Fantasy Football Fix August 26th 2010

Fantasy Football Fix August 26th 2010

Coach Todd Haley finally admitted that he trusts Thomas Jones more than Jamaal Charles as he has already proven an ability to hold up over an entire 16 game+ season. He notes that Charles only has a 8 game sample size and that he is concerned about Charles durability. This was a common knock on this former sprinter coming out of college and it is why he was ticketed as a change of pace back in the NFL similar to Jerome Harrison. But both had big second halfs, but their coaches and G.M’s both brought in big, power backs to share the load and in the Browns case to be the starter.  It now looks like Charles’ touches per game may be limited as Haley tries to keep him both healthy and fresh for the entire season.

With Demaryius Thomas aggravating his foot injury once again Eddie Royal has been removed from return duties so he can focus on receiving. This gives us a perspective of McDaniel’s true depth chart: Jabar Gaffney, Demaryius Thomas, Eddie Royal. React accordingly.

Montario Hardesty finally returns to practice and it should be in short-order that Montario overtakes Jerome Harrison as the starter. As has been said before Hardesty is a new regime back and health permitting he will take over as the feature back in this smash-mouth offense and potentially tote the ball 25+ times a game, if the rest of the offense allows for it of course.

Darren McFadden is creating some oohs and ahhs and appears to have his burst back. He is also noticeably bigger and stronger in the upper body. McFadden is still a top-5 running back in the NFL based on talent, and we are looking to capitalize on a potential breakout. Acquire in all formats and see if much like is the case with wide receivers if McFadden just needed three years to truly blossom as well.

In a big blow to dynasty league owners rookie James Starks may start the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and this will put a serious damper in his ability to make a fantasy impact this year after the third spot on the running back depth chart recently opened up due to injury. Starks is still a dynasty stash but owners will have to wait longer than anticipated for Starks to start to make his move.

The Arizona Cardinals are ready to give up on Matt Leinart and the Seattle Seahawks may have some interest according to ProFootballTalk. Derek Anderson will be the one starting the third preseason game and if he gives a good showing he will likely be handed the starting job. This is a reoccurring theme with Leinart….named starter in off-season only to have job stripped and handed to more reliable veteran. Wait until the conclusion of Arizona’s preseason game to make a decision on a Derek Anderson pickup, but we like his prospects as a big armed quarterback playing with Larry Fitzgerald and a former 1000 yard receiver in Steve Breaston.

Leon Washington has been getting reps with the first-team offense and it is only a matter of time before Pete Carroll gives his favorite Seahawks running back the starting job. So much for Justin Forsett as a sleeper. Lets be quiet about this one and snag Leon Washington in the later rounds of remaining drafts. Acquire in all formats as Leon Washington has the skills to turn a potential RBBC in Seattle into a 60/40 timeshare with him leading the way.

Sammy Morris is slated to start the Patriots third preseason game. The third game of the preseason often indicates depth chart pecking orders and normally we would recommend an add of Sammy Morris. We still suggest picking him up in deeper leagues but this is a full-blown RBBC where the fullbacks also get into the mix for touches so avoid the situation completely save for bye-week fillers.

Dynasty league sleeper Emmanuel Sanders is progressing quickly and is now learning the flanker position after leaning the nuances of the split-end position in the Steelers offense. Sanders may be ready to make a small fantasy impact as soon as mid-season. The Steelers want to get Sanders on the field as much as possible and learning both flanker and split-end will help allow for that to happen.

Preseason report: Tight ends Rob Gronkowski of the Patriots and Micheal Hoomanawanui of the Rams put the fantasy football world on notice and they both look to be top red-zone targets of their respective quarterbacks. Hoomanawanui will likely end up with the most receiving touchdowns of any Rams player and Gronkowski has the chance to reach 6+ TD’s on the season with Tom Brady as his quarterback. Both are adds in dynasty leagues and players to put on you watch list in redraft leagues.