Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.
The Florida Marlins finished second in the NL East, six games behind the Philadelphia Phillies and were in the thick of the wild-card race up until the final weeks of the season. When you think of the bright, young pitching staff in Florida anchored by Josh Johnson and featuring Ricky Nolasco and Chris Volstad, you reason that the Marlins finished well in 2009 because of their hurlers. That notion is actually a fallacy -- only Johnson finished with an ERA under 4.00 among the starters who compiled at least 25 starts. The Marlins stayed in the race because of their hitting, plain and simple. Three hitters -- Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez and Cody Ross -- bopped 24 or more home runs, and as a team the Marlins finished fifth in the National League in runs scored.
The landscape in Miami might change a lot this offseason. Florida has already shipped under-performing Jeremy Hermida to Boston and many expect Uggla to be exchanged soon for a multitude of cheap, young players.
Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around pointing skyward, while the next he's laying on his back, holding his facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds.
Studs
Kurt Warner, QB Arizona (22-32, 261 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs) -- Last week, Warner had five interceptions, looks his age, didn't appear to be comfortable with a receiving core most would quarterbacks in the league would die for. This week, in a much-needed victory over the Chicago Bears, Warner flipped the switching, tossing five touchdowns to tie his career high and put his Cardinals back in the driver's seat of the NFC West.
Stubbornness sometimes pays off. The Carolina Panthers found this out on Sunday.
One week after giving up on the run way too easily in a loss to Buffalo, the Panthers mercilessly pounded Arizona's run defense into the ground, and their reward was an easy win. Of course, it doesn't mean Jake Delhomme has magically turned his season around. It just means the Panthers have found a way to hide him, while keeping him on the field. Delhomme is off our magical list for now, but other shaky starters aren't so lucky.
Some teams are entirely too stubborn. Not only will they leave bad quarterbacks in to take mental and physical beatings, but they'll insist on running offensive plays that don't seem to take the team's strengths into account, oftentimes leaning way too much on a struggling quarterback to make plays. As the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns (among others) have now learned, this is a recipe for disaster.
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.
Steve Smith is frustrated and it's not just the 2-3 start by the Carolina Panthers. Some of the problem may be that the Panthers' Smith is now "the other Steve Smith" as Steve Smith of the Giants has four touchdowns and 525 yards receiving, dwarfing the numbers of his counterpart in Carolina. But, the brunt of the frustration comes from his role in the Carolina offense and the fact that he no longer want to be a decoy.
As we have done since the FanHouse began, I'll be taking a look every week at some aspect of line play. You can read more features in the series here. Check back every Thursday for a new Between The Lines.
It probably wouldn't surprise you to know that offensive line continuity is a good thing , but you may not realize just how important it is.
After looking at the first month of the season, it seems pretty clear that if you can keep your offensive line together, there's a pretty good chance you'll be a winner.
Five weeks into the NFL season, only 10 teams have started the same five offensive linemen every week. Of those 10 teams, seven have winning records including the surprising Bears. 49ers and Jets and the undefeated Giants. Combined those 10 teams are 28-18 this year.
Everyone loves fantasy footballsleepers, but they change depending on league size and availability. We're here each and every week to give you a look at good plays for all types of leagues.
Usually I like to use this space to talk about some of the previous week's sleepers that paid off. And while we did nail some, like Nate Burleson and his 98-yard, two-TD performance, as well as the shutout posted by the Seahawks defense, there was one pick that most certainly did not come through: Derek Anderson.
The Browns showed signs of life in Week 4 -- then traded away Braylon Edwards. Throw in the awful winds in Buffalo on Sunday, and Anderson had as bad a week as possible for a starting QB, completing two passes in the win.
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.
At the end of Week 3 Willis McGahee had rushed for 190 yards and five touchdowns. Even now as Week 5 only has one Monday Night Football game left before it's closed out, McGahee leads the NFL with seven touchdowns. The problem for fantasy football owners is for the last two weeks, McGahee has played no part in the offense.
If you combine Week 4 and Week 5 McGahee has rushed the ball only six times for a total of nine yards. He's only made two receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown over that two-week span as well. After starting the season so well, Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun says that McGahee is confused about his lack of playing time lately.
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, FanHouse will keep you updated weekly on NFL teams facing potential quarterback controversies.
For the Cleveland Browns, Sunday was at least a respectable performance. Now it's time for them to build on that. But have the 0-4 Browns settled on a starting quarterback?
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.
There aren't too many must-win football games in Week 4, but Tony Romo could have used a victory Sunday in Denver instead of coming up just a little short -- fueling the fire for Romo-haters everywhere.
Romo was 25-for-42 on Sunday for 255 yards and had zero touchdown passes in Dallas' 17-10 loss in Denver. Romo was sacked five times and turned the ball over twice and Charean Williams of the Star-Telegram spoke of Romo's plummeting statistics.
Since the season opener against Tampa Bay, when he threw for 353 yards, three touchdowns and had a 140.6 passer rating, Romo has not been nearly as efficient. The past three games, he has completed 57.7 percent of his passes for 437 yards with one touchdown, three interceptions and a lost fumble.
Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.
Each week in the 
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, 
It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, 
As we have done since the 
Everyone loves 
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the 
