Gridiron Experts

AFC West Fantasy Football Stock Market
This series of articles focuses on how the new breed of talent from the NFL draft plans to affect overall fantasy football player value. Continuing with our stock market report, Gridiron Experts takes a look at the AFC West.
Previous Articles: NFC EAST | AFC EAST | NFC SOUTH | AFC SOUTH | NFC WEST

*AFC West: Three out of the four teams in this division added talent that will have a chance to step onto the field and maybe make impacts in  fantasy football. The Raiders stuck to improving their defense but did acquire their new 2010 quarterback.

Denver Broncos

Demaryius Thomas WR 6’3 230 lbs

Goodbye Brandon Marshall, hello rookie replacement. Demaryius Thomas is an explosive receiver with a very similar build and style to the ex-Bronco 100-reception-wonder. Although, Marshall’s numbers were so amazing that comparisons could start to haunt this poor kid who has to come in and fill a major role. There is no doubt that Thomas will be asked to step up early and should be awarded a starting spot by training camp.

Demaryius Thomas had a very impressive college resume that will carry him over into the NFL fluidly, but that lack of quarterback talent and surrounding cast will definitely be the anchor that holds this rookie back. Questions to the Broncos offensive line have people wondering if the running game will be as affective in 2010, also I not sure Kyle Orton will ever instill fear into the eyes of his opponents.

The Broncos started 6-0 last season before melting into a 8-8 club. Did the offensive formula  that worked so well to start just need time to be figured out? The second half of the season defensive coordinators could read McDaniels game plan like and open book, as points were hard to come by. Either the case, D. Thomas and his new breed of …Continue reading AFC West Fantasy Football Stock Market

JaMarcus Russell: What Did People Really See?

It’s everyone’s preferred recurring NFL fable: A quarterback comes into the league full of promise, is drafted too high because everyone insists on drafting quarterbacks early, he doesn’t turn out like those who drafted him had convinced themselves he would (with most everyone validating them), said quarterback is ostracized for accepting money he never should have received in the first place and the team has a scapegoat for why they’re still struggling to win five games a season four years later.

Tiger Woods paramours are less abundant than failed over-drafted quarterback busts. But with JaMarcus Russell, there has never, in the history of the NFL draft, been a finer example of unwarranted hype catapulting a player’s draft prospects.

For those who aren’t aware, JaMarcus attended LSU and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with the first overall pick in 2007. While in Baton Rouge, Russell played for some of the more loaded college football rosters of the past decade, …Continue reading JaMarcus Russell: What Did People Really See?

Are The Raiders on the Right Track?

To characterize the past few seasons of Raiders history in one word would be to call it atrocious,  appalling, and even unfathomable. Ever since the Rich Gannon led team made it to the Super Bowl (2002) the Raiders have become subject to being the butt end of every NFL joke, owner Al Davis has become the poster boy for questionable decisions, while over these 7 years the team has amassed only 26 of a possible 112 victories. Al Davis made a large error in the selection of Jamarcus Russell but now, that’s over with, Russell has been released, and out of the folds emerges Jason Campbell (traded for on draft day) to perhaps lead the silver and black into a new age? …Continue reading Are The Oakland Raiders On The Right Track?

JaMarcus Russell Released By Raiders

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out… The Raiders have swallowed their pride and let go of the 1st overall pick of the 2007 Draft. The Raiders paid Russell more than $36 million through the last few seasons, and still owe him $3 million more. The glass half full attitude for the Raiders, is they did save $6.45 million by not having him on the roster in 2010.

JaMarcus Russell could be the biggest bust in NFL history. Ryan Leaf was bad, but Russell wasn’t much better.  JaMarcus held out his first season, not signing a contract until after the Week 1 of the regular season. Making his rookie season a complete loss, starting only one game. But even once getting the starting job he was inaccurate and struggled with weight problems.

Russell had a career QB rating of 65.2, with 23 interceptions, 25 fumbles, and sacked 70 times…in just 31 games played.

Mike Florio of PFT.com had an interesting take the Raiders decision making. By allow him to participate in the minicamp the Raiders put themselves on the hook for a big risk. If he had suffered a torn ACL or some other curious injury, the Raiders would have owed him the full $9.45 million.

With Leather.com loves to cut down Athletes, and their latest post is painfully funny click here

Team Needs Mock Draft (Part 1)

It’s a little early to be predicting the first round of the NFL Draft, yet people love to speculate what teams will do (Mel Kiper 9.0 by March). Every year Gridiron Experts refuses to post a Mock Draft too early, so instead we’re posting a 3 part team needs mock draft, giving an educated guess to what teams might be thinking.

Not every position that is lacking on an NFL squad has to be filled with a first round pick. There are still a ton of free agents that are about to hit the open market, and second year players who can step in now that they have a year under them; the first few weeks of March should completely change the draft, so here is a look at the NFL Draft based on how teams are sitting at the moment.

1) St. Louis Rams Team Needs: DT | QB | OT | CB | WR

The Rams really can’t screw this up. There are so many needs on this team that no matter whom they are able to grab in free agency, a blue chip player will be added to this team in the first round. Everyone is preaching about Ndamukong Suh, but the Rams have so much already invested on the defensive line that trading down a couple spots could really pay off with adding more talent quickly. A trade that could drop the Rams down just 5-6 spots is worth its weight in gold.

Mike Vick would be a great fit for this club since the Rams play in a dome, but the Eagles “no trade until the pre-season” smoke screen means the price is not cheap. Right now we’d say unload DE L. Little to the Eagles for Vick, and try to steal a couple of Philly’s late round picks, then grab Suh at pick one. Like we said, the end result is hard to mess up with the top pick in the draft, but teams do it all the time. The good news is there is so much offensive and defensive talent on the board this year that we’d be amazed if the Rams couldn’t improve on their 2 win season.

2) Detroit Lions Team Needs: DE | LB | CB …Anything On Defense

The Lions added a couple good defensive pieces last year with SS Louis Delmas and DT Sammie Lee Hill, but they need more. It’s unlikely that any of these bottom feeder teams are going to lure away an elite unrestricted free agent, so the Detroit Lions best bet is to simply take the best defensive player available. Another top key to this offseason for the Lions would be re-signing Larry Foote, who didn’t play as bad as his surrounding cast last year (70 tackles and 2 sacks). Re-signing Foote and maybe CB Williams James are the Lions top priorities in the next couple weeks.

3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers Team Needs: DT | DE |LB | OL

The Buccaneers had the NFL’s worst rushing defense last year, allowing an average of 158.2 yards per game on the ground. Fans can say what they want about needing offense, but they’re in a division with Carolina’s J. Stewart and D. Williams, Falcons Michael Turner  and the Saints offensive attack. Pressure on the QB and stopping the run are big needs this offseason. DT Gerald McCoy from Oklahoma would be a great fit for the Bucs, but if Tampa can somehow add depth through free agency they would benefit from adding some kind of a pass rusher or one of the …Continue reading Team Needs Mock Draft (Part 1)

Buffalo @ New England

To say this game will prove to be a difficult match up for the Bills is putting it mildly.  The Patriots are highly motivated this season with the return of Tom Brady, who has proven on the practice field and in preseason that he is ready to go and has shaken off any rust that may have accumulated over his time off. The addition of Fred Taylor to an already plentiful platoon of running backs should keep the Bills defence’s hands full and vulnerable to the passing game. To make things tougher for the Bills, the Patriots have bolstered their much disciplined defence this year with the additions of Derrick Burgess, Shawn Springs, and Leigh Bodden.  The Patriots defence may be older, but this is typically not a problem on opening week.

Trent Edwards and the Bills offence are not going to have it easy in this one.  The suspension of Marshawn Lynch (weeks 1-3) is sure to hurt the team, even though Fred Jackson and Dominic Rhodes have proven to be adequate backups. Everyone in Buffalo has been itching to ask one question, is your popcorn ready? We all know that T.O. has his kernels popped, but are …Continue reading Monday Night Football Preview

Merriman Arrested- Chargers fans don’t need this

With only days before the NFL season begins, outside linebacker Shawne Merriman was arrested Sunday. Merriman was accused of choking and restraining his girlfriend, reality TV star Tila Tequila. Police responded to a call around 4 a.m. to Merriman’s house in Poway, north of San Diego, after a woman called to say she was choked and thrown to the ground when she tried to leave. Tequila was taken to a hospital, her condition was not immediately available, while Merriman was released from jail this morning on bail.

Oakland trades away 1st round pick for Pats Seymour

The Patriots received a first-round draft choice in 2011 for the 29 year old Richard Seymour.  Seymour is in the final year of the four-year extension he signed in 2006. He was due to make $3.685 million but the Raiders will no doubt try to lock him up long term. The Raiders are looking to get good fast, where the Patriots want to get younger. This season New England has had a bit of a youth movement, trading away Mike Vrabel and Seymour and losing Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi to retirement. Of all the stupid trades the Raiders have made over the years (Randy Moss for a 4th round pick) this deal for Seymour is a smart one and should add instant leadership to the Raiders defense.

NFL teams need to make their final cuts today in preparation of the start the regular season. With each team carrying 10 to 20 extra players during the preseason and 32 NFL teams needing to make a 53 man roster, there are a lot of unhappy athletes this Labor Day weekend that find themselves jobless.

One of the biggest names cut today was Jeff Garcia, backup in Oakland. Garcia’s signing with the Raiders made no sense. Wanting to find a team where he could start, Garcia the 39 year old veteran QB signed with Oakland in April, but with Jamarcus Russell making monster coin after being selected first overall in the 2007 draft, you had to figure the Raiders weren’t about to bench a top pick they had signed to a 6 year 68 million dollar deal. The Patriots are light are QB and may try to sign Garcia to a back up role.

For some reason this year, it seems a lot of teams are willing to run with an unbalanced roster, not wanting to release quality players. When injuries become a factor more minor trades might begin to happen. The Buc’s are carrying 4 QB’s where the Patriots have only 2. Other strange rosters moves include the Eagles with 7 WR’s and a lack of TE’s where as the Panthers cut 2 extra guys so they can go shopping for a few needs. Other surprises were 07 second-round pick RB Chris Henry not making the Titans roster and reality star Jesse Holley being cut by the Cowboys.