OUR FANHOUSE TOOLBAR INTEGRATES THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS INTO YOUR WEB BROWSER AND INSTALLS IN SECONDS.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE TOOLBAR HERE.

FanHouse Shayne Graham

Latest Shayne Graham Stories

Fantasy Football Week 9 Rankings: K

Stephen GostkowskiStephen Gostkowski has been one of the highest point-scoring kickers this season, so you'll always find him toward the top of the rankings. This week seems even more sure-fire, though, for two reasons. First of all, the Patriots' once-vaunted offense seemed to be back on track prior to a bye week, in which they were able to rest and further prepare. Secondly, only the Browns, Chiefs and Raiders have allowed more kicking points than the Pats' opponent this week, Miami. Gostkowski as the top kicking option is a no-brainer.

1. Stephen Gostkowski, NE vs. MIA
2. Lawrence Tynes, NYG vs. SD
3. Mason Crosby, GB at TB
4. John Carney, NO vs. CAR
5. David Akers, PHI vs. DAL

Rob Ryan Thinks Bengals Missed Game-Winning FG, NFL Disagrees

It took almost five weeks, but finally something other than awful news for the Cleveland Browns. Even though it won't show up in the standings, there's a good chance they tied the Bengals last Sunday.

During a Friday press conference, Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan said that it looked like Bengals kicker Shayne Graham missed the game-deciding 31-yard field goal attempt that the officials ultimately ruled good. Via the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot:

Cincinnati Bengals 2009 Season Preview: Signs of Hope

Bengals quarterback Carson PalmerTraining 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.

They don't allow you to take a mulligan in pro football. If they did, one has to believe the Cincinnati Bengals would take it for the whole 2008 season. An injured quarterback, problems on defense, and a controversial and somewhat unproductive wide receiver conspired to take Cincinnati down. After a 4-11-1 campaign, the Bengals are ready to (sort of) start over.

Cincinnati Bengals: Keep Carson Upright

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

It could be argued that the Cincinnati Bengals did well to win four games in 2008. They were missing their star quarterback, Carson Palmer, for the majority of the season. That left the job to an overmatched Ryan Fitzpatrick, who did his best, but was saddled with a bad running game, worse offensive line and not much defense. The Bengals found a way to win three straight at the end of the season, finishing 4-11-1.

There are many areas for improvement as the Bengals make their way toward 2009 trying like crazy to avoid doing 2008 over again. Luckily, kicker is not one of those areas of need.

Bengals Grant T.J. Houshmandzadeh's Wish, Franchise Kicker Instead

As the Cincinnati Bengals begin to reconstruct their team after a disastrous season, it makes perfect sense that they would use the franchise player designation to keep a key player around. With wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and offensive lineman Stacy Andrews among the potential free agents, the Bengals certainly had options for their tag.

With that in mind, I'm sure no one is surprised that they decided to use it. What should surprise a few people is how the Bengals have decided to use it.

Studs and Duds Week 11: Justin Gage Had Those Sticky Hands

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 with his finger in the air 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.

Here's Week 11 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.

Studs

Justin Gage, WR Tennessee (4 catches, 147 yards, 2 TDs) -- The biggest (and only, it appears) knock on the Tennessee Titans was that they cannot throw the ball because they have no wide receivers. After this outing by Gage, who caught some great balls thrown by Kerry Collins, maybe we can drop that for a week. This was the second straight game Gage snagged a ball in the end zone and his fourth touchdown of the year, moving the Titans to 10-0 and making people everywhere wonder if there is any way they can continue to win these scrappy contests. The pass-catch at the end of the game between Collins and Gage even got a reaction out of Vince Young, who I thought was pronounced dead a few weeks ago.

Eagles 13, Bengals 13: Sister Kissing Time!

You had to know that the Cincinnati Bengals would be involved in the NFL's first tie game in six years. It's been that kind of year for the boys in orange and black.

They say that a tie is like kissing your sister. I guess the Bengals and Eagles better pucker up: the two set football back years before settling for a 13-13 tie.

The odd thing is that this was a kind of winning feeling for both teams. For the Bengals, anything that doesn't show up in the loss column is a positive experience. The Eagles, who didn't know games could end in a tie, have to feel good about not coming up with a loss since they played like they should have been pounded.

Donovan McNabb went 28-for-58 for 339 yards (that will happen when you throw it a career-high 58 times), one touchdown and three interceptions. The Eagles as a whole coughed it up four times which turned into ten of Cincinnati's 13 points.

All that throwin' meant Brian Westbrook had just 14 carries for 60 yards and was basically a non-factor.

Making One Good Team Out of All the NFL's Winless Teams

The Bengals, Lions, Texans and Rams are the NFL's winless teams. They are a combined 0-17 and all seem to be staring down another bad season. One team has already lost its GM while another has fired its coach.

But what if we brought the four teams together and picked off the best guys to form a new team? Maybe they could win a game or two this season. So here we go.

QB-Carson Palmer (Cin), Marc Bulger (StL).
RB-Steven Jackson (StL), Steve Slaton (Hou), Rudi Johnson (Det)
FB-Vonta Leach (Hou)
WR-Andre Johnson (Hou), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Cin),
Roy Williams (Det), Calvin Johnson (Det)
TE-Owen Daniels (Hou), Randy McMichael (StL)
OT-Orlando Pace (StL), Stacy Andrews (Cin), Alex Barron (StL), Eric Winston (Hou)
OG-Bobbie Williams (Cin), Jacob Bell (StL), Chester Pitts (Hou)
C-Dominic Raiola (Det), Chris Myers (Hou)

Some Actual Kicker Analysis: Fantasy K Rankings, Week Six

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.

Once again, we'll try to find a kicker who plays on a capable offensive team ... that has the chance to sputter inside the red zone. I'm going with Matt Prater. The Broncos can throw the ball, but they are likely to be without Tony Scheffler and maybe even Eddie Royal. That means blanket coverage on Brandon Marshall by the Jags physical secondary. Plus, the Broncos haven't run the ball especially well, so the coverage gets tighter as the ball approaches the end-zone and the field shortens. Finally, Matt Prater has a booming leg and kicks in thin air.

I'd like to say that was fun. Still, it's a job ... some more:

- Not sure how the Browns can keep the juggernaut Giants out of the end-zone ... but extra points still count for one, and if the G-Men falter one time you're looking at a nine point day. John Carney is kicking for the Giants this weekend, by the way, not Lawrence Tynes.

- I finally love Shayne Graham. The Jets are just bad enough to allow points, but good enough to stop the Bengals deep.

- Robbie Gould never disappoints. Ever.

1. Matt Prater, vs. JAX
2. Shayne Graham, @ NYJ
3. Nick Folk, @ AZ
4. John Carney, @ CLE
5. Robbie Gould, @ ATL

Cowboys Avoid Becoming the First Team to Lose to Bengals


When games like this happen, the best thing to say is "good teams find ways to win these games; bad teams find ways to lose them."

You can kind of place that sentiment on the Dallas Cowboys' 31-22 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Dallas jumped all over the Bengals early, building a 17-0 lead. They ran the ball down Cincy's throat and instantly put the meek Bengals on the ropes.

Yet, they seemed to let off the gas a bit. Cincinnati, sensing the opportunity, used an effective mid-level passing game to get back into the game. Carson Palmer, returning after missing last week with an elbow injury, threw 39 passes for 217 yards and two big TDs to T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The Bengals had a chance to tie the game in the 4th quarter, but failed on a two-point conversion attempt.

Three plays just symbolized the Bengals season.

Featured Writers

Featured Voices