Hogs' Wilson makes O'Brien cut

Arkansas' Tyler Wilson was the only SEC quarterback named as one of 16 semifinalists for the 2011 Davey O'Brien national quarterback award.

Wilson leads the SEC with 2,011 passing yards and has thrown 12 touchdown passes and three interceptions.

Given how steady he's been, it's a little surprising that LSU senior quarterback Jarrett Lee didn't make the cut. Lee leads the SEC in pass efficiency and has thrown 13 touchdown passes and only one interception. He's also completing 63.2 percent of his passes.

Here's a complete list of the 16 semifinalists: Matt Barkley, USCTajh Boyd, ClemsonKirk Cousins, Michigan StateSeth Doege, Texas TechRobert Griffin III, BaylorLandry Jones, OklahomaCase Keenum, HoustonAndrew Luck, StanfordKellen Moore, Boise StateKeith Price, WashingtonDenard Robinson, MichiganRyan Tannehill, Texas A&MDarron Thomas, OregonBrandon Weeden, Oklahoma StateRussell Wilson, WisconsinTyler Wilson, Arkansas

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Jahvid Best's history makes future unclear

Amateur doctors can look at the facts of Jahvid Best's concussion history. They are documented. One resulted from a frightening fall while playing at Cal in 2009. Two have come in the past two months for the Detroit Lions, following hits that were mild enough to go unnoticed while watching the game live. 2011 STATS

We can look at those facts, fear for Best's long-term health and wonder if he should take some substantial time away from the game to evaluate his future.

At the same time, of course, we have no idea about the circumstances of Best's current condition. Are his symptoms mild? Severe? Have his test results looked good? Are they alarming? So from this vantage point, it's difficult to do anything other than await word from Best himself.

(On Wednesday, Best tweeted: "Thanks for all your tweets and prayers. I'm taking everything one day at a time.")

It's worth noting, however, that Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com reported that people close to Best are "expressing concern" about playing again this season. Presumably, those people know more about the specific circumstances of this concussion than we do. They could also be people who love him and simply don't want to see him in harm's way anytime soon.

All of this is to say that we should take Best's situation very, very seriously. No one is trying to raise alarms. In truth, we don't even know for sure that he won't play Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, even though it seems pretty unlikely at the moment. His history, combined with still-emerging concerns about the long-term affects of concussions, simply makes this a complex issue that isn't likely to go away anytime soon.

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What a rush: Forte makes case on field for new deal

When you join Hall of Famers Walter Payton and Gale Sayers as the only Bears running backs ever to rush for 200 yards in a game, you’re big-time in Chicago.

The Chicago Sun Times highlighted Matt Forte‘s career-high 205-yard game against the Panthers with a distinct Chi-Town headline on its cover that WWE fans can certainly appreciate.

Speaking of appreciation, Forte has made it clear that he’s not feeling it from Bears GM Jerry Angelo. Forte isn’t happy about playing out the final year of his rookie contract for $600,000. He wants a new deal — sooner rather than later. Can you blame him?

Forte is second in the NFL only to Wes Welker for yards from scrimmage with 634 (by one yard, too). His value to the Bears, with their crappy offensive line and correlating inconsistency from QB Jay Cutler, is ridiculous — definitely more than $600,000. Still, Forte said Monday that negotiations have been dead between his camp and the Bears.

“Currently we haven’t really been talking,” Forte said on ESPN 1000-AM. “After some of the games my agent has called them a few times, but no progress has really been made since then. But hopefully today or this week they will be talking again.”

Based on his comments Monday on “Around the League”, Heath Evans probably can’t understand, either, what’s taking so long for Angelo to pony up the cash.

“Any team in the league would die to have this back,” Evans said. “He catches the ball, he protects his quarterback, he understands route combinations, he understands how he fits into each and every play. You watch this kid play on a Sunday afternoon, he knows what’s going on. And that’s rare.

“A lot of backs just want to get the ball and take off. This kid studies the game. He knows what he’s seeing, and he knows how to exploit defenses. … This offense, this defense, this team is tied to his success.”

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Monday Nightmare: Close makes it harder

Adam Rank | Tags: Monday Nightmare, LeGarrette Blount, Pierre Garcon

Seriously, you could not score one more touchdown? (Associated Press)

One of the worst things that can happen to you in fantasy football is hope. That glimmer of hope that makes you believe that your team can pull off the impossible. And trailing my buddy Scotty J. by 51 points after his team (with Wes Welker and Beanie Wells) went nuts, I had resigned myself to the loss despite having LeGarrette Blount and Pierre Garcongoing on Monday.

In fact, I sent him a text saying, “hey if Blount has 150 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Garcon has 150 yards and a touchdown, I am back in business,” I joked.

And when Garcon scored his first touchdown, he quickly fired me a text before I make the — what seemed gratuitous — “only 40 points to go jokes.” Needless to say the texts got less jovial and nonexistent once Blount scored on his 35-yard touchdown run. Even I did not want to jinx things by pointing out that I was now suddenly within striking distance.

But we all know how this turned out, Garcon could not catch another pass, Blount would not score again, and my hopes which had been mounting as the impossible drew closer to my grasp were now dashed. But that’s fantasy football, right?

So let’s all vent here. There is nothing I can say that will help you, but I will let you know that it feels better to get it out. Consider this one great big therapy couch, and the rest of us are here to help.

Let it out, you will feel better when you do.

You can receive daily fantasy advice from Rank via Twitter or via Facebook. Be sure to catch the latest on the Dave Dameshek Football Program.

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Martz makes it hurt to be Cutler

Published: September 27th, 2011 | Tags: Around the League, Chicago Bears, Jay Cutler, Mike Martz

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Poor Jay Cutler. The guy has been pummeled during his time with the Bears thanks to Mike Martz’s pass-happy offense and his reluctance to scale back, even as Chicago’s offensive line has proven to be softer than Jell-o.

“Jay’s been here for two years and three games,” Tom Waddle said Tuesday on “Around the League”. “Over the course of that time in a Bears uniform, he’s been sacked 101 times. … Up front, that offensive line has really struggled to protect Jay.”

Ya think? And Michael Vick thinks he has it bad.

Martz might want to think about running it more — if not for Cutler’s sake, then maybe the Bears’ defense, which can use a rest from time to time.

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Cooley makes start for Redskins

Published: September 11th, 2011 | Tags: Chris Cooley, Washington Redskins, Week 1 injuries 2011

When the Redskins took the field for their first offensive drive of Sunday’s game against the Giants, TE Chris Cooley was back in his usual spot in the starting lineup.

Cooley, who missed the entire preseason because of a sore and swollen knee, officially was questionable for the game but was kept off the inactive list.

– Frank Tadych

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Manning makes like Westbrook, MJD and slides!

Published: December 26th, 2010 | Tags: Brian Westbrook, Jerome Simpson, Larry Fitzgerald, Maurice Jones-Drew, Michael Vick, Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Reggie Wayne, Tim Tebow, Tom Brady, Wes Welker

Remember when Emperor Palpatine told Darth Vader (formerly Anakin Skywalker) that in his anger he had killed Padme Amidala (the love of his life) at the end of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith? That “Nooooooo!” Vader screamed at the realization of his actions was one of the most memorable (and humorous) parts of the film.

I think I heard that same yell from fantasy owners when Peyton Manning decided to slide near the goal line rather than score a touchdown against the Raiders.

In a play that would have been more likely called for someone like Michael Vick or Tim Tebow, Manning took off for 27 yards on a naked bootleg and ran inside the Raiders’ 5-yard line. But rather than continue on into the end zone for the touchdown, Manning slid down short as a defender closed in behind him.

Had Manning continued to run and scored, he would have finished with closer to 24 fantasy points instead of the 17 he recorded in lieu of the touchdown. If you’re a fantasy historian, you’ll remember that Brian Westbrook made a similar decision against the Cowboys in 2007.

Maurice Jones-Drew did the same thing in a game against the Jets last season, and he had himself in a fantasy league!

Of course, Westbrook and Jones-Drew didn’t slide and cost owners a touchdown in championship week.

But in a week where Tebow outscored Manning, Philip Rivers and Tom Brady and Jerome Simpson put up more fantasy points than Larry Fitzgerald, Vincent Jackson, Reggie Wayne and Wes Welker combined, well, I guess it’s all par for the course.

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Post mortem: A lineman again makes an impact

Poor Chargers QB Philip Rivers, four touchdowns and nobody is going to bother to notice. Not after Eagles QB Michael Vick set the bar so high. At least he’s in the mix for Hall of Fame QB Dan Marino‘s single-season passing record.

But let’s look at the fantasy highlights.

Fantasy Superstar

Raiders DE Richard Seymour made the play of the week when he decked Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. Like the Redskins defensive backs who taunted Eagles WR DeSean Jackson, this unsportsmanlike conduct seemed to further inspire the Steelers. So much so, that Roethlisberger was still throwing the ball in the waning moments. Big Ben’s toss to Isaac Redman came after the two-minute warning with the Steelers holding a commanding lead.

Not that fantasy enthusiasts are complaining. In fact, more teams should use this approach. Remember, one of the NFL playoff tiebreakers is net points.

Best player nobody was playing

Colts QB Peyton Manning continues to make stars of unknown players. Undrafted rookie WR Blair White had a pair of touchdowns. White was started in less than 1 percent of leagues. And even fewer in leagues outside of East Lansing, Mich. White could be a solid play if WR Austin Collie is held out because of concussion symptoms.

Worst player that everybody was playing

This is rather amazing, but Texans WR Andre Johnson was started in 83 percent fantasy leagues on NFL.com. (Not the 100 percent as I previously mentioned. I believe that I was merely wishing 100 percent of us had started him.) Still, with 83 percent of us starting Dre this week, I certainly don’t feel as bad about the next entry.

By the numbers

93 – That is the combined score (in my league’s scoring) of the guys I benched: Roethlisberger, Bills WR Stevie Johnson and Bengals RB Cedric Benson. And my team is named the Benson Burner.

24 – The points from the guys I started ahead of them: Vick, Dre, and Raiders RB Darren McFadden.

Here’s why you should heed your own advice and follow your gut.

When did you become so good?

Remember when Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe was on the verge of being labeled a bust? Me neither.

Who are you, and why are you impacting my team?

There are a number of high-profile quarterbacks putting up huge fantasy numbers this season. Vick, Roethlisberger, and Packers QB Aaron Rodgers are a few of the signal callers who have been fantasy gold. Not to mention the old reliable guys like Peyton Manning and Saints QB Drew Brees. Even Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been solid.

But while the highs are soaring, the league is also putting out guys like Panthers QB Brian St. Pierre and Dolphins QB Tyler Thigpen — the Rooster, for whom I still have a soft spot. And now QB Rusty Smith will likely start for the Titans this week with Vince Young on IR and Kerry Collins a week or two away.

And I joked about it on Sunday, but I would almost consider starting Smith against the Texans this week. However, you would have to be in a pretty dire situation.

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Rams coach makes some odd choices for playing time Sunday

Coach Spagnuolo said that their reasoning for starting Kevin Dockery over Bradley Fletcher at starting corner which had disastrous consequences was because “we’ve got a number of corners, a number of guys that are competing all the time,”. Now, I know Coach Spagnuolo is an honorable guy and does not want to rip Fletcher in the press for having bad practices or taking plays off and I think that’s a very honorable way to go about coaching and I’m sure his players appreciate that.  But, for us as fans it is infuriating.

Fletcher has had a good short career in St. Louis when he has been healthy.  He’s got burned a few times over 8 weeks, but everyone in the Rams secondary has.  Fletcher has been a better corner facing off against better wide receivers for the Rams in 2010, plain and simple.  Why are we suddenly giving starts for “good play”.  If Dockery plays well at nickel corner, that is great, he has earned himself another game at nickel corner.

Why are the Rams suddenly using a rotational system at their starting CB position, not to mention outside linebacker.  Additionally, let’s not get started on the rotation practice that they have used at right guard this year and tackle in the past.

This is not the preseason.  The Rams should not be giving reps on the basis of the last good game, they should be giving starts and reps based on who is going to have a good game this week.  The game against San Francisco was the biggest game of the Rams season and they started out by playing Kevin Dockery at 2nd corner.  The 49ers targeted and exploited Dockery twice in the opening quarter.

The regular season is not a test track and every position cannot be swapped in and out as easily as defensive linemen.  The Rams have precious little depth and they do not need to waste time giving out starts like little league trophies.  Play the best guy for this week. Period.

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