QB Peyton Manning DOWN

Peyton Manning is not expected to be ready for week 1 according to higher ups in the Indianapolis organization. The Colts have signed Kerry Collins as insurance. The last time Peyton Manning missed the preseason was 2008. It took him 7 games to get right. In those 7 games, the Colts went 3-4 and Peyton Manning was 162-265 (61.1%) for 1754 yards (6.6 YPA) 10 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.

Let’s say Manning misses one game, and then in his next 7 has numbers similar or slightly worse than what he had in 7 games in 2008 (remember, this is a more serious injury and he’s 3 years old) and then in the 2^nd half he has vintage Peyton Manning numbers only cut in half (180-270 for 2100 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions), that gives him this fantasy line for the season: 3854 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, 16 interceptions.

That gives him 226 fantasy points. That puts him right around what Eli Manning had in 2010 (221). Eli Manning finished 10^th in quarterback fantasy points. I don’t think that’s a completely unreasonable projection for Peyton this season. I really don’t. He has a great supporting cast on offense so I’m projecting him slightly higher than that, but not much. Stay away from this guy. He’s going to get over drafted in your league.

WR Reggie Wayne DOWN

If Peyton Manning misses a game and struggles (by his standards) for 7 games, that’s obviously bad news for Reggie Wayne’s fantasy value.

WR Austin Collie DOWN

If Peyton Manning misses a game and struggles (by his standards) for 7 games, that’s obviously bad news for Austin Collie’s fantasy value.

TE Dallas Clark DOWN

If Peyton Manning misses a game and struggles (by his standards) for 7 games, that’s obviously bad news for Dallas Clark’s fantasy value. I think Clark will be hurt the most. Reggie Wayne still had very good numbers in the first half of 2008, though he is older now. Austin Collie is very, very talented player. Clark, however, had just 31 catches for 396 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half in 2008 and that was without having Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie stealing targets.

RB Joseph Addai DOWN

The last time Peyton Manning was injured, Joseph Addai scored just 7 times. This injury looks to be even more serious. Addai won’t have as much running room as he’s used to either. Addai could carry the ball more with Manning out or struggling, but he’s not a very talented back. He has fantasy value because he’s the goal line back in what was supposed to be an explosive offense. If it’s not, Addai’s value drops. He’s also still a major injury risk.

By Adam McFadden 

There are several good things that came form this game and really only one bad thing. I think we are all well aware of what was bad: Todd Collins. No real reason to talk about him or analyze his game, he is just horrible and needs to be released right away. If Cutler can’t make it again it has to be Hanie. With a quarterback at least able to complete a pass we could have made this game a lot more lopsisded.

As for the positives it was great to see our team be able to run it for once. I am still looking for more consistency but I think getting Cutler back will help us because people won’t be able to stack the box on us. I was impressed with Webb and Williams, and I think just going for size over experience/skill seems to be working for the running game and the pass blocking was improved. The key was that the defensive ends were not blowing us up all game, and if C. Williams comes back do we keep Omiyale on the right or keep Webb there? At this point Omiyale can’t focus enough to not go a game without getting called for a penalty. I couldn’t really see much from the receivers because there was no one available to throw the ball to them so analyzing them seems to be pointless.

The defense was once again stellar, led by Peppers amazing pass block and interception. Even more satisfying is that our safeties seem to be not hurting us, which at this point of the season has to be seen as a positive. We are continually getting what I expected by our linebacker trio and it seems Idonije either had a breakout game or Clausen helped him pad his stats. I will need more than one game to give any props to Idonije. Another notable is that we went another game without seeing Tommie Harris on the field. People may want him traded but considering Moss was had for a 3rd rounder I have to believe Harris would only net us a 7th rounder, wow how the mighty have fallen!

All in all this was a good game to get us back on track and get our offensive line another game to get their act together. I feel now that with a decent or average o-line this team could be a contender for the super bowl, but that o-line is a really big if.

http://www.dabearsandbulls.com/ 

By Steve Janis 

Haha.. yeah the Buffalo Bills aren’t going to to lose this week. HEY OOO! Plus we as Bills fans get to actually watch some good football the whole weekend. We won’t be subjected to an awful 0-5 team with no upside, draft busts all over the place and an old mediocre head coach. The only question for the rest of the season other than if Aaron Maybin can get the field is whether the Bills are historically bad, meaning 0-16.

The defense is clearly inept. Any time the team needs a stop or a big play or even a freakin sack the Bills D will fail. The change to 3-4 was a blunder of all blunders. There may not be one player in the front 7 that is a capable 3-4 player. The team has six total sacks this season( two are from DBs one from a player that got cut). They can’t get to the quarterback, they can’t get any pressure and it kills any chance of the secondary playing well. Then again even if there was pressure wouldn’t our safeties still get burned? This defense is the worst in the league and may be the worst of the decade.

Unfortunately, or fortunately if you want the Bills to run the table in reverse, the offense may be equally as abysmal. How is there still no tightend on the roster worth mentioning (7 total receptions by a TE this season)? Nix and co. knew Nelson would be out at least 4 games and your only other tight end is named Stupar. Jeez, bring someone else in. The offensive line is bad. There is no depth and the tackles are not starting caliber. Ryan Fitzpatrick is Ryan Fitzpatrick a subpar journeyman loser. For every good play he makes there are two that kill the team.

Basically this team could easily lose their next eleven games. Let’s take a quick look at the schedule:

Week 7 – @ Baltimore

Easily a loss, even more of a reason it is a definite L, I’ll be there.

Week 8 – @ Kansas City

Much better than the Bills at this point. They still aren’t good but have way more talent, we could keep it close but definitely will lose in a tough environment.

Week 9 – Chicago in Toronto

This game will be ugly and could be played in front of the worst audience of all time. The Bills don’t win in Toronto.

Week 10 – Lions

First chance the Bills have of winning a game. The crowd will be a non-factor but the Lions don’t ever win on the road. Stafford may torch us and we will be a dawg at home to Detroit, ouch.

Week 11 – @ Cincinnati

Cinci isn’t good but the Bills are much worse and aren’t winning a game on the road.

Week 12 – Pittsburgh

Rapelisraper makes his return to Buffalo and will kill us and prob rape some chicks.

Week 13 – @ Minnesota

Bret might be IR’d by this time but that dome is loud. If Minny has any playoff chance this will be a blow out even against Tarvaris.

Week 14 – Cleveland

This may be the #1 pick bowl. Cleveland has won three straight but Colt McCoy? Hmm tough to predict. Hopefully Brohm is in by now.

Week 15 @ Miami

Rivalry but we aren’t winning on the road c’mon.

Week 16 – New England

Make that 15 straight L’s v N.E.

Week 17 – @ Jets

0-15 against a team with probably nothing to play for? Will we have the #1 overall locked up by now? Could be a game we would win.

1-15 Billieve it

http://wnywatercooler.blogspot.com/

At 3.5 million dollars for one year, this deal is a bargain for the 49ers and they’re almost sure to be getting the best of Edwards since it’s only a one year deal. Assuming there’s no chemistry problems between him and Michael Crabtree, this is going to be a smart short term signing.

Grade: A

CB Josh Bellamy (Louisville)

WR Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State)

DT Michael Brockers (LSU)

CB Ron Brooks (LSU)

MLB Tank Carder (TCU)

CB Morris Claiborne (LSU)

DE Quinton Coples (North Carolina)

OT David Gonzales (Washington State)

TE Ladarius Green (LA-Lafayette)

DE Chandler Jones (Syracuse)

OT Dennis Kelly (Purdue)

CB Dre Kirkpatrick (Alabama)

RB Trent Richardson (Alabama)

G Amini Silatolu (Midwestern State)

TE Taylor Thompson (SMU)

OLB Bobby Wagner (Utah State)

RB David Wilson (Virginia Tech)

S Tavon Wilson (Illinois)

Bailey’s past his prime and turns 33 this offseason, but he was still one of the better corners in the league last year and 43 million over 4 years, with only 22 million of that guaranteed, is the right amount for someone like him. He probably won’t be worth his entire contract over the life of the contract, but that’s okay because it’s not all guaranteed.

Grade: A

Cornerback/Free Safety

Virginia

6-2 212

40 time: 4.43

Draft board overall prospect rank: #120

Draft board cornerback rank: NR

Overall rating: 65*

            3/21/10: Chris Cook was regarded as a tweener, cornerback and free safety, going into the draft Pre-Season, but he has been a perfect example of a prospect who has won over scouts in the months before the draft and significantly increased his draft stock and earned himself some money. The biggest issues with Cook coming into this draft Pre-Season were his lack of speed, his inability to mirror athletic wide receiver one-on-one, and his lack of elite fluidity. However, he came into the Senior Bowl, an event that I even said he did not deserve to be invited to, and showed some very good man skills and great athleticism and fluidity. Then he came into the Combine and, in addition to impressing once again in the drills, ran a 4.43, roughly .15-.2 seconds faster than projected, dispelling all beliefs that he was slow and all of a sudden, he is being looked at as a 3^rd round prospect. I normally am weary of guys who shoot up this fast in the draft Pre-Season because I think it’s a helpful way to get scouts to forget about your lack of production last year, but I kind of like Cook as a prospect and I love his upside. He has experience in a zone style scheme, and he would probably best served in a zone style scheme, but he could play in a man or man press scheme as well. He has good size and uses it well to frustrate even some of the larger wide receivers. He hits hard. He’s fundamentally sound and he can play some free safety, if necessary, because of his size. His hands are very poor and he only had 7 picks in his career, but other than that, he has very few weaknesses. Of course, the things about him that I didn’t like last year are still there. He’s a bit stiff in back pedal, and, though he has elite recovery speed, his backpedal speed isn’t great. He’ll still have trouble with more athletic and crafty receivers and isn’t a future #1 corner. His tape overall was very inconsistent and he had some ugly plays and got burnt far too often to be considered an elite draft prospect. However, his upside, with his speed, his size, and what he has shown this draft preseason, is very good. I could see him as a future #2 or, possibly, a #1 in the right scheme. I might use a 3^rd rounder on him, and the 3^rd round is probably where he’ll go, but I’ll still give him a high 4^th round grade. I think the tape was too inconsistent last year for him to be anything more, even with his strong draft Pre-Season.

NFL Comparison: Ike Taylor

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

9/8/11: Manning expected to be done for the season. 

9/6/11: Uh oh. Manning looks set to miss 4 games. Those 4 games, Houston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, all losable games. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them start 0-4. They’re going to have a tough time making the playoffs.  

9/3/11: Peyton Manning could easily miss a game or two or three and even when he comes back, he won’t be the same for a bit. He threw 10 touchdowns to 9 picks in his first 7 games in 2008 after injury and the Colts started 3-4. The early season schedule for the Colts is not so friendly, @ Houston, vs. Cleveland, vs. Pittsburgh, @ Tampa Bay, vs. Kansas City, @ Cincinnati, @ New Orleans, @ Tennessee. They could easily go 4-4 in those first 8 and have to play catch up again in the 2nd half.  

Peyton Manning had a down season by his standards. He posted his lowest quarterback rating since 2002 (91.9), had his lowest YPA since his rookie season and threw more picks than any season since 2002. However, that doesn’t mean that at age 35, Peyton Manning is a declining player. A lot of his “struggles” can be blamed on his supporting cast.

Austin Collie and Dallas Clark missed serious time with injury and replacements Blair White and Jacob Tamme weren’t nearly as good. Reggie Wayne started to show some of his age at 32. Pierre Garcon led the league in drops. Joseph Addai missed serious time and no one else could run the ball. On top of that, the offensive line struggled to block. He didn’t get sacked a lot, but that’s because he always is able to release the ball right before the pressure comes. Anyone who watched their games last year would know that Manning didn’t have a lot of time in the pocket.

So basically, Manning had to throw almost every play (679 pass attempts, a new career high by 88 attempts) with no running game, which allowed defenses to focus more on pass rushing than run stopping, and he had a poor line to block for him, and downfield, his receivers were either declining players (Wayne), drop prone (Garcon) or inexperienced (Tamme, White). Given that, a 91.9 passer rating is really, really good.

The good news for Peyton Manning is that his supporting cast should be better this year. Collie and Clark are both back, as is Joseph Addai, though he has a dubious injury history. They brought in Delone Carter through the draft so the running game wouldn’t fall onto the shoulders of Donald Brown should anything happen to Addai. They added offensive lineman in the first 2 rounds of the draft, Anthony Castonzo and Ben Ijalana, who will start at left tackle and left guard respectively. Both will be upgrades in pass protection and as run blockers, which will help their running game.

The bad news for Peyton Manning is that he’s hurt. He won’t miss any games because he’s Peyton Manning and he doesn’t miss games, but he’ll miss most of, if not all of the preseason recovering from neck surgery. This was already a lockout shortened offseason and the last time Manning missed training camp and the preseason, he started out sluggish and the Colts started 3-4. He eventually rebounded, but Houston is a legitimate division contender this year so if they lose to Houston week 1, they might not get the division back.

The Colts’ defensive strategy has always been speed over size, pass coverage over run stuffing. It’s worked pretty well for them, but they are frequently really bad against the run. Last year was no different. They added Drake Nevis in the 3^rd round of the draft. He’ll start at defensive tackle for them next to Tommie Harris, an offseason acquisition from Chicago.

Harris is not the player he used to be and he’s dealt with injuries, but if he’s healthy, he could be intriguing for them. He’s still relatively young and not that far removed from being a dominant defensive lineman in a scheme in Chicago very similar to the one the Colts run. Fili Moala, their only semi-okay defensive tackle in 2010, will provide depth.

At end, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis won’t help out much as run stuffers, but that doesn’t really matter because they might be the best 4-3 pass rushing tandem in the league. They combined for 21 sacks last year and that’s pretty much a yearly thing for them. They also have Jerry Hughes in the mix at defensive end. Hughes, the 31^st overall pick in 2010, had a very disappointing rookie year and team president Bill Polian even went as far as to say publicly that he should have drafted Rodger Saffold instead. Not exactly the most confidence inspiring thing. However, anything he can give them is extra as they already have two great pass rushers.

At linebacker, Gary Brackett is the man in the middle. He’s a perfect fit for this scheme and a great defensive leader. However, he’s missed 10 games in the last 3 years and he’s 31. If he gets hurt, strong side linebacker Pat Angerer, a 2^nd round pick in 2010, would move inside and Phillip Wheeler would play the strong side with Ernie Sims on the weak side.

Angerer is a promising young player while Wheeler and Sims will fight it out to be the starter on the weak side. I give the edge to Sims. He’s such a natural fit for this scheme, unlike in Philadelphia where he had a down year last year. Remember, this was once one of the best young linebackers in the game in Detroit a few years back.

Longtime Colt Kelvin Hayden is in Chicago now, but I don’t know how much the Colts will miss him. He’s missed 18 games in the last 3 years so they might not even notice he’s gone. With him gone, two players that have gotten a lot of action with Hayden hurt, Jerraud Powers and Jacob Lacey, will start at cornerback full time. Powers was a 3^rd rounder in 2009, while Lacey went undrafted that same year, so both are kind of diamonds in the rough discovered thanks to Hayden’s injuries. Neither of them are great, but they’re both solid and they’re both young so there’s definitely upside there. 

They also have plenty of depth at cornerback. 2010 3^rd round pick Kevin Thomas, who missed all of last year with an injury, will battle with another diamond in the rough, Justin Tyron, a 2008 4^th round pick who came out of nowhere to be a solid contributor last year, for the starting nickel back job. They also have 6^th round pick Chris Rucker in the mix.

At safety, another injury prone player, Bob Sanders, is gone. Melvin Bullitt stepped up big time in Sanders’ absence over the years and now he gets a chance to be the full time starter. Bullitt is an above average safety, but he too missed 12 games last year. However, he’s never had a history of injuries so this was probably an isolated, freak injury. He’s healthy now and he’s still only 26, plus the Colts just gave him a long term deal, a sign that they believe in his health. Opposite Bullitt is Antoine Bethea, another above average safety.

The Colts aren’t going to be bad or anything. However, the last time Peyton Manning missed preseason time, the Colts struggled out of the gate. With games in Houston, vs. Cleveland (the favorite to become this year’s version of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), vs. Pittsburgh, and at Tampa Bay (Monday Night game against a feisty young team at home) to start their season, it’s possible they could start 2-2 or even 1-3. If they do that, Houston is good enough to win this division. Houston is a legitimate contender this year. The Colts are still a very good team and will be in the playoffs and contending for another Super Bowl, but I think they lose the division this year by a small margin.

Quarterback: C-

Running backs: D

Receiving corps: A-

Offensive line: C+

Run defense: C

Pass rush: A

Pass coverage: B-

Coaching: B

Projection: 6-10 3rd in AFC South

By Jim Keller 

The Dallas Cowboys finally put together a solid effort by their offense, defense and special teams, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

All head coach Wade Phillips told his troops afterward was, “Just play with this kind of urgency every week.” 

Tony Romo played flawlessly and hooked up twice on TD passes to forgotten Roy Williams, the defense kept the Texans out of the end zone for nearly 59 minutes and embattled kicker David Buehler converted both of his field goal attempts as the Cowboys posted a 27-13 Sunday at Reliant Stadium to avoid putting themselves in a gargantuan hole heading into the bye week.

The win helped Dallas avoid starting 0-3 for the first time since 2001.  Only five teams have rebounded from that early hole to reach the playoffs.  So Dallas needed a big performance.

With 98 passes against 42 runs and just two offensive TDs despite the fourth most yards in the NFL through two weeks, the Cowboys’ owner, coaches and players were under siege all week.

The result?  Dallas showed more balance against Houston, running 27 times for 101 yards, but it was still Romo and the passing game that provided the bulk of the offense.  Romo was 23 of 30 for 284 yards, didn’t force anything and wasn’t sacked.

Dallas just did a better job of converting its opportunities into points.  Romo had just one pass dropped, did not thrown any picks and was afforded his best pass protection thus far in three games.  Left tackle Doug Free totally neutralized NFL sack leader Mario Williams.  The Boys were 2-of-2 with TDs in two red-zone after tallying just 17 points in five red-zone tries in the first two weeks.

Evidence of the Dallas efficient attack:

1. Like a third-quarter drive that went 90 yards in seven plays with Romo a perfect 5 of 5, hooking up with Roy Williams on a short slant for 15 yards to provide Dallas a 17-3 edge with 1:34 left in the third.  Romo converted a third-and-2 with an 11-yard pass to Sam Hurd, his first catch of the season, then laid out a perfect pass to Dez Bryant down the left sideline for 30 yards.  Williams beat rookie DB Kareem Jackson again on a quick slant for a 63-yard score in Dallas’ next possession. A no show most of his time in Big D, Williams had 5 catches and 117 yards

2. How about the 13-play, 80-yard drive in the second quarter that was capped by Marion Barber’s 1-yard plunge.  What made this drive so special?  Romo overcame a 1st-and-20 after a 32-yard swing pass to Felix Jones was called back on a block in the back call against Miles Austin.  Romo converted three third downs of nine, nine and 10 yards to different receivers: Bryant, Austin and Williams.

Defensively, Arian Foster ripped through the defense for at least a half-dozen runs of 10-or-more yards, but the front seven stuffed just as many runs at the line of scrimmage.  The secondary had a solid afternoon, keeping the receivers in front of them (only two 20-yards pass plays and contributing to three of Dallas’ four sacks because of excellent coverage downfield.  The Cowboys limited All-Pro Andre Johnson to four catches for 64 yards on seven targets.

Dallas, which entered with two sacks and no turnovers, doubled their sack total (3 by DeMarcus Ware) without over-committing to the blitz, intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble – all in the second half.  The NFL’s top-scoring and yardage team was limited to 13 points and 340 yards, although 100 of those yards and the one TD came after the game had been decided.

The Boys even had a goal-line stand, stuffing two runs and then sacking Schaub on an all-out blitz after Houston had reached the 1-yard line for 1st-and-goal..

Even David Buehler came through.  After Phillips decided against a 47-yard FG on the first possession despite playing in a dome, Buehler nailed a 49-yarder on the last play of the half and added a 40-yarder in the fourth quarter.

Dallas wasn’t perfect.  It failed on a 4th-and-2 from the Texans 30 on its first possession when an attempted screen pass was blown up.

In the first half’s final drive, a 37-yard TD pass to Bryant was called back because Bryant ran out of bounds and came back in, Romo was called for intentional grounding and missed a wide-open Williams 25 yards downfield at the Texans 25.  But to his credit, he got Dallas in position for Buehler’s field goal with a nice sideline pass to Witten with one tick left.

The defense allowed a 30-yard draw by Foster on 3rd-and19 which led to a field goal, and Keith Brooking was called twice for pass interference on crucial plays and Jenkins was whistled for illegal contact on 2nd-and-18 in the third quarter.

In a game the Cowboys desperately needed, they came up with a solid three-way performance, playing error-free football, slowing down a versatile offense and winning the battle of special teams.

Fortunately for Dallas, after three weeks they are looking up only at the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC North. The Eagles rattled Jacksonville while Washington was beaten by St. Louis and the New York Giants fell to Tennessee.

Dallas will sit and watch Washington and Philadelphia next week and Chicago at New York.

http://www.respectthestar.com/ 

Running Back

Southern Illinois

5-9 210

40 time: 4.37

Draft board overall prospect rank: #171

Draft board running back rank: #15

Overall rating: 56*

            3/27/10: Every year, seemingly, it happens. A small school running back comes out of nowhere to get drafted in the mid rounds and then within a few years, he’s a starting running back in the National Football League. A prime candidate to follow in those footsteps this year is Deji Karim. He’s got a good size/speed combination and a very good explosive burst. He’s short and stocky, but he can plow his way up the middle with a good short burst and a good pad level. His vision needs some work. He has breakaway speed on the outside and often looks like the fastest guy on the team. He has decent hands out of the backfield as well, but isn’t the most adapt runner in the open field. He’s not very shifty or agile and doesn’t change directions or break tackles very often. Level of competition is obviously an issue, but it has been proven that small school running backs have an easier time transitioning to the NFL than any other position. Basically, if you can run, you can run anywhere and Karim sure can run with 1694 yards and 18 touchdowns on 240 carries last year. He is a bit of a one year wonder though and he only had 76 carries before this year, which might suggest a longer career, but also is a possible sign of him being a fluke and being nothing special in the NFL. I am especially wary of one year wonders with running backs, with good reason, and Karim is certainly a one year wonder. He’ll probably be drafted in the 4^th or 5^th round range off of his measurables and potential and he has a very good chance of being, if not a feature back, then a very important back to some team in the near future.

NFL Comparison: Jerome Harrison

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here