Overview

Take the 32nd ranked offense and 31st ranked defense and what do you get? Well, at this stage in the season you get an 0-5 team with just a hint of a prayer to win a game this season: the St. Louis Rams. The Rams have been outscored by more than 22 points per game this season, have been shut out twice, and have scored more than ten points once.

But, hey, Jacksonville is struggling too. Last week at Seattle they were blown out 41-0, a startling loss considering they actually had a two-game win streak going into it. A frustrated Maurice Jones-Drew was prompted to say after the game that he is the second-highest paid “decoy” in the NFL behind Reggie Bush.

Injuries

St. Louis: No significant fantasy-relevant injuries, but Marc Bulger returns this week

Jacksonville: No significant fantasy-relevant injuries

When St. Louis has the Ball

Steven Jackson = good. Rest of offense = bad. That may be an exaggeration, but it’s not without truth. Jackson has rushed for 451 yards and taken 14 receptions for 92 more, averaging a few bit under 110 yards per game this season. Unfortunately, he hasn’t scored yet (which actually puts him in the majority when speaking of St. Louis’s offense) so fantasy players might find that disappointing.

When speaking of a team that has scored just 29 points in five games, it’s hard to advise on starting any of its players. Jackson may be the exception, but looking at the rest of the offense it’s hard to find a receiver who consistently gets receptions or a quarterback who consistently completes his passes.

To his credit, Marc Bulger had thrown two touchdowns and zero interceptions in games this season, and against the Vikings last week he completed 7-of-7 for 88 yards and a touchdown. It’s just too bad that prior to that anomaly performance he had completed 51.5 percent of his pass attempts for a 5.0 yards per attempt average.

As the receiving talent goes, only Randy McMichael has caught at least two passes in every game this season; too bad that’s about all he’s caught. With 13 receptions for 144 yards, McMichael is anything but a stud at tight end. Aside from McMichael, Steven Jackson is the most consistent receiver on the roster, yet another reason he remains the only fantasy-relevant player on the roster.

When St. Louis plays Jacksonville this week, they’ll be going up against a defense that either allows about 25 points per game. Only twice this season has it held opponents to under 20 points, and never has it kept opponents out of the endzone fewer than two times in a game. Whether St. Louis is the exception is in the hands of Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson.

When Jacksonville has the Ball

Inconsistency on offense and consistently poor play on defense has costed the Jaguars three losses this season. Only slightly ahead of Houston going into the week, the Jaguars need a win. The way to get it, at least according to Maurice Jones-Drew, is to run the ball.

“The running game is like chess,” explained Jones-Drew. “The running game is your pawns. They don’t really mean that much in the beginning, but at the end, they surround the king and it’s check mate. That’s what the running game is.

“We’re not going to break 30-yard runs every play. You’re going to get 2, 3 yards a pop. You might get a negative run, but (defenses are) going to respect the run game and that’s going to open up the pass game and open up the run game later on, where you’re going to be breaking 10-, 15-yard chunks.”

He later engaged reporters with another metaphor concerning offensive linemen and ballroom dancing, but that can be saved for another article. The point is Jacksonville fell behind early against Seattle and ditched the run to play catch-up. A couple of David Garrard fumbles and the offense’s trouble on third and fourth down — Jacksonville converted just 2-of-13 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth down — kept the game out of reach of the Jaguars.

If the offense listens to Jones-Drew and runs the ball more often this week, they’ll probably be met with success. (Of course, the same could be said of passing the ball; St. Louis has struggled to stop teams trying to do either of those things.) MJD has been held to just 18 carries the past two weeks, so he’s due to get a heavy load. Let’s just hope his game will match his mouth if he gets a bunch of touches.

The Advantage

Jacksonville will be tough to beat at home, especially if the Rams fail to put points on the board. Again. Jacksonville isn’t a bad team; they’re just a team that had a bad week against the Seahawks. Expect them to bounce back against the 0-5 Rams.

Booms and Busts

Boom! Maurice-Jones Drew just has to live up to his comments, doesn’t he? Regardless, he’s been good for about 25 receiving yards per game throughout the season and in the first three weeks he rushed for 282 yards and four touchdowns. I think this is the week we see the return of that Jones-Drew.

Bust! Marc Bulger is back, but that doesn’t mean the offense is. Bulger has two touchdown passes this season and in the two complete games he played the offense scored seven total points. Don’t expect this week to be different.

Fantasy football start/sit is a weekly look at NFL players, especially fringe players, with highly favorable (or unfavorable) matchups. It may go without saying, but if you have a player in the “sit ‘em” list, it isn’t necessary to bench them unless you do have a favorable backup. Same story holds true for the “start ‘em” players: if you have a stud quarterback you might not need to play them this week.

Start ‘Em!

Cedric Benson — Cincinnati Bengals –  Benson is on pace to rush for nearly 1,600 yards this season. While he not meet that mark, he does face a very favorable matchup this week when the Bengals travel to Cleveland. Benson averaged 4.8 yards per carry against the Steelers last week, but here’s the clincher: Cleveland’s defense has already allowed 553 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns this season. Everything is in line for Benson to explode this week. The graph below showcases his consistency — in terms of fantasy points — through the first three weeks of the season:

Darren McFadden — Oakland Raiders — Darren McFadden is off to a bit of a slow start this season, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry and scoring just one touchdown. Fortunately, he faces the Houston Texans this week, which may be just what he needs to get back on his feet. Houston has allowed a league-worst 205 rushing yards per game and 8 rushing touchdowns this season. Considering JaMarcus Russell’s struggles (and apparent regression) this season, McFadden seems like this team’s best bet.

Willie Parker — Pittsburgh Steelers — All three teams that faced the Chargers this season — Oakland, Baltimore, and Miami — have successfully run the ball against them. While “Fast” Willie is off to a slow start, averaging just 3.1 yards per carry, but last week was his first respectable outing of the season. San Diego has allowed 4.5 yards per carry and a rushing touchdown in each game this season; expect Parker to have his best outing yet this weekend.

Sit ‘Em!

Maurice Jones-Drew — Jacksonville Jaguars — 119 of Jones-Drew’s 282 rushing yards and 3 of his 4 rushing touchdowns came last week against the Houston Texans. This week he faces a much better rushing defense when the Jaguars face the Titans. Tennessee has allowed just 2.2 yards per carry and one rushing touchdown this season.

Fred Taylor — New England Patriots — Fred Taylor has emerged as New England’s go-to running back and is hot off a 100-yard effort against Atltanta; unfortunately, the Patriots face Baltimore this week. The Ravens’ run defense has been in great form, allowing just 51 yards per game and zero rushing touchdowns.

Fantasy football start/sit is a weekly look at NFL players, especially fringe players, with highly favorable (or unfavorable) matchups. It may go without saying, but if you have a player in the “sit ‘em” list, it isn’t necessary to bench them unless you do have a favorable backup. Same story holds true for the “start ‘em” players: if you have a stud quarterback you might not need to play them this week.

Quarterbacks — Start ‘Em!

Jay Cutler — Chicago Bears — After a rough outing in Green Bay week one, Jay Cutler is turning around his season (and the Bears’) with some tremendous numbers. He’s passed for 483 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 1 interception in his last two starts, and this week Chicago faces Detroit at home. The Lions rank 30th in pass defense and have allowed 10 passing touchdowns this season. Below is a snapshot of his fantasy points over three weeks:

Eli Manning — New York Giants — The Giants are 3-0 and on the road, set to take on the 0-3 Kansas City Chiefs. In their only two games against legitimate quarterbacks this season — vs. Baltimore and Philadelphia — the Chiefs surrendered at least 300 passing yards. Manning has thrown five touchdowns this season, and at least one in each game. This is a very ideal matchup.

David Garrard — Jacksonville Jaguars — At first glance this might not be an ideal matchup in a lot of minds, but facing the Titans might be ideal for David Garrard and the Jaguars’ passing game. Tennessee ranks 31st in passing yards allowed and is tied for 29th in passing touchdowns allowed. While David Garrard is off to a slow start and has thrown just 2 touchdown passes, he has passed for nearly 500 yards in his past two starts and could put up some nice numbers this week.

Kerry Collins — Tennessee Titans — The Titans have been more pass-heavy than expected this season, calling pass plays at a near 60-40 ratio. Kerry Collins has thrown at least one touchdown in every game this season, in spite of a poor performance last week. Tennessee’s opponent this week, Jacksonville, has allowed over 280 passing yards per game this year.

Quarterbacks — Sit ‘Em

Aaron Rodgers — Green Bay Packers — Aaron Rodgers passed for 320 yards and one touchdown pass in his two games against the Vikings last year. He’s off to a pretty slow start this season, and his completion percentage has hovered just above 50 percent the past two weeks. Minnesota’s defense has shut down opponents all season, allowing just 167 passing yards per game and forcing four interceptions in three games.

Joe Flacco – Baltimore Ravens — Baltimore’s Joe Flacco is off to a startlingly fast start. He’s passed for 849 yarsds and 6 touchdowns, and in two games he broke 300 passing yards. His numbers against a good defense — San Diego — Flacco passed for just 190 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. It wasn’t a terrible performance, but it is telling. This week Flacco and the Ravens face a tough Patriots defense that has held opponents to just three passing touchdowns.

Another week in the National Football League is (nearly) completed, which means another look at how targets around the league stacked up. Let’s see who all those quarterbacking William Tells chose as their proverbial apples this week.

- Ted Ginn Jr., Miami: The former ninth overall pick was targeted a total of six times on Sunday by the Dolphins’ quarterback duo of Chad Pennington and Chad Henne in their loss to the Chargers. Ginn’s total number of catches? Zero. This is significant considering that only three players in the AFC, and seven players in the entire NFL have been targeted more than the 27 times Ginn has this season. Unfortunately, he has just 13 catches to show for it. It means he’s unreliable as a fantasy option, and if you do have him on your squad, he should probably only be used if injuries or bye weeks force you into playing him.

- Vernon Davis, San Francisco: Davis, the sixth overall pick in the 2006 draft, is finally proving to be a worthy fantasy option after so many years of relative disappointment. Davis was targeted 10 times by Shaun Hill in the 49ers’ loss to the Vikings in Week 3, which were double the amount looks anyone else on the squad received. Davis, who is 16th in the NFC in targets, came down with seven of those passes, good for 96 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll be a good bet to thrive again next week when San Francisco takes on the lowly Rams.

- Justin Gage, Tennessee: Gage was targeted 10 times on Sunday in the midst of another Titans loss, this time to the Jets, but came up with only four catches for 37 yards. He’s been targeted 25 times so far this year, the sixth-highest total in the AFC, yet has only caught 13 of those passes for a measly 142 yards. After a very good showing in Week 1, many thought that Gage would have a year that could make him a possible WR2. That doesn’t seem to be the case, however. Considering how often Kerry Collins looks in Gage’s direction, he’s worthy of a roster spot on your fantasy squad, but only as a spot contributor.

- Mike Sims-Walker, Jacksonville: In a win over the Texans this week, Sims-Walker was targeted 10 times by David Garrard, and he hauled in six of those throws for 81 yards. It was the second week in a row he caught six passes. Sims-Walker is 20th in the AFC with 20 targets, and it seems obvious that he is the most dangerous receiving threat on the team, despite the presence of veteran Torry Holt. If for some reason he’s available in your league, snatch him up quickly.

- Other Week 3 target numbers of interest: Santana Moss, 14; Larry Fitzgerald, 13; Nate Burleson, 12; Bryant Johnson, 11; Derek Fine, Andre Caldwell, 9; Michael Jenkins, Mike Wallace, 8; Jeremy Maclin, 6; Eddie Royal, 3.

Here’s a few thoughts on the teams that played Thursday Preseason games in Week 3 

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

It is not clear how head coach Raheem Morris is going to leave his mark on this team. I don’t see any areas of emphasis. Overall TB seems to be heading for a repeat of their 2008 performance.  Byron Leftwich looks like he’s got a slight lead for the starting quarterback job over McCown, but unfortunately he looks like the same old Leftwich…clumsy, with a long windup, questionable accuracy, a fumble machine, and injury prone. He didn’t do anything to convince me he’s going to do any better or worse than he has everywhere else he’s been.  He’s likely to be replaced sometime during the season for performance or injury reasons. There don’t appear to be any particular WRs or TEs that Leftwich has as a favorite. Stevens and Winslow have been invisible.  TB is going to stress the running game with the three good RBs in their stable. The coaching staff likes Cadillac Williams better than any of their other RBs….when he’s healthy. He seems to be running well with no lingering signs of his knee injury from 2008, so maybe he’s healthy enough to claim his stake as the top RB.  Not sure he has a lot of value as the top RB of a three headed RB monster though.  Derrick Ward seems to be healthy and likely to contend with Earnest Graham for the #2 spot. Defensive coordinator Jim Bates seems to be having a positive impact on TB Defense, it seems very solid.  

MIAMI DOLPHINS

The offense wasn’t able to do much of anything productive against Tampa Bay. The wildcat formation wasn’t used and the game plan seemed pretty vanilla. Not sure if their lack of success was due to the Tampa Bay defense or Miami play calling. Based on this performance, Chad Pennington seems set for another average season. I don’t see anything that makes me think he’s up for a great improvement or let down from last year. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams look healthy enough to try and match their performances from 2008.  Defense looks ok, but is sprinkled with older veteran defensive lineman and linebackers, which worries me. 

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

Vick played the second down of the game, so he’s clearly going to be in the mix during the season using him for trick play situations. Most of the downs he played were gadget plays.  McNabb looked fine and is doing a good job spreading the receptions around. DeShaun Jackson looks just as good as he was last year. Very elusive and agile. McNabb seems to like him. Looks like Jackson is going to be returning punts/kicks again this season.  Jason Avant is getting a lot of attention from McNabb too and makes good catches. Westbrook did not play in this game. Not sure how how many carries LeSean McCoy is going to steal from Westbrook, looks like he’s going to be the #2. If Westbrook continues to get hurt, he’s obviously going to be picking up a lot of slack. McCoy isn’t quite as elusive as Westbrook, but he’s pretty good. Eagles don’t have a power running game as usual. Eagles defense looks good as expected.  

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

David Garrard looked like his typical self, but took a big hit and was out for several plays. I don’t expect Garrard to do much better or worse than he did in 2008. Torry Holt is a nice addition to the receiving corps and will help balance their attack, but I don’t think that Holt is going to have a major effect.  MJD is looking ok, but doesn’t seem to be running north/south like he usually does, insteand is spending more time running sideways. I’m wondering if the o-line isn’t opening the holes like they did last year or the year prior. Is their power running game compromised by the o-line play? Line seems to be allowing sacks too. MJD screens were very effective though.  Jags defense looks good, but not great. 

ST. LOUIS RAMS

Marc Bulger did not play (Injured). Kyle Boller started the game instead of Bulger and looked average, but was able to move them down the field pretty consistently. However, I think this says more about the Bengals defense than Boller’s skills. The Rams in general looked flat…the flash of years past is now completely gone.  Steven Jackson only played one series and looked hesitant, maybe it’s lack of motivation for preseason games… Samkon Gado got much more work and looked better. Defense was not good, but seemed good enough to keep the Bengals in check. 

CINCINNATI BENGALS

Carson Palmer did not play (Injured). JT O’sullivan started the game instead of Palmer and looked mediocre. The Bengals look out of sync on offense with O’sullivan, it might be a long season for the Bengals without Palmer on the field. C85 didn’t have many catches and the WR corps in general were invisible.  Cedric Benson looks quick and is zipping through the holes that the o-line is opening. Never thought I’d say this, but he might be the bright spot on this team. The Bengals defense had trouble stopping Boller, so I don’t have much hope that they are going to put up much of a fight against better teams. This might mean that Palmer may rack up tons of junk passing yards in come from behind attempts all season long….that is if he can stay on the field.

With the third week of preseason games getting underway, it’s time to take a look around the league to see what’s going on, and what use it will be for the upcoming fantasy season.

- Reggie Brown (and His Fantasy Value) on the Move? The Philadelphia Eagles have too many receivers than they know what to do with, and the Philadelphia Daily News says that both the Jets and Ravens are interested in Reggie Brown. Brown is a former second-round draft pick who looked like he was going to blossom into an excellent player before getting injured and falling back on the depth chart last season. If he is moved, his fantasy value would rise by leaps and bounds, to the point where he would be worth drafting as a reserve.

- Jermichael Finley Pushing Donald Lee for Playing Time: Last season, Packers rookie and third-round pick, tight end Jermichael Finley, did loads of nothing, as fellow tight end Donald Lee helped fantasy owners to the tune of five touchdowns. Things could be quite different this season for both of them, as Finley has made people take notice with his play, or so says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This could be either beneficial or harmful to fantasy owners. If Finley steps up and takes the job outright from Lee, He has value as a big target who could be useful in the end zone. However, the most likely scenario is that the two split time, and neither puts up fantasy-worthy numbers. Keep that in mind when thinking about Lee as a TE2.

- Chiefs and Jags Talking Trade for Tyler Thigpen: NFL.com says that Thigpen (see his fantasy points per game last season on graph), the Kansas City quarterback and hero to many fantasy owners last season, may be on his way to Jacksonville. Apparently the NFL’s J.D. Drew Award winner (for yearly injuries), Brodie Croyle, is going to be the No. 2 quarterback behind Matt Cassel, leaving Thigpen out in the cold.

- Michael Crabtree Offered Fair-Market Deal: According to Santa Rosa Press Democrat reporter Matt Maiocco, the 49ers have offered Crabtree, the 10th overall pick in the draft, somewhere “in the neighborhood of five years, $20 million base, $26.5 million maximum, with $16 million guaranteed.” Which, as Maiocco points out, is solidly in between what No. 9 pick B.J. Raji got and what No. 11 pick Aaron Maybin got. Crabtree’s agent seems to think this is a fair deal as well, but Crabtree does not. Fantasy owners should not count on seeing him any time soon, it sounds like. His fantasy value has taken a major plunge since the beginning of training camp.

- Walter Jones Not Headed for Retirement: The longtime Seattle Seahawks left tackle is expected to be back with the team, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. There was some speculation that Jones may hang ‘em up after undergoing another operation on his balky knee.

• Green Bay’s first team defense has yet to allow a point this preseason and has nine takeaways.  It looks like the transition to the 3-4 is working out just fine.  On third downs and obvious passing situations, the Packers are running a Nickel 2-4-5 with only two down linemen.  The blitzers can them come from any of the four LBs or even the secondary.  Pittsburgh is the only other team that uses that alignment on a regular basis and I heard they had a pretty good D last year.

• Ricky Brown will start the season at MLB for the Raiders.  Brown was in competition with last year’s starter Kirk Morrison for the job but Morrison dislocated his elbow vs. San Francisco.  He is expected to miss about a month and Brown’s performance will determine if Morrison comes back as the MLB or slides over to the strong side. Brown is off to a good start after intercepting Alex Smith a week after sacking QB Jon Kitna of Dallas.

• Second year player Malcolm Kelly is the frontrunner to start at WR opposite of Santana Moss.  That would put Antwaan Randle El back in the slot where he’s more effective.  Randle El and Moss are both 5’10” while Kelly is 6’4” so in addition to the regular looks he’ll get as starter, he will also be a huge, literally, red zone threat.

• Potential Sleeper: WR Earl Bennett.  After not catching a pass and only dressing for 10 games last season, Bennett has started both preseason games opposite Devin Hester.  He also is reunited with former Vanderbilt teammate, QB Jay Cutler, who helped him become the all-time leading receiver in the SEC.

• There will not be a QB controversy in Denver-Kyle Orton is the clear cut starter.  Orton was efficient, and looked comfortable, in Denver’s loss to Seattle.  In fact I would say he looked more like Tom Brady than Matt Cassel did last year in coach Josh McDaniel’s offensive scheme.  Besides the horrendous Jake Plummer-esque left-handed interception, Orton made all the right progressions, threw it to whomever was open, and didn’t force the ball into tight spots.  But it is clear the Broncos lack the deep threat of Brandon Marshall.  Nearly all of Orton’s passes were on three-step drops and required the WR to make the big play and gain YAC.

• WR Troy Williamson has all but sealed up one of the starting jobs at receiver in Jacksonville.  Attempting to shed his label as a “bust”, Williamson had 147 receiving yards vs. Tampa Bay and now has 221 yards in two games.  He replaces Matt Jones as the team’s deep threat and even though Jacksonville is a run-first team, last year Jones averaged 63 yards per game in 12 games which projects to over 1,000 yards in a full season.

• Pat White has yet to operate the Wildcat for the Dolphins yet.  The coaches want him to get familiar with taking a snap from under center as he rarely did that while at West Virginia.  However, the Dolphins have implemented designed runs from the QB position for White.  Don’t be surprised if White is NOT used as a Wildcat QB early in the season as Ronnie Brown is the only Dolphin to run it so far this preseason.  But as he gets more comfortable with the playbook, White should be the primary Wildcat QB in the latter half of the season.

• Look for Rashard Mendenhall to have a big fantasy impact in terms of touchdowns.  The Steelers envision him as their future starting RB as early as next year as Willie Parker’s contract expires at the end of this season.  For now Mendenhall will be relegated to being the goal-line back.  As great as Willie Parker is at running the football, he has trouble finding the endzone.  Over the past two years Parker has 557 touches but only seven touchdowns or a ratio of one touchdown for every 80 touches.  Mendenhall’s main competition for the job is Mewelde Moore who has not yet played in preseason and has not practiced since August 4 due to a hamstring injury.

• The Cowboys will use the single set back as their base offense with a second tight end on the field instead of a fullback.  That means more playing time for the mercurial Martellus Bennett.  His ability to line up in the slot, out wide, and in the traditional TE position further enhance his value and though he won’t be a fantasy star like Jason Witten, this news makes him draftable and a safe start week-in and week-out.

• Ravens Pro Bowler Le’Ron McClain will be used more as a blocking back than he was last year.  After leading the Ravens with 902 rushing yards in 2008, McClain will give up his carries to the duo of Willis McGahee and Ray Rice.  Those two combined for 13 touches in the first two series alone in Baltimore’s win over Washington while McClain did not get a touch the entire game.  McGahee is expected to get the bulk of the carries while Rice serves as the 3rd down back and McClain will remain the goal-line back which should help him retain some of the value he lost with the shift in roles.

• Rookie running back Donald Brown impressed the Colts faithful with 58 yards on only five carries in their loss to the Vikings.  Brown has also impressed his head coach during training camp as Jim Caldwell told the Indianapolis Football Report that Brown would split carries with incumbent starter Joseph Addai and the back who gets more carries will vary week-to-week depending on the matchup.  This further drops Addai’s already-sinking stock and could spell the beginning of the end of his tenure in Indy.  He has one more year left on his contract after this season and could be jettisoned just as Edgerrin James was three years ago.

• Patriots TE Ben Watson is in danger of losing his starting job.  Watson, who has missed 25 games in his five year career, missed the Patriots’ opening preseason game vs. Philadelphia with an undisclosed injury.  His replacement and former Jet, Chris Baker, shined in his absence catching two touchdowns.  But before you draft Baker, Watson, or any New England tight end remember that Patriots’ tight ends only combined for 31 receptions last year, third fewest in the NFL.  Continue to monitor the remaining preseason games to see if the loss of Josh McDaniels as OC means a gain in receiving opportunities for the New England tight ends.

• The Bills remain committed to running a no-huddle offense.  Just as they did in the Hall of Fame Game, Buffalo QBs invoked memories of Jim Kelly and the K-Gun offense of the early nineties by eschewing the huddle vs. Chicago.  The change has been effective as the Bills have completed 77% of their passes in the two games, but it remains to be seen how effective the offense will be in a hostile environment.  Buffalo played at home vs. the Bears and at a neutral site in the HOF Game.  After playing at Green Bay in Week 3 and at Pittsburgh in Week 4, we should have a better view on just how effective the no-huddle will be for Buffalo.

• Laurent Robinson will serve as the de-facto #1 receiver for St. Louis until Donnie Avery returns from injury.  Though he had 52 yards against the Jets while playing with the first team Friday night, Robinson only had 52 receiving yards all of last season.  Also, although the Rams have shifted to running the West Coast Offense, QB Marc Bulger is still struggling to get rid of the ball quickly.  He was sacked on each of the three possessions he was in for.  But next week we should get a clearer picture as to whether this had more to do with the Rams’ offensive line, or the Jets’ new attacking defensive scheme led by Rex Ryan.

• Jacksonville is using former receiver, Ernest Wilford, is an H-back role this season.  In his first play of their preseason game vs. Miami, Wilford lined up in the backfield, then motioned to the left slot before the snap.  On that play Wilford caught a pass from Chad Henne, eluded a tackler, and raced to the endzone for a 33-yard TD reception.  If he can improve his blocking, and Coach Sparano says he is, then he could be an excellent pickup in deeper leagues provided that he has TE eligibility.

• Common belief was that once Derrick Ward left for Tampa Bay, Ahmad Bradshaw would be the one to inherit his 180 or so carries as Brandon Jacobs’ backup.  While that may happen, it’s not set in stone as Danny Ware’s skill set is more similar to Ward than any of the other Giants RBs.  Though he only averaged 1.8 ypc on 12 carries in Monday’s game vs. Carolina, Ware contributed in the passing game with 43 yards and a TD.  Jacobs and Bradshaw only combined for 11 receptions last year so it appears as though the backup position is Ware’s job to lose.

The 2008 NFL season is still in its preparatory stages with preseason just around the corner, but I was reading an article today on NFL.com concerning Mike Shanahan’s desire to coach again and decided it would be worth discussing where the coaching class of 2010 will land. It’s stocked with big names: Shanahan, Mike Holmgren, Jon Gruden, Herm Edwards, and Bill Cowher, with the potential to be a significantly longer list.

So where could these star coaches land in 2009? These four coaches are on the hot seat with their respective teams, especially considering the caliber of coaches available after the season:

Dick Jauron - Buffalo Bills

Three consecutive 7-9 seasons isn’t going to win the heart of an owner. The good news for Jauron is the team made a big move this offseason, bringing Terrell Owens to town. Unfortunately, another season plagued with mediocrity could be enough incentive for the owner to send Jauron packing. The ball is in his court.

Marvin Lewis - Cincinnati Bengals

Wanna know what happens when you lock up a coach with a lengthy contract too soon? You wind up with a guy who can’t control his locker room and a team with just one season above .500 in his five year reign. Every year Lewis spends in Cincinnati his contract loses a year, and the team can fiscally accept firing him. Now Cincinnati is the media’s new favorite sleeper. (Y’know, because Arizona finally did something.) Another losing season will certainly write Lewis’ pink slip.

Jack Del Rio - Jacksonville Jaguars

Under Jack Del Rio two things have been true in Jacksonville: this team plays smashmouth football and it remains startlingly inconsistent. The last coach whose resume read along these lines, Brian Billick, works for NFL Network now. Del Rio appears to be losing his cool, calling out players publicly and giving media reason to chastise him. A poor season - a real possibility considering Jacksonville is part of the NFL’s toughest division - might be the end for Del Rio.

Tom Cable - Oakland Raiders

Raiders coaches are always on the hot seat. Tom Cable, though only in his first complete season as the full time head coach, needs to string together some wins and show some kind of improvement. The team was 4-8 under him last season, but will need to win at least six games this season for his job to be secure. Oh, but he shouldn’t question Al Davis or rub him the wrong way. That might just trump his winning ways.

There’s just one thing these coaches need to remember: there is no job security in the NFL except winning in the postseason. Just ask Marty Schottenheimer.

A perennial all-star fantasy player has an off year and you wonder, “Is this a sign of things to come or was it an aberration?  That’s a question fantasy players ponder every year and wonder if it was due to age, injury, lack of team support, or a combination.  I’ll spotlight some of those players who were normally considered a sure thing in terms of fantasy production but had subpar seasons in 2008.

Terrell Owens (2008: 69 Rec. 1052 Yds. 10 TD) Despite constant bickering with his teammates and coaches, Owens still managed to pull in 10 touchdowns which was good enough for 5^th among wide receivers.  But the drop off in production came in the form of receptions and yards.  In seasons where Owens played at least 14 games, the totals in those two categories were his lowest since 1999.  Judging from TO’s career body of work, I think external factors were the cause of his drop in production more so than a physical decline.  Some of that could be attributed to Tony Romo getting injured as Owens had only had 98 yards total in the three games Romo was out.  Also, Owens wasn’t the sole Cowboy to see his stats drop as nearly every Cowboy skill player saw his numbers drop across the board.  I sum this up as just a down year for the entire offense.  Even though he is now 35, TO’s superb conditioning should allow him to regain his previous form and besides the broken leg in Philadelphia, he has had no serious injury problems.  As long as Trent Edwards is on the field and Lee Evans is lined up on the other side, TO should be able to increase his yards and receptions.  Remember, TO is usually on his best behavior the first year after joining a new team.  Don’t expect a 90+ rec 1400+ yard season like he had in San Fran but a line of 75 rec. 1200 yds. 10 TD sounds reasonable.  Verdict: Bounce back.

Chad Ochocinco (2008: 53 Rec. 540 Yds. 4 TD) The receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson had by far his worst season since he was a rookie.  After leading the AFC in receiving yards from 2003-2006 and posting a career high of 1440 yards in 2008, his yards and touchdowns were less than half of his usual production.  Now you can certainly attribute some of that due to the injury of Carson Palmer, but TJ Houshmandzadeh still managed 92 rec. and 904 yards.  I think the real reason for Chad’s drop off is because of his attitude.  It seemed as if Chad decided to “mail it in” during Cincy’s 8-game losing streak to start the season and never found the motivation to give maximum effort, unlike TJ.  What does that mean for 2009?  Well as long as the Bengals are competitive then Chad should greatly improve upon his numbers.  It seems as if Chad is trying to put 2008 behind him and improve upon his maturity (despite his recent twitter-war with Shawne Merriman).  In June Chad showed up to his first voluntary workout since 2007 and he even offered to live with Carson Palmer to catch up on missed time, but Mrs. Palmer nixed that idea.  However, with the departure of TJ to Seattle, Chad should be double-teamed even more often so taper your expectations somewhat.  At 31, Chad still has enough in the tank for another 2-3 1000 yard seasons and he should be able to catch 80-85 balls in 2009.  With the emergence of Andre Johnson and Brandon Marshall, Chad is no longer the alpha-male among AFC receivers but he should regain his fantasy relevancy in 2009.  Verdict: Bounce back.

Torry Holt (2008: 64 Rec. 796 Yds. 3 TD) From 2000-2007 Holt averaged 94 rec., 1385 yds., and 8 TD per year as the main benefactor of “The Greatest Show on Turf”.  In 2009 Holt will trade in the turf for the green grass of Jacksonville.  But I wouldn’t expect the numbers he put up during those 8 years for the Rams to follow him to the Jaguars.  Instead, expect closer to the production he had in 2008.  Yes, like Owens and Ochocinco, Holt did not have great quarterback play or team support.  But unlike those two, Holt’s numbers, particularly his yards per reception average, have been decreasing for years.  Holt’s average has gone down or stayed the same for 4 straight years.  Whereas TO’s average and Chad’s yards were the highest of their respective careers in 2007, Holt’s steady decline has been going on for years.  Now Holt is going to a run-oriented team that has ranked in the top 8 in rushing attempts for three out of the last four seasons.  Add to the fact that no Jaguar receiver has had at least 70 rec. or 1000 yds. since 2005 and you can see why I think Holt will be hard pressed to regain his pro bowl form.  Also, remember that Jacksonville got rid of its best four receivers in the off season and, besides Holt, the other current receivers combined for only 21 rec. last season.  Constant double teams combined with father time suggest that Holt should be happy to match his 2008 production.  Verdict: Decline.