BringBackBernie

Matt, this is all speculation, but I'm pretty sure that Cribbs is out, and if Lewis is unable to go, or limited today, then I can see where Romeo wouldn't be too comfortable putting Wright or Harrison back on kick and punt returns. Cribbs was not only a punt/kick returner, but also a gunner, and leading tackler on special teams. I know the Browns feel comfortable with Steptoe returning punts/kicks, but who else do they have after Steptoe? For the record, I think Lewis plays, but this does make me wonder if Romeo is not too comfortable with Lewis being able to play much today. Edit: Pool looks to be out as well, and his replacement, Mike Adams, is also a special team player....

Browns Add Steve Sanders to 53-Man Roster; Paul Hubbard Waived by Chris Pokorny on Sep 6, 2008 5:40 PM EDT in General News I guess a few years on the practice squad and making efforts to improve can pay off in the NFL after all. East High graduate Steve Sanders was signed to the active roster today after originally being placed on the team's practice squad earlier in the week. To make room for Sanders, the team waived rookie WR Paul Hubbard. You'd have to assume that the Browns are hoping Hubbard will slip through the waiver wire right on to their practice squad. If I'm a betting man, I'd say that'll happen. Strategically, this could be a good move. Teams are pretty much set with their rosters in preparation for tomorrow's game, so the chances of someone claiming a receiver who is still very raw are not too high. If nobody has signed Travis Wilson, I don't see how they sign Hubbard. It is interesting that the Browns made this move -- in a way, you'd have to believe that if they activated Sanders the day before the game, they have intentions of having him active. There is no way that Hubbard would've been active for this game. That leads me to believe that Joshua Cribbs is all but out for this game, and with Syndric Steptoe set to fulfill kick return duties, Sanders would become the No. 3 receiver. Link

Campbell completes a pass!! Only took 29 minutes.

I think Savage misspoke. Wright has never been the 3rd down back. Wright's an every down back. The Browns wanted Harrison to be a 3rd down change of pace back, but Harrison couldn't get the pass blocking down. If Lewis were to go down, both backs would play, but if Harrison is the 1st & 2nd down back, and gets the majority of the carries, I'll be very surprised, because I've yet to see it on the field. If Jamal were gone for an extended period of time, you would basically see Jerome take over the first- and second-down type plays, and Jason would probably stay in the role he has now, which is a third-down back and a special teams guy. http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=4287...ubCategoryID=26

Where did you read that? I'm a Browns fan, and I've heard these same reports ever since Harrison was drafted, but I've never heard Romeo say that, and Wright has always been the #2. Harrison has had problems in pass protection, and he seems to make bone-head plays from time to time. There's no doubt that he's a talented runner. I'll do a search and see what I can find, but I wouldn't mind reading your link.

Thanks for the update Matt. I'd like to roster Omon, but unfortunately, both of my dynasty leagues only allow 22 man rosters. I was kind of hoping he'd get cut and the Browns would pick him up. I think Omon would be a perfect fit in the Browns' offense.

Browns fan, and I agree with your assessment. I don't think that any player stood out more than Steptoe in the preseason. I'm not sure that Steptoe will have any relevant fantasy value, but he looked impressive running routes, catching the ball, and returning punts and kicks. I just think that with Edwards, Winslow, Stallworth, and Cribbs on the roster, Steptoe wouldn't be able to put up enough points to merit a roster spot. That said, he's a good guy to have on an NFL roster.

Yeah, I agree. I'm not dropping him. If Hill gets put on the practice squad, there's no way he makes it through waivers, and I just don't believe he's going to be cut. There's no way that a team is going to cut a guy that has, to this point, been the starting QB's go to guy. That, and when I've watched Hill, he's been really good at coming back to the ball, or reversing field to make something out of a broken play. I've been really impressed with him. I just read this from rotoworld and thought you might like to read it. Published Fri Aug 22 10:28:56 a.m. ET 2008 (RotoWire) Davis is consistently the last player off the practice field, the Washington Post reports. He has been putting in extra time with the tight ends coach working on his foot work and technique. Analysis: Davis is second on the depth chart behind Chris Cooley. However, if Davis continues to improve he may see time lined up in the slot and in red zone situations. I have Winslow and Scheffler, but my team in this league is solid, with good depth all the way around, so I think I'll hang onto Davis. It's nice having a team where you can draft by talent, and afford to wait on the talent to develop.

Yeah, I know. Rice fell to 1.09. I had the 1.09 & 1.10, and then traded my 2.01 & 2.10 for the 1.11 & 3.11 before the draft. My thinking was that I would grab Hightower with the 1.11. When I logged into the draft and seen that Rice was still there at my 1.09 pick, it was a no brainer. Matt, I've watched Jason Hill this preseason, and he's looked great, but now I read he might be cut??? Do you know anything further than the speculation floating around? I can't imagine they would cut Hill over Lelie.

And 5 of those sacks were in the first half of the first game with Frye at QB. It's pre-season everyone, take a deep breath.

PPR leagues - HP Scoring Redraft 1.01 - LT 1.11 - Reggie Bush

In the middle of a draft right now with a really awful team that I took over late last year. Before the draft, I had the 1.09, 1.10, 2.01, 2.10, 3.01, 3.02, & 4.01 picks. I traded my 2.01 & 2.10 picks for the 1.11 & 3.11 picks. I figured I would try and grab Hightower with the 1.11 pick, but he ended up going 3rd in the draft!! Major surprise. Anyway, Ray Rice ended up falling to me and I grabbed Ray Rice, Devin Thomas, and Limas Sweed with the 1.09, 1.10 & 1.11 picks. Pretty happy withe the draft so far, and with the trade I made for Calvin Johnson, and with grabbing Bradshaw and Thomas off of waivers when I took the team over, I feel pretty good about my chances at making this team competitive within a few years. I don't have much else, so I should probably get the #1 pick again next year, or at least have a top 3 pick. Just picked up Laurent Robinson & Malcom Kelly with the 3.01 & 3.02 picks.

I'd have to say Thomas Jones as a late 2nd/early 3rd round pick in all leagues was bad, but then also drafting Deuce Mac in the 4th really hurt me in one league. Luckily in that league, I made a few shrewd trades before the players I was trading for peaked. Traded Addai, Keith & Gates for Westbrook, Jennings & Pitt's D. (This was right when Jennings came back from injury. I was also losing points with my crappy defenses at the time, and Pitt's D was pretty solid.) Our flex in this league has the option of starting RB, WR, or TE, so I drafted Winslow in the 7th round instead of a WR. Then I traded Thomas Jones, Brian Leonard, and Patrick Crayton for Buckhalter, Derrick Mason and Eric Johnson. PPR league. My team was flat out awful, but getting Westy, Mason, and Jennings turned my season around.

I only play in PPR leagues and I'm picking 11th in one league. I'm hoping I can take Bush/Wayne with my first two picks.

My thoughts exactly, except I'm not sure about the TD's. Good post.

Bush finished 9th in scoring as a rookie RB in my PPR league. He finished 11th last year despite missing 4 games. If I remember right, Bush was the 6th ranked back before the injury, and his PPG scoring is very consistent due to the number of receptions. I have the 11th pick this year in a redraft PPR league, and will be very happy if I can land Bush.

Do you need 100,000 dollars to make this work? That's a huge figure, and if you need that much, I would be reluctant to accept the money. If not, just accept enough to make a down payment on a house that will give you a comfortable monthly payment. Pay back the money with interest when you can. In normal circumstances I would say no, but they want to see their grandchildren, and I understand that. It's a win-win situation. If the job is something that is a good opportunity, you could very well increase your income before you know it.

That is incorrect. In a PPR league, Bush is a #1 back, not #2. And, Bush is a very consistent scorer in a PPR format.

Awesome. Great work. Reading Offensive line analysis is more important to me than reading articles analyzing the skill positions.

I think everyone knows about Bruce and Johnson in San Fran, but the winner between Battle and Hill for the #3 spot could prove to have some value. Something to keep an eye on anyway.

8 would be early from what I've seen, but he's worth an 8th round pick IMO. I believe the 10th, 11th round was about where Mason was going in the mocks I've participated in. I draft Mason and Coles about every year it seems like. Great value guys.

You should probably check your stats before you make posts like these. Not only is your post completely inaccurate, but you're also giving out bad advice. Mason had 5 receptions for 98 yards and a TD in week 16 with Troy Smith as the starter. Mason had 6 receptions for 72 yards in week 17 with Troy Smith as a starter. McNair and Boller were the only other QB's last season for the Ravens, and Mason produced for both QB's. McNair only played 6 games, and he was out for the season after game 9. Mason averaged 10.6 yards per catch. Not great, but certainly not 6 yards a catch. CBSSportsline 103 receptions - 1087 yards receiving and 5 TD's with 3 different QB's. Pretty impressive IMO.

Harrison is the 3rd string back. Wright is Lewis' handcuff.

I should have said that Simpson needs to put on weight and more importantly, get stronger. I guess the kid has some major hops, so maybe we'll see him in a few red zone packages. I'll keep you guys updated if I hear anything new. I'm hoping that Simpson or Bennett falls to the 2.10 spot in my upcoming dynasty draft, so he is a guy that I'm keeping an eye on. It's also worth mentioning that the Bengals, despite not having a budget for a scouting department, have had a pretty good eye for WR's in the past. And, I'm sure that Palmer makes an average WR look good. As someone who's picking late in both dynasty drafts, I actually like the value of this year's WR class. You can draft the top WR's in the late 1st and early 2nd round due to the amount of RB's that came out. I understand that the scouts didn't feel there was a "stud" WR in this class, but how 1st round busts do we see, and how many times do we see the guys drafted in the 2nd round and higher turn out to be quality WR's in the NFL?