Quick Slants

When did http://www.tmz.com/ start covering athletes so closely? Fred Taylor was on the web site this weekend. Do not fear Fred Taylor will not be affected by his run in with the Miami police department. If you have him this weekend, he is a solid starting option as your second running back. After reading today’s article at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/, the NFL should not suspend Taylor. On its face, the incident is a combination of the police overreacting and Taylor losing his cool. The confrontations happen when the police pull you out of your car in front of your friends and search your vehicle. Usually, you get angry when you are not doing anything illegal and the cops are searching your car. No harm done, no crime committed. Look for Taylor to have an above average season with over 1,000 yards and 6 touchdowns.

ESPN published an article last week proclaiming the fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers as the NFL’s best. I wholeheartedly agree. The Steelers have been my team for over 25 years. I have a Rod Woodson jersey and a real Terrible Towel. I lived in Pittsburgh for a few years and the devotion of the entire city is hard to believe. In hospitals, nurses wear Steelers’ jerseys on game day! Enough said. Check out the article:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/preview08/columns/story?id=3530077

The Detroit Lions signed former Bengals' running back Rudi Johnson and cut Tatum Bell. That move makes Johnson the Lions’ back up running back. If your running back situation is murky, Johnson is a great pick up on the waiver wire. He definitely will get carries in the red zone. Just two years ago, he rushed for over 1,300 yards. Kevin Smith was running for Central Florida last year. Expect some growing pains from the rookie Smith, and if Rudi can stay healthy, he will handle more carries each week.

If you have players on the Redskins or Giants on your Fantasy team, you have to make sure your line-ups are in by Thursday game time. Do not buy stock in the pre-season results. Throw those records out the window. However, I do not remember seeing a team blown out like the Redskins were against Carolina. If I were a Redskins’ fan, I would be very nervous starting the season with rookie Head Coach Jim Zorn. Sometimes, my gut feelings are reinforced in random ways. Listening to Colin Cowherd on ESPN today, Colin interviewed Clinton Portis. Portis described training camp as “fun”. He then praised Zorn and offered up the idea that Zorn “puts guys in positions where they can succeed.” Allow me to translate what those two statements mean. Zorn is soft and not very demanding. Training camp has not been tough enough. If Clinton Portis is having fun and liking Zorn, the Redskins are in trouble. I remember when Cowher first took the Steelers’ job. The Steelers were blown out in weeks 1 and 2. Cowher quickly figured it out that being a player’s coach does not go very far in the NFL. Guys have to be pushed to work hard. My prediction is a Giants win by 14+ points.

Start’em or Sit’em – Redskins
Portis is the only guy on the Redskins’ offense that I would play this week. Maybe, you can play Santana Moss or Chris Cooley depending on your roster. The Giants’ defense should be all over Jason Campbell. Portis will get his stats, but no one else is a legitimate fantasy starter this week.

Start’em or Sit’em – Giants
Start Eli, Plaxico, Brandon Jacobs, and the Defense. I am not a fan of Jacobs, but look for him to be the feature back this week. At this point, Eli is a must play. His confidence should be sky high early in the season. The Giants are going to score 30+ points in this game, so if you have other skill players consider playing them, but most likely they are your backups. For example, I drafted Kevin Boss as my backup TE. He could have a big week, but I am not playing him until he consistently produces.

Check back on Friday for my player picks for this weekend’s games.