A lot of awesome running backs in the AFC West

Posted: September 24th, 2010 | Adam Rank | Tags: Darren McFadden, Laurence Maroney, Thomas Jones, Jamaal Charles, Benjarvus Green-Ellis, Michael Fabiano, Todd Haley, Michelle Beisner, Mike Tolbert, Dave Dameshek

Take a moment to consider who will be the probable running backs for the AFC West teams this weekend. Darren McFadden, Thomas Jones, Laurence Maroney and Mike Tolbert. Somebody please explain to me why Jamaal Charles is sitting on the bench?

Oh that’s right, Chiefs coach Todd Haley hates your fantasy team.

Dave Dameshek, Michelle Beisner and I will be along later to grouse about Charles, but otherwise there is some slim pickings among the AFC West backs. As evidenced by the fact that Michael Fabiano was scurrying to pick up Maroney for his 10 fantasy teams while the rest of us were hard at work in the studio.

The news continues to get worse in San Diego as Tolbert figures to start this week, especially after Ryan Mathews was withheld from practice on Friday according to the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Unfortunately, he has likely been picked clean off the waiver wire by now.

Oh well, I suppose it will be fun starting BenJarvus Green-Ellis this week.

– Adam Rank

Tweet your fantasy questions to @nflfantasy. Your Tweet might end up on the air on NFL.com Fantasy Live.

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The five Least Valuable Players of Week 2

5. Seneca Wallace(notes), QB, Cleveland Browns.

As far as quarterbacking gigs go, it doesn't get much sweeter than "guy who gets to replace Jake Delhomme(notes)." And still, Seneca Wallace disappointed. Granted, he doesn't have a lot of help in the lineup, but he lost at home to the Chiefs, and he did this:

All credit to Brandon Flowers(notes) for making the read and making the play, but holy goodness, is that a terrible throw. I think the biggest obstacle Flowers had to overcome there was the sense of disbelief he experienced when he realized that Wallace really was going to throw that ball.

4. Randy Moss(notes), WR, New England Patriots.

I know -- surprise addition to this list, right? After all, Moss did this, and that tends to overshadow anything else he did or didn't do. But a closer look at the numbers reveals that Tom Brady(notes) targeted Randy Moss 10 times, and Moss made just two catches.

For comparison's sake, Wes Welker(notes) was targeted seven times and made six catches. Granted, Welker's were of the shorter and easier variety, but still, if you're a superstar like Moss, you've got to do better than catching two of the 10 passes headed your way.

3. Joe Flacco(notes), QB, Baltimore Ravens.

When's the last time two good quarterbacks -- or at least, two quarterbacks who are supposed to be good -- faced each other, each of them threw the ball 35 or more times, and neither was able to complete even 50% of their passes or go above 170 yards? What an odd stat line.

Now, maybe this one's just the story of two great defenses. I'm not saying I'm completely sold on that idea, but maybe. Even if that is the case, the Ravens didn't allow the Cincinnati Bengals a touchdown, Ray Rice(notes) was running for more than 5 yards per carry, and they still couldn't get the win. Why? Well, four interceptions will do that to you.

Just a shocking waste of an opportunity to beat a rival opponent on the road in what figures to be a very tight division.

2. Cornell Green(notes), T, Buffalo Bills.

I'll be straight with you. I didn't watch a second of the Buffalo vs. Green Bay game. I'm sorry, but I'm not watching Buffalo unless I'm forced to at gunpoint.

However, when the performance of an offensive tackle gets him labeled "the worst offensive lineman ever," in a year where Alex Barron(notes) exists, I'll take the guy's word for it that Green was pretty bad.

1. Brett Favre(notes), QB, Minnesota Vikings.

You had to know this was coming. Favre threw three interceptions and went without a touchdown in a game that the Dolphins seemed to be actively trying to lose.

Now, one of those interceptions wasn't Favre's fault -- in fact, the throw should have resulted in a touchdown. Instead, it bounced off of Percy Harvin's(notes) chest and was intercepted. But the blame can't be placed on anyone else for the other two cripplers. Not to mention the fumble he coughed up in his own end zone.

Tarvaris Jackson(notes) was perfectly capable of getting the Vikings to 0-2, and he could have done it with far less expense and headache.

Related: Percy Harvin, Ray Rice, Brandon Flowers, Joe Flacco, Alex Barron, Wes Welker, Seneca Wallace, Tom Brady, Jake Delhomme, Randy Moss, Brett Favre, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, Most and Least Valuable

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Whitner: Bills are getting laughed at

Posted: September 23rd, 2010 | Frank Tadych | Tags: Buffalo Bills, Donte Whitner, Frank Tadych

It’s never fun being laughed at, unless, of course, you intend to be. Donte Whitner and the Bills don’t intend to be.

Whitner told Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com that the offensive players of the Packers were laughing at the Bills during the fourth quarter in Week 2, and it’s not the first time it has happened.

“It happened last week,” Whitner said. ”The Packers were laughing at us. Aaron Rodgers and a lot of those guys were laughing at us toward the end of the football game and that never feels good.”

When asked about the keys for turning around the teams’ fortunes, Whitner says the Patriots are perennial laughers.

“We want to get things turned around, but at the same time it’s football teams with grown men laughing at other grown men on the football field,” he said. ”That happened to us in the ball game last week and it happens every time we play New England. So we’ve got to stop that and we look forward to stopping that. We’re ready to beat New England and I know coach wants to go up there and beat New England. So we have an opportunity and what we do with that opportunity is up to us.”

It leaves one to wonder what teams are saying to the Lions, who have lost 33 of their last 35 games.

– Frank Tadych

Posted in: Around The Web  

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NFL Week Three Video Preview: Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay

SportsGab Editor Matt Loede takes a look and previews this week three matchup between the Steelers and Bucs in Tampa Bay.

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Texans WR Johnson says he felt pretty good today

Posted: September 22nd, 2010 | Adam Rank | Tags: Houston Texans, Andre Johnson, Shonn Greene, Louise Brooks

Texans WR Andre Johnson participated in the team’s walk-through before practice on Wednesday and should be doing a little bit more on Thursday, according to Nick Scurfield of the team’s official site (via Twitter). Johnson told Scurfeld that he “felt pretty good today.”

Johnson’s ankle is reportedly better than mine, which I injured jumping off the Shonn Greene bandwagon lately. In fact, I do not believe that this much attention has been paid to an ankle since 1920s film maiden Louise Brooks flashed some ankle during one of the many talkies she appeared in back in the day.

– Adam Rank

Tweet your fantasy questions to @nflfantasy. Your Tweet might end up on the air on NFL.com Fantasy Live.

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Final Word: NFC South

? NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South ? AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of wisdom about Week 3.

[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Chuck BurtonHow well will Steve Smith mesh with rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen?Three-ring circus. Think about this: Steve Smith, Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens all will be in Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, which means the game between the Panthers and Bengals has the potential to be highly entertaining. I never thought I’d say this, but if you put those three receivers on the prima donna or volatility scale, Smith would probably come in third in both categories. Then again, with the Panthers 0-2 and turning to rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen, Smith’s engine might be running a little hotter than usual.

Trial balloon. I’m more than a little surprised the game between the undefeated Steelers and the undefeated Buccaneers didn’t sell out in time to lift the local television blackout for Tampa Bay. From what I’ve been able to gather, the Bucs weren’t all that far from a sellout. Last year, the Bucs would have bought up those tickets and made sure the game got on television. It probably would have cost in the neighborhood of $500,000 to $750,000 to make this game was a sellout and the Bucs were really in a no-win situation. If they sold out, people would have said it was because Pittsburgh fans bought up the tickets. If the Bucs win this one and start 3-0, they show they’re for real. From there on out, their fans will be the ones on the hot seat. If there’s a good product on the field, it’s time to show up at the stadium and the Bucs might be testing their fans for the future.

Give the kid a chance. Advice to Carolina fans: Do not expect Clausen to step right in and save the world. He’s a rookie quarterback and he’s only got one legitimate wide receiver. But I think you’ve got a right to expect Clausen to be at least a little better than Matt Moore was in the first two weeks.

Trap game? A lot of people talked about the Monday night game in San Francisco being a trap game for the Saints. They made it through that and I don’t think you can say Atlanta really is a trap game because the Saints never take the Falcons lightly. If the Saints really are going to have a chance to win back-to-back Super Bowls, this game will be a huge test. It comes against a good team and it comes after the Saints have played two grueling games.

Dunta’s game. Let’s break this down to the simplest of terms. The Falcons signed cornerback Dunta Robinson to play two games a year against the New Orleans Saints. Sure, there’s a little more to it than that. But the Falcons know the road to the NFC South title runs through New Orleans and is dotted by Drew Brees and all his wide receivers. The Falcons went out and signed Robinson to counter that. A lot of people say the Falcons overpaid to get Robinson. If he helps get them a victory against New Orleans, I say Robinson will have earned his salary.

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Fireman Ed charged with simple assault for pushing Giants fan

Even fans of the New York Jets can't stay out of trouble with the law.

Famed J-E-T-S fan Fireman Ed has been charged with simple assault stemming from a brief altercation with a Giants fan during the team's preseason meeting at New Meadowlands Stadium. The incident was caught live on ESPN:

That's assault? I've seen worse (and more mature) skirmishes at pee-wee soccer games.

But according to Conor Orr at the Newark Star-Ledger, a judge agreed to charge Ed Anzalone, the 51-year-old retired firefighter, for assaulting Christopher Black, the Giants fan who disrupted his cheer. After the incident on Aug. 16, Black was arrested and banned from the stadium while Anzalone was allowed to stay.

In a statement, Black's lawyer did a lot of whining about his client getting "shoved" and "shoved down to the ground" (get a thesaurus with your retainer, bro), evidently unaware that video of the incident is widely available on a number of video sites.

Black and Anzalone will appear in court at a later date. As of now, the judge has no plans to charge Black for his biggest crime of all: that Amani Toomer(notes) jersey.

Related: Amani Toomer, New York Jets

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