Do you want to take your fantasy football game to the next level? Check out the 210 pages of the 2014 Fantasy Football Draft Guide. Everything you could want including 600+ player rankings, 30 in-depth strategies from the best high stakes players, system breakdowns, offensive line breakdowns, 32 NFL team pages, daily fantasy football strategies & SO MUCH MORE!! If you’d like the Fantasy Alarm team by your side all season long make sure you get our Assistant G.M. product as well and find out how to GET THEM BOTH FOR FREE courtesy of DraftKings!!
Maybe it is a sign of me finally growing up, or just the love I have for the readers of Fantasy Alarm, but this entire weekend that I have been in Las Vegas I have been literally attached to my phone/computer keeping an eye on the NFL preseason games. Even though there was a million dollars at stake in fantasy baseball on Saturday night, I was keeping watch over the eight preseason NFL games going on at the same time.
I am now on the way back home after a unsuccessful run at the DFBC million dollar title this weekend. From 35,000 feet above this beautiful country, I present to you the NFL Training Camp Report for Sunday August 17th:
I Would Have Lost My S&!T Too!!
Is Jimmy Graham a complete idiot or something? Does he understand that nobody outside of his immediate entourage gives a single shake of a dick about his TD dunk celebration.
In case you missed it, Jimmy Graham did what Jimmy Graham does on Friday night and caught two touchdown passes (both from Luke McCown). That is not the story however. Graham decided after his first TD to go ahead and break the NFL’s new rule about endzone celebrations and perform his dunk the ball over the crossbar on the goal post.
Well this drew a 15 yard penalty for the Saints and some angry words from Saints head coach Sean Payton. That is still not the story. Graham then caught another TD late in the second quarter and DUNKED THE BALL AGAIN!!
This caused Sean Payton to absolutely lose his shit as he sprinted out to Graham and looked about ready to bite him in the face. Graham then started shouting at his coach to which Saints players had to restrain both of them. Graham did not play after the incident and Payton really laid into him in his postgame presser.
I have been around for a while and have played or covered sports my entire life. Graham’s stance about saving his stupid TD celebration is one of the most irritating things I can recall. For starters, nobody gives a damn about your TD celebration. Secondly, you weren’t the first to dunk over the crossbar so get over yourself. Thirdly, doing something that means nothing to anybody at the direct cost of your team and teammates is insanely selfish and downright stupid. To think that it would be OK to cost your team 15 yards every time you score a TD in absurd. It’s time for Jimmy Graham to grow up and obey the rules of the your coach, team and the league.
Bears Sign Santonio Holmes
I have to say that I am surprised by this one but it does have quite a bit of fantasy appeal. Former Steelers and Jets WR Santonio Holmes signed a one year deal with Chicago this weekend to evidently be a slot option in Marc Trestman’s offense.
The Bears are one of the heavier passing offenses in the league and are already tossing out quite a bit of weapons in Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett in the passing game. Holmes proved that he was no coverage buster while being the lead dog for the Jets but this is a nice fit for him.
The overall fantasy numbers aren’t going to be very good but it is a situation that deserves our attention in larger leagues. I still am going to say that Holmes isn’t a draftable receiver in 12 team leagues but that could change as we get closer to the regular season.
So Many Injuries
The Falcons lost starting LT Sam Baker for what could be the entire 2014 season after he sustained a torn PCL ligament in his knee on Saturday. The Falcons were really trying to rebuild their O-line this offseason by bringing in OT Gabe Carimi and then using their first round pick to select Jake Matthews out of Texas A&M. But losing Baker means that Matthews will likely slide to the left side while Carimi fills in on the right. Either way this is a big blow to the Falcons offense this season.
Remember when everyone (except me) was in love with Isaiah Pead two years ago? Well he has never really panned out in St. Louis and will now miss the entire 2014 season after tearing his ACL on Saturday. Pead still has one year left on his rookie contract but the Rams are definitely going to be ready to cut him loose before next season as Pead has been a complete bust since being the 50th overall pick in 2012.
The Bills are confident that first round pick Sammy Watkins will be fine after suffering a rib injury in the Bills second preseason game this weekend. Watkins left the game early and had to be helped to the lockerroom by trainers in the second quarter. The Bills offense as a whole has been absolutely terrible thus far and is a direct hit on head coach Doug Marrone’s system. Marrone got way too much credit for his years in New Orleans when he was basically Sean Payton’s water boy.
The Bengals gave Giovanni Bernard a goal line carry on Saturday which is great news for those taking Gio in the early second round this year. What is more is that rookie RB Jeremy Hill could miss a few weeks with a shoulder injury. This would really cement Bernard into a more longterm goal line role if Hill is injured and the team releases BenJarvus Green-Ellis as expected.
The Eagles may be without their rookie WR Josh Huff after he suffered a shoulder injury in the Eagles 42-35 loss to the Patriots on Friday night. Initial X-rays were negative for a fracture but evidently he is dealing with a significant sprain of the ligaments in the shoulder and will likely miss some time.