By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

We officially can say the twitter world has gone to another extreme. Already media outlets are using twitter as a direct source for inside information. This past Sunday it went to another level by affecting one of the NFL’s best wide receivers.

Larry Fitzgerald’s younger brother, Marcus, tweeted several times during the Cardinals and Jaguars game. Some of the comments were just plain stupid remarks a general fan would make during a game, but why post it on a nationwide account? Some of those remarks included bashing Kurt Warner for not throwing the football downfield (his age), and ultimately limiting the looks to his older brother Larry. What got the media buzzing was his tweet that Larry was pissed off that he wasn’t getting any balls thrown his way. This is where things could get interesting. Larry of course already has the Madden hex floating around his name (Troy Polamalu already is down and out).

Chances are he did mention in some fashion his frustration towards his brother. As an elite athlete especially at wide receiver, catching the ball is your main goal. Fitzgerald had a very frustrating week one where he was held to one catch against the 49ers until after half time. As a team offensively it is evident the Cardinals are going through some growing pains adjusting to life without former offensive coordinator and current Chiefs head coach, Todd Haley. Fitz and Marcus’s brother obviously don’t see it that way.

From Larry’s perspective this was a personal comment to a family member that should have been able to keep his mouth shut. Kurt Warner is a professional and will shake it off, but if catches don’t get to Larry how will this play out? Can you believe this is a topic with Warner breaking a passing record for completions and the Cardinals gaining a win? Unbelievable, but a lot of things did go the Cardinals way in the game, defensively and special teams wise. Truthfully the offense is going to have to open up a bit, and get back to the aggressive air attack. We believe they will and everything will just be fine out in Arizona.

As for Marcus, he needs to know better as a collegiate graduate of Marshall who is prepping for his UFL debut with the San Francisco franchise. Some things are just meant to be private, and maybe the NFL needs to take a clue from this and make more athletes aware about using social network sites. There have already been hot topics before over twitter and other social sites. Athletes need to be more private about what they’re doing and where they’re going to be at for the day.

Fantasy owners don’t worry, Larry will get his touches, and hey, at least he has found the end zone and still grabbed you 10 points or more.

By Zack Cimini

Scouring newspapers and the internet for fantasy newsworthy tidbits is what we do in this business. Usually it’s related specifically to players but occasionally we stumble across something story worthy. The Wall Street Journal came out with an interesting blurb on trends having to do with the drafting of offensive lineman. That trend is teams that selected an offensive lineman within the first twelve picks of the draft have seen their team’s yards per play increase immediately.

You instantly react to that by thinking, no way, as most of those teams are right back in the top of the draft the next season. Actually though eleven teams since 2001 that have selected a lineman within the first twelve picks have done just that. It’s an absolutely crazy statistic and some of the examples are noted below.

Dolphins, Jake Long, YPP Improvement: 1.1
Browns, Joe Thomas, YPP Improvement: 1.0
Raiders, Robert Gallery, YPP Improvement: .9
Broncos, Ryan Clady, YPP Improvement: .5

There are many variables to this fact but the key is the results. Having that staple on your offensive line is the key to success and always has been for an offense. Also usually when a team decides it’s time to draft a lineman they also look at signing free agents as well on the line. They’ll also maybe even switch offensive line coordinators to get things renewed and refocused. As a quarterback they need to develop that faith and trust in their lineman, which boosts their pocket presence. When he doesn’t have to be under duress that extra split second for the receiver to get open is crucial. The quarterback is allowed to go through his progressions properly and throughout the game will get into a rhythm. This also lets the offensive coordinator have more freedom with play call selection, which means bigger plays down the field.

From the running back perspective, once that elite young lineman is selected that’s where they’re going to turn to run between the tackles. This also helps with the effectiveness of play action. Based on the 2009 draft it’s going to be interesting to see if this plays out again. We’re almost certain all three should, especially the Rams and Bengals. Both teams last year’s normal starting quarterbacks were banged up and out the majority of the season. This led to drives that couldn’t be sustained and poor time of possession.

In Jacksonville, David Garrard really struggled after a solid 2007 season. With Eugene Monroe in there now he should feel a little more comfortable and utilize his newly acquired receiver in Torry Holt. All in all, it’s good to know this if you’re a MJD owner as his productivity should only go up based on the trends of the last eight years.

By Zack Cimini

You can bank on Brandon Marshall’s ADP dropping even more after his latest antics during Wednesday’s Broncos practice. Yes Brandon we all know that you deserve more than your set to make this year, but is this really the way to go about it. Before we delve in and rant on Marshall take a look for yourself at what he was doing during Broncos practice drills.

20590420

Drawing attention to yourself this route is absolutely ridiculous. What could the end result possibly be, besides hurting his pockets even more? Then again could he be doing this because of how Jay Cutler got what he wanted after he pouted and was eventually traded?

For those of you that have had your drafts In June and July you’ll all be a part of the best case scenario for Marshall. The best case scenario is that Marshall either wakes up and realizes he’ll have to play his way out of Denver. That he has already showed though with back to back 100 catch seasons, so maybe Marshall will continue the route he is exhibiting. Josh McDaniels is fed up and with Marshall close to free agency anyways maybe they’ll cut their losses and grant him his wish.

This would be the ultimate best case scenario for fantasy owners. Especially for owners that have had their drafts within the last few weeks. Right now Marshall’s ADP according to myfantasyleague.com is early to late fourth round depending on a ten or twelve team draft. That’s probably offset due to him going a lot higher a few months ago. We’d guess he’s probably going in the sixth rounds right now.

The upside to Marshall is what we know he can do. When he is on the field and wants to perform he has showcased being an elite wide receiver. You’d have to put him in the first tier wide receiver class even if Orton was throwing him the ball. The first tier class currently consists of Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, and Calvin Johnson.

We all knew about his off the field antics but now that we’re seeing his selfish attitude on the field, it’s almost comparable to being a GM ready for the NFL draft. The talent may be there but talent is easy to find. We’d pass on Marshall and let some other owner worry about knowing what they’re going to get from him on a week to week basis. He’s not worth the hassle until he shows he can mature and do his duty and obligations.

We’d also expect the Broncos organization to think hard about some sort of discipline to Marshall after his absolute mockery of the Broncos practice.

By Zack Cimini

It wasn’t a shock; well maybe the timing of the signing of Favre was. The finality and deal of two years finally came to a dotted line contract solution. Now the media hoopla of the Favre saga will continue for weeks upon weeks. In a month though the NFL season will begin and that’s what Favre is back for, to win. He has the right formula of players around him, and surely will be a boost to the Vikings offense. This will make a Vikings offense more dangerous and fantasy friendly. Two combinations we all love. If Tarvaris Jackson can have an impact fantasy wise (his last three games in 08’, 4 TD’s against the Cards, and over 230 yards passing in the last two games), imagine what Favre will do.

Immediately a fantasy owner thinking Adrian Peterson was downgradeable because of their inconsistency behind center. That changes now as Favre has led mediocre backs to career years, from Edgar Bennett, Dorsey Levens, Samkon Gado, Ryan Grant, and even last year with Thomas Jones. Peterson now jumps the board as undoubtedly the number one option for fantasy owners. He’ll get the ball plenty of times and will benefit from Favre being able to make big plays down the field off of him. This will work vice versa in the hands of Favre. Allowing him to take far fewer hits and keep his arm protected from over throwing. This was an area that sparked up and plagued him down the stretch last season with the Jets.

What’s scary is Favre will have a couple of weapons that talent wise may be the highest caliber of players he has ever played with. Adrian Peterson without a question will be the best running back he has played with, and Percy Harvin is a dynamic talent that we’re all waiting to see in action in the NFL. Likely he is going to be a big play receiving threat with a mix of gadget plays mixed in for him as well. His speed is lethal and any space is going to be lights out see you later to the opposing defense.

A position Favre always loves to get involved is the tight end. Visanthe Schiancoe came out with a bang last year and was already on fantasy radars for the 2nd tier tight end selections. Now Schiancoe is around the field of being in the first tier. To have almost 600 yards receiving and seven touchdowns last season could only make fantasy owners grin that have already had their drafts. Ones that are coming up should keep an eye on how tight ends are going before letting Schiancoe slip too far.

At receiver Bernard Berrian has a skill set similar to a player Favre meshed with well in his last few years with Green Bay, that being Greg Jennings. Berrian makes a living off big plays but we will have to see how strong Favre’s arm will be from the gate and down the stretch. Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade will fight for the second receiver spot but we really don’t see either or having a serious fantasy impact. Based upon the few clips of Favre’s first practice he is going to have to make up time to build chemistry with his set of receivers. Numerous drops were showed on easy simple routes with no defense to make it difficult.

As for Favre’s fantasy worthiness, we see him as a spot starter for fantasy owners. So scoop him up as your primary backup and insert him in for favorable matchups. His erratic play will continue but should be more limited, as the Vikings are going to be more manageable with how they throw Favre into the fire. Truthfully his fit is perfect for the Vikings and should lead them to the playoffs. How deep in the playoffs is the main question.

Larry Johnson is in fantasy news for all the wrong reasons. What has he done that could make his owners even more angry?

Larry Johnson’s season is currently off to a rocky start. His offense has had a hard time moving the football, and Johnson has suffered as a result. He has been averaging under 50 yards a game with zero touchdowns. A holdout could be the blame but most star running backs do not handle carries anyway in preseason.

What surfaced today on a hip hop website is an audio link of the aforementioned, Larry Johnson. This link is not about Larry Johnson complaining on his teammates or demanding more carries. It’s a hip hop hardcore rap song by him that seems to have been done a few months ago during his holdout. Who knows if a buddy of his leaked this or what, but it can not be good for Johnson.

In the song he takes a shot at Priest Holmes trying to come back, and says he is embarrassing himself. There is obviously not a friendship between the two, even though they’ve been Chiefs together for years. Dropping rhymes about guns and such does not seem to be a smart move. He also rhymes about getting money or he’ll never come back. Well he got his money and now that this is out, he may be giving some of it to Roger Goodell.

It’ll be interesting to see if anything happens at all from this. You be the judge and have a listen for yourself. Rapping didn’t work for Terrell Owens and shouldn’t be a priority for any other athlete.

http://allhiphop.com/blogs/multimedia__music/archive/2007/09/14/18589887.aspx

Browsing ten televisions at once and watching player after player have career days was something special. For owners that drafted LT, Drew Brees, and a few other high profiled players, you just wanted to throw up. This week was truly a magnificent fantasy football week. Owners that didn’t get over 100 points, something went terribly wrong with players you started below.

Glancing at games and stats you had to of been jumping out of your seat or saying to your buddies, You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me. First and foremost, everyone would like to thank the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns defense. A great performance that brought tears of joy to owners of almost ten different players.

Quarterbacks

Derek Anderson
Nothing to take away from Derek Anderson, but can he match these stats overall in his next three starts combined? You talk about a wonder week. This was the ultimate. At least the Browns have something working and too build forward with. They may not light up the scoreboard or have an offensive display like this in the next twenty years. Having a solid young team with players such as Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow is enough to raise fantasy owners interests.

Josh McCown
Maybe you shouldn’t have started. What should have happened was him being yanked. How that didn’t happen is stupefying. This has happened to the Raiders defense before, and has to change. They did to good of a job to have that little of support from the quarterback position. No one expected McCown to put up crazy numbers but that performance was ugly.

Donovan McNabb
It’s sad to see this day from McNabb. He has performed so well for a long time. The days when he could carry a team on his sole shoulders with poor receivers is gone. He needs some receivers and Philly doesn’t have them. Brian Westbrook is the only threat on this team. A good one but if has to be overworked injuries occur frequently. If McNabb has the hold the fort without Westbrook, McNabb might as well decide to bench himself.

Rex Grossman
How dare he make the pathetic throws he does. Whatever trail Grossman went down towards the second half of last season he has gone further on that road. Heading back to the early games of last year does not seem a possibility ever again. It’s almost getting so bad that the Bears would have to think about bringing in Kyle Orton. At least Orton didn’t throw games away. The Bears had to get an interception in the end zone and block a field goal to keep this game from getting too close.

Alex Smith
Where did his preseason performances go? He has been a non factor thus far and after week two he has no excuse. Hopefully this adjustment is just an early rust phase. If winning ugly has never been seen before the eyes two weeks in a row, it has now.

Running Backs

LT
Number one pick in every draft and he is being shut down. Good for the owners that were able to face him the past two weeks, and bad for the rest of the season for all other opponents.

Jamal Lewis
Where did this come from? Lewis has been nonexistent for quite some time. No, he doesn’t creep back on the fantasy radar with a good stretch of games. He blasts in your face with a 200 yard day.

Reggie Bush
Looking like another player that should have been drafted a few rounds later. Everything in New Orleans is on a slide that should get back in gear. Sean Payton will figure things out, and it starts with getting Deuce more carries.

Maurice Jones-Drew
The tease of touchdowns galore last season is losing the battle on repeating his success. Jacksonville is under new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter’s system, and they’re obviously struggling to adjust under it as a whole. If this lingers much more, Koetter may end up being the shortest tenure of a coordinator.

Wide Receivers

It was the week of receivers but one made the list.

Lee Evans
As long as Losman doesn’t want to throw the ball, then Lee Evans will continue to suffer. The big play threat of last year has had few balls his way. The lone ball that was almost a clinching touchdown against the Broncos in week one, was over thrown. It’s frustrating but Evans and Losman have a knack for connecting in bunches. Lets hope it’s soon.