FanHouse Brandon Stokley

It's another session of "Sink or Swim" Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekly look at the underachievers still lurking on many fantasy rosters. You've got the tough choices to make and we help you decide which direction to take. Do you cut the bait or give 'em one more chance to swim?

We are only two weeks into the season, so this is not the time to let your preconceived notions -- or preseason hype -- cloud your train of thought. This is the time to make clear and concise decisions about the future of your team. First and foremost, you never cut your stars. But if somebody that kinda-sorta-marginal-to-decent guy ain't performing up to par, don't think twice before cutting him.

With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. We call it The Once-Over.

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Week 1 of the NFL season featured some gut-wrenching losses and improbable finishes across the league. Take, for example, the Kyle Orton-to-Brandon Stokley 87-yard pass in the closing seconds of Denver's 12-7 win in Cincinnati. If that play had happened in a playoff game it would already have a fancy nickname and be talked about as one of the great fluke plays in the history of the NFL (which it most certainly is).

If that wasn't enough, Buffalo, yet again, was on the receiving end of a heart-breaking loss when it snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, surrendering an 11-point lead with five minutes to play thanks in large part to Leodis McKelvin's fumble with just over two-minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

(And that doesn't even include Hines Ward fumbling at the two-yard line during the season-opener on Thursday night, only to have the Steelers rebound and win in overtime.)

It was enough to make us look back at a few other mind-blowing finishes in recent sports history. These plays are great ... unless you happen to be a fan of one of the teams that blows it late.

It got so bad for Jake Delhomme Sunday that, even when he was good, he was bad.

Was he ever good in Carolina's 38-10 loss to the Eagles, in which he threw four interceptions and lost a fumble that was returned by a touchdown? Well, the Panthers took the opening kickoff and moved 70 yards for a score of their own to take a 7-0 lead on DeAngelo Williams' 11-yard run. But it was ugly -- two plays before the TD, the Panthers had a first down at the Eagles 1, but Ryan Kalil jumped on the first play and Jeff Otah on the second.

The Cincinnati Bengals had the game wrapped up. It was over. Cedric Benson's one-yard touchdown run with under a minute to play had given Cincinnati a 7-6 lead. It capped a long drive that ate much of the game's final five minutes.

Unfortunately for Cincinnati, the drive didn't eat enough time. Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton hooked up with receiver Brandon Stokley for an 87-yard score, giving the Broncos a 12-7 win in one of the more improbable finishes the NFL has ever seen.

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With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
Kyle Orton Dead Arm Syndrome: a condition characterized by a complete lack of strength in the upper arm. Despite hosting the NFL's second most productive offense in 2008, averaging just shy of 400 yards per game, and the third best passing offense in the league, the introduction of Orton as the starting quarterback puts the kibosh on the productivity. Orton has a weak arm, relies heavily on check-down passes and makes bad decisions. In terms of supporting cast, the receivers are a huge upgrade from his days in Chicago with Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, but Marshall wants out so be sure to keep a close eye on this situation. Also, new head coach and signal-caller Josh McDaniels runs a spread offense, so he'll need to rely on Orton probably more than anyone would ever want. I don't expect the offense to suffer immensely with a solid new batch of runners, but it definitely takes a dive from last season.

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It's the deadest part of the offseason, which means we'll be reading about things marginally related to football like top-50 players, doctored videos, visits to the Playboy Mansion, and, of course, Rodney Harrison, the NFL's dirtiest player.

While some NFL coaches agree that Harrison is one of the league's dirtiest players, ESPN.com's Mike Sando writes that there are plenty of other guys worthy of a little finger-pointing:

A review of data since 2001 shows Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson with a league-high 17 personal fouls. Harrison and New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith are tied for second with 14, followed by Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour (13), Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor (12), late Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor (12) and Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Shaun Rogers (11).

According to 11 of 18 head coaches who responded to Sando, Cowboys' safety Roy Williams finished second behind Harrison (interestingly, Wade Phillips voted for Williams. Twice.*), followed by Antonio Pierce, Hines Ward, Kevin Mawae and Olin Kreutz.

Former Patriots teammate Deion Branch "draws a line between Harrison's hard-nosed play" and, say, Travis Johnson talking smack over a dying Trent Green. Not sure anybody would disagree on that on.

Brandon Stokley, who said he would've "bet his life savings" on Harrison earning top honors, also singled out Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan "as a player with bad intentions." And I'm pretty sure he doesn't mean that in a topless, sausage-party, "what about the kids?" way.

* Joke. Coaches were only allowed to vote once.

The Denver Broncos' starting wide receivers last year were Brandon Marshall, who is recovering from an arm injury suffered when he fell into a TV, and Javon Walker, who is no longer with the team.

Right now the No. 1 healthy receiver in Denver is Brandon Stokley, which is not a good place for a team to be, and Denver's need at wide receiver may be good news for Darrell Jackson, one of the few veteran wide receivers available. The Denver Post reports (via PFT) that the Broncos are "deep in discussions" with Jackson, a 29-year-old who caught 46 passes for 497 yards in 2007, his one and only season in San Francisco. He had three 1,000-yard seasons in Seattle.

Denver is also reportedly close to signing former Kansas City Chiefs receiver Samie Parker. If they add both Parker and Jackson, it would be a strong indication that they don't think they can count on Marshall to catch another 100 passes this year, either because his injury is too severe or because he'll continue to get into trouble off the field.

In Sunday's Boston Globe, Mike Reiss takes a look at the Colts' off-season to date. Basically, the team has lost more players than it has been able to sign during free agency. Gone are running back Dominic Rhodes, linebacker Cato June, cornerback Nick Harper, defensive lineman Montae Reagor and wideout Brandon Stokley.

Usually, losing three to four starters could be detrimental for a team's playoff hopes, but Indianapolis has been very proficient in recent seasons when it comes to player personnel matters. "So," Reiss asks, "why so little activity?" Team president Bill Polian provides some insight:

"Mainly because we've made some big mistakes in the past, Corey Simon being the most obvious one," he said. "We've had a modicum of success in it, but not a lot. We just feel the odds are very much against you. It's not a criticism of anyone who does it, but just the way we do things. We're not good at it, so we stay away from things we're not good at."

Unlike, say, the Redskins, the Colts look to restock the roster through the draft. Last year, their first-round pick, running back Joseph Addai, filled in nicely for Edgerrin James, who went on to make his fortune in Arizona. This year, Indy should have little trouble replacing Rhodes (who was a backup until last season); June (who basically signed a one-year "show me" deal with the Bucs) was a capable starter, but is replaceable; Harper is more suited to the nickel-back role; Stokley, while valuable, benefited more from Peyton Manning than vice versa. Reagor only played in five games last season and obviously didn't do enough to deem worthy of re-signing.

As long as Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark are on the roster, the passing game should be fine, and Addai solidifies the running game. Of course, the front office has to have a pretty successful draft to replace the lost production on the other side of the ball. And as has been the case the past few seasons, improving the run defense is at the top of the To Do list. Still, barring a catastrophic collapse, Indy should be a playoff team next season, and probably an early-season Super Bowl favorite.

I consider Denver the NFL's mecca for white wide receivers. They earned this reputation mainly through Ed McCaffrey, probably the best melanin-impaired wide receiver in recent NFL history. Easy Ed's pale visage in orange and blue remains an inspiration to "possession receivers" everywhere.

Through the years, Denver's also been home to Patrick Jeffers, Chris Doering, Kevin Kasper, Travis McGriff, and Keith Poole. All white. All wide receivers. All Broncos. I don't think anyone keeps statistics on these kinds of things, but I'm going to guess that Denver leads the league in white wide receivers employed over the last ten years.

And today, Denver would like to make Brandon Stokley the next to inherit the throne.

The Broncos have an interest in Stokley, who's also visited with the Saints. The pasty one could potentially start in Denver opposite Javon Walker, with Rod Smith coming back from injury and Brandon Marshall being unproven.

I don't see him making anyone forget Easy Ed, though ... being a solid slot receiver with Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne surrounding you, with Peyton Manning throwing the ball, is one thing. Putting up numbers in Denver with Jay Cutler throwing the ball is something else entirely.