| Not getting the emails yet? - Just enter your email in the box to the left and hit enter. Yahoo will send you a confirmation email. Simply hit the reply button to this email and you will start getting the emails like everyone else. |
Email Update 7/11/02 Volume 3 Issue # 27
IN THIS ISSUE
1. Footballguys.com hammering with content
2. Subscription Information
3. Falcons Courting Willie Jackson and Darney Scott
4. Eagles Sign Rookie RB Brian Westbrook
5. Sam Adams to Visit Bengals
6. Carmazzi on the way out
7. What's ahead?
/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/
Footballguys.com hammering with content
Since June 25th, Footballguys.com has posted 110 items. Most fantasy
football websites will not post 110 items during the whole
preseason. And I am here to tell you that we are just getting
started here.
Consider what we posted today:
** Average Value Theory App **
This is Value Based Drafting for those people that would rather rank
the players than grind through projections. Chris Annunziata and Dr.
Lee Cooker have created an absolute classic with this Excel draft
tool.
** Fantasy Points Scored **
Fantasy Points Scored - QBs
Fantasy Points Scored - WRs
Fantasy Points Scored - RBs
Fantasy Points Scored - TEs
Fantasy Points Scored - PKs
Clayton looks at five years of data for fantasy points scored by
position and compares it to the Footballguys.com projections. Some
eye-opening material here that will likely cause us to tweak our
projections again this weekend.
** Chris Smith's Defensive Study **
Chris Smith analyzes defensive improvement over the last 21 years
looking for trends. A very good read.
/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/
Subscription Information
Because we do not want anyone to miss anything after August 1st, we
are providing this link again. The Footballguys.com website goes pay
after August 1st so if you are going to join, now is the time to sign
up. This is especially true if you are paying by check or money
order since it takes time to mail to us and a few days on our end to
enter the info.
now let's get to the news...
/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/
Falcons Courting Willie Jackson and Darney Scott
Clipped from an article by Matt Winklejohn of www.accessatlanta.com,
7/10/02
As the Falcons today begin a two-day mandatory mini-camp, the buzz is
about future Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young coming to tutor
Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, a fellow left-handed scrambler.
Young, however, might not be able to help Vick as much as either
Darnay Scott or Willie Jackson.
Both accomplished eight-year veteran wide receivers are being courted
by the Falcons, and the team wants to sign one.
On Wednesday, Jackson --- who had career highs of 81 catches and
1,046 yards last season for the Saints --- visited with team
officials and received a contract offer from the Falcons. The 6-foot-
1, 212-pound Jackson, 30, is not known for his speed but is
dependable catching the ball in traffic.
Jackson, whose contract expired in New Orleans after last season,
spent the 1995-97 seasons in Jacksonville, when Falcons officials Ron
Hill and Les Snead were there.
The 6-1, 204-pound Scott, released earlier this week when the Bengals
signed Michael Westbrook, will visit Atlanta today. Last season, he
caught 57 passes for 819 yards after missing the 2000 season with a
broken leg.
Brian Finneran figures to start at flanker, yet team officials
continue to look for competition for Finneran and tentative starting
split end Shawn Jefferson.
"I hope they will consider their opportunities here," said new
Falcons chief administrative officer Ray Anderson, who handles
contract negotiations. "We're very interested in both."
The Falcons do not have enough room under the salary cap to offer
Scott or Jackson sizable contracts.
Also, Jackson has drawn interest from several teams. He's expected to
visit the Panthers and Redskins, where he could be reunited with his
former University of Florida coach, Steve Spurrier.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
With Brian Finneran and Shawn Jefferson as the current starting
receivers in Atlanta, the addition of either Willie Jackson or Darney
Scott would be a welcome addition for 2nd year quarterback Michael
Vick's development and stat line. We look for the Falcons to sign at
least one, possibly both of these receivers, which will help Vick's
development immensely. Vick's inconsistent and erratic passing game
will hinder the production of the Falcons receivers throughout the
season.
/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/
Eagles Sign Rookie RB Brian Westbrook
Clipped from a Bob Kent story at www.philadelphiaeagles.com, 7/11/02
The Eagles announced Thursday that they signed third-round pick Brian
Westbrook to a three-year contract.
Terms of the deal were undisclosed.
The Eagles drafted the former Villanova star with its 91st pick
overall in April's draft, hoping he could make some sort of
contribution this season, perhaps as a kick returner and occasional
pass catcher out of the backfield.
Westbrook has proven to be a quick study. His assimilation of the
complicated West Coast offense has been remarkable.
After his first NFL mini-camp, he found himself on somewhat of an
accelerated learning curve given the season-ending injury to Correll
Buckhalter.
With no one added via free agency, Westbrook continued to shoulder an
added workload in the minicamps. As is sits now, Westbrook and former
XFL product, Rod Smart, are among the backups to Duce Staley.
Brian has tremendous quickness, said Eagles head coach Andy Reid at a
recent mini camp. He can reach top end speed very quickly along with
having lateral quickness. That's different than the backs that we
have. I think it will be a nice mixture with him in there. I think he
catches the ball very well out of the backfield.
"To have two backs who can do that very well as well as Duce [Staley]
and Westbrook do, that's a nice thing to have."
Westbrook holds the all-time NCAA record with 9,885 all-purpose
yards, breaking the old collegiate mark of 9,301 yards by Brian Shay
of Emporia State. In 46 games, he scored 542 points with 84 TDs,
carried the ball 725 times for 4,499 yards (6.2 avg.), caught 219
passes for 2,639 yards (12.1 avg.) and gained 2,433 yards and four
TDs on kickoff returns.
Along the way he established 39 school, 13 Atlantic Ten Conference
and five NCAA records.
Westbrook becomes the fifth of the Eagles' eight draft picks to sign
with the club. Still unsigned are No. 1 pick Lito Sheppard, second-
round pick Sheldon Brown and seventh-round selection Raheem Brock.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Westbrook is a talented RB from Villanova and should make a splash
this season as Duce Staley's backup. Early reports have Westbrook
learning the Eagles offense playbook very quickly, which should give
him more carries during the preseason. We will be analyzing
Westbrook's progress throughout training camp and the preseason.
/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/
Sam Adams to Visit Bengals
Clipped from an article by Mark Curnutte of Cincinnati Enquiror,
7/11/02
Free agent defensive tackle Sam Adams, two years removed from a
Super Bowl season with the Baltimore Ravens, will visit Paul Brown
Stadium Tuesday to meet with the Bengals.
Adams, who turned 29 in June, was a Pro Bowl starter after
the 2000 season, when he teamed with Tony Siragusa in the middle of
the Ravens' defensive line.
Adams had 51 tackles and two sacks last season for the
Ravens, who have lost most of their defensive starters because of
salary-cap problems. He is listed at 6feet3, 330 pounds and is
especially effective against the run. He is an eight-year veteran
from Texas A&M and played his first six NFL seasons for Seattle.
Eugene Parker, Adams' agent, returned a call Wednesday to
Bengals personnel director Jim Lippincott to set up the visit.
We're a little short at one of the defensive end spots (left
end), Lippincott said. And this would allow us to move one of the
tackles to end.
A major purpose of a visit is to give the player a physical exam.
If he signed with the Bengals, Adams would join a tackle
rotation that includes starters Tony Williams and Oliver Gibson. The
Bengals also have Glen Steele, Bernard Whittington, Randy Chevrier
and Pernell Davis.
Whittington is a versatile lineman who can play both tackle
and end. Davis, who is 6-2, 320 pounds, signed a two-year deal for
$680,000 with the Bengals on June24.
The Bengals had the NFL's ninth-ranked defense last season.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Adams would be a welcome addition to an aggressive, improving Bengals
defense. The Bengals could be the surprise defense in the league
this season. The addition of Adams as a run stopper would solidify
the middle and allow the linebackers to move more freely and make big
plays.
/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/
Carmazzi on the way out
Clipped from an article by Dennis Georgatos of San Jose Mercury News,
7/11/02
The 49ers have presented an injury settlement to Giovanni Carmazzi
and plan to release him by early next week, the quarterback's agent
said Wednesday.
``For the most part, we're just going through the language,'' Jeffrey
Sperbeck said. ``It's not official yet, but we are going to have a
settlement and he'll no longer be with the 49ers.''
General Manager Terry Donahue and director of football operations
John McVay were unavailable for comment, and Carmazzi did not return
a phone call.
Carmazzi, 25, was drafted in the third round from Hofstra in 2000 but
had difficulties adjusting to the West Coast offense. He never got a
chance to work up the 49ers' quarterback hierarchy because of
injuries.
``That part of it is frustrating, I'm sure, for Gio and for us,''
Sperbeck said of the injuries. ``We would have hoped he would have
had a greater opportunity to show what he was capable of.''
Carmazzi didn't play as a rookie and missed last season after
undergoing surgery in August to repair a torn labrum in his right
(throwing) shoulder. During his recovery, he developed neck problems
that forced him to miss spring mini-camps.
Terms of the proposed settlement for Carmazzi, who was due to receive
$358,000 this season, were not released. Sperbeck said Carmazzi is
making progress in his rehabilitation and hopes to resume playing
this year.
Carmazzi's impending release will leave the 49ers with four
quarterbacks heading into the July 21 opening of training camp: Jeff
Garcia, Tim Rattay, newly acquired Cade McNown and fifth-round draft
pick Brandon Doman.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Carmazzi was highly regarded coming out of college. However,
injuries stalled his progress and the 49ers are now forced to move
forward. Look for Tim Rattay and recently acquired Cade McNown to
battle for the all-important backup QB job behind Jeff Garcia.
/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/
What's Ahead at Footballguys.com?
Within the next 3-4 days look for:
- Two excellent statistical articles from David Shick
- Jacques Cuneo article/Excel worksheet on platooning.
- 4 More player reviews from Doug Drinen
- Updated Projections
- Top 200 Expert List updated
- Footballguys Top 200 List compared to Average draft position
- Dodds on sleepers/bargains
- Bio updates for most of the staff
- New Expert Rankings Poll
- VBD App Update (new projections, flex calculation tweak)
- Two articles from Matt Maurer
- Eight more Face-Offs
- Chris Smith will continue his look at Rookie WRs, Daily PODs and a
few other excellent articles
- Wimer brings out his reaches/sleepers this week
- 6 to 8 generic cheatsheets (Performance, Basic, WCOFF, etc)
- More daily updates
And all of this before training camps turn on. We have 25 people on
staff because we plan on covering Fantasy Football better than anyone
ever has. And as the 110 items posted since 6/25 show, this is not
an empty promise.
One last pitch for our subscription that buys coverage from August
1st through the Super Bowl.
Click Here
Have a great one.
David Dodds
Missed an issue? Email Update Archives