New York Jets - Tight End fantasysharks.com Tue 6/24/14 8:00 AM

In looking at the New York Jets' tight end situation, the overall consensus is that Jace Amaro is going to be the eventual starter and fantasy point scorer at tight end for the Jets. Jeff Cumberland is expected to be the in-line tight end and not make a contribution in the passing game. That is why Amaro is going between the 11th and 13th Rounds in most drafts. If you look at the numbers, they paint a different picture. Jace Amaro ran only a 4.7 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine. In contrast, Jeff Cumberland ran a 4.46. Jace Amaro was a product of the system at Texas Tech. He hardly ever had to line up in tight. He played the slot and was able to beat slower outside linebackers and strong safeties in the passing game. He was also able to block smaller defensive backs in the running game. In the Jets' West Coast Offense he will be asked to do more in-line blocking. He will have to block linebackers and not small defensive backs. This is something he has never done and will have to work at to get better. Amaro is supposed to create matchup problems for the defense lining up in the slot and split out wide, but running only a 4.7 40 time he will not be able to beat most NFL outside linebackers in one-on-one matchups as he did in college. He is supposed to be in the Jimmy Graham mold, but Jimmy Graham runs in the 4.5 range. In rating Jeff Cumberland , he has excellent athletic ability, great speed and hands. His route running needs a little work, but where he really struggles is blocking. This is not a surprise considering that while in college he was used as a wide receiver at the University of Illinois much like Jace Amaro was used in the slot. The struggles include both run and pass blocking. This is what kept him off the field last year and what kept Kellen Winslow on the field. Kellen Winslow is gone now and all that is left at tight end for the Jets is Cumberland, Jace Amaro and Zach Sudfeld. Out of all these players Jeff Cumberland is actually the best blocker, so that will not keep him off the field. The Jets expect big things from Cumberland this year and that is why he was signed to a $5.7 million contract, which actually is larger than what Amaro is getting paid at around $4.3 million. In conclusion, don't buy in on Jace Amaro 's hype and don't count out Jeff Cumberland just because he did not break out last year as he was supposed to.

Rookie Review - Week 7 fantasysharks.com Wed 10/16/13 9:00 AM1 Comment

Quarterback Geno Smith -- Smith did not have a lot of time in the pocket because the Pittsburgh Steelers were after him all day. Smith ended up 19-of-34 for 201 yards and two interceptions. He also suffered three sacks and ran three times for eight yards. The Jets could not do much offensively and that may continue with Santonio Holmes still hurt, Mike Goodson out for the year, and Kellen Winslow suspended for four games. You may want to look elsewhere for quarterback help. Mike Glennon -- To be perfectly honest, I didn't think Glennon had much of a chance. But then again, nothing cures what ails you like playing against the Philadelphia defense. Glennon was 26-of-43 for 273 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He did this with one of his starting wideouts hurt also. How will he do against better defenses? Can he improve once Mike Williams returns? Running Back Giovani Bernard -- Bernard struggled running the ball, but he more than made up for it with his skills in the passing game. Bernard only had 28 yards on 15 rushes against Buffalo; however, he did catch 6-of-7 balls for 72 yards and a very nice touchdown run after the reception. He continues to show that he is exciting with the ball in his hands. Eddie Lacy -- Could we see a change in the game plan for Green Bay? The Packers had two wide receivers go down with injury on Sunday and the depth chart is looking very thin. Green Bay may decide to run the ball more often going forward, and Lacy is just the man to do it. Lacy looked really good on Sunday with 23 carries for 120 yards and he also had one catch for five yards. He may have a bigger workload for a while. Andre Ellington -- Once again this week, Ellington out-produced Rashard Mendenhall. Ellington had seven carries for 56 yards and a touchdown and also had five catches for 36 yards. The coaching staff has talked about Ellington only getting about 30-35 snaps a game because of his size. When will they realize that they should give him more chances to see how he holds up? Ellington deserves the chance to show what he can do. If he is still on your waiver wire, add him. Khiry Robinson -- Robinson continues to do well in the absence of Mark Ingram. Robinson had seven rushes for 53 yards and a touchdown against New England. What will happen when Ingram comes back? Robinson has shown he deserves chances on the field, but will the Saints give him the chance with all the other mouths to feed? Zac Stacy -- It appears that the St. ...

Feast or Famine - Week 1 fantasysharks.com Sat 9/7/13 2:30 PM29 Comments

Welcome to the Fantasy Sharks debut and Week 1 edition of Feast or Famine! Every week I will predict if certain players will produce above (Feast) or below (Famine) our player projections. A couple guys this week may be obvious, but some might surprise you. FEAST Eddie Lacy RB, Green Bay Packers Projection: 3 Fantasy Points Lacy will get a majority of the work this Sunday with only John Kuhn and Johnathan Franklin to compete with for the valuable carries. Lacy will be able to hold his own as DuJuan Harris managed 4.8 yards per carry in Green Bay's playoff loss to San Francisco. Arian Foster RB, Houston Texans Projection: 5 Fantasy Points Houston had 508 rush attempts in 2012 which ranked 4th in the NFL. They are a run first team and Foster is their stud. I understand that Ben Tate will be in the mix and that Foster had some preseason injury concerns, but he will get enough touches to do his thing. San Diego is nothing special and will most likely be down early, which means even more running plays for Houston. Remember last year, when Houston was going to ease him back in after his hamstring injury? He put up 79 yards and two touchdowns against a decent Miami run defense. Terrelle Pryor QB, Oakland Raiders Projection: 11 Fantasy Points A lot of people are talking about how terrible Oakland is on defense (offense too) and how Indianapolis is going to blow them out. That's all fine and probably true. However, people aren't talking about how bad Indianapolis is on defense or Pryor's ability to run! Two great components for fantasy production by a quarterback. For what its worth, Pryor had 299 all purpose yards and three touchdowns in his lone start last year. Jordan Cameron TE, Cleveland Browns Projection: 4 Fantasy Points Cameron has been getting a lot of buzz this preseason, and rightfully so. Tight ends flourish under Cleveland's new head coach Rob Chudzinski and offensive coordinator Norv Turner. For example, look at what Kellen Winslow turned into during the 2007 season with Chudzinski. Cameron will see a lot of action this week with Josh Gordon out and he is the only real red zone threat in the passing game. FAMINE Doug Martin RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Projection: 18 Fantasy Points Even though it is fun and easy to make fun of the New York Jets and Rex Ryan, you have to give them credit where credit is due - they play good defense. Martin is a stud but he will not be flying out of the gates this fantasy season. Rex Ryan ...

Should You Draft Him?: Cleveland Browns fantasysharks.com Tue 7/23/13 8:00 AM

Ah, the Cleveland Browns. I had designs on writing multiple paragraphs packed with hilarious one-liners about how indescribably craptacular this franchise is. Pointing out that the team hasn't won more than five games since 2007 totally rub salt in the wounds of their long-suffering fanbase. Pointing out that the New Kids on the Block have made more Super Bowl appearances than the Cleveland Browns would be a brutal illustration of this team's long history of futility. As much as I would like to exacerbate the pain and suffering that the Browns have wrought upon the hardworking city of Cleveland, writing about sports and bagging on the Browns' lack of real life success is like a comedian telling jokes about bad airline food. It's like a self-professed social critic pointing out that Paris Hilton and the Kardashians are famous for nothing. It's like an audiophile saying that the sound quality of Beats by Dre headphones fails to completely live up to the price tag. It's like detailing plot holes in Back to the Future. What you're saying is correct, but we're all tired of hearing about it so shut up and move on already. But there are a few dead horses I want to beat because they bear relevance to the topic of the fantasy viability of Cleveland's roster. In the last 25 seasons, a Browns running back hit 1,000 rushing yards in only four of them. They have only had two 1,000-yard receivers in the last 11 seasons. There has only been one 4,000-yard passer in Browns history and that was Brian Sipe in 1980. The only tight end not named Ozzie Newsome or Kellen Winslow Jr. who managed to eclipse 500 receiving yards in a season in the past 40 years is Ben Watson, who just recently decided that standing on the New Orleans Saints' sidelines is preferable to starting in Cleveland. So while there does exist a Brown or two that I would consider to be draft worthy, I urge you to consider the half century of suckitude before investing a precious draft pick on a guy who bears that telltale monochromatic helmet. As a former Ohio resident, I have personally witnessed the drafting habits of Browns fans and I know nothing I say will sway them from taking Greg Little in Round 8, because gosh darn it, it's his third season and I just got this gut feeling he'll break out, but there's still hope for the rest of you who consider my simple "Should you draft him or not based on his average draft position?" system. Let's go! (Average Draft Position is based on data from standard ...

Instant Analysis: Kellen Winslow traded to Seattle dynastyleaguefootball.com Tue 5/22/12 11:25 AM

Kellen Winslow and Dallas Clark are on the move. We analyze things from a fantasy perspective.

Touch Me, Baby: Week 7 Targets and Touches Report brunoboys.net Thu 10/27/11 12:40 AM1 Comment

We focus heavily on targets here at Touch Me, Baby, but even a high target count doesn't guarantee production. We see a few examples of this in this week's graphs, but the two major examples come from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense with Mike Williams and Kellen Winslow showing major discrepancies between their target numbers and total stats over the course of the year. When it comes to passing game targets, the quarterback can make you or break you, but even when they have a preference for your player the quarterback's limitations as a passer can really skew the numbers.

Touch Me, Baby: Week 7 Targets and Touches Report brunoboys.net Thu 10/27/11 12:40 AM

We focus heavily on targets here at Touch Me, Baby, but even a high target count doesn't guarantee production. We see a few examples of this in this week's graphs, but the two major examples come from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense with Mike Williams and Kellen Winslow showing major discrepancies between their target numbers and total stats over the course of the year. When it comes to passing game targets, the quarterback can make you or break you, but even when they have a preference for your player the quarterback's limitations as a passer can really skew the numbers.