Fantasy Football: News and Notes from Around the League

Felt it was time to update and go over the news and notes of the day and their fantasy impact. 

Let's get to it.

• The Cardinals have named Kurt Warner the starting quarterback ahead of Matt Leinart. Welcome to another year of fantasy irrelevance for Leinart. He came into the league with plenty of promise, but he has struggled. Now, he's still recovering from a collarbone injury that ended his season last year. Not saying that he won't have some value at some point, but he's more and more difficult to draft as a result. Kurt Warner jumps into a round nine-12 type pick, strictly a backup.
• Carson Palmer broke his nose and is questionable for the final preseason game. No worries though, as Marvin Lewis feels he will be ready to go when the regular season kicks off. Of bigger concern for Palmer are his receivers. He can't seem to continually get in rhythm with the cast he has thanks to plenty of injuries. Their running game has been decimated, and Palmer looked rough the second half of last season. Palmer was once as sure a thing as any quarterback, but he falls just inside the top-10 at this point in the preseason.
• Matt Ryan is going to get the ball for the Falcons. Get ready for an unmitigated disaster. Nothing spells fun for fantasy owners like a rookie coach with a rookie quarterback. Ryan is going to have the steepest of learning curves to even get the team close to respectability. His value is only in keeper formats. Don't expect him to finish in the top-20 quarterbacks this season.
• When it comes to defense, it's rare that we can say certain players should be the deciding factor in a draft. Osi Umenyiora, though, takes on that type of role. With Michael Strahan having retired, Umenyiora was going to draw the bulk of attention on the defensive line for the Giants. Given the success of Justin Tuck last season, that still would have enabled them to record the type of pressure they had there. Without Osi in the lineup, the offensive lines won't necessarily have to double on the end, which will help alleviate the pressure on the quarterback and open up the game. The Giants, without Osi, will drop in rankings and should be much more of a matchup play.
• Tom Brady was seen with a walking cast outside his locker. Brady claims he will be ready to start the season, but there is at least some skepticism as to how he will play given the limited snaps he has taken in practice and game situations. What we have seen, though, is that the Patriots are a below-average team without Brady at the helm. They need him more than anything. If Brady gets hurt, we now have a better idea how to downgrade the receivers around him.
• Marcus Pollard signed with the Falcons over the weekend. Pollard, as a veteran tight end, should see more balls in the Falcons' offense than anyone not named Roddy White. Expect to see Ryan working in to a lot of check down situations that will open up the middle of the field for Pollard. In a league where receptions count, Pollard has value as a second tight-end or decent bye week fill-in.
• There should be few things that worry fantasy owners more than seeing Ricky Williams at the top of the Dolphins' depth chart at running back. You just don't know with this guy. Ronnie Brown is still doing his best to recover from a multitude of injuries (knee, thumb) and hasn't been able to get enough reps. The buzz in camp is that Williams looks really good, but you have to wonder if he can stay away from the wacky-tabacky enough to be effective. I'd draft him ahead of Brown, but not likely until round nine or later and only as a third/fourth running back. It depends on how deep your league is and how running back dependent.
• James Jones suffered a sprained knee in his preseason game this weekend that could keep him out of the opener. Jones was a solid surprise as a fantasy receiver and No. 2-type player in the Packers' offense (even with Jennings and Driver around). Jones was going to be the No. 3 guy in Green Bay, and with Favre under center, that gave him decent value as a late-round pick. With him missing this game, Ruvell Marting will be the No. 3 receiver, and he will not have value against the Vikings in the opener. Jones should still be drafted in those late rounds, but beware on this one.
• Keeper-league owners should take note of the performance Joe Flacco put up on Saturday night, playing the whole game. With Kyle Boller out with a shoulder injury and Troy Smith stuck home sick with a viral infection, Flacco got to play the entire four quarters, something that can only help his chances this season and beyond. This was in the "critical" third preseason game as well. No, he isn't going to win games for any owner in a starter capacity this year, but look to him in all keeper formats. He's a steal this season.
• The Browns offense has looked bad, mainly because no one is healthy. The biggest pieces of concern are Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards. Anderson missed the game with a concussion, but is expected to be ready for the game against the Cowboys to open the season. The same is true of Edwards, though he still has stitches in his foot that are hurting his ability to move. He could be VERY limited heading in to the opening of the season and it is certainly a place to monitor. It's not likely either will play in the preseason finale, so we'll have to play the waiting game when the injury reports come out.
• Peyton Manning is still listed as likely to play in the season opener. His injury shouldn't concern owners enough to lower him beyond the second/third round on draft boards heading into the week. Even if he misses one game, he is just as likely to put up more points than any quarterback not named Tom Brady.

That's what we got for now. Back as the need arises.