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Meet The ... Team that needs to change divisions. How about going 8-8 and finishing last? The Texans are joined in the AFC South by three playoff teams, none of which is significantly worse entering the 2008 campaign. The problem for the Texans is that their offense didn't really improve itself and the rest of the divisional teams have stout defenses. Having Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub healthy for the entire season, though, is a start. Those two have a year under their belt working together and will be the key to this offense. You also know Gary Kubiak likes to run the ball, but it's tough to trust Ahman Green or Chris Brown.
The Breakout ZZZZZ ... sleeper time. Steve Slaton, the rookie RB from West Virginia was the Texans' third round pick. I just mentioned how Coach K (is that blasphemy to say when it's not "him," by the way?) enjoys running the football. Again, do you trust Ahman Green to stay healthy? Do you trust Chris Brown at all? If you shook your head at both of the above -- I know I did -- enter Slaton. The best part is that he'll be dirt-cheap on draft day. Last round flier time, baby!
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 ... Nic Cage of the NFL. I don't know if it was his awful attempt at an accent in Con Air or what, but Cage just seems like a bad actor. Yet there he is bringing in all kinds of money with the National Treasure franchise, and he's even won an Oscar. You looked at the 2007 Jags and saw a diminutive running back flanked by a walking injury behind an inexperienced QB who had to throw to an awful receiving corps. Much like Cage, they got it done ... so why would 2008 be any different?
The Breakout It looks like the Jags decided that David Garrard needed some receiving help, so they got him some in the off-season in the form of Jerry Porter and Troy Williamson. Both had fallen out of favor in their previous situations, yet sport undeniable talent. I'm going with Williamson here. He's still a young speedster, and has been heaped with praise early on in camp by Garrard. You should be able to get him close to the end of your draft.
Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson had his left knee scoped and cleaned up last Thursday, and the Texans say he should be back by the beginning of training camp. (great video above of AJ talking about his surgery and other topics, including coach Alex Gibbs). This news is a little unnerving to Texans fans (and should be something that fantasy players should watch) because:
1. When Andre Johnson was out last year, the offense still functioned, but not as efficiently, especially in the red zone.
2. The Texans have had a history of being overly optimistic in talking about players coming back from knee problems. Andre Johnson was initially described as week to week after suffering his knee injury in Week 2 last year, then it was said he would be out 3 to 5 weeks, and he didn't end up coming back until Week 11.
Running back Ahman Green was also described week to week with his knee bone bruise injury last year, until the Texans decided that he really needed to shut it down. In the 2006 training camp, Domanick Davis/Williams was described as the perfect zone blocking back until he ended up never playing a down that year and then later retiring due to a knee bone bruise.
Fantasy FanHouse will be chiming in throughout the NFL draft with fantasy analysis of each fantasy relevant pick.
Apparently Jeff Fisher was feeling like his backfield was bare with the departure of the unexciting Chris Brown, because -- for the third year in a row -- the Titans have selected a running back early in their draft. Now Fisher has Chris Johnson at his disposal along with LenDale White and Chris Henry.
Johnson's a poor-man's Reggie Bush. He can bang like an outside the tackles tailback, but catch passes out of the backfield as well. His value initially will be as a third down back, but he has the explosiveness that could help him develop into much more as soon as 2008. He's the home run hitter that White and Henry are not with his reported 4.25 40 speed.
Fantasy Spin:
- White: He's the inside bruiser, so short yardage and those lame first down "let's establish the run now" handoffs right up the middle are about all she wrote for the big man. You can't count on him for any better than your third fantasy back, because his value will stem strictly from short-yardage TDs. I wouldn't even count on him for that, as the lack of confidence in him carrying the load is evident with the past two years' drafts.
In an unsurprising move, Ahman Green was placed on IR today after it became apparent that the knee injury he suffered in Week 1 couldn't take game day activity. Undrafted Notre Dame running back, Darius Walker will be put on the active roster for the game against the Bucs this Sunday. Ron Dayne is expected to be the starter, though his time may be limited due to a minor ankle injury he suffered last week.
Green suffered what was called a "knee bone bruise" in the game against Kansas City. He tried to come back from that injury, but had to leave games due to swelling and pain. As I discussed last September, a diagnosis of a bruised knee bone gave Texans fans no comfort because the description of the injury sounded very similar to the same thing that ended Texans running back Domanick (Davis) Williams' career.
You hear fans talk about a bruised knee bone like it is no big deal, as if it is bumping it into a coffee table. However, as I understand it, the knee bone is a place with not a lot of blood flow, and can be hard to heal. If you have more of a medical interest in in knee bone bruises, check out this link. If you would like a first hand account of how knee bone bruises might slow down a sports blogfather, check out what Jamie Mottram has to say about it, including an x-ray of knee badness.
Domanick, Ahman, and Jamie: such promising sporting lives interrupted by what is a wussy sounding diagnosis, but actually is hard for doctors to treat, estimate healing time and determine its effect on future use.
This weekend against the Bucs, Texans starting quarterback Matt Schaub isn't expected to play due to a dislocated non-throwing arm, and will be replaced by backup Sage Rosenfels. There's a good video of Rosenfels talking about the start here. His backup is Shane Boyd, a midseason pickup who has never played a game with the Texans.
Rosenfels is a smart quarterback his teammates like and trust, and can sling the ball. He also tends to throw interceptions at inopportune times. Some fantasy players might be tempted to pick him up for the end of the season because the Texans have been able to pass the ball with Rosenfels, but the Texans are facing some tough pass defenses in the weeks ahead.
Titans quarterback Vince Young is sick of talking about his quadriceps injury, but fantasy players, betting folk, and others interested in the Texans-Titans game want to know more about it. So here's my talking out of my rear semi-educated guess on the subject matter:
Vince Young and Houston. Though Young doesn't want to talk about the game against Houston as being special, you know he wants to stick it to the Texans every time he is in his hometown.
Factors For Him Sitting. Nature of His Injury. Often, you can't get straight information from teams about injuries, so you have to look em up for yourself. From the appearance and description of his injury, and in my role playing fake doctor, it sounds like he had a second degree quadriceps strain. From what I've read about these, Young will be able to do normal activities, but may exacerbate his problem if he runs in a full sprint.
As Mario Williams knows, it is hard to own a Lamborghini and not drive it fast. Similarly, it would be difficult to put Vince Young in a AFC South battle in his home town, and expect for him to play it like a pocket passer.
When Texans #1 receiver Andre Johnson strained his knee in Week 2 against the Panthers, estimates on his return were as long as five weeks. The Houston Chronicle is reporting today that it is likely that Johnson won't be back until the November 18th home game against New Orleans.
Uh-oh.
The Texans have a history of providing overly positive assessments to fans of when players will come back. See e.g. Tony Boselli, Domanick Davis/Williams, Charles Spencer. Hopefully, Johnson's situation is not in that league of unhappy results. For an additional information about Johnson's injury, please check out my September discussion.
The Texans have been able to throw the ball in Johnson's absence even without a functioning running game, but his presence is particularly missed in the red zone. If they can't figure out how to improve red zone scoring in Johnson's absence, field goal kicker Kris Brown is going to have a lot more opportunities like he did against the Dolphins.
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.
You know, females get the reputation for being the biggest gossips, but it seems to me that the success of ProFootballTalk.com illustrates that guys like gossip too. Texans receiver Andre Johnson's knee is the focus of today's PFT gossip, as he reports that the "current scuttlebutt is he'll miss five weeks." He acknowledges that this gossip could be dog turd, but that's just what the gossip is. I appreciating knowing that.
"Well, I haven't talked to him personally, but from what I gather, it shouldn't be a lengthy injury. Three weeks at the most, I think. But you never know. Everyone reacts differently when it comes to healing time."
(His interview is a good read for Texan fans, unless they are also Cowboy fans as he is not terribly impressed with the 2007 Cowboys team. He's a straightfoward talker, and you find the archives of the Pittman interviews here.)
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.
Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. 
Fantasy FanHouse will be chiming in throughout the NFL draft with
In an unsurprising move, 
The Texans lead the league with players on IR with 16
Titans quarterback 
When Texans #1 receiver 
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.
You know, females get the reputation for being the biggest gossips, but it seems to me that the success of ProFootballTalk.com illustrates that guys like gossip too. Texans receiver Andre Johnson's knee is the focus of today's PFT gossip, as he reports that the "
