Johnny Manziel went to Vegas – who cares?

by | May 28, 2014 | 2014 season, NFL Random Thoughts

I was not a huge fan of Johnny Manziel when he was at Texas A&M. I thought the finger-rubbing, “show me the money” routine was arrogant and sought attention for an individual over team accomplishment. And third-hand media reports about his off-the-field activities made me think the guy was kind of an arrogant jackass.

I’m also not convinced the guy is going to be a great NFL QB. Despite going in the first round, you don’t have to look hard to see that he’s undersized, that he’s got kind of a weird foot thing going on when he throws the ball under pressure and that he certainly isn’t going to make it solely as the “prototype” signal caller.

All those cards on the table, the scrutiny this rookie is under has gotten more than a little bit ridiculous.

Oh no. He went to Las Vegas for Memorial Day weekend!?!?!?

Did he skip organized team activities? No – coach Mike Pettine reportedly told him to have a good time. (more…)

Fantasy Football Q-and-A with Anthony Maggio

by | May 28, 2014 | 2014 season, Fantasy Football

We’re 99 days away from the start of the NFL season – which means we’re, oh, about 59 days away from the hard-core start of the fantasy football draft schedule.

But when you’re the world’s 17th fantasy expert, you can’t shut down when it comes to the latest NFL fantasy news. We followed it as closely as possible in real time as it happened, but now that most of the offseason movement has taken place, we’ve had a chance to sift through the moves and take a closer look at what they all mean.

Editorial Director Andy Tellijohn and Fantasy Editor Anthony Maggio spent some time discussing Maggio’s observations and thoughts from a fantasy football perspective as teams head into organized team activities. Here’s what he had to say:

Andy: What does your top 10 look like? At what point in the first round do you start thinking WR or QB, if at all this season – and if not in the first, where?

Maggio: My current top 10: Charles, McCoy, Peterson, Calvin, Graham, Forte, Lynch, Manning, Brees, Green. I suppose that answers the question as to where I start thinking WR, QB, and TE. I think RB is quite deep this season, which means I’ll be grabbing other positions a bit earlier relative to past seasons.

(more…)

In Depth 2014: Seattle Seahawks

by | May 17, 2014 | 2013 season, 2014 season, NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency, NFL Random Thoughts

San Francisco was the popular choice by many experts for a return to the Super Bowl heading into the 2013 season, but it was in-depthSeattle that jumped to an 11-1 start, claimed the NFC West, won a couple tight playoff games and destroyed Denver in the Super Bowl.

This is a young, interesting team with a ton of talent on both sides of the ball. But now the Seahawks are the hunted. Can they replace their free agency losses and make another run deep into the playoffs? Mitch Quesada, editor of 12th Man Rising, says it’s been a good offseason and the team is built for another good season.

Zoneblitz: Seattle capped a tremendous season with a Super Bowl blowout win. How would you assess the season and how this team came together?

Quesada: A Super Bowl-winning team needs a little bit of everything to win the biggest game in football. The Seahawks had that last season. They had a dominant running back, explosive receivers, a playmaking quarterback, the best defense in the game and the best home-field advantage in the NFL. The stars were aligned for the Seahawks to make franchise history last season and they did it with a nice balance of everything, including commitment and trust in each other. (more…)

In Depth 2014: Denver Broncos

by | May 13, 2014 | 2013 season, 2014 season, NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency, NFL Random Thoughts

It’s Super Bowl or bust as long as Peyton Manning is in town and the 2013 season was almost as good as it gets for in-depthBroncos fans.

Denver rode one of the most dominant offenses in NFL history to a 13-3 regular season and an appearance in the Super Bowl. But the Broncos’ championship dreams ended in a hurry when Seattle put on a show in the Big Game.

This offseason has seen quite a bit of turnover on a Broncos roster that, at least defensively, was exposed by injury and suspension in 2013. So can Denver rediscover that magic and give Peyton Manning one more run at his second ring? Or is the window closing too fast? Sayre Bedinger, editor at Predominantly Orange, shares his thoughts.

Zoneblitz: The Super Bowl got ugly, but the Broncos still got there in record-setting fashion. How would you assess the season? (more…)

2014 (Very) Early Cheat Sheet

by | May 12, 2014 | 2014 season, Fantasy Football

A lot can happen between now and training camp, and a lot more is going to happen after that. But with the draft now in our rear-view mirror and free agents having mostly found homes, here’s an updated 2014 cheat sheet

QBs

  1. Peyton Manning
  2. Drew Brees
  3. Aaron Rodgers
  4. Matthew Stafford
  5. Cam Newton
  6. Nick Foles
  7. Jay Cutler
  8. Tom Brady
  9. Matt Ryan
  10. Andrew Luck
  11. Andy Dalton
  12. Russell Wilson
  13. Philip Rivers
  14. Ben Roethlisberger
  15. Tony Romo
  16. Colin Kaepernick
  17. Robert Griffin III
  18. Josh McCown
  19. Michael Vick
  20. E.J. Manuel
  21. Ryan Tannehill
  22. Jake Locker
  23. Sam Bradford
  24. Joe Flacco
  25. Eli Manning
  26. Matt Cassel
  27. Alex Smith
  28. Matt Schaub
  29. Carson Palmer
  30. Chad Henne
  31. Brian Hoyer
  32. Mike Glennon
  33. Geno Smith
  34. Johhny Manziel
  35. Blake Bortles

  (more…)

2014 QB Class not as strong as originally advertised

by | May 11, 2014 | 2014 season, NFL Draft, NFL Random Thoughts

It’s often said that quarterback is the most important position in sports. That plays out in the contracts they receive and in the credit or blame they get when their teams win or lose.

That makes it all the more obvious to me that this year’s class of QBs was really more flash in the pan than sure thing. So to the fans of the teams who successfully acquired the “Big Four,” don’t be utterly surprised if one or more of your organizations is back again in two years still seeking the franchise signal caller every team desires.

I’ve seen teams like the Vikings, for example, criticized for passing on him not just once, when they traded back from eight to nine and left him on the board to take athletic LB Anthony Barr, but twice – the second time being when Cleveland outbid them in their effort to move up to pick 22. (more…)