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Mistakes Are Being Made, So Please Stop Drafting Larry Johnson

Matt SnyderPosted Aug 21st 2008 5:00PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: NFL Fantasy

I'll start off by giving an arm-bash to Mathew Greber on this idea. He's been running a series called, "Mistakes Were Made," a look back at some things that escaped fantasy players and experts alike prior to the '07 football season. I'll put on my prognosticator hat and give a whirl as to some mistakes that are happening currently in fantasy drafts.

If you read an unfamiliar term, it should be covered in the fantasy football glossary. If you are are looking for a league, jump on fleaflicker. It's free, and really sweet.

The Top Mistake? Ladies and Gentlemen ... it ain't even close:

Larry Johnson
Yeah, that's right. Larry Johnson on your fantasy team is a big mistake. I'm seeing him go in the late first round or early second round personally, and I'm viewing an ADP chart right now where he's ranked 11th overall. Ugh. I'm not going to list all the players being drafted behind him on the ADP chart who deserve to be taken over him, because it would take too long. I will, however, list the most egregious examples, in no particular order: Marshawn Lynch, Ryan Grant, Reggie Wayne, Braylon Edwards, Terrell Owens, Peyton Manning, Tony Romo, Larry Fitzgerald, Drew Brees, Brandon Jacobs, Laurence Maroney, and Andre Johnson.


Again, I'd rather own a myriad of other dudes than Johnson, but those are the most glaring.

Why?
Continue Reading Mistakes Are Being Made, So Please Stop Drafting Larry Johnson

To Cuff, or Not to Cuff

Matt SnyderPosted Aug 19th 2008 2:50PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: NFL Fantasy

From the days of Olandis Gary (yes, that's him in the picture ... I can't believe I found one) taking over for Terrell Davis to last season's Earnest Graham breakthrough following Cadillac Williams' injury, fantasy owners have long seen backup running backs rise to prominence via injury to a teammate. Conventional wisdom states that you grab the backup runner to your highly drafted starting running backs, and the term handcuff is used to describe this theory.

This isn't always the case, though, unless you have a very large league. Say you have a 10 owner league with only five bench spots. Simply put, DeShaun Foster should not be taking up room on that bench.

Let's take a look at whether or not to handcuff starting RBs around the league in four different categories.

Must Cuff
Ryan Grant -- Grant held out, and now has a slight injury in camp. Meanwhile Brandon Jackson -- supposed to be the starting back last season before injuries and inexperience derailed him -- has been receiving rave reviews from the Packers coaching staff. You can still draft Grant in the 2nd round, but it is imperative to grab Jackson as well.
Continue Reading To Cuff, or Not to Cuff

Cadillac Williams Might Be Getting Parked to Start the Season

Will BrinsonPosted Jul 18th 2008 9:30PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Buccaneers, NFC South, NFL Injuries, NFL Rumors

I wish all athletes had names like "Cadillac Williams". Whenever he gets hurt or blows up, it makes it so easy to write a headline. Sure, it's about as effective as Carnell was last season, but it gets the job done. Which Caddy might not be doing for a while, as the St. Petersburg Times is reporting that he will, in all likelihood, be starting the season the Physically Unable to Perform list.
Because players who begin the preseason on the active roster cannot subsequently move to the PUP list, the Bucs must to make the designation before they begin their first practice, scheduled for July 26 at Disney. But in the preseason, PUP isn't nearly as restrictive as during the regular season. In fact, Williams would be eligible to be activated from the list at any time during the preseason.
As the Times notes, it's not a tremendously damaging move to put Caddy on the PUP, since he can return before the season starts. Landing on the list in the preseason actually gives the team some flexibility in bringing in someone else at camp, although it does keep Williams from practicing.

Still, for someone who has reportedly made tremendous strides towards returning this year, it's not usually a good sign to ever be classified as "physically unable to perform".
Continue Reading Cadillac Williams Might Be Getting Parked to Start the Season

Buccaneers Sign Earnest Graham to 4-Year, $11 Million Extension

Michael David SmithPosted Jun 29th 2008 8:42PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Buccaneers, Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Earnest Graham made it known this off-season that he was unhappy with his contract. He's not anymore.

Graham and the team agreed to a four-year, $11 million contract extension, reports NFL Network's Adam Schefter. He will apparently play his 2008 season under the previously scheduled base salary of $600,000 and will get three more years and about $10.5 million added to his deal.

Last season Graham became a starter for the first time after Cadillac Williams went down with a serious knee injury, and he played well, both as a runner and as a receiver. He's a good fit in head coach Jon Gruden's offense, although at age 28 he probably won't be at top speed by the time he's in the last year of his contract.

Williams is attempting a comeback, but he probably won't be ready at the start of the season, so Graham will be the starter and Warrick Dunn will be the backup.

Spurrier To Graham: Get Back to Work!

David J. WarnerPosted Jun 13th 2008 3:42PM by David J. Warner (author feed)
Filed under: Buccaneers, NFC South, Tampa Bay

Like some of his Buccaneers teammates, Earnest Graham would like some more money. He had a career year with the team, but Tampa Bay has turned away his requests for a pay raise. So Graham turned away the Bucs' request that he show up at voluntary workouts.

Apparently, Graham's old college coach doesn't like that very much.

Former Gators coach Steve Spurrier had some stern words of advice for Buc holdout running back Earnest Graham on Thursday. ...

"Hopefully Earnest Graham will get his butt back out to practice real soon,'' Spurrier said of the former Gators back. "Earnest needs to get back out here and I guess he'll be out here next week.''

Graham must really appreciate having his old coach undermine his holdout in the press. Makes you wonder what sort of relationship those two had at Florida. Plus, given that Spurrier left his alma mater for a huge payday with the Washington Redskins, maybe he's not the one to suggest Graham shouldn't be holding out for a raise.

Then again, Bucs practices become mandatory next week, so Graham could be fined $8,000 a day if he doesn't show up. Maybe Spurrier's just telling Graham not to throw his money away.

Garcia Wants Graham to Get Paid, Too

David J. WarnerPosted May 15th 2008 8:45AM by David J. Warner (author feed)
Filed under: Buccaneers, NFC South, Tampa Bay

You can call Jeff Garcia selfish for trying to get more money from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the truth is he's not just asking for a raise for himself. He's asking for a raise for Earnest Graham, too.

"There are a few players on this team that I believe should be rewarded. One of those guys isn't here with us right now, and I don't know if that's the reason.

"But a guy like Earnest Graham - he had such a spectacular year last year. And in no way did I feel or does anybody on this team feel that it was a fluke. But he's stuck on the bottom."

See? Garcia wants to share the wealth. He's a team player after all.

Graham became a starter last season after injuries benched Cadillac Williams and Michael Pittman, and he ran well, averaging 4.0 yards a carry and scoring 10 touchdowns. As of right now, he'll make only $605,000 next season. Currently, the Bucs' other options at running back are Michael Bennett, who struggled in this offense last season, Warrick Dunn, who is a great guy but is way past his sell date, practice squader Kenneth Darby and 7th-round pick Cory Boyd.

I've written here before that Graham deserves a raise. Another million wouldn't damage the Bucs' salary cap status. Knowing the way Bruce Allen operates, though, I figure Graham will get traded or cut before he sees that money. Enjoy old Warrick Dunn, Bucs fans.

Bucs Hire Running Backs Coach in Advance of Hiring Actual Running Backs

David J. WarnerPosted Feb 14th 2008 12:50PM by David J. Warner (author feed)
Filed under: Buccaneers, NFC South, Tampa Bay

We have no idea who will be the starting running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season, but at least we know who will be coaching them. The Bucs promoted special teams coordinator Richard Bisaccia to running backs coach yesterday. Bisaccia is shown here pointing out who the running backs are to Jon Gruden, which was clearly enough for him to get the job.

Of course, the question still remains as to who will get the bulk of the carries in Tampa next season. Perennial backup Earnest Graham had a solid season when forced into starting duty, but few people are suggesting that Graham is the long-term answer here. Plus, with Cadillac Williams' future uncertain and Michael Pittman and Michael Bennett both testing the free agent market, there's a possibility that GM Bruce Allen, who has $26 million in cap room to play with, will look outside the organization for someone.

Don't be surprised to see the Bucs draft either a running back or a receiver in the first round of the draft, either. This offense needs a lot more weapons for next season.

Bucs Should Give Earnest Graham a Raise

David J. WarnerPosted Jan 7th 2008 9:05PM by David J. Warner (author feed)
Filed under: Buccaneers, NFC South, Tampa Bay

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost a whole bunch of running backs early in the season, they had to turn to Earnest Graham, a career special teams player who was best known as being the Bucs' all-time rushing leader ... in the preseason.

While he didn't set the world on fire in the regular season, he averaged 4.0 yards a carry, he scored 10 touchdowns and his legs never seemed to stop moving whenever he had the ball. Graham gave the Bucs a running game it probably thought it wouldn't have after Cadillac Williams ruined his knee early in the season. He's hoping that's enough to get him a new contract worth more than the $512,000 a year he's getting now.

"Time will tell. Hopefully, I did enough for a new contract," Graham said after Sunday's game. "It's a business and I'm not an expert on it, so we'll see how it goes."

It should go in his favor. Williams' future is uncertain, Michael Bennett won't be back, and Michael Pittman has always been a backup at best. Plus, the Bucs could have between $20 million and $25 million in salary cap space this offseason. GM Bruce Allen would do well to set aside at least a million of that for Graham. He earned it this season.

Buccaneers at 49ers: Jeff Garcia, Prodigal Son, Returns Home

Tom MantzouranisPosted Dec 22nd 2007 3:06PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, Buccaneers, NFC South, NFC West, San Francisco, Tampa Bay

To get you ready for Week 16, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your Tampa Bay Buccaneers/San Francisco 49ers preview.

2007 Records:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 9-5 (NFC South Champions)
San Francisco 49ers: 4-10 (3rd in NFC West)

Last Week:

Bucs 37, Falcons 3
49ers 20, Bengals 13

Why We Care: Years after he was jettisoned from San Francisco, The Jeff Garcia Reclamation Project returns to where it all began. There's probably not much in the way of interesting football here, but it will be interesting to see how inspired Garcia plays in attempting to show the 49ers what they're missing out on. On the other side of the field, there's another interesting quarterback to keep an eye on. Shaun Hill is the 49ers' starter for the rest of the season and will further his attempts to get a big payday this offseason.
Continue Reading Buccaneers at 49ers: Jeff Garcia, Prodigal Son, Returns Home

Bucs 37, Falcons 3: Engine Number 34, On These Falcons All Will Score

David J. WarnerPosted Dec 16th 2007 4:35PM by David J. Warner (author feed)
Filed under: Buccaneers, Falcons, NFC South, Atlanta, Tampa Bay

You suspected the Falcons were doomed the moment Ronde Barber returned a Chris Redman pass for a touchdown. You knew the moment Michael Spurlock made that historic kickoff return for a touchdown. There was no way Atlanta would stop these Bucs from winning the NFC South today.

How dominant were the Bucs today? The numbers say it all:

  • Total yards: Bucs 285, Falcons 133.
  • Yards per pass play: Bucs 3.5, Falcons 1.7.
  • Turnovers: Bucs 1, Falcons 4.
  • 3rd down conversions: Bucs 9 for 19, Falcons 0 for 9.
  • Time of possession: Bucs 42:59, Falcons 17:01.

Earnest Graham ate up most of that clock for Tampa Bay. His numbers weren't spectacular -- 22 carries, 79 yards, 1 TD -- but he was the engine that kept the Bucs' offense churning. His steady, physical running helped the Bucs gain 10 of their 21 first downs on the ground, keeping the ball out of Jerious Norwood's hands and forcing Chris Redman into a horrid, horrid day.

So Tampa Bay makes it into the playoffs, and they can still climb into the #3 seed in the NFC with two wins and one more Seattle loss. The Falcons? They should probably focus on college quarterback scouting right about now.
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