Clinton Portis, Santana Moss Miss Practice…

Redskins star running back Clinton Portis continues to be excused from practice for personal reasons. He missed yesterday, along with WR Santana Moss, who is suffering from some minor ailments and illness.

Moss has been injury prone since his unbelievable 2005 campaign. We’re interested to see what both of these guys can do in new head coach Jim Zorn’s offense.

Experts Draft: Moss Is Our 1st Choice

One of our favorite parts about June through August is taking part in several seasonal drafts in fantasy football expert leagues. Not only are they highly competitive, but they’re extremely useful in learning about new trends and analyzing different draft strategies and player values. In Fantasy Football Indepth’s expert challenge, No-Offseason.com went head-to-head with publications like Rotoworld.com, Pro Football Weekly, CBSSports.com, Athlon Sports, FantasyGuru.com, USA Today, Fanball.com and more. With the seventh overall choice in the first round, we had a tough decision, but decided to go WR first and roll with New England’s Randy Moss. Read more

Clinton Portis Excused For Personal Matters…

According to KFFL, Redskins RB Clinton Portis has been an unbelievably hard worker this off-season, and has been a fixture at the team’s training facility. He has not only focused on working out, but also on his diet.

Believe it or not, this is all great news for his fantasy owners, as he’ll need to be in good shape to handle the huge workload new head coach Jim Zorn plans on giving him this season. Other than a little hip tweak he suffered while running a friendly forty yard dash against teammate Laron Landry, Portis has had a flawless off-season.

He was apparently just excused by Zorn last week due to personal reasons. We’re not sure what that’s all about, but we’ll keep you updated.

Clinton Portis Having Hip Trouble…

Washington Redskins RB Clinton Portis was at the Redskins training facility on Thursday receiving treatment on his hip, which has given him trouble since May when he reportedly tweaked it after racing SS Laron Landry in a friendly forty yard dash.

Portis has sat in on team meetings, but hasn’t practiced this week. This isn’t anything for his owners to worry about, as he’s clearly resting up for the season. There’s no need to risk any further injury at this point, and taking it easy in the off-season is good for him, since he’ll likely see the rock more times in 2008 under new head coach Jim Zorn than he ever has.

How Sub-Par Signal Callers Affect RBs

After a breakout campaign in 2004, Willis McGahee’s numbers went down in 2005, from 13 TDs to five, and from 4.0 yards per carry to 3.8, largely due to a change in QBs from Drew Bledsoe to J.P. Losman. Prior to Carson Palmer taking over the starting role in Cincy, Rudi Johnson hadn’t reached 1,000 yards in a season. In the three seasons following Palmer’s appointment, Johnson averaged 1,407 yards and 12 TDs per season. The same way a strong offensive line can help the fantasy value of running backs, lack of strength at QB can hurt it. Larry Johnson is one rusher who could be negatively affected by lack of a solid signal caller in 2008. Read more

Clinton Portis “Eats Gunpowder For Breakfast”

Joking around after practice the other day, Clinton Portis says he’s much tougher than teammate Laron Landry. He said “he puts gunpowder in his eggs every morning.” Portis also said that he can play defense. He wants the Redskins to give him a package on defense.

These comments came after Portis lost in a forty-yard dash to Landry. He reportedly injured his hip in the race.

Julius Owners: Don’t Believe Holmgren

Our sources aren’t buying into Mike Holmgren’s recent coach-speak about using a running back committee. Even though Julius Jones wasn’t spectacular by any means last season in Dallas, he is head and shoulders above Maurice Morris and T.J. Duckett. Our sources believe that Holmgren is using the media to send a message to his running backs that in mid-May, nobody should take anything for granted. However, Jones will definitely be the starter, and see the rock 20-25 times a game, assuming he stays healthy. We also hear that Jones has worked extremely hard in pass protection, and improving his receiving skills this off-season. In other words, Maurice Morris is not a threat to his fantasy value. Read more

Mock Draft: Lynch Is A Round 2 Sleeper

Just the other day, I shared with No-Offseason readers the first round of a recent expert mock draft I participated in. As the draft moves along, I’ll continue to break the thing down, round-by-round, to help get owners thinking about draft strategies and values of specific players. In round two, some new names will strike you - including Buffalo’s breakout RB Marshawn Lynch. Read more

Clinton Portis Injured Again…

Well, the idea that Clinton Portis could have a completely productive, healthy off-season didn’t last long at all. After racing SS Laron Landry the other day in practice, Portis came up with a bit of a hip flexor injury, and has been sitting out OTAs ever since.

This shouldn’t be a huge deal when it comes to Portis’ 2008 fantasy value, but it’s definitely a sign that his body is more worn down than it ever used to be. He’s an “old 26″ due to the amount of carries he’s had since entering the NFL (and playing for Washington). We still like him as a solid late first rounder, but many owners will pass on him again in 2008.

Jason Campbell, who’s fantasy value isn’t really high at this point, suffered a tweaked hammy in practice today. Jim Zorn isn’t concerned about it, and neither are we, since we don’t recommend owners touching Campbell in seasonal leagues anyway.

Clinton Portis Takes Part In Mini-Camp…

For the first time in a couple years, Redskins RB Clinton Portis took part in Redskins mini-camp. Portis’ solid fantasy year absolutely flew under the radar last season, but make no mistake about it - he has re-established himself as a solid fantasy RB1.

If Portis falls in your PPR draft, he’s a solid late first round pick.

Shaun To Visit Bengals, But Won’t Sign…

We’re hearing that even though 31 year old former NFL MVP Shaun Alexander plans to visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday, the team doesn’t necessarily plan on signing him to a deal. Also, Alexander isn’t thrilled with the fact that Cincy has four RBs on their roster already, and doesn’t plan to release any of them.

We still believe that he will not end up in Cincy, but rather in a city that actually has roster space for him. In addition to Detroit, we’re now hearing that the Washington Redskins are interested in his services as a back-up to Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts.

Gates’ Injury Worse Than Most Think?

Do dynasty owners of Antonio Gates have cause for concern this season? Our sources tell us that he’s still not right after suffering a major toe injury during the playoffs in January. He was able to play in the AFC Championship game against New England, but the injury has all the makings of being something that nags him throughout all of 2008. Owners should monitor this situation carefully, as turf toe has much worse implications than most realize. Read more