Though most had the Minnesota Vikings as the favorites to win the NFC North heading into the season, nearly everyone agreed that either the Chicago Bears or Green Bay Packers -- or both -- would at least pose a challenge to the Vikes' second straight division crown. Instead, we're taking this division race off life support and putting it to rest after Week 9. The 2009 NFC North champions will be the Vikings. They can now focus on securing home-field advantage in the playoffs.
The reason for the above sentiment is that both the Bears and Packers were abysmal, in different circumstances, Sunday afternoon. The Pack went into Tampa Bay and lost to the formerly winless Buccaneers, while the Bears were absolutely manhandled for the majority of the afternoon by a fickle Arizona squad.
Anquan Boldin, when healthy, is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. This isn't a secret. He's been to three Pro Bowls, enjoyed four 1,000-yard seasons, caught more than 500 passes thus far in only 87 games and scored 41 touchdowns. He's a running back in a receiver's body, though, so he has endured his fair share of injuries -- missing 16 games in his first six seasons due to injury. This season, he's played every game, but he's done so at less than 100 percent.
Looking at his numbers, it's evident he's not himself. His per-game averages show Boldin's on pace for career lows across the board. And he just doesn't seem himself, either. Considering his ankle injury isn't going away without rest -- and the fact that the gamer Boldin won't voluntarily sit out -- should the Cardinals bench him until he's healthy? One Arizona columnist says they should.
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.
Well, Adrian Peterson was seen as "limited" in yet another mid-week practice. However, isn't this becoming familiar ground? The guy ranks amongst the tops in the league for total carries and touches on the season. He takes a pounding and always gets back up for more. It's as if we just want to circle him as an injury liability, when despite missing a few games as a rookie – he's maintained a pretty consistent healthy track record in the NFL.
Of course the guy is sore and of course he's not going to be going full steam with this current ankle injury. As usual, the Vikings disclosed very little on the Peterson ankle injury. You have to monitor the situation, but it doesn't sound as if it's a high ankle sprain, which would certainly put AP on the pine. He is looking at a very tough and physical matchup with the Steelers this weekend. Considering it's AP, though, don't bench him. You never bench him.
When Justin Tuck showed up to watch film of the Arizona Cardinals this week, he was fired up. He knew what he was going to see -- Cardinals QB Kurt Warner sitting behind his line, taking forever to get rid of the ball while a swarm of receivers ran their routes downfield.
"I was licking my chops," said Tuck, the Giants' defensive end. "But then I went in there and...he's not holding the ball as long as he used to. We're looking at an average of 2.2 seconds, which is a drastic change."
You wouldn't think the Cardinals would have to change much, playing in the weak NFC West and coming off a season in which they represented the NFC in the Super Bowl. But starting with an opening-week loss to the surprisingly game division-rival 49ers, the Cardinals found life as defending conference champs to be tougher than they thought it would be.
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.
After what seemed like about 15 straight seasons heading into the year as the trendy "sleeper" pick of the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals finally realized their potential, winning a home playoff game for the first time in the life of many football fans (myself included) and heading to the first-ever Super Bowl. Now, all of a sudden, expectations are at an all-time high. Can the team thrive, or will they disappoint?
At last, it's fantasy football draft season! And that can mean many things, but, most importantly, it means everyone is an expert. Fortunately for you, we at the Fantasy FanHouse are dishing out the goods with tips, previews and insights that can help you earn those coveted bragging rights. In this space, I'll dive right into the various strategies that can be followed on draft day.
You can go many a route: The conservative approach, the risky approach, the all or nothing approach, etc. It's up to you. Below, you'll find various views of the most recognized approaches practiced by today's fantasy owners in the first two rounds. Let's get down to business.
Every year, Madden comes out on Xbox. And every year I buy it. And every year, I don't play it enough. I know this will happen again this year and I don't care. As long as it's under $75, I'll buy it. And the introduction to this year's game (via PSAMP) only reinforces that notion, because, as usual, it is awesome. And gets me pumped; naturally, it features cover stars Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu. So, yeah, get excited Steelers fans and Will Leitch people who cheer for the Cards.
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it Summer Scramble, and this afternoon we look at some Burning Questions in the NFC West and offer a ridiculously early prediction.
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 ... Defending NFC champions. A few inches either way, and we could say the Super Bowl champions. Soak that up. The Arizona Cardinals almost took home a title. It was like a bizarro world Super Bowl -- if you only looked at the NFC side, that is. Regardless, the Cardinals did it with a prolific passing attack, and you know we love that in fantasy football.
They've lost their offensive coordinator and replaced Edgerrin James' aging legs with some fresh ones. Other than that, they look pretty similar in fantasy land. And that's a good thing.
Though most had the Minnesota Vikings as the favorites to win the NFC North heading into the season, nearly everyone agreed that either the Chicago Bears or Green Bay Packers -- or both -- would at least pose a challenge to the Vikes' second straight division crown. Instead, we're taking this division race off life support and putting it to rest after Week 9. The 2009 NFC North champions will be the Vikings. They can now focus on securing home-field advantage in the playoffs. 
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the 
When 
Training camps have wrapped up, the 
At last, it's fantasy football draft season! And that can mean many things, but, most importantly, it means everyone is an expert. Fortunately for you, we at the 
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. 
