Category Archives: battle royale

NFL Rookie Battle Royale: Week 7

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For this week, I missed most of the action from being in San Diego for work, but after going through each game, looks like the rookies had a good week. Too bad my Vikings did not. Regardless, we also had a debut we had waited almost half a season for, and a few performances that impressed beyond expectations.

Mark Sanchez

Dirty finally shook off the interception bug, even though it was against one of the worst teams around. He threw for only 143, but had 2 TDs to offset that. Im guessing a lot of Jets fans were just happy they pitched a shutout, but I expected a little more from the rookie that is fixing to be the top value guy for the year.

Shonn Greene

For the first time, Sanchez wasn’t the focus of the rookie lens this week, as Shonn Greene had a ridiculous game at 144 and 2 TDs. One TD came after it was already decided, but he is the front runner right now for the rookie of the week. Leon Washington must have had an injury, and Greene did a great job filling in. Best game of any rookie RB so far, crazy that it came against the Raiders, right?

Michael Crabtree

Im not going to take him out of the graveyard quite yet, but he had a respectable debut with 5 catches for 56 yards. At least he showed he can be somewhat productive, though I think he will get better as he shakes off the rust. He didn’t explode, but definitely was the namesake for a few creative jerseys I saw in the 49er bar in San Diego.

Mike Wallace

Its tough for any Pittsburgh rookie to fly under the radar, but in terms of talk, Wallace is putting up one hell of a rookie campaign without much coverage. His values were high to begin with because he plays for the Steelers, but 72 and a TD will definitely help you out. Wallace’s TD was a good showing as to why the Vikings pass defense may cost them a trip deep in the playoffs, but he played a great game either way.

Hakeem Nicks

Nicks showed AGAIN why he is probably going to be the rookie WR of the year. Another TD, 80 yards, and a league lead in receiving TDs after a Knox mediocre game. Nicks has become a key cog in the NY passing offense, even though they got beat by the Cardinals.

Percy Harvin

Harvin was back returning kicks again after he aggravated his shoulder last week, and I was surprised to see him fly. Harvin ran back his second TD of the year, giving him 4 total TDs so far, as well as a few that set the Vikings up near the 50. He also caught 3 for 42, so a great game for a guy who is banged up.

Brian Hartline
Hartline caught 3 for 94 in a Dolphins game that they should have won, but they played like crap in the 4th quarter. He is a guy that I didnt know much about coming into the year, but he went to OSU, so you know he is going to get a bump this week in value. He does have a TD from week 4 against Buffalo, but hasnt done much else besides this game (10 for 157). I also dont believe he was a Rookie Premiere guy.
Austin Collie
This guy had another TD this week (though the game was over when he did), and continues to make me scratch my head as to where he is coming from. It helps when Peyton Manning is throwing you the ball, but still is impressive when you are pretty much unknown.
Beanie Wells

He finally got into the action with a TD, and against a good rush defense to boot. He ended up with 67 yards, so it wasn’t a stellar performance, but rushing is not the focus of his team with Fitz and Boldin around. Hightower is still getting all the goal line carries, which means that Beainie is not going to have many TDs. Im still not sold on him.

The Rookie Graveyard

Darrius Heyward-Bey – Its really too bad that he was drafted to the Raiders so high, as I think he could have been much better in a place that isnt a graveyard for the whole team.

Beanie Wells – had a TD, but still in the midst of a disappointing year.

Michael Crabtree – After holding out for the first 6 games, he needs to do better than 56 yards before getting out of here.

Brandon Pettigrew – Bye week.

Rookie Battle Royale: Week 6

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Just another week in paradise, right? A lot of action and a few upsets, as well as a few top rookies coming back down to earth. I was pretty much glued to my computer during the afternoon, watching all of my fantasy teams getting killed by the Patriots players, Ray Rice, and MJD respectively. I had fun, and here are some updates on the rookies as usual.

Mark Sanchez

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Sanchez throws a whole hand’s worth of interceptions, and the Jets lose to a Bills team that lost to Cleveland. Just an absolutely awful game for Dirty, and im sure a few of his cards could reflect what happened. However, as with any rookie QB, it’s a week to week thing with success, so I wouldn’t necessarily give up on his stuff quite yet.

Matt Stafford

Stafford sat for the second straight week, and Lions fans got a glimpse of what it would be like if he had surgery to repair his knee. The Lions, who were hungry weeks earlier, were made fools of by the Packers who actually left more than a few points on the field. It could have been worse. That is scary to think.

Hakeem Nicks

Even though Hakeem Nicks had a great game, the Giants did not. He went for over 100 yards AND a score, even though it was late in the game when the Saints already had it wrapped up. Either way, he had 2 long catches, and had a game worthy of putting him at the top of the discussion for rookie WRs of the year.

Jeremy Maclin

I knew it was too good to be true last week, but barring my better judgement, I still started him in fantasy due to lack of options. He was playing Oakland and I thought I could get 50 yards out of him. Sadly, the Raiders decided they were going to play the game of their lives and upset a VERY good Eagles team. Maclin was pretty much shut out, and went from the game of the year, to the bottom.

Percy Harvin

Harvin had a bad shoulder coming into the game, and left in the second half with an injury. There havent been any updates, but Im guessing he wont be playing for a few weeks. Too bad, as I think he added a great element to the Vikings offense.

Mohammed Massaquoi

He showed once again that he is the only thing the Browns have going for them. He caught 5 balls for 83, against one of the best defenses in the league, so I guess that should count for something. Didn’t really help the Browns come away with a victory and huge upset, but he did his job, unlike the rest of the offense.

Johnny Knox

I cant believe Knox walked away with another score against the falcons. He is definitely this year’s Matt Forte, who oddly enough has been doing just mediocre. The Bears lost, but Knox showed that he is also right up there with Nicks at the top of the pile. So far, he has had 17 for 224 and 3 TDs, which is tied for the lead among rookies with Nicks. He also had the KR TD as well, which puts him at the top for total TDs.

The Rookie Graveyard

Darrius Heyward-Bey – Still nothing, still a bad QB, but at least they won.
Beanie Wells – Even though the Cardinals were ahead the whole game, he didn’t get anything done.
Brandon Pettigrew – See above, horrid QB, but he was shut out. Injury related?
Michael Crabtree – Will make debut next week, will remain here I believe.

Rookie Battle Royale: Week 5 Receiver Bonanza

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Week five was the week of the rookie wide receivers, as there were more than one that had a coming out party as the expense of their opponent. There were also some wild finishes as well as some hardcore beat downs, and I had a pretty good time watching it all go down.

Austin Collie

Most of you are probably wondering who the fuck Austin Collie is. He is a rookie out of BYU who managed not one, but two TDs against an ailing Titans’ secondary. He had a myriad of good plays, and according to Reggie Wayne, is a guy who spends a ton of time studying the game. Now, knowledge does not a good receiver make, but in this case, it sure helped. Lets see what happens next week, as with Wayne and Garcon tearing it up, he probably wont be much of a factor in the long run, especially with Gonzo also in the mix.

Jeremy Maclin

Holy fuck, welcome to the NFL Jeremy Maclin. He had an epic day with close to 150 yards receiving and 2 TDs, and finally looked like he knew what the crap was going on. We were flipping between the Vikings blowout and this game, and were continually shocked how he gained as much as he did. Good thing too, because Maclin had done little to nothing up to that point.

Percy Harvin

Percy led the Vikings with 4 catches for 66 yards, including one that was that close to being a TD. Favre really spread it around, but Harvin’s ability to stay on his feet at all costs is ridiculous. The guy is going to be as good as anyone in this draft, believe me, and I hope that he continues to play well next week when we will really need it.

Mike Wallace

If you asked me who would be the top receivers of the draft this year, I would not have put Mike Wallace anywhere on that list. He has been great as a number 3 or 4 for Pittsburgh, and has put himself ahead of many of the WRs who were drafted ahead of him. He caught his first TD of the year on Sunday and is close to leading the rookie WRs in yardage. His cards are already high because of the team he plays for, but he is quickly living up to those values with each passing week.

Mohammed Massaquoi

Where the fuck did he go? Oh, right, Cleveland. He still led the Browns in receiving, but with 1 catch for 16, you know what I am talking about. He is going to be the Browns number one for the rest of the year, seemingly, but I wouldn’t go buying your PC of him quite yet.

Knowshon Moreno

Knowshon had a good day with 88 yards on the ground, but against a Pats run D, that is much better than it looks. The problem is that he cant hold onto the ball, a problem that could haunt him a la Adrian Peterson, which means that he has a lot of growth still required to be remotely successful.

Glen Coffee

When you are out rushed by Shaun Hill, white guy of the year, there are problems. He did get a TD, but the Falcons pretty much crushed the niners in every aspect of the game. Gore is the guy, and as soon as he comes back, Coffee will be relegated to backup again. Hold off on him.

Matthew Stafford

He spent his first week on the bench due to the injury, even though he was in uniform and looked ready to play in the event of a catastrophe. Of course, the Lions are always in a state of catastrophe, but looked good against the Steelers up until the last drive. It should slow down Stafford’s return table, so be aware.

The Rookie Graveyard

Darrius Heyward-bey – Shut out last week, but again, may be on the worst team in the league.
Beanie Wells – Cardinals are a passing team, and he has done little to nothing.
Brandon Pettigrew – He was supposed to be a new breed of TE, he has done little.

Michael Crabtree – He is on here until he does something. He deserves it.

NFL Rookie Battle Royale: Week 2

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The week is pretty much in the books, and there was actually a lot of rookie action during the games, so ill try to keep it short to cover all the recaps. There were definitely some surprises as well, and a few possible contenders for rookie of the week, in addition to those who were also coming off good games in Week 1.

Mark Sanchez

Who wouldve thought that a rookie QB could actually beat the almighty Patriots. I didn’t. Sanchez played well, and even threw a nice TD en route to another win. I would think that after this week, in addition to last, his cards should continue to soar in price. I wouldn’t go out and buy any until he comes down from this high, though he may not actually do so if the Jets continue to have a good season. Regardless, 163 and a touchdown is always a good performance against a stingy defense.

Matt Stafford

After the first half, I was sweating the Lions play against my Vikings, as Stafford was actually hanging in there. He wasn’t counted on much, mostly handing off to a rushing game that was having success. Then, when the second half started, and the Vikings were gaining momentum, he crumbled as most rookies would. He ended up adding to his interception total rather than his small TD total, which led to the kitties losing again. His cards were a bad hold to start, and though he will probably end up with a good career, this year will not be a good one for his card value. He will throw more INTs than TDs, and should end up with one win, four at the most. I will say this, the Lions do look BETTER than the Browns this year.

Percy Harvin

Harvin had another good week, though he was playing against a defense that could be one of the softest he plays all year. He had a few key third down catches, as well as a touchdown, which should raise card and fantasy value even more than it already is. One thing I noticed watching him was that like Peterson, Harvin refuses to go down. There was one play where he had four Lions trying to push him back and still ended up falling forward for a few more key yards. He is going to be great.

Johnny Knox

Mr Knox had another good game, catching 6 passes and touchdown for 70 yards. With Forte sputtering (YES!), Knox has been there to pick up some of the slack, something I would guess Cutler is quite happy about. His values started climbing last week, and will continue this week, as he proves himself to be a vital part of the Bears’ young receiver corps. Knox looks good, and could potentially be a star one day, so those fans looking for a Bear to collect should go to him.

Julian Edelman

Who the fuck is Julian Edelman, right? He had a great week for the Patriots in the absence of Wes Welker, thus proving that Brady needs a goofy white guy to throw to each game, haha. Edelman was one of the last picks of the draft, and wasn’t even invited to the combine, though had a great pro day. He obviously made the team, and could end up as a good four guy for the Pats. I wouldn’t expect long term success, but he did look amazing in his role. Considering the Pats have two great receivers already, he may not be a good one to invest in quite yet.

Knowshon Moreno

The Broncos made Moreno more a part of their offense this week, and he responded with the best performance out of a rookie back so far this year. He put together close to 100 total yards, and though he didn’t get a TD, im sure he will continue to be a good option for a team that lost their best player. Moreno should end up being great, but right now its obvious that he is still feeling things out. Im guessing he will be the first one to break a big one of all the rookies this year. Not Chris Johnson or Matt Forte style from last year, but still good. Donald Brown still has yet to play, so we will see what is going to happen with that.

Beanie Wells

The Cardinals played MUCH better this week, and therefore Beanie wasn’t as much of a focus. Hightower got their rushing score, and Wells managed 7 for 44 yards. Not awful, but not great either. He is going to need to prove his worth, especially with Fitz and Boldin being the lynchpins of the offense. I would say he should be a good back eventually, but its going to take a big game for him to gain the trust to handle more stuff. Hightower will get the goalline carries, so that’s also going to be a problem for the people who collect him. He has an OSU following, so his cards wont be cheap, but they wont be worth much more until next year probably.

Maclin and McCoy

These two guys could end up being the best rookie tandem of the year, but so far Maclin has done nothing. He had 2 catches for 22, which doesn’t bode well coming off a shutout last week for him. McCoy had a decent game with 55 total yards, which was great with Westbrook in front of him. It shows that the Eagles want him there, and should solify some of his card values. McCoy should develop nicely this year, and with the starter being kind of injury prone, he could move up quite quickly.

Next week is also looking like it could be a good week for the rookies, and you can bet that this is the time where the teams are also cementing depth chart roles, as well. We should see a big rookie week next week, and I am looking forward to seeing how Stafford and Sanchez come off their games respectively. If Sanchez wins again, look for astronomical prices, the opposite happening for Stafford if he continues to throw picks. Marky Mark got lucky playing for a good team, so it will be great for his values once the end of the season comes. Oustide of that, we shall see how Harvin and Knox continue, as well as seeing if Britt and Hey Bey grow in their roles.

NFL Rookie Battle Royale: Week 1

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Thank the fucking lord its football time again. That’s all I gotta say. Yesterday was almost an out of body experience, as it was awesome just to take in all the action. I spent the entire morning gearing up for the Vikings game, and when it came time, my excitement was at critical mass. Now that Sunday is over, the Vikings are huge winners, and we have some idea as to a few rookie roles, I want to go over the weekly rookie recap for all you prospectors out there. Each week, in place of last year’s value bumps, ill run down some of the top rookie performances and go over what it should mean for their cards. Hopefully this can help a few of you out. It has only been one game, small sample size rule in effect, so take this as you will.

Mark Sanchez

From the beginning of it all, Sanchez was pretty highly touted as the one NFL ready QB in the draft. He gave a lot of credibility to that sentiment as he led his team to a big victory over the Texans. His TD was a wide open throw to Chansi Stuckey, but the rest of his performance wasn’t as easy. You can bet dollars to donuts that his cards are going to spike this week due to his good game, but im sure there will be just as many bad weeks as there are good ones. Be wary of holding his stuff too long, however, Sanchez did look like the real deal.

Matthew Stafford

It was established early on that Stafford was going to have a very tough time doing well with such a poor team in front of him. Yesterday was definitely a testament to that as he threw three interceptions and no touchdowns in a Lions loss. Granted, the Saints are one of the better teams in the league, and a tough start to a career that is going to be rough at first, but Stafford did not perform very well. The Lions were kind of in it for some of the game, but no one doubted the success of Brees and company who rolled all over them in the fourth quarter. Stafford’s value shouldn’t drop too much, but it was never a wise idea to hold him in the first place.

Percy Harvin

When Sunday’s game ended, I was practically shaking from the excitement over what the combination of AD, Favre and Harvin could bring. Harvin was the only non-QB rookie to score a TD on Sunday, and had some KEY runs and catches near the goal line to help the Vikings. He was as good a decoy in addition, as I saw the Browns try to account for him every time he stepped onto the field. He also had a couple good kick returns that set up the team close to the 50, and should be a major contributor in the futrure for the Vikings. He isnt going to be 1998 Randy Moss this year, but he is worth a look either way. His values are already pretty high, so it may be better to wait until he cools off a little, but once he does, get on it.

Beanie Wells

For every OSU fan in the world, there are probably three OSU haters, all of who’s eyes were on Wells yesterday. He got as many carries as Hightower, but didn’t get much of a good look due to a good showing by the Niners’ defense. I would say that Wells should end up with one of the better seasons for the rookie RBs, but he will need to improve dramatically. There was one play where he just went the wrong direction and basically left a 38 year old Warner to fend for himself, something that will not fly in this league. Its mistakes like those that could hurt him, though I doubt it will happen again.

LeSean McCoy

Many of us were on board with McCoy before the Eagles even took him in the draft. When the Eagles did take him, a lot of collectors saw a lot of room for growth behind Westbrook, who was coming off an injury season. Its great to see that McCoy put up the best numbers of all the big rookie running backs, even though it was only 46 yards. He should have a good season, though the McNabb injury definitely hurts those chances. I would say that him and Donald Brown will fight it out for best rookie back after it is all said and done, even moreso if Westbrook goes down again.

Donald Brown

Brown got some carries yesterday, though he only averaged 3 yards per. Addai is going to be the focus until he cant run, so Brown will be delegated to off series. He should do pretty well, if only because the Colts will do well, and could put up a five or six TD season. I wouldn’t go running out to buy any of the rookie back cards, but Brown is cheap enough that it may not be a bad idea. His value didn’t go very high in the off season because he didn’t have throngs of college fans chasing his stuff, but he should be good enough for you to take a look at.

Knowshon Moreno

I don’t think yesterday’s game was a good measure of Moreno’s potential, mainly because NO ONE did well, but I think his eight carries for nothing bear some concern for the people that have him as a target. Peyton Hillis looked like he went down, meaning Moreno’s carries will go up, but he needs to perform even when he is back number three. I say that Moreno shouldn’t have a bad season, its just not going to be crazy. If you are holding his cards, be sure to prepare yourself for a longer wait than I once expected.

Mike Wallace

Before Thursday, I didn’t know who Mike Wallace was. Much to the chagrin of Titans fans, he became the pride of Steelers nation after the game, basically securing a win for them with a huge catch in OT. His cards are not going to be worth anything until he shows any consistency, but you can see why his values went from scrub to a little more than scrub after his catch.

Johnny Knox

Last, but not least, Johnny Knox was week 1’s top rookie receiver in terms of yardage, so far. He may have only caught 2 passes, but his 68 yarder was a step away from a TD. He caught another ball for more yards, making him a surprise for the Bears, also solidifying his place on the roster. Knox was not a premiere guy, so his autos are probably numbered pretty high, but that also means that you can easily pick a few of them up for a receiver who may make you a few dollars if he continues to play well.

Im still eager to see how Hey Bey and the other Monday night rookies perform tonight, but I am looking just as much towards next week with a few of the rookies with possible good games. I would look for Harvin against the Lions, Moreno against the Browns, and Brown against Miami.