If your fantasy football team is off to a rough start, one of the best remedies is FanHouse's cram session podcast. Is it time to abandon Eddie Royal? Will Matt Forte play up to his first-round billing? And what should you do about that frustrating Terrell Owens? Get answers to these questions and much more as Tom Herrera and Matt Snyder dish out advice heading into Week 4. Listen up after the jump.
It feels kind of like Batman and Robin have broken up and went their separate ways. The dynamic duo that once roamed the open field for the Cincinnati Bengals in no more! T.J. Houshmandzadeh bolted town, leaving his old buddy from college and the pros Chad Ochocinco all alone, trapped in the jungle. Well, the question that begs is who is gonna be better off, or will they both suffer?
Sounds like a raging debate that can only be settled by arguing. OK, more like weighing the pros and cons. And after a few emails back and forth, Ryan Dembinksy and I decided to tackle this proposition. Let's get debating, shall we?
When John Madden attached his name to a football video game in 1989, no one could have seen its extreme popularity coming. These days, the NFL video game produced by EA Sports still bears Madden's name, and it's the biggest sports video game around.
The 2010 version of the game will be released August 14, and hordes of fans will be in line at midnight openings of video game stores around the country. Apparently, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh will not be among them.
Update (June 24): Jennings' extension is officially done, according to a press release issued this afternoon by the Packers. No terms were released, other than that the deal is a "long-term" one.
The Green Bay Packers have developed a bit of a reputation. While general manager Ted Thompson has made clear through his actions (or lack thereof) that he doesn't like overpaying for free agents, he does like to reward his homegrown players with contract extensions.
The Philadelphia Eagles put together a great run to end the season, eventually making it to the NFC Championship game (again) with Donovan McNabb at quarterback. His week 12 benching seemed all but forgotten, until McNabb reminded the media that things were still kind of awkward.
Then word sprung up that McNabb and the Eagles were getting close to a new deal. But before that could happen, McNabb, according to Michael Smith at ESPN, decided to step away from negotiations, in order that he might find out what the Eagles' offseason would include before signing an extension.
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.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
If anyone still cared about the NHL, the Sabres might make it three whole things that people love about Buffalo. As it is, there's wings -- and then there's the Bills. Sadly, Canada seems intent on stealing the NFL away from the city in the middle of the night. Relevancy (almost achieved following a 4-0 start last season) would greatly enhance the Bills' chance of hanging around Buffalo.
There are bigger problems at play, but "nice offseason additions" would greatly benefit the franchise and head coach Dick Jauron. And there are plenty of areas that will need to be addressed over the coming months.
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.
Nate Washington has always been a enigma to Steelers fans. Some (like me) have always had a (maybe unhealthy) fascination with his big-play ability. Other Steelers fans have been constantly frustrated by his tendency to drop passes.
But as big a Washington fan as I am, I have to admit that I was surprised to see that Mike Lombardi's free agent rankings. According to Lombardi, Washington is the second-best free agent receiver available, topped only by Antonio Bryant. To Lombardi, T.J. Houshmandzadeh rates below Washington.
Compared to what Lions fans are dealing with, folks in Kansas City and Cincinnati are rooting for a team that is on the right track. Of course, we all know that isn't true, as the Chiefs just capped off a 2-14 season, their worst in franchise history.
They did manage to win two games, but this truly was one of the worst teams in NFL history. Counting last year, they have lost 23 of 25 games. The Chiefs recorded just 10 sacks this season, breaking the record for least sacks in a season (the Colts had 11 in 1982).
What is amazing is that they were sharing the field with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals have been one of the worst franchises in the NFL over the past 17 years and were 1-11-1 just three weeks ago. An upset win over the Redskins and wins over the listless Browns and Chiefs gave Cincy a nice three-game winning streak to end the season. It also gives an excuse for owner Mike Brown to stay the course and keep head coach Marvin Lewis.
It feels kind of like Batman and Robin have broken up and went their separate ways. The dynamic duo that once roamed the open field for the Cincinnati Bengals in no more! T.J. Houshmandzadeh bolted town, leaving his old buddy from college and the pros Chad Ochocinco all alone, trapped in the jungle. Well, the question that begs is who is gonna be better off, or will they both suffer?
When John Madden attached his name to a football video game in 1989, no one could have seen its extreme popularity coming. These days, the NFL video game produced by EA Sports still bears Madden's name, and it's the biggest sports video game around.
Update (June 24): Jennings' extension is officially done, according to a press release issued this afternoon by the Packers. No terms were released, other than that the deal is a "long-term" one.
The Philadelphia Eagles put together a great run to end the season, eventually making it to the NFC Championship game (again) with Donovan McNabb at quarterback. His week 12 benching seemed all but forgotten, until McNabb reminded the media that things were still kind of awkward.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
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.
Nate Washington has always been a enigma to Steelers fans. Some (like me) have always had a (maybe unhealthy) fascination with his big-play ability. Other Steelers fans have been constantly frustrated by his tendency to drop passes.
Compared to what Lions fans are dealing with, folks in Kansas City and Cincinnati are rooting for a team that is on the right track. Of course, we all know that isn't true, as the Chiefs just capped off a 2-14 season, their worst in franchise history.
