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What Did You Expect?

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Welcome fantasy footballers!

What a preseason it has been for the fans and the players! Cuts, signings, and most importantly injuries have bombarded the media headlines as fans wait to see how their team (and rivals) perform. As we approach the start of the season fantasy football is in high gear. Imagine a nice Ferrari 458 racing down the highway with no traffic and cops. That is how fantasy footballers are feeling now. The rush and excitement is unbearable. Think about the GMs that drafted Peyton Manning or Chris Johnson. They are probably sweating bullets right now. Last night’s game between the Jets and the G-Men might not mean much to normal people (since it is preseason) but as a fantasy GM you have to question the strength of the Giants defense and also reanalyze the importance of Mark Sanchez. He had a decent game according to the time he was on the field but his mechanics, ability to read the defense, and poise (something we look at here at scoutPRO) was sound. In the other Monday night game, we saw Romo and McNabb doing work as they both had  great stats that would make some (not me, I need more!) GMs happy. The biggest stat line for this weekend was Larry Fitz. 3 catches for 108 yards and a score. Thats an average of 36 yards a reception. Fantastic. Now we have already said Andre is the best out there this season, but who do you draft when Calvin Megatron Johnson is available or Larry Fitz? scoutPRO advantage – Calvin.

Filed Under: NFL

Round Two

August 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Friday again fantasy footballers!

 

Im sure all of you are prepping for your respective drafts and using math, excel, voodoo, magic, and customs in order to see who will make up your roster. Watching preseason games is also a good way to gauge talent for second round and later round players. Come on, we all know consistently who the first round players should be. Its the later rounds that make or break your team. If you watched the Eagles/Steelers game last night I am sure to double check the Eagles defense. Granted it is only preseason but its not like the starters did not play. We saw some potential starting players play some series and the Eagles (for lack of a better word) got rocked. People seem to forget the Steelers won the AFC and were in the Super Bowl last season. Im not a huge fan, but they deserve some respect. Yeah the Eagle and Steelers defense are as good as they get, probably top five, but there still needs to be some changes for the Eagles. If its chemistry, play understanding, or personnel change something should be examined deeper. In regard to the Eagles QBs, great athletes but facing the Steelers is no joke. As the season continues look at the Steelers game play, especially their defense. According to our scoutPRO ranking, Steelers should be a great defense to draft.   In Tebow news, I think its beginning to look like he will definitely be writing his second book this season.

Filed Under: NFL, Players

Believe It or Not

August 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Howdy fantasy footballers!

 

We are in the second week of preseason games and things are just getting (for lack of a better word) awesome! The Monday Night game was interesting because it ended up being a BCS Championship winner (Alabama) vs. another BCS Champion (USC’s win was vacated earlier this summer). And of course you had Rex Ryan being Rex Ryan during the whole game and you sat an watched him freak out, scared that he might have an aneurysm. All in all these games were just what we needed, and more are coming. This week’s games will be even better because the players have calmed some jitters and have seen real game play rather than training camp simulation games. The rookies should be more comfortable. And then there is Mark Sanchez. For some odd reason the national media has fixated themselves on Mark, maybe because its New York and the pressure is always on high. Granted he has been to the AFC Championship game twice in this short career, but he has not led his team their. Is he another Eli (who just compared himself to Tom Brady)? Mark has a dismal pass completion percentage and would probably be stuck in a whole without a solid defense, great receivers, and a sharp run game. It is surprising to see on Twitter how many people take him in higher rounds (#fantasyfootball). He is a backup, nothing more. If you have Brady, Manning, Brees, and Rivers than you play Mark during their bye week. It’s just that simple. Yeah the Jets can make it to the Super Bowl, remember how the Bears went against the Colts with Rex Grossman leading the way to the Super Bowl loss? Defense. As long as the Jets can maintain a superior level of defense with shut down CBs and a impenetrable D-line the Jets can take a breath of relief after Mark throws those devastating INTs.

Filed Under: Players Tagged With: ,

Rookiepalooza

August 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Welcome fantasy footballers!

 

Are you ready for more football? Tonight we have great preseason games waiting to get started. What makes tonight different than yesterday is the rookies in today’s games. Yesterday the attention was on the production of Tebow, Kolb, and the Dream Team Eagles. Today is a different story. We have match-ups that will provide ample time to see how the rookies perform under game conditions. For the Falcons it will show case how Julio Jones can block and aid the team into becoming a deep ball threat. Miami with its new rushing core will show how can Daniel Thomas fit in with veterans like Bush and Sproles. In the Bengals vs Lions game, QB Andy Dalton will get some action along with AJ Green as the Bengals try to revamp their offense (and their defense if you think about it). With the drama in Cincinnati with QBs, it will be nice to see a young Dalton to play the game and prove himself a starter. With the departure of Ocho Cinco, it will be interesting to see what receiver in Cincinnati is called to fill the gap and become the number one option. The Lions will be without RB Leshoure and DT Fairley, but Calvin Johnson said he would play in tonight’s game so there is still some excitement for the Lions. The Saints also have a tough 49ers opponent. With the addition of Ingram the Saints will try to see if their rushing core is solid as it was in their championship run. The Saints are probably still thinking of their loss to the Seahawks last postseason and are seeking revenge in the NFC. As for the 49ers, they have a new head coach who had an amazing run last season at Stanford and the big question remains is if he can do it in the big league. With the addition of Braylon Edwards it will be key to see how the QBs can perform and if the O-line can do its job to protect the passing game and establish the rushing attack. The talent is there, but whats talent without preparation. And in the Redskins vs Pittsburgh game, all I can say is regardless of who ends up as the starting QB in Washington, they will benefit from Andrew Luck (since they are the front runners to obtain the top pick). Sorry Rex, I dont see you winning the division. Nonetheless, tonight we will see how top picks in the draft will prove to the world that they are either great or just good.

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Get the Competitive Edge!

August 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

Filed Under: NFL, scoutPRO

This Is Only the Beginning

August 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Happy Friday fantasy footballers!

Im sure you all watched the preseason games last night. Im not like Michael Wilbon who thinks preseason is not football; no matter what or who is playing, preseason is always football. Im sure the second and third team guys are still better than 99% of the normal population so watching preseason is still exciting. Last night had a different feel to the games for some reason. Maybe the lingering idea of the lockout still resided in the minds of many and this free agency frenzy has left people confused and anxious. Nonetheless the games were great. Did you see the Patriots dismantle the Jaguars? Did you see the epic wins by Dallas and the Cardinals? Im sure you did. Four people stuck out during those games: Mallet, D.Harris,  McGee, and Tebow. Mallet has an awesome stat line for his first preseason game in the NFL with little prep time due to labor issues. McGee tossed three scores to lead Dallas to a win, and Harris caught all five of this passes for 127 and 2 TDs. As for Tebow, all I can say is that at least he has more preseason left for him to prove he can play or else he might be writing a sequel to his book.

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Here It Goes

August 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Welcome fantasy footballers!

 

It’s finally here! Today the NFL will commence its preseason games. A few months ago preseason games were a figment of one’s imagination but we are here at last. There are a number of great games lined up for today which will showcase how the free agency trades and lockout have effected players and teams. We will see how Kolb does in Arizona, if Tebow can light it up in Denver, and if the Dream Team can live up to the hype. In my opinion the Eagles are drawing negative criticism similar to the Miami Heat. It wont be surprising if the team is always in the news and draws harsh views from fans and media. As the Ravens square off against the Eagles lets look at last season: the Eagles had a combined total yards of 6230, rushed 2324 and passed for 3906 yards. The rush gained 5.4 average yards per play and the pass led to a gain of 7.0 average yards per carry. For the Ravens they had less yards (5166) and their averages for rushing (3.8) and passing (6.8) were also lower. In our official scoutPRO rankings, Vick is the number two QB overall and Flacco is 15. Nonetheless this game will be interesting because it will show us how the Eagles mesh, which CB will have to sit, and if both teams have improved QB play (both starters and backups).

Filed Under: NFL Tagged With: ,

Dont Haze Me Bro

August 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Good morning fantasy footballers!

Sadly it is still only Tuesday and we still have to wait till Thursday to get some long needed football action back into our systems. At least the new Madden 12 demo drops today, so if you are not at work or even at work check out the new game play and experience modern technological advancements for yourself. So as these crazy signings continue we are now shifting attention to how players, especially rookies, are working out and performing in training camps. We have seen many injuries to the Achilles, knees, and other leg parts as players try to get back into the grind after so long. Imagine being a rookie in this stage of your life. You have just left college and along with it the crazy parties, massive student affection, and the intense drama of the FBS/FCS. Now you come into the league in the midst of war and power struggle, with little communication to coaches and still no contract. Nonetheless you are now signed, practicing with the team with the ultimate goal in mind: win Offensive and Defensive ROY awards and maybe go to the Pro Bowl. Here are my picks to have the best chance to win the award and go to Hawaii: for the offensive side, my best bets are Julio Jones and Daniel Thomas. These two players have an opportunity to help out right away and will see plenty of playing time if they can remain healthy. Both Jones and Thomas are explosive players that will help out veterans (think Roddy White and Reggie Bush) while making plays of their own. I would include A.J Green in this list but because of the QB situation in Cincinnati it is hard to determine how his season will play out. Dont get me wrong here, I think AJ Green is a freak of nature and possibly the best wideout in his class but if there is no QB or a QB that cant throw a pass, how is a receiver supposed to…receive? On the flip side, I think Patrick Peterson and Gabe Carimi have the best opportunities, skill, and energy to win the award. These two were beasts in college and are the best in their position compared to their class. They will also have an immediate impact for their team and could even start the season as starters. In any case these four (maybe five) rookies are going to be talked about a lot this season. Sorry Cam, I just dont see it.

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QB Showdown – Round 1

August 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

How’s it going fantasy footballers!

From the beginning of time we have been split over major issues: presidential elections, war, debt crisis, milk or cereal first, and most recently which QB should go first in fantasy? I have been reading all over the internet and across Twitter what people have been saying about this and I have come up with two common picks: Aaron Rodgers and Michael Vick. But which of these deserves the title of “Best QB in the Draft” award? First lets look at what makes a QB great; as a QB you need to have sufficient arm strength, accuracy, low number of interceptions, size, speed, poise, and awareness. Now this could be hard to calculate but thanks to scoutPRO we can dig deep and analyze the two players. Vick definitely has the arm strength and can avoid the rush better than anyone. He has the ability to pass the ball long thanks to great young receivers like Jackson. But the way he plays (at his size) is risky for his health. He is one wrong step away from being injured (similar to the Falcons). Granted he is probably stronger and smarter than that now but there is always that risk. Aaron Rodgers has the size, better accuracy, and similar arm strength and good end zone rating. It all comes down to the team. Rodgers is in a better situation because his team has a better “pass first” offense. The one thing everyone always said about the Packers last season was their lack of rushing production which made having Rodgers a great pick at QB. For Vick, he has a ton of offensive firepower now but the ball will be divided in rushing, receiving, and Vick scrambling. Ultimately I would go ahead with Aaron Rodgers as the number one QB option for fantasy but that is by a narrow margin ahead of Vick.

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The Most Interesting Man in the World

August 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Happy Friday fantasy footballers!

So the epic drama continues with the NFL. From the crazy free agency signings last week to figuring out what to do with players that didn’t get traded this week, the teams around the NFL are figuring out what to do with some players. The Broncos are probably thinking “well this is awkward, how do we tell Tim Tebow that he might not be our starter after making sure we told the press multiple times before that he is our QB” and the Patriots are probably thinking “Ochocinco cried? Like he literally cried when we called him? This could be a good thing or a very bad VH1 dating show.” I know what you are thinking, when has VH1 ever had a good dating show? I’m just kidding. Ochocinco is a man with many talents, interests, and emotions. Just imagine this commercial playing, “I don’t always cry, but when I do I prefer to do it uncontrollably. Stay dramatic my friends.” Earlier the (in)famous Pee Wee Herman visited the Cowboys at training camp and had a chance to hang out with Tony Romo. His absolute expertise, skill, and vast knowledge of the game allowed him to teach sound fundamentals to the QB and work with him on his mechanics. I mean what a perfect opportunity – the team has not been allowed to come together all summer till just last week and this week you have Pee Wee come into the huddle. When the Cowboys look back at this in the regular season and wonder what went wrong in the preseason, at least they can say they met Pee Wee.

Filed Under: NFL, Players Tagged With: , , , ,
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