Happy Easter.

Happy Easter to the owners of the best fantasy football league and to good friends. See you all in a couple of weeks.

Blog Update

I have updated the blog. I created left and right sidebars, and the main section is our articles. On the Left sidebar will be the NFL links, and on the right sidebar will be league and fantasy links. The poll question will be on the left sidebar so that you all can see it.

I am thinking about simplifying the division names from Titanium/Crimson to something like
Black/Red, or Black/Blue, or Black/Purple, or Black/Gold. I can change the color of the Blog to match the division names this way. The new poll will be which colors you guys want as the Division names. If you don't like these colors leave a comment about the colors you might want and I will add it to the poll. If you guys like it the way it is (Titanium/Crimson) then we will keep it.

NFL Draft Day Party Info.

Since most of you have had problems opening the NFL Draft Day Flyer, here is a small sample of it.

April 29, 2006 at 12:00 PM (NOON)- When Ever.

It is the NFL Draft Day Party/ Fantasy Owners Meeting.

We will be watching the NFL Draft on the Big Screen, I will have two TV's and playstation 2 with Madden 2006 for tournaments.







Confirmed Owners coming:
Cutthroat Pirates (hosting)
NY Knights
Daddy Mo Bucs
Sukmyditka
Superdestroyers
Detriot Latin Stars
Boston Beer Works
Will Work for Points


Gang Green: Will be late due to college.
No word on Bartow Ford. I have emailed him, but no response.

Here is the food we have so far:
Cutthroat Pirates: Ribs, corn on the cob, little smokies
NY Knights: Baked Ziti
Superdestroyers: Mild/hot Wings
Boston Beer Works: Macaroni salad

We need:
Baked Beans
Potato Salad
Chips/dip
Soda/Tea
ice

Remember this is BYOB:








The only three owners not on the BLOG are Gang Green, Bartow Ford, who I have emailed over and over again but no response. Someone get with these two guys and see what is going on with them.

The other owner is Boston Beer Works, who I have talked with, and I know he is coming to the party and plans on joining the Blog. So someone else help me out and see if we can get these owners on here. I created this for us and to add depth to our league.

Fantasy Football Issues, that need to be discussed at the Owners meeting 4/29/2006:
These are topics brought up to me by other owners. We will open the floor for discussion about these topics then vote on it. Remember it takes 6 votes to change or implement a rule.

• Franchise player, vs two keeper league and how it affects the draft.
• Bonus Points for long touchdowns (passing, receiving, and rushing)
• increasing the add/drop fees to pay for the CBS sportsline site.
• Quarterback sacks are currently -1 point are we keeping it or doing away with.
• Set up a date for the Draft, so we don't do another weekday night time draft.

Any other topics I missed put in comments so we can read them and prepare for the meeting.
Thanks from the
Commish.

Poll question Results: New York Knights..

I asked the question, "Will Larry Johnson and Shaun Alexander carry the New York Knights to another Super Bowl Victory in 2006?"

The answers were:

1. Hell NO = 3 votes
2. Hell Yes, way to go Pirates (trading Larry Johnson away) = 3 votes
3. Not if one of them gets hurt = 2 votes
4. Lets just see what happens in the draft = 1 vote

9 votes total, leaving one owner who did not vote.

It seems there is a tie, 3 owners feel they can win the Super Bowl this season, 3 owners (Which, we know one of these votes is New York Knights) so two owners think they are paying to the New York Knights Christmas fund again. Two owners feel that either Alexander or Johnson must get hurt in order for them to win the Super Bowl. So that 5 votes that New York Knights might repeat. One owner is sitting back taking it all in and waiting.

2005 FANTASY FOOTBALL AWARDS Continues

Here is what the Fantasy Football World has picked as the 2005 Fantasy Football Awards. So I will post polls on these same postions and let our league select who we think deserves these awards. So check out the Poll Question and vote.

FANTASY FOOTBALL MVP
Shaun Alexander, RB, Seattle Seahawks
Other Candidates: LaDainian Tomlinson, Steve Smith, Peyton Manning

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Cadillac Williams, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Other Candidates: Samkon Gado, Heath Miller

BIGGEST BUST OF THE YEAR
Jamal Lewis, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Other Candidates: Willis McGahee, Randy Moss , Kevin Jones

BREAKOUT PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Larry Johnson, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Other Candidates: Carson Palmer, Anquan Bolden, Thomas Jones

QUARTERBACK OF THE YEAR
Carson Palmer, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
Other Candidates: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Jake Delhomme

RUNNING BACK OF THE YEAR
Shaun Alexander, RB, Seattle Seahawks
Other Candidates:LaDainian Tomlinson, Tiki Barber, Larry Johnson

WIDE RECEIVER OF THE YEAR
Steve Smith, WR, Carolina Panthers
Other Candidates: Santana Moss, Larry Fitzgerald, Chad Johnson

TIGHT END OF THE YEAR
Antonio Gates, TE, San Diego Chargers
Other Candidates: Jeremy Shockey, Chris Cooley, Alge Crumpler

DEFENSE OF THE YEAR
Chicago Bears, DEF/ ST
Other Candidates: Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts

KICKER OF THE YEAR
Neil Rackers, K, Arizona Cardinals
Other Candidates: Jay Feely, John Kasay, Shayne Graham

NFL Open Kickoff Game, and 3 Thanksgiving Day Games

NFL Thursday night season kickoff is on Sept. 7 at 8:30 p.m. ET, the Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh Steelers will oppose the Miami Dolphins as NBC rejoins the NFL's TV family for the first time since 1997. What a game for fantasy value. This is a real good game to start off the NFL Season and Fantasy Football.

This season the NFL will kick off 3 games for Thanksgiving Day. However the last game of the day at 8pm will only be aired on the NFL Network. Which you can only see on channel 212 from Satellite TV.



The early game that day (CBS, 12:30 p.m. ET) will feature the Dolphins at the Detroit Lions, under new head coach Rod Marinelli. Does anybody read between the writing? (Apparently the NFL thinks the Dolphins are going to be great this year, which I do agree. They have the opening game and a Thanksgiving game.

The second game (FOX, 4:15 p.m. ET) will send the Bucs, the NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Dallas to face the Cowboys.


The Thanksgiving package concludes at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network when the top two teams in the AFC West last year meet. The Denver Broncos (13-3) will visit the Kansas City Chiefs (10-6).

Daddy Mo Bucks is here

We are back in full force this year.
The draft is looking interesting with a lot of movement.
We got to watch out for Dallas.

Big Free Agent Signing.

The Defending NFC Champions signing wide receiver Nate Burleson, who has signed an offer sheet with the Seahawks worth $49 million over seven seasons, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Only $5.25 million of the contract is guaranteed. Burleson looked like an emerging star playing opposite Randy Moss for the Vikings in 2004, but injuries and quarterback issues limited him to 30 catches for 328 yards and one touchdown last season. The Vikings have seven days to match the offer.This is huge news, with Joe Jurevicius going to the Browns, the Seahawks need a good number 2 receiver. So they went and got a number one receiver in Burleson. Burlseon and Darrell Jackson as wide receivers is huge. This could take the Seahawks back to the Big Game. I really don't think the Vikings will match it. We shall see.



The Browns revealed Thursday that tight end Kellen Winslow, Jr. had additional surgery on his reconstructed right knee in January.

"It was just a very minor procedure to clear out some car tissue from his
previous surgery,"

Browns GM Phil Savage told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

"The doctors tell me he's doing great and he's at the [team] facility working
out every day."

The sixth overall pick in the 2004 draft, Winslow has spent less time on the field than the Cleveland Browns cheerleaders… which is funny when you realize the Browns don't have cheerleaders. After missing most of his rookie campaign with a broken leg, Winslow missed all of last season due to a motorcycle accident and subsequent knee surgeries—and don't forget the staph infection that caused him to lose 30 pounds while he was recuperating. At this point it's tough to expect Winslow to deliver on the promise that accompanied his lofty draft status. This guy really messed up his NFL status and fantasy value.

League Rule Changes Under Way.

March 26-30 will be the NFL's Annual meeting, which is held in sunny Orlando, Florida.
This years meeting will focus on several important decisions. First of which is who will replace the retiring Paul Tagliabue.

This is also where the competition Committee meets and makes changes if any to the existing NFL League Rules. The committee is comprised of co-chair of the NFL's competition committee Rich McKay, the committee also includes coach Jeff Fisher of Tennessee, the co-chairman; general managers Ozzie Newsome of Baltimore; Bill Polian of Indianapolis; and executives John Mara of the New York Giants and Mark Richardson of Carolina. Coach Marvin Lewis of Cincinnati is a nonvoting member.

Some of the League changes the committee must decide on are:

Offensive coaches and quarterbacks communicate on the field by the use of a radio headset that is in the quarterbacks helmet. Well now the NFL defenses could be wired this season. The competition committee will propose that teams be permitted to install a radio headset into the helmet of one defensive player. The apparatus would be similar to the ones inside the helmets of quarterbacks and would provide coaches an opportunity to communicate with the defense without using hand signals.

NFL defensive coaches have lobbied the league for the past few years to permit headsets for the helmet of at least one defensive player, must likely a linebacker. Those coaches contended that the offense has an unfair advantage because of the quarterback headsets. The competition committee finally agreed that the issue is worthy of consideration. The defensive coaches also claim that using hand signals as they do, gives the opposing offensive coaches an advantage to identify what defense is being called. Take the Buccaneers for example, 5 coaches from the Buccaneers staff are now head coaches or defensive coordinators in this league. When they play the Buccaneers, do you not think that they know what calls Monte Kiffin is calling. A radio headset in the helmet of Derrick Brooks would eliminate the need for visual hand signals.

According to Rich McKay:

The proposal that will be presented to NFL owners next week would permit
each team to designate one defensive player per game to wear a headset. The
defensive player could be from any position, although the assumption is that
most teams would designate a linebacker.

When the designated player is off the field, the headset cannot be
transferred to another defender. And if the player is injured and forced from
the game, the team would lose the use of the headset. "It basically would end
the communication," McKay said.

Well if you watched any football games this past season, you know what a poor job the officials did this year. It seems the League just made excuses and apologies to teams for getting the calls wrong. However, the NFL states that it is satisfied with the overall officiating in the 05 season



Picture is courtesy of www.profootballtalk.com
The NFL has said that it is satisfied with the overall officiating in the 05 season, but did find concern of the errors that affected the playoffs and the Super Bowl.

The NFL will fix a few rules, dealing mostly with player safety, offensive holding and false starts.

According to ESPN's stats, "in 256 games during the past regular season, there were 850 false-start calls. To cut that number, the committee is ready to recommend that minor flinches by wide receivers be ignored if they have no effect on the play." The NFL caters to quarterbacks and now they are starting to cater to wide receivers. Get this, the committee also is considering recommending to officials that they make sure there was holding on a play before throwing a flag. Is this not what they are suppose to be doing in the first place. For the committee to have to restate something that the officials are suppose to be doing in the first place tells me they know there is problems with the way the officiating has been called.

The committee also wants to change the rule on hits by defenders below the knee on quarterbacks, this could be a good call, but once again it protects the quarterbacks. If this call happens the NY Knights OLD Owner could even be a quarterback in the NFL. They are making it easy to be a Quarterback in the NFL.

McKay said

"defensive players will be told they must make an effort to avoid hitting QBs in
the legs to avoid serious injuries, like the hit on Cincinnati's Carson Palmer
against the Steelers in the playoffs. "

The committee would also like to expand the "horse collar tackle rule", where a defensive player can not tackle with his hand inside the shoulder pads of a player running with the ball. As we have seen in the past few years all the knee injuries to running back as they were tackled from behind by their shoulder pads. Well know the league wants to include that to tackles inside the jersey.

Once again up for proposal is to extend the playoffs from 12 to 14 teams. Yep! This was brought to light by the Kansas City Chiefs, after they just missed the playoffs. I don't really care if the NFL goes to 14 teams in the playoffs, it just means more games for us fans to watch.

As with any rules change, the proposal requires a three-quarters vote of the membership or the support of 24 of 32 owners to be approved. So what do you guys think about these possible new rules changes that we might see in the 06 season?

Aaron Brooks agrees on two-year deal with Raiders

Aaron Brooks can now hold his head up, the former New Orleans starter released last week after the Saints signed Drew Brees, has reached agreement with the Oakland Raiders on a two-year contract.It is believed that Brooks will be getting close to $4-5 million per year. This is a nice payday for Brooks.

I think the Raiders made the right move. First they released a 33 year old quarterback (Kerry Collins), who was not worth the $9.2 Million they would have had to pay him.

Second they waited on the quarterback situation and did not make any crazy $60 million dollar deals (Drew Brees) to other free agent quarterbacks. Having the seven pick in the upcoming draft, and a real chance at drafting Vince Young, they played it smart.

Brooks, who is 29, is still young enough to have several productive seasons. He is a proven starter, and sure his numbers were down last year, but his goto guy Joe Horn was hurt for most of the season. Brooks may not be one of the elite quarterbacks in the league, but he can run, and can throw a long ball. He has been a starter for a number of years, and now he has Randy Moss. mmmmmmmmm This could be a sleeper pick for quarterback, what do you all think?

That said, he was arguably the best starting-caliber quarterback still available in the free agent pool. I was hoping the Bucs might sign him as a back-up. However, we could not afford the $4-5 million he is getting. Besides Chris Simms is not even getting $4 million this season. Anyway if you play fantasy football and are in a keeper league and you don't have one of the two top tier Qbs, Peyton Manning or a hurt Carson Palmer and by the time you pick the other good name qbs, such as Culpepper, Brady and McNabb are gone, remember Brooks has got Randy Moss, this could be a big sleeper.

NFL Updates:

Free-agent quarterback Brian Griese has agreed to a five-year deal with the Chicago Bears.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue is retiring from the NFL after 16 years in July.
Tagliabue has been in charge since 1989, when he succeeded Pete Rozelle,
Some of Tagliabue accomplishments are:

Television contracts1990: Four-year, $3.6 billion contract (Inflation Value: $5.35 billion)2006: Contracts with four networks and DirecTV spanning as much as eight years is now worth $23.91 billion

Gross League Revenues1990: $1.1 billion (Inflation Value: $1.63 billion)2006: $5.8 billion

Franchise ValueTeam worth the most:1991: Miami Dolphins, $205 million, Financial World Magazine estimate (Inflation Value: $289 million)2005: Washington Redskins: $1.3 billion, Forbes estimate.

Sponsorship Price To Be An Official NFL Sponsor:1990: $200,000 to $5 million2006: Gatorade pays $45 million per year, Sprint pays $120 million a year.

Super Bowl CommercialPrice of a 30-second ad:1990: $700,0002006: $2.5 million

Ex-Buccaneer GM Rich McKay is on the short list to replace Tagliabue. Who do you think should be the new Commissioner?

Keyshawn Johnson is once again headed to the BIG APPLE, but this time it is with the Giants. If the numbers are right, he could sign with the Giants. Keyshawn thinks the Giants have a really good team and could contend for the Super Bowl. Besides, he loves the New York stage.


Unrestricted free agent Adam Vinatieri, who provided the winning field goals in two of the New England Patriots' three Super Bowl victories, has reached a contract agreement in principle with the Indianapolis Colts.


The Bills have given wideout Eric Moulds permission to seek a trade, according to Foxsports.com. Moulds has refused the team's attempts to renegotiate his contract several times and would count $10.8 million against the cap next season, which would be the last of his current deal.


The Jets finally got rid of disgruntled defensive end John Abraham on Tuesday. ESPN's Len Pasquarelli reports Gang Green shipped their franchise player to the Falcons in a three-way deal that netted them the 29th pick in April's draft, which had belonged to the Broncos. Denver shipped that pick and two middle-round picks, one in 2006 and a second in 2007, to Atlanta in exchange for the 15th overall pick.


The Jaguars re-signed former tackle Tony Boselli to a one-day contract, after which the five-time Pro Bowler announced his retirement. Boselli left Jacksonville via the expansion draft, but he never played a down for the Texans because of chronic shoulder problems. The Jaguars plan to induct Boselli as the first member of their Ring of Honor this season.

T.O. Has A Home.

T.O. has a new home, reports are that T.O. signed a three year deal with the Cowboys. This could be a nice fit for both Dallas and T.O.

So the question is do I keep T.O., will he be a top fantasy football wide receiver again? Only time will tell. How does this affect Drew Bledsoes fantasy status.

Daunte Culpepper Highlights: A Must See.

Here is a must see for Dolphin fans, it is Daunte Culpepper Highlights. If he can return to this form, watch out the Dolphins could go all the way.

Babe of the Week

CBS Sports Line has decided to reward its loyal customers. This is the Babe, from UPS who will be delivering our draft board. Ok anyway just another nice picture to keep my buddies interested.

Blog Updates.

Well guys the 2006 season is upon us, and with the NFL and NFLPA agreeing to the CBA (Contract) I think fantasy football is safe for six more years. I have been getting with most of you guys about my NFL Draft Party and this blog site.

As you can tell,NY Knights, Sukmyditka and Will Work for Points have registered and logged on. I have completed this main home page, and now I am working on the side contents or links.

The Super Bowl and Toilet Bowl links are completed for last season. I also added a NFL Draft countdown on the this page. So I look forward to seeing everyone at this NFL Draft party.

Some issues to discuss is the Franchise tag, and the order of the draft. NY Knights was going to post an article about this topic, so I wont steal his thunder.

Free Agent Movement.

The Dolphins got their franchise QB Tuesday by sending a second-round pick to Minnesota for Daunte Culpepper. Once he found out Miami was no longer an option, Drew Brees joined the Saints. Once the Dolphins made the move to trade for the Vikings' Daunte Culpepper, it was pretty obvious Brees would end up with the Saints.

Drew Brees signed a six-year, $60 million deal with the New Orleans Saints that included a $8 million signing bonus and a 2006 base salary of $2 million.
The contract includes a $12 million option bonus due next spring and a base salary of $3 million for 2007. This came after Miami traded for Culpepper.


David Givens joined the Tennessee Titans as the team reached agreement with former New England wide receiver David Givens on a five-year contract worth $24 million.




Its heating up guys.

Well as most of us thought yesturday that Jamal Lewis would become a Denver Bronco, NOT TRUE. The Ravens have agreed to terms on a three-year contract with their free agent running back Jamal Lewis, according to ESPN.com. The signing comes less than a day after the team added Mike Anderson, ostensibly to replace Lewis in the Ravens' backfield. Baltimore's backfield only seemed crowded with Lewis and Chester Taylor last season; now they sport a pair of backs with multiple 1,000-yard campaigns on their resume. Worse, the backs share a similar straight-ahead style, as opposed to complementing each other by bringing different skills to the table. For a few hours, it appeared as if Anderson had escaped the fantasy quagmire that was Denver; apparently, it followed him to the East Coast. As for Jamal, he chafed at not being the only show in town last season, so one can only imagine how sunny his disposition will be if he has to share carries with Anderson.


Look for the Eagles to cut T.O. today, and then for the T.O. saga to heat up. It seems Dallas is now the front runner for T.O.

Fantasy Update.

Running back Edgerrin James signed a four-year deal with the Cardinals Sunday, according to the team's official web site. Terms of the deal were not released.

This is huge fantasy news for Detroit Latin Stars, James is still a keeper after this deal.


Wide receiver Antwaan Randle El has agreed to a six-year contract with the Redskins, according to ESPN.com. The former Steeler reportedly turned down a six-year, $18 million offer from the Bears prior to coming to terms in D.C.

Fantasy Update:

Wow I knew I loved Fantasy for a reason, ok for real here is an update on all fantasy news.

Yes, it is Edgerrin James with Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. The Arizona Cardinals continued in their offseason activity Saturday as running back Edgerrin James visited the Cardinals Training Facility to meet with members of the Cardinals football operations and coaching staff. This looks as if it could be a done deal. If so James still would have great keeper stock, and Warner's value goes up because not only does he have two great WR, he now has a great running back.




Cleveland reached agreement with former Seattle wide receiver Joe Jurevicius on a four-year deal worth about $10 million. Jurevicius has played in the Super Bowl with each of his three previous teams. He was very good last year as an injury fill-in for the Seahawks, catching 55 balls for 694 yards and 10 touchdowns, and will serve as a complement to Braylon Edwards, the team's first-round pick last year. Joe could make a good number two or third wide receiver for an fantasy owner.

Washington and San Francisco are nearing a deal that would send a 2006 third-round pick and a 2007 fourth-round selection to the 49ers for wide receiver Brandon Lioyd. Pending a physical, the deal should be completed before the end of the weekend.

Carolina re-signed RB DeShaun Foster to a three-year deal worth about $14.5 million.

Minnesota re-signed WR Koren Robinson to a three-year, $12.7 million deal that, with options, really is a one-year, $3 million deal.

Running back Chester Taylor has spent the past four years in Jama Lewis' shadow, but he stepped out of that shadow by signing a four-year, $14.1 million deal with the Vikings. The deal includes $5.6 million in bonuses, according to the Associated Press. Taylor was targeted by the Vikings as the best fit for new coach Brad Childress and his West Coast offense.

San Diego quarterback Drew Brees is scheduled to visit New Orleans today, but first is meeting with Miami officials in Alabama. Brees could be a 1st round tier if he is completely healed.

Pittsburgh wide receiver Antwaan Randle El will visit Washington today and Chicago on March 12.

Cincinnati quarterback Jon Kitna will visit the Jets.

New England wide receiver David Givens will visit Miami today and Houston on March 12.

Miami quarterback Sage Rosenfels will visit Houston today.

Fantasy Updates.........

Well the NFL is in turmoil as it trys to extend the current CBA (Collective Bargining Agreement). Once again the start of the new season and free agency has been pushed back till 1201 am, on Thursday 03/09/2006.

Here is what is making fantasy news todate:

Shaun Alexander the NFL's Most Valuable Player, now he has the most valuable contract for any running back in NFL history. Alexander has agreed to an eight-year, $62 million contract to remain with the Seahawks, agent Jim Steiner said Sunday night.

Staying with the Seahawks is great news for Alexander's fantasy value, as he remains in the same offensive system that produced more than 5,000 rushing yards and 64 touchdowns the past three seasons.

The Packers re-signed running back Ahman Green to a one-year $3 million contract on Sunday that includes an additional $2 million in incentives, according to ESPN.

The Jets will be keeping Chad Pennington around. The quarterback has agreed to a restructured contract that provides the team with relief on the salary cap. Pennington would have reportedly counted as much as $12 million against the cap. "Our intention all along was to have Chad remain with the Jets and we never wavered from that," general manager Mike Tannenbaum told the Associated Press. "Chad is a courageous and talented leader. Throughout this process, he put the interests of the team ahead of his own, enabling us to reach an agreement on terms beneficial to both parties."

Pennington would have probably been released had he not agreed to the new deal. The Jets will still need to come up with another plan at quarterback this offseason—either in free agency or via the draft—since Pennington has undergone two rotator cuff surgeries in the last year.

Running back Reuben Droughns signed a three-year contract extension with the Browns on Friday. Acquired from Denver in a trade prior to last season, Droughns' 1,232 rushing yards in 2005 made him the first Browns running back in 20 years to run for at least 1,000 yards in a season.

Droughns has two consecutive 1,200-yard seasons and now appears to be the feature back in Cleveland for the forseeable future.