Movers and Shakers

(-The Fantasy Guys…FQ)

With the NFL season set to get under way Thursday evening, NFL teams are rounding out their final rosters and some clubs have been hit with some crucial injuries as well as made some interesting moves that should spark the minds of fantasy owners across the country.

Lets take a look at some of the recent moves/injuries and how they impact fantasy rosters:

1. Montario Hardesty (CLE-RB) suffers torn ACL.

Yikes! The Cleveland Browns were reportedly very high on Hardesty and it was almost a given that he was going to overtake Jerome Harrison as the feature back at some point this season. However, Hardesty suffered the injury in the team’s final pre-season game this past week and is set to miss the entire season.

This means my boy J-Harrison will be the undisputed starter for the Browns this season and has a chance to prove that he is more than just a flash in the pan. I was high on Harrison before Hardesty went down and now im sky-high on JH. The fact is at the very least Hardesty will supply catches and receiving yards as he is great out of the backfield in the passing game. Whether or not you have drafted yet…Go out and get Harrison on your team.

2. Housh and Seattle set on divorce.

If TJ Houshmandzadeh and the Seattle Seahawks were dating they would be sleeping around every night at this point. The two sides are all but broken up and Seattle’s dream situation is to trade Housh away and then make a deal with San Diego for Vincent Jackson.

Here’s what matters for fantasy owners.

-First Housh’s value will only go up if he gets moved because he had his worst statistical year last season in Seattle since his sophomore year in Cincinnati.

-Second Vincent Jackson should only be taken as a flier late in drafts or picked up if you have an extra spot because wasting a useful spot on your roster is a cardinal sin for me. (Let’s not forget V-Jax is suspended for the first three games regardless for violating the NFL’s personal conduct rule)

-Third Mike Williams (yes the same M-Will that was selected in the 1st round by the Lions in 05) will get a starting job once Housh is out of the mix. Williams has reportedly come to camp in the best shape of his life and has put his past failures behind him and ready to make some noise. I wouldn’t bank on it because he has said that before but he is definitely worth monitoring and adding late in a draft or picked up via FA.

-Fourth Deion Branch has secured a starting job…Still don’t give this guy the time of day. However, keep an eye out on Golden Tate who will have slot duties and could emerge as the true #1 WR on this team by the middle of the season.

3. Nate Doggggggggg.

<—Wait not this guy

This guy —>

If i bring up the Titans the only two people fantasy owners say are worth owning are Chris Johnson or Rob Bironas. Well it’s time to be enlighten (yes by a Titans fan) that Nate Washington is going to have a big year. Coach Fisher talked about the WR picture at the end of the final pre-season game saying that Kenny Britt might not make the active roster for week 1. “If I suspect there would be a problem, we have other receivers I’ll play instead of Kenny,” said Fisher. The fact is Washington was the the titans best WR last season and has become Vince Young’s favorite target. The speedy receiver knows how to go get the deep ball and will have some big days when the Titans use play-action to fake out defenses engulfed on stopping CJ2k. Washington is not even getting drafted and even in deep 14 team leagues (19% owned) is still a FA.

4. Four Downs of Quit Hits.

–Ben Roethlisberger got his suspension reduced from 6 games to 4. Big Ben is going very late in drafts. Take him late as your first QB and back him up with somebody like Matt Cassel, Vince Young or Derek Anderson. Start one of those guys for the first 4 weeks and then WEEP (whoops I meant reap) the benefits the rest of the season. (In case you didn’t here Big Ben cried in front of his teammates, embarrassed for being suspended for 4 games)

–Derek Anderson (11% owned) is going to the the starter for the Arizona Cardinals. Matt Leinart is going to get released, traded, benched, castrated…whatever it is Anderson has a cannon and I love his value. Right now I am the only one but trust me with WRs Fitzgerald and Breaston to stretch the field Anderson will be a worthy #2 QB and borderline #1 some weeks and towards the end of the year. Anderson will have 20+ TDs this year….BELIEVE THAT- Martin Lawrence.

–Laurent Robinson (16% owned) is on nobody’s radar. If Robinson can stay healthy, he will easily become Sam Bradford’s #1 target. This guy was great for STL in the 3 games he played before getting hurt last season. Bradford can sling it and Robinson will have his career year. This fantasy non-draftee needs to be on your team late.

–Nate Burleson (23% owned) had 63 catches last year in Seattle. He played along side Housh and did a great job out-performing him. Now Burleson gets to play alongside Calvin Megatron Johnson. Stafford has looked great so far in the pre-season and is set for a stellar sophomore season. Burleson is somebody that will get a lot of targets with Megatron being the center of defenses’ attention. Get this guy on your team!

Frank “Da Tank” Qasim

-Live & Think Outside The Box