Fantasy Afc East

After two full days of practice, we still don't know the exact statuses for the players that are injured, but we do know who has and who hasn't been practicing. Here's the breakdown from the AFC, for fantasy purposes, of players that might be affected by injury this weekend. Oh yeah, but first let's take time to point out that the Denver Broncos are still one of the few team that seemingly doesn't want to make it easy for fans to find injury reports on their website. The St. Louis Rams have added one but you have to open it in .PDF, which is just absurd.

Baltimore Ravens

• Steve McNair (groin) - Full practice both days. Still supposedly could split time with Kyle Boller, which is a nighthorse.
• Derrick Mason (back) - Full practice both days. He's been quietly resurgent this year and needs to be starting against the Browns.
• Trevor Pryce and Samari Rolle are both out.
• Mark Clayton (calf) has been limited both days as has Demetrius Williams (heel). Yamon Figurs or Devard Darling could backdoor some value if both Clayton and Williams are out in deeper leagues.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is suing Yahoo! over a fantasy football ad that used his picture, as well as that of six other players. The Smoking Gun has the full lawsuit, as well as an image of the ad in question.

Pro Football Talk has noted a couple of interesting angles here. First, the ad conceals team logos from the helmets and jerseys of the six players (Brady, Randy Moss, Larry Johnson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Jeremy Shockey and Steve Smith). That would seem to indicate that Yahoo didn't have any type of sponsorship agreement with the league or the teams. Second, because the ad includes pictures of six different players, rather than just featuring one player as its centerpiece, it may fall under the NFL Players Association's Group Licensing Agreement. As the union states on its web site:

When a player signs an NFLPA Group Licensing Assignment (GLA) or assigns his group licensing rights to the NFLPA, he gives the NFLPA the exclusive right to use his name, number, likeness, voice, facsimile signature, photograph, picture and/or biographical information (collectively "image") in licensed programs involving six or more players.

So the question is whether Brady falls under that agreement. I assume he doesn't, or else his lawyer wouldn't bother with the lawsuit. (It's not unusual for star players to opt out of such agreements because they can make more money selling their images individually rather than collectively.) Brady has successfully sued a car dealer in the past for using his image without permission. In any event, the Boston Herald quotes a legal expert as saying, "Most of these cases are settled. I would be very suprised if this case does not settle. The cost of litigation could be hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Randy Lange of the Bergen Record reports that after the birth of his child last week, Derrick Blaylock has been taking first team snaps during practice. During the end of last week's game, Kevan Barlow was injured and has been listed on the Injury Report with a sore calf. Opines Lange on the situation:

It could mean Blaylock is back in the plan after Sunday's deactivation, or Kevan Barlow's sore right calf is a concern, or both, or neither.

Well said Randy. It's hard to really know this year what the plan will be with this coaching staff until we actually see it unfolding. With Left Guard and captain Pete Kendall back, there's reason for hope, especially since the Colts seem to be a team that can be run on. This weekend this fact will be magnified by the fact that both Corey Simon (DT) and Bob Sanders (S) won't be playing.

I've had this discussion with several people in the last few weeks. And the answer, I think, is yes – for these reasons.

1) Peyton Manning is not Barry Bonds.

For the last five years, Manning and Bonds have both been the best players in their respective sports. And we don't love either of them the way we love other superstars. But that's where the similarities end.

Bonds is a jerk and a cheater; Manning is unlikable for entirely different reasons. They're the same reasons people don't like Duke basketball or Alex Rodriguez. Keith Olbermann's recent description of Rodriguez applies: "I think he thinks his success is predicated on self-control, on physical self-control. But it means he acts - in what he says, in the gestures he makes when he hits a home run or a double, like a ballet dancer trying to memorize his steps. He aims to please. He never just lets it wail."

We don't like Bonds because he's indifferent. We don't like Manning because he cares too much.

2) The Indianapolis Colts are not the New York Yankees.

They are probably the closest thing the Patriots have to a rival, but they are not bad, so to speak. They do not outspend their nearest competitors by 65% by exploiting a communist statute that prevents other teams from moving into their oversized media market. They are not owned by a convicted felon who broke the law to help reelect the most corrupt president of the 20th century. They aren't perennially overrated, leading naïve nine-year-olds to waste their allowances the rookie cards of overhyped Yankee prospects. They're not smug. They're not the subject of weird media fetishes. And their fans didn't all root for the Mets in the '80s.

3) Fantasy football isn't real football.

Having Peyton Manning on your fantasy team is like having an opposite-sex friendship. It's potentially complicated, but something everyone above the age of twelve should be able to do.

It's time for the most vital Patriots analysis you'll read all year: the fantasy breakdown! Which Pats will be racking up points for your team? And which are better left to rot unloved on the waiver wire?

The Pats are notoriously confounding when it comes to all matters fantasy. The ball gets spread around, and it's darn near impossible to guess who'll emerge as a red zone rock star. Consider: Linebacker Mike Vrabel (of no use to the fantasy drafter) caught three touchdown passes from Tom Brady last year. Meanwhile, starting wide receiver David Givens caught two.

Even 2005 mainstay Corey Dillon (12 rushing touchdowns) looks to be a gamble, as he'll split time with promising rookie Laurence Maroney. And Deion Branch, with his team-high five TD catches in 2005? He might not take the field at all. It seems your best bets are Brady, tight end Ben Watson, placekicker Stephen Gostkowski, and the defense. But if you're looking for a dark horse candidate, take a peek at running back Heath Evans. In the Pats' final exhibition game, as they neared the goal line on their first possession, Evans got his number called three straight times before finally reaching paydirt. And he tied for the team lead in touchdowns in the preseason, with three rushing and one receiving. (Of course, he tied with running back Patrick Cobbs ... who has since been cut. So back to the drawing board there. Like I say, confounding.)

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: QB Tom Brady is a bona fide fantasy stud....and will be one of the top three fantasy QBs this year [along with Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer]. The defense won't be an asset, so Brady may have to out-gun opponents. Cha-ching!

But how can he be when there are no solid fantasy receivers on the roster?? Brady has about 14 different guys to toss the ball to, and he usually finds a way to do that. Of course, that doesn't help fantasy owners who'd love it if one of those guys emerges to be Da Man. It could be Chad Jackson, but he's a rookie....and that breaks one of fantasy's Golden Rules. It should be Deion Branch, who is holding out [and filing two grievances against the team]. The only real fantasy option there is TE Ben Watson, but that's not a great bet.

As for RBs, I hate Corey Dillon....but he isn't a bad fantasy option. He deserves to get a good look once the top half of the starting backs are gone. Why? Well, he's done it before. But try to handcuff him with Laurence Maroney. Dillon is aging and getting dinged up. There could come a time where the Dillon/Maroney switch occurs during the season. Be prepared.

MIAMI DOLPHINS: There are some nice little fantasy options here. Put me down as one of the people who think QB Daunte Culpepper will have a big year. He did so in Minnesota with a great receiver and a very decent back.

The great receiver is Chris Chambers, who I rode to a fantasy title last year. Over the past three seasons, only Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison and Torry Holt have caught more TD passes than Chambers. He really blew up into the receiver most felt he could be....and that was with Gus Frerrotte throwing him the ball. Expect a bigger year. And expect one from RB Ronnie Brown, who is now an NFL sophomore and won't have to split time with Ricky "Hippie Lettuce" Williams. The question with Brown is that this will be the first time he's had to carry the workload. At Auburn, he backed up Cadillac Williams.....and last year he had Ricky. I think he'll do just fine - Culpepper means that the Phins won't pound the ball as much.

The fantasy sleeper here is TE Randy McMichael. Culpepper likes throwing to TEs, and McMichael is already good for a 60-65 catch season before Pepp got there. Oh, and don't sleep on the defense. Getting to play the Jets and Bills twice a season is a sure helper.