Week one shows possible shift in balance of power

by | Sep 10, 2008 | NFL Random Thoughts

Heading into last season I thought the New England Patriots were the clear, far-and-away best team in the NFL – and while we weren’t doing the blog at that point, I still have the Las Vegas betting slip I bought in July picking them to win the Super Bowl as proof.

As this season began I didn’t have as clear a feeling but I did believe that the league’s top three – maybe four – teams resided in the AFC. In addition to the Patriots, I would have included San Diego, Indianapolis and maybe Jacksonville at the top of my list in front of all of the NFC teams.
Week one shot some major holes in that theory.

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Injury to Brady blurs playoff run

by | Sep 9, 2008 | NFL News

In the excitement of getting ready for the trip to Las Vegas, Zoneblitz.com didn’t get around to posting predictions for the NFL season. We’ll try to get those finished up here heading into week two.

Given that we already know about the week one injury to Tom Brady we might have an unfair advantage over many experts who posted their predictions weeks in advance of the season.
That said, his injury won’t change one prediction – I still believe the New England Patriots will win the AFC East.

The Pats had one of the league’s easiest schedules heading into 2008. While Matt Cassel is nothing if not unproven it doesn’t change the weaponry around him. Brady’s injury likely makes running backs Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk and possibly even LaMont Jordan stronger fantasy football plays as the team will probably adjust to the injury by making their offense more conservative.

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Culpepper not retired after all?

by | Sep 8, 2008 | NFL News

Daunte Culpepper announced his retirement from the NFL last week but has he played his final game?

The New England Patriots reportedly invited Tim Rattay and Chris Simms in for workouts for potential spots on the roster after Tom Brady’s season-ending injury.

But KFAN-AM’s Paul Charchian announced on the Minnesota Vikings pregame show Monday night that the team sent both home without a workout. Instead, at this point, wide receiver Randy Moss is lobbying the team to bring in Culpepper.

Culpepper excelled with weapons like Moss and Cris Carter around him early in his career. Could there be a reunion of former Vikings in New England? Time will tell.

Brady irreplaceable but here’s where you can start

by | Sep 8, 2008 | Fantasy Football, NFL News

Sales of Wild Turkey undoubtedly increased to levels unmatched since Pat Summerall stopped imbibing Sunday afternoon in New England and across the country where fantasy football players who spent a top five draft pick or large percentages of their auction dollars on Tom Brady mourned the all-but-confirmed shredding of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

While Brady’s injury cleary presents a massive blow to the hopes of many owners be glad that it happened in week one rather than in week 10 or 12. You have three months to find a way to replace the league’s first or second best quarterback.

In all likelihood, to fully recoup his value, you’ll need to make a big trade somewhere along the line. But in the short-term there are several options available to you at quarterback. While none of them will leave you whole they can get you by until you can make that bigger move.

One option is taking a look at Matt Cassel. While he hasn’t been a starter since high school he does have a cadre of weapons unmatched by nearly any other team. Randy Moss, Ben Watson, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney and four running backs that contribute as skill position players give him a lot of options to utilize as he attempts to fill Brady’s shoes for the next 15 weeks and change.

Don’t forget, it was an injury to Drew Bledsoe that allowed Brady to earn his star status in the first place. Nobody is predicting that kind of success for the least-heralded of the recent USC quarterback alums. But he is a young, hungry quarterback in search of an opportunity to show what he can do.

It’s likely that if you had Brady you didn’t keep a backup quarterback. If you opt for Cassel I’d suggest adding someone else just in case he proves to be nothing more than a low-level backup.
Some guys that might still be sitting on your free agent wires include the following:
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Best bets for Vegas sports books

by | Sep 7, 2008 | NCAA Gambling, NFL Gambling

LAS VEGAS – As much as I enjoy playing Blackjack in Las Vegas there’s nothing more enjoyable in Las Vegas to me than sitting in a leather seat with a beverage (hopefully comped) next to me while I’m watching about 72 athletic events taking place simultaneously.

I haven’t been to every sports book Las Vegas has to offer but I’ve been to several. For what it’s worth, here are my favorite venues and why:

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