What’s The Deal With Maroney?

For nearly three years now, fantasy owners have been baffled by the saga of Laurence Maroney. He has the skill set to easily be the featured back for the New England Patriots. When given the opportunity towards the end of last season, Maroney played extraordinarily, as he was the primary reason the Pats were able to move the ball in their last seven games. However, Maroney found himself in splittsville with veteran Sammy Morris in Week 1. What gives? Read more

We Were Right About, We Were Wrong About…

We were uneasy about Patriots QB Tom Brady this week, and he went down early with a knee injury. We were also extremely high on Eagles QB Donovan McNabb and Lions signal caller Jon Kitna in Week 1, and they came through for us huge. Find out where we went right, and where we steered owners wrong in Week 1. Read more

Fantasy Football Week 1 - RB Questions

As fantasy owners get ready for Week 1, there are several question marks surrounding the running back position. Tampa has rotated RBs all pre-season, as has Houston - what will happen in each of those situations? Which rookie RB will fare best in Week 1? And, who will boom and bust? Read more

Fantasy Football Week 1 Predictions

Chad Reports, LaMont Lands In New England…

It’s that time of year again folks - not quite the most exciting time of year, but close! Training camp is here, and the regular season is about one month away. What does this mean? Fantasy football player values are constantly fluctuating as positions are fought for, contract disputes work themselves out, injuries occur and the last few transactions are made. That’s why it’s extremely important to follow our weekly stock market report very closely, as well as go back and read our previous posts. Read more

LaMont Joins Laurence In New England

In 2005, LaMont Jordan rushed for 1,025 yards, nine TDs, and caught 70 balls for 563 yards and two additional scores as the featured running back for the Oakland Raiders. That same season, Randy Moss hauled in 60 passes for 1,005 yards and eight TDs as Jordan’s teammate in Oakland. Now, the two have re-joined as teammates in New England. The Patriots’ experience has obviously kept Moss’ career going strong - but will it do the same for Jordan? Read more

Fantasy Impact: Laurence Maroney

Fantasy football draft guides and player rankings are definitely an important part of preparing for the upcoming fantasy football season - no question. However,  it’s important to take an in-depth look at some players who may outperform where they are ranked. For the record, we believe New England’s Laurence Maroney falls in that category. Read more

Walker In Jeopardy - We Love Maroney…

By now, you’ve heard what happened to Oakland Raiders WR Javon Walker, one of the NFL’s highest paid pass catchers. Walker and his fantasy owners had high hopes for a comeback season after an injury-riddled 2007 campaign in Denver. QB JaMarcus Russell was reportedly developing solid chemistry with him, and even though head coach Lane Kiffin was concerned about his conditioning, he was all be guaranteed a starting role heading into 2008. Now, he must fight back from an orbital fracture, and a bruised ego. Will he be able to comeback to the field, like former Seahawks FS Ken Hamlin did after a similar incident at a nightclub? Or, will he be done for the season? Read more

Experts Draft: Roddy White Goes In Rd. 3

Falcons WR Roddy White had a breakout third season in 2007, hauling in 83 passes for 1,202 yards and six scores in Bobby Petrino and Hue Jackson’s high flying offense, but will the stat column translate over to 2008 under the much more conservative and run-friendly Mike Smith and Mike Mularkey? We don’t think so, but find out who did, as we analyze the third round of our most recent experts league draft. Read more

Kevin Jones Visits Patriots…

25 year old former first round pick and Detroit Lions starting running back Kevin Jones will reportedly visit the New England Patriots today to talk about a potential role as a back-up to Laurence Maroney.

Jones is versatile and, when healthy, is a very solid contributor. We really like this move by New England, and it shows why they’re ahead of the rest of the league when it comes to personnel moves. The only way Jones won’t sign with them is if he’s still suffering badly from an ACL tear.

We still believe there’s a chance he may sit out all of 2008.

Mock: McGahee Available In Round 3?

After sharing round one with you earlier in the week, and round two yesterday, I’ve decided to go ahead and continue to break down the recent expert mock draft I participated in. The shockers continue, as I have to make a tough decision between Willis McGahee and Marques Colston in round three. Read more

Barber & Maroney Are The Next Studs

If you watched the NFL playoffs at all this year, you surely noticed four impressive running backs under the age of 25 playing key roles for their teams, but as good as Green Bay’s Ryan Grant, Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew and New York’s Brandon Jacobs, there were two other young men with dreadlocked hair sticking out the back of their helmets that took the cake.  Former collegiate teammates Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney consistently sent defenders to the ground while using a rare mix of balance, speed and power to plow through the opposing line of scrimmage and gain plenty of key yardage, despite being seen as only complimentary pieces to each of their respective offenses.  Maroney, only 22 years old, missed three games early on this season due to an ankle injury, and even when he was healthy - many said he didn’t fit into the Patriots’ pass first attack.  Barber has been a carry splitter since his college days, and despite his ferocious running style and knack for getting into the end zone and turning a disaster of a play into a first down, he didn’t actually make his first start until 48 games into his career.  Despite some of the extracurricular doubts surrounding the former Golden Gopher teammates, they have done nothing but let their play speak for themselves.  In 2003 and 2004 they were each splitting carries with each other at the University of Minnesota, but mark my words - in 2008 they will each be top 10 fantasy running backs.

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