Fred Taylor Released, Let the Maurice Jones-Drew Lovefest Begin

For the first time in his 11 year career, long-time Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor will not be playing for the Jaguars next season due to something other than an injury. After reportedly offering to take a pay cut in order to stay with his long time employers, the 33-year-old Taylor, who was due to make six-million dollars in base salary in 2009, was released Monday and is now a free agent. The news shouldn't come as a surprise in this time of economic recession, which has displayed fairly transparently that sub-par things simply can not survive no matter how cheap or local they are.

However, Taylor has said that he is not at all ready to retire as the Jacksonville organization asked of him, but is "excited" to enter free agency for the first time in his NFL career.

Taylor did have 654 total yards on 159 touches last season and could very conceivably be brought in to help out a team looking for veteran leadership in a backfield that already has an established starting tailback. And a good team doctor.

This news more probably will have a greater impact on the team Taylor is leaving, the Jacksonville Jaguars, which now seems to be fully committed to the small, quick, powerful, and very hyphenated 23-year-old Maurice Jones-Drew. Which basically gives every fantasy football playing human daydream fodder for the rest of the off season.

Now being in a position to shoulder the full load of backfield touches, Jones-Drew, who had 1,389 yards and 14 touchdowns on 259 rushes and receptions in his third NFL season in 2008, will most likely be the sexiest player on 2009 draft boards.

Make sure to watch the Jaguars for any moves they make to bring in a cheaper option at backup RB and the 32,723 coming probations of MoJo's career yards per carry rate over some number defined as a full Jacksonville running back workload.

Florida Times Union

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Ed Werder's Wrong Again: T.O.'s Going Nowhere

Terrell Owens is staying in Dallas. ESPN's Ed Werder reported that the Dallas Cowboys would have discussions about whether to drop star receiver T.O. "The big one [Owens] didn't get discussed yet, but I'm sure it will and real hard," said his source, after the Cowboys released Adam "Pacman" Jones. But Drew Rosenhaus, Owens' agent, refuted the speculation in a radio interview. "It's not going to happen. The reason why they got rid of Pacman is because Pacman has terrible off-the-field problems, and the guy just simply can't play anymore. He's just not that good. "Terrell's never had off-the-field problems, and he's been one of the greatest players ever. ... He's not going anywhere." T.O. has had more off-the-field problems than Rosenhaus claims, but he's right about one thing: T.O. is staying in Dallas. Werder's report is wrong on more than one account. As well as reporting that T.O. may be dropped, he said that the reason would be to easier sign star linebacker Demarcus Ware:

But Jerry Jones just last year invested a $12 million signing bonus in Owens, which means there would be salary-cap fallout. In fact, Jerry Jones has suggested that there might be enough damage that the team would find it difficult to sign NFL sack leader DeMarcus Ware to a new contract.

The Dallas Morning News then pointed out that should T.O. be dropped, he would count $680,000 more against the Cowboys' salary cap than if he were kept and paid his 2009 salary of $8.99 million. Fantasy owners, don't panic. ESPN was wrong.
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Matt Cassel to be Franchised; What About Tom Brady?

It's looking more and more likely that the New England Patriots will put the franchise tag on first-year starter Matt Cassel. The news was first reported by Mike Lombardi, then confirmed by Chris Mortensen. Placing the franchise tag would cost the Patriots $14.835 million, the average salary of the five-highest quarterbacks in the league from the prior season. The Patriots would be paying more than $29 million for two quarterbacks next year; injured backup Tom Brady has a salary of $14.6 million in 2009. With Matt Cassel franchised, the Patriots would have two options: trade him if Brady's knee heals, or keep Cassel should Brady's rehab from injury not go as planned. Teams that could become major factors in the Cassel sweepstakes include two NFC North teams, the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. The Lions have already announced their intention to take a quarterback at No. 1 in the draft. Minnesota was rumored to be interested in Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb last offseason, and their poor and inconsistent quarterback play for the Vikings this year should not change that stance. In the case that Brady's knee is not fully recovered by Week One, fantasy owners would be best to avoid either New England quarterback for the time being. Both would be top-10 quarterbacks with no competition (with the edge going to Brady), but Brady would likely take over the job midway through the year if he were to recover.
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Shanahan's Karma Party Continues: More Running Backs On IR

There is a God. And he does care about sports. And Mike Shanahan must have gotten on his bad side. It's the only way to explain the injuries to his running backs this year—the same running backs he's taunted Fantasy Football-dom with for 124,098 years—that now have slew PJ Pope and Selvin Young. The Denver Broncos coach said Monday that both backs are expected to be placed on injured reserve this week. Pope tore his hamstring and Young ruptured a disk in his neck in Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. They'll be the sixth and seven running backs to be placed on IR for Denver this season. Tatum Bell is the only tailback left standing, so he could be a nice flex play against the Chargers if you have a championship game Week 17. Although if I was Bell, the last thing I'd want to do is step into the Broncos backfield that pretty much knifes every new starter in the cornea each week. Some dudes named Cory Boyd—from the Bronco's practice squad—and Alex Haynes—signed after being waived by Denver in November—may also have a chance to be slaughtered by the Shanahan curse this weekend as well. Neither have any fantasy value unless your league awards points for deaths.
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Matt Jones's Foot Locker Credit Card Exploits Finally Catch Up With Him

Well, Joey Porter should be happy. Months, literally months, after Matt Jones was caught chopping up some coke with a credit card in the back of a van, probably down by the river, the NFL has finally come to a decision concerning the Jaguars wide receiver who somehow emerged as a legitimate fantasy starter this season. Jones will begin his three game suspension on Sunday after his appeal was shot down by the No Fun League. Sucks for Jacksonville; they'll never make the playoffs now.... I guess some dud named Mike Walker is going to take over Jones's starting role. Jerry Porter will get more touches too. You don't need to remember either of those names. I imagine that Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor's production will stay around the same level, so they'll continue to score touchdowns and stink. David Garrard already was a bum this season. This won't change anything. Expect probably make him more of a bum. It is a shame that the most ghetto white guy in professional sports this side of Doug Christie's breakout season would be cut short though. Although I'm sure he has plenty of fun things to do with his newfound free time.
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Peyton Hillis Out For Season; Tatum Bell a Starter?

Chris Mortensen was right, for once. Mortensen reported early this afternoon that Denver Broncos rookie running back Peyton Hillis was out for the year with a torn hamstring, which was confirmed by the Broncos, who formally put Hillis on the IR shortly after the report. "I said, 'Tatum, you can't go down. That's it,'" said Coach Mike Shanahan after Hillis went down with the injury. Hillis' injury is the sixth for a Broncos back this year; Andre Hall, Michael Pittman, Ryan Torain, and Anthony Aldridge are currently on the IR, and former starter Selvin Young has been out for two months with a torn groin. Tatum Bell and P.J. Pope will contend with Cory Boyd for the starting job. Then again, with Shanahan as head coach, you never know if he'll sign Shaun Alexander and put him in the starting role. Bell gained 68 total yards on 13 attempts in filling in for Hillis Sunday against the Chiefs. That 5.23 yards per touch average is significantly worse than the 5.86 that the Chiefs have given up on the year. Neither Bell nor Pope should perform to the extent that Hillis did (average of 16.6 fantasy points in his last four). That said, Bell should get 15 carries a game in the final three games against the Panthers, Bills, and Chargers. Selvin Young practiced fully on Friday but was inactive for Sunday's game. If he is healthy for the final three games, I like him more than both Bell and Pope. As for Hillis, feel free to drop him in even the deepest of dynasty or keeper leagues. Eventually we'll fill in for Shanny. FFWritersWithHair@gmail.com
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Burress Shoots Himself In Foot (Figuratively This Time); Deuce and Others Suspended

A few days after shooting himself in the leg at a nightclub, Plaxico Burress has been suspended by the New York Giants for four games. He was placed on the non-football injury reserve list, ending his season. Burress currently faces two counts of illegal weapon possession, and if convicted without pleading down the charge, he faces a minimum jail sentence of three and-a-half years with a maximum sentence of 15 years. Burress can obviously be dropped in any single-year leagues, and at this point, isn't even a keeper option. Granted, that could change depending on how the case pans out. Domenik Hixon will continue to start in Burress' place and is definitely worth picking up in all leagues. Eli Manning's value shouldn't be effected though; he's played well in Burress' absence, throwing for 545 yards and four touchdowns the past two games. Amani Toomer along with Kevin Boss get boosts in their respective value. Antonio Pierce, allegedly involved during the time of the shooting, has not been disciplined by either the team or league, but is still under investigation. Derrick Ward's name has been cleared in the case.

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In other news, six players were suspended by the league today for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. Those players are as follows:

1. Deuce McAllister/RB New Orleans
2. Charles Grant/DE New Orleans
3. Will Smith/DE New Orleans
4. Bryan Pittman/LS Houston
5. Kevin Williams/DT Minnesota
6. Pat Williams/DT Minnesota

Fantasy Impact:

Grant's, Smith's, and Pittman's suspensions have little to no impact. With Deuce out for the rest of the regular season, Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush will share the carries. Thomas has played well lately, and has more value than Bush until Reggie shows that he's fully healed from his injury. The Vikings' defensive line is decimated because of these suspensions. Opposing offenses should have a much easier time running the ball with a 650-plus-pound wall gone. Good news for Kevin Smith, Tim Hightower, and Michael Turner owners. [Ed's note: The Vikings' remaining games come against the Lions, Cardinals, and Falcons, as well as the Giants in Week 17.] Offenses' passing games get a boost, too, as the Vikings may have to stack the box and be more run-focused to make up for the loss of the Williams duo. [Writer's note: A federal judge blocked the suspensions on all the players involved except for Bryan Pittman. This means the other five players will be be eligble to play this week.]

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SJax, Reggie Bush: Will they play?

Steven Jackson: Jackson returned to practice Wednesday and should be good to go on Sunday against the Dolphins. On Monday coach Jim Haslett said of Jackson that he was "optimistic" Jackson would return. In his six games before he was injured against the Cardinals, Jackson had a per-game line of 24 touches, 128 total yards and 16.8 fantasy points. In Weeks Four through Seven, he averaged 158 yards, 23.8 fantasy points and had four touchdowns in those three games. Start him with confidence. Reggie Bush: After missing the past four games due to a left knee injury, Bush feels he can return this week, saying, "I definitely feel like this is the week." The Times-Picayune reported that his workload in practice has increased each of the past two week. In his first six games, before he was injured in the Carolina game, Bush was averaging a solid 20 touches for 100 yards and a score, along with 15 fantasy points per game. That said, Bush isn't a great start this week due to his matchup against the Buccaneers, who give up just 11.5 fantasy points to opposing running backs. He's a low-end No. 2 back and a good flex play this week. We think it's just a coincidence that two quarterbacks named "Brady" are out for the year. FFWritersWithHair@gmail.com
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McNabb to Start Thursday

After being benched for Kevin Kolb at halftime after turning the ball over three times on Sunday, Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb will keep his starting job for next week. So have no fear; confidently start Donovan. Andy Reid knows that he'll bounce back and that good times are coming! Says the head coach: "Sometimes you have to step back to step forward in a positive way and Donovan will do that." McNabb owners really shouldn't be too worried at all. There's a very simple solution, as Reid explains. "I need to coach better. Donovan needs to play better and the guys around Donovan need to play better." If you think that all that is possible for the 5-5-1 Philadelphia squad, then keep DMac in your starting line up. And for the rest of the year? Well, McNabb's starting role seems secure. After being questioned about how the position will look for the rest of the season, Reid consulted with Terrell Owens and answered, "As I sit here right now, he's my quarterback," Reid said. "I'm telling you he's the starting quarterback. If I thought different, then I'd start the other guy." Well thanks for clearing that up Andy. We'll always be lovin' you the way we wanted too. FFWritersWithHair@gmail.com
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Earnest Graham's "Status in Question," Says Gruden

"His status for the rest of the season is very much in question. [I]t doesn't look like he'll play anytime soon." Those are the words of Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden regarding Earnest Graham, who was injured on his first carry in the Bucs' 19-13 win Sunday. The loss of Graham for possibly the rest of the year is huge for the Bucs and my two fantasy leagues in which I own him; the Fantasy Hall-of-Famer was a top-20 running back, even including his one-carry performance on Sunday. His absence paves the way for Warrick Dunn, who gained 118 total yards on 24 touches Sunday without Graham and is averaging 8.2 fantasy points per game on the year, and Cadillac Williams, who will be returning this week against the Lions. Dunn shoots up into a slot in the top-25 running backs with Graham gone. Right now I'd rank Caddy somewhere in the low 30's among RBs, but he's a huge risk/reward player and is a better waiver wire option than current backups such as Rudi Johnson and LeRon McLain. Think of Dunn as someone around the BenJarvus Green-Ellis range (before Sammy Morris comes back) and Caddy as someone near the Ricky Williams range.
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Steven Jackson Already Ruled Out For Week 12

Remember this?

"So to be clear: I am playing. Be ready."

Jackson titled that blog post on his website, "Game On." He posted the message before week nine. We can officially add S-Jax to the ever growing list of unreliable sources of NFL news. Because 16 days later, Jackson is nowhere close to 100 percent. The Rams have already come out this week and said that he's not going to be ready for this next week's game. Clearly they are positive he's not good to go. And when a player is positively not good to go, it's not good. As in, that's my car rolling down the hill, not good. It gets worse. Jim Haslett said doctors "feel he should be out this week, and rest him, and see what happens next week." Translation: That's your fantasy team rolling out of the playoffs, not good. Don't expect anything from him anytime soon. No matter what his blog says. We knew that there were ties in the NFL. FFWritersWithHair@gmail.com
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Adam Schefter Gets Something Wrong, Willie Parker Did Not Tear His Labrum, Pigs in California Grow Wings

It rained all day today in San Diego. Two monks got into a fight near the tomb of Jesus Christ. And Adam Schefter reported false information about Willie Parker's injury situation. There is no doubt in my mind that the world is coming to an end. When Schefter blogged that Parker had a torn labrum, I noddingly took note. There was no reason for doubt. No sign of potential wrongness. But now Parker is denying the report, saying that no one has ever told him that he has a torn shoulder muscle. And he, along with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, believes that he will play again next week against the Chargers. Now that is cool and all, start FWP in all your leagues, he was a stud before the injury, if Mewelde Moore can roll then Parker should dominate, ya, ya all that jazz, but the real story here is Schefter's misinformation. Who does the world turn to for reliable NFL news now? Chris Mortensen? I can hear the screams already. John Clayton? Jared Allen laughs at that. Jay Glazer? A guy with a goatee is at the forefront of professional football reporting? May God reincarnate Peter Gammons as an NFL writer. Tomorrow. We'd love to hear about how we won the lottery in Haiti. FFWritersWithHair@gmail.com
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Jackson Out Another Week, Torain On IR, Both Also Have Stolen Your Identity and Keyed Your Car

Why is it that Sheriff Goodell fines every defensive player who touches a quarterback to protect them from injury, when running backs and wide receivers are dropping like it's hot? Steven Jackson's quad injury is keeping him out for another game and his seemingly bright, no, blinding season outlook after four straight weeks of 100 yards from Weeks Three to Seven continues to be set back. Haslett has publicly ruled him out for the Rams' matchup at the New York Jets. Ryan Torain also adds himself to a list of Denver running backs out for the season, tearing his ACL on Thursday, forcing him to warm benches and trainer's tables, with Michael Pittman and Andre Hall for the next few months. Continuing down the injury index, Selvin Young, the last remaining halfback in I'm pretty sure all of Colorado to not be out for the rest of 2008, is doubtful to suit up in Atlanta next weekend with a groin injury. Geezus.
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Kellen Winslow Suspended, LJ Next?

Suspensions are going around like a cold these days. Or like NFL fines. Unlike bye weeks, they're unexpected (unless you play in an IDP league and owned Pacman Jones—who didn't see that coming?) and can really shake up your lineup. Which players' wallets will be a little emptier this week? - As the title states, the Browns have suspended tight end Kellen Winslow for comments he made about how the Browns handled his time in the hospital. Winslow was quoted as saying that he "felt like a piece of meat." Winslow's suspension will last one game, this week in Jacksonville. Tally up another woe of the Browns' offense this season. And though the Jacksonville pass defense hasn't been the teams strength this season, it's been getting healthier with the return of Drayton Florence and Reggie Nelson possibly coming back. Steve Heiden will likely be Winslow's replacement, but he isn't a viable pickup in most leagues. - Reports are that Larry Johnson of the Chiefs is likely to be made inactive again by Kansas City if the NFL doesn't suspend him first. Bear in mind, though, that Chris Mortensen broke this story. The very same Chris Mortensen who broke this story last season. In other words, I'm not buying this as 100 percent correct. If you ask me, I think Mort's source is Pinocchio. However, this is a situation to monitor on the off-chance Mort's report is accurate. If Johnson doesn't play, Jamaal Charles or Kolby Smith will get the the start. Neither are good options though; the Chiefs' offense is just plain terrible and they will be going against a Jets defense that ranks fourth in the league in run defense. - One other little piece of suspension news to hand down to you. Matt Jones, wide receiver for Jacksonville, has been suspended three games for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. Reggie Williams is likely to take over as the main target in Jones' absence. Mike Walker has upside, but a knee injury could cost him a golden opportunity. Got burning questions that you desperately need some random people you read online to answer? If so, drop us a line at FFWritersWithHair@gmail.com
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