Larry Brown Sports

Apologies to anyone who listened to our advice to pick up running back Ronnie Hillman during the week with the expectation that he would start for the Denver Broncos. John Fox pulled a fast one on all of us.

Knowshon Moreno, who is a former first-round pick but has been a bust for Denver, surprisingly got the start on Sunday for the Broncos against the Kansas City Chiefs. He actually performed well, rushing for 85 yards on 20 carries and adding four catches for 26 yards. That was after amassing just 15 yards on eight carries the entire season (he had been a healthy scratch since Week 2).

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported before the game on Sunday that Moreno was getting the start because he’s the best of the three backs in pass protection, and because he had a good history against the Chiefs. Hillman only carried the ball three times for nine yards.

Though there is some admitted uncertainty at the Broncos running back position, it now appears as if Moreno is the one to own with Willis McGahee out. Keep in mind that Moreno frequently gets injured, so if you did pick up Hillman, try to keep him on your roster if you have an extra spot.

You can keep up with Knowshon Moreno news at his Rotoworld page.

Michael Bush‘s situation is a lot more straight-forward. Bush saw carries early for the Chicago Bears against the Minnesota Vikings, and then he took over every down after Matt Forte re-injured his ankle in the third quarter. Bush finished with 21 carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears.

Bush is a load at 245 pounds and is a durable back. We know from his past with Oakland that he can handle every-down duties, so he should make for a good pickup. Monitor the status of Forte’s ankle to know what kind of workload you can expect Bush to have next weekend against the Seahawks.

Fantasy football is getting closer to the playoffs, so we’d like to help you out by providing some advice heading into key weeks. There were a few injuries over the weekend that have led to some recommended pickups. We take a look at those and a few other players below.

Ronnie Hillman, RB, Broncos – Willis McGahee suffered a torn MCL in his right knee and a broken leg during Sunday’s game against the Chargers. He is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, though he is hoping to return in 4-6 weeks. McGahee’s absence means the Broncos running back spot is up for grabs. Hillman, a rookie from San Diego State, is expected to see the greater share of the carries. Hillman had 42 yards on 12 carries, and 16 receiving yards on two catches after McGahee left Sunday’s win over the Chargers. Lance Ball will likely see action at running back as well, and he could be a good pickup as insurance for Hillman.

Bryce Brown, RB, Eagles – Brown could be the beneficiary of starting running back LeSean McCoy suffering a concussion. Brown had five carries for 35 yards on Sunday and would be in line for the bulk of the carries if McCoy can’t play on Monday against the Panthers. He would make for a good spot-start if you’re in need of a back or flex player.

James Starks, RB, Packers – Starks shared carries with Alex Green in a Week 9 win over the Cardinals, and he took over the featured-back role in Week 11. Starks rushed for 74 yards on 25 carries while Green saw no carries. The Packers running back spot has produced limited stats during the season, so I wouldn’t expect a ton out of Starks, but he should be good for some consistent points.

Danario Alexander, WR, Chargers – Alexander has had multiple knee injuries throughout his playing career, but he’s finally putting it all together. The former Rams receiver has found a new home with the Chargers and is fitting in well. He led San Diego with 7 catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to the Broncos on Sunday. The week before that, he had five catches for 134 yards and a touchdown. He’s a strong receiving option if you need one.

Chad Henne and Justin Blackmon of the Jaguars may be popular targets on the waiver wire this week, but I wouldn’t jump to grab them. Henne threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns against the Texans, who admitted they hadn’t prepared for him. Blackmon had 7 catches for 236 yards and a touchdown. I wouldn’t expect a repeat of the monster stat line from either of them this season, though if you need a QB, at least Henne has the Titans and Bills the next two weeks — both of which have weak defenses.

We at LBS enjoy providing fantasy football advice whenever we can, and with so many notable injuries during Week 6 of the NFL season, we figured it was a good time to give some recommendations on pickups for Week 7 of the season.

Felix Jones, RB, Cowboys – He saw by far his most extensive action of the season, leading the Cowboys with 18 carries for 92 yards and a rushing touchdown. He also caught one pass for 13 yards. Starting back DeMarco Murray has a foot injury and is unlikely to play in Week 7 at Carolina on Sunday. Jones has a reputation for getting injured frequently, but he should be able to last while Murray is out. The other back to watch is Phillip Tanner, who had 9 carries for 31 yards on Sunday.

Alex Green, RB, Packers – The second-year back from Hawaii is the Packers’ featured back now that Cedric Benson is on injured reserve with a foot injury. Their other backup running back, Brandon Saine, is out for the season with a torn ACL. Green rushed for 65 yards on 22 carries Sunday night at Houston, and added one catch for eight yards. James Starks is the other Packers back to keep your eye on.

Vick Ballard, RB, Colts – The rookie saw the bulk of the carries for the Colts, going for 25 yards on 8 carries on Sunday. He didn’t get too many carries because the team fell behind to the Jets, but he should be good for more work at home against the Browns in Week 7. He’s still available in many leagues.

William Powell, RB, Cardinals – The undrafted back from Kansas State led the Cardinals with 70 yards on 13 carries in a loss to Buffalo on Sunday. He split carries with LaRod Stephens-Howling, but he may get the bulk of the carries in Week 7 at Minnesota. With Ryan Williams out for the year and Beanie Wells out for at least another month, Powell could be a decent add.

Read The Rest of the Story…

Carolina running back DeAngelo Williams had a bad game along with the rest of the Panthers’ offense on Sunday, and the seventh-year player lashed out against his angry fantasy football owners after the team’s 16-12 loss to the Seahawks.

Williams had just six carries for six yards and a fumble in Carolina’s defeat. The poor showing had some fantasy owners sending him angry, foul-mouthed tweets during and after the game, so he responded via Twitter:

Dear upset fantasy owners with the bad language you are a fantasy owner for a reason because you can’t play or apparently fantasy coach!

— DeAngelo Williams (@DeAngeloRB) October 7, 2012

Williams hit back at them on two fronts, turning the blame on them for drafting him in the first place. He actually has a point: Fantasy owners who drafted and are relying on him took a guy who splits carries with Jonathan Stewart, and who loses goal-line looks to Cam Newton. That was pretty dumb on their parts.

If you’re inclined to think it’s petty of Williams to respond to his fantasy owners, you might want to take a look at some of the tweets he received from angry fans before judging him.

Look at all the nastiness he received:

Read The Rest of the Story…

You didn’t think that sports bettors were the only ones who lost big on the botched call to end “Monday Night Football” between the Packers and Seahawks, did you? Of course not. There are plenty of stories of fantasy owners who were affected by the brutal call. We have the tales of some of those bad beats below.

Andrew Geiger lost his fantasy matchup by 1.84 points thanks to the bad call. Not only did he lose points when the Packers’ defensive points allowed went from 7 to 14, but he also lost on the yards gained on the final play. Double whammy!

Read The Rest of the Story…

These days, everything is seemingly centered on reality programming. You know the common encumbrances of real life: driving an eighteen-wheeler down icy roads, having a family with too much money and not enough of an hour’s worth of programming to spend it all, and other troglodytic lifeforms hell-bent on grabbing ratings for the Bravo channel.

Thus, what a relief it is to occasionally opine on the fantasy side of things. No, what I’m talking about has nothing to do with the fantasies crafted by Disney: the Bavarian villages, Tinkerbell-inspired imagery, and, unless he has a vertical leap of over three feet, anything to do with Peter Pan. The make-believe world upon which I’m referring deals with something more unlikely for the typical sports fans: facing larger-than-life individuals and athletes who run the 40 in under 4.4 hours. It’s football. Fantasy football.

For years, fantasy sports have been at the forefront of sports fandom. Heck, even the NFL replacement officials have reportedly been caught up in the hulabaloo.

What began as a niche following among diehard baseball fans who followed Rotisserie with the same aplomb as they did its edible namesake now has spread to all corners of the sports universe — perhaps even fantasy bowling — in the process becoming a rather lucrative enterprise. Heck, the furor has even pushed a certain writer back into the ranks of the rancor, fueling a degenerate football jones in the process.

Read The Rest of the Story…

Here at LBS we try to give you some fantasy football advice whenever we can. With all the breakout games some receivers and tight ends had on Sunday during Week 2, we figured we’d get you our advice as soon as possible so you can begin working the waiver wire accordingly.

Below are some of the top-performing wide receivers and tight ends from Week 2 who might be available in your league, and our analysis of them.

Danny Amendola, WR, Rams: He was the type of PPR monster many envisioned he would be last year. Amendola caught 15 of the 16 balls thrown his way for 160 yards and a touchdown in the Rams’ win over the Redskins. He also led the team with 5 catches for 70 yards on 9 targets in Week 1. Already with his first career 100-yard game, expect him to set many more career records this season.

Donnie Avery, WR, Colts: Had a breakout game on Sunday for the Colts going for 9 catches and 111 yards. Those were the best stats he’s posted since his rookie year with the Rams in a 2008. A former second-round pick, Avery had a promising rookie season after running an impressive sub-4.30 40 at the combine. It’s been over two years since a torn ACL kept him out for the 2010 season, and he’s now showing the promise that made him a highly-drafted player. He could be a good replacement for owners who drafted Austin Collie and want those stats.

Martellus Bennett, TE, Giants: Scored for the second straight week, and he had 5 catches for 72 yards in the Giants’ comeback win. Marty B. is seeing plenty of passes in the Giants’ offense, but he had trouble with drops on Sunday, which is something that plagued him throughout his career with the Cowboys. He still could easily post numbers similar to what Kevin Boss did when he was with the Giants, so if you need a tight end, he’s not a bad option.

Brian Hartline, WR, Dolphins: He led the Dolphins in receiving yards and targets for the second straight week. Hartline had 9 catches for 111 yards, both of which were career highs. He had 3 catches for 50 yards on 8 targets in last week’s loss to the Texans. Hartline probably won’t find the end zone much in that passing offense, but he should be good for at least 50 receiving yards a week on average, which isn’t bad if you need some depth.

Dante Rosario, TE, Chargers: Caught all 4 balls that came his way for 48 yards and 3 touchdowns. Congratulations if you had him in your starting lineup. If you have Antonio Gates, you should probably pick up Rosario as he seems to be a good backup option for when Gates is hurt. For anyone else, you probably don’t want to waste a roster spot on a backup.