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Fantasy Football:

I’m still not over the kickoff rule change from last year, but here we go again… On Tuesday, the NFL owners voted to approve moving the trade deadline back two weeks, they also talked over some changes to adjusting the injured reserve rule. Both changes should have an affect on the 2012 season if the league and union can agree on the details.

Moving the trade deadline from week 6 to week 8 has been talked about for years. The reason why many are hesitating on such a change is the potential fire sale that it could bring us each and every year. Even the most positive “glass half-full fan” knows that a season is over at 1-6, and with the amount of injuries and playoff runs, dumping future draft picks to stack the deck creates an unfair advantage. Last year’s Kyle Orton release by the Broncos was an example of a team unloading a payroll for nothing, where as the Carson Palmer trade is an example of trying to sell the farm for a playoff push. If more surprise teams find themselves with winning records heading into week 8, I’m sure we could be in for bigger deals going down mid-season.

Fantasy Football:

Fantasy Football:

AFC West

Kansas City Ryan Sims 2002 6th overall North Carolina

Sims was considered the number one defensive lineman in the draft. Sims however lasted just four years in KC before being traded for future considerations. Once Herman Edwards was hired to coach the Chiefs, Sims quickly found a spot on the bench. His totals as a Chief - 54 tackles, 5 sacks and one interception.

Big miss: Dwight Freeney

Oakland JaMarcus Russell 2007 1st overall Louisiana State

This is possibly the easiest pick in this series. Russell had all the physical skills, but only lasted three seasons in the league. Holding out until after the first game of the regular season his first season was a wash, making just one start in the final game of the season. His second season he started fifteen games but didn’t impress enough to earn the job back in year two. Russell made nine starts in year three until getting benched for good. He got the wrap of being lazy and coming into camp overweight. The combination of a lack of results, a lack of motivation - oh yeah - and a drug wrap, has kept him out of the league since.

Big miss: Calvin Johnson

Denver Jarvis Moss 2007 17th overall Florida

Due to my belief that Tim Tebow as an NFL quarterback will eventually be a joke, it was hard not to pick Tebow, but he basically saved the season for the Broncos last year. Denver traded up to get Moss, but because of injury Moss played just six games as a rookie. His second season was underwhelming as well. He played in twelve games and made 12 tackles. The next year he was released.

Big miss: Dwayne Bowe

San Diego Ryan Leaf 1998 2nd overall Washington State

If Russell was the easiest pick, Leaf was the second easiest. People forget Leaf started his career 2-0, but things went downhill fast. Game three of his career he was one for fifteen for four yards and two interceptions. He would win just two more games in three seasons. He would miss most of season two with an injury and ineffective play doomed his third and final season with the Chargers. His final San Diego stat line was 13 touchdowns and 33 interceptions.

Big miss: Charles Woodson

NFC West

San Francisco Jim Druckenmiller 1997 26th overall Virginia Tech

Druckenmiller was drafted to be the heir apparent to Steve Young, but it didn’t work out that way. He only lasted two years with the 49ers, started one game and appeared in just six. The rest of the league wasn’t impressed either. He was traded to the Dolphins, but was quickly released. No one else bothered with the former Hokie and had his only productive season as a professional in the XFL.

Big miss: Trevor Price

Seattle Rick Mirer 1993 2nd overall Notre Dame

Mirer actually started out pretty well with the Seahawks. He started every game as a rookie and was second in the rookie of the year voting. He showed some promise in year two as well, but by year three defenses had figured out the guy who was once compared to Joe Montana. His third and fourth (and final) seasons with the Seahawks were nowhere near the promise of his first two years. He threw 18 touchdowns and 32 picks in his final two seasons in the Pacific Northwest. Mirer did have a long career as an NFL backup quarterback and all told spent twelve seasons with seven teams.

Big miss: Willie Roaf

St. Louis Lawrence Phillips 1996 6th overall Nebraska

Who - besides the Rams – didn’t see this one coming? Phillips had a troubled history at Nebraska and it only continued in the NFL. Phillips made twenty starts in two years with the Rams and spent 23 days in jail. Midway through his second season the Rams cut ties with their troubled runningback. Phillips had short stints with the Dolphins and the 49ers, but never rushed for more than 650 yards in a season. To make matters worse, on the day of the 1996 Draft, the Rams were so confident they had found the answer at runningback in Phillips that they made a draft day trade with the Steelers. The player they traded - Jerome Bettis.

Big miss: Marvin Harrison

Arizona Matt Leinart 2006 10th overall USC

Leinart was in and out of the lineup during his entire time in Arizona. Injuries in his first two seasons limited his playing time and when he did play his inconsistent play couldn’t keep him in the lineup. After Kurt Warner retired, Leinart had one more shot to win the job in Arizona, but was beat out of a job by Derek Alexander and was soon after released.

Big miss: Haloti Ngata

Fantasy Football:

Victor Cruz grew up in the rough city of Patterson, New Jersey. Going into college Cruz was recruited by several 1-AA schools to play football, but none who weren’t nationally recognized for the sport. With so very few options, Cruz settled on the University of Massachusetts and was delighted by the fact that he just got the opportunity to continue to play football, even if that meant studying more to earn higher grades. He red-shirted his freshman year and practiced with the team until he was able to start during his junior season. Overall Cruz finished with 11 touchdowns, 131 catches and just under 2,000 yards receiving for his final two years in college. Not bad for a guy of his stature now.

In the 2010 NFL Draft, Cruz went undrafted as he watched teams draft player after player that he matched up well against. No teams made any commitments to him therefore leaving Cruz little, if any hope of the NFL dream. It wasn’t until the Giants picked him up that Cruz was finally going to get his prime opportunity to shine.

Cruz exploded in his rookie year during the pre-season helping him gain significant recognition. He finished first in receiving yards amongst all wide-outs with 297 yards during the pre-season, having a huge game against the New York Jets with six catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-16 rout. Unfortunately, the injury bug bit hard and Cruz only appeared in three regular season games without a catch before going on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

It was in 2011 that Cruz became the team’s fourth receiver due to the loss of receiver Steve Smith. His role was expanded when Mario Manningham and Domenik Hixon were hindered due to injury giving Cruz a chance to prove his worth to a Giants team desperate to make a Super Bowl run. Cruz had a standout season ending with a franchise record 1,536 receiving yards on 82 receptions, while snagging 9 touchdowns for the year. His agility, quickness, and ability to read the play have stunned many teams alike and he is now one of the most nationally recognized players in the NFL.

So what is it about this guy that has Giant’s fans bellowing out his name every time the ball is tossed his way? Your guess is as good as mine but Victor Cruz does indeed have the dynamic speed, agility, ferocity, talent, and mentality of a great football player. Time after time Cruz has proved himself on the gridiron with aw aspiring catches, juke moves, and salsa touchdown celebration dances. It’s his character on and off the field that have Giants fans going crazy for the guy.

So what’s next in this Cinderella story come to life? The Giants are coming off a remarkable season (due in big part to Victor Cruz) and now look to repeat in the 2012 season. One thing is for sure though; Cruz is going to be a vital part of the Giants future success.

Fantasy Football:

With a history of being dubbed NFL penny-pinchers, the Eagles have always made it known that they do not reward hot streaks. A contract signed is a contract fulfilled as far as they’re concerned. Although laying the law for expectations has come at a hefty price.Terrell Owens was the most publicly exposed contract dispute, but the long list of dollar versus value transaction dilemma’s has been arguably not worth it for the city of Philadelphia. While throwing money at a situation can make a problem go away, it does create a push-over environment that encourages players to hold-out or demand more from their management. It’s a balancing act that the Eagles have been fairly good at over the years, yet last season the team may have bitten off more than they could chew.

Asante Samuel summarized it perfectly last summer in a rant about how the team was playing fantasy football with the personnel. The Eagles were buying up everyone they could, trying to put together a Super Bowl contender. With money being tossed around daily, players like DeSean Jackson were expecting new deals. Instead money was wasted on signing players like Steve Smith who barely made it onto the field in 2011. Fans were left scratching their heads, wondering why they would not re-sign a player that has “T.O” characteristics and seems like he could be a locker-room headache. DeSean not only made it publicly known through the media that he wasn’t happy, but his production on the field took a noticeable drop as well.

The end result was an 8-8 season that the team should be thankful it ended as well as it did. After a Thursday night meltdown in Seattle the team was 4-8 and were officially the biggest bust team of the NFL season. Andy Reid was able to pull things together and ended strong with a 4 game winning streak that arguably kept him from being handed a pink slip.

Today, the team seems completely revamped from within. It seems that 2012 is all about improving team morale, and I for one am very impressed with how the Eagles have modestly turned a new leaf. The Eagles simply got together and began re-signing their talent and addressed the needs at the linebacker position for the first time in years. Ego has taken a backseat and Andy Reid along with the front office are not publicly admitting they messed up, but are doing their best at making things right.

• On March 13 the team extended Todd Herremans’ contract another three years to 2016. $21 million with $11 million guaranteed.
• On March 14news broke that Trent Cole had also re-upped with the Eagles with a four-year contract extension worth up to $53 million with $15 million in guaranteed money
• DeSean Jackson signed a $51 million dollar deal over five years ($15 million guaranteed money)
• Eagles addressed their troubled linebacker corps with a trade to acquire DeMeco Ryans.The team sent a 2012 fourth round pick (acquired from Tampa Bay) and swapped third round picks with the Texans.
• LeSean McCoy re-signed a 5-year contract extension worth $45 million overall and $20.765 million guaranteed

Do the moves this year translate into a more productive season? Are the Eagles stronger from a year ago? Of course only time will tell. The Boo-birds are in one of the toughest divisions in football and have issues with their offensive line. The team will always be holding their breath with the style in which Mike Vick plays, but for the most part I believe they are definitely sleepers in the NFC. If the team can glue together some protection for Vick after the unfortunate loss of Jason Peters this team could go far in 2012.

Fantasy Football:

10 Fantasy Players I Refuse to Draft

Every year the summer rolls around, I can’t stop thinking about how great my fantasy teams are going to be this year, and inevitably, the players who I absolutely won’t draft. We all have them, and we do our absolute best not to touch them. Unfortunately, they sometimes drop three rounds and we get them, anyway, but that’s just bargain shopping. Its hard to turn down a good sale. With that in mind, let’s peep my top-10 players I will avoid like the plague this fall.

Adrian Peterson

Dont get me wrong, I love this guy. He’s talented, vicious, and talented. Yeah, twice talented. But he’s now dealing with a history of injuries. With five NFL seasons under his belt, he’s played in all 16 games only twice. He has appeared to solve his fumbling problems, with only two over the last two seasons, but his ACL is now a much bigger problem. Granted, ACL tears aren’t career-enders like they used to be, but it still scares me. Also, did I mention he’s still going to be facing eight in the box on every play and he comes off the field on third downs? This guy has officially been dethroned from the top overall pick.

Michael Vick

I’m tired of hearing about Vick. I don’t care about the dog fighting, or the protesting, or any of it. He won a lot of people their leagues in 2010, but that was clearly an aberration. In 2011, he reverted right back to same ole Vick. He was poor from the pocket, ran too much, and got injured. He had a career-high 3,303 passing yards, but also threw a career-high 14 interceptions with only 18 passing touchdowns. Add in that he only scored one rushing TD, and yeah, I’m tired of hearing about him. Hes not going to win you anything but the ‘I Have the Most Frustrating QB’ award.

Shonn Greene

Like many, I was captivated by Greene’s aggressive and productive running style during the 2009 playoffs. Like many, I was sorely disappointed after I drafted him in 2010 and watched him flounder all season behind LT. However, like few others, I drafted him again in 2011, thinking it was surely time for him to blossom, and on the tails of Rex Ryan spouting ground and pound mantras. While he was actually fine, statistically, I will never drafted Greene again. Why? Hes so vanilla. If you’re looking for the all-boring team of the NFL, Greene is your starting tailback, hands down. In his three seasons, his longest run is only 33 yards. He averages a middle-of-the-road 4.3 yards per carry, and has only 10 career rushing TDs. Talk about a sleeper.

Jamaal Charles

Not only did he tear his ACL last season (see: Peterson, A.), but this guy is on a stupidly stacked offense. The Chiefs have got two receivers who have put up 1,000-yard seasons and another first-round pick from 2011. They just acquired Peyton Hillis from the Browns, another former thousand-yard rusher. Not to mention the always active Dexter McCluster. This offense is going places, and there’s not enough room for Charles to get the touches other top RB options will get.

DeSean Jackson

DeSean Jackson goes as Vick goes, and last year that wasn’t too well. In fact, it wasn’t that well in 2010, either, when he finished with just over 1,000 yards and six touchdowns. Jackson’s premier year was all the way back in 2009, when he recorded almost 1,200 yards receiving and 12 total touchdowns. Since then, hes become increasingly prima-donna and money-hungry. Now that hes got the big contract, will he Chris Johnson out and forget how to play football? I’m not about to use a valuable draft pick to find out.

Drew Brees

In 2011, this guy was lights out, setting a brand new record for NFL passing yards in a season. He also led the league in passing TDs with 46. This off-season, though, the New Orleans Saints have fallen apart. First the bounty program, then the weird GM listening to opposing sidelines story, and still Brees remains unsigned to a long-term deal. With Coach Sean Payton suspended for the entire season, will this offense run at the same level it did last season? I’m sure they will be okay, based on their personnel, but  I have my doubts.

Matt Forte

About eight games into last season, the number one guy in my league was undefeated, rocking Forte and Fred Jackson at RB. I remember thinking, how could somebody get so lucky? A few weeks later, both backs sidelined for the season, I remember thinking exactly the opposite. I think Forte is going to suffer this year. He’s been in a huge contract struggle with the Bears, he’s coming off injury, and the Bears just signed big-money backup Michael Bush. Something tells me its going to be an off-year for the Bears’ star back.

Vincent Jackson

This guy is the ultimate boom-or-bust in fantasy football (excluding Michael Vick). He will show up one week and get you two catches for 17 yards. Then the next week he’ll throw down the gauntlet and snatch three touchdowns on 175 yards. And that was with Philip Rivers. This year, I expect it to be even worse. With Josh Freeman, his lows will be lower and his highs will be, sadly, lower. Freeman is no Rivers. Keep in mind that hel’l also be competing with Mike Williams for looks.

Dwayne Bowe

I hate good receivers with bad quarterbacks. Matt Cassel has a decent arm and a crazy array of weapons to work with, but his decision-making is lackluster at best. It never ceases to amaze me when I watch the Chiefs play, the guy is just confused out there. I have nothing bad to say about Bowe, other than he relies on such an abysmal passer to record his own stats. There’s nothing worse than watching your fantasy players fail because of their teammates mistakes. Its haunting.

Antonio Gates

While hes definitely fallen down some boards, hes fallen completely off of mine. His upside is limited, his injury risk is huge, and the Chargers offense suddenly doesn’t look all that great. Who is their No. 1 WR? Robert Meachem? Malcom Floyd? The point being, the running game is going to suffer, which means more guys in coverage. The commonly used reason that Philip Rivers had such a down year last season was exactly that: too many guys in coverage. With Vincent Jackson gone, its only going to get worse. And with Gates advanced age and injury history, he no longer has the athleticism to single-handedly take over a game. He is likely to struggle this season.

Fantasy Football:

“Bountygate” has caused Sean Payton to be suspended for the entire 2012 season, making him the first head coach in modern NFL history to be suspended for any reason. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma will also miss the entire 2012 season, along with Saints defensive end Will Smith who was suspended for four games.

The team was also robbed of draft picks, a crushing blow in a arguably deep NFL draft year.

Yet despite the fact that some would say the team got what they deserved from the Bountygate fiasco, the handling of their franchise quarterback’s future is an ordeal that doesn’t need to be another bump in the road.

Fantasy Football:

Madden fans are very critical towards change. Each year EA sports tries to perfect one of the most anticipated video games of summer by adding enhancements to what is arguably the greatest sports game to ever be created. With yearly record sales, massive online play, tournaments, and even a reality show, Madden 13 has a loyal fan base eager to get their hands on this years version. -Release Date August 28th.

One of the biggest changes to Madden 13 is happening in the sound-booth. Phil Simms & Jim Nantz, CBS’s number-one commentary crew, are taking over to lend their voices to the game. Together they may not have the same classic catch-phrases as John Madden himself, nor do they have that insane moment voice like Gus Johnson, but overall they are far less annoying than Chris Collinsworth.

What does concern me is when play by play tries to get too cute in the color commentary. I for one am a terrible loser in Madden (at everything, who am I kidding), and don’t need funny anecdotes after failed passing plays or recycled jokes late in the fourth quarter of a blow out. Even watching the video above I felt my blood boil a little when they got off-topic. Throw in some trash talk from a 10 year old punk kid over my PS3 headset, and it might be time to purchase a new controller…and lamp.  I’m old school and fall into the “hate change” demographic, let’s hope that these noobs don’t mess things up too bad.

Check out some of the other changes:

• Halftime features a new stats overlay, and no halftime show. -Which I never knew they had to begin with.
• The game contains all the new Nike uniforms and alternates on the disc. Some of the uniforms may have to be unlocked via a code as they are released in real life.
• Lighting changes based on the time of day occur per play instead of just at quarter breaks.
• Madden NFL 13 features the improved high dynamic range lighting and motion blur of NCAA Football 13.

Passing Game

• EA improved the left-analog stick passing controls so you can place the ball on a receiver’s back shoulder, out toward the sideline, up high, down low, and other places where only your receiver can get it.
• Madden 13 integrates new pass trajectories and ball speeds to open up more areas of the field in the passing game.
• New pass animations speed up the time in which quarterbacks get rid of the ball, including a new shovel pass and specific set-ups for throws on the run.
• Pump fakes are now directed toward specific receivers, occur faster, and contain specific animations when performed outside of the pocket.
• Like NCAA 13, Madden features more than 20 new quarterback dropbacks, including those for 1/3/5/7-step variations, screens, and plays with auto-pump fake dropbacks. QBs even drop back automatically and set-up in the pocket if you don’t touch the left analog stick after the snap.
• To improve the receiving, EA is including more than 430 new catch animations, some of which are fueled in part by the changes made to the left-analog passing stick. EA Tiburon says it also wants to make user catches easier to do by slowing down players when they select a receiver.
• The quarterbacks have new moves for avoiding the pass rush. A slowed down pocket speed give you more control when you’re trying to not get sacked.
• EA tweaked play-action to include an abort command that cancels the animation for those situations where a defender busts through the line. The play-action also unravels faster in general. Running backs should be better in blocking after the fake (as well as release for passes) and defenders will be faked out more by play-action.
• Receivers have timing windows in their routes. When they expect the ball they’ll turn their head to the quarterback. Until this time, their passing icons are grayed out. Passing to a receiver who isn’t expecting the ball will often result in an incompletion. However, receivers will sometimes look for the ball earlier if the cornerback across the line of scrimmage blitzes or the receiver beats the jam at the line. -Pretty cool!

AI

• Neither receivers nor defensive backs react to a ball unless they are expecting it (like in the case of a quick slant for receivers) or they have their heads turned and are looking at it. This should hopefully do away with the psychic defensive backs from past Madden games.
• Defenses line-up opposite receivers in a best-on-best designation. This prevents your linebacker from matching up against an elite wide receiver lined up in the slot, for instance.
• Defenses disguise their man or zone coverage before the snap so offenses can’t try to use motion to uncover the defense’s plans.
• Defenders use different coverage techniques such as off coverage (where they start seven or so yards off the line of scrimmage and attempt to read the ball), trail techniques (including hand fighting), and split techniques (where the linebacker stands between the tight end and slot receiver).
• New animations allow for simultaneous tackles while the ball is being caught (including being able to knock out the ball in mid-air), and in general the development team says it’s been working on the interplay between players while the ball is in the air.
• EA promises enhanced AI playcalling for two-minute drill, goal line, clock draining, and red zone situations.

Audio

• Check out the original score in Madden 13 that plays as the game enters the break between quarters.
• Over 82 hours of commentary from Nantz and Simms, to keep the audio new and different each time, with over 9,000 unique lines. Most of the lines are ad-libbed and Nantz and Simms regularly have interactions and comment on what is actually happening on the field.
• A new “Madden NFL 13 Theme”, composed by Colin O’Malley, to be played at the beginning of the game as well as variations heard at quarter breaks, halftime, and postgame. In addition, an approx. 15-16 track, fully orchestrated soundtrack, also composed by O’Malley, will replace EA Trax for the music on the menu screens and other game modes.
• Partnership with NFL Films to get exclusive sound clips, such as QB cadences, hits/tackles, and group chatter, only available in Madden NFL 13.
• New crowd noise, recorded with 24 microphones, opposed to 4 microphones in previous years.

Fantasy Football: