Don’t worry…we haven’t forgetton about the team capsules. We’re going to get back to them after we take a look at the offensive rookies. But for now, let’s check in on the NFL Draft and review some names you need to know heading into the 2008 season.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills - The Bills only spent two of their top five picks on offense, and the only one of those who has potential to make a fantasy impact is second round wide out James Hardy. Hardy played college ball at that noted football powerhouse Indiana and comes into the league with a number of question marks. The most significant issue is whether he is big enough. He is 6’ 5” but was under 200 pounds in school. Hardy is obviously bulking up, but a certain amount of weight room work remains. Another matter is his off the field issues, which include domestic abuse charges. Expect Hardy to show some flashes this season, but unless you’re in a dynasty league, he’s not worth drafting.

Miami Dolphins - Miami’s biggest offensive addition came with the arrival of tackle Jake Long, who will help an underwhelming offensive line. Chad Henne will compete for the starting quarterback job with vets John Beck and Josh McCown. Sixth round pick, running back Jalen Parmele, may be utilized as a fullback, while Lex Hilliard is another big body that has promise but is not likely to be a contributing factor to the Miami running game.

New England Patriots - The Patriots did absolutely nothing to help their offense, but after scoring 55 points a game (or whatever absurd total they put up), I suppose they get a pass. Oh, they did draft San Diego State quarterback Kevin O’Connell in the third round. But that makes sense, because Tom Brady probably only has another five or six years in the starting role. Yeah.

New York Jets - The Jets added some spice to their quarterback situation by drafting Erik Ainge, however, he will not be an immediate answer at quarterback. Tight end Dustin Keller may be a nice pass catching tight end, while receiver Marcus Henry has a chance to press for a roster spot.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens - The big news was, of course, the Ravens’ selection of Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco in round one. Flacco will take over for Kyle Boller, and the smart money would be on that happening at some point this season. Flacco isn’t exactly the most mobile of quarterbacks, so offensive line play is very important. Unfortunately, the Ravens have an over-the-hill offensive line and they only picked up fourth rounder David Hale from Weber State to boost that group. Unfortunately, Flacco could find himself in a tough spot when he does take over.

The Ravens also took Rutgers running back Ray Rice, although he’d be lucky to get more than five carries a game this year. Willis McGahee remains the workhorse there. Finally, Baltimore spent a fourth round pick on New Mexico wide out Marcus Smith. Smith is a prospect that dynasty leaguers should watch carefully. The Ravens aren’t exactly loaded at that position and if he shows flashes, Smith could be starting sooner than expected.

Cincinnati Bengals - What happens when a team’s star receiver becomes disgruntled? The employer goes out and drafts three more pass catchers. Jerome Simpson has the best chance to make an immediate impact as the Bengals try to fill Chris Henry’s spot. Andre Caldwell and Mario Urritia will compete at receiver as well. Caldwell is more NFL ready than Urritia. Villanova tight end Matt Sherry performed well in workouts, but the Bengals do not focus on his position with their offense.

Cleveland Browns - The only selection that you or I care about is Martin Rucker, a tight end from Missouri. Rucker won’t really, you know, block, but most of the top receiving tight ends don’t. Unfortunately, the Browns already have one receiving tight end in Kellen Winslow, so the ceiling is relatively low for Rucker. Still, Winslow has had health issues, so keep Rucker in mind if Winslow finds time to get on his motorcycle again.

Pittsburgh Steelers - Rashard Mendenhall adds a potential threat in the backfield and will at worst serve as a backup to Willie Parker at running back. If Parker is slow to return from a broken leg, Mendenhall could be one of the best fantasy rookies. Receiver Limas Sweed is another receiving option for Ben Roethlisberger and will offer up big plays in the Steel City. Quarterback Dennis Dixon is a project that should not be considered a fantasy option.

AFC South

Houston Texans - The Texans made a couple of offensive selections early in their draft. The first was Virginia Tech offensive tackle Duane Brown. The second was West Virginia running back Steve Slaton. Both should get plenty of playing time as early as Week One, assuming the two can get over their intense school rivalry. WVU and VT are rivals, right? Anyway, Slaton doesn’t have a ton of competition for carries, so if he shows any success at all, the job should be his to lose.

Indianapolis Colts - Indy loves its tight ends. Jacob Tamme may be a potential backup for Dallas Clark, who seemingly always gets injured. Tom Santi is another pass catching option who will try to replace Ben Utecht. Michigan’s Mike Hart will have a chance to compete for a job with the Indy’s lack of running back depth. Keep an eye on Mount Union product Pierre Garcon. Garcon dominated at Division III with game-breaking speed and may just latch on as a fourth or fifth receiver.

Jacksonville Jaguars - There’s nothing to see here. The only pick the Jaguars made for the offense was a seventh round running back. Jacksonville has plenty of offensive talent, so this isn’t too surprising. It still would have been nice to bolster the offensive line, but the Jags didn’t consult fantasy owners.

Tennessee Titans - First round pick Chris Johnson is a change of pace running back who offers tremendous speed. He’ll be used in a Reggie Bush role, running and receiving. Johnson, who ran the fastest 40-yard dash at the combine with a 4.2, could be a fantasy threat down the road. Receiver Lavelle Hawkins is not the game-breaking threat that the Titans need, while tight end Craig Stevens is best known for his blocking.

AFC West

Denver Broncos - Interestingly, the Broncos’ top draft pick, offensive tackle Ryan Clady, was a Bronco in college as well. I am pretty sure that factored into the decision for the Denver brass. Clady, who is comfortable being a horse, is a nice addition to a group that was trying to get by on reputation, not talent, last season. This helps the Broncos’ starting back, whoever the hell that might be.

Also, with Brandon Marshall’s 2008 status iffy, the Broncos used their second round pick to grab wide receiver Eddie Royal from Virginia Tech. Now, I don’t like Royal at all. He never had a ton of success in school and seemed to be more of a “combine” guy, but he does have talent. It’s a matter of whether that will come out in the NFL. Don’t draft him unless Marshall is definitely sidelined.

Kansas City Chiefs - Jamaal Charles is likely to replace Kolby Smith as Larry Johnson’s replacement. Johnson is coming off an injury and due to his well-documented heavy workload, he may be hard pressed to stay healthy. Charles could be the beneficiary of Johnson’s overuse. Tight end Brad Cottam is poised to be Tony Gonzalez’s backup, while receiver Will Franklin possesses good speed and size that might help a mediocre receiving corps.

Oakland Raiders - Well, there was the whole Darren McFadden selection. There’s really not much more that can be said about that. Every expert has chimed in, but essentially, he’ll get the chance to succeed in the league. If McFadden makes the most of his carries, he’ll get more of them. If not, there are plenty of interesting guys who will steal some. Other than McFadden, the Raiders took wide out Arman Shields. The Richmond product is in a good situation with a young quarterback and terrible competition for playing time. If he develops a rapport with JaMarcus Russell, there’s no reason he can’t develop into a spot starter at some point in his career.

San Diego Chargers - Remember the name Marcus Thomas. Drafted out of the fifth round from Texas-El Paso, he could be used to spell LaDainian Tomlinson with Michael Turner out of the picture. He has to fend off a competitive backfield siuation behind Tomlinson, though. Fullback Jacob Lester was the only other skill player selected, but he’ll be asked to fill the void left by Lorenzo Neal’s retirement.

May 13th, 2008
Categories: Andy Goldstein, Derek Jones, FOOTBALL, Rookies, Team report . Author: Andy Goldstein . Comments: 7 Comments

Andy would rather fondle a large stinky dead fish than listen to people bad mouth bloggers.

Readers of RotoRob may or may not know, but I actually have some experience in “old” forms of media as well as the newer ones. While I’ve written for this here fancy blog for a couple years, I also have written for a fantasy football magazine, and will be doing so again this year. Some of you guys might be holdovers from when Derek and I podcasted weekly during the football season. You may not know that I was, briefly, employed by a sports talk radio station in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.

I bring this up due to the blow-up on HBO’s Costas Now featuring Deadspin’s Will Leitch and Buzz Bissinger, who penned such classics as Friday Night Lights…and…Friday Night Lights! I could attempt to describe what happened, but it’s easier to just watch the clips.

Plenty of bloggers have responded. Some thoughtfully. Some hysterically. I can’t really add anything to other than a personal moment that I was reminded of while watching Bissinger curse up a storm. Obviously, my story can’t compare to being called “full of shit” on premium cable, but I think some of the themes are similar.

At the radio station, I was part of a new show centred on fantasy football. As one might imagine, the idea of a radio show about fantasy football ruffled some feathers. Once the idea was put forth, a number of more tenured members of the station were visibly upset and clearly tried to “talk some sense” into the boss. For the record, I was amazed that we were getting a time slot. That’s not because we weren’t going to succeed. I’m sure we would have. But we were still new to the station and the boss had no idea whether we were talented or “full of shit” ourselves.

Anyway, we were scheduled to do some cross-promotion on other shows during the day. That sounded good to me and we first appeared during the afternoon drive show.

“So Andy, explain to me how fantasy sports and fantasy football aren’t ruining the fan experience.”

“Thanks for having us, it’s great to be he- wait…what?”

Basically, instead of some time for us to develop a relationship with an audience and establish ourselves as knowledgeable voices in the world of fantasy football, we were turned into defense lawyers. Old Media v. Internet-fueled Development. Sure fantasy sports isn’t exactly the same as sports blogs, but in the venn diagram of things old sports writers are afraid of, and therefore hate, they share some bubble space.

I was floored. I have defended fantasy sports to family members, friends, and even while calling into other sports talk stations, but this was an ambush and I’m sure I didn’t exactly make the best counter-arguments. In this area, I feel for Leitch. He went on knowing he probably should be on his heels, but he couldn’t prepare for venomous, nonsensical rhetorical questions.

The last laugh, obviously, stands with the new media. It always does. Sooner or later, the Buzz Bissingers and Bob Costases of the world will be media members who started off blogging or podcasting. And what blogger would actually attack blogging?

Okay, the revolution might take a little bit longer than expected. But chances are, it won’t be televised.

May 1st, 2008
Categories: Andy Goldstein, Misc. . Author: Andy Goldstein . Comments: 2 Comments

While it’s difficult to hit the cutoff man in MLB 2K8, at least you’re soothed by Jeanne Zelasko’s voice (well, if you’re Andy, you are).

When I was much younger, back in those college days, I’d have some rough weekend mornings. I’m talking about times when the only evidence of your existence from the previous evening was empty bottles. For me, there were really only two cures to mornings like that. The first was chicken nibblers, although I always referred to them as “The Nibs.” It’s probably better if I don’t expound on that one.

The other cure was Jeanne Zelasko, FOX Sports’ female answer to Joe Buck, who handled MLB pre-game duties. Major League Baseball 2K8, 2K Sports’ latest, greatest offering is helped greatly by Zelasko, who works the intro to every game you play, including weekday night games and exhibition games (and I’m okay with that, thank you). Unfortunately, much like those way-too-glary weekend mornings, MLB 2K8 suffers from a bit of unevenness.

Where other baseball games over the years have done their best to simplify the sport, MLB 2K8 takes the less traveled path of actually making the act of throwing a baseball harder than it really is. Forget pitching, just tossing the ball from the outfield to the infield takes a few games to accomplish with any consistency. After many games played, I’m still not really sure how to effectively call for a cut-off man to actually cut the ball off. Obviously, with the level of difficulty for such routine aspects of the sport, 2K8 isn’t the most accessible sports title out there.

Of course, this is a baseball video game, so I think it’s written in the rules of sports reviews that the pitching and hitting methods are examined (clearly, I haven’t read those rules). As for the former, MLB 2K8 gets very close to nailing it. Pitching requires a series of timed analog stick movements. You need concentration, timing, and an ability to closely follow expanding and contracting rings to master the game’s pitching (I know, I know, that sounds really fun). It’s not easy by any stretch, but it’s actually a rewarding style of gaming. Pitching shouldn’t be easy. It shouldn’t require merely selecting a type of pitch and location. MLB 2K8 gets that. One issue for me was the lack of control of pitch type and location. If I want to throw a devastating table-drop curve on a 1-2 count, then I should be able to without worrying the catcher will be expecting a high-and-outside fastball.

Hitting, on the other hand, has much less than meets the eye. Basically, the offensive process involves little more than timing your “step” and “swing.” Normally, I’d want more control, but after spending untold hours cursing and struggling with the whole cut-off man fiasco, a little breather is nice.

MLB 2K8 does have an interesting “batter’s eye” concept which entails sort of guessing where a pitch will be before the pitcher’s wind up. If you call it right, you have a better chance of driving the ball. The more contact-driven the hitter, the bigger the “eye.” If a count is at 3-0, the “eye” is very large. If you’re in the hole, it’s teeny-tiny. If you’ve got Adam Dunn up and an 0-2 count, you really don’t have an “eye” anymore, which sounds about right to me.

As I mentioned above, the dialogue and overall sound of the game really shines. Jon Miller and Joe Morgan handle the commentator duties, and that could raise some eyebrows. I mean, there are some who actually think Morgan is something of a, oh I don’t know, blowhard. What’s funny (Morgan might even call it ‘ironic,’ although he’d be wrong) is that Morgan’s style (for lack of a better word) really feels natural and it comes through. A play will happen, Morgan will say something bizarre, and Miller will try to make it work. It’s exactly like watching a game on ESPN.

Also of note is the “soundtrack” that the game uses. Apparently 2K Sports outsourced that job to Pitchfork Media. I will come clean and admit I am a Pitchfork whore. In fact, while writing this review, I’ve listened to The Battles, The Flaming Lips, and LCD Soundsystem, all of whom are featured in the game’s menu screens and sometimes over stadium loudspeakers. It’s a nice modern touch, although hearing the same 16 songs over and over again does tend to get old after a few hours. I assume the megabites were tough to come by, but another 15 or 30 songs would have been great.

Which brings us to the online product. The game changes drastically when you enter the intertubes. Unfortuantely, it’s not by design. The main problem is that the pitching system (which I love!) requires pin-point accuracy and timing. The second you and your opponent’s modems get a hold of that aspect of the game, everything goes to hell. Every pitch becomes a lob, which actually is okay because timing the swing is also impossible. An extra bonus is going back to normal offline play is difficult because of how much overcompensation you get used to.

If you are a baseball fan and own an Xbox 360, this is your game. That’s more due to the fact that MLB 08: The Show isn’t available on Microsoft’s gaming system. Overall, this is certainly a competent game and it always feels pretty fair, unless you’re playing online with laggy opponents. And if all else fails, you can just close your eyes and listen to Zelasko for hours on end.

(I don’t do that. I swear!)

April 21st, 2008
Categories: Andy Goldstein, BASEBALL, Uncategorized, Video Game Reviews . Author: Andy Goldstein . Comments: 6 Comments

Safe Rosenfels got the job done after Matt Schaub went down.

What Went Right

The passing game made great strides in Houston as Matt Schaub started the 2007 season in a scorching fashion. He averaged 260 yards per game over the first six weeks and, yes, that qualifies as “scorching” for the Texans. Trust me. Schaub went down with an injury, but Sage Rosenfels actually picked up the pace quite well. In fact Rosenfels and Schaub combined for nearly 4,000 passing yards and 25 scores.

What Went Wrong

The Texans play in arguably football’s toughest division, the AFC South. Six games against three pretty good defenses can prove to be tough sledding. Also, Houston’s running game short-circuited yet again with Ron Dayne carrying the load (is it wrong to say literally here?). Injuries to Schaub and Andre Johnson stunted the offense’s growth after a positive start to the season.

Off-season Outlook

The Texans are finally, if somewhat slowly, turning the corner with Gary Kubiak running the show. Houston was not wildly active in free agency and just made moves to improve depth on both sides of the ball. The team needs to get quicker at running back through the draft especially. Seriously, Dayne and Ahman Green? The secondary needs some beefing up as well.

Draft Outlook

We would love to see the Texans grab one of the talented backs in the draft, although that may be their second round plan. Whispers out of Houston all involve defensive players or offensive lineman in the first round, specifically linebacker Keith Rivers of USC and tackle Chris Williams of Vanderbilt.

State of the Team

Quarterbacks - The Schaub injury slowed what could have been a successful beginning to his Texan career. Nonetheless, Rosenfels was respectable under centre and gave the Texans a chance to compete. It’s Schaub’s job to lose, but he needs a healthy Johnson for the passing game to click like it did at times in 2007.

Running Backs - We will not talk about the Texans’ current running back situation, other than to say that we would really feel warm and fuzzy about a rookie being the clear-cut starter heading into the new season.

Wide Receivers - Johnson was as good as ever — when healthy, of course. That part proved to be a big issue for him because he only managed to appear in nine games. Kevin Walter provided a nice lift as the second option, although a bona fide deep threat would be a great luxury for the team.

Tight Ends - Owen Daniels continues to be a nice surprise for fantasy owners. Those of us who waited until the very last round of their draft to snag Daniels were thrilled with his 700 -plus receiving yards.

Defense/Special Teams - So how does Mario Williams versus Reggie Bush look now? Williams quieted naysayers with a 14-sack sophomore season; while linebacker DeMeco Ryans is a beast who led the team with 128 tackles. Despite having a lackluster return game, the Texans are an upcoming fantasy group.

April 21st, 2008
Categories: Andy Goldstein, Derek Jones, FOOTBALL, Team report . Author: Andy Goldstein . Comments: 3 Comments

Viking coach Brad Childress needs to put his faith in Purple Jesus.

What Went Right

Purple Jesus! Adrian Peterson lived up to all the hype, for the most part. About the only person who didn’t realize it was Brad Childress. Childress only managed to get Peterson 238 carries to Chester Taylor’s 157. Anyway, Purple Jesus showed quite a nose for the endzone, scoring 12 times on the ground.

What Went Wrong

Besides an injury to Peterson late in the season, Tavaris Jackson’s topsy-turvy play troubled the Viking offense down the stretch. While Minnesota’s rush game ranked first in the NFL, the Vikings finished 28th in passing (averaging 171 yards per game). Besides Jackson’s struggles, the lack of a big play threat downfield contributed to this as well (no Vikings receiver eclipsed 1,000 yards or had more than four touchdown receptions). Defensively, Minnesota’s secondary could not stop anyone through the air…again, finishing last in the league against the pass. It’s not that the Vikings have a terrible secondary; sadly it’s due to how great their rush defense has been. Over the past two seasons, no team has been better at stopping the run than the Vikings.

Off-season Outlook

With Childress at the helm for Minnesota, the team doesn’t worry about such things as sex boat cruises and disgruntled players. Instead, the Vikes can actually focus on football and giving Bernard Berrian $42 million over six years. I guess Minnesota brass figures that if Berrian can be successful with Chicago’s Rex Grossman, that Jackson is on par with him. The Vikings still need more help at the skill spots on offense to aid Peterson, something which would be extremely wise so that he doesn’t get overused early in his career. The Minny defense is solid in the front seven, but could use some depth via the draft in the secondary.

Draft Outlook

If we were grading the Viking wide out corps on the 1-10 scale, with 10 being the best, we’d give them a 1.5. Before they signed Berrian, they were closer to 1.4 out of 10. For those not keeping score at home, Berrian is a one-dimensional non-entity. He might be good for some long bombs, but that won’t change the overall passing offense. Of course, if they brought in a Devin Thomas or Malcolm Kelly in the draft, then we might be on to something.

State of the Team

Quarterbacks - In 12 starts with Minnesota, Jackson threw nine touchdown passes to 12 interceptions with the run-heavy Vikings. As evidenced by the Super Bowl, a team doesn’t necessarily need a big name, but merely someone who can just manage the game without committing the devastating mistake. Jackson has not reached that level yet. Bringing in Berrian can only matter for fantasy owners if Jackson evolves in his second season as the team’s starter. Another nine-touchdown pass season by Jackson will put Minnesota’s post-season hopes on ice again.

Running Backs - We hope Peterson gets somewhere between 300-315 carries. This would be made possible by Childress completely trusting him, which didn’t happen last season, and Peterson staying healthy, which also didn’t happen last season. We love Purple Jesus’s skill and overall running back attributes, but he’s not a sure-fire top three pick.

Wide Receivers - Yeah, they got nothing. Berrian might be a decent third wide out, but putting him alone out there is football suicide. Seriously, we’re not sure he’d make our top 30 wide receivers right now.

Tight Ends - Visanthe Shiancoe stands to get the lion’s share of passes that go to the tight ends. And our mothers taught us that if we don’t have anything nice to say, we shouldn’t say anything. And for some reason, we just remembered that now.

Defense/Special Teams - This is a bizarre unit. The defense does not make a ton of big plays. Minny’s rush defense is superior and the best unit in the league statistically. However, the team’s inability to stop the pass and offer a spark in special teams makes it a middle of the road group.

April 20th, 2008
Categories: Andy Goldstein, Derek Jones, FOOTBALL, Team report . Author: Andy Goldstein . Comments: 5 Comments