenhaus in hopes of getting a new deal done, but it's nearly impossible for players that grossly outperform the salary of their first NFL contract to get a meaningful raise this year. I don't recall all the details, but I know it has something to do with the fact a new CBA hasn't been reached and a rule within the current one that states a player's base salary can't increase by more than 30% from the previous year. So basically, even if the Eagles and Titans wanted to reward Jackson and Johnson with a new deal that reflects their true value, they can't make it happen unless they put all the meaningful money within the signing bonus. That's something NFL teams won't do because they are then screwed if the player they gave that guaranteed money to goes down with an injury. That said, I can't say I'm all that concerned with how much money underpaid athletes make - they'll still get paid sooner or later (as long as they don't suffer a serious injury). It's the overpaid players that tend to irk me. NFL teams are pretty well protected against getting stuck in a deal that overpays someone though. It's in the NBA and MLB where teams get stuck overpaying their athletes.

So which Seattle RB is more valuable in fantasy now - Lendale or Leon? Yardage Leagues I gotta lean towards Leon. TD heavy leagues I guess you'd have to lean towards LenDale. With Pete Carroll in town I assume he wants Washington to play the role of Reggie Bush within his offense. It's early, but depending on how early Washington is going in FF drafts near the start of the season he is someone I plan on targeting.