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Braylon Edwards Traded to New York Jets, Fantasy Football Fallout

With the announcement earlier Wednesday morning that Braylon Edwards had been traded to the New York Jets, we figured we'd fire up a mini-version of the value machine. We'll take a look at the shift in value for all fantasy relevant players on both the Jets and Braylon's former team, the Cleveland Browns, who is effected.

Braylon Edwards - Tough choice here (please note sarcasm). It wasn't possible for his value to fall any further. I do think this trade really helps him, due to his attitude. He's a selfish player who wants to be in the spotlight and there's no bigger spotlight than New York. I believe he falls in line due to the fact that he's out of Cleveland, in New York and playing for a winning team. We'll place him in WR3 territory for now, with the chance to move up to WR2 by season's end.

Cleveland Browns 2009 Season Preview: Mangini's New Beginning

Browns wide receiver Braylon EdwardsTraining 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.

The Cleveland Browns may have canned Romeo Crennel after a disastrous season (well, more than just one), but they aren't opposed to hiring clones of former Browns and current Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The team went from Crennel, a former defensive coordinator, to former defensive coordinator and -- most recently -- deposed Jets head coach Eric Mangini.

Fantasy Football Cut-N-Go: Bulger Fractures Pinky, Other Non-Favre News

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's daily gathering of links from around the web, covering the goings-on in NFL Training Camp which have an impact on fantasy value.

Brett Favre obviously dominated the news today, and the injury to Chaz Schilens is also fantasy-worthy. I wouldn't touch Favre in any but the deepest of fantasy leagues, and I'd definitely suggest keeping Schilens in the back of our minds for the stretch run. You can read extended fantasy analysis on both moves further down the fantasy page.

What else is happening around the league? Read on.

Cleveland's Wide Receiver Plan B Moves Forward With Mike Furrey

In a perfect world, Cleveland would break its first offensive huddle next season, send Braylon Edwards to one side of the field, Donte Stallworth to the other, and both would catch everything thrown in his direction. But, as Browns fans can heartily attest, 'tis not a perfect world.

Bray Bray might get traded because he's got the dropsies, Stallworth is facing DUI manslaughter charges and the Browns' other returning receivers (led by Joshua Cribbs) are role players at best. So new head coach Eric Mangini is doing his best to fill the gaps -- the latest coming with the signing of former Lion Mike Furrey.

Steelers Are Going to Count On Sweed

If today's story in the Post-Gazette is correct, the Steelers are going to have an awfully boring offseason. The paper quotes Steelers' director of football ops Kevin Colbert as saying that he doesn't expect the Steelers to sign any free agents. Colbert also singles out wide receiver as one position where the Steelers are almost assured to stand pat.

That assertion means Pittsburgh will be relying on second-year man Limas Sweed and likely a draft pick to be the team's No. 3 and No. 4 receivers this year.

Roy Williams Returns to Detroit Dressed as Tatum Bell (Sort of)


I suppose it's a lot easier to have a sense of humor when you no longer play for the Lions. Wide receiver Roy Williams, who was traded from Detroit to Dallas earlier this month, was back in the Motor City for Mike Furrey's annual Halloween party. And while there will always be a special place in my heart for Jon Kitna's spot-on 2007 effort as a naked, drunk-driving assistant coach, Williams truly outdid himself.
Williams came dressed as former Lions running back Tatum Bell, who made national headlines two months ago when he was accused of pilfering the travel bags of Detroit running back Rudi Johnson. Williams was wearing a bellhop uniform with a big name tag that said "T. Bell.''
There's even video evidence after the jump.

The Roy Williams Trade: Spiking Fantasy Values Across the Board

By now you've heard the news that Roy Williams was dealt to the Dallas Cowboys -- not that Roy Williams, but this Roy Williams (see image). Yes sir, the Lions opted to throw in the towel on their debacle of a half-century season and part ways with the former first-rounder. Meanwhile, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys swooped into to grab some more big-name talent under the same business model as the New York Yankees.

It all depends which side of the camp you're on when pegging one side the winner or the other the loser from a football perspective. However, there weren't just two teams affected by this deal. No sir, there were millions upon millions of teams affected by this deal. And that's where we come in with the fantasy spin. Yup, aside from just your fantasy team, there's a whole grocery list of players from both the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions that may have seen their fortunes change for the better or worse today.

Let's start with the Lions...

Lions Place Jon Kitna on Injured Reserve

The NFL's trade deadline has come and gone, and despite a few rumblings yesterday, quarterback Jon Kitna remains a member of the Detroit Lions. For now. Just don't expect to see him setting foot on the field anytime soon, seeing as he's officially been placed on injured reserve, ending his season, as reported by Tom Kowalski.

The news came just minutes after the 4:00 PM ET trade deadline, which saw the Lions send wide receiver Roy Williams packing to Dallas for a boatload of draft picks.

With Kitna now on the shelf, and Williams catching passes for the Cowboys, the Lions will now turn their offense over to the scrambling abilities of Dan Orlovsky. It's all bad news for Calvin Johnson, as he's going to be dealing with the added coverage that comes with Mike Furrey or Shaun McDonald lining up opposite him, while his quarterback runs out of the end zone.

Settle in, Lions fans, it could be a long season.

The Dugout: ProStars?

Saturday morning cartoons these days (the ones that still exist) are nothing but flash animation with no deeper worth than the bright colors and farts that fill them. Things weren't like this when I was a kid. No, when I was a kid, cartoons were shameless attempts at selling me toys, and then different toys or toy-related foods and services during the commercials. Occasionally they would try to sell me on the danger of drugs (usually marijuana... I learned it by watching you) or the enjoyment of "sports" (usually extreme).

ProStars was the best/worst/most Hammerman-esque example of this. The 400-minute cartoon (if I'm remembering it correctly) starred Bo Jackson, Michael Jordan, and Wayne Gretzky (not really) as sports-themed super heroes who fight crime using super versions of sports equipment. Sometimes they'd write "sports" on a brick and throw it at a criminal!

Anyway, updating ProStars is a project that is long overdue, and it's about time somebody brought the world's sports together once more to save kids from fires and rollerblade under rapidly-closing doors.

Tonight's esoteric-ass Dugout is after the jump.

Never Too Early: Detroit Lions Fantasy Football Preview

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Adam Sandler movie of the NFL: always entertaining, yet never really winning anything notable. Whether it's drafting a WR in three consecutive first rounds (slapstick/unrealistic comedy like Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore), putting together a highly productive offense in terms of fantasy football (funny, yet quasi-legit Big Daddy or Wedding Singer? Maybe?), or guaranteeing ten wins ("I'm gonna go legit with Spanglish!"); you'll always be entertained and they'll always avoid the playoffs. This year is no different. The former laughingstock of a division is now somewhat of a powerhouse, and the Lions are still a step behind even the obviously third-best Bears. If you want entertainment, though, they won't disappoint.

The Breakout
Calvin Johnson is ready to take the next step after becoming acclimated to the NFL in his rookie season. I love it when people proclaim a rookie to have freaky mad skills and then if he doesn't perform to expectations he's an afterthought one year later. That's a year of experience, man. Never a bad thing. He's ready to make the leap into fantasy stud-dom. You'll see.

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