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The ongoing mock draft at www.chinstrapninjas.com has been garnering plenty of attention and comments as we weave through the rounds. Some crazy picks and unorthodox moves have defined this draft.
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5
For an easy-to-navigate list of all our 2010 fantasy football strategies, advice, rankings, sleepers, etc., go here.
What craziness happens in round six of our redraft mock? Check it out below:
6.01 Owen Daniels, HOU (jzak)
Second part of my Texas two-step, Daniels, much like Schaub, has an injury onus on him, but few seem to remember how dominating he was at tight end last year before succumbing to injury. He deserves to be selected before some of the other tight ends on this list, in my opinion, and considering how many TEs are off the board at this point, I’m happy to take him here.
6.02 Pierre Garcon (ep)
Bottom line: Garcon is the No. 2 receiver for the high-powered Colts offense and could outscore Reggie Wayne in fantasy leagues in 2010. That makes him an easy sixth-rounder.
6.03 Jay Cutler (consigliere)
What’s not to like here. He has put up big numbers the past two years and the interception number doesn’t scare me one bit. He has also had low INT totals dating back to his Vandy days.
He is the most talented quarterback Mike Martz has had, all due respect to Kurt Warner.
6.04 Arian Foster (sockonfl)
I was going to wait another round, but I feel he will be the full time starter in Houston. That’s worth a ton considering how well that offense played last year. He also caught the ball out of the backfield some last year too. He could turn into an every down back. Just the type of back I need to take a chance on.
6.05 – Marion Barber (jay-mo)
I’ll probably get some grief for this pick, but I’m not drafting to make friends nor am I following some cookie-cutter glossy magazine. I was looking at WR here, but I’m confident my target will last until the next round. So, why not take the best available player (in my opinion)?
Obviously, Barber is going to get compared to Felix Jones. Barber is the starter: advantage one. Barber scores more often (7 TDs vs. 3 TDs): advantage two. Barber had nearly twice as many carries than Felix (214 vs. 116): advantage three. More importantly to me, Barber is the No. 1 runner in the red zone: advantage four.
I know, I know … that was last year and all of the fantasy experts are saying differently. Well, are they calling the plays for Dallas? Don’t believe me, watch the preseason …
6.06 Fred Jackson, BUF (jzak)Not thrilled with Jackson, but he is the official starter in Buffalo. In fact, he’s the main fantasy weapon in Buffalo at the moment. He’s the starter, for what it’s worth, and helps provide some RB depth.
6.07 Ahmad Bradshaw (speedy)
This might be a little high for him, but he’s been getting the starting carries early in training camp.
6.08 – Terrell Owens (ryder)
I’m going to go ahead and pick one half of the co-diva reality star T.O. Although he is getting older he still has a good year left in him. He is in much better situation this year with the Bengals rather then the dreadful Buffalo offense from a season ago. I cant believe I’m going to say this, but I think Chad Ochocinco and T.O. will help each other. Here comes Batman & Robin.
6.09 – Joe Flacco, BAL (krause)
I was going to wait on a QB but I like Flacco’s upside this year. Everything Baltimore did in the offseason makes me think their going to score a lot. Now I have Flacco and Ray Rice so 90% of the time Baltimore scores, I score.
6.10 Matt Ryan (consigliere)
Looking for a bounce back year for Ryan here. He has some legit weapons and i expect Michael Turner to be a lot better this year.
I am grabbing a top-10 quarterback here and hoping he plays like it. Not really a lot to say i am happy to have my starting line up filled out, now i need to fix my bench.
6.11 — Vincent Jackson, SD (ep)
It’s a risk because of Jackson’s holdout, but no other receiver has a better chance to transform my team at this point in the draft. If one side caves — V-Jax, dude, you’re not Andre Johnson — I get a top-10 receiver in the sixth round.
6.12 Hines Ward (sockonfl)
Seeing that ep stole my pick here right before me, I had to make a change of plans. I decided to go with the ever consistent and highly underrated Hines Ward. He puts up consistent numbers year in and year out. I know Ben Roethlisberger is out early on, but he will still post some solid numbers throughout the season.
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I would like to apologize for not having Two-A-Days yesterday, I was having some computer problems. Today I will preview the Bengals and the Seahawks and to make up for yesterday I will preview the the Cowboys and the Panthers tomorrow.
This idea originated from ESPN’s Mike & Mike, right now I will preview the Cincinnati Bengals.
1.) Is Carson Palmer still one of the premiere QB’s in the NFL?
It’s closer than I thought at first. In 2009, Palmer led the Bengals to seven fourth-quarter comebacks. He still has the following guys ahead him: Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, and Eli Manning. Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco could also end up ahead of him. According to my current list, I have Palmer eighth, is that premiere? Not quite, just outside of that category.
2.) Can RB Cedric Benson put together another career season?
He finally broke out in 2009, with 1,251 yards in 301 attempts. You would have to expect his number of carries to decrease, thanks to the Bengals bolstering the passing attack. The offensive line is strong enough for an 1,000-yard rushing season also. Benson’s number will go down, but still break the 1,000-yard mark.
3.) Who will be the wideout who puts the big play back in Cincinatti’s passing game?
No matter what the duo says, Chad Ochocinco is batman to Terrell Owens’ robin. Last season, Chris Henry led the team in average yards per catch, before his tragic death. Jordan Shipley had this role at Texas, but may not have enough playing time to be established as the playmaker. Antonio Bryant is more of a physical presence although he has been clutch. Terrell Owens may be this guy if he hasn’t slowed down too much. Chad Ochocinco can also be the big-play man, depending on what offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski wants to do. The Bengals have several players who are capable of filling this role, but it is not clear who will.
4.) Will the defense take a step foward or backward in 2010?
The key here is Antwan Odom, who had eight sacks in four games before a season-ending injury. If Odom is healthy, the defense should improve. The rest of the defensive line is also solid, with Robert Geathers, Domato Peko, and Tank Johnson as the other three starters.
Dhani Jones is the heart of the defense and the veteran of the linebacking core. Keith Rivers has proved to be very steady and consistent as a player. Rey Maualuga made progress in 2009 considering he had never played at strongside linebacker before.
The cornerback combo of Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall is one of the elite pairings in the league. Roy Williams and Chris Crocker are past there prime, but still get the job done at both safety spots.
The answer is step forward because of Antwan Odom’s return.
5.) The Cincinatti Bengals’ record will be…
10-6 and finish second in the AFC North.
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LeGarrette Blount first made headlines in college for punching an opponent. Now that he is a professional, he has moved on to punching his own teammates.
Not exactly the maturation process the Titans were hoping for when they signed him as an undrafted free agent this past spring.
Blount’s most recent incident came Wednesday afternoon when he landed a punch to the helmet of defensive end Eric Bakhtiari after having his own helmet ripped off on two consecutive plays.
Blount’s reaction was not all that uncommon. Skirmishes run rampant in NFL training camps. Players are more easily agitated while having to endure two-a-day practices in 90+ degree heat.
These altercations are easily forgivable and quickly forgotten.
The perception changes, however, when LeGarrette Blount is involved.
Blount achieved stardom in college not so much for his play on the field, but for the swing he took at Boise State defensive end Byron Hout after a loss. The incident resulted in Blount being suspended for the majority of the season.
Red flags were raised in regards to Blount’s character because of the incident and as a result, no team selected him in the 2010 NFL Draft.
This seemed a tad unfair at the time, as Blount was a very talented running back and it was only one mistake. Many players have made worse decisions in college and still gone on to have productive NFL careers.
Yet, with the news of Wednesday’s altercation, Blount’s incident against Boise State is beginning to look more like the norm than an anomaly.
Now, even more reports are surfacing that seem to affirm this suspicion. The Oregonian has reported that LeGarrette Blount also punched Oregon Ducks head coach Mike Bellotti while in college.
The punch came in the middle of a scuffle between Blount and two defensive teammates, including Bills second-year safety Jairus Byrd. It was intended for one of these two players but instead connected with the Oregon head coach as he attempted to break up the dispute.
The trouble doesn’t stop here.
Blount was suspended for the first-quarter of a loss against the Cal Golden Bears during his junior season because of an unspecified violation of team rules. He was then suspended a second time after missing a number of team workouts during the offseason.
None of these incidents by themselves are reason for major concern. However, when taken into combination, the Titans must begin to question whether Blount can be held accountable.
The good news for the Titans is that they did not have to invest a draft pick into Blount, so cutting ties with him would cost them no more than the time they’ve already invested.
On the other hand, if Blount does end up making the roster, the Titans will be the ones who will have to deal with the consequences of another outburst.
Any “extracurricular activity” initiated by Blount in an actual game will cost the Titans a minimum of 15 penalty yards and could make the difference between a win and a loss.
Furthermore, if opponents discover Blount’s short fuse, they will do everything in their power to bait him into making another mistake. Blount can expect to be on the receiving end of a good deal of trash-talk and taunting.
Can he control himself in a regular season game when defenders are jawing at him?
The answer to this question is unclear, but it’s something the Titans will have to consider if he’s to stay on the 53-man roster. In the unfortunate event of an injury to star running back Chris Johnson, Tennessee would be ill-suited to have a ticking time bomb in the backfield.
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Heroes
Victor Cruz
Cruz has been impressing coaches all week during training camp and really made a name for himself last night, catching six passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns. Cruz has put up a huge fight for a roster spot and it looks like he’s going to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. After his performance last night, there’s no way another team wouldn’t pick him up off of the waiver wire. Cruz’s best play came when he made a one handed 64-yard touchdown catch over the head of Dwight Lowery.
Eli Manning
Manning may not have had the sharpest performance of his career, but I have to give him a round of applause for his toughness. Any player that can take a hit like that, get up, and then just say “I’m fine” is a winner in my eyes. He finished 4/7 for 77 yards and a QB rating of 83.9. However, 51 of those yards came on a shovel pass to Ahmad Bradshaw. Manning did have to evade a lot of pressure on that play, though, which was impressive. Manning also had two passes that were nearly picked off by Antonio Cromartie. He also had an easy pass dropped by Ramses Barden.
Antrel Rolle
Antrel Rolle got things off to a good start in the first quarter when he intercepted a tipped pass from Mark Sanchez. Rolle returned the pick 59 yards all the way to the one-yard line.
Deon Grant
Grant had the tipped pass that led to Rolle’s interception. He looked like he’ll be fine as a starter if Kenny Phillips isn’t ready to go week one. I might just be excited because the safeties weren’t atrocious like last season.
Rhett Bomar
Bomar was very impressive, completing 6/7 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. I actually was more impressed by Bomar than Jim Sorgi. Bomar also had a nice 23 yard scramble late in the game, too.
Duds
Matt Dodge
Dodge struggled greatly and the only thing saving his stat line is one 52-yard punt that just happened to take a really good bounce. His punts had no hangtime at all. One punt actually had a hangtime of .01 seconds. He also had one of his punts blocked, but that looked as if it could have been the fault of Andre Brown for missing a block. Dodge will really need to improve, though.
Kick Return team
Year after year the Giants can never figure out how to block for their kick returners. Andre Brown had three returns for 53 yards (17.7 avg) and Danny Ware had one return for 21 yards. The team will really need to work on its fear of getting past the 20 yard line. I hear it does wonders and the offense is usually very appreciative.
Ramses who? All of the talk as training camp opened was on Barden being a big difference maker this season. He hasn’t done anything yet. Many felt fine just handing the fourth receiver job off to Barden and making him Manning’s number one red zone threat, but that won’t be happening under the watch of this week’s hero, Victor Cruz. Barden only had two receptions for 12 yards last night. He dropped one pass on a slant route, too. It appeared that he heard footsteps coming and lost focus on the ball.
Running game
Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combined for seven rush attempts and just one yard gained. I know there are a lot of injuries on the offensive line, but that’s simply atrocious for a team that once had the most feared rushing attack in football.
DJ Johnson
He had an interception late in the game, but that was a pick anyone could have made. Johnson blew a few assignments and was a liability in coverage. He stood out for the wrong reasons and struggled in one on one situations. Not good news, especially since the Giants really don’t have a fifth cornerback.
This article was originally posted here.
To read more and receive the latest New York Giants news, visit AllGiants.com
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I went to my local Subway restaurant to have some lunch the other day. I really needed a break from work, so I decided to go inside instead of using the drive-up.
What I thought about was both exciting and moderately disturbing. You see, I’ve found my mind never really leaves the world of fantasy football. This was just one more event that reinforced it.
As I looked at the menu, it was hard for me not to compare the different sandwiches to current players in dynasty leagues. I perused the list of Jared’s favorites, and I just couldn’t help myself.
The parallels for these fabulous gridiron footlongs are just so obvious.
Sandwich: Cold Cut Combo
Player Represented: Reggie Bush
You look at the cold cut combo at it excites you at first. Three delicious meats, all turkey based. It’s one of the cheaper ones, so it catches your eye quickly.
Reggie Bush is much the same.
You get it excited about him as you see his highlight reels. You think of all the ways he could help your fantasy team and listen to all the pundits saying “this is the year.”
In the end, it’s all just bologna.
Sandwich: Meatball
Players Represented: Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco
Do I really even need to go further?
Owens and Ochocinco teaming up has created one the most ridiculous circus-like atmospheres in league history. They have a chance to make history as either one of the most explosive duos we’ve seen, or as a pair who destroys a coaching staff.
Either way, it’s hard to argue they’re both not just a couple of meatballs.
Sandwich: Feast
Player Represented: Chris Johnson
The feast is one of the craziest sandwich creations known to man. It’s basically every meat and cheese found in the restaurant stuffed into bread with blunt force. In the end, it weighs about as much as you do.
The feast has everything, just like the player it represents.
Chris Johnson can run with power, is blessed with incredible speed, and can beat a team in just about every way imaginable. His athletic blend is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. There’s one other parallel here the Titans need to be aware of, though.
They’re both pretty expensive.
Sandwich: Veggie Delight
Player Represented: Eli Manning
I actually stray away from the veggie delight. I want something more sassy. Something more scandalous. The veggie is a little boring, but it’s certainly effective.
Eli Manning is much the same.
Manning is a valuable dynasty quarterback, but he just doesn’t come with glitz and glamour of other fantasy quarterbacks. Owners go crazy watching his demeanor on the field. He does help win games, though.
The good thing about Manning and the veggie is neither will blow up your stomach.
Sandwich: Buffalo Chicken
Player Represented: Trent Edwards
This one was easier than the meatball.
Dynasty owners cringe when they watch Trent Edwards play. His legendary knack for the check down and inability to throw the deep ball consistently for Buffalo have left many owners cutting bait with him.
This preseason has shown us a little different Edwards, but right now, his prior history of having a lack of courage labels him as an easy choice as the buffalo chicken.
Sandwich: Tuna
Player Represented: Brandon Marshall
Can you make a meatball out of tuna? We may just find out this season.
Brandon Marshall’s move from Denver to the Dolphins has been one of the biggest stories of the offseason.
He’s apparently doing his best to stay in the news.
His recent practice antics can’t be sitting well with the biggest tuna of them all in Bill Parcells. After everything Marshall has gone through, you’d think he’d know better and take advantage of his fresh start in Miami.
Hopefully he does.
Sandwich: Club
Player Represented: Ray Rice
The club has ham, turkey and roast beef. It’s a tasty blend that warms the tummy, but found in a more compact size than the enormous feast.
Ray Rice is a blend of his own as well.
He’s much like Chris Johnson in the fact he has a little of everything. He can run, catch, block, and score much like Johnson.
He’s not quite the feast, but he’s pretty close and won’t cost a customer or a fantasy owner in dynasty leagues quite as much.
Sandwich: Philly Cheesesteak
Player Represented: DeSean Jackson
With McNabb out of the picture, Jackson is arguably the most noteworthy of all the Philadelphia Eagles in fantasy football.
The cheesesteak is one of the premium subs on the menu at Subway, but it’s also only available for a limited time.
That brings us back to D-Jax.
Was his fantasy breakout performance in 2009 a limited time offering, or can he really repeat that explosive statistical season?
The parallels for the Philly Cheesesteak and the Philly player seem to be right on par.
Sandwich: BLT
Player Represented: LaDainian Tomlinson
I have to admit it. This one was all in the letters.
LT doesn’t remind me of bacon, lettuce, or tomatoes in any way I can think of. The letters represent his status in fantasy football and in dynasty leagues, though.
BLT = Bye LaDainian Tomlinson!
The next time you frequent your local sandwich shop, tell them DLF sent you. They won’t know what that means, but maybe it sounds cool to strangers.
Just make sure you don’t upset a spicy Italian.
For the complete set of strategic 2010 dynasty rankings, click below:
Strategic Quarterback Rankings
Strategic Running Back Rankings
Strategic Wide Receiver Rankings
Strategic Tight End Rankings
Strategic IDP Rankings
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