The Benefits Of Concerns

Fantasy football drafts are all about expectations. Plain and simple, guys drafted in rounds one and two are expected to perform better throughout the season and – in theory – score more fantasy points than guys drafted in rounds three, four and five. However, we all know that doesn’t always happen. Read more

Experts Draft: Witten Is First TE Taken

Yesterday, we left you with Roddy White being selected towards the end of round three of the most recent experts draft, a shocking surprise to us here at No-Offseason.com. Today, we analyze round four and one thing that really caught our eye - Dallas’ Jason Witten being the top tight end taken. Check out the rest of round four and what we think of Witten being snagged prior to Antonio Gates and Kellen Winslow. Read more

Jerious Norwood Lining Up At WR…

Kudos to new Falcons head coach Mike Smith for trying to find ways to keep all of his best offensive talent on the field and the same time. He reportedly has had back-up RB Jerious Norwood lining up at wide receiver in practice, in and effort to get him used to game situations where he may be used to create mismatches against linebackers or strong safeties.

We’ve always believed in Norwood’s ability, but we don’t think he’ll have enough opportunities to warrant fantasy consideration in Atlanta. Michael Turner is the workhorse there, folks.

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

Mike Turner Moving Up The Boards

More and more fantasy owners are believing the buzz about new Falcons featured back Michael Turner, and they should. He’s moving up the draft boards in many expert mocks, due to the fact that Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey plans on getting him 300 touches in 2008. Read more

Keep An Eye Out For Bryant Johnson & Others…

After a long couple months, things are finally starting to happen on the field folks. NFL teams are practicing, and coaches are starting to show their cards a little bit in terms of who may enter the season with the best shot to start at key positions. Without further ado, let’s jump right into this week’s Stock Market Report… Read more

Ray Rice Is The Next Michael Turner

Dynasty owners that picked up a guy named Michael Turner off their waiver wire back in 2006 are finally cashing in, as he’s set to assume the featured back roll in Atlanta’s new run-heavy offense. Drawing parallels between players with identical skill sets in strikingly similar situations can usually lead to predicting what opportunities come during one’s career, and Ravens rookie RB Ray Rice looks a lot like Turner to us, in many ways. Read more

Michael Turner Back To Full Health…

Falcons featured back Michael Turner returned to practice this past week after having off-season shoulder surgery. The procedure was very minor, and he’s back to full health.

We expect Turner to be a very solid RB2 in most fantasy leagues in 2008, in Mike Mularkey’s run friendly offense.

Falcons Trade Back Into First Round, Take Sam Baker…

Well, we knew they needed to address their offensive line early in this draft, and USC’s Sam Baker was the next best OT avaialble. Atlanta must have had a feel that he wouldn’t be avaialble by the time their second rounder came along.

This gives Michael Turner some hope for a good season, and puts into place an offensive line improvement plan to keep Matt Ryan protected in the long term.

Falcons Mini-Camp Update…

On the Atlanta Falcons’ first day of pre-draft mini-camp, Michael Turner, Michael Boley, Keith Brooking and many others sat out with various nicks and bumps. Remember, this is the mini-camp that they’re supposed to be evaluating Chris Redman and Joey Harrington, prior to deciding when they’ll take a QB in the upcoming draft.

Turner, expected to carry the load this season as his first ever as an NFL featured back, sat out due to a minor shoulder injury that he suffered last December. This is obviously nothing to worry about.

DeAngelo Williams vs. Michael Turner

DeAngelo Williams vs. Michael Turner. I’ve had several fantasy owners email me this offseason asking which of the two brand new NFL featured backs that I like better for 2008. Of course, I don’t just think about 2008 - I think about far beyond just this season. Still, it’s a tough, tough call. Read more

Adams, White, Berrian, Briggs, Turner Rising…

Rising - Greg White & Gaines Adams, Buccaneers DEs - DEs Greg White - a 29 year old second year player - and Gaines Adams - the fourth overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, really came on strong late in the 2007 season for Monte Kiffin’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. Upon the release of DEs Greg Spires and Kevin Carter just prior to the start of free agency this offseason, White and Adams have been named the team’s starters already for the 2008 season. IDPers that play in leagues requiring starters at defensive line should take note, and rank Adams as a potential top 15 rush end this season, while White is a darkhorse sleeper to put up some serious points. Read more