Fantasy Afc West

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

So the Raiders made sure that just because they have other viable options they were not going to make the same mistake six teams made last year in passing on a franchise/game-breaking running back. While I'm not suggesting Darren McFadden is Adrian Peterson reincarnate, I am suggesting that it would have been stupid to let McFadden slide all the way down to seven this year after seeing the impact Peterson had as a rook.

So what is the fantasy fallout? Well, first things first ... there is no way the Raiders carry all these running backs. They have trading chips, but the question now becomes if they can trade any of the dudes for something they want before having to simply cut a couple.

-Justin Fargas has agreed to a new contract, but his value will likely never be higher for teams searching for a running back.

-Dominic Rhodes was a costly free agent signing last off-season and did not do anything to come close to expectations of the contract. He did restructure, though, and figured to play as Fargas' backup before this draft pick.

-Lamont Jordan was likely on his way to receiving his walking papers anyway, and now that McFadden is on board he's definitely going to be out of work.

-Michael Bush was a monster in college, but hasn't played in the NFL -- he was recovering from injury last year and proclaims himself 100% currently.

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.

As if news couldn't possibly get any worse for the St. Louis Rams following their 0-3 start, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting that Steven Jackson-the consensus number two pick in most fantasy drafts this year-will miss the team's week four game against Dallas with a tear in his groin.

This is a bit of a nightmare for fantasy owners, particularly since Jackson appeared to be getting back on track following a 100 plus yard effort against the Bucs on Sunday. It's been mentioned that he's going to miss "at least one week" and then will be "week to week" after the Dallas matchup.

Brian Leonard will take his place in the Rams backfield, but with all the injuries to the offensive line, don't expect a ton of production out of the Rutgers rookie. Stay tuned but feel free to use your back end waiver claim on Leonard if you're in desperate need of backfield help - tore groins aren't exactly quick healers for running backs.

It's also worth noting that if you have Jackson on your squad and someone is willing to take an injury/flier on him and offer you good value--like a first or second round running back--in the hopes that he bounces back, it's probably worth considering/taking. Good luck with that though. In all likelihood you're riding this one out.

A regular look at 30 people who will affect the 2007 NFL season.

Even when Keenan McCardell was around, the Chargers wide receiver depth chart was about as star-studded as your average episode of Hollywood Squares. But McCardell's waddled off into retirement, and drafting in the 30-spot, the Bolts weren't really in a position to get any immediate help there.

They did roll the dice on Craig Davis, a 6'1", 207-lb. receiver out of LSU who was not the best receiver on his own team. But he's not the guy they're counting on to boost the WR corps this year. Who is? A fellow named Vincent Jackson.

He's 6'5" and 240 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal. Towards the end of last year, Jackson got on the field and while I'd stop short of saying that he "lit it up," he did make an impact. Over the last four regular season games, he racked up 286 yards and 3 touchdowns.

He and Phil Rivers had a pretty good groove, and Rivers wasn't afraid to go to him in clutch situations. Jackson didn't just make catches, he made catches that mattered.

Bottom line: Jackson's in a fantastic position this year. He'll be starting opposite Eric Parker, a more reliable, possession-type receiver, leaving it to Jackson to make the big plays. It seems like forever since the Chargers had a decent receiver with any size, and I expect Jackson will have a big impact this year ... for both the Chargers and for your fantasy team.

30 to Watch: See them all

Good news for Kansas City fans, bad news for fantasy football geeks. Coach Herman Edwards insists that he will use Michael Bennett to reduce the number of carries for Larry Johnson. Which is kind of a bummer, seeing that many of us were rooting for Johnson to reach the 500 mark. Edwards intimated that a third-back could be added to the mix and that's probably a wise decision considering that Bennett was hurt and never really got into a rhythm with the team. So a third-option would be a good option.

But don't panic fantasy geeks, Johnson will still get his carries. Edwards always talks a good game, but he continued to push Curtis Martin during his tenure with the Jets. And the first hint of adversity will have Edwards leaning on Johnson heavily.

In a move that will have major implications for two teams and millions of fantasy football players, the Detroit Lions have traded cornerback Dre Bly to the Denver Broncos in exchange for tackle George Foster and running back Tatum Bell.

Bly, the Lions' best defensive player, was entering his last season in Detroit but has agreed to terms on a new contract with the Broncos. With Bly on the opposite side of the field from Champ Bailey, Denver now has by far the best pair of cornerbacks in the NFL and one of the best pairs of cornerbacks in NFL history.

Foster has spent his four-year career with the Broncos and started 45 games, and he's one of the big reasons that everyone just assumes the starting running back in Denver is good for 1,000 yards a season, no matter who he is. The Broncos' line won't be as strong if they don't find a solid replacement for Foster.

Bell had 1,025 yards and two touchdowns last season, and the fact that the Lions traded him shows they have no faith in the ability of Kevin Jones to recover from his season-ending foot injury. Expect Bell to carry most of the load in Detroit next year.

Former Chicago Cardinals running back Ernie Nevers has one of the longest standing records in NFL history. Nevers scored 40 points in a game against the Bears in 1929 with six touchdowns and four PATs. The record has stood since that game. Not only is six touchdowns a seemingly impossible task, but kicking four extra points pretty much puts it out of reach.

Unless, of course, you are LaDainian Tomlinson.

And you are playing the Raiders.

LaDainian Tomlinson breaks records like your mom breaks eggs.

Whats next on the menu?

100 touchdowns.

Right now, Tomlinson is sitting at 98 touchdowns for his career. A couple of weeks ago he tied Emmitt Smith as second fastest to 90. Entering his 89th career game this week, LT has a chance to beat Jim Brown (93 games) as the fastest ever to 100 touchdowns.

"Touchdowns have come in bunches for me, it seems like, over the first six years. It's kind of been a blur, to be honest with you.

You say 100 touchdowns, but I don't even remember 100. I just don't remember scoring 100. I don't know what to say about it.

As a rookie you never think about that," he said. "You're just thinking about trying to fit in and trying to help the team as a young guy. But 100 touchdowns? No way."

This week the Chargers will travel up to Denver for the national spotlight - Sunday Night Football. This is sure to be a great game, a battle for first place between 7-2 teams. But LT has never really had a great game at Invesco Field.

According to Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune:

In five games at Denver's spectacular stadium – which hosted its first game three days after Tomlinson signed with the Chargers in August 2001 – Tomlinson has never gained more than 75 yards. His average per game is just 52.8 yards, barely more than half his average (96.7) for his other 83 games. He has averaged a full yard per carry less at Denver than everywhere else, and his only two TDs there came last year.

Tomlinson himself has acknowledged that the Broncos have done a good job of taking #21 out of the game early:

"Hopefully this time is different."

Charger fans were perplexed: Why hasn't LT had back-to-back 100 yard games since weeks 3 and 4 of LAST season? Why has he only rushed for 100 yards once this season? Has he lost a step?

LaDainian Tomlinson had the answer to those questions. And it goes something like this: 25 carries for 183 yards and 2 touchdowns along with 3 catches for 57 yards and 1 touchdown.

"So many questions start to come when you don't have 100 yards. People start to wonder, are you getting old or have you lost a step? But for me, it's all motivation because the game of football is not easy. People can stop you from running the football if they want to. That's just the way it is I guess. Fortunately for me, I understand that. Staying patient, I know that my time will come and we're going to run the ball effectively.

Maybe fans are taking #21 for granted. Maybe the almost weekly occurance of record-breaking performances has become cliché for fans. Like over 8,000 yards in his career after only five and a half seasons. And like joining Hall Of Famer Emmitt Smith as the second-fastest to 90 touchdowns, behind only Jim Brown.

"If I lost a step and had a day like this today, I'd hate to see if I was a young man what I would have done today with the kind of holes I ran through."

LaMont Jordan and Justin Fargas returned to practice on Thursday indicating that both could be ready to go against the Cardinals on Sunday. Fargas was listed as "questionable" on the injury report, but Jordan surprisingly was not listed at all.

Expect a call from the league for that.

The lone offensive bright spot for the Raiders this season has been the (sometimes spotty) performance of the running game that ranks 12th in the NFL. Of course, with they way things are going this season, it should be no surprise that Jordan and Huggy Bear Jr. were slowed with a sore back and injured shoulder respectively. The injuries have meant extra practice time at tailback for Adimchinobe Echemandu and Zach Crockett. The sooner Echemandu gets onto the field, the better. Not because he is that good, but you just know that people like ESPN's Sports Dork Bill Simpson are just waiting for jokes like, "Adimchinobe Echemandu? I ordered that at sushi last week while I was pitching my screenplay about a robot driving instructor that travels back in time with a talking pie."

So the quicker we can get those lame attempts at humor out of the way, the better.