The deadline for teams to apply the franchise or transition tag designations ended at 4:30 pm EST yesterday; so now it’s time to recap what happened and evaluate some of the moves (and non-moves).

Twelve (12) teams used the franchise tag designation:

• CB Nmandi Asomugha (Oakland)
• CB Marcus Trufant (Seattle)
• DE Jared Allen (Kansas City)
• DT Albert Haynesworth (Tennessee)
• DT Corey Williams (Green Bay)
• LB Karlos Dansby (Arizona)
• LB Terrell Suggs (Baltimore)
• OT Stacy Andrews (Cincinnati)
• OT Jordan Gross (Carolina)
• S Ken Hamlin (Dallas)
• TE Dallas Clark (Indianapolis)
• TE L.J. Smith (Philadelphia)

Most Surprising Tag: Stacy Andrews

Andrews played quite well last season, but it was his first year as a starter. The Bengals still have Levi Jones and Willie Anderson in the picture; although that may change now that Andrews has been tagged. Given the importance of Carson Palmer and Andrews’ age, the move isn’t a total shocker; although few outside of die hard Bengals fans expected it.

Most Surprising Non-Tag: Randy Moss 

As we discussed last night, not tagging Randy Moss is shocking only if they don’t already have a long-term deal completed; but unannounced until the February 29th start of free agency. We expect he IS under contract, but if this proves untrue, this may be the most shocking non-tag decision of the modern era.

Other Surprising Non-Tags 

• OT Flozell Adams (Dallas) – Adams is no spring chicken, and the Cowboys did use their tag on someone else (Ken Hamlin), but this is a bold move if the Cowboys don’t end up re-signing Adams. He has played at a high level the last few seasons and the team doesn’t have someone of his caliber (or close to it) currently on the roster. Will Jerry Jones be willing to go to battle with a young, unproven tackle in 2008?
• PK Josh Brown (Seattle) — The Seahawks tagged Brown last year and it was thought he could be tagged again this season; but now free agency looms. It’s never an easy decision to let a proven kicker walk, but perhaps they didn’t see the logic in making him the highest paid PK in the league.

Interesting Tag Minutiae

• Exclusive tag versus non-exclusive – As we discussed earlier this week, Nmandi Asomugha was tagged with an exclusive franchise designation, meaning the Raiders paid him more (the average of the 2008 top 5 projected salaries versus the 2007 in a normal tag) in exchange for keeping Asomugha from being able to negotiate with other teams. It’s telling that only one of twelve teams opted to use this tag; as it involves paying a player more yet brings less wiggle room. Why a team would pass up the idea of getting 2 first round picks if a team wants their free agent badly enough is a mystery (the Raiders would still have had the right to match).
• Is Suggs a linebacker or defensive end? — The Baltimore Ravens tagged Terrell Suggs as a linebacker, but he has filed a grievance contending he should be paid as a defensive end. The difference? About $800K for the one-year tender. This matter will be settled shortly (if Suggs lined up more than 50% of the snaps as an end, he’ll get his extra dough), but it’s odd that Suggs, who has gone to the Pro Bowl twice as a LINEBACKER would think of himself otherwise.

Most Likely to Sign a Long-term Deal: Dallas Clark

OK, this is cheating since Clark already signed a 6-year deal to remain with the Colts.

Least Likely to Sign a Long-term Deal:  L.J. Smith

The Eagles remain concerned about Smith’s health and likely won’t agree to a long-term extension without seeing improvement on the field. This is basically a one-year option to retain a talented, system TE in a very weak free agent market for tight ends.

How did we do in our predictions?

We previewed each division and our thoughts on potential tag candidates. Overall, I’d say we did quite well.

• We correctly predicted 9 of 10 ‘definites’; our only whiff was on Randy Moss
• We noted that Flozell Adams and Ken Hamlin were possibilities in Dallas [although we leaned toward Adams]
• We noted that Brown and Trufant were possibilities in Seattle [and leaned toward Trufant]
• We noted DT Corey Williams and WR Bernard Berrian as possible tags [one out of two]
• We suggested that Justin Smith shouldn’t be tagged

Now it’s onto free agency and the NFL draft!
Related Blogs:

• ‘Tis the Season for Tagging
• NFC East Potential Tag Candidates
• NFC North Potential Tag Candidates
• NFC South Potential Tag Candidates
• NFC West Potential Tag Candidates
• AFC East Potential Tag Candidates
• AFC North Potential Tag Candidates
• AFC South Potential Tag Candidates
• AFC West Potential Tag Candidates

Just a few days ago, Dallas Clark was franchised leaving the TE market relatively bereft of major talent in free agency. Just a few days later, Clark and the Colts have come to terms with a 6-year deal. Although terms have not yet been disclosed, a source told ESPN that the deal will make Clark the highest paid tight end in the league.

Anyone think Antonio Gates is hearing that and thinking about what kind of extension he deserves from the Chargers?

When you’re 6′6″, 320 pounds and coming off a dominant (40 tackles, 6 sacks in 12 starts) performance for an improving team; the franchise tag designation isn’t something that should come as a surprise. When you also happen to be only 26 years old; it really becomes a no-brainer. Such was the case for Albert Haynesworth, who was tagged by the Tennessee Titans.

Obviously both sides hope this move will lead to a long-term contract:

“This is a step in the process with Albert,” general manager Mike Reinfeldt said. “This designation gives us more time to work on a long-term contract with him. He was a dominant player for us this past season and one of the key components to our success on defense.”‘

Dallas Clark was given the franchise tag designation by the Colts today. Expect Clark to sign the tender, guaranteeing him $4.522 million. More likely, he and the team will come to terms on a long-term deal before the July deadline.

While this move was widely expected, it does officially leave the free agent market thin at tight end.

Top Free Agent Tight Ends

1. Dallas Clark (IND)
2. L.J. Smith (PHI)
3. Alge Crumpler (ATL) **
4. Bo Scaife (TEN) ***
5. Eric Johnson (NO)
6. Marcus Pollard (SEA)
7. Ben Troupe (TEN)

** = Released by 2007 team
*** = Restricted free agent

Houston Texans

The Texans don’t appear to have anyone that would warrant a franchise or transition tag designation.

Indianapolis Colts

TE Dallas Clark

The Colts would be well served to tag Dallas Clark if they can’t come to terms on an extension in the next week. Clark has evolved into one of Peyton Manning’s most reliable receivers and, from what we understand, is one of his best friends on the team to boot. With the Eagles decision to tag L.J. Smith, Clark becomes far and away the most attractive free agent tight end; the last thing the Colts want is to let Clark get into the open market.

sssss

Jacksonville Jaguars

Most of the Jaguars free agents are expendable, with only Quinn Gray and Ernest Wilford likely to be priorities. That said, neither player warrants the franchise or transition tag designations.

Tennessee Titans

DT Albert Haynesworth

Albert Hayneworth may be a controversial player and, from a personality standpoint, may not be the optimal guy to have in the locker room. That said, the Titans are faced with a difficult decision because Hayneworth’s on-field value is nearly unmatched at any position this offseason. At 6′6″, 320 pounds and only 26 years old, Haynesworth is the kind of defensive tackle that never sees the light of free agency. Expect the Titans to tag Haynesworth in order to continue negotiations on a long-term deal. It’s not out of the question the team would trade him, but not without significant value in return.

Norm Chow has been fired by the Tennessee Titans as offensive coordinator.

“I appreciate all of the hard work and contributions he made to the organization during his time here, but I have decided to go in a different direction and will start the process of finding a new offensive coordinator,” Fisher said in the statement.

The move may come as a surprise to some given Chow’s reputation as an offensive guru, but observers closer to the situation would argue it was inevitable given Chow’s growing impatience with Vince Young’s development. There are reports that Chow will return to the Pac-10 as UCLA’s offensive coordinator; but either way, his time under Jeff Fisher has now come to a close.

Was Chow’s time in Tennessee a success? It’s difficult to say considering Chow stepped in at the very end of Steve McNair’s tenure and was asked to mentor a raw but promising young QB in Vince Young. For comparison sake, let’s look at Tennessee’s offensive rankings in Chow’s three seasons compared to the three prior seasons (under OC Mike Heimerdinger):

Rushing Offense: League Rankings, 3-Year Comparisons

Chow’s rushing offense was more productive, on average. The Titans produced more rushing yards and more rushing TDs with fewer carries. But remember this included a mobile Vince Young, and even with the improvement, Tennessee failed to produce top-10 offensive rushing totals in any category over Chow’s 3-year span.

Passing Offense: League Rankings, 3-Year Comparisons

This is where Chow failed to earn his paycheck. Vince Young regressed mightily in 2007, and overall Chow’s passing offenses paled in comparison to Heimerdinger’s. Chow’s star was bright BECAUSE of the work with young quarterbacks. He was responsible for developing Steve Young and Ty Detmer while at BYU, Philip Rivers while at NC State and Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC. His inability to bring Young along is, no doubt, where the rubber failed to meet the road.

Total Offense: League Rankings, 3-Year Comparisons

When your passing numbers are pedestrian, it usually guarantees that total offensive rankings aren’t going to be complimentary, either. In Chow’s case, his Titans ranked just 22nd in total yards and 20th in total points, on average, a material drop from the 12th and 11th place, rankings, respectively in the 2002-2004 period.

Credit to our forum member pizzatyme for throwing out this little nugget today:

The Colts became the fourth team to win more games in a season following their Super Bowl victory. The other three all repeated as Super Bowl Champs:

• 1974 & 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers
• 1988 & 1989 San Francisco 49ers
• 1997 & 1998 Denver Broncos

Now for as interesting a statistical nugget as that may be, credit to forum member redman who quickly threw out the obvious monkey wrench (aka the Patriots):

In each of the three other instances, the repeating SB champ had either the best record in their conference, or the best in the league. The Colts obviously don’t this year, which is no surprise given how much of an outlier the Pats’ season has been anyway.

Quarterbacks (QB)

• Tom Brady, New England
• Peyton Manning, Indianapolis
• Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh

Snub Alert = NIL: They’re 1-2-3 in passing TDs and passer rating in the AFC, and are all in position to lead their teams to division titles. The AFC QB situation was top heavy this year, as Derek Anderson and David Garrard were also deserving; but not at the expense of the three selections.

Running Backs (RB)

• LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego
• Willie Parker, Pittsburgh
• Joseph Addai, Indianapolis

Snub Alert = Willis McGahee & Jamal Lewis: I keep hearing about Fred Taylor’s “Pro Bowl snub” and I’m just not seeing it. Sure, he’s averaging 5.1 yards per rush but is only 14th in yards from scrimmage with a meager 4 TDs. The real snubs were a pair of AFC North runners. McGahee has almost as many yards from scrimmage as Willie Parker but 4x the TDs (8 vs. 2) while Jamal Lewis is 9th in the league in yards with a better YPC (4.3) than either Parker or Addai. Lewis has 11 TDs to Parker’s 2.

Fullback (FB)

• Lorenzo Neal, San Diego

Snub Alert = NIL: The only snub alert is the fact that the Pro Bowl roster requires a “fullback” in the first place. The sooner they abandon the requirement (many teams don’t use a traditional fullback anymore), the better.

Wide Receivers (WR)

• Randy Moss, New England
• Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis
• Braylon Edwards, Cleveland
• T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cincinnati

Snub Alert = Wes Welker, Brandon Marshall & ‘Ocho Cinco’: I personally think the AFC WR selections are spot on, but a case could be made for Welker (96 catches, 9 TDs), Marshall (1,136 yards, 6 TDs) and Chad Johnson (1,265 yards, 6 TDs), too. Unfortunately for those three, it has been a historic year for WR production with Moss (19 TDs), Edwards (13 TDs) and Housh (11 TDs) all putting up huge numbers while Wayne is 2nd in the AFC in yards with an impressive 9 TDs while emerging as the go-to receiver for Peyton Manning in Marvin Harrison’s absence.

Tight End (TE)

• Antonio Gates, San Diego
• Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City

Snub Alert = Kellen Winslow, Jr.: Statistically Winslow and Gonzalez are close enough that one can’t argue Tony G doesn’t deserve to backup Gates (who is clearly the best in the business); but WATCHING them this year, I think the nod should’ve gone to Winslow. Gonzalez is having the quietest “big” season from a tight end in years, at least from this fan’s perspective.

Offensive Line

• Matt Light, New England (T)
• Jason Peters, Buffalo (T)
• Jonathan Ogden, Baltimore (T)
• Alan Faneca, Pittsburgh (G)
• Logan Mankins, New England (G)
• Kris Dielman, San Diego (G)
• Jeff Saturday, Indianapolis (C)
• Dan Koppen, New England (C)

Snub Alert = Joe Thomas (T), Eric Steinbach (G) & Michael Roos (T): You can argue that the Patriots line is greater than the sum of its parts; but for as long as the Pro Bowl has been around, dominant teams have been afforded multiple lineman on the roster. I’m less bothered by the trio of Patriots as I am the presence of Jon Ogden. Sure, he may be a Hall of Famer but he’s been an absolute shell of himself this year and his presence keeps two young deserving tackles, Roos and Thomas, off the roster. Similarly, Eric Steinbach has mauled people and been worth every penny Cleveland paid him; there is room for him on this roster over any of the guards selected.

Agree or Disagree? Who would you have made a case for?

Mario Williams just wrapped up a 3.5 sack game tonight against the Broncos, giving him 13 on the season (2nd in the NFL). He’s been a dominant pass rusher and, unlike many of today’s pass rushers, has the size to consistently stop the run. It seems that the Texans got absolutely filleted when they chose Williams over Reggie Bush and Vince Young last April. Yet, I wonder if as many people would say it was a mistake in retrospect.

Reggie Bush has struggled mightily and is now injured; while the Texans could use a feature back history tells us it’s far easier to find a productive runner than a dominant pass rusher. And while Vince Young still has many believers, he’s struggled at times this year while the Texans appear to have not one, but TWO above average passers on the roster. Sage Rosenfels has played extremely well, and while Matt Schaub has battled injuries, it would be hard to argue the combination of those two isn’t a decent option.

Over the last few weeks, three NFL running backs have joined the 10,000-yards rushing club.

• LaDainian Tomlinson: 10,048 yards rushing (in Week 12)
• Warrick Dunn: 10,044 yards rushing (in Week 12)
• Fred Taylor: 10,221 yards rushing (in Week 10)

Congratulations are in order as they become  just the 20th, 21st and 22nd players in  NFL history to rush for at least 10,000 yards.

OK, by now you’re probably sick of hearing about the “Game of the Decade” that is otherwise known as this Sunday’s Colts versus Patriots contest. But since you’re reading this blog, it would be downright remiss to not weigh in on the game, at least a little bit right?

The conventional wisdom is that New England is going to beat Indianapolis on its march to a perfect season; with bettors making the Patriots a 6.5 point favorite on the road. I’m not a gambler so I can’t speak to the logic of that point spread, but I have to wonder when the last time a…

• Defending Super Bowl champion
• 7-0 on the season
• Playing at home

…was a near TD UNDERDOG?

Rather than blather on about who I think is going to win, here are some numbers to compare the teams:

2007 Colts vs. Patriots (Per Game Stats)

Not surprisingly, these numbers paint a picture whereby:

• The Patriots offense is demonstrably better (among the best in history)
• The Colts defense is better, but not by a large degree

And what about the team’s relative competition so far?

• Patriots’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage: 41.4%
• Colts’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage: 52.9%

So while the Patriots are crushing their opponents, don’t forget that the Colts are dominating their opponents, too, and for the most part they’ve played better teams. Does this mean the Patriots won’t win big this weekend? Maybe not, but it sure looks to me like Indy is an excellent team in their own right and won’t be the cake walk many people are assuming.

After watching the Jacksonville Jaguars get beat up by Peyton Manning and company, I came away thinking that the Jaguars offense, especially at the receiver position, needs a huge upgrade. Mike Walker should return next season giving the offense another playmaker. The offense is based on running the ball around aging Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. The 31 year old Taylor is playing well enough but cannot have many years left in his career. In fact, he has seen his carries per game average decrease for several years.

With David Garrard under center, the Jaguars are left with few playmakers. Yes, Garrard has been solid, but Jones-Drew is arguably the only playmaker on the offense. The wide receivers have not played well. They have invested two first round picks on pass catchers that do not start, Reggie Williams and Matt Jones. Through six games, those two have combined for 19 receptions. In fact, second-year tight end, Marcedes lewis, has more receptions and yards than either.

In 2008, expect a new coaching staff, new starting receivers (other than Northcutt in the slot), and possibly a new quarterback. The Jaguar quarterbacks have totaled a mere 107 pass completions in 172 attempts and only scoring passes. This is not bad, but shows how conservative the offense has been so far limiting any chance of a big play other than Maurice Jones-Drew breaking a long play.

The positive side of things is that the Jaguars are 4-2. But have relied on their stout defense to win the games. In the six games so far this season, the offense has scored 17 or fewer points four times. The good news is that the defense has held their opponents under that number five times.

How long can the defense carry the team? I cannot imagine it will last too long with the upcoming schedule. Look for Jacksonville to be a borderline playoff team. With the Leftwich debacle and now the injury to David garrard, things could get ugly very quickly.

It’s only Wednesday and today’s optimism can be tomorrow’s disappointment…BUT, for those fantasy owners who feel like they’ve been fielding a patchwork team the last few weeks due to devastating injuries and killer bye weeks, it APPEARS that good news may be upon us.

While this is all preliminary (keep checking Footballguys.com for real-time updates as we receive them)…the following key players are hopeful of returning to the field in Week 7:

• QB Marc Bulger (STL) is hopeful that he’ll be able to start this week after missing time with his rib injury. He was on the active roster last week and is feeling much better. He’s still not 100% but he should be good enough to play.
• RB Joseph Addai (IND) is expected to practice this week and play in week seven against the Jaguars.
• WR Anquan Boldin (ARI) is expected to return to the starting line up this week after missing time with a hip injury. He ran some before the game Sunday and felt like his old self. “It’s the first time I’ve been able to explode, run routes and things like that, he said. “It isn’t sore today (Monday) so we’ll test it again Wednesday and see how it is.”
• WR Javon Walker (DEN) returned to practice this week. He missed the past two games with fluid in his surgically repaired right knee. Walker said he may take it easy in practice this week, but there is no way he is going to miss Sunday’s game. “It’s crunch time,” he said. “I got to be out there.” Walker said the knee won’t be completely healthy until after the season when he can rest it. “I have to play through it,” he said. “I’m ready to go.”
• WR Andre Johnson (HOU) could return this week when they host Tennessee. A decision won’t be known until at least Wednesday. “He’s progressing well; (we’re) very, very hopeful that he’s ready to go this week,” HC Gary Kubiak said. “We’ll run him tomorrow. We liked the progress we saw last week, so we’ve just kind of got our fingers crossed that he’s ready to go this week.”
• WR Marvin Harrison (IND) is expected to practice this week and play in week seven against the Jaguars.
  
• TE Vernon Davis (SF) is expected to return to practice this week and has a chance to play this weekend. When coach Mike Nolan was asked about Davis’ status for this week, he said, “It’s questionable. We’ll see how they practice on Wednesday. I’m hopeful.”

Unless you just got back from a 3-month deep sea fishing expedition (in which case, welcome back!), you know that Brett Favre broke Dan Marino’s all-time TD pass mark this weekend.

All-Time TD Pass Leaders

* = Active Player
Link: Pro-Football-Reference

How long will Favre hold the record?

Marino overtook Fran Tarkenton for the record in the middle of the 1995 season, and held the league’s TD title for slightly more than 11 seasons. Favre seems unlikely to hold the record as long, thanks to Peyton Manning.

At 31 years old, Manning is already 7th on the all-time list with 283 TD passes. His career average of 1.91 TD passes per game stands as the best in league history (among qualified passers) and well ahead of Favre’s 1.72 TD passes per game.

All-Time TD Passes per Game (Min: 100 games played)

Based on Manning’s current TD/game rate, he would catch Brett Favre in 73 games.

• 422 TDs (Record) - 283 TDs (Manning:Current) = 139 TDs
• 139 TDs / 1.912 (Manning:TDperG) = 72.69 Games (Round to 73)

But there are factors to consider if we want to take an accurate stab at this prognostication.

1. Favre isn’t retired yet
2. Manning may not continue his current TD/Game pace as he ages

We have no idea how long Favre will continue to play, but I’m going to bet he’ll play through the 2008 season. If the Packers (currently 4-0) were to surprisingly win the Super Bowl this year, all bets are off. But for now, let’s say he plays out the next 28 games (12 more games in 2007, 16 in 2008).

*** At his career pace, that would give Favre another 48 TD passes ***

Now, let’s try to guesstimate what Manning’s TD/game mark will resemble over the next phase of his career. Manning is in his 10th season. Here are the TD/Game rates for some other all-time TD leaders through their first 10 seasons.

• Dan Marino (83-92): 1.92 TDs/Game
• Brett Favre (91-00): 1.76 TDs/Game
• Fran Tarkenton (61-70): 1.46 TDs/Game
• Warren Moon (84-93): 1.39 TDs/Game
• John Elway (83-92): 1.10 TDs/Game
• Joe Montana (79-88): 1.38 TDs/Game

Now let’s look at how they fared in their 11th season and beyond…

• Dan Marino (83-92): 1.43 TDs/Game
• Brett Favre (91-00): 1.67 TDs/Game
• Fran Tarkenton (61-70): 1.29 TDs/Game
• Warren Moon (84-93): 1.42 TDs/Game
• John Elway (83-92): 1.59 TDs/Game
• Joe Montana (79-88): 1.54 TDs/Game

As you can see, there is no hard and fast rule which says a QB has to fall off as he enters his 2nd decade in the league. In our above sampling, three of the all-time greats (Marino, Favre and Tarkenton) saw meaningful dips as they got older; but the other three (Moon, Elway and Montana) actually saw their output increase.

ON AVERAGE, there was only a 1% decline among the all-time greats at the position in their later years. While Manning could certainly see a decline, there’s not enough statistical evidence to say it’s likely.

So let’s get back to prognostication.

Favre has 422 TDs and is likely to throw another 48 if he plays through the 2008 season. If Manning stays healthy, and maintains his current TD/game pace throughout the 2nd part of his career, he will need another 98 games to break Favre’s All-Time TD record.

• 422 (Favre career TDs) + 48 (Remainder of Favre’s career) = 470 TDs
• Minus 283 (Manning career TDs) = 187 TDs to the record
• 187 / 1.912 (Manning: TD/G pace) = 97.8 games (Round to 98)

If Manning remains healthy, that means he’ll become the NFL’s All-Time Leading TD Passer in the 2013 Season. Get those tickets now!

Week two of the NFL season saw many players integral to fantasy football nicked up …. with some worse than others.

This is by no means an exhaustive list but shows how widespread the injuries were for skill position players.

QBs:

• Marc Bulger hurt is knee and ribs in week two. He should be ok, but keep an eye on the situation. Make sure to pick Gus up if the news changes on the severity.
• Tarvaris Jackson injured his groin in a hard fought lss to the Detroit Lions. He was having a terrible game as it was. Brooks Bollinger is the backup.
• Steve McNair also has a groin injury. He missed Sunday’s game against the New York Jets. His replacement, Kyle Boller, player well. In fact, many in Baltimore think Boller might give the Ravens a better chance to go far in the playoffs.
• Chad Pennington hurt his ankle in week one against the New England Patriots. He tried to warm up on it but Kellen Clemens started in his stead and played admirably for his first career start. This could be a budding QB controversy.

RBs:

• Rookie Ahmad Bradshaw, who is primarily a kick returner at this time, hurt his elbow in the game against the Packers. Combine this with the Jacobs injury and the Giants are very thin at running back.
• Vernand Morency is still battling knee problems and could be out even longer.

WRs:

• Greg Jennings practiced all week in hopes of playing but his injured hammy could not go. Now, he will sit all week in practice and should be a dreaded game time decision.
• Andre Johnson sprained his PCL (knee) in the week two game. He has been playing so well that the MRI results will be very important.
• Patrick Crayton, playing instead of injured Terry Glenn, broke his finger in the game against the Dolphins. It looked nasty. He went back in the game but was held without a catch.
• Plaxico Burress re-injured his ankle in the week two game against the Packers. With the way Plax has been playing, this is a situation to monitor.
• Burress’ teammate, Steve Smith, fractured his shoulder blade. He should be back in around a month.
• Troy Williamson injured his hammy against the Lions.

Chris Brown darted his way to 175 yards rushing on 19 carries in Tennessee’s Week One victory over Jacksonville. As a result, Brown was the top waiver wire priority in just about every league he wasn’t already rostered; and more than a few people inserted him into their starting lineups this week.

The result? 12 carries for 34 yards and zero touchdowns.

Now let’s compare Brown’s tallies with LenDale White:

• Week One: Brown (19 for 175, 0 TDs) vs. White (18 for 66, 0 TDs)
• Week Two: Brown (12 for 34, 0 TDs) vs. White (15 for 64, 1 TD)
• Total:  Brown (31 for 209, 0 TDs) vs. White (33 for 130, 1 TD)

White has been the more consistent back in the first two weeks, and his TD came at the goal-line. But is White the clear goal-line back?

Goal-Line Carries, Tennessee (Through Week Two)

• LenDale White: 4 rushes, 1 TD
• Chris Brown: 2 rushes, 0 TDs
• Vince Young: 2 rushes, 1 TD

The bottom line is that despite Brown’s huge Week One, this remains very much a RBBC situation. And unless you think the Titans defense is going to be stout enough to allow the team to rush 30-40 times per game, there are going to be very subpar weeks for both of these guys.

If you raced out to grab Brown thinking he was going to grab the brass ring and displace White from an even split; you might want to try to trade him away before the rest of your league realizes your mistake.

Josh Scobee, considered by many a top-10 fantasy PK this season, is expected to be out 6-to-8 weeks with a quadriceps injury that he suffered during Week One warm-ups. The Jaguars have replaced him with veteran John Carney. Carney was 23-for-25 last year on the top rated offense in the league (New Orleans) and has 100+ points in six of his last seven seasons. If you’re desperate for a fantasy kicker, Carney is an excellent waiver wire option.

Thursday Night.

Colts vs Saints.

Football is BACK and it COUNTS.

You had your fantasy draft(s) and cleaned up thanks to diligent research and a little help from your friends at Footballguys.com. …or so you thought:

THE AGONY

• Reggie Bush was your first round pick, and was facing a Colts defense that couldn’t stop the run last year and now was without Booger McFarland. [12 carries for 38 yards (3.2 per rush), 4 catches for 7 yards, 0 TDs]

• Deuce McAllister was your flex position guy, there was no way he wouldn’t find the end zone once or twice against that sieve defense. [10 rushes for 38 yards (3.8 per rush), 2 catches for 7 yards, 0 TDs]

• Drew Brees was nearly perfect in the preseason, and seemed destined to pick right back up where he left off a season ago when the Saints threw for more than 4,400 yards. [28 for 41 (68%) for 192 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs]

THE ECSTASY

• Joseph Addai was there at the 5 spot and you took him, unsure if you were reaching for an unproven back. But he had the opportunity and you hoped he could thrive. [23 carries for 118 yards (5.1 per rush), 3 catches for 25 yards, 1 TD]

• Marvin Harrison has seven straight seasons with 10+ TDs, and you drafted him with the hope he has at least one more elite season in him. [4 catches for 83 yards (20.8 per catch), 1 TD]

• Reggie Wayne may take a back seat to Marvin Harrison in Indy, but he’s a fantasy WR1 in your eyes. [7 catches for 115 yards (16.4 per catch), 2 TDs]

• Peyton Manning was your first round pick. It’s never easy making a QB your first rounder, but Manning is just too good and too consistent to ignore. [18 for 30 (60%) for 288 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs]

Last night’s game was a microcosm of why we all love this hobby. Sometimes you feel like a genius, other times you feel like every decision you made was dead wrong. Get ready for another 255 roller coaster rides just like it.

With the release of Byron Leftwich from the Jacksonville Jaguars, many dynasty fantasy owners were left stunned and very unhappy. There are many teams rumored to be interested in Leftwich including: Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons, as well as several others.

The savvy dynasty owner sees this as a perfect time to buy. The current Leftwich owner is left with the feeling that he was kicked in the teeth. There are no starting QB jobs open. At best, Leftwich owners are hoping for fantasy points at the end of this season, but most probably will have to wait until 2008.

Is Byron Leftwich worth a 2008 2nd round rookie pick? Most definitely, especially if you have a good team and the pick will be late in the round. Leftwich was a top fantasy passer last year, before injury, even with the less than stellar corps of pass receivers.

This may be the last time you can get Leftwich for this cheap of a price again.

The good news is LenDale White has clearly dug himself out of the doghouse through solid preseason play and has been named the Week One starter in Tennessee. Any time you can grab an NFL starting RB past the first four or five rounds, it’s something fantasy owners should at least be aware of. But temper your enthusiasm as it appears Jeff Fisher is ready, willing and able to go with a true committee approach; at least to start the season.

Barring a late change of heart by the coaching staff, LenDale White will start at running back when the Titans open the regular season Sept. 9 at Jacksonville.

Fisher said veteran Chris Brown will also get plenty of carries.

“I thought LenDale and Chris both showed enough this preseason in different situations against different defenses … to warrant significant playing time,” Fisher said.

“As far as which guys lines up first, I’d say in all likelihood it will probably be LenDale, but it is not going to be a situation where he gets 90 percent of the carries. I like the rotation, I like the fact we can keep them both fresh. I think they both have a chance to be more productive when they are fresh in the ball game.”

Getting the starting nod is half the battle. Remember, White seemed to be in serious jeopardy this offseason when the Titans used a high draft pick on Chris Henry and then brought back Chris Brown after seemingly letting him leave in free agency. But White did what the coaches asked (i.e., show up to camp looking more like a runner than an offensive tackle), and has been the best of the trio of backs for most of the preseason.