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!

Redskins sign Linebacker Robert Thomas

Well it is good to see the Redskins trying to fix the monster they created in Marcus Washington, by cutting him and letting him get injured somewhere else and on someone else’s paycheck. But they have made a pretty large mistake if they think that Robert Thomas is going to fill Marcus’s shoes. Thomas has never really been successful anywhere he has ever been in the NFL. Robert Thomas was drafted in the first round by the Rams, in hopes he could replace London Fletcher in 2002. That plan fizzled, when Robert Thomas posted only 36 tackles while playing in 16 games with the Rams.One Ram fan I know said, “that he was one of the most well known 1st round busts” in the 2002 draft. Then the Rams pawned Robert Thomas off to Green Bay in a trade took place at the end of 2005. Robert lasted only 1 season with the Packers and was cut. Thomas then got picked up by the Raiders and played ok for only 2 years, posting numbers like 36 tackles and 62 tackles. Then Thomas got pretty badly injured last season and booom now he is on the Redskins!! The best thing about this guy is in his 7 year career he has only been fully healthy for 2 of them. Expect this guy to get hurt early next year, without a doubt. He is a injury prone player and to replace Marcus Washington, whose biggest problem was injury, with him is just laughable. Washington has way more upside and therefore a higher asking price. I sure hope they don’t think they are going to start Thomas because that would just be dumb.  This 29 year old linebacker is not the answer for Washington and I sure hope they know it. I really hope they still try to get a great LB in the draft, someone like Brain Orakpo or James Laurinaitis would be great! Getting a LB early would ensure that this move would increase the Redskins depth at LB, understanding that Thomas would not be expected to start forever!

Free “O”

Here we go again. The ink is not even dry yet on Manny Ramirez’s contract and this morning we learned that our favorite media darling, Terrell Owens, has been released by the Cowboys. I guess we are not really too shocked by this but I can tell you for sure Tony Romo is the saddest cowboy on the plain. But who cares about him? All I want to know is: Where is T.O. going now?

There are 31 other teams out there that surely would love to have his numbers injected into their offense but only a handful would find it worth it. As well an even smaller group have enough to lure him in. Further still even less would take the risk.

So who are they? Well, first you would have to weed out the pretenders. T.O. is not going anywhere a rebuilding is in progress. Certainly he is not going anywhere there is no QB with a resume. That leaves teams with coaches that have job security as well as stability. But Philly is out and Parcells disciples Coughlin and Sparano surely would not have him.

I do not think that Atlanta or Baltimore would risk the progress of their young starting QB’s by bringing Owens in to help. The Vikings could certainly use his services. However, they do not throw the ball in an offense built around Adrian Peterson nor do they have a QB to get Owens the ball.

The Jets? HAHA

How about the Redskins, Saints or Chargers? Hey why not right. The Redskins and Dan Snyder have proven they will spend money on anything. Owens would love the chance to remain in the division and now stick it to Philly and Dallas. Given the way he regularly torches the Giants that would mean six games worth of great potential from Owens. The Saints have the high powered offensive attack that would suit Owens wants as well as his need to be with a big time QB in Drew Brees. But is there room for him and his ego among all those other big names? Shockey Bush Colston etc. San Diego might be the best fit. He becomes the number one option for Phillip Rivers who is probably salivating as we speak. It would take pressure off Antonio Gates and his big toe. As well this would open up a running lane or two for Ladainian Tomlinson and allow him to be L.T. again.

Allow me to just throw this out there: X Y Z – Owens Welker Moss. Get your pop-corn ready!

Big Time Matchup – Pittsburgh Steelers Host Dallas Cowboys

This week the Dallas Cowboys face the Pittsburgh Steelers in PA… and both teams are actually good. I for one, am very thankful that this classic matchup will feature two definite Super Bowl contenders who might actually both be in that game at the end of the season. Not much gets better than the Pittsburgh Steelers black and yellow (not gold… sorry Steeler fans. That distinction goes to the New Orleans Saints) jerseys meshing with the Cowboy’s blue, gray, and white. Add to that the Cowboys are 8-4 and the Steelers 9-3, this game should be fantastic!

 

The Cowboys have the right amount of offensive capability to get good production against Pittsburgh’s number one ranked defense. Romo’s return has been vital to the Cowboy offense as they have now averaged 27.6 points per game since he came back as opposed to 13.6 in the three games without him. Pittsburgh is giving up an average of 14.2 points per game, which is first in the league. That makes this as classic as their three Super Bowl matchups as those Cowboys were all known for great offense, and those Steelers were known for their defense.

 

Now Romo will see if he is really back up to speed as he has opted to go without the splint he had on his throwing hand pinky finger. Ben Roethlisberger seems to have made up for his string of bad performances where he had one passing TD against eight INTs in a three game stretch against the Giants, Redskins, and Colts, to having three TDs against two INTs. Although that isn’t great, that’s close enough to the mistake-free kind of game that a number one ranked defense usually asks of their quarterback. Plus, he’ll be playing at home.

 

Another interesting tidbit is the similar adversity that both teams have faced in the middle portion of the season; when the cowboys lost 3 of four, and when Ben Roethlisberger had his team looking quite mediocre with his poor play. Now, both squads have won three straight games, and only one’s streak will continue (the NFL already had its tie for the next many seasons when the Bengals and Eagles finished 13-13 in week 11). Even more fascinating are the striking resemblance of all three wins.

 

The Steelers beat the Chargers at home 11-10 with a field goal in the waning seconds of the game. The Cowboys ran out the clock in Washington for a 14-10 victory. After that, both teams have won convincingly by an average of 30 and 19 points respectively.

 

This matchup is almost guaranteed to live up to its historic building, and if you’re out of both team’s markets and are privileged to get its television feed this Sunday at 4:15pm, you better not miss it.  

Undefeated Teams in the NFL look to Remain Unscathed

By Alex V

Lots of teams start off 2-0 and then don’t end up virtually doing crap the rest of the season. Take the 49ers from last year for instance; they began last season a promising 2-0, and then proceeded to, dare I say, “rip” off eight great losses thereafter before finishing their season 4-12. So let’s find out who this year’s 2-0’s are last year’s 49ers, and who looks to get it goin to 3-0 when all is said and done this coming Sunday.

The first team on the docket is the 2-0 Arizona Cardinals. They are coming off a convincing

victory over Miami last weekend, when, perhaps, the new Greatest Show on Turf (Boldin, Fitzgerald and Warner) blasted the Dolphins for a 31-10 final, and a rocky start but strong finish in week one against… you guessed it, San Francisco! They won that game 23-13. Their opponent, the Washington Redskins, found some life this weekend pulling out a come-from-behind win against the Saints while putting up 29 points. But the Cardinals with a healthy Kurt Warner are looking like locks against the lower-tier teams. However, Washington has seemed to have this team’s number, even since the days when they used to be in the same division. Plus beating the Saints kinda takes them to that level between lower-tier and competitive. I’ll go with the Redskins to continue that tradition for at least one more match up since they play at home, and the Cardinals beat two teams that finished a combined 5-28 last season.

The next match up to go over is New England against Miami. They play at home against Miami… I honestly do no want to say anything else about this game, but for the sake of professionalism, I’ll utter a few words. Miami does not look like they’re rebuilding with Chad Pennington, and New England is too savvy, minus the inexperienced, if not promising, Matt Cassel, to let one slip against the Dolphins. New England moves to 3-0.

The New York Giants are looking great overall as a team with every phase being above average; the passing game is spreading the ball around, running game is getting great yardage out of its starter in Brandon Jacobs, as well as Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward, plus the defense is stopping the run, and disrupting the opponents passing game while the special teams

play is solid. The Bengals offense has managed to produce 17 points in two games culminating to an average of less than ten per outing. Their defense has been average, which isn’t terrible, but when you aren’t scoring because your run game doesn’t scare anyone, and your Quarterback plays like he knows his team stinks, well then it’s hard to win games. But that’s not even it. The Bengals just flat out don’t even look like they care. Giants win and remain undefeated. Plus they’re at home this weekend… ‘nuff said.

Houston is at 2-0 Tennessee this weekend. Houston has played one game, and lost. Tennessee has played two games, and won them both. Although Tennessee and Houston are both looking to improve from promise they showed last year, the Titans showed higher promise finishing 10-6 and making the playoffs, while the Texans finished 8-8. This game could be close because of the obvious division rivalry, but I give the edge to the Titans who will remain unbeaten.

Carolina has been pulling off last minute victories the past two weeks like it’s their damn job. They’re becoming the “Cardiac Cats” of their 2003 Super Bowl run once again. This weekend they play against the Vikings in Minnesota. Although you shouldn’t overlook the Vikings (if you’re a smart football enthusiast) because of their hard-fought losses versus Green Bay in week one and Indianapolis last week, I still gotta go with the Panthers experience and return of Steve Smith. They are on the road, but aside from getting to Minnesota, they’ll get to 3-0 as well. What a sweet destination that is!

The Buffalo Bills are 2-0 as well and have the privilege of facing the Oakland Raiders at home this weekend. The Raiders actually looked like a little like a football team last week in smashing the Chiefs 23-8. But… Jamarcus Russell was a dismal 6 for 17 passing with only 55 yards. The Bills have improved enough to where a loss to the Raiders this weekend would look to be an upset. Bills go to 3-0.

The Broncos snuck a win out against the Chargers with that bullshit no-call on the fumble by

Jay Cutler, but a win is a win. The Saints must prove not to be the Aints. But, they’re going a

mile higher into Denver. I gotta pick the Broncos, and not cause they’re at home, but because with Cutler in the line-up they’ve improved steadily from last year up until this point. The Saints have been up and down since the beginning of last season and now 2008 as well.

Pittsburgh is 2-0. Philly scored like crazy on Monday Night Football putting up 30 points on offense (with the other seven coming off a Tony Romo fumble that turned into a recovery in the End zone by the Eagles). The Steelers have to go into Philadelphia to remain 3-0. When it comes to evading tackles and chucking the ball for big gains and/or crucial 3^rd down conversions, the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger and the Eagles’ Donovan McNabb are two of the best. But, the Steelers are more consistent with their running game, and are usually un-phased on the road (scrap any indication of their 3-5 road record from last season meaning anything for this season. As far as I am concerned, they lost four actual meaningful road games as their fifth road loss came in week 17 against the Ravens when the Steelers had locked up a playoff spot and were playing for nothing. The Steelers did what playoff teams do… win at home, where they were 7-1, and perform decently on the road.). Donovan McNabb is, at times, flustered when playing against a 3-4 defense, so I give the edge to the Steelers to improve to 3-0.

The last teams with a chance to go undefeated are the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. This is one of the toughest games of the week to call. It would be a lot easier for me to call if it were at 1:00pm or even one of the 4 o’clock games. If that were the case I would pick Dallas as they have everything Green Bay does; solid defense, playmakers in the running game and passing game, except… Romo is a more proven quarterback than Aaron Rodgers. However, due to the fact that this game is on Sunday Night Football in Green Bay, I go with the Packers to be 3-0 and the Cowboys to be 2-1. But there is one more reason I have to go with Green Bay; Aaron Rodgers has been playing with a chip on his shoulder in the two games this season so far. I have no doubt in my mind he knows that losing this game, or at least a bad performance, could quickly raise any doubts that he had erased with his wonderful performances in weeks 1 and 2. That psyche is enough for me to say that the Packers will win again this weekend.

So there you have my predictions for who will remain undefeated after week 3. There are 10 teams with the chance to improve to 3-0, and two of them, the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers, barring a tie, are guaranteed to lose. The interesting thing is that based on the match ups, many of them could remain unbeaten. Can’t wait to see what happens!