Fantasy Watch

[Franchise Fan]

This is kind of like espn used to do(still does?). Im going to post some guys who are looking good or looking bad, and some WW guys too. Hopefully it is enjoyed by the cafe members.
I plan on calling it Fantasy Watch and having new players in it weekly, if anyone has input, send me a pm, ill be glad to read it.
Rising

+ Kellen Winslow II: Winslow is coming closer to signing, he should be signed by Wed., and at training camp on Thursday. This is good for KWII owners, although there were few worries to begin with, but it makes us sleep better at night knowing our fantasy pick isnt going to hold out all season.(i.e. Rivers) Winslow is a top five tight end and could finish top three by the end of the season. Garcia will probably still use KWII as his favorite target, and recently told Winslow to man up and sign.

+ Derrius Thompson: As seen on the cafe sleeper page, Thompson is a good sleeper pick, and with the recent injury to David Boston, he now has a starting job. Thompson showed some spark when he played for the Redskins but never showed fantasy value. Now with the starting nod on a team that has to pass because they sure as hell cant run, Thomson is a decent late late round draft pick/Waiver Wire pickup. Taking or picking Thompson up however comes with great risks, Miami, has just about no offense. With the QB situation in Miami, anything is possible, and Thompson could turn into a bust. Dont wait on him the whole season to step up, see how he does, and drop him if he doesnt preform. Also watch out for second year WR Kendall Newson, he seems to be impressing coaches at camp...

+ Emmitt Smith/Josh Scobey With Shipp hurt, Emmitt is looking to add to his record. Emmitt is not a bad WW pickup, but dont count on him getting 1000 yards. Last season, it hurt to watch him play. Emmitt, if he stays healthy, should pave the way for Scobey in the start of the season, expect no more than .75 TD per game, from Emmit, but who knows what this HOF has left, while it isnt much, it still could be something. On the other hand Josh Scobey, the speedy back from Kansas state is waiting in the wings. Dont pick him up just yet, but keep an eye on him as the preseason begins. We dont know exactly how he will do in the NFL, he has yet to see a carry and only has one catch in his career. Only preseason will tell.

+ Bills Defense:The Bills Defense finished last year ranking high in yards against(2nd) but finished around the bottom for turnovers, an important fantasy stat. However, it seems the D is focusing on fixing that problem, and in their recent scrim. against the Browns, they had 3 turnovers.

"Not one guy showed a sign of panic," said Head Coach Mike Mularkey of the Bills defense giving up a long run on Cleveland's third play. "They (defense) went down there and they were in a tight red zone situation with first down and they got an interception. That's what we're stressing, turnovers."

Good news if you were hoping to grab a defense in the late late rounds. The Bills arent sounding like a bad choice at all.

+ Edgerrin James:

“He’s primed,” Pollard said. “He’s just so ready. There are times he’ll tell me, ‘Watch me in this practice, or check this out.’ It’s impressive to watch. Very impressive.”
James said Monday he hasn’t wanted days off, and that so far this season, he feels the same thing players such as Pollard say they see in camp — more of a burst, quicker steps and greater acceleration.

Full Story:http://www.colts.com/sub.cfm?page=article7&news_id=2110
Good news for James Owners, Still a good number one back and this solidifies his ranking above Fred Taylor. Only good things here....

Falling

Clinton Portis: I now have Clinton ranked below Duece McAllister due to the loss of Jon Janson who ruptured his left achilles on Monday. This is a tough blow to the line, as Janson was their best player. This obviously hurts Clintons stock but he is still a remarkable player. This moves him to 5 on my rankings, because Duece is a much safer pick now.

William Green: Although many people were never very high on William due to his legal issues. Lee Suggs outpreformed him in the browns recent scrimmage against buffalo. Suggs had 4 Carries for 80 yards, while Green had 5 carries for 6 yards. Green has just taken a step backward from getting the starting job, and it looks like Suggs is there to stay. Avoid Green until something else comes up... Something big.

Keenan McCardell: Its ashame to see such talent go to waste, but now with the signing of Tim Brown, the Bucs are sending a message, that they are not going to budge. Unless McCardell gets sent elsewhere, its not looking good for him, the team said they are not going to release him or trade him, so he better suck it up or sit out... I wouldnt drop him just yet, but if you can deal him in a trade, DO IT!

Rex Grossman: Now that it seems definite that John Tait will move to right tackle, Grossman is in big trouble if Quasim Mitchell is his Left Tackle....Stay away from Grossman.

Anquan Boldin: With two injuries to his knee in the same week, Boldin is scaring his owners. Although it is nothing big yet, it could turn out to be, so keep an eye on this one.

Players to drop:
Vinny Testaverde : Now that Drew Henson is impressing the staff, steer clear of Vinny as your backup. Better choices include Mark Brunell and David Carr.
Reggie Wayne: With the emergence of Brandon Stokley and the good things about him, drop wayne because you cant expect 800 yards and 7 TDs this year. Pick up a guy like Lee Evans, who has enormous upside.
Michael Clayton: Hopes that he was going to get his chance to shine have dimmed with the signing of Tim Brown, Clayton, even if McCardell holds out, wont see enough time to make a fantasy impact, drop him.

That raps it up for this one, leave some comments. Hope you enjoy!

[Hippy]

Those are some good points, and some well thought out
arguments. I was aware of everything pretty much, but have
no idea about the Stokely/Wayne situation. Some more info?

Thanks again for the excellent post

Hippy

[atvjerryrice80]

thats sorta liek fantasyfootballdocs.com good info

[Turnip]

Good read and I agree with some. I wouldn't drop Wayne simply because he'll be on the other end of some of Manning's passes.

I agree that it looks like Clayton won't be getting much PT this year but look out for him in one or two years. I've said on numerous occasions that he and Fitz will be the two star WR's out of the draft, and I think a year with speed coaches will help him a lot.

Thanks for the good read

[bungle613]

yup, good read. Thanks FF. The only big disagreement I have would be the Wayne/Stokely item. A couple good games but not really anything to unseat Wayne.

Stokely career stats (5 years)


gs c yds avg lg td
14 82 1124 13.7 46 10

not much there

[34=Sweetness]

Where did you hear Tait was going to play right tackle? I heard that Lovie had moved Tait to left tackle and Aaron Gibson would play right tackle? I also disagree with the Reggie Wayne thing, I think Stokelys performance in the playoffs was like Timmy Smith for Washington. It won't amount to anything IMO.

[Franchise Fan]

Actually from two sources.
Fox Sports:
http://msn.foxsports.com/story/2551768

POSITION OF WEAKNESS
The Bears are enamored with Qasim Mitchell's potential at left tackle. There's no denying Mitchell has tremendous upside. He possesses a massive frame and very strong hands, but he's still highly inexperienced and raw. The Bears saw enough in two starts last season to convince themselves that Mitchell can handle the critical left tackle spot. If Mitchell isn't ready for a full tour of duty, then John Tait could move over from right tackle. Tait was an adequate left tackle in his early years with the Chiefs, but had trouble matching up against the top right ends.

Another source was Rotoworld.com and they got their information from the Chicago Tribune:

A groin injury may force Bears tackle John Tait to right tackle.
The $33 million man was expected to move to the left side, but an injury may prevent it. Quasim Mitchell may be the man at left tackle, bad news for Rex Grossman owners.

[Franchise Fan]

I wasnt saying that Stokley is going to outpreform wayne, but at this point, i cant see him getting the same stats from last year, and that makes me believe he is not worth keeping if you can grab a guy like lee evans.. Slightly bigger risk, but bigger payoff as well. Also, Dallas Clark news, about how he was going to take a bigger role in the offense also makes me believe Reggie wont repeat. This is the same reasoning for Clayton in Tampa, To many guys to spread the ball to, and if your not the number one, im not expecting good fantasy stats from you week in and week out.

[MadScott]

First of all great read FF. It would be great to see some kind of weekly card like this as we go through the preseason.

As for Derrius Thompson, I've got my doubts about him. With opportunity firmly in hand last year, he did what he did with many passes and dropped the chance to be the starter. Granted, it doesn't look like they are really planning on bringing in another big name right now, but I just think that there are better, more solid sleepers to be had. Just my .02.

[Franchise Fan]

Thanks for the comments MadScott, I appreciate them, and I do hope to have this like a weekly thing. About Thompson, I know there are better sleepers, but he is a deep sleeper that has some things going for him. As I mentioned dont wait on him all year, see how he preforms first. I am also glad that i didn't miss-report the Winslow story (like Clayton) and the Boldin situation.