FanHouse BrandonJacobs

Am I scared about the prospects of Steve Slaton losing carries to Ryan Moats (and even Chris Brown)? Absolutely. I'm more concerned about the overreactions from across the fantasy football world. Sure, I took it on the chin with Slaton in one league, but last week was hardly indicative of what will transpire from here on out.

Consider the following:
- If Gary Kubiak was going to send a message to his second-year running back with problems holding onto the football, what better opponent than the league's worst run defense?

- Slaton shredded the Colts in Indy last year, and that was without Matt Schaub at the helm to take pressure off him.

- Frank Gore got loose for a 64-yard touchdown against the Colts and added 43 receiving yards. Slaton is faster, more elusive and a better pass-catcher than Gore.

So, yeah, of course last week made me worried about Slaton. But I live by the "no guts, no glory" credo. You'll find Slaton in my top 15. You can have Ryan Moats.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- This was to have been the Giants' get-right game. Sure, New Orleans beat them up last week, but the Saints are an undefeated team that was coming off a bye week and playing at home. The Giants spent the week shrugging off that loss and promising to be better this week at home against the Cardinals. The defense promised more blitzing and less trepidation. The offense promised to be sharper. To a man, the Giants were certain they'd come up with a big win Sunday night over the reigning NFC champs...and then they lost.

"For whatever reason, we've had two weeks in a row now where one area has not performed very well," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "So, back to the drawing board."

And back, whether they like it or not, into a three-team NFC East tussle where there's no clear favorite -- not even them.

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To recap: the Cowboys' shiny, new, $1.3 billion stadium has the world's largest HD television too close to the playing surface, Party Pass holders have an exquisite view of, well, other Party Pass holders (but not much else), the concrete and steel behemoth is architecturally uninspiring, and Jerry Jones likes to pick his nose. Oh, and the Cowboys' lost in the first-ever home game in their new digs.

Otherwise, everything went off without a hitch, right? Eh, maybe not.

Each Monday morning of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

You know what Kyle Orton's line should have been? 16 of 28 with 156 yards and no touchdowns. He would have had a few more passing attempts before losing the game, which likely would have made him 16 of 30 or 17 of 31 or so. Instead, he was the beneficiary of the most insane amount of luck we've ever seen on one play in fantasy football. He forces a throw to Brandon Marshall in double-coverage, badly under-throws him and the Bengals tip the ball up in the air. The rest is history. And Kyle Orton had a decent fantasy day.

But don't be fooled.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The easy conclusion, if you like jumping to those, is that Albert Haynesworth didn't do much in his Redskins debut. The stat sheet says four tackles -- one for a loss. The Giants put 23 points on the board and won the game. And Haynesworth didn't feel a whole lot like talking about it when it was over.

But with Haynesworth, the easy conclusion misses the point. The numbers to look at are on New York's side, where Brandon Jacobs came up with just 46 yards on 16 carries and the Giants, who led the whole way, were unable to grind out the clock in the second half. The Redskins' defensive line, with their massive free-agent acquisition in the middle, smothered Jacobs and the Giants' running game all night. Not that you'd have known it from the big fella's mood in the locker room.

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The Redskins defeated the Steelers in their Week 2 preseason matchup Saturday, but despite the meaningless victory, there are still concerns about Washington's inert offense. It starts with quarterback Jason Campbell, of course, although fans now have a new favorite backup quarterback should things get to that point.

The defense is a different story, however. Free-agent acquisition Albert Haynesworth and first-round pick Brian Orakpo have suddenly given Washington a pass rush, and as Pittsburgh and Baltimore (the 'Skins opponent last week) can attest, a suffocating defense can mask a lot of offensive shortcomings.

The '09 Redskins defense isn't yet on par with some of the league's best units, but it wouldn't come as a complete surprise if that changed in the coming months. Because in addition to Haynesworth and Orakpo, there's also free safety LaRon Landry who, according to safeties coach Steve Jackson is, well, just keep reading (via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette):

As the season nears, FanHouse's fantasy football team decided to put our heads together for another set of updated positional rankings. In this installment, we'll hit up the thoroughbreds.

The thing that sticks out to me, when viewing the running backs for this season, is what a muddled mess the group is. I stared at a group of about 15 players -- those ranked from six to 20 -- for probably 45 minutes while tinkering with how to rank them. Some will pan out, and some will end up being viewed as busts. May the force be with you. (Last Updated: 8/27/09)

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The NFL season is four weeks away, so FanHouse is at Giants training camp for Stop 5 and Mile 996 of Dan Graziano's five-camp, 1,100-mile road trip.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- There is professional pride and there is the truth, and there are times when the former must step aside for the latter. That's what's happening here at Giants training camp, where the defensive line is throwing a twice-daily party in 11-on-11 team drills. They bat and intercept throws. They crash through holes. They live in the backfield. They mix up formations as if the base 4-3 has become too easy and no longer holds their interest.

The proliferation of mock drafts as well as their offspring, the ADP (average draft position), have given fantasy football players three new approaches to uncovering values come draft day. Whether or not you take fantasy football seriously, the ADP is officially protocol in draft prep. Evaluating this list of fantasy football ADPs provides three distinct strategies that can lead to finding some gems at bargain prices.

The first involves the simple idea of hubris: that you yourself know more than everyone else. In other words, owners can assess the current ADP levels and determine if the broader fantasy football playing market has under- or over-valued particular players. In doing so, owners can determine where they think they can pick up steals on the cheap, catching the fantasy landscape by surprise.

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The NFL season is four weeks and one day away, so FanHouse is at Giants training camp for Stop 5 and Mile 996 of Dan Graziano's five-camp, 1,100-mile road trip.

ALBANY, N.Y -- His situation is bizarre, unique and potentially kind of sad. David Tyree is and forever will be one of the most significant names in New York Giants history for his helmet catch in Super Bowl XLII. And yet, two years later, he's here in camp trying not to get cut. Unfair? No way. Tyree won't even admit to finding it odd.