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Handcuffs and Committees: A Fantasy Football Spin on Backfields

Posted: Aug 11th 2009 8:00AM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Draft Advice

For those who may use a different term or are new to fantasy football, "handcuff" is the term used when you own insurance for one of your players in the form of owning his real-life backup. It's usually a running back, but you could conceivably handcuff a quarterback. The theory is that some or all of the production is automatically replaced should you lose a high draft pick to injury, meaning you need to insure a high draft pick by grabbing his backup.

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Fantasy Football Team Preview: Broncos

Posted: Jul 14th 2009 9:30AM by Ryan Dembinsky (author feed)
Filed under: Draft Advice, 2009 Team Previews

1 COMMENT

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 ...
Kyle Orton Dead Arm Syndrome: a condition characterized by a complete lack of strength in the upper arm. Despite hosting the NFL's second most productive offense in 2008, averaging just shy of 400 yards per game, and the third best passing offense in the league, the introduction of Orton as the starting quarterback puts the kibosh on the productivity. Orton has a weak arm, relies heavily on check-down passes and makes bad decisions. In terms of supporting cast, the receivers are a huge upgrade from his days in Chicago with Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, but Marshall wants out so be sure to keep a close eye on this situation. Also, new head coach and signal-caller Josh McDaniels runs a spread offense, so he'll need to rely on Orton probably more than anyone would ever want. I don't expect the offense to suffer immensely with a solid new batch of runners, but it definitely takes a dive from last season.

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Fantasy Spin: The New Broncos Offense

Posted: Mar 2nd 2009 3:35PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: NFL Bust a Move

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Despite not being a great real football team in 2008, we always knew one thing about the Denver Broncos: They really matter in fantasy football. You're talking about a team who amassed the second most yards in the league. Only two teams passed for more yards, and -- despite the neverending assembly line of running backs -- they managed to average 4.8 yards per carry on the ground.

Heading into 2009, the team will have a different look. For of all, for the first time since I began playing fantasy football, their head coach will not be notorious alleged fantasy-hater, Mike Shanahan.

Continue Reading Fantasy Spin: The New Broncos Offense

Denver Broncos: Mile High Overhaul

Posted: Feb 25th 2009 11:30AM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Filed under: Broncos, AFC West

2 COMMENTS

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

It's a brave new world in Denver, where the Broncos will take the field without Mike Shanahan on the sideline for the first time since 1995. Josh McDaniels, their new coach, was 19 back then, and has one of the shortest resumes of any head coach in NFL history. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, but it was clear that Shanahan's system was no longer bearing fruit and the team may benefit just from the change of voice on the sideline.

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Are You a Running Back? If So, Call the Broncos

Posted: Dec 8th 2008 4:00PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Filed under: Broncos, AFC West, NFL Injuries

1 COMMENT

Just think, there was a time when the Broncos thought Travis Henry was the worst thing that could ever happen to their running game. Turns out the Henry era was only the precursor for the unit's complete collapse this season. Peyton Hillis will miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, which makes him the sixth Bronco running back to go down to injury this season.

Hillis became the latest name in the pantheon of "unknowns who Mike Shanahan plugged in successfully." He was a seventh-rounder on a team loaded with backs but ran for 305 yards and five touchdowns over the last four weeks.

Michael Pittman, Anthony Aldridge, Andre Hall and Ryan Torain are already out for the season. Selvin Young, the starter at the outset of the season, has played in just one of the last eight games because of a groin injury. Given all those players, its amazing that Hillis even made the team and lasted long enough to help them over the last month

That leaves Tatum Bell, one-time Bronco starter and scourge of the Lions locker room, and P.J. Pope as the only healthy running backs in the Rockies. The Broncos did give wide receiver Eddie Royal three carries yesterday, so perhaps they'll be creative in filling the need. Or, more likely, they'll just put even more on Jay Cutler's shoulders.

Fantasy Spin: Denver's Dire Running Back Situation

Posted: Nov 10th 2008 9:19PM by Sean Lalley (author feed)
Filed under: Fantasy Football

1 COMMENT

That's Sammy Winder. He sure can't help the Broncos can he? Yup, healthy RBs have become scarce in Denver these days.

Like many, who'd been quietly or in my case (not so quietly) – awaiting the arrival/return of fantasy savior Ryan Torain, Thursday night was nothing short of disaster. The Ryan Torain era was something special, now wasn't it? I was just about ready to dish out a round of self high fives as Torain was grinding his way through the Cleveland defense to the tune of 68 yards and a TD early into the 2nd quarter. And then everything hit the skids with the word coming on Friday that Torain is done for the season, torn ACL.

Well, it's simply time to come to grips with the fact that (beep) happens, but you've gotta keep on keeping on. Besides, having all your eggs in the Denver backfield is never a way to go through life. Trust me; I wasn't banking on Torain being a savior, rather a welcome bonus addition. Moving on, what's more important now is sorting out what lies ahead for the Denver offense.

I mean, seriously, they are down to virtually no healthy RBs. They've now lost three RBs in Michael Pittman, Andre Hall, and Ryan Torain to season-ending injuries and Selvin Young is hardly 100 percent and/or reliable. Is this some kind of karmic payback for Shanahan being the Satan of fantasy RBs? Paging Olandis Gary please? So, what options do they have? Let's take a look ...

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Injuries to Watch: Week 10

Posted: Nov 7th 2008 5:25PM by Ryan Dembinsky (author feed)
Filed under: Fantasy Football, NFL Injury Report

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Every week when the dinner bell rings on Friday evening, we'll be here to provide you a comprehensive commentary of the key injuries for the NFL weekend to follow. For those injuries that go right down to the wire, drop by our Fantasy Fanhouse expert live chat from 10am to 1pm EST every Sunday and we'll take care of you on those bloody game-time decisions. As always, please feel free to chime in with opinions, updates, and rumors in the comments.

The Arizona Cardinals

Larry Fitzgerald- Fitty missed his Wednesday practice and was not a full participant on Thursday due to a thumb injury. Remember though, this is Larry Fitzgerald, so even if he only had one hand he would be a must-start.

The Baltimore Ravens

Willis McGahee - Willis McGahee is part of the fantasy circus this week after Ray Rice filled in with a humongous game last week. Now Baltimore's offensive coordinator, Cam Cameron, looks to be leaning toward Rice regardless, but nothing is set as of this point. Given McGahee's lingering injury, I would sit this week out and see what happens unless some very concrete news surfaces about McGahee's availability and the safety of his starting job.

Ray Rice - As if the backfield situation in Baltimore was not confusing enough already, Ray Rice has been limited in practice this week with a chest injury. Still, he looks ready to go and should be a pretty strong start this week.

The Carolina Panthers

Jonathan Stewart - Stewart seems to have pretty serious pain in his heel and has been wearing the boot. At this point, he is considered day-to-day, but this seems worse than just day-to-day. He explained that he feels intense pain every time he puts pressure on the foot, so I'd go elsewhere this week. Plus, even if he is healthy, he'll be sharing carries with DeAngelo Williams.

Continue Reading Injuries to Watch: Week 10

Big Fantasy Night: Fallout From Broncos/Browns Thursday Night Tilt

Posted: Nov 7th 2008 12:36PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Fantasy Football, NFL Injury Report, NFL New Studs

0 COMMENTS

As long as you weren't counting on the D/ST units or playing in an IDP league, last night was a fantasy football paradise for most. Both sides had several fantasy relevant players going. The uncertainly of the Broncos seemingly crumbling offense teamed with JD McCoy's debut as a starter made for great theater, and we were not let down. Let's run through the major players and dissect what we saw and what it means moving forward.

Brady Quinn
We didn't see many mistakes, did we? He's got weapons, and he used them quite well last night. He especially loved his tight end, Kellen Winslow. Unfortunately, Winslow took away any hope of a miracle comeback when he let a fourth down pass slip right through his hands on the Browns final offensive play. The Browns have to be pleased with the numbers from their rookie. He connected on 23 of 35 attempts for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Most importantly, he didn't turn the ball over.

You have to curb your enthusiasm a bit, because the Broncos have an absolute pathetic defense which has been decimated via injury and futility. On the other hand, Quinn certainly showed he's capable of a big fantasy game. He's going to improve as time moves further, so when you see him facing the Texans (Week 12), get him active. He's a matchup-based start.

Continue Reading Big Fantasy Night: Fallout From Broncos/Browns Thursday Night Tilt

Panthers to Run All Over Raiders: Week 10 Fantasy Football RB Rankings

Posted: Nov 6th 2008 9:30AM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: NFL Position Rankings, Fantasy Football

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FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, you need more players ranked, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

Believe it or not, the Oakland Raiders are not horrible at something. They rank 18th against the pass. Not exactly anything to write home about, but it's not as horrifying as the rest of their stat lines. They routinely get chewed up against the run. Enter the two-headed monster of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.

I do think the Panthers get some serious Jake Delhomme to Steve Smith action in the books early, but the game is gonna be out of hand shortly thereafter After that they'll just keep the chains and clock moving via the ground attack. I believe Williams runs for the majority of the yards and gets in the end-zone, and I like Stewart to score as well.

More notes after the rankings.

1. LaDanian Tomlinson, vs. KC
2. Adrian Peterson, vs. GB
3. Brian Westbrook, vs. NYG
4. Frank Gore, at ARI
5. Thomas Jones, vs. StL

Continue Reading Panthers to Run All Over Raiders: Week 10 Fantasy Football RB Rankings

Can Broncos Once Mighty Fantasy Point Machine be Salvaged?

Posted: Nov 5th 2008 6:35PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Fantasy Football

0 COMMENTS

The Denver Broncos offense stormed out of the gate this season, leading all of us to believe that Jay Cutler to Brandon Marshall was going to be the nouveau Young to Rice or Manning to Harrison. Even if it was a poor-man's type deal, you have to admit, that Week 2 showing in which Marshall torched the Chargers secondary for 166 yards and a touchdown on 18 grabs was amazing.

Others were getting in on the action as well, as the Broncos racked up an absurd 1257 passing yards in their first four games ... piling up 133 points and 100 first downs in the process. I mean, this was a veritable machine. A big problem -- which we should have foreseen as a potential issue -- was that there wasn't a balance. The Broncos were running for only 28 percent of their total yardage, and there was never a true feature back being utilized by Mike Shanahan.

In the four games since then, the turnovers have piled up, points have drastically gone down, and the passing game isn't as prolific as it was. Compare the numbers above to 69 first downs, 57 points, and 893 passing yards. It's safe to say their collective fantasy value has been decimated.

Can we expect a change, or have the wheels come completely off the former machine?

Continue Reading Can Broncos Once Mighty Fantasy Point Machine be Salvaged?