Don’t Forget About The Finishers

Although second year man Le’Ron McClain didn’t score in Week 1, he absolutely carved out a role for himself in the Ravens’ offense. In Week 3, it was clear that role is to finish off drives, as McClain converted twice, while also adding 66 yards on 17 carries. With Willis McGahee likely to be limited to 15 touches per game until his knee is 100 percent, and Ray Rice being forgotten about in Week 3, the 23 year old 260 pounder from Alabama is likely to see all the goal line looks against Pittsburgh in Week 4. Read more

Julius Jones To Be A Featured Back…

We told you not to believe Mike Holmgren when he commented back in April about using a committee approach with Julius Jones, Maurice Morris and T.J. Duckett. Word today out of Seattle was that the Seahawks expect Jones to be a guy that can and will play in any number of offensive situations. They’re excited about his potential as a pass blocker, receiver, and power rusher.

Sounds like he’s a featured back to me. Sorry Mo Morris and T.J. Duckett, but Julius is the guy to own in Seattle - bar none.

Seattle Seahawks Running Back Update…

Something weird is going on in Seattle right now, and we’re going to help you cut through the bull. Mike Holmgren is stirring up his guys by mentioning some sort of running back committee, saying that Julius Jones will split carries with Maurice Morris, and that T.J. Duckett won’t have a “short yardage” role. The media is eating right out of his hand right now.

Come on, people - seriously? Holmgren is totally messing with their heads. This is coach-speak and motivational foreplay. Jones will be the guy to win the job, and see 20 carries a game. You heard it here first.

Julius Jones To Split Carries?

Fifth year RB Julius Jones is expected to start for the Seattle Seahawks in 2008, but head coach Mike Holmgren recently mentioned the word “committee” when speaking to the media. T.J. Duckett is expected to pull some goal line duty, and Leonard Weaver and Maurice Morris will be on the team, but won’t play a huge role.

Sorry, but we’re going to have to give Julius Jones the big thumbs up from a sleeper fantasy perspective, despite what Holmgren says. Just because he’s part of a “committee,” doesn’t mean he’ll split carries. It just means he’ll be spelled occassionally.

Raiders Ink Javon Walker…

The Raiders inked 29 year old Javon Walker to a six year deal worth $55 million, with $16 million guaranteed.  We have a strong feeling that no other team offered Walker even close to this amount of money, given his injury history. Listen, we really like Walker a lot, and we think he can bounce back from his knee trouble and be a productive fantasy WR once again.  However, we’re fifty-fifty on the Raiders actually being a good fit for him.  On the plus side, James Lofton is there now, and he can do some good things, and Walker is clearly the number one WR.  On the minus side, the Raiders have been a wasteland for wide receivers over the last several years with the likes of Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Jerry Porter and Doug Gabriel going there to waste away. Julius Jones, Free Agent RB 
No-Offseason.com
Fifth year RB Julius Jones visited the Lions, along with veteran LB Dan Morgan.  Niether of the players agreed to contracts, and we expect both of them to continue to test the waters a bit before landing.  In the end though, the Lions could be the best fit for both of them.

Warren Sapp, Former Raiders DL
No-Offseason.com
It’s a bit ironic that the day Brett Favre retired, Warren Sapp did as well.  Of course, Sapp was completely overshadowed by Favre, and Sapp has no fantasy relevance what-so-ever.

T.J. Duckett, Seahawks RB
No-Offseason.com
In an interesting move that could affect the landscape of the NFL Draft a bit, the Seahawks inked 26 year old RB T.J. Duckett to a five year deal.  Duckett could very easily steal plenty of work from Shaun Alexander in 2008, and he certainly makes Maurice Morris less relevant to fantasy owners.  Now that Seattle has three tailbacks, they’re very unlikely to draft one in April, despite the depth and strength of the incoming rookies at that position this season.

Travis LaBoy, Cardinals DE
No-Offseason.com
Arizona strengthened their defensive line by signing former Titans DE Travis LaBoy.