SportsRoids Top 10 Fantasy Running Backs

I am not going to bore you with stats or insult our readers intelligence with mindless opinion. Keeping in mind it is “FANTASY” I humbly bestow upon you SPORTSROIDS Top 10 Fantasy Running Backs

10. Knowshon Moreno – I love this kid! And the history of Georgia Bulldog running backs in the NFL speaks for itself. He will carry a big load with Jay Cutler gone but I promise you he will handle it.

9. Clinton Portis – Every year people sleep on this guy and every year the guy that picks him between 8 and 12 usually wins the fantasty championship or overall points if not both. At 27 nothing changes for Portis.

8. Steve Slaton – Monster sleeper last yaer and bravo to anyone who drafted this kid before the 10th round and before they took a defense. Are you still not a believer?

7. DeAngelo Williams  – Okay SLOW DOWN …. becaue he will too … I am not ready to anoint him the second coming of Emmitt Smith…yet

6. Ladainian Tomlinson  – I would still take him number 1 overall because I love him and he is the man. Something happens to a man when he turns 30 and you’ll find out what I mean this year. Renaissance!

5. Adrian Peterson – Anyone can pick this guy number 1 but you ask the people who took him number 1 last year how that worked out for them come playoff time – BOINGER LAYIN IT DOWN!

4. Ronnie Brown – Contract Year ‘nough said

3. Maurice Jones-Drew – “Mr Mo-Jo Risin” He’s 24 with 3 years experience under his belt and poised to carry the full load for big numbers with an offensive line that has something to prove.

2. Michael Turner – Some may say I’m crazy but with just 15 million guaranteed for this 27 year he will look to give the Falcons a reason to secure him some more of that dough. Plus they’re loaded.

1. Matt Forte – The man that rushed us to victory! He’s my guy and I’m sticking with him. Plus anytime you hear a guy mentioned in the same sentence with Gayle Sayers, you tend to get a little wide eyed. Go ahead don’t be afraid. It’s just fantasy!

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I find it really funny that the Eagles dropped and cut this sure H.O.F safety, who was just like the Donovan Mcnabb of their Defense. The eagles just lost all of the veteran leadership in the defensive backfield. Seriously just watch how the eagles play without him. The Broncos on the other hand, I believe, with the moves they have made this off season should certainly be a top 10 defense. If you want to be one of the first people you know to have a Bronco’s Brain Dawkins jersey, you have come to the right place. Show Weapon X your support and purchase while supplies last. Make sure to celebrate everyone, because Sportsroids.com has found some really great prices for you.

Bears Trade Kyle Orton and 2 First round Picks for Rex Grossman?

Bears Trade Kyle Orton and 2 First round Picks for Rex Grossemen?

OK that is not what happened but essentially Jay cutler and Rex are what I call “same guys” If you need an example, (Nick Nolte, Gary Busie (same guy)), (Lavernius Coles, Santana Moss (Same guy), (Phill Simms, Bommer Esaision(Same guy)). Meaning that they a different people but in fact look similar and have pretty much the exact same set of skills. Rex was touted for his arm strength and ability to continue a play, just like Cutler. The problem it is not the quarterbacks in Chicago it is the play calling, now the team has another Rex Grossman, who clearly did not work in their system and essentially are going to ruin Jay Cutlers career. If Rex Grossman was in Denver he would have played well to…..think about it Brian Griese, and Jake the Snake, both played well under Shannohan’s genius offensive designs. Chicago has made a huge mistake by giving up their top picks for another Rex Grossman, mark it down now this move will lead to Lovie Smith losing his job sooner or later. Now I am not saying that Jay cutler isn’t good believe me he is, but he isn’t great and the way the Chicago offense is currently set up you can’t succeed unless you are great. For this trade to work Chicago is going to need to change their offense to fit Jay cutler which is a spread balance attack, but Chicago has one problem; they can’t go spread because they have no receivers. Also due to the trade they won’t have a chance to pick up a top Wideout in the draft for two years. Great job Chicago (sarcasm)

Where Will Jay Cutler Go from Here?

Yesterday it was reported that the Pro Bowl Quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Jay Cutler, had officially requested a trade. Today, we the people, began contemplating where he might end up if his request is honored. I’m sure there are many fans out there whose team could use a guy in Jay Cutler who played like the potential franchise-type quarterback that many analysts foresaw. The scoop is that new head coach Josh McDaniels, who was offensive coordinator for the Patriots, wanted to trade Cutler for Matt Cassel since he was familiar with his system already. This has since angered the young Cutler and he now wants to go… but where?!

To start off an easy process of elimination, every team in the AFC is out since teams don’t usually like to send star players away to in-conference franchises. And although Cassel was finally traded to another AFC team, like his former Patriots, in the Chiefs, that was more of an “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” deal.

This was the widespread thought when that deal went down, because Scott Pioli, the former general manager of the Patriots moved onto Kansas City to try and resurrect that ball club.

So the AFC is out!

In the NFC East, Dallas has Tony Romo, NY has Eli Manning, and Philadelphia has Donovan McNabb. So far, Jason Campbell of the Washington Redskins still has a lot to prove, while Cutler seems way more promising than him thus far when both their careers are compared.

In the NFC North, the Packers have Aaron Rodgers, and the Vikings made moves to throw their young QB Tarvaris Jackson into a competition with newly acquired Sage Rosenfels from Houston. I don’t think that the Lions could attract an odor, so the Bears are definitely a hot spot. They’ve had no success with Rex Grossman, and minimal with Kyle Orton.

In the NFC South, the Saints boast Drew Brees, and the Falcons have a young star in rookie of the year Matt Ryan. The Panthers would have looked to have some great trade bait with the disgruntled Julius Peppers, but now it looks like he may be a Patriot soon. However, with Jake Delhomme being their current signal caller you still can’t count them out. Then there’s the Buccaneers who got rid of veteran Jeff Garcia.

After that, in the NFC West, the Seahawks have Matt Hasselbeck who is not past his better days yet, and Kurt Warner is obviously safe as the Cardinals QB. Cross those two teams out and you have the 49ers with the disappointing results of Alex Smith’s progress, and the St. Louis Rams, who should have started thinking about dropping Marc Bulger quite some time ago.

So there you have it. The top candidates to have Jay Cutler for President!

Jay Cutler will force a trade! Josh McDaniels needs a QB, so the big question is where will Cutler go?

This NFL off-season has had a lot of ups and downs. Two NFL players were lost at sea, Plaxico Burress faces the prospect of Jail time, T.O. has moved from America’s team to Buffalo, Donte Stallworth has killed a pedestrian. The funny thing is that I am sure they all don’t feel as overwhelmed as the New Bronco’s head coach, Josh McDaniels, who is being swallowed alive by his angry Franchise QB. Jay Cutler is upset and we all know that we won’t be happy in Denver. Asking for the trade, could just be a power move by Cutler but I really doubt it. He has no need to force his paycheck up. Personally, I know he needs to be moved. He has stated, he “does not trust his coach”, which is a bad recipe for both Jay and The Broncos. If they do deal him it seems that Tampa Bay, and New York are the two places that seem to be a great fit. The Jets are in need of a QB, I know Clemens and Ratliff will not be able to get it done. They made moves to secure Brett Farve and the turnaround was amazing. And since Brett retired they will need to make moves in order to be competitive this season. I am sure Rex Ryan understands that Ratliff is no Trent Dilfer, and he will see the value in Cutler, this off season. Tampa Bay Buccaneers have not kept it a secret that they are looking to replace Garcia, due to his advancing age. Everyone was aware of the attempted three team trade that would have sent Cassel to Denver, and Cutler to Tampa so they are without a doubt interested in the Diabetic young Quarterback. Personally Cutler has never been a favorite of mine, and It will be interesting to see him play without WR Marshall. I don’t believe Tampa is a good place for him but you never know. I sure hope Jay becomes a Jet in 2011. I sure hope the Johnson family doesn’t screw this one up!

Brian Dawkins to the Broncos: What Was He Thinking?

It was real surprising to me when I saw that Brian Dawkins had left the Philadelphia Eagles, the same place he played his entire career thus far. But it wasn’t so much the fact that he wasn’t going to be an Eagle anymore, but more so the fact of where he would be going… Denver. What the hell is he doing there?

We should all know now that just about any team has a chance to succeed and even win a Super Bowl every season. However, at the bottom of that list would have to be the Denver Broncos. I would have figured Dawkins to want to play for a proven team or a current contender, but in this case I cannot say he has found either.

The Denver Broncos, and it’s funny to say this, have not been successful since that had Jake Plummer! I mean, I know Jay Cutler is now coming into his own, but he isn’t there yet. Another thing that isn’t in Denver is a good defense. I don’t know if Dawkins figures himself to be their savior like I’m sure the naïve Broncos front office does, but it’s going to take a lot more than a great free safety to bolster a team that was 26th against the pass and 27th versus the run. On top of that, they gave up 28 points per game which is four touchdowns. That is ridiculous.

I mean, he can do what he wants of course. I’m not his daddy. And I don’t necessarily think it was a terrible idea to play for the Broncos. I just thought that he was a guy that would definitely be looking for a contender and nothing less. Oh well.

Edwards out: Making Sense of all the Coach Firings

Well this year we have seen an unprecedented amount of coaches losing their jobs, coaches with winning teams and coaches with losing teams, as well as coaches who didn’t even get to finish the season.  It is important to take note of what actually is happening in NFL.  Many people are confused or surprised by the amount of caches getting fired and while it may seem ridicules it is only logically.

The reason that so many coaches have been sent packing is because of the initial firings of Crennel and Mangini.   With a number of other coaches being sent packing the week following the end of the regular season a domino effect was created.  As the Marque coaching minds of Crennel and Mangini hit the market; well as a slew of coordinators that are ready to be head coaches teams took note.  What this meant is that teams the likes of the Rams, Lions, and Browns had a chance to lock these great coaches in.   While teams on the bubble like Denver, Tampa Bay, Kansa City, New York Jets, and Raiders who may have been happy with the performance or at least the skill of their coaches were forced to make a decision.  This meant that if they did not get rid of these good coaches they would not be able to pick up the next crop of great coaches for some time.   So they released their head coaches to hit what is really a coaching free agent market.   With the successive firing of each coach like Mangini, Shannahan, Gruden, and now Edwards, teams would be stupid to let other teams pick these great coaches up, so in turn they got rid of their coaches.  What you are going to see really is a giant change of hands as most of these coaches end up as head coaches at another team.  Don’t expect this to happen again anytime soon as you will see all the great coaches will get at least 3 years to prove their worth meaning little coaching firings occurring during that time.

Chargers Host Broncos in Deciding AFC West Showdown in Week 17 Sunday Night

It’s official. The word literally just came through about thirty seconds ago, and it will be the San Diego Chargers, who were widely thought to be finished with their season, having a chance to make a miraculous comeback and enter the playoffs by winning their division. What’s even more is the fact that they’d be doing it with an 8-8 record if they were to win.

 

This game showcases two of the big number producing quarterbacks in the league in Philip Rivers who has the league-high in TDs, 32, and Jay Cutler whose been shredding defenses for a good portion of the season. This game also features two teams who have been highly inconsistent, and where now, it is truly “put up or shut up” time.

 

Everybody whose anybody remembers what happened the first time these two teams met this season, when referee Ed Hochuli called a fumble by Jay Cutler as an incomplete pass that cost the Chargers the game in Denver. Now it’s either going to be the Chargers getting their revenge, or Jay Cutler proving that the Broncos were the better team all along… and I simply can’t wait to see what happens.

NFL Playoff Outlook

With just two weeks of play left in the regular season of the 2008-2009 year, a few teams have locked up a spot in the playoffs while others are still fighting to make it. What is about to unfold in this article is, what are in my mind, the teams that will make it.

We already know the Steelers and Titans have locked up spots and first round byes in the AFC. In the NFC the Giants have clinched their division while the Cardinals have as well. First I will go over the locks to get in.

In the AFC the only sure-fire lock I have is the Indianapolis Colts. If they beat Jacksonville this Thursday in Florida, they’re in. With the way the Jags have disappointed, I do not even see them using the rivalry bug as added motivation to beat Indianapolis.

In the NFC, surprisingly, the Carolina Panthers have not clinched even with an 11-3 record, which is a testament to the competitiveness of the NFC. However, one more win or one more loss from another team or two would put them in. The Cowboys have been hot lately. I don’t care about Romo’s performance in Pittsburgh. The game was still close, and it has been their only slip up since his return from injury. They face the Ravens at home, and Eagles in Philadelphia. The Eagle game should be tough and they easily can lose, but to me, I think all of the air got sucked out of the Raven team with their last minute loss to Pittsburgh last weekend.

The Vikings should clinch their division as the Bears face the Packers on Monday Night at home, but then travel to Houston the last week. Houston is on pace to finish up 9-7 and Andre Johnson should be able to shred their weak pass defense.

After that I don’t think Tampa will get in as they have slipped up and their weaknesses are beginning to be exposed. The Falcons and Eagles to me will be the ones to fighting for the 6th seed in the NFL as they have both been consistent as of late.

Back in the AFC, I’ll take the Patriots to win their division. They are at home against the Cardinals who have clinched, and then at a bum Buffalo team. That would put them at 11-5. The reason I see this happening is because the as-of-late inconsistent Jets should lose in Seattle this weekend, and the Dolphins will beat the Kansas City Chiefs. But when they play each other in New York, I’ll take a last-ditch effort by Favre to even their records at 10-6, giving one of them the 6th seed.

The only seed I am unsure of is the 4th seed in the AFC as the Broncos are 8-6 and Chargers 6-8. If the Chargers beat Tampa Bay in Tampa this weekend, which is not an oversight, and the Broncos lose at home to the Bills, which is still a bit of a stretch even if the Broncos aren’t so consistent, then they will be playing in San Diego for the division in week 17. If that happens, I’ll take the Chargers.

So that’s how I believe the “tournament” brackets will be set up come January.

Come Back Sunday

By Mark M

Today in the NFL, we saw four 4th quarter comebacks performances. This made for amazing football Sunday. The Redskins, Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills all surpassed their opposition in the final quarter of their respective games.

1. Redskins vs. Saints-

Going into the 4th quarter the skins trailed 15 – 24. They were trailing until Santana Moss beat whipped Tracy Porter for 67 Yards for the game winning late TD. Drew Brees had a chance to stage a comeback yet, he through a INT.

Final Score was 29-24, Redskins.

2. Colts Vs. Vikings-

Peyton Manning has not looked like himself over the first 2 weeks of the NFL season. However, in the closing quarter of the Game this week, he helped stage a comeback in the 4th quarter. Trailing at one point by 0 – 15 the colts come up with some miraculous plays, to pull out this one. One to defiantly check out would be A. Gonzalez/Reggie Wayne TD in the 2nd half. Peyton who was struggling the 1st half, stayed posed like the true pro that he is and delivered the “W” by getting Adam Vinatieri, in range for a late game winning field goal. I think you know can figure out what the outcome of that was. (Vinatieri is awesome)

Final Score was 15-18, Colts.

3. Broncos vs Chargers-

The Chargers have given up two late game comebacks in the last two weeks. It seems that for them no lead is safe. The Broncos, had a great lead going into the 4th. Broncos lead 27-31 over the Bolts going into the 4th. The Chargers scored and placed the broncos up against the proverbial wall. The Broncos answered however, and decided to go for the game winning 2 pt conversion in the closing minutes of the game. Big Rookie Eddie Royal came up with the catch for the Broncos, propelling them to their 2nd win of the NFL season.

Final Score: 39-38, Broncos.

4. Buffalo Vs. Jaguars-

With three OL out, the Jaguars knew they were going to have a tough day against Marcus Stroud and his new squad. The Bills were trailing going into the 4th quarter by 3 going into the 4th. The Bills, however came out with the Victory due to the outstanding play of QB Troy Edwards, who completed 20 of 25 passes for 239 yards and 1 TD.

Final Score was 20-16, Bills.

Bronco Legend Al Wilson Retires

By Alex V

Al Wilson Retires

I wanted to make some room on SportRoids to give a shout out for the recently announced retiree Al Wilson. For those of you unfamiliar with him, Al Wilson was the starting middle linebacker for the Denver Broncos from 1999 through 2006. Out of a possible 128 regular season games, Wilson only missed three of them, and ended up as the starter in 120.

Al Wilson will be remembered by NFL fans as one of the greatest sideline-to-sideline middle linebackers of the league, and by Broncos faithful as one of the greatest defensive player in Denver history. During eight seasons playing in the National Football League, he managed to make the pro bowl five out of eight. The greatest thing about him was that he proved his worth by being an all-around defensive player by posting stats in all the significant categories, as opposed to being a standout in one or two.

As a pass rusher, Wilson averaged around three sacks per season for his career. As a coverage man, when he didn’t get one of his five career interceptions, he averaged 6.8 pass deflections per year. As a playmaker Wilson averaged a forced fumble per season, and as a sure tackler, averaged 70 solos, 19.9 assisted, for a total of 89.9 per campaign.

Aside from his renaissance man-like statistics, Al was one of the more recognizable emotional defensive leaders of the NFL, and will undoubtedly be missed. He was only 31 years old when he suffered his inevitably career-ending injury on December 3^rd.

AL WILSON, SPORTSROIDS SALUTES YOU!

Selvin Young Fantasy Stock in Jeopardy

By Mark M

Mike Shanahan has seriously put a fear into the hearts of all those fantasy owners who Drafted Selvin Young for the 2008 season. On Monday Night Football it became painfully apparent that Shanahan did not intend to hand

the ball to Young after the 1st & 2nd carries of the game. We also saw what seemed as the emergence of RB Andre Hall who was another undrafted free agent signed by Tampa Bay in 2006. Andre played for south Florida and was a standout RB, however, he never got the a look in the draft much like Selvin Young. Nevertheless, Selvin scored a TD late in the game when he was given only 7 carries in the entire game. Regardless, are we going to see a 50-50 split? Who knows? Personally, I don’t even think Mike Shanahan knows. Another fact life, that diminishes both these fine RBs is that Selvin and Andre won’t be getting many looks in short yardage/goal-line situations. They have Micheal Pittman and rookie Ryan Torain (currently recovering from surgery) for that. Selvin or Andre ? who knows…

Mark’s NFL PICKS OF THE WEEK

1. Sunday, Sept. 7 Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens 1 p.m

MY PICK: Ravens

2. Sunday, Sept. 7 New York Jets at Miami Dolphins 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Jets

3. Sunday, Sept. 7 Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Pats

4. Sunday, Sept. 7 Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Pittsburgh

5. Sunday, Sept. 7 Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Jacksonville

6. Sunday, Sept. 7 Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Falcons

7. Sunday, Sept. 7 Seattle Seahawks at Buffalo Bills 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Bills

8. Sunday, Sept. 7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints

MY PICK: Saints

9. Sunday, Sept. 7 St. Louis Rams at Philadelphia Eagles 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Eagles

10. Sunday, Sept. 7 Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns 4:15 p.m.

MY PICK: Dallas

11. Sunday, Sept. 7 Carolina Panthers at San Diego Chargers 4:15 p.m

MY PICK: Chargers

12. Sunday, Sept. 7 Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers 4:15 p.m.

MY PICK: 49ers

13. Sunday, Sept. 7 Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts 8:15 p.m.

MY PICK: Colts

14 Monday, Sept. 8 Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers 7 p.m.

MY PICK: Green Bay Packers

15 Monday, Sept. 8 Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders 10:15 p.m.

MY PICK: Denver Broncos

-Mark M

Mark’s NFL PICKS OF THE WEEK

1. Sunday, Sept. 7 Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens 1 p.m

MY PICK: Ravens

2. Sunday, Sept. 7 New York Jets at Miami Dolphins 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Jets

3. Sunday, Sept. 7 Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Pats

4. Sunday, Sept. 7 Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Pittsburgh

5. Sunday, Sept. 7 Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Jacksonville

6. Sunday, Sept. 7 Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Falcons

7. Sunday, Sept. 7 Seattle Seahawks at Buffalo Bills 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Bills

8. Sunday, Sept. 7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints

MY PICK: Saints

9. Sunday, Sept. 7 St. Louis Rams at Philadelphia Eagles 1 p.m.

MY PICK: Eagles

10. Sunday, Sept. 7 Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns 4:15 p.m.

MY PICK: Dallas

11. Sunday, Sept. 7 Carolina Panthers at San Diego Chargers 4:15 p.m

MY PICK: Chargers

12. Sunday, Sept. 7 Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers 4:15 p.m.

MY PICK: 49ers

13. Sunday, Sept. 7 Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts 8:15 p.m.

MY PICK: Colts

14 Monday, Sept. 8 Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers 7 p.m.

MY PICK: Green Bay Packers

15 Monday, Sept. 8 Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders 10:15 p.m.

MY PICK: Denver Broncos

-Mark M