Patriots fans and many fantasy owners saw their hopes and dreams for 2008 quickly erased as Tom Brady went down for the season in the first quarter of Week 1. Now, over two months later, those same Pats fans and the collective fantasy world are looking at the sincere possibility of having to limp through another season without New England’s golden boy.

Since having his knee repaired after the injury, it is speculated that Brady has undergone more surgeries due to the knee becoming infected. The Boston Herald reported that, “the fear is the patellar tendon graft used to replace Brady’s anterior cruciate ligament is in danger of becoming compromised.” If this does indeed become reality, the process of repairing his knee would go back to square one and his ‘09 season would be in serious jeopardy. Read more »

NFL quarterbacks are dropping faster than bad guys in a cheesy Sly Stallone movie. Only, instead of bringing disgrace to the box office, these walking wounded are exiting games early, being scratched from starts late, and piling up losses for fantasy owners.

The Big 3 have been at the front of the line, obviously highlighted by Tom Brady’s season-ending knee injury in Week 1. Peyton Manning is only now himself after two offseason knee surgeries contributed to an uncharacteristic slow start, and Tony Romo is on the shelf for the next month with a broken pinkie finger. Read more »

Any good fantasy owner looks at and analyzes his team on a week-by-week basis. What happens the week before can, and most often will, dramatically affect what happens the following week. So, on the eve of Week 2, don’t forget what happened last Sunday, and then apply that information to your lineups.

Injuries to Tom Brady and Marques Colston certainly will have an impact on their respective teams. Also, as we take a look ahead to Week 2, while we expect big things from Julius Jones and Jerricho Cotchery, we can’t say the same about Donovan McNabb.
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Word is out that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will miss the rest of the 2008 season with a knee injury suffered in a 17-10 win over the Chiefs on Sunday. Now, nothing is official yet, as the early diagnosis is mainly based on the reaction of Brady’s teammates, who seem convinced that the quarterback has taken his last snap of the year.

We should hear something more concrete on Monday when Brady has an MRI on his ailing left knee.

Obviously, this is terrible, terrible news for the Patriots, and just as terrible for fantasy owners who invested first-round draft picks in last season’s league MVP. If Brady’s season is over, backup Matt Cassel won’t replace his production or have nearly the same positive effect on that offense, specifically wide receivers Randy Moss and Wes Welker. As good as the supporting cast is, Brady’s confidence, poise and accuracy made the whole thing go. Read more »

In this, the “year of the non-running back” in fantasy football, quarterbacks and wide receivers have been expected to play much larger roles for us than in previous seasons. Between excellent crops at both positions and the decreased work loads of NFL running backs, powerhouse fantasy backfields are becoming less and less imperative to a team’s success.

Problems are arising in this new draft theory as marquee quarterbacks battle injuries that have affected their preseason reps and conditioning. Should we be concerned about Peyton Manning (knee), Tom Brady (foot), or Matt Hasselbeck (back)? We think so, if anything because fantasy owners have placed so much faith in them to lead their teams to glory. Read more »

Draft day is the most exciting day of a fantasy season. While every Sunday during the season is action-packed and the playoffs are the apex of all your hard work, the draft is where you mold your roster and give your team an identity. Waiver wire selections can make a big impact, but drafting well is the first step for all championship-winning teams. It’s important to be prepared.

While each draft has a different identity, there are dilemmas that are universal to all leagues. Basic strategy - how urgently to go about filling lineup spots, when to draft a quarterback, how to determine a rookie’s value - doesn’t change. Ironing out these wrinkles before your draft begins puts you at a competitive advantage over the owners who develop their approaches on the fly. Read more »