Week 6 Free Agent Pickups

There is very little to report on as far as free agents pickups are concerned.

I guess the obvious pickup is Deion Branch, who took over the starting position that was vacated by Randy Moss. Deion got 9 receptions for 98 yards and a TD. If he is available in your league, pick him up.

Another player that you should pick up is tight end Heath Miller from Pittsburgh. He has always been one of Big Ben's favorite targets and he had 50 yards receiving and a TD. Definitively a decent second TE for your team.

I told you last week to watch out for Nate Burleson. He got a TD and 50 yards but also had a costly fumble. This shouldn't hurt his rising value, though, because Detroit is going to need him to produce as their 2nd receiver.

If you are in need of a free agent start for either the Sunday or Monday night games, consider picking up Tennessee WR Kenny Britt. He had a decent game against Dallas last week; although his TD catch looked like it was thrown to another receiver.

If anyone got rid of Brandon Jacobs, make sure you pick him up. The Giants have a formidable running game and Jacobs is likely to get most of the goal line carries.

I didn't really have any really good matchup to report as far as kickers or defenses last week, mostly because I did not see any good matchups for free agent kickers and defenses.

For week 7, I see two defensive matchups that I like and these teams should be available in your league. The Seattle Seahawks are at home against the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals offense has shown little on the road and Seattle is very good at home.

My second pick would have to be the Washington Redskins playing on the road against the Chicago Bears. The Bears are proving that they are who we thought they were. Their offense is looking just as terrible as they were at any point last season. Worse yet, their defense did not show up (fantasy points wise) and only got points from a return TD.

As far as place kickers go for week 7, Garrett Hartley seems to have New Orleans starting job back and he has a great matchup against the Cleveland Browns. Other than that, you might want to take a look at Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hanson (although he is on a bye this week). The Lions have not been shy about having him kick 50+ yarders and he has been very accurate this year.

Week 5 Free Agent Pickups

Assuming that your fantasy football leagues are as picked over as all three of mine are, you're probably not going to find much of value available.

Felix Jones is starting to make noise for the Cowboys. Watch for him to take over the starting job from Marion Barber (again). Dallas is going to primarily be a passing team, but Felix might be worth starting in the near future.

One wide receiver to take a chance on is Detroit Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson. He gives the Lions a legitimate 2nd wide receiver and Calvin Johnson got banged up (shoulder) late in the game against the Rams.

In that same game, St Louis Rams WR Mark Clayton looks to have suffered a serious knee injury. You may want to pick up the next best option for the Rams, Danny Amendola.

Another WR to pick up is James Jones of the Green Bay Packers. He is their slot receiver, but is getting as much action as Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. This is especially true now that both of the Packers top two tight ends went out of today's game with injuries.

Keep RB Earnest Graham of Tampa Bay on your radar. He had the best day running for the Bucs and has been the starting running back in the past. I wouldn't be surprised to see him take over.

Fantasy Football Stats after Week 4

Top Fantasy Quarterbacks

Name	Pass Yrds	Rush Yrds	Pass TDs	Rush TDs	Int
Peyton Manning	1365	-5	11	0	1
Phillip Rivers	1328	7	9	0	4
Aaron Rodgers	940	69	8	2	5
Michael Vick	799	187	6	1	0
Kyle Orton	1419	29	6	0	3
Tom Brady	911	12	9	0	2
Drew Brees	1131	-7	7	0	2
Mark Sanchez	711	6	8	0	0
Matt Schaub	978	0	7	0	4
Matt Ryan	978	51	6	0	3

Top Fantasy Running Backs

Name	Rush Yrd	Rec Yrd	Rush TD	Rec TD	Fum
Arian Foster	537	152	4	1	1
Rashard Mendenhall	411	27	4	0	0
Jahvid Best	174	217	4	1	1
Adrian Peterson	392	85	3	0	0
Darren McFadden	392	162	1	1	0
LeSean McCoy	273	172	4	0	1
Frank Gore	270	263	1	1	0
Peyton Hillis	322	94	4	0	1
LaDainian Tomlinson	341	82	3	0	0
Chris Johnson	354	38	4	0	2
Ahmad Bradshaw	382	61	3	0	3
Matt Forte	134	209	0	3	1
Mike Tolbert	281	33	3	0	1
Jason Snelling	226	74	2	1	0
Steven Jackson	284	116	1	0	0
Maurice Jones-Drew	322	49	1	1	1
Cedric Benson	262	20	2	1	1
Joseph Addai	228	79	2	0	0
Michael Turner	281	46	1	0	0
Jamaal Charles	238	92	1	0	0

Top Fantasy Wide Receivers

Name	Receiving Yards	Rec TDs	Fumble
Austin Collie	398	5	1
Reggie Wayne	456	2	1
Anquan Boldin	355	3	0
Hakeem Nicks	279	4	0
Brandon Lloyd	454	1	0
Roddy White	362	2	0
DeSean Jackson	337	2	0
Terrell Owens	374	1	0
Calvin Johnson	237	3	0
Eddie Royal	299	2	0
Kevin Walter	242	3	0
Braylon Edwards	227	3	0
Mark Clayton	300	2	0
Brandon Marshall	340	1	0
Jeremy Maclin	162	4	0
Malcolm Floyd	285	2	0
Donald Driver	218	3	0
Wes Welker	217	3	0
Miles Austin	308	1	0
Lance Moore	209	3	1
Chad Ochocinco	296	1	0
Greg Jennings	161	3	0
Mike Wallace	211	2	0
Larry Fitzgerald	208	2	0
Santana Moss	290	1	1

Top Fantasy Tight Ends

Name	Receiving Yards	Rec TDs	Fumbles
Antonio Gates	386	6	0
Dustin Keller	254	5	0
Dallas Clark	275	3	0
Zach Miller	278	2	0
Chris Cooley	234	2	0
Jermichael Finley	301	1	0
Marcedes Lewis	138	3	0
Vernon Davis	209	1	0
Tony Gonzalez	205	1	0
Greg Olsen	179	2	1

Top Fantasy Team Defenses

Name	Pts Allow	Sacks	Safe	Int	Fum	TD	Blk	Ret TD
Pittsburgh Steelers	50	11	0	6	6	1	0	1
San Diego Chargers	65	15	1	7	4	1	0	0
New England Patroits	96	7	0	7	1	3	2	2
Seattle Seahawks	75	11	0	5	3	1	0	2
Tennessee Titans	68	16	1	4	3	0	0	1
Green Bay Packers	73	16	0	5	2	1	0	0
Saint Louis Rams	52	9	0	4	6	0	1	0
New York Giants	78	16	0	5	4	0	0	0
Chicago Bears	68	4	0	4	7	0	1	1
New York Jets	61	8	0	4	5	0	1	0

Top Fantasy Place Kickers

Name	Less 40	40-49	50+	PAT	Missed
Matt Bryant - ATL	7	3	0	9	1
Mike Nugent - CIN	7	1	2	7	1
Neil Rackers - HOU	5	3	0	12	2
Sebastian Janikowski - OAK	7	1	1	7	4
Matt Prater - DEN	7	0	1	9	0
Nick Folk - NYJ	5	2	0	11	2
Jeff Reed - PIT	7	0	1	8	4
Rob Bironas - TEN	2	3	1	10	1
Graham Gano - WAS	6	2	0	7	2
Mason Crosby - GB	2	2	1	13	1

Fantasy Football Trade Update

It looks like Randy Moss is going to be headed back to the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings have had problems at wide receiver since the start of the season with nagging problems to Percy Harvin and the hip injury to Sidney Rice. The trade with the New England Patroits has still not been anounced yet, but a source said that Randy Moss is being traded for a third round draft pick.

This shouldn't come as a big surprise as this is the last year of his contract with the Patroits. Randy Moss owners have been a little disappointed with his efforts so far. He does have 3 TDs but has not gotten over 60 yards receiving in any game yet this year. On Monday night, he did not have any receptions and was not the focus of the offense at all.

This move should increase the value of both Randy and Brett Farve, who has not had a deep threat receiver so far this year. If you have a chance to trade for Randy Moss or if anyone has dropped Brett Farve, you would do well to pick them up on the cheap before Minnesota puts the peddle to the metal.

You may also want to pick up New England wide receiver Brandon Tate, because he is most likely going to be the starting WR opposite to Wes Welker.

Also, Marshawn Lynch was recently traded to the Seattle Seahawks. This may increase the fantasy value of both him and fellow running back Fred Jackson, who will probably take the starting RB position for the Bills. If either is available in your fantasy football free agent list, pick them up now.

Early Week 5 Pickup

If you are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers defense, your going to need another defense this week. There are two really good matchups this upcoming weekend. The Chicago Bears are playing the Carolina Panthers and the Bears defense may have to take the game over if the offense plays like it did on Sunday night. Also, the Chargers are playing against the Oakland Raiders. Either matchup should be an ideal fantasy matchup.

Week 4 Free Agent Pickups and News

I've kind of been frustrated with a couple of my decisions so far this year. There are two runningbacks that I've seen and had an opportunity to pick up, but didn't pull the trigger because I didn't think would pan out. But when it comes to picking up busts, I'm doing great. Brandon Jackson, Laurence Maroney, Fred Taylor, oh my.

I saw Mike Tolbert putting up numbers after Ryan Matthews injury but ignored him. I actually picked up Ryan Torian of the Washington Redskins last week but dropped him in favor of picking up the injured Reggie Bush.

Ryan Torian is going to be the biggest free agent pickup of this weekend. He is looking primed to take over as starting runningback for the Redskins because Clinton Portis is a little beat up.

I also ignored BenJarvus Green-Ellis because I didn't think any New England Patroit running back was ever worth owning. He is also proving me wrong (at least this week) by getting the majority of the carries and a rushing TD. I doubt either of these players are left to pick up, but make sure you do if either is available.

I wouldn't bother picking up either running back that the Saints ran out there on Sunday. Neither Ladell Betts or Christopher Ivory really did anything productive. If you need a place kicker next week, I would recommend you pick up the Saints John Carney. He was 3 for 3 on field goals and New Orleans plays an Arizona Cardinals team that has given up 41 points twice.

Mike Vick got injured on Sunday, but I wouldn't rush to pick up Kevin Kolb as the Eagles looked completely out of sync with him at the helm. Also, LeSean McCoy has been reported to have fractured a rib in the same game. Look to pick up running back Mike Bell if LeSean McCoy missing next week's game.

It might be time to cut Mike Sims-Walker as he did not have a reception for the second game this season. He also has two catches or less in 7 of his last 9 games, dating back to last year.

Keep an eye out for Santonio Holmes return this week for the New York Jets after a four game suspension. Braylon Edwards is currently the number 1 wide receiver but Santonio may cut into his production. Ben Roethlisberger also comes back from suspension but the Steelers have a bye week this week.

One more thing to keep an eye on is Green Bay's running game. In particular, Marshawn Lynch has been rumored to be drawing intest from both the Packers and Eagles.

Sidney Rice may not be coming back as soon as expected. He is reportedly still on cruches and may not be back any time close to the week 9 projection. You might not want to keep him on your roster if you need help now during the fantasy football bye weeks.

Current Fantasy Football Player Stats

Top Fantasy Quarterbacks

Name	Pass Yrds	Rush Yrds	Pass TDs	Rush TDs	Int
Peyton Manning	1013	-4	9	0	0
Michael Vick	750	170	6	1	0
Phillip Rivers	1087	7	7	0	4
Tom Brady	758	6	8	0	2
Aaron Rodgers	759	49	5	2	3
Jay Cutler	870	62	6	0	2
Drew Brees	856	-6	6	0	2
Kyle Orton	1078	18	4	0	2
Mark Sanchez	550	6	6	0	0
Tony Romo	940	-2	4	0	2

Top Fantasy Running Backs

Name	Rush Yrd	Rec Yrd	Rush TD	Rec TD	Fum
Adrian Peterson	392	85	3	0	0
Arian Foster	406	96	3	0	1
Jahvid Best	124	183	4	1	0
Chris Johnson	301	27	4	0	1
Darren McFadden	345	80	1	1	0
Frank Gore	193	203	1	1	0
LeSean McCoy	209	62	4	0	0
Rashard Mendenhall	332	18	2	0	0
Matt Forte	108	202	0	3	1
Peyton Hillis	220	86	3	0	1
Jason Snelling	195	69	2	1	0
Cedric Benson	202	20	2	1	1
Ahmad Bradshaw	253	47	2	0	2
Jamaal Charles	238	92	1	0	0
Tim Hightower	209	49	2	0	2
Pierre Thomas	147	133	1	0	0
Steven Jackson	214	62	1	0	0
LaDainian Tomlinson	208	60	1	0	0
Michael Turner	231	18	1	0	0
Knowshon Moreno	111	71	2	0	0

Top Fantasy Wide Receivers

Name	Receiving Yards	Rec TDs	Fumble
Austin Collie	359	4	1
Anquan Boldin	287	3	0
DeSean Jackson	318	2	0
Hakeem Nicks	169	4	0
Brandon Lloyd	339	1	0
Jeremy Maclin	147	4	0
Kevin Walter	207	3	0
Roddy White	258	2	0
Reggie Wayne	260	2	0
Miles Austin	308	1	0
Malcolm Floyd	240	2	0
Brandon Marshall	290	1	0
Mark Clayton	228	2	0
Wes Welker	147	3	0
Santana Moss	290	1	1
Randy Moss	139	3	0
Mike Wallace	187	2	0
Andre Johnson	255	1	0
Chad Ochocinco	237	1	0
Louis Murphy	238	1	0
Mario Manningham	238	1	0
Roy Williams	191	2	1
Lance Moore	172	2	0
Steve Smith (Car)	163	2	0
Braylon Edwards	141	2	0

Top Fantasy Tight Ends

Name	Receiving Yards	Rec TDs	Fumbles
Antonio Gates	242	4	0
Dustin Keller	226	3	0
Dallas Clark	207	2	0
Chris Cooley	197	1	0
Jermichael Finley	265	0	0
Tony Moeaki	123	2	0
Marcedes Lewis	116	2	0
Greg Olsen	140	2	1
Tony Gonzalez	164	1	0
Visanthe Shiancoe	169	1	0

Top Fantasy Team Defenses

Name	Pts Allow	Sacks	Safe	Int	Fum	TD	Blk	Ret TD
Pittsburgh Steelers	33	10	0	5	5	1	0	1
Seattle Seahawks	55	7	0	4	3	1	0	2
Kansas City Chiefs	38	8	0	2	2	1	0	1
Tennessee Titans	42	10	1	3	3	0	0	0
Miami Dolphins	51	6	1	3	1	1	1	0
Indianapolis Colts	61	7	0	3	3	1	0	0
Chicago Bears	51	2	0	4	4	0	1	1
Philadelphia Eagles	62	12	0	5	0	0	0	0
San Diego Chargers	61	6	1	5	3	0	0	0
Green Bay Packers	47	13	0	3	1	0	0	0

Top Fantasy Place Kickers

Name	Less than 40	40-49	50+	PAT
Mike Nugent	5	1	2	5
Jeff Reed	7	0	1	6
Neil Rackers	4	3	0	8
Matt Bryant	5	2	0	8
Sebastian Janikowski	6	1	1	4
Graham Gano	5	2	0	5
Mason Crosby	2	2	1	9
Nick Folk	4	2	0	6
Robbie Gould	5	1	0	6
Dan Carpenter	2	2	1	5

Beware of New Orleans Kicker Situation

New Orleans Saints kicker Garrett Hartley may be the place kicker on one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL and was once definitely worth owning in a fantasy football league.

That was before he missed 3 of his first 7 field goals, including a chip shot in overtime last week.

Now, he is on a very short leash apparently because the Saints have recently signed John Carney. Make sure you check before game time this Sunday to make sure that Hartley is dressed. Otherwise, you may be starting a benched kicker.

Week 4 Fantasy Football Preview

This is the first week of teams taking their NFL bye week. That means that you may be looking for some emergency one-week replacements to play on Sunday. This week, there are four teams that aren't playing: the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This means you will have to bench Adrian Peterson, Tony Romo, Thomas Jones, Jason Witten, Visanthe Shiancoe, Miles Austin, Marion Barber, Percy Harvin, Jamaal Charles, Kellen Winslow, Dwayne Bowe and Carnell Williams if you have any of these players on your team. Any kicker or defense for these four teams will also have to sit this week.

When it comes to kickers and defenses, there isn't too many situations where you absolutely have to keep them through the bye week. As of today, I would not categorize any NFL place kicker as a must keep. If you drop your kicker and someone else picks them up, so be it.

For defenses, the story is a little different. I would keep any of the elite defenses on my roster through a bye week. If you notice anyone dropping one of the following defenses, you may want to pick them up for later use: Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings or New Orleans Saints.

Here's the best choices for your bye week replacements for week 4:

Quarterback - If no one has taken Denver Broncos QB Kyle Orton yet, be sure to pick him up. I don't think that his early season play is a fluke and he should put up numbers all year long. Also after some early season problems, Mark Sanchez is starting to heat up and has a favorable matchup against the Buffalo Bills. Take a look towards next week as well because Ben Roethlisberger will be back from suspension.

Running back - If you are in a pinch, you are most likely going to be out of luck as far as RBs are concerned. A couple of emergency fillers may include John Kuhn from Green Bay or Laurence Maroney from Denver. Most of the players from the Week 3 Free Agent Pickup list should already be gone.

Wide Receiver - Same as the RBs, not a whole lot of talent should be left in your league. If you really need someone, here are a couple of Wideouts with good matchups to consider:
Josh Morgan (San Francisco 49ers), Davone Bess (Miami Dolphins), James Jones (Green Bay Packers) and Darrius Heyward-Bey (Oakland Raiders)

Tight End - I have found three options for TE that should be reasonable this weekend: Zach Miller (Oakland Raiders), John Carlson (Seattle Seahawks) and Aaron Hernandez (New England Patriots)

Kicker - Mike Nugent (Cincinnati Bengals) and Jeff Reed (Pittsburgh Steelers) are currently the top two kickers in the league. This is primarily because these two teams are kicking a lot of field goals. Either of these players may be available in any league and are both good plays this weekend.

Team Defense - Cincinnati's Defense also has a good matchup this weekend against the Cleveland Browns. Also, the Chicago Bears defense has been creating turnovers and they are playing the New York Giants, who have been turning the ball over.

Week 3 Free Agent Pickups

Look for these players to pick up in your fantasy football league

1. Brandon Lloyd WR Denver Broncos - You can officially pick Brandon up now if he is still available in your fantasy football league. He appears to be this year's DeSean Jackson as he leads the league in 25+ yard receptions. He caught 6 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown on Sunday.
   
2. Seattle Defense - the Seahawks' defense have had two great fantasy games out of the 3 weeks so far this year. Your not always going to be able to get 5 turnovers and two kickoff return TDs, but you might want to be open for grabbing them.
   
3. Ken Darby RB STL - Another week, another starting running back goes down. Don't know how long Steven Jackson will be out, but get Ken Darby if you still can.
   
4. Peyton Hillis RB CLE - Break out Peyton Hillis. He appears to be the only viable option on the Browns as a fantasy option. He got 22 rushes for 144 yards and a TD against the Ravens.
   
5. BenJarvus Green-Ellis RB NE - Could it be that the Patroits have finally found a number 1 running back? Don't hold your breath yet, but do pick up the four-named wonder because he got 16 carries for 98 yards and a TD this weekend.

Don't bother picking up the following players:

Lance Moore WR NO - 6 receptions, 149 yards and 2 TDs receiving. He didn't do anything in the first two games of the season and there are too many targets on the Saints to ever think about starting Lance on your fantasy team.

Roy Williams WR DAL - Let's see Roy put up more than one good game before you think about starting him on your fantasy roster (5 receptions for 117 yards and 2 TDs). If you have an empty spot, you might consider picking him up though.

Leon Washington RB SEA - I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's not going to get 2 return TDs again. He isn't the starting RB so leave him.

Knowshon Moreno out for week 3

Knowshon Moreno is officially out this weekend because of an injury suffered today. Either Correll Buckhalter or Laurence Maroney is going to be the starter this week. Stay tuned for more, but you should think about picking up either Denver Broncos running back.

Pre Week 3 Fantasy Football Manager News

You can officially drop Vincent Jackson as the San Diego Chargers have decided not to trade the hold out. There still is a chance that San Diego will trade him before the trade deadline in a few weeks; but that chance is slim because San Diego turned down offers for his service this week.

If Michael Vick is still available in your fantasy football league, you might want to pick him up. As long as he puts on performances like the first two weeks, he is going to be the starter. The only way that Kevin Kolb is going to start again in the near future is if Vick performs badly. He is a very good backup QB to have and could be your starter for the next couple of weeks.

Reggie Bush's broken leg will not require surgey and he could be back in the next four to six weeks. Be sure to pick him up off of waivers if anyone has dropped him as he should be back by week 9.

Be very wary of the situation with Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Aromashodu. It seems that he was benched last weekend because the team does not have confidence in his ability to be a slot receiver when he shortarmed some catches against the Detroit Lions. Don't drop him yet, but if he does nothing this weekend you might want to.

Robert Meachem seems to clearly be the 4th wide receiver at New Orleans. He was only out on the field for 14 of the Saints offensive 64 plays. It may be close to time to letting him go if you drafted him.

TJ Houshmandzadeh seams to be struggling so far at Baltimore. So far that seems to hold true for the Ravens' offense overall. If his production doesn't improve very soon, you shouldn't think about keeping him on your roster.

The same holds true for rookie Bills running back CJ Spiller. He only received one carry last week after starting in week 1. It appears that he is the number 3 running back at Buffalo for the time being. You may want to keep him for a couple more weeks.

Be aware that Laurence Maroney is now a Denver Bronco. He may be worth watching in case there is an injury to Knowshon Moreno or Correll Buckhalter.

Fantasy Football Player Injuries and Suspensions

Injury Update - Be careful drafting the following players with injuries:

Reggie Bush RB NO - Reggie has a fracture bone in his leg during the Monday Night game and will be out for 4 to 6 weeks at the minimum.

Kevin Faulk RB NE - Kevin also went down with a leg injury (in week 2) and is now on Injured Reserve.

Ryan Grant RB GB - Ryan went down in week 1 and is now out for the year.

Sidney Rice WR MIN - Was placed on the PUP list and will miss at least the first 6 weeks of the regular season.

Antonio Bryant WR CIN - Antonio was cut by the Bengals and still has an existing issue with his knee which effected his play last year.

Donnie Avery WR STL - Avery suffered a torn ACL and has been placed on Injured Reserve.

Ben Tate RB HOU - Ben has also been placed on Injured Reserve.

Michael Bush RB OAK - Had screws inserted into his left thumb to help with a fracture. He may not miss any games due to this injury but may not keep his No. 1 status.

Kevin Smith RB DET - Kevin had a major knee surgery last year and has been struggling in the preseason. He is No. 2 on the depth chart behind rookie Jahvid Best.

Chaz Schilens WR OAK - Had surgery on his knee and is expected to miss 3 to 6 weeks.

Suspended Players

Be aware of the following NFL players that have suspensions coming into the season:

Vincent Jackson WR SD - Not only has he been suspended by the NFL for 3 games, he has also been suspended by his team for 3 games and is currently holding out. If he signs before the start of the NFL season, the 3 game suspensions from the league and the team can be served at the same time.

Ben Roethlisberger QB PIT - Ben will miss the first 4 games of the regular season stemming back from his off-field incident.

Santonio Holmes WR NYJ - Holmes has been suspended 4 games for violating the substance abuse policy.

Week 2 Fantasy Football Free Agent Pickups

Look for these players to pick up in your fantasy football league

1. Jason Snelling RB Atlanta Falcons - both starting runningbacks in front of him got hurt in the game today. Jason filled in with a huge game including 129 yards and 2 TDS rushing and 57 yards a 1 TD receiving.
   
2. Mike Tolbert RB San Diego Chargers - Tolbert had 87 yards and 2 rushing TDs in backup of the rookie Ryan Matthews, who left the game with an injury and didn't return.
   
3. Dustin Keller TE New York Jets - Came up big with 115 yards receiving and a TD. Mark Sanchez is starting to target Dustin more often.
   
4. Demaryius Thomas WR Denver Broncos - The rookie wideout had the most receptions (8) and the most yardage (97) and had a TD.
   
5. Kevin Walter WR Houston Texans - Kevin had a huge week and might still be available in some leagues. He had 144 yards and 1 TD receiving.

Fantasy Football News before Week 1

The QB controversy is over in Arizona. Derek Anderson is the starter and Matt Leinart has been release by the Cardinals. Derek Anderson is probably going to be a decent 2nd string fantasy quarterback and don't be surprised if he puts forward the same performance he did a couple of years ago with Cleveland.

TJ Houshmandzadeh was cut by the Seattle Seahawks. You will want to pick up Mike Williams (former USC Trojan, Detroit Lions 1st round pick and bust) to replace him.

Cleveland Running back and rookie Montario Hardesty , Denver Running back LenDale White and Houston Kicker Kris Brown have all been placed on Injured Reserve.

Wide Receiver Patrick Crayton has been traded from the Cowboys to the Chargers. This may indicate something about Vincent Jacksons likelihood of signing and playing this year. Pick up Patrick Crayton if you have a chance.

2010 Place Kicker Draft Rankings

A good kicker can mean the difference between a win and a lose. Obviously, you will want to find the kicker that kicks the most field goals. But the difference between a great kicker last year and a average kicker isn't that great.

Last year, Nate Kaeding had the most Fantasy Football points with 146 while the average for a decent kicker was 120 points (this is relative because different league score FGs differently).

Your going to find that you can get a place kicker with a good matchup on most weeks. Good matchups for a kicker are matchups against either very week defenses or against strong team defenses that hold teams from scoring TDs.

In any event, you should never select a kicker before the 15th or 16th round of a typical 18 round fantasy football draft.

Dynamic offenses like NO are likely to move the ball down the field often. Even when they don't score a touchdown, they are often in the position for an easy field goal.

Of course, accuracy counts for a great deal. That's why I have Mason Crosby so far down the list. Great offense, but he missed 9 FGs last year or about a 75% accuracy.

Every year, there is a team that will have the capability of moving the football but also seem to fizzle out near the goal line. I have Robbie Gould ranked that high for this very reason. I think Chicago will be able to move the ball, but Matt Forte and Jay Cutler will struggle to convert the TDs in games this year.

Rank	Kicker	Team	Bye
1	Garrett Hartley	NO	10
2	David Akers	PHI	8
3	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	5
4	Nate Kaeding	SD	10
5	Jay Feely	ARI	6
6	Robbie Gould	CHI	8
7	Mason Crosby	GB	10
8	Rob Bironas	TEN	9
9	Ryan Longwell	MIN	4
10	Dan Carpenter	MIA	5
11	Matt Prater	DEN	9
12	Lawrence Tynes	NYG	8
13	David Buehler	DAL	4
14	Jeff Reed	PIT	5
15	Matt Bryant	ATL	8

2010 Team Defense Draft Rankings

When it comes right down to it, I see many people drafting a Team defense way to early on in a lot of fantasy football drafts. Any time you see the Jets Defense go off the board before the 12th round, what you should be saying is "Yeah, more decent WR and RB picks for me.

The truth of the matter is, I've found that any time that I pick a defense in the middle rounds thinking that I got one of the best, it almost always backfires on me.

You go into the season only thinking about how good the defense is. Unfortunately, the defense can fall apart with injuries or your opponent beats you heads up with a defense he just picked up that has a good matchup.

If you ride one defense for the entire year during your fantasy season, the best that you will do is on average about 2 to 3 points per week better than the 10th - 12th best defense. This means that you are not gaining a lot of advantage, except maybe the one or two games that you can steal against your opponent with a huge game from the defense.

Case in point - in two of my three drafts I picked a defense at the end of the draft. I then found out that Chicago's Defense is playing at home against the Detroit Lions. Chicago has done well at home against the Lions and usually gets up by a couple of TDs early. This leads to more chances at sacks, fumbles and interceptions. Also, Chicago is a threat to score on the special teams as well. I then dropped my drafted defense and picked up the Bears.

Rank	Defense	Team	Bye
Team 1	New York Jets	NYJ	7
2	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI	8
3	Green Bay Packers	GB	10
4	Minnesota Vikings	MIN	4
5	New Orleans Saints	NO	10
6	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT	5
7	San Francisco 49ers	SF	9
8	New York Giants	NYG	8
9	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN	6
10	Baltimore Ravens	BAL	8
11	Dallas Cowboys	DAL	4
12	Oakland Raiders	OAK	10
13	Chicago Bears	CHI	8
14	Miami Dolphins	MIA	5
15	Washington Redskins	WAS	9

2010 Tight End Draft Rankings

Tight End is usually the one pick that is easiest to determine when you need to draft. Don't ever waste a pick in the first 4 rounds on one, even Antonio Gates or Dallas Clark.

I would expect that one or both of these Tight ends will be snatched up in the early to mid 5th round. This is the ideal time to get one of the elite Tight ends, if you are inclined to do so.

What you must avoid is missing out on the elite TEs and trying to compensate by drafting the best available TE left. If you are starring down the barrel of having to pick up Chris Cooley or worse, you might as well wait until the 9th or 10th round to get your first tight end.

If you don't get an elite Tight End in your draft, make sure that you have an adequate backup. Kellen Winslow and Tony Gonzalez should still be available later on in case you are in a pinch.

Rank	Tight End	Team	Bye
1	Antonio Gates	SD	10
2	Dallas Clark	IND	7
3	Jermichael Findley	GB	10
4	Vernon Davis	SF	9
5	Jason Witten	DAL	4
6	Brent Celek	PHI	8
7	Visanthe Shiancoe	MIN	4
8	Chris Cooley	WAS	9
9	Owen Daniels	HOU	7
10	Kellen Winslow	TB	4
11	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	8
12	Dustin Keller	NYJ	7
13	John Carlson	SEA	5
14	Heath Miller	PIT	5
15	Zach Miller	OAK	10

2010 Wide Receiver Draft Rankings

Every year its a crapshoot with the Wide Receivers. Outside of the top 12 Wideouts on this list, I can't guarantee that any one player is going to do well.

Within the first 5 rounds, you really should get at least one of these 12 WRs. After that, I suspect that these 12 players will be gone.

After that, the key is to hedge your bets by getting a lot of wide receivers during the middle of your draft. Players like Hines Ward and Terrell Owens have routinely slipped past the first 8 rounds and become a great bargin.

Basically, if you don't see a Running back that is higher on your board and you don't need or can't get a highly rated QB or TE, you should select the best Wide Receiver you can find. Odds are that a couple of them will pan out for 7+ points a game.

Rank	Wide Receiver	Team	Bye
1	Andre Johnson	HOU	7
2	Randy Moss	NE	5
3	Reggie Wayne	IND	7
4	Miles Austin	DAL	4
5	Roddy White	ATL	8
6	DeSean Jackson	PHI	8
7	Calvin Johnson	DET	7
8	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	6
9	Brandon Marshall	MIA	5
10	Marques Colston	NO	10
11	Greg Jennings	GB	10
12	Anquan Boldin	BAL	8
13	Wes Welker	NE	5
14	Steve Smith	NYG	8
15	Chad OchoCinco	CIN	6
16	Mike Sims-Walker	JAC	9
17	Michael Crabtree	SF	9
18	Steve Smith	CAR	6
19	Donald Driver	GB	10
20	Dwayne Bowe	KC	4
21	Robert Meachem	NO	10
22	Pierre Garcon	IND	7
23	Johnny Knox	CHI	8
24	Eddie Royal	DEN	9
25	Hines Ward	DEN	9
26	Braylon Edwards	NYJ	7
27	Santonio Holmes	NYJ	7
28	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	8
29	Kenny Britt	TEN	9
30	Lee Evans	BUF	6
31	Percy Harvin	MIN	4
32	Mike Williams	TB	4
33	Santana Moss	WAS	9
34	Mohamed Massaquoi	CLE	8
35	Malcolm Floyd	SD	10
36	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	8
37	Laurent Robinson	STL	9
38	Kevin Walter	HOU	7
39	Louis Murphy	OAK	10
40	Mike Wallace	PIT	5
41	Austin Collie	IND	7
42	Dez Bryant	DAL	4
43	Derrick Mason	BAL	8
44	Terrell Owens	CIN	6
45	Devery Henderson	NO	10
46	Jabar Gaffney	DEN	9
47	Bernard Berrian	MIN	4
48	Vincent Jackson	SD	10
49	Roy Williams	DAL	4
50	Early Doucet	ARI	6