Question 1: Asked by rwfleener

I figure on starting Larry Fitzy but I need to start 1 more reciever which one would you start, Randy Moss or Hines Ward?

Answer

Well, one thing is for sure… Drama doesn’t impact Moss’s fantasy points.  Vince Young has been a phenomenal passer when healthy this year.  He has seen a lot of pressure since teams were stacking 8 in the box to stop Chris Johnson, but now with the presence of Moss that won’t happen near as often. I am a firm believer in the Titans since they have made this trade, if Young can stay on the field for the rest of the season then the Titans will win their division. Moss also has a history of strong outings right after changing teams, so he is worth the risk here. You can see my original answer and the answers of others on Fandemic.

Question 2: Asked by @thebudmonster

I need 1 player at wr, rb & flex? dez, bowe, s. moss, s. smith(south), breaston, t. jones, r. brown.

Answer

Alright, well for your RB I am leaning towards Thomas Jones.  Denver has not been a strong run defense this year and for some insane reason, Todd Haley and Charlie Weiss keep giving him the ball.  Logic says he should see less carries with how bad he was last week, but this is the 15th time I have said that in a post so I expect him to get at least 50% of the carries again this week.  Dez Bryant is essentially the entire running game of the Cowboys in the past few weeks.  They have been using him on a lot of very short routes and bubble screens to substitute for their complete inability to run the ball.  And for any other owners out there, I would put him just outside the top 10 in a PPR format this week.  For your flex go with Santana Moss.  He has been very effective this year and with Vick playing the best football of his career, the Redskins are going to be down and throwing to try and stay in the game.

Question 3: Asked by latinangel5439

Matt Schaub vs Jags or Kyle Orton vs KC Chiefs??

Answer

I have seen a lot of Matt Schaub questions this week and they all are coming from owners who are frustrated and have completely given up on him. I can’t blame you guys, but the numbers don’t lie.  The Jaguars are allowing an average of 18.5 fantasy points per game to opposing Quarterbacks.  With the Texans being the only team in the league to allow more, this should be a very high-scoring and passing oriented game.  It would be a mistake to sit Schaub, since Andre Johnson alone could easily get 150 yards and 2 TDs by himself and he won’t be the only one to catch the ball. You can see my original answer and the answers of others on Fandemic.

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Studs

Arian Foster, RB, HOU – Despite missing a good portion of the first half of the game due to disciplinary reasons, he still tallied 187 all purpose yards and two scores.  Foster is like lightning in a bottle so far this season and until SOMEONE shows the ability to stop him, he will keep climbing in the rankings.

Terrell Owens, WR, CIN – If you started Owens you very likely were in some serious bye week trouble.  It was not unexpected that a Bengals receiver was going to have a big game against the Browns, but the smart money was on Chad Ochocinco.  If you did need to use Owens, congratulations on hitting your home run… but you can drop him now because Carson Palmer sucks.

Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAC – This is a shining example of why you keep starting your top draft picks despite any early season struggles.  The Jags are a bad team and MJD was not 100% healthy when the season started.  He had been held out of football activities for almost the entire off season and it takes time to get acclimated to the speed of the game again.

Rashard Mendenhall, RB, PIT – Well his value is about to drop, but not disappear.  Rashard has been as reliable as the Steelers could have hoped for in the absence of Big Ben.  Now that Ben is back they will be using the aerial attack much more.  I still like Mendenhall as a top 10 RB but once their bye week is over he won’t be coming near the top 5 for a while.

Zach Miller, TE, OAK – With Louis Murphy struggling with his shoulder pain the Raiders only consistent receiving threat was a non-factor. I was big on Zach Miller going into the year because of this lack of production from the Raiders receivers and it finally hit big.  This is obviously not what you can expect but Miller is a key part of their offense and he will stay a top 10 TE.

Peyton Hillis, RB, CLE – Hillis is now clearly the Browns RB you want to own.  I won’t bail on Jerome Harrison until I see Hillis get all the work again next week.  He is looking to be a good RB 2 if the Browns have a good match up and a flex play otherwise.

Reggie Wayne, WR, IND – Colts fans may need to be concerned after a surprising loss to the Jaguars on Sunday, but fantasy owners don’t need to share their concern.  Wayne hauled in 15 passes for 196 yards on Sunday. The one thing I did take from this game, is that if Garcon gets his #2 spot back Collie wont be able to maintain this value.

LaDanian Tomlinson, RB, NYJ - I was expecting a good game from LT this week with the soft match up, but I did not expect to see him look like he was 29 again.  I am encouraged by this performance and think LT just may remain a viable fantasy starter come the playoffs.  Shonn Greene owners should be concerned.

Duds

Santana Moss, WR, WAS - Moss had been the go-to guy so far this entire season, but the Eagles defense was able to shut him down.  I am not concerned because the strategy backfired on the Eagles and is not likely to be repeated.

Randy Moss, WR, NE – There have only been around 5 games in Moss’ career where he went without a catch and this was one of them. I have no concerns with Moss in the future you have to start him.

Jay Cutler, QB, CHI – The ridiculous pressure that he faced early in the game was not his fault.  Holding on to the ball and refusing to make a decision on who to throw to in the 2nd quarter was his fault.  For now I am treating this as a one game deal and next week (if active) he will still be ranked around 10th.

DeSean Jackson, WR, PHI - Kolb means bad news for DJax as he favors the safe check down style throws.  If you own this guy you will still probably have to start him because with a whole week to prepare knowing he is the #1 QB, Kolb will have the confidence to take a shot or two down the field.

Chris Johnson, RB, TEN - Tough crap, you drafted him. You are starting him.  It is frustrating I know, but he is still the best back in fantasy football.

Ronnie Brown, RB, MIA - Ronnie Brown looked bad last night on Monday night in a tough loss at home for the Dolphins.  Williams looked like the best back and the one that Sporano trusted the most.  I think that Williams might be the most likely to see carries in the red zone and might overtake Brown in the rankings.

Ray Rice, RB, BAL – See the first sentence of Chris Johnson.  He might be on pace to be this year’s Matt Forte… but you can’t say that quite yet.  He was playing against the Steelers.

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Question 1 asked by@Nikkosphere

@BigJim_SFL I just received a trade proposal, they’re asking for Jamaal Charles and want to give me Felix Jones, Zach Miller…yes/no

Answer

Even though Thomas Jones has been taking carries from Charles, this can’t last.  Come the end of the season last year, Jones had lost some of his speed and explosiveness. This led to Shonn Greene having a breakout end of the season where he was used as the only serious RB on the team.  This year should be no different.  Charles is a dynamic play maker that makes the Chiefs offense as successful as it has been this year.  There will be very few games where Charles is not productive and you have to hold on to him.  Felix Jones was likely drafted in the top 5 rounds when we expected him to lead the Cowboys in carries.  It now appears that he is a 3rd down back at best and that Barber is the RB to own in Dallas.  Zach Miller is among my favorite TEs this year, but the talent at the position is so deep that I would rather have Dustin Keller who was likely a free agent until this week.

Question 2 asked by Brian

Im in a PPR league and need 2:
Wes Welker vs Mia
Steve Smith (NYG) vs Chi
Malcom Floyd vs Arz

Answer

Given it is a PPR league, Welker is a must start.  The Dolphins do have a young, underrated secondary, but the Patriots are still an elite offense and Welker is a crucial part of that.  Malcom Floyd would be my 2nd guy because of the matchup.  He is not a PPR stud, but apart from in junk time last week, Smith has been a huge disappointment.  I do not think people should abandon him in their lineups but with two other very viable options you can minimize some risk by sitting Smith.

Question 3 asked by Pro Style

Best 2 RB plays this week?

Forte vs NYG
R.Brown vs NE
LT vs Buf
DMC vs Hou

Answer

This is a great group of RBs and because of this you will have some tough decisions from week to week, this Sunday not being an exception.  McFadden is proving to be a feature back for the Raiders.  He is a completely different person that we have seen since he was drafted.  Because of this success Michael Bush is not own-able in a standard league and DMC sits as the NFL’s 3rd best RB, averaging 115 yards per game.  The Texans are not a superb defense and while Louis Murphy is my favorite to steal the show in this game, DMC is a number 1 fantasy RB until something changes.  For the second spot I would go with LT.  He has the best match up for a running back.  The Jets will still continue to use him as their primary guy as long as he holds up physically… and the Bills really can’t stop him.

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1. Chris Johnson
2. Adrian Peterson
3. Frank Gore
4. Steven Jackson
5. Maurice Jones-Drew
6. Ryan Mathews
7. Ray Rice
8. Ronnie Brown
9. Cedric Benson
10. Ryan Grant
11. Rashard Mendenhall
12. DeAngelo Williams
13. Beanie Wells
14. Jamaal Charles
15. Jerome Harrison
16. Arian Foster
17. Felix Jones
18. Matt Forte
19. Shonn Greene
20. Joseph Addai
21. Jonathan Stewart
22. Pierre Thomas
23. CJ Spiller
24. Knowshon Moreno
25. Ahmad Bradshaw
26. Ricky Williams
27. Jahvid Best
28. LeSean McCoy
29. Justin Foresett
30. Clinton Portis
31. Marion Barber
32. Reggie Bush
33. Carnell Williams
34. LaDanian Tomlinson
35. Brandon Jacobs
36. Thomas Jones
37. Tim Hightower
38. Darren McFadden
39. Chester Taylor
40. Fred Jackson
41. Donald Brown
42. Fred Taylor
43. Steve Slaton
44. Darren Sproles
45. Laurence Maroney
46. Leon Washington
47. Correll Buckhalter
48. Willis McGahee
49. Isaac Redman
50. Peyton Hillis

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The season is finally upon us and the Kickoff game on Thursday will be a great start, tune in.  While there are no shortage of great match ups this week I will get more into that later and go straight into the first Love and Hate lists of the 2010 season.

Love

Jerome Harrison (CLE) – Montario Hardesty’s injury increased the number of touches Harrison will see.  With a lot of carries and a bad opposing defense last season he finished the season strong enough to propel the BROWNS to a 4 game winning streak.

Ronnie Brown (MIA) – The Bills run defense was 30th in the league last year and the 4-3 is geared towards stopping the run.  The transition that Kelsay and Maybin are trying to make takes time.  There will be rough spots and while you may think Brown wont stay healthy all season… he is now.

Matt Forte (CHI) – The Lions are making strides to improve their franchise but on defense they still have plenty of work to do.  They are vulnerable to allowing big plays and this suits the Bears’ new offensive style very well.

Johnny Knox (CHI) – See Matt Forte.

Larry Fitzgerald (ARI) – Derek Anderson brings a consistency to the offense that Leinart could not provide.  The upside is lower, because we know what Anderson can do and I do not expect him to come close to his one good year in ’07.

Michael Crabtree (SF) – He is one of the guys that I really think is going to come into his own this season.  I know some people are nervous because of the incident with Vernon Davis in camp, but I am not.  This guy is a play maker on game day. Since when does fantasy football worry too much about a wide receiver with an attitude problem?

Felix Jones (DAL) – The love for Felix Jones has gone a little too far in my opinion because there is absolutely no chance that we get 16 games out of him this season.  Swelling in his knee on the 2nd day of training camp is not what you want to see from your new lead running back.  He’s fine now and has the ability to break a big gain anytime you put the ball in his hands.

Philip Rivers (SD) – The Chiefs have weapons on offense but their defense has plenty of gaps in the secondary.  Rivers will be spreading the ball around and should be able to move the ball very effectively throughout the game.

Antonio Gates (SD) – see Philip Rivers.

Hate

Pierre Thomas (NO) – The stock on him rose w hen Ladell Betts was cut, he should see the goal line work.  Against this defense his rushing yards will be low, so unless he breaks a big gain in the receiving game his numbers will be modest at best.

Fred Jackson (BUF) – Gailey will likely lean on Lynch and Spiller a bit more this week to allow Jackson to get back to 100%, he will be fine come week 2 though.

Kevin Kolb (PHI) – If Reid is not willing to lean on the running game until Kolb gets in a rhythm this ball hawking secondary could cause some problems in Kolb’s first outing as the team’s leader.  I don’t see him having a huge game this week, I do not have too many concerns down the stretch however.

Shonn Greene (NYJ) – The Jets love to run the ball, but they won’t win this game that way.  This is going to be a slug fest and a field position battle and could be a preview of the AFC Championship game, unless Peyton Manning has his way.

Anquan Boldin (BAL) – Have you met Darrelle Revis? Nope, he used to be busy with Larry.  This is a cruel first test as a number one WR.

Justin Forsett (SEA) – Patrick Willis and the 49ers will be starting off with a win at the expense of Matt Hasselbeck and the Seattle offense.

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This year certainly looks to continue an unfortunate trend.  Year in and year out, the running back position was by far the most important for your fantasy team’s trip to the playoffs.  Their importance to us has not changed; but the reliability of the average running back to productive has gone way down.  When you look at the top of your draft boards you will almost always see the same 5 or 6 names going first and they are all running backs.  The problem is that since offenses are becoming pass-first and the popularity of splitting carries between two or three backs is still increasing, the consistency of the 7th through 15th ranked RB’s is lowered.  Ten years ago during the 2000 season there were 16 different RBs that got at least 275 carries, but last year only had 7. You can get my updated RB rankings here.

The Big Three

It seems like it always comes down to 3 guys that become the consensus elite three each year.  This year welcomes back Adrian Peterson and Maurice Jones-Drew but the number one guy is new to the group, Chris Johnson.  There was an interesting article in ESPN the magazine that was written by Christopher Harris in support of Peterson as number one, but I don’t buy it.  2000 yards is special, I want that on my team.  Peterson should improve on his ’09 campaign given the Vikings WR issues and Favre just looking to stay healthy if the team struggles.  I am a little concerned about MJD STILL not participating in any football related drills, but I view this as only a slight setback.  If he was expected to miss time, we would know.  Anticipate a slow start but he will still be the same old guy once he is 100%.

The Other First Rounders -

Rounding out the guys that are likely to be drafted in the first round at this position are Frank Gore, Ray Rice, Michael Turner, Steven Jackson and DeAngelo Williams.  I have been talking up Frank Gore to anyone that will listen for a little while now.  With the addition of the two lineman in the first round of this year’s draft, a stable QB and a very stout defense Gore is set to have a great year.  I think he has more things working in his favor that Ray Rice, unless you are in a PPR league… then Rice is probably at number 3.  Michael Turner seems to be being overlooked by most people, they still rank him around the same place I do, but I am positive you should draft this guy over anyone at QB or WR.  I think Turner will have a 1400 yard season.  Steven Jackson is the last guy I would take before Andre Johnson, he is a rare talent on a bad team.  Regardless of every obstacle put in front of him he continues to be productive statistically and if Bradford has any success it will benefit him greatly.  I have seen DeAngelo Williams fall to the second round, don’t let that happen if you can help it!  This guy is a special player and the only reason he isn’t ranked at the number 3 spot is Jonathan Stewart. The Panthers know how to get the most from each of these backs, Williams is more talented and will see the most carries.  There are questions at QB and the Panthers will be trying to use their running game as a crutch to get to the playoffs.

Second Running Backs (RB2)

I’ll refer you to the rankings to see all the guys listed in the rest of the sections here, but you are looking at ranks 10 to 24.  Shonn Greene does appear to have some company in the backfield with LT, but Tomlinson is old and in order to be as effective as he can be he will be limited in the number of touches he gets.  This will allow Greene to stay rested and still receive a lot of work, the Jets love to run if you didn’t know.  Jamaal Charles is in an identical situation with Thomas Jones on a team with a worse defense.  This makes him slightly less valuable than Greene because he will see fewer touches.  Charles is a more explosive back, but I think Jones has a little more left in the tank and will vulture ALL of the goal line duties.  I was much higher on Beanie Wells before the preseason performance of Matt Leinart.  Wells is not experienced or developed enough to produce consistently in a bad offense.  He was much more of a raw talent than polished runner coming out of college and will need a bit more time before he can carry the Cardinals through the rough spots.  Ronnie Brown and Joseph Addai are coming off productive years, with Brown having been injured at the end of the season.  I have confidence in both guys going into the year, despite Ronnie’s track record. There should be a better vertical passing game to keep the 8th man out of the box this year and that should help keep the two Dolphin RBs healthy.  Lastly, Arian Foster totaled over 100 yards on the ground in week 3 of the preseason.  He is going to be the lead guy on a pretty damn good offense, that’s good enough for me.

Flex Players and The Best Backups

As far as the guys between 25 and 35 in my rankings are concerned, I have some major concerns that Felix Jones can stay healthy for 16 games, but while he is healthy he will be the lead back for the Cowboys and Marion Barber will take over that supplementary role that he was so successful with during his breakout season on ’06.  Ahmad Bradshaw will be the starting RB for the Giants this year and is among my favorite picks this year at the position.  He has always been explosive and make the most of his opportunities. Jacobs will probably see most the goal line duties but Bradshaw should great things with 20 rushing attempts per game.  Fred Jackson has fallen below his teammate CJ Spiller in most people’s rankings, but I view this as a mistake.  Matthew Berry at ESPN put an awesome stat in his Love/Hate column about how Chan Gailey uses RB’s.  Basically there is a clear lead guy and a clear supplementary back.  Spiller does not have the skill set for a clear lead role, but Fred Jackson does.  If the Redskins O-line can keep Clinton Portis healthy he will be a big surprise for owners this year.  He may have been in the league for a little while now, but we haven’t devalued a running back like this before the age of 30 in a while.

The Best of The Rest

Players ranked 36 and below on my rankings are either ideal for bye week fill-ins and in case of an injury. LaDainian Tomlinson and Thomas Jones are guys that are experienced but new to their team.  It is still unclear exactly how they will be used, but we can expect both to get the most goal line carries on their team and get enough work to be productive as a fill-in.  Donald Brown is a single injury away from a starting job on one of the elite offenses in the league.  I don’t expect the Colts to sign Addai to another contract after this year unless they absolutely need to.  They will be putting this guy on the field plenty this year to know how best to handle a potential Addai contract.  Tim Hightower has also fallen a bit too far in most people’s rankings, he is a talented guy and will see use in what will probably be a struggling offense.

Sleepers

Frank Gore, DeAngelo Williams, Pierre Thomas, Ahmad Bradshaw, Fred Jackson, Donald Brown, Tim Hightower

Busts

LeSean McCoy, Knowshon Moreno, Felix Jones, Brandon Jacobs, Laurence Maroney

Recap

Draft around 5 guys at this position, expect injuries and you can’t be screwed by them.  The talent pool is shallow this year, if you are lucky enough to get one of the top 6 or 7 picks DO NOT do anything crazy. rounds 3-4 are where all the WRs fly off the shelves so you can often find a bargain in the fourth as a back or two usually falls too far at this time.

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The Miami Dolphins are a franchise on the rise.  They saw great progress with Chad Henne last season, and still have a tough punishing running game.  Tony Sporano has done what ever is necessary to keep his team competitive and he has done a great job thus far.  This off season has been no different with signing two particularly big name players in Brandon Marshall and Karlos Dansby.  They did lose Jason Taylor, but their biggest issue is at outside linebacker.  Many people are questioning the RB duo that has been nothing short of spectacular when healthy, but I am not one of those people.  In the mock drafts that I have done thus far Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams have fallen quite far and have been great value picks.

Top Fantasy Players:

Chad Henne – I really like Henne as a backup QB this year and potential sleeper.  If you are in a position on draft day where you can’t get one of the top 5 or so QBs then you should target this 2^nd year QB in later rounds.

Brandon Marshall – Marshall is one hell of an athlete, and while his hip injury situation is a concern as far as career longevity is concerned, it will not be an issue this season.  I do not value Marshall as high as others do, because despite the fact that I think Henne will continue getting better that is a gamble.

Ronnie Brown – No surprise here, Brown is the feature back and takes snaps in the Wildcat offense.  Look for another great season from Brown and hopefully he’ll stay healthy which is all that can stop him.

Ricky Williams – He wont have quite the same explosiveness of the past few seasons due to aging, but his time off earlier in his career has done him well and he will remain one of the most productive backup running backs in the league.

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Round One
Pick 1 (1) – Chris Johnson: CJ has an absurd mix of power and speed that makes him a threat to score every time he touches the ball.  A guy his size and speed should have trouble between the tackles, but as he proved last season he does not.

Pick 2 (2) – Adrian Peterson: The emergence of Chris Johnson is not why I rank Peterson at number two.  Peterson is in my opinion the most complete running back in the league, but has had some issues with fumbles and is seeing fewer touchdowns with Favre pulling the trigger.

Pick 3 (3) – Maurice Jones-Drew: MJD has a similar skill set to Johnson, but has a bit of trouble running up the middle.  He is a very capable goal line back due to his elusiveness, but does not have the supporting cast to have a breakout year.

Pick 4 (4) – Frank Gore: The Niners had an excellent draft, they appear to be lining up behind Alex Smith and opted to bolster their offensive line in a big way with Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati.  Iupati is one of the most athletic guards I have seen come out of college in a while and will do an excellent job pulling to seal the corner for Gore this year.  The Niners also appear to have rededicated themselves to a physical smash mouth style that matches their coach Mike Singletary.

Pick 5 (5) – Ray Rice: This guy came out of nowhere, and I do not expect him to be the next Matt Forte at all.  Until draft day Rice was my number four back.  After adding a deep threat and much needed talent at the WR position with Anquan Boldin, the Ravens ensured that they will still see consistent production from Rice.  It will be exceedingly difficult to stack eight in the box to stop this guy.

Pick 6 (6) – Michael Turner: Turner has dropped a fair few spots from last season, but it has little to do with him.  The emergence of the 49ers and Ravens on the offensive side of the ball are the primary reasons why Turner is not fourth on this list.  The injury at the end of last year certainly does not help, but I’m not going to downgrade him for it until he proves it was not an isolated incident.

Pick 7 (7) – Ronnie Brown: The Dolphins have a more balanced attack now with Marshall at wide receiver, but Henne is still unproven and the one-two punch of Brown Williams is still going to be the driving force of this offense.  Brown could see better productivity with a passing game to balance the defense.

Pick 8 (8) – Drew Brees: Yes, the Saints lost some talent on both sides of the ball, but regardless of the situation the only player that was always are the center of their success was Brees.  He repeatedly rallied the Saints whether it be the fourth quarter of a game, or after losing to the lowly Buccaneers, and then needing to make a playoff run.

Pick 9 (9) – Andre Johnson: The Texans have their issues, and it is impossible to know what Coach Kubiak is thinking when he puts Arian Foster or Ryan Moats on the field instead of Steve Slaton.  With that said they are a playoff caliber team with a very efficient passing game.  Johnson is the most consistent receiver in fantasy football.

Pick 10 (10) – DeAngelo Williams: With the question at quarter back and the best tandem of running backs in the league to lean on you can expect the Panthers to do just that.  Use the talent at the Running Back position to develop either Matt Moore or Jimmy Clausen into their Quarterback of the future.

Pick 11 (11) – Steven Jackson: He may be on the decline, but during a 1-15 season Jackson played through injury and was there for every game giving all the effort he had.  He can still be my  first round pick without a doubt.

Pick 12 (12) – Rashard Mendenhall: It is worth noting that the option of taking Reggie Wayne and Peyton Manning was available, but you cannot snub the RB position like that with the last pick. Mendenhall is likely to see an increased workload during Big Ben’s suspension, and he will remain the feature back the rest of the season.

Round 2
Pick 13 (12) – Reggie Wayne: This is the only wide receiver on the best passing offense in the AFC that we know their spot on the depth chart.  Whether Gonzalez or Garcon gets the number two job is still unknown and very possibly subject to change.  Wayne has been with Manning for a long time and has developed into an elite receiver.

Pick 14 (11) – Aaron Rodgers: If you’re scratching your head, then you need to look at the stats from the last two seasons.  Rodgers is likely going to be the highest scoring fantasy QB this season, but Brees is likely to have more passing yards.

Pick 15 (10) – Peyton Manning: Comes down to Moss or Manning here, and with Brady and the Patriots on the decline, Manning is the safe pick and the right one here.

Pick 16 (9) – Ryan Grant: Not taking a running back in the first round means you have to take the best one available to you in the second.

Pick 17 (8) – Cedric Benson: Carson Palmer finally has the best receiving core of his career, and he can’t use it because his career is over.  Benson will see 30 carries a game this year just like last year, as long as he is healthy.

Pick 18 (7) – Randy Moss: Despite his teams fall from the elite, they are still a Playoff quality team with great coaching, and more than enough experience to make a deep playoff run.

Pick 19 (6) – Pierre Thomas: Bush will never be an every down back, and Bell is not there to vulture red zone touches.

Pick 20 (5) – Miles Austin: Austin’s productivity was among the best last season, and considering he did not even start until week 5.  I would hardly be surprised if Austin ended up the top fantasy WR by the end of the season.

Pick 21 (4) – Shonn Greene: The Jets showed that they trust and believe in this young guy the way they used him in the playoffs.  Since Rex Ryan has yet to make a decision that didn’t work out for him, I am going to trust him.

Pick 22 (3) – Tom Brady: Brady has not fallen off.  It took a little to recover from his season long injury, but he’s back.  The difference is the team around him is not as good as it has been.

Pick 23 (2) – Larry Fitzgerald: Larry is still the most talented wide receiver in the league, and it only takes one play for a receiver to have a good day for you.  Fitz will remain a red zone matchup nightmare.

Pick 24 (1) – Joseph Addai: Towards the end of his career, but not there yet.  He will not have quite the year he did last year but he should be close.

Round 3
Pick 25 (1) – Vincent Jackson
Pick 26 (2) – Phillip Rivers
Pick 27 (3) – Roddy White
Pick 28 (4) – Matt Schaub
Pick 29 (5) – Beanie Wells
Pick 30 (6) – Tony Romo
Pick 31 (7) – Jamaal Charles
Pick 32 (8) – Ryan Matthews
Pick 33 (9) – Clinton Portis
Pick 34 (10) – LeSean McCoy
Pick 35 (11) – Ricky Williams
Pick 36 (12) – Joe Flacco

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The first wave of games today included three injuries to top-10 running backs!  As a Cedric Benson owner I am a little concerned that he could miss a little time, however hip injuries are difficult to diagnose (and I am certainly no medical expert!) so we will have to watch his progress closely throughout the week to see his status for next week in what would be an excellent match-up against the Raiders.

Michael Turner left in the first half of a disappointing loss for the Falcons after exciting fantasy owners for 111 yards in the half!  The official injury is a high ankle sprain, but as he wasn’t immediately ruled out for returning to the game I think Turner owners wont see him miss next weeks game as the Falcons try to prove that they are in fact a true playoff contender.

Ronnie Brown left during a nail biter against a bad Buccaneer team this Sunday.  He suffered an ankle injury as he fumbled the final carry of the third quarter, however Ricky Williams filled in admirably and set up the game winning field goal as time expired with his 27 yard carry.

Owners of these backs will need to be closely watching their progress throughout the week and on game day next week.

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