Former fantasy football stars Braylon Edwards and Jamal Lewis were left for dead in leagues across the Internet after abysmal beginnings. Lo and behold, a trade and a return from injury (against the hapless Bills) made them both look like their old selves in Week 5. Was it a rebirth or an aberration? Fantasy FanHouse's dynamic duo, Tom Herrera and Matt Snyder, discuss this and many other things (including Herrera's underwhelming movie experience and Snyder channeling his inner 2Pac to forgive Mike Sims-Walker) in this week's cram session.
Whether you're a fantasy player or just a fan, you could very well be looking for updates on injuries around the league as kickoffs approach.
FanHouse has you covered, as we'll monitor all this week's games and bring you the latest information on injuries right up until kickoff. Reader comments are disabled, but please do check out our live updates after the jump.
It's going to be Monday Night Football. The Cowboys are taking on the Carolina Panthers, who haven't yet shown a good run defense. Felix is a home run hitter, as evidenced by his 56-yard run last week, his 98-yard kick return touchdown last season and his career 8.9 yards-per-carry average on 43 carries. Give him 15 carries a week, and the sky is the limit. When news of Barber missing 1-2 weeks popped, it appeared the stars were aligning for Felix's breakout party. Now, it's looking like Barber might suit up and play. If he does, it would be like refusing to leave your friend alone with a girl at a bar. There's a hyphenated word for that, Marion, and the second part is "block." Don't be that guy. Back off and allow your buddy to get his.
While there are always going to be matchups we like and others we don't like, we need to remember it's Week 1 of a new fantasy football season. The preseason doesn't matter too much, nor does last season. Sure, we have to use something upon which to base our rankings, and those factors will be somewhat weighed, but we also need to use our brain and not get too cute.
For example, Ryan Grant shredded the Bears last season in Green Bay. Does that mean he's going to blow up again? Considering the Bears' run defense is much stronger than pass, we're saying an emphatic no. That's just one example, and we'll talk a bit more after you've seen the top 50 fantasy running backs for the week.
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy FootballFanHouse's daily gathering of links from around the web, covering the goings-on in NFL Training Camp which have an impact on fantasy value.
Taking over the helm from Sports Illustrated's Jimmy Traina over at Hot Clicks, today one of the sports world's most colorful characters, Chris Cooley shares his sleeper fantasy picks for the 2009 fantasy season. Cooley's picks look good, though he doesn't exactly swing for the fences, preferring safer bets like Chad Ochocinco and Anthony Gonzalez to deeper sleepers. Chris makes an interesting selection in Brent Celek however, after he made waves late last season with one particularly notable postseason game where he lassoed in 10 balls and two touchdowns.
If Cooley's sleepers don't pique your interest, he also shares a half naked picture of his wife for whatever reason.
This Saturday, Jamal Lewis will turn 30. Considering that age, along with the multiple knee surgeries and the 2,399 career carries, it's pretty safe to say his best days are behind him. The Browns still plan on entering the 2009 season with Lewis as their starting running back, but -- all of a sudden -- it seems there is some competition cropping up.
When training camp began, there was no talk of a running back battle in Cleveland. Jerome Harrison was set to be the back and change-of-pace back, while rookie James Davis would fight for a roster spot. After two preseason games, though, there are whispers from Cleveland that Davis could catapult all the way to the starting gig.
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)
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.
For those who may use a different term or are new to fantasy football, "handcuff" is the term used when you own insurance for one of your players in the form of owning his real-life backup. It's usually a running back, but you could conceivably handcuff a quarterback. The theory is that some or all of the production is automatically replaced should you lose a high draft pick to injury, meaning you need to insure a high draft pick by grabbing his backup.
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 ... Team who fooled us all a year ago! So much promise, so much hype and yes so many wasted fantasy picks. The writing was on the wall for doom in Cleveland last season. Many put their faith in Braylon Edwards and Derek Anderson to be the next great QB-WR combination in fantasy football.
This season the Browns remain a little less profile. Jamal Lewis is on the cusp of crashing into the wall, Braylon Edwards is on the trading block and we aren't really 100% sure who the QB will be week in and week out. One thing is pretty certain, you can shelve Donte Stallworth for a very, very, very rainy day.
A message to 
While there are always going to be matchups we like and others we don't like, we need to remember it's Week 1 of a new 
Cut-N-Go
This Saturday, 
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 proliferation of mock drafts as well as their offspring, the ADP (
For those who may use a different term or are new to 
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. 
