Gridiron Experts

Gridiron Experts Mailbag

Randy S. from Missouri writes: I’m in a 4 player keeper league and have the 10^th overall pick in a 12 man pool. My keepers are P.Manning, Ryan Grant, Ray Rice and Randy Moss. I have been offered the first overall pick in exchange for Ray Rice. I would then keep Marion Barber but have a chance to have two first round picks and draft Ryan Matthews, what do you think?

DC from Gridiron Experts: Don’t do it. It sounds very tempting but Ray Rice is your best Keeper by far. Sure you would get the Chargers new rookie, but what if he only has an average season? Ray Rice is a proven RB that you can’t let go. Remember it’s not the 1^st round, it’s the 5^th round as everybody already has 4 players on their team.

Steve K. from San Jose writes: We have a flex league in our pool and I have three great WR’s. Would it make sense to keeper 3 WR’s ?

DC from Gridiron Experts: If your best keepers are 3 WR’s, then keep’em. You’ll need to spend a great deal of research studying tier two Running Backs, but don’t think you should protect a certain position, just adjust your draft strategy.

Pete in Florida writes: What do you think of the Jamal Charles and Thomas Jones situation?

DC from Gridiron Experts : Thomas Jones is a work-horse, he always looks like he’s in his last season in the summer and his rookie season by the end of the year. They guy can play and will spoil Jamal Charles break out chances. Goal-line situations are almost definitely Jones to keep, he is more proven and a bigger RB.

Do you have a fantasy Question? email: fantasyhelp@gridironexperts.com

we will try and answer your questions each week and post the best one’s every Thursday

Fantasy Football: Carson Palmer 2010 Profile

On paper, the Cincinnati Bengals should have one of the best fantasy football teams in the NFL. They have a very good running back in Cedric Benson, an excellent group of pass catchers with a great blend of promising rookies ( Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley) and proven veterans (Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco). So why are they not being talked about as one of the elite offenses? The answer, surprisingly, is Carson Palmer.

Once upon a time, Carson Palmer was an annual top 5 pick at quarterback in every fantasy football draft in the country. From 2005-2007, Palmer averaged 4000 passing yards a season, with 29 touchdown passes. He made the Pro Bowl in 2005 and 2006. When Palmer threw his 100^th career touchdown pass, during the 2007 season, he became the 5^th fastest in NFL history to achieve this feat. He was looking like he was going to become a Peyton Manning like elite fantasy figure for the next decade or more.

Since that time, Palmer has struggled to match his elite numbers of 2005 and 2006. His problems really began in 2008, when he started and played in only 4 games. He was placed on IR after being diagnosed with a torn ligament in his throwing elbow. He elected not to undergo Tommy …Continue reading Carson Pamler Fantasy Boom Or Bust

10 Fantasy Football Sleepers In 2010 (in no particular order)

Jabar Gaffney (WR Broncos)
Gaffney has been bounced around the league through most of his career; his patience has landed him in Denver, which is starting to look like home.

Gaffney has a great understanding of the offense and the experience to be the player that can pick up the in-game wrinkle on the spot. He will be overlooked by nearly everyone at your fantasy draft for a shiny new rookie. Their loss is your sleeper steal.

Anthony Gonzalez (WR Colts)
Before Gonzalez’s injury early last season, fantasy experts had him very high on their boards. Now recovering and fighting for a starting job, Gonzalez is underrated and available at a late round bargain price.

Chester Taylor (RB Bears)
This RB might take a few weeks to catch on in Chicago, yet his ability is unquestionable. Taylor is the type of player Mike Martz loves and will be used in all phases of the game. Late round gem with tons of upside.

Clinton Portis (RB Redskins)
Mike Shanahan, do I need to say anymore? The system has produce greatness out of garbage. Portis has secured the starting job and will be the focal point despite all the McNabb media. …Continue reading 10 Fantasy Football Sleepers In 2010

The Gridiron Experts Team were thinking outside the box this year when it came to designing our yearly free fantasy football draft board. We thought to ourselves, what is it that other boards don’t have? What is it that could be helpful while debating on bye week replacement players or when a fantasy owner is on the clock?

The answer: an overview of the entire season.

Gridiron Experts have compiled a top 200 players board with a team by team schedule next to each player. Now you can instantly see what is happening to that player any week of the season. Fantasy playoffs, Bye Weeks, picking a back-up to face a certain terrible defense. We figured you can get stats from anywhere, so why not corner the market with something new. So enjoy and check back each week (or day) for wicked NFL articles and tons of fantasy info!

Click here to look over the top 200 online.

Click here to download a PDF file to print and use for your draft.

As the NFL Preseason finally looks closer to being over, the predictions can now be made. Over the next week or so, the Gridiron Experts team will make some predictions to the season, here is Christopher Gabel’s thoughts on this years Fantasy Rookie class

3 Rookies to take under consideration

Dez Bryant – This guy’s career is already off to one peculiar start, even for a receiver. He missed his entire senior season in Stillwater, a GM asked him if his mother was a hooker, he signed before every other first round pick only to raise a stink about the tamest hazing ritual we’ve ever heard, and as a result things are supposed to be tense between him and Roy Williams. Still, he was one of the more talented players in the draft, and any discussion of him being a “head case” seemed completely manufactured by uptight, overly-conservative NFL suits. It’s almost certain he’ll be under-estimated in fantasy drafts.

Jahvid Best – Fallen under the radar a tad due to Spiller going to Buffalo, but Best is arguably the better back and the Lions will actually be less reliant on him than the Bills on Spiller. Since CJ Spiller isn’t Jones-Drew or Chris Johnson, I’m not a huge fan of the hand he’s been dealt. …Continue reading NFL 2010 Predictions: 3 Rookies to Draft and Avoid

NFL News

• Derrick Ward- Free Agent
  The 2009 big free addition for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just hasn’t worked out. The team admitted their mistake from free agency, announcing they cut Ward after only one season with the team.

• Larry Johnson - RB, Washington Redskins
  The Washington Post’s Matt McFarland says that Larry Johnson is the “smart pick” to win the backup job behind Clinton Portis.

• Arrelious Benn – WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  The Bucs are taking a patient approach with rookie WR Arrelious Benn.

• Jacoby Ford - WR, Oakland Raiders
  Raiders coach Tom Cable concedes that he has no clear-cut No. 3 receiver with Chaz Schilens (knee) sidelined to start the season. …Continue reading NFL News: Derrick Ward Released

Fantasy Factor

• Golden Tate – WR, Seattle Seahawks: Rookie Golden Tate didn’t play on offense until the fourth quarter of the Seahawks’ third preseason game Saturday. Fantasy Factor Ever since the Donut incident, Tate really hasn’t been making news. The surprise addition of Mike Williams has stolen the spotlight. Tate could turn it on as the season goes, but right now he shouldn’t be ranked too high on your draft board.

• John Carlson - TE, Seattle Seahawks: Danny O’Neil of the Seattle Times believes it’s “now OK to become officially concerned” that John Carlson won’t be a big part of the Seahawks’ passing game this season. Fantasy Factor Don’t believe everything you read, the pre-season for some coaches (especially new ones) can be for testing out the unknown. Carlson is an excellent target for Hasselbeck on a team that has an only average receiving core.

• Chris Johnson - RB, Tennessee Titans: Does is mean anything? Chris Johnson has just 39 yards on 19 preseason carries.
  

• Knowshon Moreno – RB, Denver Broncos: After watching them in pre-game warmups Sunday, Mike Klis of the Denver Post suggests that Knowshon Moreno (hamstring) and Demaryius Thomas (foot) “don’t look anywhere near close” to playing.

• Matt Schaub – QB, Houston Texans: Matt Schaub wasn’t sacked a single time in Saturday night’s preseason win over the Cowboys. Fantasy Factor A strong stat for the Texans. History of a bad offensive line as plagued this team. A reliable line for Schaub will translate into great fantasy numbers. …Continue reading Gridiron Experts Fantasy Factor

Fantasy Profile: LeSean McCoy

LeSean McCoy came to Philadelphia prepared and hoping to be the eventual replacement to Eagle legend, Brian Westbrook. Since Westbrook’s penchant for injury caught up to him in the worst and (according to recent reports) inevitable way possible, McCoy’s ascent was expedited and he was listed as the starter in only his second week as an NFL running back. For just about any other possession in the league, this isn’t typically a good thing.

But for running backs, well, in the year prior to McCoy’s rookie season, the 2008 rookie class produced Steve Slaton, Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Tim Hightower, Ray Rice, Jonathan Stewart and Kevin Smith all of whom came into the league and immediately contributed, adding anywhere from league-changing to serviceable fantasy numbers. This doesn’t even factor in highly touted Darren McFadden (who was splitting carries/fighting injury), Felix Jones (ditto) and Rashard Mendehall (missed his entire rookie season with a preseason knee injury) who were all first round picks. With that, the precedent was set, and expectations were high for McCoy in his rookie season. Especially since he was replacing the most consistent running back of the past decade in Westbrook.

To say those expectations have since diminished for 2010 isn’t entirely accurate. I mean, the list of guy’s named above, only Chris Johnson, Rice and Stewart exceeded the standard they set in their rookie seasons, which indicates that fluctuation amongst running backs, much like everything else related to the NFL, is volatile. So no one’s giving up on McCoy per say, but his numbers in his rookie campaign were, shall we say… problematic for a team that’s relied so heavily on consistency coming out of the backfield for the past ten seasons. I’m sure at some point in the league’s history, four touchdowns and four yards a carry translated into a promising rookie year. But after 2008, when so many players drafted into far less ideal situations than McCoy out-performed him in a landslide, it doesn’t bode well for his future in Philadelphia.

In a way, he’s under just as much pressure to replace Westbrook as Kolb is to replace McNabb. Some might say mores so. While Eagle nation …Continue reading Fantasy Profile: LeSean McCoy