Category: NFL

Injury free LeGarrette Blount largely ignored against Lions

During Sunday’s loss to the Lions, LeGarrette Blount only managed to get 5 attempts for 15 yards. Meanwhile Earnest Graham had 6 attempts for 13 yards.

Analysis: Blount was largely ignored on Sunday while they concentrated on the passing attack with Josh Freeman attempting 43 passes.  The Lions were winning for most of the game, but there was no reason to give up on the running attack.  As far as we know, Blount did not suffer an injury on Sunday.  Stay tuned for post game questions  as to what happened to the running game.  This was clearly a terrible game for Blount owners but don’t expect him to repeat this bad performance next week.

PPR Help- Darren Sproles

With seven receptions on nine targets last night in Green Bay, Darren Sproles’ fantasy value is on the rise.

Analysis: As much as all the experts want to label the Saints a “balanced offense” they’re not. Forty-nine passes to twenty-one rushes is not balanced.

Mark Ingram was the guy that was supposed to give the Saints “balance” but he only carried the ball thirteen times and did not even register a target let alone a reception in the opener. Pierre Thomas who is a solid receiving back and has a few thirty reception years in his career only managed four catches on five targets. It appears the Saints have a plan for Darren Sproles and that is to get the little athlete out in space and stretch the defense as much as possible. When the Saints used Reggie Bush they did so as a decoy more than anything, this year Sproles is a legit threat. Sproles was on the end of two carries and only put up eighty-two yards from scrimmage but the damage was done in PPR leagues. Sproles is coming off of 59 and 45 reception years with the Chargers and may reach the seventy reception mark this year with the Saints. He is available is some PPR leagues and over half of standard leagues. While he may serve as the second best “bench back” on your squad in standard leagues, his performance Thursday night was impressive. Seventy receptions this year is possible and you can thank the Saints “balance” for those numbers.

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.