By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Results are supposed to dictate a decision to win a job. That is the normal case in a position battle in the NFL, especially at quarterback. Miami and the Tennessee Titans decided they did not need anymore game play to decide on their starting quarterbacks. They went the youth route and now both teams can move forward without the hassle of a weekly sparked debate.

How ready are both quarterbacks or will this year be weekly lessons of rough outings? Based on last years results by several rookies, the window to have a positive impact right away is possible. Preparation and training has come along way for talented quarterbacks. Still both will experience their fair share of mishaps.

It was not like either had a specific edge over their veteran quarterbacks they were competing with. Matt Moore was the veteran Miami had on the roster but had already leaned more in the direction of David Garrard before his injury. When Garrard went down, the job was basically Tannehill’s.

Tannehill looked much better in the first preseason game than he did against Carolina. The main reason for that likely has to do that he played against the first team defense against Carolina. He had a tough time finding passing angles to deliver throws, having several balls batted down at the line of scrimmage. Another issue versus Carolina was the lack of a ground attack to help Tannehill. Neither Reggie Bush or Daniel Thomas had an impact you would of liked to see to help Tannehill out. Bush’s carries went nowhere, and forced Miami to throw with Tannehill higher than they would of liked.

With a nucleus of wide receivers that are mainly possession receivers at best, Miami is going to need to throw a lot of quick outs and intermediate throws. The batted down balls Tannehill experienced against Carolina may become a trend, as defenses do not respect Miami’s receivers and know a quarterback is going to have a quick clock with that talent.

Brandon Marshall and Chad Johnson sound quite good right about now.

In Tennessee it’s a little bit different with Jake Locker. His preseason numbers have been paltry. In action though last year, Locker showed he has a lot of promise. The move in Tennessee’ s case was more based on timing than anything. Locker is going into his second year and they want to get the return on investment with him. Chris Johnson is showing that he is back to his old form, which will loosen up Locker’s immediate responsibilities.

With the attention on Johnson, Locker will get away with the dump off throws and scrambles that often hurt young quarterbacks. He will likely have numbers similar to what Andy Dalton did a year ago as a rookie. Mistakes may be a little bit higher as his accuracy is not as good as Dalton’s, but he will make up the fantasy numbers with his legs. If you have a safe bet number one quarterback, you can be at ease with Locker as a fantasy backup.

Pile up depth at other roster positions and grab Locker late.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

All it takes are solid performances to quiet critics. With so many rookie quarterbacks not only drafted last year, but outdoing expectations, Blaine Gabbert was the odd quarterback out. He struggled the most and looked like he would have the furthest along to come from any 2011 rookie quarterback. A couple of preseason games in and Gabbert looks like he was the signal caller that dedicated himself the most in the off-season.

The focus in Jacksonville for some time was involving Maurice Jones-Drew’s holdout. The star running backs contract squabbles have been spotlighted daily. Now with the way Gabbert and backup running back Rashad Jennings have performed, it will lessen the urgency of upper management to secure a deal favoring Drew’s bargaining power. They’ll assuredly be happy to resign him but they will not give in to his demands.

The transformation of Gabbert starts with many areas. His mental clock in the pocket seems unrushed. He can stand in the pocket more relaxed and with ease, progressing from options but maintaining the same demeanor. Before he seemed reluctant to withstand in the pocket. If options one or two were not open his tendency for happy feet, poor mechanics, and a poor throw would occur.

Upgrades at wide receiver could be one of the main reasons for improvement. Justin Blackmon and Laurent Robinson are huge weapons of improvement for Gabbert to have at his arsenal. An off-season to work with the team without violating the NFL rules looks like it’s starting to pay off. Remember last season, Gabbert along with everyone else couldn’t because of the lockout.

When the 2011 season concluded, voices rose that Tim Tebow should be a quarterback brought into Jacksonville. Besides selling tickets, Tebow figured to be a proper challenge to Gabbert. The Jaguars instead signed Chad Henne, who has not even been mentioned as a possible starter. This is Gabbert’s team and he has played like it. He outperformed Drew Brees significantly with two touchdown throws and over 100 yards in limited action in preseason game two.

Gabbert is showing enough to become fantasy worthy in deep leagues. In updated rankings he will probably move up to the late teens/early 20’s.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

There comes a time when even the best regress. Keeping a unit together is hard to do in the NFL because of a number of things. Free agency is the main culprit but also because teams have to rotate in new players to keep the same aggression and coaches principles together.

The first thing that pops into your head when you think of the Baltimore Ravens is their defense. Preseason allows room for error and to improve on necessary issues. Through the first two games of the preseason, Baltimore has to be very concerned about their defense.

Sure there have been games that any team can be susceptible in an area. If teams are able to find a glaring weakness in the Ravens it’s going to be their secondary. Atlanta and Detroit discovered that in limited action with their starters the first two games. Week one of the preseason, Matt Ryan threw for over 155 yards and a touchdown. Nearly 110 yards of those went to stud wideout Julio Jones who also caught the lone touchdown pass of Matt Ryan’s.

Just yesterday Matthew Stafford had a very similar performance. He threw for even more yardage at 184 yards with two touchdowns. Calvin Johnson had 111 of those yards with a touchdown. The fact that both Stafford who only played in four series, and Matt Ryan saw limited action is alarming. There is still two preseason games left, but truly after week three of the preseason that will be the main action left for the starters.

Julio Jones and Calvin Johnson are two of the top receivers in football, but corrections have to be made quickly in Baltimore.

Lardarius Webb is a flash and burn type of cornerback. He will make up for the plays he gets beat on typically. Where the Ravens need help is at right cornerback. Jimmy Smith last years high draft pick is currently behind Cary Smith at corner. Even more veteran safeties Bernard Pollard and Ed Reed will need to remain the backbone of this secondary.

Ed Reed made comments that he wasn’t even sure if he had football left in him anymore. Contemplation in the off-season for him went beyond the usual time frame. He needs to be 100 percent ready for this team and play like the Ed Reed we all have come to see on Sundays. He is the type of player that can get subpar talent to play at a higher level because they feed off of him.

Obviously that has not been the case the first two preseason games. With relentless pass rusher Terrel Suggs out for most of the season, this secondary is going to have to be a strong point. The defense may not be as strong as we are use to seeing, which is why we like Joe Flacco to breakout a bit this year.

by Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com
Baltimore is one of those teams that enters 2012 with a last gasp left. In the era of free agency keeping a team intact for the long haul is tough to do.Defensively veterans such as Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are still around. Age has not prevented them from still being team leaders. 2012 success though will not be from the play of their defense.
Offenses are too talented and can pick apart any defense, even Baltimore’s. If this team is going to get to the destination they want it will be dependant on Joe Flacco.

Flacco has been a hot and cold quarterback in his career thus far. Displaying a cannon arm, Flacco can hit the deep ball on occassion. Where he has struggled is with consistency of play. The offense may call more pass plays on a given week based on a breakout performance from Flacco the week prior. Instead of seeing some advancement from Joe, he declines and the offense stalls.
That forces the Ravens to go to a more simplistic offense. Involving Ray Rice more, doing dump off passes and limiting his down field throws. It’s puzzling to see this trend so much from Flacco because he seems ready to take hold of the league. All it takes is that one game to propel an athlete.
Has that game already occurred for Flacco? Maybe so, his heroic comeback against the Pittsburgh Steelers was not only counted against, but one of the top finishes in the NFL last season. Afterwards Flacco remained as usual with his cool demeanor, but you know he was on cloud nine.
All you have to do is look at Flacco’s last three seasons of passing yards to know that Baltimore has kept him in neutral. His past three seasons of yards thrown have not varied beyond twelve yards. Throwing for 3,613 yards in 2009, 3,622 yards in 2010, and 3,610 yards last season.
Baltimore has to unleash him this season and live or die with Flacco. It’ll make Ray Rice more of a weapon, and feed the wideouts and tight ends appropriately. They have all the tools offensively to let Flacco flourish. There is no reason to hold back quarterbacks in this day and age of the NFL. The fact that Flacco threw below 200 yards seven games last year and six of those were below 175 yards is mind-boggling.
Joe thinks he is a top level quarterback and needs to start playing like it beyond a half season. With Pittsburgh having a banged up Ben Roethlisberger and uncertainty at running back, Baltimore could run away with this division.
From a fantasy standpoint Flacco currently barely cracks the top twenty in many rankins. Deservedly so based on his tenure and zero advancement from a fantasy perspective.

This year there is no reason that he can’t rise well beyond those early rankings. Landing in the top twelve to fifteen is very reachable.
Tag Flacco as your fantasy backup and you will be happy you did. He should surpass 4,000 yards finally and get near 27 to 30 touchdowns thrown.

by Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Watching preseason games to determine fantasy sleepers is sometimes like watching college basketball conference tournaments. The tease is widely there but the results once actuality of season play begin can falter quickly. Out in Indianpolis post-Peyton Manning era has begun with a rawkus start.  Comparisons for the future are what the media want to facinate on with Andrew Luck.

For fantasy football participants the relevancy of a transformation offense is enough to begin drooling. Sleeperville is here in Indianapolis.

The last two seasons for the Colts have been marked by rising pressure. In 2010 the offense just did not click the same. Running back Joseph Addai who had been a main force for Manning and company began faltering to injuries. The year before he succumbed to below four yards a carry.

As an organization the Colts have bypassed with ease at finding a top caliber running back during Peyton Manning’s tenure. From Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James, Dominic Rhodes, and Joseph Addai. Perhaps the last two backs benefitted more to having Manning as their quarterback than anything else. Regardless, fantasy football players could expect predictable positive results from Colts players.

Addai held on the last two seasons as a Colt basically because they had not found a solid replacement. First round pick, Donald Brown from UCONN struggled going from college to the NFL ranks. His time share with Joey Addai was one of the worst tandems in the NFL, and only rose Manning’s need to carry the team with his arm.

Last offseason the Colts decided to try another upgrade at running back by drafting Delone Carter out of Syracuse. Carter had a solid career at Syracuse and came out with one of the better physical capabilities in the draft. He moves the pile and has a knack for being a steady consistent back.

With a new coach and quarterback, many have not known which route the Colts will take at running back. Carter remained high on many lists going into mini-camps as a fantasy football sleeper. When given the opportunity in games last season, Carter never stood out. Fumbling three times did not help his cause on only a little over 100 total carries.

The Colts will be comfortable splitting the workload amongst Brown and Carter and may even intermix carries with Vick Ballard. Brown’s open field breakaway speed poses a higher demand. It’s his consistency with regular carries that hurts Brown.

Last year Brown finally cracked over four yards a carry on his young three year career. He seems to be developing properly and looking for proper angles that he can use to his advantage. Brown should be considered a definite number three running back for your upcoming drafts, and could crack your starting lineup at points this season.

As for Carter, if Luck can get the offense moving, he can be a goal line touchdown weapon. Barring injury from Brown it’ll be hard to see Carter getting an increased amount of carries from the near one hundred he had a year ago.

by Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

There were a couple games on Saturday. Carolina versus Houston and Tennessee vs Seattle. First game action for both teams and notjustagame.com has news and notes on how performers played.

Tennessee’s first play from scrimmage was as disastrous as it could get. A designed quick throw ended up in a juggled attempt for a catch. The ball popped up right into the hands of a Seahawks defender resulting in a pick-six. Rookie Kendall Wright did not follow through the entirety of the play or could have batted the ball down or made a tackle on the interception.

The second series did not have much positives either. One was that Chris Johnson had a few decent runs. He turned one busted run to the leftside into a cutback run to the right that is a patented Chris Johnson fantasy football fans want to see.

Matt Hasselbeck looked decent even though he threw two interceptions. His last pick was a heave that was thrown as if he was ready to end his night. He had the offense in good rhythm and connected several times with Nate Washington. Jared Cook was also involved heavily for Hasselbeck, and should be a viable radar watch tight end this season. His opportunities for targets and numbers overall should rise compared to a year ago.

Seattle’s defense distracted both Hasselbeck and Locker. Crowd level noise is always an issue for opposing teams in Seattle, and even in a preseason game it was rowdy. Rookie wide receiver Kendall Wright did have a better connection with Locker than he did with Hasselbeck in a quarter of action with both.

For Seattle they are one of a few teams that owners will shy away from drafting. With a first time starter and a core of receivers that do not standout, it will take a standout performance before waiver wire attention happens. One area that should be a gem is a running back. Marshawn Lynch is going to keep tallying his solid stats.

Behind him though rookie Robert Turbin will get his fair share of carries. Turbin’s physique is comparable to former Arizona/Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman. Saturday, Turbin impressed on his carries and should be drafted in deeper leagues.

Matt Flynn seemed quick to make his throws, even though he started out a perfect 8 for 8. His first progression is where he went with the ball, and never looked to stretch the field. Resulting in an interception in which the linebacker dropped back in the zone of a quick short throw. Zach Miller should benefit from Flynn, but no receivers on Seattle have value currently.

He needs to gain confidence in his pocket presence to be an upgrade from the quarterback woes of a year ago. A stellar defense and strong rushing attack should help Flynn progress at a proper game to game pace. It looks like it’s going to take Flynn some time though to adjust.

In Carolina vs Houston the starters did not stay on the field to long as expected. Both teams have solid direction on where their teams are shaped from top to bottom, unlike Seattle and Tennessee. Judging Matt Schaub and Cam Newton is not something to over analyze from limited pass attempts. During games two and three when both get more game action than it will be noteworthy.

Areas where fantasy owners could benefit from Saturday’s action is at receiver. Louis Murphy has dotted fantasy relevance in the past as an Oakland Raider. Young talent in Oakland forced him down the depth charts last season. Landing in Carolina and a chance to be the third receiver has importance. Carolina is going to keep spreading the ball around and Murphy should get a chance to be a top fifteen third receiver in the league. He had some nice connections Saturday with backup Derek Anderson.