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* From 2009 * THURSDAY, 9/10 MIN: Cut WR Bobby Wade and signed ex-NE and PHI WR Greg Lewis. (For the most part, the team swapped its #4 WR.) WEDNESDAY, 9/9 CLE: The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that Brady Quinn has been named the Browns starting QB. CAR: After a full practice today, the team announced that RB Jonathan Stewart will play this week. (At least we know he is healthy, though it will likely take a couple of weeks before he gets significant carries.) DAL: HC Wade Phillips told the Dallas Morning News that he expects Marion Barber and Felix Jones ''to evenly split the heavy lifting''. If it actually works out the way, it would result in fewer touches for Barber and more for Jones, as compared to what we've expected. We don't really know what Phillips will really do when the live ammunition starts flying, nor did he imply that goal-line situations would fall into that category. It should, however, lessen the gap between the two RBs. TUESDAY, 9/8 HOU: QB Matt Schaub (sprained ankle) was able to practice today and indications are that he will be able to start. (Don't shy away from drafting him if missing the first game had lowered his value in your eyes.) HOU: HC Gary Kubiak announced, via the team's web site, that Rex Grossman will open the season as the #1 backup QB. (You may recall that Grossman missed most of the preseason due to a hamstring injury. He did throw for 2 scores in the final preseason game. Apparently, that was good enough to give him the nod over Dan Orlovsky. Matt Schaub's durability is certainly in question so the #2 QB could see some serious action. Do keep in mind that Grossman can play his way out of any assignment.) MONDAY, 9/7 TB: The team's web site makes it pretty clear that Cadillac Williams will be the starting RB this week. He wasn't even on the radar a few weeks ago. Between Cadillac starting the third preseason game and HC Morris talking about platooning his RBs in a 2-set/2-set/1-set rotation, this whole thing is wacky. I've been moving Ward and Graham down the rankings and inching Williams up. A case can be made that Williams is the #1 RB here but looking at the full season, thats hard to buy. Williams, who has had major injuries to both knees, does not instill confidence over a full season. I certainly wouldn't bank on any of these guys and would wait until later rounds for any of them. If they're drafted before the later rounds, that's fine. I'm not wading into this mess unless I can do it at bargain prices. DEN: To make room on the roster for Brandon Marshall, the team waived WR Chad Jackson. NE: Cut WR Greg Lewis. (HC Belichick talked in the spring about how happy he was to acquire Lewis. Some marriages dont last!) SUNDAY, 9/6 MIA: The team released TE David Martin on an injury waiver the bottom line is that they cut him. The Fish have 4 TEs on their roster but the only one with any real experience is Anthony Fasano. His stock will be raised on Mondays rankings/projections. DEN: The team has filed the paperwork to reinstate WR Brandon Marshall. It should be official on Monday. Remember that the suspension was handed down by the team. Maybe Marshall has seen the light. Maybe he's a ticking time bomb. I'll give his projections a slight increase on Monday, but remember that this is not the same offense and QB as 2008 and there are trust issues re Marshall. PHI: Released #4 QB A.J. Feeley. (We saw that coming that day the team signed Michael Vick.) SATURDAY, 9/5 NO: Acquired TE Dave Thomas from NE. (Thomas is primarily his strong suit. If he can become #TE, being Shockey's backup could be lucrative.) JAX: Shortly after we posted our depth charts, the Jags acquired QB Luke McCown from Tampa Bay. Given the lack of talent at QB behind Garrard, McCown could be #2 here in short order. TB: The flip side of the trade above is that rook QB Josh Freeman should get some action relatively soon and may become the starter at some point this season. *** FANTASY CUTS of note (IR = injured reserve; done for the season) *** DEN: RB Darius Walker TEN: RB Quinton Ganther, FB Casey Cramer JAX: RBs Chauncey Washington and Alvin Pearman, TE Rich Angulo DET: RB Aveion Cason, WR Dane Looker, WR Keary Colbert NYG: WR David Tyree NE: Acquired TE Michael Matthews from NYG; Cut TE Alex Smith OAK: QB Jeff Garcia, RB Gary Russell MIN: QB John David Booty, WR Glenn Holt, TE Garrett Mills KC: RBs Kolby Smith (PUP) and Javarris Williams, WR Ashley Lelie SEA: RB Devin Moore, WR Courtney Taylor, K Brandon Couto GB: QB Brian Brohm, WR Ruvell Martin, RB Kregg Lumpkin BUF: RB Dominic Rhodes, WR James Hardy (PUP) CHI: RB Kevin Jones (IR), WR Brandon Rideau, QB Brett Basanez WAS: QBs Colt Brennan (IR) and Chase Daniel, WR D.J. Hackett, K Dave Rayner CLE: WR David Patten, RB Noah Herron, TE Aaron Walker TB: K Matt Bryant, FB Jameel Cook, WR Cortez Hankton DAL: RB Keon Lattimore, WRs Isiah Stanback and Manuel Johnson NO: QB Joey Harrington, TE Billy Miller (IR), WRs Adrian Arrington and Courtney Roby PHI: RB Lorenzo Booker, FB Kyle Eckel, TE Matt Schobel. (The team has a 2-week roster exemption on QB Michael Vick.) BAL: WRs Justin Harper and Yamon Figurs, K Graham Gano SF: RB Kory Sheets, TE Bear Pascoe ATL: QB D.J. Shockley, RB Thomas Brown, WR Robert Ferguson, TE Jason Rader PIT: WR Dallas Baker, TE Sean McHugh (IR) HOU: RB Arian Foster NYJ: WR Aundrae Allison (IR) STL: RB Antonio Pittman, WR Ronald Curry, WR Tim Carter, QB Brock Berlin CIN: WR Antonio Chatman (IR) FRIDAY, 9/4 ARZ: The team announced its cuts today. Among them are: TE Leonard Pope, QB Tyler Pasko, and FB Tim Castille. (At least for the time being, the Cards are carrying 7 WRs -- very unusual.) CHI: RB Kevin Jones (ankle) will miss the 2009 season. (He was a good candidate to be a viable back-up/handcuff to Matt Forte. Garrett Wolfe and Adrian Peterson will step in though neither has much fantasy value.) NE: The team cut QB Andrew Walter -- who it just signed a week ago. Rookie free agent Brian Hoyer is now #2. (Bet the house that a vet will be added very soon as several QBs will be hitting the street as teams cut down to 53 players.) HOU: HC Gary Kubiak has been quoted by houstontexans.com that Chris Brown will be used as a short-yardage, goal line, and #2 RB. (That's not a big surprise at this point but Kubiak's confirmation will ding Slaton's TD outlook by one in our projections while bumping up Brown.) JAX: X-rays on RB Maurice Jones-Drew's shin came out negative. Though an MRI is pending, MJD is expected to be ready to roll in Week 1. (That's why very few stars play in the 4th preseason game -- and why drafting in mid August is so risky.) Also, WR Mike Sims-Walker played last night and looked real good. He may again be the #2 fantasy guy against at WR. (He and Troy Williamson are both injury prone so neither is better than a late-round-flyer.) STL: Top WR Donnie Avery (foot) played in a couple of series last night so he should be good-to-go for Week 1. BUF: Fired OC Turk Schonert this morning. (The offense certainly has not looked very ''coordinated'' thus far.) Alex Van Pelt has been promoted to the OC position. (With absolutely no proof to offer, I still have a hunch Terrell Owens' fingerprints are to be found in this matter.) NO: Number two TE Billy Miller suffered an Achilles injury last night and may be done for the season. (Miller is a good receiver and was a nice backup for Jeremy Shockey. If Shockey were to go down at some point, the team would likely not throw very often to its TEs.) THURSDAY, 9/3 PHI: This shouldn't affect your drafting plans, but for the record, QB Michael Vick will be eligible to play beginning in Week 3. CAR: Another one for the ''I don't want to over react here but'' category, but the Charlotte Observer is reporting that RB Jonathan Stewart (Achilles) is still suffering pain. He hasn't practiced in weeks or played in the preseason. The speculation is that Stewart is ''unlikely'' to play in Week 1. When Stewart will be 100% is yet to be determined. Rook Mike Goodson, who was already designated in our Team Reports as CAR's ''sleeper'' should be the #1 RB backup in the first week. He has already been named the team's #1 kick returner. His projections get a bump while Stewart's gets dinged. Again, we don't want to overreact but there is cause for concern. NE: I don't want to over react here but WR Wes Welker has one of those ''undisclosed'' injuries. Boston.com is reporting that Welker has missed several practices as well as preseason games. The NFL Network is speculating that Welker may not play in Week 1. As we know, HC Belichick is as closed as can be on these matters, so we're left in the dark. I'm not going to knock Welker way down on the rankings but I am lowering his projections slightly. |
