Defense Rankings and other news

I debated whether or not I'd put up a defense rankings list or not. Truth be told I'm not. I'm just going to list the top 5 defenses for this upcoming season. 

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. San Francisco 49ers
3. Denver Broncos
4. Houston Texans
5. Cincinatti Bengals

Can't go wrong with either of those defenses. Now, some people speculate the Rams will have a powerful defense this year. I don't doubt that. It's just when I look at defenses, I look at teams that will win games. Rams offense, I just don't see it being that great. They have a new string of receivers and running backs, and even the tight end is new. Their is little chemistry with that team right now. But we'll see. In fantasy football, for defenses I look at winning teams. That way I know my defense won't be destroyed in the points and yardage category. That's just me though. Side note: It never hurts to pick up the Colts defense when they play the Jaguars. Picked them up last season because my defense was on bye, Colts played the Jags on Thursday night, got me around 40 points. Good deal there :D

So now for other news. Of course, training camp has gotten underway for all 32 teams. Heck, the Hall of Fame game between the Cowboys and Dolphins takes place this Sunday! But with the start of training camp, always comes injury. Jeremy Maclin of the Philadelphia Eagles, Dennis Pitta of the Baltimore Ravens, and Dan Koppen of the Denver Broncos are already done for the season. So mark Maclin off your draft boards, Pitta I don't even think I included in my Tight End rankings and had Ed Dickson instead, and Koppen hurts Mannings stock oh so slightly, but not by much at all. Ravens signed Visanthe Shiancoe in Pitta's absence, and I've always liked Shiancoe, so put him in Dickson's place on my rankings board. 

Now, on Wednesday, July 31st the trade deadline for baseball will be up. I will follow along with all those moves and see what happens. Always one of my favorite days of the year. Especially after last year, watching the Cubs play a night game and seeing 3 players having to leave the game because they were traded. Now the Cubs have already traded Feldman, Garza, and Soriano this season. Schierholtz would be my next guess, but Cubs look like they might be done. And surprisingly, have gotten better. Now only 7 games back of .500 ball.

Lastly here, before I forget, the Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns have had a trade that sends Luis Scola to the Pacers, and Miles Plumlee, Gerald Green, and a draft pick to the Suns. Suns lucked out there, because I don't believe Scola is as good anymore, and certainly not worth all that they gave up for him. That's it for today folks! Probably post again Thursday headlining the trades in the MLB.

Fantasy Football Rankings 2013 Tight Ends

So everyone, I realize I am late with the post, but does it really matter? Anyways, there have been some new developments across the football league that I will get to after the rankings. So let's take a look and then I'll explain. 

Tight End Rankings of 2013

1. Jimmy Graham-New Orleans Saints
2. Tony Gonzalez-Atlanta Falcons
3. Jason Witten-Dallas Cowboys
4. Rob Gronkowski-New England Patriots
5. Kyle Rudolph-Minnesota Vikings
6. Vernon Davis-San Francisco 49ers
7. Brandon Meyers-New York Giants
8. Greg Olsen-Carolina Panthers
9. Dustin Keller-Miami Dolphins
10. Fred Davis-Washington Redskins
11. Antonio Gates-San Diego Chargers
12. Brandon Pettigrew-Detroit Lions
13. Martellus Bennett-Chicago Bears
14. Heath Miller-Pittsburgh Steelers
15. Jared Cook-St. Louis Rams
16. Ed Dickson-Baltimore Ravens
17. Brent Celek-Philadelphia Eagles
18. Owen Daniels-Houston Texans
19. Jacob Tamme-Denver Broncos
20. Tony Moeaki-Kansas City Chiefs
21. Luke Stocker-Tampa Bay Buccanneers
22. Jermichael Finley-Green Bay Packers
23. Jermaine Gresham-Cincinnatti Bengals
24. Delanie Walker-Tennessee Titans
25. Dwayne Allen-Indianapolis Colts
26. Zach Miller-Seattle Seahawks
27. Marcedes Lewis-Jacksonville Jaguars
28. Rob Housler-Arizona Cardinals
29. Jordan Cameron-Cleveland Browns
30. Scott Chandler-Buffalo Bills
31. Kellen Winslow-New York Jets
32. Nick Kasa-Oakland Raiders

Now obviously, with Gronkowski in doubt to start immediately, I had to drop him a few spots. But once he's back in the game I expect Brady to throw to him quite a lot. There are some other tights ends I failed to mention in this list, so let's get them in real quick. 

Coby Fleener-IND, James Casey-PHI, Tyler Eifert-CIN

Actually that's all that comes to mind. Either one of those guys I would take before getting to #27 on the list. Now tights ends aren't of great importance in fantasy, but they can, and will, make or break a game for you. The 1st 6 names on this list, try and draft when the opportunity comes. Never hurts to draft a tight end who plays more like a receiver. Everyone else can be had in the later rounds. Heck, most of these guys will linger on the board until the far later rounds. Now, if you want some advice, here are some guys I expect to be pretty big for their teams. Greg Olsen, have always liked him, and he brings in points. With Carolina not having too much in the pass game, expect Olsen to be a redzone threat. Martellus Bennett, picked him up last year with the Giants. Did NOT disappoint! And I expect him to be even better in an offense that already has so little to work with. Heath Miller, always a great option and has great chemistry with Roethlisberger. Delanie Walker, was really great with the 49ers, but overshadowed by Vernon Davis. Could have a great year with the Titans. Lastly, Jared Cook. Rams don't have much in the passing game, and Cook has been teaming up with Bradford already this summer. Expect Cook to be Bradford's go-to guy. 

Now a couple guys to look out for. Dustin Keller, still not sure how that new Miami offense will work. Ed Dickson, will be great for a couple games, but don't expect too much out of him. Then again, with the Ravens offense being somewhat depleted, he may have a decent year. Brent Celek, Eagles are looking at using a 2 tight end set, he could lose receptions because of this, and it's not like he was getting many to begin with. Jacob Tamme, with the addition of Wes Welker, Peyton has too many options to throw too, and I doubt Tamme will be a heavily relied upon option. He did not produce as well as I thought he would last year with Manning. Jermaine Gresham, could be out done by Eifert and I expect that to happen. And Kellen Winslow, would be a good option if Geno Smith takes over, otherwise avoid him. 

Now that's all said a done, there are a few notes I'd like to throw in. First off, Ahmad Bradshaw failed his conditioning test and was put on the PUP list. I expect him to start the season, but this could result in Vick Ballard seeing more time. Bradshaw drops a few spots on my list. Percy Harvin also on the PUP list, may even require surgery. Still a great option, but keep a close eye on him in the coming weeks. Drops several spots on my draft board, but not too far down. 

That's really all I have today folks. I may put up the Defense list next week, but I've covered the major important positions of fantasy football. So if any other big news pops up, I'll be sure to blog it. Until then, happy hunting everyone!

Fantasy Football 2013 Wide Receiver Rankings

Okay gang. This was a tough group to rank as there are so many. What I did for this group was take the 2 wideouts for each team, and sometimes even the 3rd or 4th wideouts from a team. Though I think San Diego is the only team I took 4 from. But besides that, I went down the list multiple times and kept thinking, "whose the next best receiver left? Who would I take next?" Well this list of 75, yes 75, is how I went about it. Not much explanation needed afterwards. So I'll just get with the list now.

Wide Receiver Rankings of 2013
1. Calvin Johnson-DET 2. Percy Harvin-SEA
3. Larry Fitzgerald-ARZ 4. Brandon Marshall-CHI
5. AJ Green-CIN         6. Roddy White-ATL
7. Dez Bryant-DAL         8. Demaryius Thomas-DEN
9. Andre Johnson-HOU 10. Victor Cruz-NYG
11. Vincent Jackson-TB 12. Mike Wallace-MIA
13. Julio Jones-ATL         14. Jordy Nelson-GB
15. Eric Decker-DEN 16. Reggie Wayne-IND
17. Dwayne Bowe-KC 18. Greg Jennings-MIN
19. Miles Austin-DAL 20. Wes Welker-DEN
21. Danny Amendola-NE         22. Torrey Smith-BAL
22. Steve Smith-CAR 23. James Jones-GB
23. Marques Colston-NO         24. Randall Cobb-GB
25. Pierre Garcon-WAS 26. Antonio Brown-PIT
27. Jeremy Maclin-PHI 28. Danario Alexander-SD
29. Hakeem Nicks-NYG 30. Anquan Boldin-SF
31. DeSean Jackson-PHI         32. Mike Williams-TB
33. Kenny Britt-TEN 34. Stevie Johnson-BUF
35. Cordarrelle Patterson-MIN 36. Sidney Rice-SEA
37. TY Hilton-IND         38. Santonio Holmes-NYJ
39. Emmanuel Sanders-PIT 40. Micheal Floyd-ARZ
41. Johnny Knox-CHI 42. Lance Moore-NO
43. Santana Moss-WAS 44. Tavon Austin-STL
45. Josh Gordon-CLE 46. Julian Edelman-NE
47. Nate Washington-TEN 48. Cecil Shorts-JAX
49. Brandon LaFell-CAR 50. Jacoby Jones-BAL
51. Greg Little-CLE         52. Mike Thomas-DET
53. Rod Streater-OAK 54. Brandon LaFell-CAR
55. Malcolm Floyd-SD 56. Donnie Avery-KC
57. Brian Hartline-MIA 58. Justin Blackmon-JAX
59. Denarius Moore-OAK 60. Robert Meachem-SD
61. Mario Manningham-SF 62. Chris Givens-STL
63. DeAndre Hopkins-HOU 64. Golden Tate-SEA
65. Darrius Heyward-Bey-IND 66. Jeremy Kerley-NYJ
67. Andrew Hawkins-CIN 68. Brian Quick-STL
69. Nate Burleson-DET 70. Leonard Hankerson-WAS
71. Dexter McCluster-KC 72. Davone Bess-CLE
73. Brad Smith-BUF

I realize I had a bit of a goof. And instead of going through and correcting the whole numbers I just listed 22 and 23 twice. The list still contains 75 receivers, just a little out of order. Anyways, of course Calvin Johnson is going to be the 1st wide receiver selected, but from there it actually gets a bit tricky. Percy could be switched with Larry, AJ, Brandon, Roddy, Dez, or Demaryius in my opinion. There is a good crop of receivers out there. So my tip would be draft a running back first. Unless you draft 6th or later and Megatron is still available. Calvin, Larry, and Percy will most likely be taken in the 1st. Everyone else comes later. Now, in my leagues I have a 3 WR set. Most just have 2. So drafting a Rb first is priority, unless I can grab Rodgers or P.Manning (which P.Manning is most likely a 2nd round pick anyways). Now if Percy is still available in the 2nd grab him! Larry Fitzgerald is going to be a monster this season now that he finally has a reliable Qb to throw him passes. Micheal Floyd could also so a big boost. If I had to pick a couple surprises this season, I'd go with, Micheal Floyd, Brandon LaFell, and Antonio Brown. Pierre Garcon is another receiver I have a ton of faith in! Grab him if you can in the 4th or 5th rounds!

Of course there are always cautious picks. Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and James Jones to name a few. Because these are great receivers with an even greater Qb, don't expect one to carry the load the whole season. One game Jones might have 150yds an 2tds while the other maybe get 50yds each. Same goes with Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, and Wes Welker. If you can handcuff 2 of these guys together you'll be in a terrific state! Especially when these teams face punching-bag opponents. Now I'd grab any one of the Broncos receivers, and Jordy Nelson, but Cobb and Jones, though they are really good, I don't have as much faith in. 

Lastly, I selected Julian Edelman as the #2 receiver for the Patriots. I don't know this to be true, but whoever is the #2 receiver for them either takes his place or would drop a few slots. Couple guys in this list could be tossed around. Problem with evaluating receivers now is training camp hasn't started yet. Don't know who will emerge and who will flop. So this list is concrete. It's far too early to tell, this is just a mock of what I would select in fantasy football now.

Well okay gang, that does it for this list. Stay tuned next week for the Tight End rankings! (Thank god there aren't as many of those to rank!)

Fantasy Football Rankings 2013 Running Backs

Hello once again everyone. Time to unveil my top 50, that's right 50!, running backs of the 2013 season. Now of course, no matter what happens in your league, Adrian Peterson and Arian Foster are going to 1 & 2. After that, it's anyone's game to play. So here the list of the Top 50 Running backs you should hunt down! 

Running Back Rankings 2013

1. Adrian Peterson- Minnesota Vikings                   26. Montee Ball- Denver Broncos*
2. Arian Foster- Houston Texans                            27. Rashard Mendenhall- Arizona
3. Doug Martin- Tampa Bay Buccanneers              28. Ahmad Bradshaw- Indianapolis Colts
4. Ray Rice- Baltimore Ravens                               29. Eddie Lacy- Green Bay Packers*
5. Jamaal Charles- Kansas City Chiefs                   30. BenJarvus Green-Ellis- Cincinnatti 
6. Marshawn Lynch- Seattle Seahawks                  31. DeAngelo Williams- Carolina*
7. Alfred Morris- Washington Redskins                  32. Jonathon Stewart- Carolina Panthers*
8. C.J. Spiller- Buffalo Bills                                    33. Jacquizz Rodgers- Atlanta Falcons
9. Matt Forte- Chicago Bears                                34. Shonn Greene- Tennessee Titans
10. LeSean McCoy- Philadelphia Eagles                  35. Isaiah Pead- St. Louis Rams"
11. Reggie Bush- Detroit Lions                                36. Andre Brown- New York Giants*
12. Maurice Jones-Drew- Jacksonville Jaguars         37. Shane Vereen- New England Patriots
13. Trent Richardson- Cleveland Browns                 38. Vick Ballard- Indianapolis Colts
14. Stevan Ridley- New England Patriots                 39. Mark Ingram- New Orleans Saints
15. DeMarco Murray- Dallas Cowboys                   40. Mikel LeShoure- Detroit Lions
16. Frank Gore- San Francisco 49ers                      41. Michael Bush- Chicago Bears
17. Lamar Miller- Miami Dolphins                           42. Knowshow Moreno- Denver Broncos*
18. Steven Jackson- Atlanta Falcons                       43. Daryl Richardson- St. Louis Rams*
19. David Wilson- New York Giants                       44. Jonathon Franklin- Green Bay Packers*
20. Chris Ivory- New York Jets                              45. Giovani Bernard- Cincinatti Bengals
21. Darren Sproles- New Orleans Saints                 46. Ben Tate- Houston Texans
22. Ryan Mathews- San Diego Chargers                 47. LaRod Stephens-Howling- Pittsburgh
23. Darren McFadden- Oakland Raiders                 48. Danny Woodhead- San Diego Chargers
24. Le'Veon Bell- Pittsburgh Steelers                       49. Pierre Thomas- New Orleans Saints
25. Chris Johnson- Tennessee Titans                        50. Bilal Powell- New York Jets

*-denotes not yet confirmed as starter or backup

So okay there you have it. There is no, "also these guys" but if you think there is somebody who should have been mentioned on this list feel free to comment. Now, I gotta say, in all my years of playing fantasy football, I have never had Marshawn Lynch. Last year I avoided him because of his police encounter. But I won't that get in the way again. Only avoid injured players. Now I have a few mentions I'd live to give. First off, I think Chris Ivory with the Jets will be a huge star. It's not like they have a good Qb, and if if Geno Smith becomes the starter for the Jets, they still don't have any other offensive weapons. Second, if you have a chance and are looking for above decent back-up running back, you can't go wrong with Jacquizz Rodgers. Steven Jackson is often injured, and Rodgers is explosive. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes some starts this season. Third, Shonn Greene could be another viable option as a backup. Look Chris Johnson just plain sucks.That's why he's ranked low everywhere. He has maybe one huge game the entire season. As for Greene, he'll see plenty of carries and possibly get goal-line duty. Speaking of goal-line duty, if you want a vulture, Michael Bush can do you no wrong. Fifth, Danny Woodhead is a great fit for the Chargers and could even steal some snaps from Mathews since the fans don't seem to care for him too much. Lastly, as a Colts fan, I love that Ahmad Bradshaw is with the team. However, Ballard is still going to be used in the system. Now Ballard is not an every down back, and is more like a 3rd down guy. But he's a vulture too. I would suggest drafting Bradshaw if your need somewhere along the 6th or 7th rounds, and maybe handcuff Ballard. I wouldn't use Ballard, but at least nobody else is getting his points. And I'd only play him against a team where I knew they would score a lot, or at least use him in the endzone. So that's all for now folks, stick around for next week when I bring out the Top 50 Wide Receivers!

Fantasy Football Rankings 2013 Quarterbacks

Hey everyone, sorry I'm a day late, just completely forget yesterday. So here are my top 2013 Qb's for this upcoming season. I'll explain some things after the list.


Quarterback Rankings of 2013

1. Aaron Rodgers- Green Bay Packers
2. Peyton Manning- Denver Broncos
3. Drew Brees- New Orleans Saints
4. Tom Brady- New England Patriots
5. Matt Ryan- Atlanta Falcons
6. Cam Newton- Carolina Panthers
7. Andrew Luck- Indianapolis Colts
8. Russell Wilson- Seattle Seahawks
9. Colin Kaepernick- San Francisco 49ers
10. Robert Griffin III- Washington Redskins
11. Matthew Stafford- Detroit Lions
12. Joe Flacco- Baltimore Ravens
13. Matt Schaub- Houston Texans
14. Jay Cutler- Chicago Bears 
15. Ben Roethlisberger- Pittsburgh Steelers
16. Eli Manning- New York Giants
17. Tony Romo- Dallas Cowboys
18. Andy Dalton- Cincinatti Bengals
19. Phillip Rivers- San Diego Chargers
20. Josh Freeman- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
21. Carson Palmer- Arizona Cardinals
22. Ryan Tannehill- Miami Dolphins
23. Michael Vick- Philadelphia Eagles
24. Christian Ponder- Minnesota Vikings
25. Alex Smith- Kansas City Chiefs
26. Sam Bradford- St. Louis Rams
27. Geno Smith- New York Jets
28. Matt Flynn- Oakland Raiders
29. Jake Locker- Tennessee Titans
30. Brandon Weeden- Cleveland Browns
31. Kevin Kolb- Buffalo Bills
32. Chad Henne- Jacksonville Jaguars

Quarterbacks to Consider
EJ Manuel- Buffalo Bills
Mark Sanchez- New York Jets
Matt Hasselbeck- Indianapolis Colts
Ryan Fitzpatrick- Tennessee Titans
Matt Barkely- Philadelphia Eagles
Kirk Cousins- Washington Redskins
Matt Cassel- Minnesota Vikings
Terrelle Pryor- Oakland Raiders
Tyler Wilson- Oakland Raiders

Now lemme explain some things first. First off, in green, those are obviously the ones you want to draft. Unless there's a running back that's for sure a good thing, take one of those guys. Rodgers and P.Manning will most assuredly go quick. In blue, those are the guys you could probably wait to get in the 3rd or 4th round. In orange, those are the ones where if you got screwed in the early rounds they are still nice picks for starter and great picks for backup. In purple, those are you're backups. Draft them in the late rounds. And in red, try and avoid these guys altogether. 

Now lemme explain some other things here. First off, I have Geno Smith ranked and Mark Sanchez unranked. Wouldn't you? I'm banking on Smith getting the start at some point, and he could be worthwhile if the Jets had someone for him to throw too. Also, Kolb/Manuel, Flynn/Wilson/Pryor, and Vick/Barkely those are your Qb competition type guys. Who knows who will end up being the long-term starter. They aren't guys I'd draft at all, but keep an eye on during bye weeks. Hasselbeck, Cousins, Cassel, and Fitzpatrick are guys who shouldn't count on, but again keep an eye on. Especially Cousins if RGIII isn't ready or gets injured. He's a viable starter in case that happens. Hasselbeck could be nice if Luck were to go down. As would Cassel if Ponder goes down. Obviously, anyone listed in the "Other" category should not be drafter unless you're in a 20 man league of that sort.

That's all for this listing. Next week I'll post the Running back rankings!