Week 1 College Football Preview

We couldn’t resist. The NFL kicks-off in just seven days but the college game gets started this Thursday. Each week, Pat Greissing will highlight three of the weekend’s biggest match-ups and unveil BumpAndRun.com’s Top 15.

Pittsburgh vs. Utah: Thursday, 8:30PM EST, Versus
 
The college football season kicks-off on Thursday night with two of our top 15 teams playing on Versus.  Pittsburgh opens up the season after crumbling in their regular season finale last year.  A half of football away from a BCS game and the Panthers failed to deliver.  They return sophomore sensation Dion Lewis at RB, but running against the Utes could prove difficult.
 
The Utes begin their last season in the underrated Mountain West Conference with a home game against a BCS school. The Utes are very tough on defense and have an All-American caliber DE in Jabaal Sheard. The game will rest on the arm of QB Jordan Wynn as he attempts to begin the season where he left off last year.
 
Pick: Utah 27-Pitt 17
 
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Fantasy Fives: Players Entering 2010 with Momentum

1. Joe Flacco – This preseason the Ravens have made it a point to show the league that the one-demensional Black Birds are a thing of the past. Flacco put up the ball 34 times against the Giants last week, a clear indication that a) the coaches are confident in Flacco winning games with his arm and b) he finally has a full complement of weapons at his disposal in Anquan Boldin, Derek Mason, Mark Clayton and a healthy Todd Heap. Plus, having Ray Rice in the Ravens backfield only makes Flacco more dangerous. In his third season working with offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, Joe Cool has found his comfort zone; a scary thing for the AFC.

2. Arian Foster – Just three weeks ago we were talking about the emergence of rookie Ben Tate as the Texans top back or Steve Slaton bouncing back from a disappointing 2009. Well, we forgot about Arian Foster. After last Saturday’s performance against Dallas (18 carries, 110 yards and 1 TD), Foster left no doubt who the workhorse in Houston will be this season. It’s an amazing swing: many fantasy drafts in mid-August had Foster as the third Texans back off the board. Now you’d be lucky to snag him in the 4th round. All the more reason not to conduct your fantasy draft until late August.

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Preseason Observations from Saturday

Detroit 35 Cleveland 27 - Ladies and gentlemen, young Matthew Stafford has grown up. The second-year Lions’ quarterback has made noticeable strides from his rookie campaign and this season he actually has the weapons to take his game to elite heights. Stafford finished the evening 13 of 17 for 141 yards and a touchdown. I’m not saying the Lions are punching a ticket to the playoffs but don’t be shocked if head coach Jim Schwartz leads his team to six or seven wins. Some fantasy nuggets: Lions’ rookie Jahvid Best put a stranglehold on the starting running back job. First play for the Detroit offense: Best to the left for 51 yards. Second play for the Detroit offense: Stafford to Best for 10 yards. I don’t think he played another down after those two plays – the coaches had seen enough. Calvin Johnson caught two balls for 42 yards. Browns’ quarterback Jake Delhomme had a productive evening (20/25, 152 yards and 1 TD) though I’m not sure I’d have him on my fantasy roster.

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Preseason Observations from Friday

Atlanta 16 Miami 6 – The Dolphins first team offense struggled to do much of anything Friday night against the Falcons. Miami quarterback Chad Henne’s performance (10/22, 1 INT) was underwhelming but he wasn’t alone. The running back combo of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined for 14 yards on 12 carries. Ouch. Something tells me that Tony Sparano won’t be taking practice lightly this week in that South Beach sun. Some fantasy nuggets: Brandon Marshall caught three balls for 51 yards. Though Henne’s still somewhat of an unknown, expect Marshall to produce Pro Bowl type numbers in 2010. The tandem of Matt Ryan and Roddy White got it going early Friday night. Matty Ice finished the night 13 of 26 for 103 yards and a touchdown to White in the first quarter. And for all you Michael Turner owners, be encouraged. Burner carried the ball 16 times for 47 yards. He lost a fumble but who cares, he’s healthy.

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Preseason Observations from Thursday

Green Bay 59 Indianapolis 24 - Easy Green Bay, save a little for the regular season. Three weeks into preseason, Aaron Rodgers (21/29, 195 yards and 3 TD’s) looks like the best quarterback in football and Peyton Manning (15/26, 214 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 INT) didn’t seem too far behind. A few fantasy nuggets: Jermichael Finley continues to ball-out at the TE position for the Pack. Tonight he caught six balls for 85 yards and 1 touchdown in just one half of work. Colts RB Joseph Addai broke off a nice 49-yard run on the first play of the game, but left in the third quarter with a concussion. Keep an eye on that situation as Addai’s back-up Donald Brown (5 carries, 6 yards) didn’t impress. Reggie Wayne caught 7 balls for 96 yards and a touchdown. Really, what else would you expect?

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Depth All Around

The Miami Dolphins and the Minnesota Vikings did the unusual in the NFL yesterday.  They completed a trade that adds depth and consistency in places of need. The swap sent Greg Camarillo to the Vikes and Benny Sapp back to his hometown Dolphins.
 
With Sidney Rice going down for at least half the season due to hip surgery the Vikes need help at the WR position.  They certainly got that in Greg Camarillo. Camarillo has been the model of consistency for the Dolphins the last three seasons. He is a great route runner and possesses great hands.  He did not drop a pass last season before he was injured.
 
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Don’t Sleep, B-Twice is Nice

Word came out of the Twin Cities yesterday that Vikings receiver Sidney Rice has undergone hip surgery and could miss up to half the season. Damn. That’s 83 catches, 1,312 yards and 8 TD’s gone for up to eight weeks. I don’t know who’s more pissed about this, Brett Favre or the fantasy owners that drafted Rice in the 5th round of their draft last week.

Have no fear — both Favre and those panicked fantasy owners — there’s a knight in shining armour and he goes by the name of B-Twice. That’s right, expect Bernard Berrian, wide receiver and co-host of Chad Ochocinco’s “hit” VH-1 show, to be the recipient of a many deep strikes from Favre in 2010. People forget that Berrian signed with Minnesota … Continue Reading

Fat Al’s Power Play

After a 23-3 drubbing by the Baltimore Ravens, ‘Skins nose tackle (just rubbing salt in the wound) Albert Haynesworth claimed that the organization was lying about his mid-week injuries and declared that he won’t be attending next off-season’s conditioning program.

Hey, at least he’s giving 8-months notice.

What does all of this mean you ask? It means that Shanahan will most likely come out a loser in this ridiculous player-coach saga, even though Redskins fans and a majority of the public seem to be in his corner.

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Teams Ready to Make an Impact

Let’s look at the five teams that have made the best moves of the offseason via trades or free agent signings:

N.Y. Jets: The Jets made a flurry of moves in an effort to cement themselves as a Super Bowl contender.  They went out and added Antonio Cromartie and Jason Taylor on the defensive side of the ball. Cromartie provides the Jets with depth at the CB back position.  If/once Revis returns to the team, Cromartie most likely will be the Nickel DB with the emergence of highly touted rookie Kyle Wilson.  Taylor comes over from the Dolphins and immediately improves the Jets pass rush, even at his age.

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Fantasy Football Face-off 2010: Part 2

Great fantasy football minds don’t always think alike. In an effort to give you two schools of thought before your fantasy drafts next month, Bump and Run is bringing you a two-part fantasy football primer to help you get a leg-up on the competition. Most fantasy sites and publications will try to make you believe that their outlook is the be-all end-all, but let’s be real: everyone thinks differently. In order to be successful, you need to create your own style and feel confident about it. Chris Hayre caps it off in Part 2 of our Fantasy Football Face-off: … Continue Reading