By Dalton Del Don
Rex Ryan refers to Shonn Greene as the team’s “bell cow” – If you haven’t checked out the first episode of this season’s “Hard Knocks,” you need to immediately. A show that’s always been really good is going to be the best yet with this Jets group, highlighted by Ryan, who is quite simply, the best coach in the history of sports (well, at least entertainment wise). LaDainian Tomlinson has reportedly shown signs he’s not yet done this preseason, but it’s good to hear the no nonsense Ryan praise Greene’s blocking ability and basically admit he’s easily the team’s best running back. The fact he doesn’t catch passes hurts, but if Greene stays healthy, he’ll likely be a unanimous top-five fantasy pick in 2011.
Joe Flacco continues to impress – Flacco completed 8-of-12 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown during Baltimore’s preseason opener Thursday. That’s a 66.7 completion percentage and a 10.0 YPA against a Carolina secondary that played very well last season. Newcomer Anquan Boldin, who appears to be getting overdrafted in many fantasy leagues, was held to just one catch for 12 yards, but Flacco spread the ball around and makes for a fine QB1 who can be had in the middle rounds. Meanwhile, Jalen Parmele, who has been getting so much buzz that Willis McGahee has been rumored to be on the trading block, ran for negative seven yards on seven carries and lost a fumble. As far as backups are concerned, McGahee might be getting overlooked late in fantasy drafts. He scored 12 touchdowns while getting 5.0 YPC last season and would immediately become a top-10 (and maybe top-five) fantasy player if Ray Rice suffered a serious injury.
Brett Favre apparently had his surgically repaired ankle rechecked by Dr. James Andrews – I’m as tired of the Favre saga as anyone, but his decision whether to play or not has real fantasy consequences (Sidney Rice’s value may change a good 10-15 spots one way or the other as a result). Again, it would be a pretty major upset if Favre decided not to play this year.
The Patriots’ backfield remains a mess in fantasy leagues – BenJarvus Green-Ellis started New England’s preseason opener Thursday and ran for 34 yards with a touchdown. His 3.1 YPC left a lot to be desired, but coach Bill Belichick recently complimented him quite a bit, which needs to be noted. Laurence Maroney later entered and promptly scored twice. Problem is, it’s possible Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris both were held out because the Pats consider them the top-two on the depth chart. Even if Taylor enters 2010 as the clear starter, an injury is inevitable at age 34 and with 2,491 career rushing attempts. In fact, he’d easily be the fourth RB I’d draft on the Pats’ roster. Ultimately, it looks like yet another committee and a headache for fantasy owners.
Leave a Reply