“Yikes” is the only thought that came to mind upon seeing Rex Grossman back under center for a professional football game. For fantasy owners with stake in Kyle Orton’s success, the reaction was probably riddled with more expletives after seeing him exit with a high ankle sprain.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Orton could miss up to a month with that ankle sprain, an injury that initially looked much worse. Grossman will likely lead the NFC North-leading Bears against Tennessee next weekend, which is a tough pill to swallow for both Bears fans and fantasy owners alike. Read more »

The free fall continues. I ended Week 8 with a 4-8-2 record. At 51-61-4 on the year, my goal of a .700 win percentage may seem like a pipe dream, but I wouldn’t go away just yet. Read more »

Seven Weeks down; ten to go. And the NFL class of 2008 is making its presence felt on Sundays (and Mondays for that matter). Big Week 7 performances from Chris Johnson and Matt Forte showed the fantasy world that these first year guys mean business.

John Carlson caught one for a score for the second straight game and Darren McFadden is still vying to touch the ball in Oakland. The Rams offense woke up in Week 7’s upset over Dallasm which could translate into good numbers for Donnie Avery, while the Jets demise to the Raiders in OT may mean it’s time to give up on Dustin Keller for the rest of ‘08. Read more »

Time to shake it up.

No more standing by and watching top dogs Adrian Peterson and LaDainian Tomlinson get out-produced by the likes of Clinton Portis, Frank Gore and Marion Barber. That trio is no doubt a placeholder until A.P. and L.T. break out of their funks, but the body of work still deserves the recognition.

Philosophically, we’ll be treating this poll just like an AP Top 25 in college football. Just because a team keeps winning, it doesn’t mean it has chance after chance to retain the No. 1 ranking. Peterson was the equivalent of, say, Georgia eking past Alabama-Birmingham, Jacksonville State and Troy: while he technically didn’t lose a ton of ground, he didn’t gain any of it, either. Read more »

As their inaugural campaign progresses, many of the NFL’s top young talents are beginning to feel the wear and tear of a 16-game professional season. Eddie Royal of the Broncos missed Week 6 action with an ankle injury and Dallas’ Felix Jones left the Cowboys loss at Arizona with a hamstring problem.

Many of those who were healty enough to play, however, contributed greatly to their teams’ success. Matt Ryan didn’t turn the ball over and threw a beautiful 26-yard out pattern to set his team up for the game-winning field goal. He also hit fellow top-rookie Harry Douglas for 96 yards on the day. Even St. Louis had a good weekend as rookie Donny Avery led the team in receiving during their first win of 2008. Read more »

The NFL’s class of 2008 has made its presence felt through the first quarter of the season. Week 5 proved to be no different as many rookies found their way into the endzones and impacted fantasy games everywhere during a time when depth was huge due to bye weeks and injuries.

For the third straight week, Houston’s Steve Slaton looked great. It certainly doesn’t seem like he’s only started three games as a pro. And in Dallas, Felix Jones taught the Cowboys a valuable lesson by following up his zero-touch effort in Week 4 with an impressive showing of 96 yards on nine carries including a 33-yard touchdown scamper. Read more »

At the quarter-point of the season, we have started to learn some things about many of the young players making their professional debuts. And with major injuries and plenty of scores to be had, the rookies were busy in Week 4.

Sunday proved to be full of surprises, as Felix Jones got zero touches in the Cowboys loss to Washington, and Darren McFadden took a back seat to Michael Bush as he attempted to play through a case of turf toe. Facing one of the league’s great run defenses, Chris Johnson managed to score his first and second career rushing touchdowns. Read more »

We’re just about a quarter of the way through the season already and many leagues are beginning to take shape. If you are comfortable at the top of your league, or embarrassed while at the bottom, just remember there is still a long way to go. All it takes is some good management and your team could go from pretender to contender, or the other way around, in a matter of weeks. Just make sure you have the right players in every week.

Here is a look at some of the most intriguing Week 5 matchups. It’s all about starting quality players when they have a favorable matchup, and the most savvy owners know when it’s time to take a chance on lesser players facing softer defenses. Take the first step here – in the fourth edition of The Good, Bad and Ugly.
Read more »

Youth movement has been a good theme for 2008, with an influx of rookie running backs, dominant performances by young quarterbacks Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers, and lost confidence in some of the game’s best veterans LaDainian Tomlinson, Randy Moss and Peyton Manning. There are no signs of halting the movement, so youth have continued their invasion of our pre-Week 4 edition of the Fantasy NFL 101.

Second-year back Adrian Peterson narrowly fended off a healthy-looking Tomlinson for No. 1 honors, while Frank Gore and Marion Barber jumped Brian Westbrook, who is questionable this week with an ankle strain. Two more young backs are waiting in the wings in Marshawn Lynch (No. 6) and Joseph Addai (No. 8). Read more »

Welcome to the first edition of our weekly rookie rankings, where Oakland’s Darren McFadden and Chicago’s Matt Forte lead a group of 20 fantasy stars and would-be producers.

Just as the NFL Draft in April told us when no wide receivers were taken in the first round, this year’s group of fantasy wideouts is pretty thin. Only two receivers - Denver’s Eddie Royal and Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson - are worthy of starter status, but both have gone well beyond expectations. Read more »