Jay Cutler was booed and booed some more by the Bronco faithful last night and I cried at least six tears, one for each of Cutler’s incompletions. I’ll give Cutler some credit; he played well under adversity. Not that Denver has much of a defense. I was thrown a bit by Chris Collinsworth’s investigative reporting of Jay Cutler hooking up with Greg Olsen and his wife for a threesome. Now I don’t condone deviant sexual behavior in my draft picks but I will overlook it for Mr. Olsen who I have a fantasy crush on, apparently not in the same way Cutler does.
Matt Cassel: It looks like he will be sidelined week one with a MCL sprain. The Ravens were looking forward to doing that to him in week 1, but now they’ll have to settle for injuring Tyler Thigpen.
Samkon Gado: Didn’t this guy help Frodo destroy the ring of doom? Well, now he’s backing up Steven Jackson. The Rams have been looking for a #2 RB for a while now and with 2 TD’s in the last game it looks like Gado is the man. In deep leagues he is Jackson’s handcuff, but I think I’d rather have someone else if SJax goes down. No offense to Samkon, but his feet are just way too hairy.
Chris Henry: The man with two first names scores a TD for his third straight preseason game, this time against the powerhouse Rams defense! Well, whoever it was against, Henry has looked good all preseason. If he didn’t have Coles blocking him he would be going in the top 75, but he does. He has a lot of upside, but don’t reach for him just because he has had some good preseason games.
Byron Leftwich: He has won the starting job in Tampa. I was rooting for him, but this has little fantasy implication. There are some fantasy worthy players in Tampa, but I’m staying pretty far away from them.
Tom Brady: He looked like he was playing catch in the backyard with Moss once again. If Moss has single coverage it’s a touchdown. There really is no stopping them, well, unless someone like Fat Albert Haynesworth smashes Brady into the dirt and breaks his little quarterback torso in two. But sadly thankfully Brady will be ok after getting planted.
Aaron Rodgers: The Packers/Cardinals game didn’t have much defense in it, but it is always nice to see a little offensive explosion from one of your favorite players. King Friday decreed this Mr. Rodgers Day as he threw 14-19 for 358 yards and 3 TD’s in just a half. He also ran for 39 yards on 2 carries. The guy is impressive.
Chris Wells: On the other side of the ball Beanie showed he was well by rushing for 2 TD’s. This cranked his value right back up after being out with injuries. He is more talented than Hightower, but this one game doesn’t make him the starter. Temper your early season expectations and remember he may not stay healthy.
Kevin Smith: He looked good against Indianapolis, rushing for 50 yards on 8 carries and he also had 3 receptions for 33 yards. He will be solid this year. I would not be worried at all with him as my #2 RB as long as Samkon Gado isn’t my #1.
Drew Brees: It looked like a regular season game as Brees picked apart the Raiders like a beignet in the French Quarter. I like mine with coffee from Du Monde. The Raiders are soft. They have some nice players, but nothing holding them together. I know this isn’t a revelation, but keep this in mind when playing matchups.
Ray Rice: Even though Rice didn’t look great on the ground he still ended the game with 18 touches for 99 yards. This is what you get when you have a back that catches the ball as much as he runs it. Rice won’t carry the ball 30 times, but with 20 touches he’ll get you over a hundred all purpose yards. I keep drafting him whenever I can.
Hakeem Nicks: Trying to decipher the Giants’ wide receiver situation is a full time job and I am not a fan of work. The latest contender is Nicks. He caught 6 passes for 144 yards and 2 TD’s. This of course was in the second half with David Carr at QB. But with Smith and Hixon not exactly blowing people away Nicks is someone to watch, which means Smith and Hixon aren’t as high as they once were.
Jabar Gaffney: He is out with a fractured thumb for a few weeks which will make Brandon Marshall’s presence even more imperative. I’m not dropping Marshall any further. I think he is worth a late third round pick.
Teddy Bruschi: He finally retires after 47 years in the NFL. He seemed like he was a nice guy and a class act and all that, but I didn’t know him. He could have eaten live miniature horses for all I know.
