Well after Thursday night there is one thing that is clearly apparent and that is the good get better.  All eyes were on Tom Brady last night in his first action since game 1 last year.  Tom Brady proved to be very good for his first game back.  He was accurate but did have trouble with the deep ball you can tell that he is still leery about his knee when he has to sit in the pocket for long, but other than that he looked good.  One thing I noticed is the bend in his knees when he dropped back and the slight bounce or chop in his feet.  He still has a long way to go in that department but I say the effort to break his old habit of a straight leg delivery and little motion in the pocket was apparent.  Brady looks to be dangerous in this upcoming season.

On the other side the defending champs , believe it or not, look like their defense has only gotten better.  It was an actual shock that the starters played as efficient as they did and were able to make plays with out doing as much scheming and blitzing as they will do in the regular season.  The only weak point could be seen in the number two corner spot where you can tell the young corners are still trying to find their stride.  The positive of that is that Polamalu was able to pick up the slack for those corners while he was in the game.  Write this down now, “You will see the Steelers defense be even more dominant this year than they were last year”.  I know it is just preseason but Vegas has gotten the top two teams write this year maybe just not in the correct order.

Never too early for Fantasy Football!

1.  Tom Brady – You can think about that injury all you want, but when you factor in that a 100% Tom Brady threw for 50 TDs and over 4,800 yards with just 8 INTs, then the hampered mobility version of Brady can afford 5 to 10 less TDs and maybe 600 or so less yards. Don’t forget his team’s receiving core has been bolstered by Joey Galloway.

2. Drew Brees – It’s not wins that count in this game… it’s numbers. During his three year tenure in New Orleans, and because of the lack of production in the Saints’ running game, Drew Brees has 4,400+, 4,400+, and 5,000+ yards, with 26, 28, and 34 TDs all respectively. What he loses in a potentially high INT rate (11, 18, and 17 also respectively), he makes up for by averaging 289.79 yards per game and by only having missed one start in the last five years (none in New Orleans).

3. Kurt Warner – After one full year as the Cardinals undisputed starter, he reverted to his accurate past at a 67.1% completion rate, amassed 4,583 passing yards (good for 286.44 a game), and a cool 30 TDs against an up and down 14 INTs. And like Brees, it’s not how many wins you get in this game… it’s the numbers. Now that Larry Fitzgerald has become the LeBron James of his position after his postseason play, Kurt Warner should be in for another big year. Some of you may be worrying about the potential loss of Anquan Boldin, but remember, his playing time was very limited in those playoffs, and Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston surely produced.

4. Peyton Manning – It may come as a surprise that Peyton Manning is number four on my list. He is still good for a smooth 3,800-4,100 yards this season and an ample high 20’s to low 30’s in TD numbers. However, he does not have anywhere near the yards per game potential as the previously mentioned QBs as his team’s defense is definitely above Brees’ and Warner’s, and better than Brady’s as well.

5. Philip Rivers – Philip Rivers showed in 2008 that he can be a big numbers guy. He finished up with 4,009 yards, and a career high 34 TDs. It would not be a stretch to question his potential consistency due to his 2006 and 2007 seasons. In those years he threw for 3,300+ and 3,100+ yards, with 22 and 15 TDs, all respectively. However, last season we started to see huge signs of wear and tear on LaDainian Tomlinson, which is probably a big reason why his numbers soared this past year as compared to those previous two. So in that respect, it would not be a stretch as well to see him having a great fantasy type season again this year.

Much will be said about Brady's mobility affecting his game this year. But he is certainly a QB who has the smarts to adjust to full-time pocket life.

The fact that Tom Brady’s leg injury from last year no doubt opened the door for many teams in the AFC to be considered at a competitive balance should be no secret to anyone. Now that Brady is back, he has lost mobility, but that doesn’t mean that this year’s Patriots can’t be very close to explosive as they were in their undefeated regular season from two years past.

Even if the Patriots’ offense isn’t going to be as explosive as it was when it was the most explosive offense in NFL history, well then how bad can the drop off really be? Still one of the top offenses ever? Close to one of the top offenses ever? Or at least one of the top two offenses this season. Either way, those odds are good for the Pats.

Don’t be surprised if the Patriots run away with the AFC East where the Jets are still growing and have no proven quarterback, the Dolphins rely on trickery and near-perfect play from Chad Pennington at quarterback, and Buffalo where, Trent Edwards proved last year that he still has something to well… prove!

T-izzle, is the Dizzel, in the Buffalo Bizzel.

I wonder if TO looks to everyone like he is already troubling the waters in Buffalo by opting out of the team’s voluntary workouts, as he recently has reported. I mean, it’s the first real official function that has been held by his new team and he could already raise hairs as well as questions with this move. However, to me, just let the guy live.

First of all he’s already 35 years old. And seriously, how big a deal is this stupid mini three or four day work out? It must literally be a few weight lifting sessions, some standard conditioning, and three fine meals a day. I think if a 35 year old man who is in the 14th year of his career says he doesn’t want to go to the voluntary work out, who cares. TO has been in the league so long now, he knows how his body reacts to stress, or when too little is too little, and he’s led the league in TD catches over the last three years.

I wouldn’t jump on TO just yet. Let’s wait and see if he has a sideline tirade, or speaks his mind a little too much to the media before we start chastising him.

And seriously folks… the Bills suck. They don’t have a chance. They started the season 4-0 and stutter-stepped it the rest of the way to a 3-9 finish. That’s not the stuff of champions, and neither is Trent Edwards or the bum-butt Buffalo Bills. They will easily be swept by Tom Brady’s Patriots, and would get destroyed by many of last year’s playoff teams.

And if you ask me, I would liken watching the Bills hopeful run-oriented approach to a lower level online madden gamer attempting to beat someone in the 20s.

Tom Brady is Ruining football!!!!!!

First it was the tuck rule now it is the Brady rule.   The NFL will pass a rule that says players currently on the ground cannot attack the quarterback below the waste, whether he is in possession of the ball or not.  This rule is supposed to be in place to protect the quarterbacks but the Quarterbacks don’t need any more protecting.   In the last 10 years only 2 quarterbacks have suffered injury from a player grabbing them while on the ground, Tom Brady, and Carson Palmer.  Both of whom are now fine and will be playing in the upcoming season.  To be honest I am sick of Tom Brady ruining football the tuck rule was bad enough but this is just plain stupid, they are changing the game in manner that it should not be.   Defensive players soon will no longer be allowed to do anything and all football games will look like arena football.    The thing that NFL has forgotten is that Carson Palmer and Tom Brady’s injuries are their own fault.   Tom Brady has a sloppy throwing stance and lazy legs in the pocket, that makes him stand with straight legs when he is in the pocket, so when he throws the ball there is no give in his knees if a defender were to hit him.   That is why Brady got injured, his lazy legs and an inability to chop his feet in the pocket.  If you look at almost every other quarterback in the league including Peyton Manning they all chop their feet to a degree in the pocket so when they get hit low there is give in their knees.   Tom Brady’s injury was inevitable because of this straight leg pocket stance all quarterbacks with stances like that get knee injuries.   The NFL just needs to tell Tom to chop his feet and be more active in the pocket and the problem would be solved.    

Joey Galloway of the New England Patriots

Over the last two seasons we have seen the dynamic duo of Randy Moss and Wes Welker set records for the Patriots. It seemed it couldn’t get any sweeter for The Patriots. But now, they have picked up a long time NFL great wide out Joey Galloway, Galloway is known for his incredible speed and big catch ability, and seems to be a great match for this squad. You would have to be a moron to argue the fact that this team is now stacked with a bonafide WR triple threat for the ages. They have Pro-bowl caliber WR’s from 1 through 3 and I really can’t recall when any other team was this stacked as they are at WR. Say what you will about Galloway’s old age and recent surgery at the end of last season, he still was the most explosive and fastest WR on the Bucs at year’s end. This season everyone should fully expect Brady to have a monster season as long as his knee can hold up. I am interested to see how that chump holds up!

and PS

I hate the Patriots!

Randy Moss & Wes Welker will soon be united with Joey Galloway!

Tom Brady and Randy Moss New England Patriots Framed Tri Photo Collage

And to think you took Tom Brady #1

Tis the season! Well, by now you have made your run. You are either in the mix for the playoffs/points lead or you are sitting at the bottom wondering what life would have been like if you had not taken Tom Brady or Randy Moss with that number one pick. It is okay, I got bit too in my ESPN pay league but I also followed up the Brady pick with Peyton Manning second. Come on, how could I let the guys that had the top three RB’s have a shot at Manning too? (I’m 3-7)

If you are still alive and kicking or even if you are at the very top remember one thing: DO NOT GET CUTE! In other words “Dance With The Girl That Brung Ya“. The worst thing you can do now is start picking up and dropping guys for the sake of making the roster look good for one week. Someone just today in our CBS league benched Ladainian Tomlinson and played BenJarvis Green-Ellis in his stead. I know I do not have to worry about any of you doing that because our readers are way more savvy.  If you made it to the playoffs go with your gut but beware the trap of trying to gain extra points somewhere with a third option WR because his team is playing a poor secondary vs playing a starting RB who had an off week.  Be consistent and stick with the guys you have the most confidence in no matter what the matchup. You do not want to have to look back at your bench and find yourself asking “How did I not play that guy?”

Tom Brady as well as SportsRoids Salutes Pink Hat Nation

We’ve been doing alot of work here at SportsRoids over the past month. It has been pretty demanding keeping up on and creating new content for our readers, but I would say that is the bulk of what we do. We get you new ideas new stories, and we never “copy and paste” like many other websites do. It is all to often that you’ll see a blog whose owner no doubt is only trying to make money on clickthroughs or Internet advertising campaigns and has devoted no time to producing original content for thier page. This is a sad concept but many people use it. SportsRoids will never just regurgitate some other sites content, because we believe that takes away from what we are, which is ourselves. We want you the reader to get chance to really know us. I am very happy to report that we at SportsRoids have found another blog which share this “original content only policy”. That blog is call Pink Hat Nation. These guys knew how a great sports blog is supposed to be run, yet they must have been chewed up by the rigors of running the site. Pink Hat Nation was a great friend to Sportsroids.com our beginning stages, We will leave up this salute in Memory of the late great Pink Hat Nation. I suggest that everyone clicks through here and pays their respects to this site, while it is still up. Pink Hat Nation’s articles and posts were top notch. Pink Hat Nation we Salute you!

Something new we have here as we continue to improve and add to this wonderful site is the Mark and Mad’Nuff show you can click the link at the bottom or just listen on the side of the page. We will be trying to give you as many shows as possible but feed back is very important. So please listen and give us some, also don’t be scared to offer up topics you the readers and listeners would like to hear. We will also be accepting any and all Fantasy related questions, so that we can help you push your team toward your goal of winning the championships. Click the link below for download or streaming media.

SportsRoids Mark & Mad’Nuff Sports Show Episode #1