FSH: THE FANTASY SPORTS ZONE (FANTASY FALLOUT)

September 16th, 2009 9:37pm PST

More Star crashers

With week one in the books it’s time to be reminded and take note of some players that should not be taking up any roster space. Your fantasy season has already started and you need playas, boyz that will do some fantasy damage and put points on the board. Players can’t score if they don’t get in the game and these duds are not going to be seeing a whole lot of meaningful playing time;

QB-Daunte Culpepper (Det); The Lions are focusing on the future now. With a young talented arm under center (Stafford), the team is going to give him every opportunity to learn and grow. With that Culpepper’s playing days in Detroit are likely to be very quiet on the sideline. As the rookie quarterback takes his lumps, the only chance Daunte is going to get is some clean-up and meaningless time late in games. If you have him on your roster, it’s time to dump him.

RB-LaMont Jordan (Den); Familiar or not with the Patriot's west (Broncos) offense, Jordan was hardly present on Sunday in week one. Signed in the offseason by the Broncos, it was thought McDaniels was bringing in a player with experience in his offense. With a committee backfield Jordan figured to have an advantage being familiar with the system. Jordan played limited snaps on Sunday and finished with two carries. As the team becomes more accustomed to McDaniels system, expect to see Jordan remain invisible.

WR-Laveranues Coles (Cin); Not a whole lot was made of the signing of Coles in the offseason, although he was given a fairly generous deal. With the Bengals coming off a very disappointing 2008 Coles was brought in to replace the departed TJ Houshmandzadeh (last season's leading receiver). In week one Coles catching just one ball was a forgotten man with Palmer often looking elsewhere in the patterns. Coles has been quiet since his signing and with players like Ochocinco and Caldwell answering the call often, don't expect any sudden turnarounds.

TE-Chris Baker (NE); Even with McDaniels gone, the tightend position remains an unsteady one in the Patriots offense. In the past the tight end has remained relatively quiet, but with the acquisition of Baker the thought was things might be different. And they may very well be different, but it looks like the new plans don't include Baker who caught just one pass for seven yards. It was Ben Watson who was invited to the party with six catches. Watson would appear to be the mainstay, so don’t expect a lot of production from Baker, just maybe some spot work here and there.

Check back every Week for more “Fantasy Fallout”

FSH: MORE FOOTBALL TALK

August 26th, 2009 9:37pm PST

"Oh (Chris) Henry" is a Beast!

The Man-child returns…
Just three seasons ago Henry burst onto the scene in Cincinnati as a big-time scoring threat in the red-zone. In his second season with the team Henry caught just 36 balls, but found pay-dirt nine times. In his first two years with the Bengals Henry totaled 15 touchdowns and appeared to be a star on the rise.

Henry is your prototypical NFL receiver with great size standing at 6'4", good hands and big play ability. In his first two seasons with the team he averaged a score every 4.5 catches and over 15-yards per reception. And just when it appeared that the Bengals had themselves a jewel of a find in Henry, the trouble started.

Despite the early success, Henry's second season (2006) would be marred with a five game suspension that would just be the beginning of more bad things to come. In 2007 due to off the field issues Henry began the 2007 season by serving an eight game suspension. Following an arrest in April of 2008 Henry would shortly after be released by the team and seemingly be looking at the end of his short NFL career.

It was nothing short of misfortune and bad luck for the Bengals that would give Henry another shot at being an NFL receiver. Even after head coach Marvin Lewis had expressed the team had no interest in re-signing Henry, with multiple injuries depleting their receiving corp and Henry having served his second suspension (four games) to start the 2008 season, the Bengals gave the oft troubled receiver another chance.

A chance that at first looked like nothing more than a temporary stop for Henry, who's future seemed to be poisoned with bad choices and destined to fail. Henry finished last season with less than modest numbers and was likely off everyone’s radar heading toward the offseason.

A Second Chance:
It was during the offseason that change began. Henry was refocused and determined to change his outlook and more importantly his future. According to teammates Henry was working everyday with a great attitude and having an offseason like no other.

So the change began and the result this training camp has been, Henry always viewed as a talent in the game is suddenly beginning to realize his potential and making the most of his opportunity. Henry has looked impressive in practice and made the most of his opportunities. He was getting more first team snaps during the team’s OTA’s in the offseason and carrying this over into training camp where he has just been a beast.

To this point, while Ochocinco has begun to show his old form, Henry clearly has been the standout in camp and his early numbers are showing his complete metamorphisis. In the team’s first two preseason games Henry has pulled down 11 passes for 155-yards and has been turning heads along the way with every snap.

With the return of number 85 and Palmer healthy, Henry is looking like this year’s early “big” sleeper candidate. He’s back with his old team and he’s had a whole offseason to work and improve and clearly it appears that’s just what he has done.

Last season there was no chemistry and for both the team and Chris it was not an ideal situation. 2009 looks to be quite the opposite with all signs pointing towards an improved Bengals team that consists of a marriage of misfits, a castaway, and plenty of talent to be successful.

Coming off a very quiet 2008, just 19 receptions and two touchdowns, Henry has likely begun the 2009 campaign as big fantasy secret. Only now is he starting to draw attention and create interest. Laveranues Coles may have been brought in to compensate for some of the lost production from TJ Houshmandzadeh’s departure, but don’t be fooled; it will be Henry picking up most of the slack.

His initial fantasy impact is already being noticed. Folks must remember, his first 15 touchdown catches in his first two seasons came off the arm of Carson Palmer. Henry looks like a new player in camp and both he and Palmer appear to be in sync.

Coles is projected to start opposite Ochocinco, but with Henry playing as well as he is fantasy owners might just have to consider him the team’s third starting receiver, until he takes the number two spot. We may be reading too deep into the numbers this early, but with Henry looking as good as he does and a healthy Palmer, he’s going to be huge in 2009.

The man-child appears to be rocketing up the boards, but fantasy owners will likely still be able to snatch him up in the mid-rounds as their number three receiver. As long as all things keep pointing forward and Henry continues to work and do the things necessary, he’s a solid bet to finish the season as a solid number two fantasy receiver.

Keep him on your draft board, he’ll be worth picking up!


By David Ortega


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FSH: ON THE TICKER

April 5th, 2009 11:07pm PST

20 DAYS TO THE NFL DRAFT

NFL Draft Preview:
On The Ticker

On the Board: Cincinnati Bengals....
In the recent offseason the Bengals did not re-sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh and lost him to free-agency. There are talks of trading wide receiver Chad Johnson, and Chris Henry (suspended three times and cut by the team once) is always a crap-shoot. Even though the team did sign free agent Laveranues Coles, if the recent rumors are true and team does move Johnson, they will be left with a huge void at the receiver position to fill.

No different than many of the bottom-third teams in the league, the Bengals face many issues leading up to this year's NFL draft. The Bengals could also use a little help on the defensive side of things, but with the leagues 12th ranked squad, this is one of the team's least concerns. One of their biggest deficiencies aside from the lack of depth at the wideout spot is the lack of talent along their 'O' line. Over the past two seasons the Bengals have lost two starting offensive tackles and come draft day they will be looking hard to fill this void.

At number six on the "Big Board" the Bengals can count on grabbing either Eugene Monroe (University of Virginia) or possibly Andre Smith (University of Alabama). With a great frame, great feet, combined with his strength (lifted 225-lbs 23-times) Monroe would be the ideal choice at this spot for Cincinnati. The team is expecting a healthy Palmer back in 2009 and they're going to need to protect his blindside. With his size (6'4" and 325-lbs) Smith is a consideration, but his disappearance at the combine and less than spectacular Pro Day didn't do a whole lot to state his case.

If the Bengals look anywhere else on April 25th, they could take a run at one of the top wideout prospects if available (Crabtree or Maclin), that is if the team decides to part ways with "Ocho-Cinco." The team has not done particularly well in t recent drafts and if head coach Marvin Lewis is going to remain the man in charge, he may have to start taking a more sensible and safe approach. Look for Cincy to start rebuilding its’ offensive line with Monroe on draft day.


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