kmbryant09

See below, and someone should definitely try and dig up RLLD's assessment of Thomas Jones & Jamaal Charles from 2 years ago, its a riot. Yep, looks like Jamaal Charles finally turned that corner and learned how to read his blocks! Finally!

Why would you bench Calvin?

Not true at all. Find me one proof of evidence that every football player's muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones are built 100% the same. They aren't. And anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot. On top of that, athletes play, react, and move differently. Some players can anticipate hits better and brace themselves for it. Some players are more physical which lends themselves to more violent hits. Some players play low to the ground and can avoid direct hits. Some players put added stress on different parts of their bodies. Agility players may put extra stress on their knees and ankles, while power players may put added stress on their quads and calves. Please don't tell me that you actually believe injuries are 100% luck. You think Drew Brees and Michael Vick are equally susceptible to injuries? You think Adrian Peterson just "lucked out" by being able to fully recover from an ACL tear in a record time?

I would rather have Lynch. I think Forte may average more fantasy points PER GAME, but he'll probably be out another 1-3 weeks, and probably won't resume "feature back" status until the middle of the season. Even then, he'll lose goalline TD's to Michael Bush. At least with Lynch, he'll be the workhorse RB on a team with a great defense to help keep games competitive.

Decker dropped a 40-45 yard pass from Manning that hit him in stride.

If I was in charge of the Detroit Lions, I'd be giving Mr. Thomas Jones a phone call right about now

I, too, have no research to back this up. But I feel like Prime Time games have been much lower scoring than anticipated. Atlanta vs. Denver was supposed to be a shootout. 27-21 (and 13 points were handed to Atlanta from turnovers). Green Bay vs. Chicago was supposed to be a shootout. 23-10 Dallas vs. New York was supposed to be a shootout. 24-17 (7-3 at half)

What If you payed attention, Decker was Manning's go-to target all off-season. They worked out together before training camp, not Thomas. All reports out of camp said that Decker and Manning had instant chemistry, while Manning and Thomas were struggling to find that same chemistry. Decker had 8/101/2 in the preseason compared to 5/53 for Thomas. Everybody knows that Thomas is the superior talent. But don't try and act like the writing was on the wall that Thomas would instantly be Manning's favorite target. I think you are using just a little bit of hindsight.

Thomas is definitely the more talented player, and has appeared to close the gap on "being on the same page as Manning". Not really sure where all of the offseason chemistry between Manning & Decker went. For what it's worth, Decker dropped a 50 yard pass from Manning last night.

Brees Foster Lynch Bush Cruz Harvin Wayne Gronk (keeper league)

Bump

Taken directly from MileHighReport

I will preface this by saying that I am a Reggie Bush owner (in 1 of my 3 leagues). I think he can have a sneaky good fantasy season, and here's why: -He is the unquestioned lead back on his team. -His main competition is a disappointing Daniel Thomas (already injured, again) and 4th rounder Lamar Miller (who wasn't even active on Sunday). -He should catch A TON of passes. He's arguably the team's best wide receiver, but is certainly the best pass-catching RB. Miami is bad, should be trailing just about every week, and has a rookie QB who should be checking down to his backs. -Did I mention he's probably the best WR on his team? I really think he could approach the 88 passes that he caught as a rookie. -He looked REALLY good against a solid Houston defense on Sunday - He averaged a consistent 5 yards per carry and caught all 6 of his targets. I don't think Bush will rush for 1,200+ yards because the Dolphins can't afford to run that often. But I'd optimistically project these #'s for Bush: 230 carries/1,000 yards/70 catches/500 yards/8 total TD's. I'm not looking at the historical numbers, but I'm guessing that would place him as a top15 RB.

I think everyone should calm down a bit. My roommate is a Chiefs fan and he said they were missing 6 starters on defense. I know that's probably a stretch, but they were without their ONLY pass rusher (Hali), and ONLY cover corner (Brandon Flowers). I do think Ryan will have a very solid season. I think 4,000-4,600 yards and 26-34 touchdowns are realistic projections for him. But I would not rank him, rest of the way, ahead of Brady/Brees/Rodgers/Stafford/Newton. I'd put him in the next tier though, similar to Peyton and Romo.

Turner sucks. I wouldn't feel comfortable starting him on any of my teams.

Just something to consider with a situation like Torrey Smith & Joe Flacco (I believe that was a post on this board yesterday). QB's and WR's production are at least somewhat related. Certainly you want to start your best players who will score the most points. But there are a few situations that merit further consideration. If Joe Flacco throws for 350 yards and 4 TD's, you can bet your ass that Torrey Smith also went off. It does basically negate the "blow-up" game from your opponent. But its a rare situation. I'd say its limited to a true, #1 WR in a mediocre offense with an average QB. The reason is other elite QB's can spread it around (Brady-Welker/Gronk/Hernandez/Lloyd, Rodgers-Jennings/Finley/Nelson, Brees-Graham/Sproles/Colston/Moore). And obviously you can't counter RB's, since their production is isolated. Other guys I can think of? Brandon Marshall - Jay Cutler? Percy Harvin - Christian Ponder? Basically, I just can't see Jay Cutler or Christian Ponder putting up big games without Marshall/Harvin also putting up big games. Then again, you're probably already starting Marshall & Harvin. So maybe this is a unique situation with Torrey Smith and Joe Flacco

Torrey Smith is the #1 this year, by all accounts. From his pre-season showing, from training camp reports, from Joe Flacco's mouth, from Boldin's decline, and from Smith's ascension.

Yes, because an incompetent Todd Haley who refused to give Charles enough touches - and was later fired....and a coaching staff limiting Charles' role coming off an ACL tear will really prove your point. Whatever you say, good day to you

No, its not logical. Saying Johnson bulked up to better take hits doesn't prove your argument. Seeing Chris Johnson average 350 touches a year for 4 years as a SMALLER RB than Charles basically proves that you're talking out of your ass. Sub 200lb RB is no metric that has ever proven a trend, and Jamaal Charles is 199 lbs. If he put 1 pound on, would that sway your opinion? I don't think Charles will eclipse 300 touches this year. But that's not the argument. The only time Charles was asked to be a featured back, he put up one of the best 8-game stretches the RB position has ever seen. When you compare RB's performance from touches 10-20 (a fair measure for a workhorse RB), he was 2nd best in the NFL behind injury-prone Darren McFadden. In games when he's received 20+ touches (again, a fair measure for a workhorse RB), he's averaged 160 ypg and 7 yards per carry - 7 YARDS PER CARRY! I'm not asking you to anoint the guy as Mr. Indestructible, Workhorse RB. But saying that he's not built to carry a full workload is talking out of your ass.

Chris Johnson's playing weight from 2008-2011 was 191 (he amassed 1,381 touches and missed 1 game) - would you call that handling a full workload? Also, I understand we haven't seen Charles put up season after season of 300+ touches. But to assume he can't with absolutely no relative argument is idiotic. The ONLY metrics we can use would be to look at his 2009 second half workload - he amassed 159 carries and 23 catches over 8 games (which projects to 364 touches in a season) and absolutely tore up the league. And in 2010, he amassed 275 touches and didn't suffer any hint of an injury. Keep talking out of your @$$ though

It's called a peak because it looks like one - meaning it has 2 sides to it. Meaning the value started some place, sharply rose, then sharply declined. That forms a peak. Can't peak if you're still going up.

Eric Decker: 92 catches/1,250 yards/11 TD's

Just pointing out that your statement made no sense, and literally contradicted itself. You stated his value is at a peak, and it will only go higher.

How the hell do you figure?!?!? He can't handle a full workload? The ONLY time he's been given the rock like a full-time back, he produced 1,096 total yards and 7 TD's in 8 games! In 2010, Charles had the 2nd highest ypc average on his carries 10-20. He's the same size as Chris Johnson, but 8 pounds heavier. In games when Charles was given 20+ touches, he's averaged 160 yards a game and 7 yards per attempt! (1,124 yards on 159 carries). How can you possibly say he can't handle a full workload?

Not really a fair example using 2009. The Chiefs moved on from Larry Johnson in the middle of the season. From that point on, all Jamaal Charles did was rush 161 times for 968 yards (6.01ypc) and 6 TD's in 8 games. Oh, and he caught 23 passes for 158 yards and another score. Over a full 16 game season, that'd be 2,252 total yards and 14 touchdowns.