FanHouse RandyMoss

If the Dolphins had been able to march into Foxborough Sunday and find a way to beat the vaunted New England Patriots Sunday, the AFC East would have been quite the muddled division. Even the Buffalo Bills would have been within striking distance, while the Jets and Dolphins would have trailed the Pats by a single game with eight to play.

After a Ronnie Brown touchdown pass -- which was surely a flashback to last year's Wildcat-fest in New England -- the Patriots found themselves facing a 17-16 deficit with 4:51 left in the third quarter, and the Dolphins appeared on the verge of the critical road upset.

But Tom Brady, Randy Moss and company weren't having that.

The 2009 Patriots look nothing like the Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli creations that dominated the league for most of this decade. Tom Brady's reconstructed knee has something to do with that, but the complete lack of a defense hasn't helped much, either. Especially in the second half.

"This was a problem against the Bills and an insurmountable one against the Jets, who rang up 197 yards and 13 points in the second half to 57 yards and a field goal in the first. Worse, the first two quarterbacks they've faced, Trent Edwards and rookie Mark Sanchez, finished with passer ratings of 114.1 and 101.1. It is unlikely the last game either plays this season will be the Pro Bowl."

That was Ron Borges, who has made a living panning Belichick and the organization, even as they reeled off three Super Bowls in four years. But he actually makes a good point here (hey, it happens). Of course, no Borges column would be complete without getting in a few shots, and this time he targets Randy Moss.

Are you ready for some football? A Monday Night Partaaay? The NFL Monday Night Football season kicks off in grand style with a double-feature, which means double the fantasy impact. Tonight's matchups feature a lot of exciting fantasy angles, so we thought it fitting to provide a quick MNF preview to give you the key storylines.

- Arguably one of the biggest question marks of the 2009 fantasy season rests on the chest of longtime juggernaut, LaDainian Tomlinson. San Diego signed backup Darren Sproles to a mega-contract and Tomlinson posted just slightly less than fantastic numbers in 2008, so his value ground lowered this draft season. Monday night, LdT will prove to all those Forte, Slaton and Turner owners that you should never second-guess a legend.

For the Oakland Raiders, "Commitment to Excellence" has taken on a whole new meaning in recent years. The organization has won 24 times in six seasons, and owner Al Davis is solely responsible for the current predicament.

The latest move -- sending the Patriots a 2011 first-round pick for Richard Seymour -- virtually guarantees that the ineptitude will continue. And if you're wondering how Davis, who shipped Randy Moss to New England for a fourth-rounder in 2007, manages to sustain the haplessness, the Raiders trade chart cheat sheet might hold some clues.

A glimpse into the madness after the jump.

In continuing with our three-part series on ADP analysis, today we look at the second method in which average draft position can be utilized to uncover values come draft day -- trend analysis.

This approach involves following a sequence of successive ADP charts over a span of time, usually a couple of months (or anteing up for a premium service that tracks more detailed mock draft data), and following the trends. Trends in ADP are great indicators of who is moving up or down on depth charts, which players have made breakthroughs in camp, and most of all, who got dinged up in camp -- information that can be daunting to follow on a player-by-player basis.

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Al Davis loves speedy wide receivers and strong-armed quarterbacks. These are well-known facts that explain -- though don't justify -- many of the Raiders' draft-day decisions.

There was a time, 25 to 30 years ago, when Oakland's reliance on the deep pass was integral to its success. But defenses evolve to combat offensive advancements and what was in vogue a few seasons back will almost certainly be obsolete today.

It's an arms race. Unless you're Davis, who still has visions of Kenny Stabler or Jim Plunkett regularly connecting with Cliff Branch. Meanwhile, the reality is that the Raiders are one of the worst organizations in the league, and there's no reason to think that will change anytime soon.

And on the second day (of Patriots training camp), Tom Brady spoke. One day after rain somehow prevented him from speaking at an indoor press conference, the New England quarterback addressed a group of reporters after the morning session of practice Friday in Foxborough. Among the things he said was that he expected his surgically repaired left knee to be healthy enough to allow him to play in the Patriots' preseason games, which begin Aug. 13 at Philadelphia.

Brady's quotes courtesy of Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe:

The Minnesota Vikings finished the 1998 season with 15 wins. The offense averaged almost 35 points a game (best in the league) with a 35-year-old Randall Cunningham under center, two big-play receivers in Cris Carter and Randy Moss, and a steady run game led by Robert Smith and Leroy Hoard.

And Brian Billick was the brains behind it all. He would parlay his successes as the Vikes' offensive coordinator into a head-coaching gig with the Ravens. Billick's offensive philosophy in Baltimore never produced anything approaching what he was able to accomplish in Minnesota, and by the time he was fired nine years later, he was known as much for his inability to develop a franchise quarterback or find a deep threat at wide receiver as he was for the organization's 2000 Super Bowl win.

So it is with some irony that the man behind Kyle Boller weighs in on the Vikings' current stable of quarterbacks now that Brett Favre has temporarily* announced his retirement.

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 ...
Troops of Tom Brady. Yes, there are plenty of guys on this team who matter -- not sure if you've heard of Randy Moss, for example -- but this season it is all about the health of Tom Brady. He's going to be nearly a year removed from tearing his ACL in 2008 when the season begins. Now that Matt Cassel is gone, the weight of the team is on Brady's shoulders.

Really, the picture here is perfect. There are guys in the background wearing the same uniform, but they are a bit blurry. Brady is front and center, and the focus of the photo.

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Earlier this week, EA Sports released the player ratings for Madden 10. And now, with the NFL Draft in the rearview, and nothing else to do between now and training camps, we'll ponder the important questions. Like: How is [Player who is obviously rated too high] rated above [Player who is obviously rated too low]?

It's fun and original!