The Holy Grail – Week 8 QBs

Smith won't pull a Whitehurst this weekend!

Teams on bye week: Falcons, Bears, Packers, Raiders, Jets, Buccaneers

MUST START

1 Brees  vs STL- Much like Graham , there is no other choice for the top spot this week. The stats plus the matchup make this easy.

2 Vick vs Dal – The bye week gave him time to get his legs fresh and recover from the beatings he has been taking. Dallas swarms to the ball , but Vick scores 20 in a bad game.

3 Cam vs Min – What a stud this guy turned out to be as he continues to augment his passing stats with great rushing stats.

4 Brady vs Pit – Would be higher if not for the electric nature of the position this year. Cam, Vick , Brees all have their own claims to the top spot each week and Brady has the misfortune of playing against Pitt.

5 Rivers vs KC – I am loading up on him in Salary Cap games. He is still an elite QB and KC is the perfect matchup for him to show it.

6 Eli vs Mia – Nicks will explode this week and the ‘Fins will have no answer for Bradshaw or Jacobs. Giants will put up a big number.

7 Ben Roethlisberger vs NE – Will have plenty of chances to put up big TD numbers against this horrible defense.

8 Stafford vs Den – Slips a bit in my rankings because of the injury questions – still a must start if healthy b/c of the offense and the upside.

The Holy Grail – Week 8 RBs

Please Go Away!

Teams on bye week: Falcons, Bears, Packers, Raiders, Jets, Buccaneers

MUST START

1 Arian Foster vs Jax – After last week , nobody else deserves the top spot.

2 AP @ Car –  Great week last week  but tweeked an ankle. He claims he is fine so he should be no lower than this.

3 Rice vs Ari – Horrible week last week , but the Cards should be the perfect medicine for the Ravens to bounce back.

4 Fred Jackson vs Wash – I am shaking my head thinking about this guy , I don’t want to write about him because I never drafted him.

5 Mccoy vs Dal – He is a stud plain and simple as he plays such a huge role in that offense. Nice time for a bye week for that team , gets moved a bit further down because Dallas defends the run great.

6 Gore vs Cleveland – Gore is back and picking up steam. The Browns will provide no challenge for him this week, at least in theory.

7 Mathews vs KC – Great matchup , plus Tolbert most likely isn’t suiting up. Expect a monster game.

8 Bradshaw vs Mia – Jacobs is whining , but that’s nothing new. Bradshaw should be fresh off a bye and the Dolphins will have no answer for anything the Giants do on offense.

The Holy Grail- Week 7 QBs

Teams on bye week: Bills, Bengals, Patriots, Giants, Eagles, 49ers

MUST START

Whitehurst , charming his way into your lineup!

1 Rodgers vs Min – Aaron is the #1 fantasy qb in the game  and it is not even close. Minny can stop the run , but can’t stop the pass ; 300 yards and 3Tds is practically his floor every week.

2 Brees vs Ind – Indy can’t stop anyone on defense and Brees has been torching teams this season. With Colston back and Graham becoming the premier TE in the NFL you have to like his 30 plus point upside every week.

3 Romo vs Stl – The Rams are putrid on both sides of the ball. Bradford is going to be out which means run, run, pass, punt all game for this struggling team. You have to wonder how long before the buzzards start circling around Spagnulo. Romo goes off this game start all the Cowboy WRs.

4 Stafford vs ATL – Falcons are getting torched on defense this year and Roddy White looks like he got one too many targets last year as he clearly isn’t reaching the level he held in 2010. Best is out , and may be out for a while but Morris is a capable receiver and that just means Stafford will throw it more to his other check down options such as Pettigrew. Maybe Burleson rejoins the WR corp with the Best injury freeing up some targets elsewhere.

5 Cam Newton vs Wash – I said it last week and I will say it every week: Unless he rushes for at least 1 TD a week his passing numbers are going to be supremely average. That being said he is almost a good bet to run one in every week , but against a good tackling team like Washington he will need to use his arm more. All that being said , read and digested Cam is a must start on any fantasy team right now which is completely shocking to me.

6 Ben Roethlisberger  vs AZ – Arizona is putrid in the secondary since they traded Rodgers-Cromartie and Ben will be throwing it to whomever he wants whenever he so chooses. Antonio Brown makes for a decent play this week as all of the Steelers have a chance at some big numbers with Ben being the beneficiary of his WRs running loose all game.

7 Rivers vs NYJ – Vincent Jackson is back at full strength and Gates will be returning this game. Mathews is coming into his own and Tolbert offers a shockingly versatile skill set to complement this offense. Revis had trouble guarding Marshall last week because of his size and speed and Jackson is built almost exactly the same. Do not be afraid to start any of your chargers this week , even though the Jets still demand respect. Gates is the only one I urge caution on , for the obvious reasons.

The Holy Grail- Week 7 RBs

time for Montario to play like he did in college

Teams on bye week: Bills, Bengals, Patriots, Giants, Eagles, 49ers

MUST START

1 Rice @Jax  He is the premier NFL fantasy PPR back. In weeks he doesn’t score he still gets 20 because of his work in the pass game. Jacksonville is a bad defense that was propped up by an easy schedule and Mendenhall dominated them last week. Rice is the safest play to give you a huge game with a high ceiling and a safe floor.

2 Mcfadden vs KC – He got it going early last week and was a broken tackle or two away from some other big gainers. Campbell getting hurt early sapped some life out of the offense even though Boller did a respectable job filling in. Carson Palmer should be above average there and keep defenses from loading up on DMC, not that it would matter as his talent usually wins out.

3 Foster @Tenn – Tennessee has only given up 1 td on the ground this year , but gives up over a 100 rushing yards a week. Foster has only scored 1 TD this year and will finish the season with 10 plus rushing TD’s. Something has a chance to give this week for both teams giving Foster some really big upside.

4 Forte @TB – Describing him in one word – Consistent. He does it all for that offense and has exceeded most everyone’s expectations coming into this season. TB defense is very vulnerable and Forte is a PPR pass catching beast which gives him the nod over more explosive runners like AP.

5 AP vs GB – Ponder starting can’t be worse than Mcnabb. He always offers huge game potential and is the most talented runner in the NFL. Why write too much about a guy who is going to start every week in any format on every fantasy team, so let’s move on.

6 Chris Johnson vs Hou – Houston giving up 4.6 YPC and 6 rushing TDs so far. If CJ doesn’t go big here you may be looking at the beginning of the decline of a back that lit up the NFL just two short seasons ago. I think he performs good this week.

7 Turner @ Detroit – A 3 TD candidate going into every week. Doesn’t catch passes , but his TD potential is enough to make him a must start during a big Bye week.

8 Mendenhall vs AZ – After last week it is safe to say Mendenhall is ready to be what I thought he would be this year. A lock for 100 and at least 1TD a week. Arizona has given up 8 ground TDs this year  , yea that’s bad and that makes him a must start.

The Holy Grail – Week 6 TEs

Sorry For Your Early Retirement!

Teams on bye week: Broncos, Titans, Chiefs, Cardinals, Chargers, Seahawks

MUST START

1 Finley vs Stl – He is equally as talented , or even more so than any other TE in fantasy and out of all of them he is due for the biggest game.

2 Graham @TB – Brees clearly loves him and he is producing with volume targets and receptions.

3 Witten @NE – There are going to be a lot of mouths to feed there this week , but due to the sheer nature and scoring potential of the game this week , he is a top of the line start.

4 A. Hernandez vs Dal – He is another week removed from his knee ailment and was targetted heavily last week. He dropped a sure TD pass which no doubt was the result of some rust from not playing for a few weeks. The rust will be shaken and he will take another step toward regaining his early dominant form.

5 Vernon Davis @ Det – They are going to need to pass in order to win against Detroit. Davis has been on the come up since his meeting with Harbaugh. If he ever played with an elite QB this guy would be the #1 Te every year.

6 Gronk vs Dal – He scores this week after two weeks of not finding the endzone.

The Holy Grail- Week 3 WRs

Image via Wikipedia

Leading you to the promised land each week.

Very important week for the WRs . The position is shaping up so get your research swag going and win yourself a game this week!

MUST STARTS

1 AJ @NO – You don’t bench him , should be the number 1 PPR WR each week regardless of matchup

2 Calvin @Min- see Andre Johnson , then add 1A PPR WR each week

3 Vincent Jacksonvs KC – Gates out , Floyd hurt , Jackson , Mathews and Tolbert will all be busy in the passing game -KC stinks

4 Roddy White @Tb – Big week a coming… ohhhhhhhh a big week is a coming – one of these weeks anyway , maybe this one.

5 Mike Wallace @Ind – This guy is a flat out monster right now – must start each week , fast , slick , wirey..lots of adjectives and a whole lot of superlatives.

6 Larry Fitz @Sea – You’re welcome for last weeks call when some writers jumped ship , lower expectation in SEA though only because of the whole ebbs and flows thing , unguardable.

7 Britt  vs Den – This guy is legit , Hasselbeck has been a boom for his fantasy value , he is ONLY 22 years old. WOW

8 Steve Smith vs Jax – Makes me puke in my mouth , but I do feel good for the guy because  he really deserved an actual QB after almost a decade of that slop they were throwing out there. – Yes he became a must start already

TE, D/ST, and K Rankings (via Horne’s Corner)

Image by San Diego Shooter via Flickr

Ryan Horne over at Horne’s Corner hooking you guys up with his thoughts on TE/D/K

Its time for my pre-season fantasy rankings for the “forgotten positions,” Tight End, Team Defense/Special Teams, and Kicker. In what will be my final set of rankings before weekly rankings beginning before week 1 of the regular season, I will rank the top-25 Tight Ends in PPR formats and write a short blurb for each one. I’ll also rank the Top-20 Fantasy Kickers and Top-20 Team Defense/Special Teams units, but only in list form. Tight Ends 1. An … Read More

via Horne’s Corner

Live Expert Draft Review 8/15/11

iCon was invited to do an experts draft with the top, elite , upper echelon players that reside over at fantasy games money site Rtsports.com. All of the top 15 were invited on a first come first serve basis and all of these players are friends of mine and have been for quite some time. This draft was put together by the Lead Sports writer for their website , Jeff Paur and we are playing for free entry into their one of their ALL PRO leagues next football season.

This is the BEST collection of skilled and competitive money league players that I have yet to see assembled  in all my years playing this game. Each player here wins thousands per year in this hobby, so I thought this would be the perfect time to run the next analysis of my live drafting and draft reviews followed by rating teams at the end.

Understand something right now , every single guy in this league has hundreds of fantasy titles under their belts so finding the bad values in each round may be a daunting task in and of itself because almost every pick will be the right one as each and every guy in here is a champion.

As usual I will analyze just the first 5 rounds for best and worst values , followed by a quick analysis of each team and a rating on a scale of 1-10. The first 5 rounds will NOT win you your league completely but they will provide the backbone and foundation for your team and will dictate how your middle rounds should go.

There will be no better tool if you want to see the true value of each and every player going forward in all competitive PPR drafts for the rest of this summer.

NOW LETS GO LIVE TO THE DRAFT ROOM

Round 1

#1  John’s Team   –   Jamaal Charles  RB, KAN

#2  Pearl Jam Randy   –   Arian Foster  RB, HOU

#3  icon   –   Ray Rice  RB, BAL

#4  Nuts for Henery   –   Adrian Peterson  RB, MIN

#5  Jeff P’s Team   –   Chris Johnson  RB, TEN

#6  The Calipari Way Will   –   Michael Vick  QB, PHI

#7  Romeo’s Team   –   LeSean McCoy  RB, PHI

#8  Brian’s Team   –   Darren McFadden  RB, OAK

#9  JW – Bull Rush   –   Andre Johnson  WR, HOU

#10  Midget Monkeys   –   Rashard Mendenhall  RB, PIT

#11  The Calipari Way-Logan   –   Calvin Johnson  WR, DET

#12  Azzurri   –   Roddy White  WR, ATL

Best value: Adrian Peterson – iCon has him as #1 on the ranking list as the best combo of safety and upside he fell to 5th here and thats as good a spot as you will see him – iCon passed on him to take Rice , simply because I do not own rice enough this year.

Worst value: None , everyone went in a comparable spot and belongs here. Could be CJ2k if he never shows

Analysis: Nothing to see here , this is exactly what I would expect , Vick at 6 was a surprise but I can’t arguewith the pick at all , like the Mendy and Calvin picks at the end and White is rock solid.

Updated RB Rankings – Returns on investment 8/13/11

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

Ok so here we are , I have been churning out articles about three to four times a week. I am already getting a ton of hits per day on a blog that I haven’t advertised for. The value of the company , the blog , the brand is increasing by leaps and bounds daily and the site has not even been launched yet (thanks to a coder who has his head up his…) I’ve got a partner who purchased his share in iCon at what will eventually be a bargain basement price because he saw value, he saw the passion I had for this hobby and frankly he believes by investing in iCon he is going to get a greater rate of return than he was putting out.

It is this exact concept and that approach that you HAVE to take during your drafts for the rest of this summer AND for the rest of your life. You have to develop the skill to be able to look at a player and decide what he is worth and where he should be drafted. You MUST become an expert on the ebbs and flows of the player market , these players are investments , these players are icon’s and with EVERY investment comes risk  and in every market there are winners and losers. If you follow iCon’s way of thought and you believe in a value system and you develop your own niche in this hobby and your own draft and team assembly style you WILL be a winner in this market just like Mister X will be a winner with his investment (we hope).

So I wanted to apply the concept of next years returns in order to update this years value and ranking list in order to take this ENTIRE blog to the next level.  I am going to TELL YOU just by my research , my breadth of knowledge of this market and these trends where you will draft a player this year and where you will draft him next year. It is a simple concept but by seeing this you can then better gauge the players you should be targeting , when you should be targeting them and how much I think they will play above or below their draft position.  Follow my lead , open your mind and treat your players like Mister X treated his investment in THIS company.

UPDATE RANKINGS AND RATE OF RETURN: