Empty the Bench

- That right there is an official NFL football, tumbling away on the green grass of Bank of America Stadium from sacked, hit, battered, flustered, aging, and rattled quarterback Jake Delhomme, who turned the ball over five times (4 INTs, 1 fumble) for the Carolina Panthers on his way to a miserable 14.7 QB Rating and a 38-10 trouncing at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles.

A perfect 8-0 at home last season, the Panthers were one of many teams who just didn’t bother to show up on Sunday—and the dismal performance from Delhomme has to already be a huge area of concern for the Panthers. Yes, the Iggles traditionally employ an attacking, blitzing, aggressive defensive scheme, but that unit has suffered a number of significant injuries and went into Week 1 as a largely unproven commodity; don’t forget, the all-knowing oddsmakers in Vegas had this one pegged with just a ½ point spread in favor of Philly. In other words, this one was a toss-up.

A toss-up, that is, until the walls came tumbling down around Delhomme and the Panthers in the second quarter, which included a Delhomme fumble, above, returned for a touchdown, a punt-return touchdown by DeSean “My Fantasy Team Savior” Jackson, two Donovan McNabb touchdown passes, and a whole lots of groans from the home crowd.

It’s only one game, and Carolina still has one of the best running back tandems in the NFL to lean on. Still, that quarterback situation—Josh McCown is the backup, Matt Moore is the third-stringer—is a serious threat to this team’s postseason ambitions.

- As ugly as Carolina’s performance was, it wasn’t much prettier in Cincinnati. Carson Palmer stunk (21-33, 247 yards, 2 INTs), Kyle Orton wasn’t much better in his Denver Broncos debut, and a game that many thought would end up somewhere in the 35-31 range instead revealed itself as an unwatchable 12-7 slug-a-thon. The day’s worst game did yield the day’s best play—that game-ending 87-yard miracle to Brandon Stokley—but something tells me Bronco fans were just as thrilled with Jay Cutler’s tank job in Green Bay as they were with their team’s last-minute win.

- Drew Brees still commands the league’s most dynamic offense. The Detroit Lions still can’t rush the passer, check elite wide receivers, or win games. Some things never change.

- I started second-year Chicago Bears WR Earl Bennett in one league this week as my WR3, and though his numbers weren’t huge (7 catches, 66 yards), it was enough to help me eek out a narrow head-to-head win … and I may have just lucked onto my semi-regular WR3 play. Though Bennett didn’t catch a single pass during his rookie season, the second-year wideout played with Cutler at Vanderbilt, and that rapport was obvious on Sunday night.

Of Cutler’s 36 pass attempts, I’m guessing Bennett was targeted with 13 of those — he won’t necessarily get that many every week, but this is one trend that’s not going away. Get Bennett on your radar, especially with matchups against Detroit, Seattle, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Arizona, and San Francisco looming after their tough matchup in Week 2 at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

- Last weekend I named Indianapolis Colts RB Donald Brown as one of 10 players to watch with a fantasy slant on Sunday. His debut went about as expected: 11 carries for 33 yards, 2 catches for 16 yards in his team’s ho-hum 14-12 win at Jacksonville. It’s worth noting, however, that starter Joseph Addai wasn’t exactly spectacular in the featured role either, rushing 17 times for 42 yards, 1 TD, and 1 fumble lost; he also caught 5 passes for 35 yards.

That’s actually a closer split in touches than I was expecting this early in the season, and it bodes well for Brown. I said it Saturday and I’ll say it again: Brown is the back of the (near) future in Indianapolis.

Reggie Bush, RB, New Orleans Saints: The running back situation for the Saints is still very much up in the air: a fair amount of fantasy owners have jumped on the Pierre Thomas bandwagon (but he’s already out this week with an injury), third-stringer Mike Bell is considered the dark horse, and though he’s only had one semi-remarkable season in three tries, find me a sports bar and I’ll find you a Bush fantasy apologist.

Given his celebrity and draft status as a former second-overall pick, Saints brass is pulling for Bush to emerge as the top guy in the rotation, and he has a golden opportunity to show what he can do against the traditionally porous Detroit Lions defense. I smell a flop, but he could just as easily bust out with 150 total yards and a few scores.

Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Seattle Seahawks: I’m cautiously bullish on a rebound season for the veteran Hasselbeck, who had a forgettable, injury-plagued campaign last year but is just two seasons removed from throwing 28 touchdown passes and almost 4,000 yards.

The offensive line is a real concern, but T.J. Houshmandzadeh is a huge addition to a subpar WR corps that sorely needs Nate Burleson to stay healthy. Hasselbeck figures to carve up the St. Louis Rams secondary; if he does, wait to see if he does it again against a questionable 49ers defense, then try to sell high… or sit on him and reap the benefits of some cake matchups later this season.

LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, San Diego Chargers: Everybody has an opinion about LT this offseason, with those falling on the “he’s done” side grabbing electrifying backup Darren Sproles as early as the 7th round. (I took him in the 9th round in one league.) With a juicy matchup against the head-in-ass Oakland Raiders Monday night, LT should dominate; if he doesn’t, the calls for Sproles will only grow louder both in San Diego and in fantasy circles.

Percy Harvin, WR, Minnesota Vikings: The rookie who can apparently do it all—run, catch, pass, return kicks—makes his debut with all eyes on Brett Favre and only those of fantasy owners on him. The hype machine has been running at maximum capacity for the first-round pick out of Florida, who could emerge as a huge fantasy bargain with an average Yahoo! draft-day position of 123rd overall.

Rookie wideouts usually take at least half a season to achieve any degree of week-to-week consistency, but the opportunity is ripe for Harvin to make an immedate impact with the Vikings facing the Browns, Lions, 49ers, and Rams defenses in four of the first five weeks.

Felix Jones, RB, Dallas Cowboys: We’re still fans of Marion Barber III, but Jones is the more explosive back in Dallas with greater home-run potential. Limited to just six games in his rookie season due to injury, Jones is similar in size to the Titans’ Chris Johnson and probably faster. He has a lot to prove, but if Jones gets on track early this season and Barber struggles, we could see Jones become the team’s primary back between the 20′s. Either way, we’re psyched to see what this kid can do on the road against a solid Tampa Bay Bucs D.

Five more players to watch with a fantasy eye after the break…

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So there you go: the first game of the 2009-10 NFL season and the first batch of fantasy stats to chew on. Following what might go down as the most tepid kickoff special in the history of mankind (Tim McGraw and the Black Eyed Peas? Really?), the Steelers and Titans duked it out in an entertaining 13-10 overtime win for the defending Super Bowl champs.

It’d be short-sighted to draw many overarching fantasy conclusions about these two teams after just one game… a game that featured two of the league’s best defenses at that. Still, there were a few interesting takeaways worth noting.

- Steelers WR Santonio Holmes may have been undervalued on draft day this year. On average, the fourth-year wideout and former first-round pick out of Ohio State was taken towards the front of the 6th round (56.7 overall) after guys like Santana Moss, Antonio Bryant, and 33-year-old teammate Hines Ward.

Holmes scored the first fantasy touchdown of the year on a wide-open 34-yard reception in the endzone and finished with 9 catches, 131 yards, and 1 TD–the exact same numbers he posted in last year’s Super Bowl. The Steelers are going to pass more than they’d probably like to this season, and Holmes was consistently getting separation against a solid Titans secondary.

This should be the year Holmes finally exceeds 1,000 yards receiving, and he has a great chance to beat his current career season-high of 8 TDs. Tough to buy low after a game like that, but it might be worth floating a few trade offers for him this week given the generous defenses the Steelers will face in coming weeks.

- Despite dropping a stunning 40 pounds over the summer, LenDale White is still not a great option out of the Tennessee backfield between the 20s. This was probably the Titans’ toughest matchup all season, but you can bet on more efforts like last night (8 carries, 28 yards, 0 TDs) from the not-so-fleet-footed compliment to Chris Johnson; don’t expect him to find the endzone 15 times like he did last year, either. Bring on Javon Ringer!

- With the running game going nowhere, Ben Roethlisberger threw the ball 43 times, the most pass attempts he’s had since November 19, 2006, when he had 44 against the Cleveland Browns. Fluke? Maybe, but I wouldn’t be the least bit shocked if Roethlisberger establishes a new career-high in total pass attempts this year (currently 469). And a lot of that has to do with…

- I know this was a tough Titans rush defense, but it’s hard to have much faith in Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall until proven otherwise. We’re extremely bearish on Parker’s chances of holding up and being a notable fantasy contributor this year–the days of “Fast Willie” have become but a fading memory–and we’re all still waiting on Mendenhall to show something, anything.

It was interesting to see the underrated Mewelde Moore basically finish the game with the Steelers in pass-first mode: he’s a guy to keep on your fantasy watch list. If/when Parker and/or Mendenhall go down, Moore would instantly become a strong RB3 or flex play.

- His numbers were solid–7 catches, 78 yards, 1 TD–and he was clearly Kerry Collins’ preferred safety valve. From my view, though, WR Justin Gage still looked like the average receiver we’ve all come to know and loathe. Now in his 7th season out of Missouri, Gage lined up as the Titans’ WR1 with Nate Washington still a bit hobbled and would have finished with at least 9 receptions and 100 yards if not for a few bad drops.

Long term, the Titans are better off with him as their WR3 behind Washington and promising first-round pick Kenny Britt, who has good size and speed and looked decent in his professional debut, considering the opponent and situation (4 receptions, 85 yards).

- Titans backup tight end Alge Crumpler has put on some pounds. You likely already know this, but his days of being a relevant fantasy TE, much less a top option like he was as a member of the Atlanta Falcons, are long gone. Even if Bo Scaife misses any time, stay away from Tubby Alge. He has no place on your fantasy roster.

- Despite the modest fantasy totals (57 yards rushing, 1 catch for 11 yards, 0 TDs), we liked what we saw in near-consensus first-round fantasy pick Chris Johnson. There were several plays that Johnson could have easily gone the distance on–or at least close to it–if it weren’t the Steelers he was up against. It’s on Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger to get him more involved in the passing game because one measly catch isn’t going to cut it.

Either way, expect much bigger things from the second-year stud from here on out: like I said, this was the the toughest defense the Titans face all season. We’re counting on Johnson this year here at ETB (between Andrew and I, we own him in 3 of 5 leagues) and still feel very confident in the investment.

So this is what Allen Iverson’s career has come to: a sideshow attraction on a floundering franchise that views him as nothing more than a means of selling a few more tickets to a small, generally disinterested fanbase.

In just one year, the first-ticket Hall of Famer and longtime NBA fan favorite has first been reduced from a high-scoring perennial All-Star to a coveted expiring contract, then to an unwanted, unrestricted free agent, and finally to leftover late-summer scraps.

He’s been treated like an ugly dog hiding under the dinner table begging to lick what’s left on otherwise empty plates. In this case, that plate has manifested itself in the form of a one-year, $3.5 million deal from the Memphis Grizzlies, which amounts to a nearly $17 million paycut from what he was paid last year as a “member” of the Detroit Pistons.

The move feels begrudging on both sides: this certainly isn’t the home Iverson had in mind, and nobody would characterize the Grizzlies’ wooing of Iverson as “hot pursuit;” it’s more like hopeless resignation to the inevitable. They were one of the few teams with money to spend on Iverson, so they threw two sheets to the wind and spent it.

I know—it’s hard to feel bad for a multi-millionaire like Iverson who’ll pull in more money this season that most people will make in a lifetime. The dollar amount isn’t really the point, though… and honestly, it never really is in professional sports; everybody knows that funny money is the norm in this industry.

No, witnessing Iverson’s move to Memphis in the twilight of his storied, if controversial, career is just one of those things that makes you feel empty inside. Like waking up on Monday morning and trudging to the office, realizing it’s not a good thing to wish away the next 8 hours of your life but doing so anyway. Or watching a customs official talk down in demeaning tones to an arriving international visitor just because English isn’t their first language. It’s a disappointing feeling, like someone’s poked a hole in the value system you’ve fastidiously clinged to for years. This isn’t how it’s supposed to end for superstars like Allen Iverson, right?

I don’t think I’ll be catching many Grizzlie games this season (not that I or the vast majority of the global population would anyway). Watching Iverson stride onto the court in drab Grizzlie grey and blue for the first time is not something I consider entertaining—it’ll be depressing and deflating, especially if/when he starts stealing valuable minutes from promising youngsters still very much in development like Mike Conley Jr. and O.J. Mayo.

Along with good-intentioned high-flyer Rudy Gay (and, I guess, second-overall pick Hasheem Thabeet), these players have to be considered the cornerstones, or at least building blocks, of this directionless franchise, and they deserve better than to be saddled with the overweight baggage of Iverson and recent acquisition Zach “Black Cancer” Randolph.

The upcoming season should be about them, not Randolph and Iverson—but you know where this is going:

Bad team that’s going to lose a lot of games, relatively inexperienced head coach, unsupportive ownership, poor attendance, apathetic fans… it’s a recipe for disaster in Memphis, and it won’t be long before Randolph decides he’s going to get his at any cost and Iverson’s good-soldier tune (“God chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career. I feel that they are committed to developing a winner and I know that I can help them to accomplish that. I feel that I can trust them.”) turns sour.

It’s literally a sad state of affairs in Memphis. Forget bobblehead or replica jersey nights at the FedEx Forum this season—they’re better off giving away Zoloft.

Allen Iverson Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Related Reading:
- Is Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace Clinically Insane? Or is His Owner Just Insanely Cheap?
- Is Allen Iverson Still a Difference Maker?

The season is so close you can taste it. The draft is done, and now we find out what kind of fantasy football genius you really are. But no matter what happens, be careful about resting on your draft laurels and falling in love with your sleeper and late-round selections. More often than not the most successful teams will be the ones who intelligently adapt to developments, admit where they’re wrong, and cycle the bottom third of their roster accordingly. Even now, before a single fantasy point has been scored, there may be an add or two that can improve your team. Remember, last season Steve Slaton went undrafted in half the leagues in fantasy land. 2009′s Steve Slaton is out there. Here are a few suggestions for those of you with itchy trigger fingers – which is all of you – to consider adding to the bottom of your roster before Week One.

James Davis, RB, Cleveland Browns: Davis has been getting a lot of ink in fantasy football blogs and websites of late, and yet he’s still available in nearly half of fantasy leagues. That likely has a lot to do with the fact that he plays for the lowly Browns, but Davis was impressive this preseason in averaging nearly 7 yards per carry. Jamal Lewis was not en route to about 2 yards per after an atrocious 3.6 yards per in two of the last three seasons. We’re still talking about a guy who I think is the odds-on favorite to start by Week Four and has flashed fresh legs and impressive game-breaking ability. You don’t find that on the wire often.

Kurt Warner photo credit: Icon SMI

Matt Leinart, QB, Arizona Cardinals: I’m no Leinart fan, not yet anyway, but his preseason play suggests he may have turned a corner. I find it odd that Kurt Warner’s draft stock plummeted this season as we all anticipate injury for the old man, and yet nobody is buying Leinart stock, especially in a year when the QB2 cupboards are relatively bare. He may not be a top QB if/when Warner goes down, but you have to figure Leinart’s an elite backup if he gets a chance to start and throw to Fitzgerald, Boldin, Breaston, et al. At the very least Leinart’s a necessary handcuff for Warner owners, and at most he’s a high-upside stash for the rest of us.

Mike Bell, RB, New Orlans Saints: I don’t have a lot of faith in Mike Bell’s abilities, but I have all the confidence in the world in the Saints offense. With Pierre Thomas likely to miss at least Week One as he deals with an MCL sprain (those tend to linger) and Reggie Bush being typically nicked up Bell makes for a fantastic Week One start against the brie Detroit D. Bell should get a bulk of the goal-line work on Sunday, and if Thomas’s injury hangs around or returns so will Bell’s fantasy value. Surely you have a dreg at the bottom of your roster you can part with in order to start Bell as your RB3 for a week or two.

Glen Coffee, RB, San Francisco 49ers: Somehow this guy is still out there in many leagues. If you’re a Frank Gore owner and Coffee is still available in your league, shame on you. His strong preseason performance puts Coffee squarely in the “necessary handcuff” camp. We know Frank Gore will be the focus of defenses and that he’ll likely be fed the rock an obscene amount, which limits Coffee’s initial value, but also makes a Gore injury a distinct possibility. We also know that new head coach Mike Singletary likes to run and new offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye is saying, “[The offensive] balance for us will be closer to 60-40 run-pass.” If Gore goes down, Coffee could emerge as a rock-solid RB2 option.

Thanks for sticking with us: this preview of the NFC South wraps up our preseason previews of the NFL, with links to the rest of our previews at the end of this piece. The regular season kicks off Thursday night with the Tennessee Titans visiting the reigning Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers; football!

1 – New Orleans Saints

Putting points on the board has not been a problem for the Saints offense ever since the Drew Brees Era began in ’06. It’s the ragtag defense that’s held this franchise back, and it’s that maligned D that will again likely make or break the team’s fortunes this year.

For once, there’s at least some hope on that side of the ball. New defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has thus far received high marks for his role in helping transform this pedestrian unit into one befitting a bonafide contender. The jettisoning of Jason “Swinging Door” David at cornerback, and the addition of veteran ballhawk Darren Sharper at safety, should help.

Second-year DT Sedrick Ellis, the 7th overall pick of the ’08 draft, should improve on the 4 sacks of his rookie season. Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma was a monster in his first year as a Saint in recording 132 tackles; love to see him get a few more sacks (1) and INTs (1) this time around though.

The defense will have to overcome four-game absences, however, from starting DEs Charles Grant and Will Smith, whom each begin suspensions in Week 1. Fortunately, of the Saints’ first four games only the Eagles bring a bonafide offensive machine to the field (the Lions, Bills, and Jets being the other opponents).

Brees comes off one of his best professional seasons, last year topping 5,000 yards passing (5,069) and 30 TD passes (34) for the first time in his career and finishing with a 96.2 QB rating. There’s no reason to expect a drop off, especially with a healthy (for now) Marques Colston to stretch the field and underrated Lance Moore gobbling up catches; second-year WR Robert Meachem will likely see more looks as well and push all-or-nothing long-range target Devery Henderson down the depth chart.

An undrafted rookie out of Illinois entering his third season, Pierre Thomas has surpassed Reggie Bush on the RB depth chart and, if healthy, could post monster numbers: he logged over 900 total yards and 12 TDs last year in shared duty with Bush and Deuce McAllister.

It’s hard to say what the Saints will get out of the now officially injury-prone Bush, but here’s what he’s done through his first three pro seasons: a career per-carry average of 3.7, an average of about 520 rushing yards per, 20 TDs, 7 fumbles lost, and 10 games missed. (In contrast, DE Mario Williams, a then-controversial first-overall pick over Bush three years ago, has not missed a game, has recorded 30.5 sacks to date, and is still only 24 years old.)

Twelve wins seems entirely possible, especially if that defense can regularly hold opponents under 20 points per (a modest goal, to be sure). Brees is in his prime, his weapons enter the season mostly healthy, and the schedule is forgiving. The coaching staff, led by Williams and head coach Sean Payton, is solid.

Anything less than 3-1 heading into the Week 5 bye should be considered a disappointment; Week 6 at home against the Giants will be their first real chance to make a statement and declare their return to contention in the NFC.

I’m bullish on this team’s chances of reaching the NFC Championship.

A look at the rest of the NFC South after the break…

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- Philadelphia Eagles by Andrew Thell
- Rest of NFC East by Brian Spencer

We’re almost there: the end of our division-by-division breakdowns and the start of the 2009-10 NFL season. Next up is the NFC East, which’ll have three teams entertaining realistic playoff hopes and one picking up the crumbs. Next and last up is the NFC South later this week; links to all previous division previews are at the bottom.

1 – Philadelphia Eagles

The days of Eagles’ observers decrying the lack of offensive talent surrounding quarterback Donovan Mcnabb are over. Any discussion of the 2009 Philadelphia Eagles must start with the huge influx of offensive weaponry, and I’m not just talking about the dude with a lapsed Kennel Club membership.

The Iggles offensive line will be visibly better on every play after replacing creaky tackle duo Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan with youthful new end-pieces Stacy Andrews and Jason Peters. McNabb hit it on the head when he opinioned, “Stacy Andrews and Jason Peters are young, athletic and physical. They will help in both the passing and running game.”

In addition to the new tackles, Philly nabbed a couple of promising playmakers in the first and second rounds with Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy. Neither are likely to be Week 1 starters, but as the season progresses they’ll become more and more involved in the offensive attack, especially as they’ll be the primary backups to injury-prone Brian Westbrook and Kevin Curtis. Rookie receivers rarely have a huge years, but I discussed McCoy’s potential impact here.

The two young guns who actually will be lining up wide for the Eagles on day one are explosive second-year wideout DeSean Jackson and emerging, steady third-year tight end Brent Celek (who I discussed here), both of whom should be extremely active in the passing game. Jackson in particular could emerge as one of the NFL’s elite home-run threats. More than one training camp observer reported DeSean was the most impressive Eagle in camp.

It remains to be seen how, and when, Michael Vick will be integrated into the offense. However, there is no doubt that the man was and can be a playmaker. A freak athlete and game-changer that was always shoe-horned into the QB position because of his price tag and pedigree, the Eagles will now be free to utilize his rare talents wherever they see fit – which will be all over the field. It should be interesting to see what trick-play-lover Andy Reid comes up with.

Unfortunately, things aren’t quite as positive on the defensive side of the ball in Philly. Just as a discussion of the Eagles must start with their new pieces on offense, it must also address the loss of their defensive chess master, the great Jim Johnson, who recently passed away. It’s hard to understate the potential impact Johnson’s loss could have. He was one of the premier defensive signal callers in NFL history. Johnson’s artful, unpredictable and relentless blitz schemes defined this defense for the last decade.

JJ is replaced by long-time assistant Sean McDermott, who joined the team in 1998 and studied under Johnson since. Just 35 years old, McDermott is known as a focused and extremely prepared coach and wouldn’t be the first Johnson protégé to go on to rapid success (Steve Spagnuolo, Leslie Frazier, and, to a lesser extent, John Harbaugh).

They Eagles lost their emotional on-field leader when 13-year safety, face of the defense, and hitting machine Brian Dawkins signed with the Denver Broncos. They also lost their leading tackler and best ‘backer in MLB Stewart Bradley to an ACL tear early in camp. Those losses could be critical. The deep defensive line should remain strong, led by Darren Howard and Trent Cole, but it remains to be seen how the the rest of this unit will respond to losing so many critical pieces.

A look at the rest of the NFC East after the break…

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