Ray_T

funny thing is... when Forte first came on the scene people said the exact same thing. they didnt like him, didnt think he had much talent.... then suddenly he proved them all wrong. I prefer Crowell because the duke is more or less a pass catching back and The Cleveland QB's may not be good enough (or experienced enough) to take advantage of this. also, the Duke has had problems with concussions. he is one good hit from being out of the league and in a wheelchair. I suspect for that reason, he will not be running between the tackles much (if at all) and this severely limits him.

clearly not. I think any of the top 5 backs in this draft would also have put up very good numbers in Dallas. That line was dynamite. I'm guessing it wont be nearly as dominant this year. We will find out what Zeke is made of this year.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000824930/article/chargers-rookie-ol-forrest-lamp-suffers-torn-acl This may hinder Gordon for this year. one of the O linemen is out for the year.... already.

I think he got sick of the line opening no holes and getting hit in the backfield repeatedly. a bad line can make even a very good running back look subpar.

Is this like a survivor league or is it a case where all teams play a full schedule? on a full schedule, you have a bit more flexibility. if it's a lose and you are out thing, then you gotta go big or go home early.

This is pretty close to what I'd suggest so I'll just say I agree.

That's all fine, but he's ranked top 10 on most draft boards. I suppose that means he's overvalued and buyer beware.

I like him, but I dont think the he warrants the hype he is getting. His YPC will improve from last year, but the improvement wont be as large as what has been predicted. Last year, he was a volume runner running behind a poor line. due to injuries (again) there were not as many red zone options for the team, so he got them by default. They drafted two rookies, so there is hope that things will improve on the line, but I truly believe that when you insert two rookies onto an O line, (and possibly last years 3rd round pick Tuerk who mostly red shirted last year) you will experience some growing pains early in the season for that line. It could be marginally better, but I'd bet money that the big improvement will be next year once these guys gain some experience and NOT this year. I figure a YPC around 4.1 or 4.2 is a reasonable estimate for this year. I think some of the TD's will disappear as Rivers has better options in the pass game than he had last season and in the end I think the numbers will be marginally better than last year. I also figure most of the improvement from last season will be in the second half when that line starts to come together and work as a team. my recommendation is you draft him high in Keeper/Dynasty leagues (if you can get him at all) and temper your expectations in redraft leagues. Truly, the best way to get value when drafting this player is to wait until 3-4 games into the season. If he is underperforming his draft position at that time, you will get him cheaper than you will get him in the draft.

It was not my intent to criticize you for posting the news. it was my intent to criticize the writer who made a big deal of this. Most of the time when stuff like this happens it does not even make the news.

Yeah, this is a much tougher call in a PPR league. on this team, I think Stewart may still be the back to own in Standard leagues.

so now Hyde is being replaced by Hightower because he didnt take the first snap of practice? Wow, it really must be a slow news week. This is not the kind of news that matters at this point in training camp.

I know the experts are dropping him, but the reality is... it's hard to drop a player that much when he has a season like Murray had last year. He should be a top 5-6 running back and presents great value for anyone picking him in round 2.

Talents like Bell are hard to get onto your team in the first place. I think you keep him. keep in mind, this is the equivalent of a trade where: you get Bell and a 5th and give up Howard and a first. usually the team getting the best player wins the deal and I dont see a first round pick at #11 overall making up for the loss in production from Bell to Howard.

as far as I can tell it's his first concussion. So long as the team doesnt push him into the lineup quickly he will be okay. as this is exhibition, I dont think there will be a whole lot of pressure to push him into the lineup.

oh, I'd also probably drop brady a couple of spots. I think I'd drop him a couple spots to #5 just under andrew Luck. Not that I dont feel he's talented, but I have to account for additional risk with his age.

Not a bad list. I'd probably exchange Rivers and Wilson and I'd move Eli up a couple spots. I think he's gonna have a good year. Not quite top 10 good, but close. otherwise, your list is pretty close to where mine is at.

I'm wondering about this Baltimore thing. Greg Roman (an offensive Assistant in Baltimore) was Kap's offensive Co-ordinator in San Fran under the other Harbaugh. So there is most definitely a connection there. funny thing is..... Flacco went on record as saying he wants Kap to get another shot, but not with his team. Maybe he's not feeling as secure in his job as he should..... either way, I'm going on record as saying that this may be Kap's best shot at getting a gig where he has a chance to start (even if he only starts one or two games) Baltimore also trained up T-Mobile who backed up Flacco, and I'm sure Harbaugh had a hand in that, so I do think this is a spot that could be good for Kap if they elect to sign him. My understanding is that they are interviewing RG3 in the coming days. As he and RG3 both have a similar skillset, I think the team is willing to stray from convention to get someone. anyhow.... interesting times.

I disagree. in most leagues, the winning team has to overcome injuries of some sort. And honestly, all you need to do is be healthy enough to make the playoffs and fully healthy through the playoffs. I won back to back years a couple years back in my big money pool and had injuries both years to one of my keepers (we kept 3 so the equivalent of your 2nd/3rd round pick) but I drafted exceptionally well that year. one year I had my top RB go down, but happened to pickup Steve Slaton the year he broke out and didnt miss a beat. The other year a QB went down but my 3rd string QB (we start 2 QB in that league) played well enough. I'm saying it's not impossible, but if you have injuries, you NEED to either have a sleeper pan out or have a waiver wire Gem that lights it up for you. Basically if you are astute, you can make up for it. But you (likely) also need to take more risks in your waiver wire pickups to try to get those gems)

It's certainly a possibility. maybe we will get clarification on what the #1 guy is likely doing. Maybe if you post his roster as well as a list of the best likely keepers to be thrown back into the pool we may be able to give you the best possible advice.

Just cuz he's a top fantasy QB does not make him a top NFL QB. Tim Teebow was a big fantasy producer too, but he didnt last long.y In the case of Bortles, I do not see his replacement on the Jaxonville roster, so it may not be a bad bet to roster him, but I would be a lot more comfortable with him as my backup QB than as my #1 guy.

if this is the only report of this, we can write it off as a one time bad day. If we hear of other reports like this between now and the regular season, then I'd worry. at this point it could easily be a case where he didnt have his head in the game. and this can be expected during the first week of practice.

Well, I've done this before. Essentially this is a twist on the zero RB strategy. it works okay, but it also depends on who else is using the strategy in your draft. If you are the only one working this strategy, you essentially will end up with Terrence West, Doug Martin and 3 or 4 of the best RB3 players with a chance to become the starter. If you are the only one running with that strategy, it may work okay, but if there are more than 2 running that strategy it wont work nearly as well as you would like. you need to make a call based on what everyone else has done because certain options become non viable if the teams ahead of you do certain things. for example, if you draft at 8 and 6 of the first 8 picks are WR then your zero RB strategy becomes a liability to you. You have to be willing to adjust on the fly based on what the draft gives you.

well, Kelce is higher on my list than Gronk, but there is only one Kelce and 12 teams in most drafts. If I am targeting Kelce I"m happy to see people take Gronk because that gives me a better shot at getting my man. once Kelce is gone, the question is who is #2? I think Gronks upside makes him #2 but at what point in the draft do you take him? I wouldnt pick him early but someone surely will.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000822973/article/ryan-mallett-suffers-int-meltdown-at-ravens-practice This may increase the demand for the unsigned QB's out there,,,,

yeah, that format makes it very tempting to swing for the fences.