Gridiron Meanderings

Reaching for Hillis

Ryan McKenzie of FFToolbox makes a case for Peyton Hillis landing in Tampa Bay. I personally think he’s a little off his rocker, as I don’t think they want two power backs in Tampa, but to each their own.¹ Plus, it looks like he may not even Cleveland.²

McKenzie also puts a lot of historical emphasis in comparing Hillis to Mike Alstott. The regime in Tampa Bay is simply not the same, so that leap of logic is probably more wishful than grounded in reality. ↩
Rumor also has it the Browns are willing to re-sign him. ↩

Feb 09

Peyton and Snyder Sitting in a Tree?

The latest hot rumor floating in NFL circles is that Peyton Manning will likely end up in Washington. Certainly, given their need and owner Dan Snyder’s history of signing big free agent veterans, there is some logic. I, for one, don’t think Mike Shanahan will go for it, but who knows.

Cory Bonini at KFFL has a pretty decent write-up about the debate, although it may be a stretch to characterize the Redskins’ receiving corps as “better than average”. Yes, they were 14th in the league in receving, but that stat is deceiving given they had the 5th most passing attempts per game thanks to being pretty bad team. Santana Moss has lost a step, and I wouldn’t count on Jabar Gaffney (he benefited from Rex being his college QB). Sure Fred Davis and Roy Helu can catch the ball, but not everyone can run a New England offense. Even they need Wes Welker to balance things. I do like some of the young guys (Hankerson), but that contributes to the argument that the Redskins are rebuilding. So Bonini’s argument there for the team not necessarily rebuilding is a little dubious. They need more than offensive line help to make spending big bucks on Manning a worthy investment, but then again, Dan Snyder has yet to meet a big name free agent he wouldn’t break the bank for…

Feb 06

Getting to the Bottom of Belichickery and Shanahanigans

Every fantasy football owner knows the horror stories told about Mike Shanahan and Bill Belichick and their propensity for pulling the rug out from under hapless owners with their respective running backs. But like any urban legend, while there may be a kernel of truth, there’s likely more myth than fact behind the tale. Pro Football Focus’s Alessandro Miglio takes a very insightful look into both coach’s stories that I found quite illuminating.

Sep 30

Don’t buy more of the Moore hype

Every season, especially in the early weeks, we have the waiver wire wonders everyone jumps on as the next great difference-maker. Right now, the flavor of the week is Lance Moore following an extremely impressive 6 catch, 147 yard, and 2 touchdown Week 3 performance. Hard to blame folks, as those are numbers that can make or break a team any given week. I just think it’s an aberration - not the beginning of a trend.

I was chatting on Twitter with fellow fantasy expert Andy Miley, who is very high on Moore. The crux of his argument pro-Moore is that with Reggie Bush out he’ll see the targets Bush normally would have when healthy. Thus, until Bush returns, Moore is a great value player who’ll produce.

Here’s why I don’t share his optimism.

History indeed bodes ill for Johnson

As promised, after a bit of a hiatus, I am back to throw some thoughts on virtual paper about the top of the fantasy football heap. First, let me apologize for the two months of inactivity. I was in the midst of serious job hunting after the longest winter I can ever recall, which thankfully ended a month ago with an offer which I accepted. So, sufficed to say, life happened, but I am now back on track to share as much of my fantasy football knowhow and insight as I possibly can.

It’s good to be back. Now onto football.

The article I linked to in my last post from fantasysharks.com mirrors many thoughts I have about Chris Johnson. Everyone is expecting him to be producing sick numbers again, and now that he’s getting paid about $2 million more in salary this season (as of today), everyone is singing his praises and dreaming sweet fantasies that end with league hardware being claimed.

Sorry, but I just do not buy into the hype.