Weekly Haze

Here are this week’s great reads:

• Playing in a keeper league? Check this out. [The Fantasy Football Geek Blog]
• The CBS guys are putting on a mock draft right now. [CBSSports]
• Chad Johnson lost this hand of poker. [EndZoneView]
• The Cowboys showed Terrell Owens the money. Will he end his career in Dallas? [Every Morning Quarterback]
• Travis Henry out in Denver, so for now it is the Selvin Young show. [Fantasy Football Exchange]
• Of Henry, Shaun Alexander and Kevin Jones, who would you want? [Football Jabber]
• Ranking the best offensive lines in football. [FF Toolbox]
• Darren McFadden looking good, other Raiders? Not so much. [No-Offseason.com]
• A good day for the fantasy sports industry. [RotoNation]
• Someone did not like one of the first-round picks in our May fantasy mock draft. [The Fantasy Football Geek Blog]
• It’s Matt Leinart’s job … for now. [The NFL Guru]

For more great reads, check out my Google Reader Shared Items page.

Monday morning rehab

I am a little slow this Monday.

But there are plenty of MMR updates to get to, including another Cadillac Williams update.

So much speculation is swirling around Caddy this offseason about whether or not he will be able to return to football after suffering a devastating knee injury last season. Coming out of college, I really thought he would be a great back in the NFL and it looked like he was destined to be a great one at the start of his career. But he hit a wall, struggled with some minor injuries and then *pow*, he suffered a career-threatening injury.

What do y’all think? Can Cadillac regain his previous form and be a starting runningback in the league again? Or is he destined to be a back-up or, even worse, out of the league?

Check the MMR for the Caddy update and more after the jump.

Monday morning rehab

Football season never really ends anymore.

With the coverage received by the NFL Scouting Combine, free agency and the NFL Draft, the NFL offseason never is a dull place. Before you know it, rookies and veterans alike will be reporting to camps all across the nation in preparation for the 2008 season.

Some of those players are healthy, and some of them are not. Monday morning rehab takes a look at the not-so-healthy among those players, particularly the players with fantasy value for those of you in keeper and/or dynasty leagues. Hit the jump for this week’s updates.

Senior Bowl update

RotoWorld has a nice Senior Bowl practice live blog going with updates on some of the players taken in our early NFL mock draft last week. Apparently, Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson is looking pretty good. Maybe he can jump Louisville’s Brian Brohm in the quarterback rankings.

USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis may be moving up in the first round as well, which would throw a kink in our mock draft. We had Ellis going at No. 10 to the New Orleans Saints. With no Glenn Dorsey at the Senior Bowl, Ellis is taking advantage of his opportunity in the spotlight.

If you are in a dynasty or keeper league with a rookie draft, you might want to check out the blog. And then, of course, watch the Senior Bowl on Saturday.

Keep an eye on these keepers

With the NFL offseason comes a renewal of promise and hope for teams, coaches, players and fans alike. But along with that promise comes instability as coaches get canned, coordinators change places and new players enter the fold.

The dynamics that once made a keeper so lucrative now may spell his doom.

Several key NFL players will face uncertainty this offseason due to outside factors such as coaching changes, the NFL draft and free agent acquisitions. Other keeper types will battle internal factors as they rehab from major injuries suffered in 2007, change teams or seek new contracts.

Q & A: Keepers

Q: [I] need to know who I should keep in my football league: either Ronnie Brown or Cedric Benson. I need help! Brown under [Cam] Cameron, I hope, will be used like LT, but their offensive line is terrible. Benson will get the ball, but will he be used on third down. Please give me some advice.

A: Tough question, but thanks for posting it. Personally, I think Ronnie Brown is the guy to keep. Brown is entering his third year as the starting runningback of the Miami Dolphins, so he knows what to expect in terms of shouldering the load. Benson, on the other hand, always had Thomas Jones to fend off attention and this will be Benson’s first year as a feature back. I think the addition of head coach Cam Cameron to the Dolphins’ offense will do wonders for Brown, as Cameron likely will find ways to use Brown as the focus of the offense. Brown clearly is the most talented player on that offense and it will go through him. Benson should have a good season, but I think Brown will have better production.

Haze keeper preview: Michael

Michael finished a disappointing 2006 campaign in 10th place, earning the No. 10 spot in the keeper declaration draft.

He also owns the No. 3 spot in the first round of the Haze serpentine draft.

Owner profile

Name: Michael McNeil
Career record: 29 – 25
2006 Highlight: Drafting Laurence Maroney in the 7th round and acquiring Willie Parker via trade and Cedric Benson via free agency to highlight an exciting keeper class for 2007.

Haze keeper rules in a nutshell

Each Haze owner gets the opportunity to keep two players in the round the player was originally drafted for the first season. Every subsequent season the player is kept, he moves up one round in the draft.

Since this is the first keeper season for Haze, all keepers will be kept in the round originally drafted.

Haze keeper preview: James

James finished his rookie season in 9th place and owns the No. 9 pick in the keeper declaration draft.

He also owns the No. 4 spot in the first round of the Haze serpentine draft.

Owner profile

Name: James Bullington
Career record: 3 – 10
2006 Highlight: Drafting Joseph Addai in the 6th round of the 2006 draft.

Haze keeper rules in a nutshell

Each Haze owner gets the opportunity to keep two players in the round the player was originally drafted for the first season. Every subsequent season the player is kept, he moves up one round in the draft.

Since this is the first keeper season for Haze, all keepers will be kept in the round originally drafted.