Fantasy Afc North

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Chad Johnson media circus. Seriously, dude, just shut up and play. Other than him -- though I doubt he thinks we're all aware there are actually other players on the team -- there's a decent crowd of players here with whom fantasy owners are quite familiar. Rudi Johnson and Carson Palmer are traditional high picks, and T.J. Houshmandzedah has really come on strong as an elite wideout.

The Breakout
As much of a punk as he is, Chris Henry put up numbers in this offense when he was actually on the field. Palmer doesn't utilize his slot receiver like Peyton Manning, but he does it quite well. So will it be Jerome Simpson or Andre Caldwell? Palmer's already raving about the maturity of Caldwell and is weary of the rawness to Simpson. That's enough for me. Andre Caldwell is your Bengals breakout for '07. It's gotta be late in a bigger league before you decide to take him, but he's still got a chance to hit it quasi-big this year in the slot.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Most balanced offense in the NFL. With the addition of Rashard Mendenhall the Steelers now have a talented between the tackles runner to go with Fast Willie Parker. This is thunder and lightning to a higher level with the single-back abilities each guy has. They can go deep to Santonio Holmes, or to the reliable possession receiver Hines Ward. Add the extremely athletic 6'4" Limas Sweed to the fray to catch jump balls, and the very solid over-the-middle TE Heath Miller. Oh yeah, and Ben Roethlisberger is coming off easily the most prolific season of his career.

The Breakout
Really tough call here. Did Santonio already have his breakout season last year? (YES) Is Sweed really ready to have a good enough season to call it a breakout? (HMMM ... ) Hasn't Mendenhall received enough hype that he's accurately "rated" (as opposed to underrated or overrated)? I guess if pushed I'll go with Mendenhall. Ward seems a lot less ready to yield his spot outside than Fast Willie is in the backfield to me, plus Nate Washington clouds things at WR. Mendy (yeah, just made that up) will at least vulture the goal-line TDs and has enough speed to fully take over should Parker go down via injury.

Fantasy FanHouse will be chiming in throughout the NFL draft with fantasy analysis of each fantasy relevant pick.

Wow. I mean, just wow. Rashard Mendenhall kind of plummeted in the draft didn't he? And when he landed right in Mike Tomlin's lap, the Pittsburgh head coach scooped him up. And it was a very smart move.

Willie Parker is obviously the starter for the Steelers, but there have always been concerns about his ability to bash between the tackles, even when he was racking up huge seasons, yardage-wise. Now the Steelers won't have to face those questions as much, because Mendenhall will serve as a bruising back that will compliment Parker perfectly.

Single season leagues are probably going to wait and take Mendenhall, because Parker is a pretty solid first rounder. However, I tend to think he's got sleeper written all over him because of Parker's injury history and his different style of running. If you like to gamble, you're going to be thinking about this guy in the early teens during drafts, and certainly, he's a must have handcuff for Parker.

In terms of dynasty leagues, I think Mendenhall has to be at or near the top of drafts. He's a brusing, talented runner and he's landed in a situation where the offensive line has always been stressed. Is Parker the long term answer for Pittsburgh? At least for the next two years because of his contract. But I'd put my money on Mendenhall being the guy you will want long term. And if that's the case, he may end up being the most valuable guy in this draft when we look back on things in about three to four years.

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.

Carson Palmer says he's feeling great and ready to have a big year for the Bengals in the upcoming season.

"It's comforting to know that I am confident in my knee and it can withstand whatever is thrown at it," said Palmer, who looked sharp in his first 2007 training camp practice Friday. "I don't have to worry about the rehab and all the stuff I had to worry about last year."

Palmer has always had a close relationship with Chad Johnson, but this off-season, he scheduled off-season workouts with TJ Houshmandzadeh and Tab Perry. He also stumped for the team to re-sign free agents TE Reggie Kelly and RB Kenny Watson. He's not just the go-to guy on the field, but the go-to guy in the locker room. And as for his knee?

"It's the first day and I've already had 15 questions on my knee. But I'm hoping those are just first-day questions and they'll be gone tomorrow. It's just good to be healthy and in shape and not worried about what's going to happen."

The Jungle ... and your fantasy squad ... could see quite a few huge days from ol' #9 this season.

Ben Roethlisberger made it through Thursday's practice with no problems, and he's passed every post-concussion brain function test this week. But that doesn't mean that Bill Cowher is ready to pronounce him the starter. If you were waiting for a decision for your fantasy team (especially with the Steelers facing the Raiders), here's the bad news: Roethlisberger will be a game time decision.

Cowher said a final decision on the QB's status won't be made until game time Sunday, mostly because Roethlisberger still must pass more of the post-concussion tests he takes daily. He has passed all tests so far, but any recurring symptoms or setbacks would cause him to sit out.

As far as concerns that he's coming back to soon go, Roethlisberger said that he trusts the decision of Dr. Joseph Maroon who is considered one of the top specialists on concussions.

"From talking to Dr. Maroon I think that people always speculate that after you have one concussion, you're susceptible to more and then more on top of that," Roethlisberger said. "But from what we've researched and understood is that as time passes, that susceptibility goes away."

There was some more good news for the Steelers, as Joey Porter made it through practice with no problems and was upgraded to probable. The other starting outside linebacker Clark Haggans (ankle) and nose tackle Casey Hampton (hamstring) did not practice and are questionable.

Let me set the scene for you: It's late in the fourth quarter, and the Ravens have just scored to cut Carolina's lead to 16-14 on Kyle Boller's second touchdown pass of the game to Mark Clayton. Instead of attempting an onside kick, Ravens head coach Brian Billick has decided that the Ravens will kick deep in the hopes that his defense can force Carolina into a quick four and out.

After the ensuing kickoff is returned to the Carolina 28, the stadium is absolutely rocking in anticipation of a big play that will either pin the Panthers deep in their own end, or result in a turnover that will put the Ravens in position to attempt a game-winning field goal. And after living with a defense that's been dominating for its entire existence in Baltimore, that's the sort of result Ravens fans have come to hope for, and at times, even expect.

From my seats in the North end zone, I've got a clear shot of the play developing in front of me. But after Jake Delhomme avoids the Ravens rush, it's all too clear that super speedster Steve Smith has put plenty of space between him and cornerback Samari Rolle on a post pattern. A moment later, the ball is in Smith's hands, and he's headed for the pylon in the hopes he can reach it for a touchdown to put the game away.

And in that instant, I'm doing all the basic algebra I need to determine that if Smith scores, it'll mean nine points for me in my fantasy league.

Please tell me I'm not the only one.

OK, so Najeh Davenport doesn't exactly fit the mold of the high-character guys that the Steelers bring in. In this case, it seems that need outweighed the desire to avoid character risks. And the reality is that Davenport could fill the Steelers biggest need a big back (6-1, 247 pounds) who can use his mass to fall forward on third and ones.

But I do have one question. Why would the Steelers dump Cobbs instead of Duce Staley? Davenport fills the role that Staley was supposed to fill-veteran short yardage and goal line back who can maybe siphon off 5-10 carries a game from Willie Parker's workload. If that's the case, which is sure seems like it is, then Staley is now a very expensive fourth-string running back with no future. The only likely explanations I can think of is that the Steelers brought Cobbs in, were unimpressed, and decided to dump him now (which likely means they don't have to send a pick to the Patriots as it was a conditional pick). Either that or Bill Cowher's in-fat-uation with Staley continues.

Davenport is not exactly a sure thing himself. He was unimpressive in the preseason, and he's had injury problems. But the Packers cut him loose in part because they had some younger backs with more upside--and if you're the Packers, you're planning for the future. The Steelers had an advantage over all other teams in that by playing on Thursday night, they can sign Davenport on Friday without guaranteeing his entire salary for the year. Since other teams have not played their opener, signing Davenport now would kick in the vested veteran rule--which would mean that other teams couldn't take a low-risk look at Davenport. For the Steelers, if it doesn't work out, they will have spent very little money on a guy who if he does succeed fills their greatest need.

By the way, if you have Willie Parker in your fantasy league (like me), it does drop his value, and Davenport could be worth a flier as he's likely to fill the goal line role if he shows the Steelers anything.

It seems that the developing consensus is that the Steelers are doomed on Thursday, or, if not doomed, extremely dependent on the Steelers defense providing 10 points while holding the Dolphins to 7.

Exagerration? Maybe a little, but not by much. But here's the thing, while Charlie Batch is no Ben Roethlisberger, he's no 2005 Tommy Maddox either. To get an idea at what the Steelers will do with Batch at QB, you just have to look back to last year. The Steelers were 2-0 when Batch started, although they were facing the Packers and Browns.

But from those games, and Batch's previous career, it's safe to make a couple of predictions:

1) The Steelers have to protect Batch. Unlike Big Ben, Batch struggles if forced to make plays on the run. You'll sometimes hear a TV announcer say something like "look for the Steelers to take advantage of Batch's mobility." I can only guess they say it because Batch is a black quarterback, but the reality is, he has average speed at best and Football Prospectus a few years ago found that he was the worst quarterback in the league at the time when throwing from outside of the pocket. This may be the Steelers offense's biggest problem. While the middle of the Dolphins defensive line is filled with a pair of wide-bodies who are run pluggers, Jason Taylor is the kind of athletic defensive end that can give Max Starks trouble.

2) Expect some trick plays. On the first play from scrimmage of the Packers game, Antwaan Randle El ran for 43 yards on a reverse. Against the Browns the next week, the game in which Batch broke his hand, the Steelers pulled out the Fake-39 Toss X-Reverse Pass, where Randle El connected with Hines Ward for a touchdown--the play that later sealed the win at the Super Bowl. Yeah, Randle El's gone, but expect a halfback pass, a reverse or something unusual on Thursday night.

They're two of the more interesting quarterbacks to watch this year. I don't think anyone other than Brad Johnson envisioned Brad Johnson still being an NFL starter at this point in his career, and Charlie Frye probably wasn't expecting to be starting this early in his career, either. But they're both expected to be difference-makers for their teams.

I'm going with Johnson, but it's not because I'm down on Frye at all. I thought he showed some really good things at the end of last year, and I expect him to build on that. But two factors tilt this firmly to the side of Johnson: experience, and opponents.

Charlie Frye plays in the AFC North, where the only bad defense in the division is the one he faces in practice. The Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals are all going to get after the quarterback ferociously, meaning the young Frye is going to have to make so many quick reads, and adjust to so many different things, all while Joey Porter is trying to literally murder him. He won't be terrible, but asking him to put up great numbers in that situation is probably a bit too much to ask for.

Johnson, meanwhile, would be fine in the same situation. Not that he needs to be, because his division, with the exception of the Bears, is populated with much less-frightening defenses. Johnson's about as mobile as Jack Palance, but he can certainly read a defense and make the right decision with the ball. If nothing else, he'll keep his interceptions down.

I think the Vikings will be better than people think, and they're relying Brad Johnson's going to be a big part of that. He may not be the big-play guy you want to see, but he's not going to kill you, either. It's not the highest of praise, but how many teams have quarterbacks that they can be absolutely sure won't lose a game for them? I like Charlie Frye, and I think he'll be a good quarterback, but this year, the Browns can't make the same claim.