FanHouse BillyMiller

FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

The Denver Broncos, formerly the league's running game savants, have become the league's preeminent passers. There should be plenty of passing room this weekend against the Swiss Chiefs, which means Tony Scheffler is an elite option at this position. Again. Get used to it.

- Jerramy Stevens may only be listed at the TE2 on his team's depth chart, but the Bucs loved getting him into single coverage on linebackers last week and taking advantage. As long as he shows he can hold onto the ball after gaining separation, they won't ignore him.

- Billy Miller is a quality play against the Niners at home. We know Drew Brees is gonna throw all day. While Miller is no Jeremy Shockey, he can help as a bye week replacement.

- Dustin Keller is coming off his first career TD. As the season moves along, his QB will become more comfortable with him and this will happen with more frequency.

1. Jason Witten, vs. Was
2. Tony Scheffler, @ KC
3. Kellen Winslow, @ Cin
4. Antonio Gates, @ Oak
5. Tony Gonzalez, vs. Den

Peter King drops an intriguing nugget into his Monday Morning Quarterback column today:

I think, Giant beat writers, you might sniff around this one: New Orleans is not through trying to acquire Jeremy Shockey.

Although I would add that Saints beat writers -- not to mention, you know, King himself -- ought to be sniffing around as well, the idea that the Giants will trade Jeremy Shockey and that the Saints are the most likely destination has been around for most of the NFL off-season and is not going away.

For the Giants, it makes sense because they didn't seem to miss Shockey late in the season when he broke his leg and was replaced by rookie Kevin Boss. They did, after all, win the Super Bowl without Shockey and with Boss making some big plays down the stretch. That doesn't mean Boss is as good as Shockey, but it could mean that he will be some day, and he's certainly cheaper.

For the Saints it makes a little bit less sense, seeing as they re-signed both of last year's tight ends, Billy Miller and Eric Johnson. But Shockey provides a big-play threat that Miller and Johnson don't, and if the Saints think he'd be a good fit in their passing game, it would be tempting to trade for him.

My best guess is that Shockey will be a Giant in 2008. But just because the Giants say he's coming back doesn't mean he will.

Kind of a little shocker with the clock ticking towards free agency, but here's an interesting tidbit from Chris Mortensen -- the Saints made a trade offer to the Giants for happy-go-lucky complete team player Jeremy Shockey.

Now let's take all of this with a grain of salt -- standard Mortensenian operating procedure -- but if true, it makes sense. The Saints' offense has lacked a truly dynamic tight end. Billy Miller has played well, but he and Eric Johnson haven't made a real impact on the offense, and both are unrestricted free agents. Paired with Marques Colston, the two could do wonders for the Saints' red-zone offense.

Beyond that, Sean Payton and Shockey are familiar with each other from Payton's days in New York, and Shockey has stated on occasion that Payton was the driving force behind his early development. Re-joining Payton in a change of scenery might make dude a little cheerier. He'll also be free from the most cancerous relationship he has in New York, with Eli Manning.

Shockey won't be able to push around Drew Brees, the team's unquestioned leader and most respected player, like he did Manning, and Brees will get him the ball enough to keep him happy.

If Mortensen is on the ball with this report, that is.

To get you ready for Week 16, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your New Orleans Saints/Philadelphia Eagles preview.

2007 Records:

Philadelphia Eagles: 6-8 (4th in NFC East)
New Orleans Saints: 7-7 (2nd in NFC South)

Last Week:

Eagles 10, Cowboys 6
Saints 31, Cardinals 24

Why We Care: These two teams played two great games last year under different circumstances. The first was an early matchup of conference heavyweights, the second a second-round playoff game. Both ended 27-24 in favor of the Saints. This year, New Orleans needs to win out with help just to make the playoffs and the Eagles are out. Still, as a byproduct of three games in two years, the teams have developed a nice little snarl, and the Eagles still have something to play for -- instilling the same misery they're feeling into other teams.

Yet again, it seemed as if a late fumble could disrupt a Saints win. After blowing a game against the Bucs, this week it was David Patten, catching a pass and racking up the YAC, all the while holding the ball so precariously you'd think he was presenting it on a platter. Of course, it was knocked out in Arizona territory and recovered by the Cardinals, and a chance to take a two-score lead with nine minutes left was squandered.

Luckily, Kurt Warner is no Luke McCown (I know, Kurt -- the truth hurts), and the Cards promptly three-and-outed it for good, punting away the ball and their season. Starting at their own four, the Saints picked up four first downs, enough (thanks to some poor timeout management by Arizona) to run out the clock. That botched final series, a critical one, was just one of a number of instances where the Cardinals could have taken control of the game but failed to.

Not that the Saints didn't earn the win; they played incredibly well and balanced (30 passes, 29 runs) on offense, got pressure on Warner, forced turnovers, and played well in the secondary. But the difference in the final score would have been more than compensated for if the Cardinals didn't take a handful of shots at their own foot.

Taking into account that it's the preseason, many of the players sitting on the sidelines tonight would normally be on the field if it was a meaningful game. With that said, I'm sure most fans would like to know who they should expect to see this evening. For that reason, I've done by best to create an accurate injury report -- official reports are not posted until week one of the regular season.

Buffalo Bills:

Out: Tackle Brad Butler (hamstring) and running back Josh Scobey (calf).

Questionable: Guard Aaron Merz (shoulder) and safety Donte Whitner (hip)

Probable: Running back Dwayne Wright (allergies) and cornerback Jason Webster (hamstring).