Good work, Tatum. Earlier this season it looked as though your only contribution to the 2008 NFL Season would be your cunning acquisition of Rudi Johnson’s luggage. Now, though, with Denver down to their 8^th string running back after Peyton Hillis’ injury, it looks like you’ll get a chance to be an every-down back for a couple of weeks.

Myth: The Broncos had to put 3 RBs on the IR to get Tatum Bell playing time.

Fact: The Broncos had to put 4 RBs on the IR to get Tatum Bell playing time.

These next few weeks will put coach Mike Shanahan’s revolving backfield to the test—if the teams’ 6^th (at least) RB can put up decent numbers, then just about anyone can. Hell, who would have bet that Peyton Hillis would be a late season fantasy factor above his fellow RB rookies from Arkansas, Felix Jones and Darren McFadden? Bell will get some chances because, well, there’s nobody else. At least nobody has slipped on a McDonalds bag yet… 

Before you go grab Bell and put him in your lineup, consider that the Broncos all but have the AFC Weak, errr, AFC West, wrapped up. Why risk losing yet another back when you can air it out to your heart’s content and save him for the Wild-Card round? Bell should get some chances and be a decent flex option if you own one of several RBs who went down Sunday (Portis, Gore, Jacobs, Addai, and the aforementioned Hillis).

Honorable mention goes to Dominic Rhodes, who should get a chance to shine following another disappointing performance from the injury riddled Joseph Addai, after a 1.5 year hiatus in Oakland and as Addai’s backup. Now with two injuries (that the Colts admit to, at least), Addai should get some quality time with Jim Sorgi and the other clipboard kings, with the Colts having all but locked up a playoff spot of their own after a slow start. And facing the Lions this week, Rhodes could have a big game.

Also considered: Tashard Choice RB-Dal, Derrick Ward RB-NYG, Pierre Thomas RB-NOW, Steve Smith WR-NYG, Deion Branch WR-SEA, Tavaris Jackson QB-MIN

Johnson Accuses Bell In Luggage Theft [ESPN]

Broncos’ Brandon Marshall Claims He Was Hurt Slipping on a McDonald’s Wrapper [AOL Fanhouse]

It’s been an interesting first two weeks to the NFL season.  Ed Hochuli has gone from the ref known for his huge arms to the one known for one of the worst calls in recent memory. 

Meanwhile, what’s lost in this is that rookie WR Eddie Royal continues to put up numbers, even with Brandon Marshall back from suspension.  And as an additional plus, it came against a team better than the Raiders!

Mike Martz may have an effect in San Francisco after all, as Frank Gore is doing his best vintage Marshall Faulk impression.  Perhaps not to that degree, but he’ll be a good option all year long.  See if his owner in your league might not be a believer yet and try to trade for him–I was able to snag him fairly late in a couple of my drafts.

The best fantasy omen may be the Detroit Lions defense, who the aforementioned Gore plays this week.  This also makes JT O’Sullivan a viable fantasy option to grab if your starter has a tough matchup.  There’s also an off chance he may keep it up past Detroit.  Seattle and Detroit (the Niners previous and next opponents) rank 25th and 27th, respectively, in pass defense.

It might be time to cut bait on Packers RB Ryan Grant, though I hate to say it.  I was a big fan of his entering the season, but hamstring injuries don’t heal quickly and Brandon Jackson is no slouch himself.  If you can handcuff, I’d do so.  If you can unload Grant for anything close to his preseason value, I’d do that too.

Though it pains me, someone who deserves more patience is the Cannabis Kid himself, Miami RB Ricky Williams.  Though he’s taken a couple years off, he was once a dominant back, and could be so again once he shakes the rust off.  However, there’s a good chance the problem is him (or the crappy offensive line).  If he still sucks going into Week 5, I’d cut him then. 

I read an article the other day that compared Chiefs RB Larry Johnson to Eddie George, and I can’t help but find the similarities alarming (disclosure:  Especially as a Chiefs fan).  He’s another guy, like Grant, that I would trade if you can get anything close to preseason value.  It may be time to stash Jamaal Charles too, if you’re in a deep league.

Since the Seahawks are signing WR Koren Robinson and considering it an upgrade to their receiving corps, I think it’s safe to say you should temper your expectations for Matt Hasselbeck for the next few weeks.  Coach Mike Holmgren said that he doesn’t expect WRs Deion Branch and Bobby Engram to return before the bye week.  This implies that they’ll return shortly thereafter, so if you can trade for Hasselbeck (or pick him up in Free Agency), it’d be a worthwhile move.  Remember, playing well in the fantasy playoffs is what counts, and it looks like they’ll be airing it out a lot by then with their struggling backfield.

Lastly, a word about the site.  We’re working on fixing some of the minor problems (gliches, out of date quantitative analysis), but the qualitative stuff / blog info should continue to be top notch.  It’ll take a little while to update everything, but we’re getting it done and taking it very seriously.  If you have any questions, about the site, or want personal advice about fantasy football, love, or life in general, direct them to grafton at myfantasyball dot com.  I’ll do my best to answer them in a timely manner.

Growing up in Upstate New York during the height of Bills glory, I naturally have an intense dislike for the Dallas Cowboys. Every time Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas seemed ready to beat those pesky bad guys, they’d ruin the Bills in the Super Bowl and celebrate with drugs and hookers.

Naturally I’m slightly displeased with their victory last night on Monday night football, but at least I can take solace in the fact that they haven’t won a playoff game since Clinton was in office. Oh yeah, and this:

Nice work, guys.

This site has a nice list of the status of first round draft picks as we near camp. Most picks in the middle of the first round will fall into place once the guy in front of them signs, giving the team and the player a more reasonable idea of what the contract should look like.

The start of the 2008 season will mark MFBs 2nd season in a league that pits us against other fantasy football websites. Last season we decided to take over a team that was less than stellar in a league with a very complicated set of rules and regulations. In short, we were in over our heads. Fortunately the keeper rules allowed us to keep our quality players (Randy Moss, Donovan McNabb, Larry Fitzgerald) and the guys we had from recent drafts (Frank Gore and Roddy White, thankfully) while trimming the fat and hoping the defensive players we picked weren’t terrible. We ultimately ended up losing in the quarterfinals as the #6 seed in a 14 team league, so there’s room for improvement.

Heading into this year we are allowed to make claims to three offensive players. One player will be absolutely protected, and the other two are Restricted Free Agents, meaning that if they are won at auction by another team, we’ll get draft picks from them. Last year I’m fairly certain that all RFAs ended up with their original team. Our keeper options are:

Donovan McNabb (RFA last year)
Michael Turner
Selvin Young
Larry Fitzgerald (Keeper last year)
Randy Moss (RFA last year)
Jason Witten

Notable players we’ll also have because they’re under contract include Kellen Clemens, Roddy White, Frank Gore, Calvin Johnson, and Roddy White.

So there you have it, our offensive situation going into the start of the league. Let us know what you think about the situation and we’ll keep you updated throughout the season.

Training camp is approaching, which means the NFL regular season will be here before we know it, fully prepared to dominate our Sundays through the end of January. It’s inescapable. However, we manage to build up an itch for a little gridiron news over the summer, so here’s a little bit of what you might have missed:

Perhaps RB Travis Henry isn’t the magnanimous personality we thought he was. He’s fathered 9 kids by 17 different women, but was able to get out of a positive marijuana test last year by claiming it was courtesy of second hand smoke. I don’t run drug tests, but he must’ve been hanging out with Snoop Dogg a lot prior to that test. Now this happens. Good work, Travis.

Apparently, Clay Travis tells us, throwing the phrase “no homo” on the end of ambiguously gay sentences is all the rage in NFL locker rooms. I can use the phrase “all the rage” without the 90s Police coming after me because friends of mine from areas that aren’t exactly centers for pop culture tell me the phrase “no homo” has been used since around the same time.

The New England Patriots might have the craziest NFL fan out there. This of course comes after the same man gained notoriety for getting the Patriots helmet logo tattooed on either side of his head. The interesting thing for me is that the space on his body is “starting at only $200 per square inch.” If he’s a good business man those are the spots that receive the least amount of…shall we say exposure. I’d be very interested in finding out what someone else wants to pay $200 per square inch for to have this man tattoo it on his ass, or worse. *shudders*

Briefly, on a more depressing note, Patriots lineman Nick Kaczur was caught buying OxyContin illegally , allegedly at a clip of $3,900 for 100 pills every few days. I don’t care if they’re Flintstones Chewables, if you’re taking 100 pills of anything every few days you’ve got problems.

Are you kidding?  $15.5 million for 5 years with a $4.25 million signing bonus for a kicker????  Are you kidding me?  Given, he is a good kicker – no doubt.  But, is any kicker worth that much money?  Miss two HUGE kicks and see how many people want to keep him.  Why don’t the Bears take the money they are paying their kicker and go get a Quarterback?

Boy did I love hearing this….

Appearing in a video shot by rollingout.com, Jones responds to a question about where he will be in 2-3 years.
“Hopefully 2 Pro Bowls. Hopefully I can get out of Tennessee. I want to go to Dallas,’’ Jones said. “So we’ll see how it goes and I am just going to keep my head up.” It’s unclear when the video was shot, though it’s believed it was filmed several months ago and was just posted on the site. Rollingout.com is an UrbanStyle weekly serving the African American community. Jones appears in the video wearing a t-shirt and holding a microphone.

Ah, yes, I am sure that he will be a fine addition to the thug
tradition in the Big D… Tank Johnson, TO, Deion, Irvin… ah, yes…
carrying on that fine Cowboy tradition of being “America’s [Thug] Team”.

So, next week, the Pats and the Giants are playing in, perhaps, the biggest game of the year… but, most of the country will not be able to watch it?!?!!!  Are you kidding me? 

In today’s NY Post, Peter Lauria reports
that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter yesterday to Time
Warner Cable chief Glenn Britt, proposing a baseball-style,
third-party, binding arbitration process to settle their differences.
(To recap: The NFL Network wants to be placed on a basic-cable tier,
offering a huge audience. But cable companies think it should go on a
digital tier, where a self-selecting audience would cover the
subscription fees.) TWC’s boss shot back, saying he’d happily air the
network on a digital tier for free, or offer the NFL a pay-per-view
channel to charge its own fans. Ouch.

So, maybe, they will be able to work out their problems, eventually… but, until they do, the average American football fan gets screwed, while corporate America bickers. 

So talented… too bad… no doubt this is the end of him as a serious athlete.  At best, he will play again when he is 30 years old… but, is any team really willing to take a chance on him… for a running QB with a 79 QB rating?  I doubt it.  He never was really good… and was ALways more hype than a good QB.  Given that his running skills will be sub-par in a few years… I think this is the end of the road for Vick… maybe, the Cowboys will give him a chance… they will take on any felon, won’t they?