Category: Featured NFL

For in depth featured stories, use this category.

Streaming Defenses- Week Four- Washington

The Washington Redskins’ defense has a great match up in St. Louis in week four.

Analysis: The Skins are fifth in the league in points allowed at 17.7 and are first in the NFL in fumbles forced with ten. Although the Skins have only recovered two of the fumbles, ten fumbles forced in three games is a telling stat. Throw in eight sacks and three picks and you have yourself a defense that should give the Rams fits. Washington has played some solid offenses this year which include the Giants, Cards and Cowboys. The Washington defense is widely available and should be used if you feel somewhat confident in Rex Grossman’s ability to not turn the ball over too much.

Sam Bradford is responsible for five turnovers thus far this season while completing just 50.9% of his passes. The return of a fully healthy Steven Jackson may be a possibility, however, the Rams just don’t have the weapons to out muscle the Skins this week. The only way streaming the Washington defense fails this week will be if Rex Grossman turns the ball over two times or more. Stream at your own risk.

Streaming Defenses- Week Three- Titans

The Tennessee Titans’ defense has been stellar thus far this year. They held a game Jacksonville team on the road to sixteen points and followed that up with a dominating performance against the Ravens. The Titans only allowed thirteen points to a Ravens squad that lit up the Steelers the previous week. Tennessee have forced four turnovers and have five sacks on the year and are only giving up 14.5 points per game. Also, the Titans’ defense is only allowing 276 yards per game this year, good for third best in the NFL.

The Titans are at home this week against a weak Denver team. The Tennessee game plan should be pretty simple- make the Broncos who are only averaging 84 rushing yards per game and 3.4 a carry beat them on the ground. Kyle Orton still isn’t playing well and the athletic Titan defensive line should be able to rattle the mediocre quarterback. The Titans’ defense is available is just about every fantasy league and now is the time to pick up the unit if you are unsure of your defense this week. The Saints’ defense is a shaky pick against the Texans as well as the Bears’ defense against Green Bay.

Tight End Hype and ADP

Greg Olsen is the tenth tight end being taken off the board in ESPN drafts while Lions’ tight end Brandon Pettigrew is the thirteenth tight end.

Analysis: Despite the injury issues at quarterback last year Brandon Pettigrew still managed 71 receptions for 722 yards. Here’s a fact for you fantasy football players out there- Greg Olsen has NEVER caught 62 balls EVER nor amassed over 650 receiving yards EVER yet he’s being taken well before Brandon Pettigrew. If any of you out there think that Cam Newton in his rookie year will help Greg Olsen put up career high numbers across the board… you are out of your mind. But this is what happens when the “experts” at ESPN get together and rank Greg Olsen at number ten in their rankings. Pettigrew is on the rise and should at the very least put up what he did last year with maybe a few more touchdowns. He’s a high end TE2 with the potential for much more and you don’t have to pay for it with his draft position either. Olsen offers little upside with a rookie quarterback and a guy named Jeremy Shockey at his position as well. Many think that Newton will check down every other play and dump it off to Olsen for nine yards… maybe….but he has to complete it to him first. Newton has a completion percentage of 40.4 in the preseason and don’t expect that to change much when the Saints, Bucs and Falcons unleash their defenses against Cam six times this year.

Ben Tate Is A Must Own

2010 second round pick Ben Tate has looked impressive thus far in the preseason. Tate has amassed 147 rushing yards on just twenty carries to go along with a touchdown.

Analysis: Houston’s top back Arian Foster tweaked his hamstring for the second time this preseason last night against the Niners. Hamstring injuries can linger and the fact that Ben Tate is only owned in thirty to forty percent of fantasy leagues is shocking. Tate is 220 pounds and has sub 4.4 speed, he’s the real deal. His season ending injury last year wasn’t even knee related, it was ankle ligaments. In addition to Foster’s hamstring “tweak” we also have to consider how many backs have come off of 393 touches and maintained their numbers the following season… very few. Foster is a top three or four back but he is not the number one back and the second hamstring injury in just a few weeks span is extremely concerning. Ben Tate may just be a depth back right now but if Foster goes down you can expect RB2 numbers. I’d feel comfortable taking Tate as a top 45 back or before pick 135. Considering the lack of tail back talent to come out of college this year coupled with Tate’s hype completely gone from his injury last year, he certainly is a must own and you can get him on the cheap.

Overrated- Greg Jennings

As good as Greg Jennings is, there is no way he puts up the same numbers he did last year. A 2010 line of 1,265 receiving yards and twelve touchdowns is impressive, however, he is not a top four fantasy wide out this year.

Analysis: Perhaps the biggest hit to Jennings’ fantasy value will be the return of stud tight end Jermichael Finley. Remember that Finley put up over 300 receiving yards in just four games last year, two of the games being of the one-hundred yard variety. Jennings isn’t a big target at just 5’11” and the 6’5″ Finley will snag his fair share of red zone targets in 2011. We also have to consider that Ryan Grant was going into last year as a back-to-back 1,200 yard rusher. The Ryan Grant/James Starks ground combo will play a huge role in the Green Bay offense. With these key additions another 1,200 yard/twelve touchdown year for Jennings seems highly unlikely. In many drafts nationwide Jennings is being taken before Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald. Both Johnson and Fitzgerald will dominate in the red zone for their teams especially with improved quarterback play from a healthy Stafford and Kolb.

Jennings is a top six or seven wide out but he isn’t elite as many experts would have you to believe.