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Bye Weeks

Good ideas in bold

Week 4

QB1s on bye: Tony Romo, Brett Favre

Vs. Seattle: Sam Bradford/AJ Feeley

Week 5

QB1s on bye: Tom Brady

Vs. Jacksonville: Trent Edwards/Brian Brohm/Ryan Fiztpatrick

Vs. Buffalo: David Garrard

Vs. Cleveland: Matt Ryan

Vs. St. Louis: Matt Stafford

Vs. Detroit: Sam Bradford/AJ Feeley

Week 6

QB1s on bye: Carson Palmer

Vs. Cleveland: Byron Leftwich/Dennis Dixon

Vs. Oakland: Alex Smith

Vs. Jacksonville: Vince Young

Week 7

QB1s on bye: Peyton Manning, Matt Schaub

Vs. Jacksonville: Matt Cassel

Vs. Miami: Byron Leftwich/Dennis Dixon

Vs. St. Louis: Josh Freeman

Vs. Seattle: Matt Leinart/Derek Anderson

Vs. Oakland: Kyle Orton/Brady Quinn/Tim Tebow

Week 8

QB1s with byes: Jay Cutler, Eli Manning, Joe Flacco, Kevin Kolb

Vs. Kansas City: Trent Edwards/Ryan Fitzpatrick/Brian Brohm

Vs. St. Louis: Jimmy Clausen/Matt Moore

Week 9

QB1s with byes: Donovan McNabb

Vs. Detroit: Mark Sanchez

Vs. Oakland: Matt Cassel

Week 10

QB1s with byes: Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers, Jason Campbell

Vs. Detroit: Trent Edwards/Ryan Fitzpatrick/Brian Brohm

Vs. Cleveland: Mark Sanchez

Vs. Miami: Vince Young

Vs. Kansas City: Kyle Orton/Brady Quinn/Tim Tebow

Vs. Seattle: Matt Leinart/Derek Anderson

Vs. St. Louis: Alex Smith

High Upside Backups

Matt Stafford

Josh Freeman

Mark Sanchez

Alex Smith

Vince Young

Chad Henne

Matt Moore

By Vince Vitale 

The St. Louis Rams took a 7-0 lead 9 minutes and 11 seconds into the game on a 15 yard strike from Sam Bradford to Brandon Gibson and road the NFL’s 4th ranked scoring defense to a 20-3 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Bradford threaded the pass between two Seahawk defenders into the outstretched hands of Gibson on 3rd and 10. If you did not know better you would have thought that Peyton Manning threw the pass. The St. Louis Rams are now in first place for the first time since early in the 2006 NFL season.

For the game Sam Bradford was 23 of 41 for 289 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception. On the season Bradford now has six touchdown passes which ties him for 8th in the NFL. Sam has made all the difference in attitude for the St. Louis Rams and he shined again today. On the ground Steven Jackson who was a game time decision was a warrior running for 70 yards on 22 carries and catching 3 passes for 54 yards. Jackson also passed Marshall Faulk for #2 on the Rams all time rushing list. Jackson is still the heart and sole of the St. Louis Rams. Kenneth Darby in his backup role once again scored on a 21 yard screen pass from Bradford.

For the second straight week the St. Louis Rams defense dominated the second half of the game. The Rams led 10-3 at halftime and outscored the Seahawks 10-0 in the second half of play for a convincing 20-3 victory. The Rams forced Seattle to punt on their first six possessions of the second half and outgained them 172 yards to 68. For the game the Rams defense had 4 sacks and two turnovers while only allowing the Seahawks one drive of over 38 yards. The Rams defense has held all four opponents to 17 points or less. The Rams held Seattle to 2.7 yards on the ground and gang tackled whoever had the ball for the Seahawks all day.

The Rams schedule is what it is and we will not apologize for it, and need to take advantage of it. The Rams will now travel to face the 0-4 Detroit Lions. The Rams may be doing it with mirrors but the bottom line is they easily could be 4-0 and are playing solid football. The facts are the Rams are in first place in the NFC West and also lead the division in points scored and in the least points allowed.

http://www.stlouisramfan.com/ 

By Derek Arnold

This week, the Ravens play their third straight game against an NFC South opponent, taking on the upstart Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Many Ravens fans had circled this game as a win coming into the season, as the Bucs were coming off a 3-13 2009 season, and have the youngest roster in the NFL. Tampa, however, has surprised so far in 2010, matching the Ravens’ 7-3 record, and look to be no walkovers on Sunday. The Ravens should still be able to pick up their eighth win of the year, but this game will be much tougher than we had hoped for when looking ahead to it back in September.

On paper, the Bucs’ offense doesn’t look too intimidating, as they are just 23rd in the NFL in yards per game. Second year quarterback Josh Freeman, though, has been deceivingly efficient, throwing 14 touchdowns to go with only 5 interceptions and 1 lost fumble, good for a QB rating of 92.0 – just 0.1 behind Joe Flacco. Rookie wide receiver Mike Williams leads the team in receiving, with 43 catches for 681 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Ravens secondary, after basically a week off in Carolina last week, will have to be on top of their game, and prove that they can at least stop a good — if not elite — quarterback.

Where Freeman and the rest of the Tampa offense should really give the Ravens and their fans a case of post-Thanksgiving indigestion, though, is on the ground. Freeman is a horse at 6’6″ 250, and can really hurt opposing defenses with his feet. He has 236 rushing yards this season, and averages over 6 every time he decides to take off. Even more dangerous is rookie running back LeGarrette Blount. Blount, the former Oregon Duck (you remember him, right?), is a 6’0 247 lb. battering ram, and is averaging 4.4 yards per carry since the Bucs started really working him into the offense about five weeks ago. Throw in Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, a big threat catching passes out of the backfield, and the Ravens front seven will have their hands full this week.

Blount is like a more athletic Peyton Hillis, who torched the Ravens in Week 3 for Cleveland. The Ravens looked like they had gotten their run defense fixed two weeks ago in Atlanta, completely shutting down Michael Turner. Last week, though, Mike Goodson of the Carolina Panthers went for 120 yards against them. The outcome of this one will depend heavily on the Ravens’ run defense, and they’ll need to perform much better than they did in Charlotte to contain the Bucs’ much more potent attack.

I had hoped to devote an entire post this week to thoughts on fixing the run defense, but I found some other things to write about instead. So I’ll have to just spitball a bit here in the preview…

First off, Brandon McKinney should be back on the field. McKinney played in seven games earlier this year, and started four, but has been a healthy scratch the last three contests. He played very well when he was in there, and could be an asset for this team down the stretch.

Who does McKinney replace?

It may be sacrilege to Ravens fans, but I’d nominate Kelly Gregg. “Buddy Lee” is having his worst season, and at this point is a liability to this defense. He’s a fan favorite, but it may be time to give #97 a game or two off.

The next guy who could help bottle up Blount is Dannell Ellerbe. Ellerbe, whose specialty is being a run stuffer at the linebacker position, has apparently made his way into the infamous John Harbaugh “doghouse,” after some special teams penalties. Ellerbe, like McKinney, hasn’t been active since the Buffalo game. Not only are these two very good at helping shut down opposing running backs, but they should also both have very fresh legs. Keep an eye on the inactive list Sunday morning – if these two are on it, I’d be very disappointed, and that much more worried.

Regardless who is active on the defense, the entire unit needs to tackle better. Freeman and Blount will be licking their chops in film study this week seeing the Ravens’ dismal tackling of late. Keeping the yards after contact down will be especially crucial on Sunday against the physical runners the Bucs showcase.

Offensively, Joe Flacco and the rest of the Ravens will look to continue the kind of performance they put up in the first half of the Carolina game, and put the second half of that contest behind them. Remember, despite the 37 points put up by the team, the Ravens managed only two offensive touchdowns against the Panthers. Fortunately, they’re generally better at home, having put up 31, 37, and 26 points in their last three at The Big Crabcake. Flacco has eight touchdowns and no interceptions at home this season (although defenders have dropped should-be interceptions on at least three occasions), and will look to continue that trend against a Tampa squad that is tied for second in the NFL with 15 picks.

The Bucs’ ability to force turnovers helps mask their deficiencies in run defense, where they rank 29th, giving up over 136 yards per game. Ray Rice and Willis McGahee should be in for big games, though at this point I’m not still delusional enough to think that Cam Cameron will come into the game with a plan of anything but something along the lines of “we’re going to pass the ball because they THINK we’re going to run it!” I can’t help but think back to the Buffalo game – the Bills came into B’More with the league’s worst run defense, and the Ravens’ first possession went: pass, pass, pass, punt. Tampa can’t stop the run, has very strong cornerbacks in Ronde Barber and Aqib Talib, and thrives on interceptions, so needless to say I expect a similar ass-backwards attack from Cam as the one we saw against Buffalo (at least prior to the Bills playing “light up the scoreboard.”) Hopefully the Ravens have enough talent running routes and throwing the football to move the ball and get into the end zone in spite of the guy calling in the plays.

With this game getting “flexed” by the NFL and moved to a 4:15 start from it’s original 1:00 slot, game time temperatures will drop significantly. Currently, the forecast calls for a high temperature of about 47 degrees on Sunday, which will likely have the mercury dipping near 40 by the time the second half rolls around. Historically, Tampa is awful in the cold; the franchise didn’t win their first game that featured sub-40 degree temperatures at kickoff until their Super Bowl season of 2002. As a Ravens fan who will be sitting at M&T Bank Stadium shivering, I’ll gladly plan on piling on an extra layer if it means the Ravens have even a slightly better chance of emerging victorious. If Mother Nature is on our side Sunday, all the better.

We’ll likely know by game time whether or not Pittsburgh pushes their record to 8-3, as they play at 1 PM. They are in Buffalo, so most likely the Ravens will need this win to keep pace in the division. Moreover, the Ravens need to win this game regardless of what the Steelers do, as the rest of the schedule doesn’t get any easier. If they can’t defeat this feisty but inexperienced (and, truthfully, overachieving) Bucs squad on their own turf, what chance do we really give them against the likes of Pittsburgh and New Orleans here, and Houston and Cleveland teams on the road?

http://www.bmorebirdsnest.com/

Go back to Ravens Fan Spot 

By Eric Karkovack 

The news of Reggie Bush breaking his leg during Monday night’s win in San Francisco certainly puts a little damper on a 2-0 start to the season.  But, if any team is capable of moving on successfully, it’s the New Orleans Saints.

On this team, the talented Bush is just one of many options quarterback Drew Brees has at his disposal.  Still, Bush does fill an important role on this team and his loss will make some adjustments necessary.

Bush is known for his blazing speed and is very dangerous when given a little space.  His touchdown reception on Monday night against 49ers Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Willis was proof of that.  He faked out one of the best linebackers in the league and made it look easy.  Willis wreaked havoc against the rest of the Saints offense all night long.

The Saints simply don’t have another back who can do the things Reggie Bush can do.  For all of the criticism that he’s not a “between the tackles” runner, his abilities in other areas are what make him such a valuable contributor to this team.

He’s been famously called the league’s “highest paid decoy”.  But think about what that does for coach Sean Payton’s offensive scheme.  Bush is often used as a decoy, but the opposing defense must account for him on every play.  Leave him out in space just once and it could mean trouble.  Bush takes attention away from guys like Devery Henderson, Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey, freeing them up a little bit and allowing Drew Brees to find them down the field.

The decoy scheme won’t work nearly as well with Ladell Betts or Chris Ivory on the field.  Not to take away from their talents, but Bush presents a unique set of problems for an opposing defense.

I have no doubt that the Saints’ offense will miss Reggie Bush.  But I also feel like there is no team better equipped to handle such a loss.  Payton and Brees still have plenty of weapons available.  They’re just going to have to find some new ways to open things up for them.

One area where I don’t think that the Saints will miss Bush as much:  punt returns.  Reggie is certainly a threat in that area, but he’s often an all-or-nothing proposition back there.  If you watched Monday night’s game you saw both ends of the spectrum.  Receiver Lance Moore should fit into that role nicely.

The good news is that Bush should be back on the field this season.  When he returns, he makes the Saints that much more of a threat in the NFC.

http://www.nosreview.com/ 

Wide receiver

Oklahoma

5-10 192

Draft board overall prospect rank: #42

Draft board overall wide receiver rank: #5

Overall rating: 78 (2^nd round)

40 time: 4.57

Games watched: Oklahoma/Texas Tech, Oklahoma State/Oklahoma, Oklahoma/Baylor, Oklahoma/Kansas State, Oklahoma/Texas

Positives

·         The NCAA’s all time leading receiver (349 catches for 4586 yards and 45 touchdowns)

·         Incredibly adept at getting open

·         Deadly after the catch, with the ball in his hands

·         Works the middle of the field incredibly well

·         Quicker than fast

·         Some deep ability

·         Great hands, very reliable

·         Not afraid to go over the middle

·         Incredibly tough

·         Great work ethic

·         High character, team leader

·         Worked back from torn ACL to a 4.57 40 in 5 months

·         4.4 speed when at 100%

·         Cuts well

·         Great in the open field

·         Very good route runner

·         Oklahoma’s offense went in the toilet when he got hurt

Negatives

·         Undersized

·         Coming off a torn ACL

·         Lacks elite speed to compensate for his lack of size

·         Played in a pass heavy, explosive offensive that could have inflated his stats

·         Always had a great quarterback throwing to him

·         A willing blocker, but too small to be a good blocker

·         Spread offense and a limited route tree (but did incredibly well with what he was given)

NFL Comparison: Poor man’s Wes Welker

Wes Welker is such a unique player and everyone is always trying to find the “next” one. It seems there is one prospect every year compared to Wes Welker. Every top slot receiver prospect is deemed the next Wes Welker and none pan out as so. I’ve never given this comparison, but of any of the wide receiver prospects in the past few years, Broyles has the most similarities to the Patriots slot receiver. He probably won’t be quite as good, but as a Patriots fan, with Welker aging, I would be ecstatic if they were to use a 2^nd or 3^rd round pick on Broyles to be his successor. He’s a very similar style player and he would compliment Tom Brady very well.

I think he’s the most underrated prospect in this draft class. I had a 1^st round grade on him before he got hurt. The ACL tear was damaging to his stock, but it also did two things to improve it. For one thing, Oklahoma’s offense went into the toilet without him (and tanked Landry Jones’ draft stock at the same time). For another thing, it solidified his amazing toughness and work ethic. In just 5 months, he went from tearing his ACL to running in the 4.5s at his Pro Day. He described himself at 75%, which is amazing (and not unlike Welker’s recovery from a similar injury). He’s a hard worker and a high motor player who is a great locker room guy.

At full speed, he’s probably a 4.4 player. He doesn’t have the elite speed to make up for his lack of size, but you can say the same thing about Welker. He’s quicker than fast and an incredible route runner who finds the seams in the defense, gets open short with ease, and can make tough catches over the middle. He’s got great hands and rarely drops a pass. He’s going to catch a lot more balls (already the FBS’ all time leading receiver) in the slot in the NFL in the right system. After the 2^nd round, he’d be an absolute steal. I have a high 2^nd round grade on him.

Spotlight #1: San Diego State QB Ryan Lindley 

Spotlight #2: San Diego State OLB Miles Burris 

1^st quarter

13:34: Lindley pressured and almost has it picked when he tries to throw it away. He needs to be smarter with that.

10:33: Lindley overthrows the back on a check down a bit, but the back could have hung on to this one.

9:50: A drop by Lindley’s receiver that almost gets the pass picked off. That should have been a first down. Instead, it’s the 2^nd 3 and out of the game.

9:37: After a penalty gives San Diego State new life, another one of Lindley’s passes is dropped. He should have caught this one, but again Lindley did leave it a little high and overthrow it a bit.

9:31: Lindley checks down to the back, finally completes one, goes for 16 yards after some nice moves by the back. Tank Carder, a falling prospect, missed a tackle on that play. The TCU linebacker is having a very poor year by his standards. Once a potential day 2 prospect, Carder is falling into mid day 3.

7:56: Lindley threads the needle for a first down. He put that ball in the perfect spot.

5:12: Lindley has another drop, this time by the back on the check down. It wasn’t the most accurate pass either, but Lindley is having terrible luck early. He’s 2 for 7 for 22 yards.

4:27: Lindley throws a limp ball behind the receiver and the defensive back is able to jump on it and deflect it. I don’t understand throwing to that receiver. He was covered and Lindley threw it very inaccurately.

2:02: Burris is able to beat a lineman for a borderline quarterback pressure.

1:51: Burris overpowered off of the play when rushing the quarterback.

0:13: Lindley complete for the first down on 1^st and 10, but throws off of his back foot.

2^nd quarter

14:27: Lindley has a screen pass set up, but is pummeled by a defensive lineman, forcing an incompletion.

13:24: Lindley puts a ball on an out route in the perfect place and the receiver is able to break a tackle and get a big gain, 33 yards.

11:26: Burris gets in on a tackle near the line, a small gain.

10:54: Burris gets into the backfield, but misses the tackle.

10:06: Junior cornerback Leon McFadden, who already has a nice deflection tonight, picks off the pass, goes 29 yards and then gets 15 more on a personal foul penalty. McFadden has been thrown away from all season and he looks like someone who is going to play on Sundays someday, but as he is a small school junior, I doubt he declares this year.

8:34: Absolutely terrible by Lindley. Lindley had a guy open deep. Instead, he threw it right to the safety. This wasn’t a bad decision, he saw the open guy, it was just terrible execution.

7:34: Burris gets outmuscled once again.

6:14: San Diego State puts a big hit on the quarterback as he released, but Casey Pachall shows resilience and completes it for a 31 yard touchdown anyway. Andy Dalton’s replacement, Pachall, looks much better than he did in his first career start against Baylor. He’s a sophomore and could be someone to watch in the future. He has nice numbers coming into tonight, 69.8% completion, 7.9 yards per attempt, and 13 touchdowns to 2 picks. Tonight, he’s 7 for 10 for 136 yards, 2 touchdowns, and that pick to McFadden.

5:58: Lindley checks down to the back.

4:59: Lindley throws a lob up for a receiver deep, just overthrow, receiver isn’t able to catch it on a dive. Close. San Diego State will punt it down 17-0 and Lindley is just 5 for 14 for 71 yards and a terrible pick.

3:32: Burris blown off a running play.

1:39: Burris gets pressure from behind on the quarterback, but Pachall hangs in there again and completes it anyway.

1:20: Burris initially makes the wrong read on the triple option, but he’s able to hang with the play and be the first one to get to the ball carrier. He couldn’t bring the ball carrier down himself though, which is troubling.

0:59: Pachall picked, this time it’s the other cornerback. Larry Parker with his 4^th pick of the year. However, at 5-11 170, he’s undersized and he’ll be hurt by being a small school cornerback. Besides, it’s not that hard to get 4 picks if teams are constantly throwing away from the other cornerback, Leon McFadden. Still a very nice play in this particular instance. Parker looked like a receiver on that pick.

3^rd quarter

10:59: Burris unblocked into the backfield with the quarterback pressure, forcing Pachall to throw it early for an incompletion.

9:55: Lindley drops back to pass and gets picked. A poor decision, an underthrow, and it’s unclear who he was throwing to. There was no receiver in the area. He sucks tonight, 5 of 16 for 71 yards and a pair of ugly picks. He’s completing just over 50% of his passes on the season against weak competition. I fail to understand why this guy is regarded as a mid rounder.

9:05: Burris relentless in pursuit after the back changes directions from east to west and gets in there on the tackle for a short gain.

6:56: Another ball off the hands of a San Diego State receiver, almost picked on the deflection.

6:30: Lindley sacked quickly.

6:09: Lindley checks down to the back, who doesn’t have a lot of space and is tackled for a loss after a great closing move by the defender.

5:34: Lindley leaves another one high, receiver can’t hang on and it’s batted up into the air. A lot of these “drops” have been on Lindley’s poor accuracy as much or more as they have been on poor hands by the receivers.

5:29: Lindley throws off his back foot, but strong enough to throw a perfect spiral through coverage in the end zone for a touchdown to the big 6-6 tight end. This is the one time tonight Lindley has looked good, but he wouldn’t have even been on the field there had TCU’s punt returner not muffed a punt.

4:40: Burris doesn’t fill a gap after the nose tackle was double teamed, and the running backs gets a sizeable gain through a big hole. Bad angle and instincts there.

2:16: Lindley throws high into coverage and the tight end is able to go up and get it there, and then break a couple tackles for a huge gain. Lindley put that one in the right spot, leaving it high for the receiver with a height advantage (6-6) and a pretty, accurate spiral as well. 39 yards.

1:56: Lindley rollouts and throws off his back foot and he’s literally inches away from completing it deep to the receiver. A different receiver might have been able to catch that.

1:52: Lindley with some momentum now, finds an open guy underneath for 8 yards. A better decision that he’s been making tonight.

0:42: Lindley overthrown and incomplete out of the back of the end zone on a fade.

4^th quarter

13:39: Lindley has nothing open in the end zone, so he checks down to the fullback, who has a clear path to the end zone for Lindley’s 2^nd touchdown of the night, 20-14 TCU, San Diego State is back in this game. Excellent decision by Lindley.

12:07: Miles Burris with a huge sack off the edge, forcing a punt by TCU. San Diego State has a shot to go up here.

10:42: Lindley with a clutch excellent decision and huge play on 3^rd and 12, finds the back in space with room for the first and he does get it.

10:08: And now Lindley has it picked off. So much for that.

5:23: Burris overly aggressive on a running play, going for the quarterback unblocked and taking himself completely out of the play as TCU was able to punch it in for 6 pretty much untouched.

5:09: Lindley back to work, complete for an intermediate gain.

5:00: Lindley with another intermediate completion, almost moving the gains again. He’s got a little momentum.

4:40: Lindley throws a bad, inaccurate ball, tipped up by the defender and almost picked.

0:00: I came into tonight excited to see Ryan Lindley, who is being mentioned as a potential mid round pick out of a small school. However, I was extremely disappointed. Lindley is barely completing more than 50% of his passes against weak competition. He struggled against Michigan and he struggled against a tougher defense here in TCU. He was 15 of 41 for 201 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 3 picks. His picks were ugly, especially the first two.

He had a lot of so called “drops”, but so many of those were because of because Lindley wasn’t accurate. With some better receivers, maybe he’s 18/19 of 41, but that still sucks, especially with how ugly those first 2 picks were. He flashed and I understood the types of things people are excited about with him, but he’s so inconsistent and so inaccurate. I don’t think he’s anything other than a late round flier at the most. His footwork needs work and his accuracy and decision making are terrible.

As for Miles Burris, he’s fast and a solid edge rusher, but at 235 pounds, he’s so small. He can’t play the rush linebacker position in the NFL like he does in college at his size. He’ll have to either be a 3-4 middle linebacker or a 4-3 outside linebacker and I don’t think he does the types of things he’ll have to do there well enough to be a starter at either of those positions at the next level.

He’s still small for either of those positions and he’s terrible against the run. He barely drops into coverage so it’s tough to say he makes up for his run play with his pass play. He might just be a situational player at the next level and a mid to late rounder in the 2012 NFL Draft.

This is the final fantasy update of the season, unless any unexpected cuts/trades are made.

QB Ben Roethlisberger UP

Ben had his suspension cut by 6 games to 4 on Friday. Ben has looked great this preseason and seems determined to do everything possible to not miss a beat with this suspension. He’s a solid QB1 for 12 games this year, rather than 10 and in the 12^th round of a 10 team league, where he is going on average, he’s a great backup if you’re not too sure about your starter.

RB Rashard Mendenhall UP

Just bumping all up the Steelers with Ben playing 2 more games. More Ben means less 8 man boxes and more red zone trips. He’s one of the few true feature backs in the NFL today.

WR Mike Wallace UP

An amazing player this preseason, Wallace gets his starting quarterback back 2 weeks earlier and thus is a great sleeper. He’s a WR2 when Ben’s in the lineup.

WR Hines Ward UP

Ward has long been Big Ben’s favorite receiver so he of course gets a stock boost with Ben’s suspension getting cut.

TE Heath Miller UP

Moving Ben’s TE up as well. Miller had a breakout year last year and is vastly underrated this year.

RB Leon Washington UP

Washington has been Seattle’s best runner this preseason and sat for rest purposes in the Seahawks 4^th preseason game. They have big plans for him and I expect him to be their lead back, though they will use 3 different backs frequently this year. He’s also a great pass catcher.

RB Justin Forsett DOWN

With Washington taking over as the lead back in Seattle, Forsett gets knocked down a bit. He’s still a decent option though.

WR Legedu Naanee DOWN

The Chargers have traded for Patrick Crayton who will likely cut into Naanee’s targets. 

RB Montario Hardesty DOWN

Injury prone Hardesty got hurt as soon as he was back, tearing his ACL. He will miss the season.

RB Jerome Harrison UP

Harrison will be the feature back in Cleveland this year. We all saw what he can do late last season. He looks poised for a huge year.

RB Peyton Hillis UP

Harrison is still undersized so they’ll want to use Hillis to spell him, and in goal line and short yardage situations. He should be drafted in almost every league.

Jets Defense DOWN

It is looking very possible that Revis holds out into the season and possibly for the entire season. Reports say Revis told the Jets we won’t show up ever again unless the Jets meet his contract demands., something they don’t, at least for the time being, appear willing to do.

RB Ahmad Bradshaw UP

Bradshaw will be the Giants starting running back this season and Brandon Jacobs will be his backup and likely get the goal line and short yardage carries.

RB Brandon Jacobs DOWN

Jacobs is officially Ahmad Bradshaw’s backup. He’ll probably still get a decent chunk of carries and the goal line carries, but Bradshaw is the guy you want in non-touchdown leagues.

WR TJ Houshmandzadeh DOWN

Housh will either be cut or traded in the next few days. Either way he’s going to a new team a week before the season starts so he’s not worth a fantasy pick. Offenses take too long to learn.

WR Mike Williams UP

Housh is out. Deion Branch is injury prone. That leaves Mike Williams and Deon Butler as the only two potentially fantasy worthy receiver on the team. Williams is more athletic than the 2nd year Butler, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Butler ended up the team leader in receiving yards.

WR Deon Butler UP

Not even a starter to start the year, but could end up being their leader in receiving yards when it’s all said and done. That’s how fluid the Seahawks’ receiver situation is. Don’t draft yet, but keep your eye on him. 

() FA Rank 

QB Dennis Dixon

RB Mewelde Moore

TE Matt Spaeth

OT Willie Colon (#17)

He was hurt all season in 2010, but this is the best pure run blocking right tackle in the league when healthy.

OT Jonathan Scott

OT Tony Hills

G Trai Essex

G Doug Legursky

NT Chris Hoke

3-4 DE Nick Eason

RLB LaMarr Woodley (#6)- franchised

Would he be as good without James Harrison across from him? Can he play a 4-3? We probably won’t find out the answer to either of those questions this offseason. The Steelers are expected to franchise Woodley, who has 35 sacks in 3 years as a starter.

MLB Keyaron Fox

CB Ike Taylor (#48)

Pittsburgh’s best cornerback had a much better 2010 than 2009, but he’s not the same when Troy Polamalu isn’t on the field and he’s had a ton of help from his front 7. He’s no more than a solid #2 cornerback.

CB William Gay

CB Anthony Madison

S Ryan Mundy

P Daniel Sepulveda

P Jeremy Kapinos

Offseason moves:

Franchised LaMarr Woodley

Draft

I can kind of understand letting Matt Hasselbeck leave to allow Charlie Whitehurst to start. They spent the equivalent of two 3^rd round picks to get Whitehurst and paid him like a starting quarterback. It makes some sense to see what he can do as the starter for a full year, although he hasn’t ever done anything to suggest he can succeed. However, letting Hasselbeck go to bring in Jackson to compete with Whitehurst? That doesn’t make any sense. If you didn’t want to hand over the keys to Whitehurst, at least resign Hasselbeck. Jackson isn’t a starter in this league. He would be a solid backup, but he’s not a starter. The positive, however, is that we can all look forward to a Tarvaris Jackson/Charlie Whitehurst/Matt Leinart quarterback battle in training camp, which could rival Arizona’s Matt Leinart/Derek Anderson/Max Hall/John Skelton battle from last year as the worst quarterback battle in NFL history, so there’s that.

Grade: D