Just as we gave you Jay Feely last week, we're going against the Raiders to find a quality kicker for the Week 8 fantasy football rankings. The silver and black have now allowed 14 field goals and 19 extra points in seven games, tying them with the Chiefs for the most points allowed to opposing kickers.
This week, Nate Kaeding of the Chargers gets to kick against the Raiders at home. He's coming off two straight double-digit weeks in scoring, where he's hit six field goals and six extra points. Thus, the veteran is an absolute no-brainer to sit atop the ranks for this week.
Remember what mom always used to say? "You can't keep an old kicker down." OK, no way she never said that, but we did. John Carney is a 45-year-old shining example of why you never draft kickers before the last couple of rounds. Carney wasn't even on most radars after the Garrett Hartley suspension, yet he already has 21 points through two games of the season. Backed by a high-powered New Orleans offense, Carney should be one of the rare consistent kickers you leave in your lineup. I also think the same goes for Nate Kaeding, who has never dipped below 112 points in a season. Your Week 3 kicker ranking buffet is after the jump.
Whether it's torn, sprained, broken or just needs to be taped, Injuries to Watch will keep you up to date on injuries around the NFL and how they'll affect your fantasy football team.
Quarterback
• Matt Cassel, Chiefs - Cassel has been limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. He feels that his knee is making progress every day but head coach Todd Haley said that he and his coaching staff won't be able to make a decision on whether Cassel is healthy enough to play until Sunday.
• Matt Schaub, Texans - Schaub participated fully in practice on Thursday and his ankle looks much better according to coaches. He's expected to play on Sunday.
Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews." We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
Without playing a game, the Detroit Lions have matched their 2008 regular season win total. Naturally, this is an embarrassing fact, and one that Lions fans are probably sick of hearing. However, it also serves to show how easy it will be for head coach Jim Schwartz to be hailed as a genius this season. The Lions will win a game (or more!) in 2009, and Schwartz has done some things in the offseason to point this franchise in a positive direction. It's time now for the players to see the benefits of their hard work during the spring and summer.
Scott Linehan probably thought he knew exactly what he was getting when Detroit signed Dane Looker on Aug. 17. After all, the Lions' new offensive coordinator had coached his newest wide receiver with the Rams and at the University of Washington.
But in adding Looker as a sturdy set of hands for an injury-depleted receiving corps, the Lions unwittingly stumbled upon a sturdy foot for their equally wounded kicking game.
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 with the 2009 slogan, "Nowhere to go, but up."Ah yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Detroit Lions.Insert jokes here.It's tough to get too excited about the Lions this season.They do have one of the most talented players in the league in Calvin Johnson. Then again, they must rely on a worn-out veteran (with no knees left) or a young rookie to deliver him the ball.
Let's not kid ourselves, nobody really delivers the ball to Calvin Johnson -- he goes out and grabs the ball wherever it may be.Yup, he's just that good and he gives Lions fans a reason for hope.This season anything would be an improvement.However, from a fantasy football perspective, we could care less if the Lions go 0-16 or 10-6 ... as long as Megatron continues to be a stud, it's all good.
Speculation has the Detroit Lions drafting a quarterback (namely, Georgia's Matthew Stafford) with the first overall pick. Should that not end up happening, or in case Stafford either holds out or struggles in camp, they now have insurance on hand.
As the Cincinnati Bengals begin to reconstruct their team after a disastrous season, it makes perfect sense that they would use the franchise player designation to keep a key player around. With wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and offensive lineman Stacy Andrews among the potential free agents, the Bengals certainly had options for their tag.
With that in mind, I'm sure no one is surprised that they decided to use it. What should surprise a few people is how the Bengals have decided to use it.
There's a pretty good chance that you're a pretty bad football team when you go 0-16. The Detroit Lions went 0-16 in 2008, and there is no argument that they were a very, very bad football team.
Bad football teams generally don't have a lot of talent. The Lions also fit that mold, thanks to years of mismanagement that starts at the top. Since they don't have a lot of talent, it makes sense to say that they don't have a lot of pending free agents to worry about.
It's playoff time! In what should be championship week, FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled in order to provide answers to your possible lineup dilemmas. If you need further assistance, please feel free to shoot us an email question.
Joe Nedney is only 11th in kicker points, which means he's useful as a low-end kicker in most leagues.
The thing about Nedney, though, is that he doesn't miss often. He's 26-of-29 on field goals this season, and hasn't missed an extra point. The reason he's not higher in scoring is because he hasn't had as many opportunities as the higher scorers (he's 12th in FG attempts).
Nedney's getting to play the hapless Rams indoors in St. Louis this weekend. The Rams are near the bottom in scoring defense and have allowed 29 field goals, which places them 27th in the league.
In fact, I'm making him number one. No guts, no glory.
Just as we gave you Jay Feely last week, we're going against the Raiders to find a quality kicker for the Week 8 fantasy football rankings. The silver and black have now allowed 14 field goals and 19 extra points in seven games, tying them with the Chiefs for the most points allowed to opposing kickers. 
Remember what mom always used to say? "You can't keep an old kicker down." OK, no way she never said that, but we did. 
Whether it's torn, sprained, broken or just needs to be taped, 
Training camps have wrapped up, the 
Scott Linehan
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. 
Speculation has the Detroit Lions 
As the Cincinnati Bengals begin to reconstruct their team after a disastrous season, it makes perfect sense that they would use the franchise player designation to keep a key player around. With wide receiver 
There's a pretty good chance that you're a pretty bad football team when you go 0-16. The Detroit Lions 
It's playoff time!
