Believe it or not, there is still an NFL team in Cleveland, and Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer is one of the reporters covering the Browns there. She spoke with Matt Camp and me on Sirius XM Fantasy Football this past weekend about the Browns, and the outlook for the 2010 season with new team president Mike Holmgren at the helm. Mary Kay Cabot covers the Browns for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer (@MaryKayCabot on Twitter): Cabot told us what we presumed: rookie Montario Hardesty was supposed to be the team’s feature back, but the sprained knee he suffered early in camp has caused him to miss about all of training camp. That’s a blow for the Browns’ plans. They absolutely need Hardesty to get back on the field and get some live reps before they entrust a big role to him. However, Hardesty has used the time off to brush up on the playbook, attend meetings, and get the mental aspect of his reps down, so Cabot thinks he isn’t as far behind as he possibly could be. Cabot doesn’t know if he’s capable of being on the field come Week One in the capacity the Browns envisioned, but he is ...

This weekend on Sirius XM Fantasy Football, fellow senior writer Matt Camp and I were inundated with calls (which we love), so we really did not have much time for the guests that have populated the show in recent weeks. Still, we had space for our pal Kent Somers, who joined us to talk some Cardinals, and how the 2008 NFC Champs are moving on without future HOF QB Kurt Warner. Kent covers the Cards for the Arizona Republic (@kentsomers on Twitter): Of course, we knew that the Cardinals would be suffering a downgrade at QB without Warner, no matter who took the job. Right now, it’s apparent that Matt Leinart has done nothing to lose the job that was assumed his in the first place. Leinart has had some shaky practices according to Somers, but Somers admits Leinart may just look “bad” because Warner has been the model of consistency over the last few years. While up and down, Leinart has had some good days recently, and that’s more than can be said for veteran Derek Anderson, who was brought in to back up (and maybe push) Leinart. Anderson has more pure physical ability than Leinart, but his inaccuracy has to ...

Of course, mere hours after I posted the last Sirius Business, WR Terrell Owens officially signed with Cincinnati, rendering most of what I wrote completely out of style. So naturally, we invited our good friend Joe Reedy back to Sirius XM Fantasy Football discuss what impact T.O. has had in his first week as a Bengal. Also, we found some time to talk about the Pats’ passing game. Joe Reedy covers the Bengals for the Cincinnati Enquirer (@joereedy on Twitter): Reedy reiterated that QB Carson Palmer was definitely behind the move to add Owens, and his support was absolutely [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="364" caption="No doubt about it: Carson is pumped for T.O.'s arrival"][/caption] reinforced as soon as Owens first practiced with the team. Since Owens has arrived, the atmosphere at training camp has been as expected: a ton of excitement, with exceptionally loud cheers for Owens and his fellow star, Chad Ochocinco. Reedy noted that the media hasn’t even mentioned the Bengals’ defense has been completely ignored recently, and that’s what carried the team last year. It’s amazing what a guy with Owens’ gravitas can accomplish. Reedy commented that Owens was already working out with the team after being in town for fewer than ...

This past Sunday, Matt Camp and I spent a lot of time talking AFC North, with some Packers thrown in. We got a lot of interesting tidbits, so naturally, Sirius Business is back. Will T.O. end up in Cincy? Even if not, the Bengals’ interest in him is telling: Joe Reedy covers the Bengals for the Cincinnati Enquirer (@joereedy on Twitter): Reedy raised an interesting point with the Terrell Owens situation. If Antonio Bryant is actually healthy (his knee looks severely questionable at this point), who becomes the #3 receiver if T.O. is signed? You’re paying Bryant like a #2, and Owens isn’t going to be comfortable playing third fiddle (hell, do we know if he can he even play second fiddle?). This is already a crowded WR position. Rookie Jordan Shipley and Andre Caldwell will be battling it out for the slot role, Dezmon Briscoe is a talented rookie, and don’t forget that the Bengals signed Matt Jones early in the off-season. Reedy’s point was this: the Bengals have enough talented young guys who won’t clear waivers if they choose to sign Owens and go with three big names at the WR position. [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="428" caption="T.Ochocinco? It may happen."][/caption] The concerns ...

Good afternoon everyone. I’m going to continue my recent series of posts wrapping up our weekend interviews on Sirius XM Fantasy Football, and we have a lot of good stuff to blog about today. Matt Camp and I talked shop with three of the best beat writers in the business: John McClain covers the Texans for the Houston Chronicle (@McClain_on_NFL on Twitter): The Texans want to be more committed to the run game in 2010, considering their high-powered offense in 2009 finished just 30th in running the football. McClain mentioned that it’s hard for the Texans to gain consistency in that respect because their offensive coordinators are often scooped up for other jobs, but new coordinator Rick Dennison is a believer in Gary Kubiak’s system. This should help the RBs stay on the same page (or hopefully turn to the next one) from last season. McClain believes Steve Slaton, if healthy (he had neck surgery this off-season), will be the starting RB and main ballcarrier in [caption id="" align="alignright" width="428" caption="Steve Slaton had a disappointing 2009, but he looks good this off-season"][/caption] Houston. Slaton bulked up last year to attempt to show that he can handle a full workload, but it backfired, and he lost ...

I'll admit it. When the Bears signed Chester Taylor to a four-year, $12.5 million deal way back in March, I was puzzled. Why did Chicago [caption id="" align="alignright" width="443" caption="Chester Taylor will be switching allegiances in 2010"][/caption] need a RB who did much of the same things as incumbent Matt Forte? Taylor can catch the ball and block in pass protection, but so can Forte. Taylor weighs just shy of 220 lbs. So does Forte. Plus, they gave a lot of money this season ($7 million is guaranteed in 2010) to a guy who accrued more than 200 touches just once in his eight-year career: 2006 in Minnesota. What I was assuming, at least early on, was a fantasy headache, especially since multidimensional backs are a staple of new coordinator Mike Martz’s offense. But just before training camp begins, things appear to be shaking out a little bit. Yes, Forte was a consensus top-5 pick in 2009, and he’s plummeting down draft boards thanks to an anemic season that saw him average 3.6 YPC on 258 carries, and score just 4 total TDs (his production in the pass game was good, 57/471/0, but no TDs hurt him). He battled through hamstring and knee injuries, although ...

Hey everyone. Matt Camp and I had a pair of interesting guests stop by on Sirius XM Fantasy Football (Sirius 211, XM 147) this weekend, and we were able to talk 49ers and Ravens. Here are some of the more interesting tidbits: Matt Barrows covers the 49ers for the Sacramento Bee (@mattbarrows on Twitter): The 49ers are indeed trusting their 2010 season to Alex Smith at the QB position, and they really aren’t worried about it. They understand Smith’s limitations, but so does Smith, and having a second year in Jimmy Raye’s offense might work wonders for Smith, who has never had the same offensive coordinator in consecutive seasons in his entire NFL career. Barrows argues that the 49ers’ “weaponry” is the best its been since Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens were the starting receivers, even though the Niners plan to run a conservative approach offensively. Coach Mike Singletary wants to play like he did during his playing days in Chicago: defense and running the football. The 49ers have the personnel to do that. [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="390" caption="RB Frank Gore could be a big get in the 1st round this year."][/caption] That conservative approach will focus on Frank Gore, who is undoubtedly the ...

Another weekend, and another couple of interviews for Matt Camp and me on Sirius XM Fantasy Football (11 AM – 2 PM Saturday and Sunday on XM 147/Sirius 211). We broke down the Colts, and fought through some technical difficulties to grab the scoop on the Eagles. Here are some interesting tidbits we got: Mike Chappell has covered the Colts for the Indianapolis Star since they arrived from Baltimore in 1984: The big news from the generally quiet Colts this off-season was Peyton Manning’s neck surgery. Peyton has been dealing with neck pain for years, and the surgery seems to have relieved that. Chappell has seen Manning as sharp as ever in workouts and camps, and he raised an interesting point: If the neck pain was affecting Manning’s play, imagine how good he could be after the surgery. Scary. Manning is also in a contract year, and Chappell confirms what we all know: Peyton is going nowhere. He’s talked to both Manning’s agent and GM Bill Polian, and it appears as if Manning’s new contract is a matter of when, not if. But the Colts very rarely do contracts BEFORE the season. They’ve done deals during the year (a la S Bob Sanders), ...

Fellow senior writer Matt Camp and I hosted a special edition of Sirius XM Fantasy Football on Saturday, and we had a handful of interesting guests filling us in with some worthwhile tidbits about the teams they cover. If you didn’t get to listen in, here’s a brief summary of our guests had to say. John Glennon covers the Titans for The Tennesseean (@glennonsports on Twitter): He doesn’t think Vince Young will be suspended for the recent strip club incident, but it does reflect poorly on Young and the franchise. One of the biggest hurdles for Young in becoming a worthwhile NFL QB was his maturity, and this represents a step back in an area he had made a lot of strides. It’s upsetting because Young has been working hard this off-season. Still, Glennon believes Young has taken more steps forward than backward in recent months, especially in regard to his on-field performance. The Chris Johnson situation isn’t yet resolved, although Glennon believes he’ll report at some point during training camp. Johnson is scheduled to make about a half-million dollars this year, which will make him the lowest-paid player on the Titans’ projected starting offense. For a guy who gained more yards from ...

As part of my draft preparation every year, I pull out my trusty red Sharpie to mark off players I want absolutely nothing to do with under any circumstances. Names in recent years I’ve avoided include Larry Johnson, Shaun Alexander, Marion Barber, and Clinton Portis even if they were considered 1st or 2nd round picks. The argument can be made that some players on this list are worth drafting based on the value you can get from them, but we’ve already done that article (see big picture of Joe Flacco on the home page). We’ll call this group “Matt’s Migraines” because that’s what I get when I think of how bad I’ve been burned by risky picks, especially in the early rounds. I’ll be adding to this group throughout the Summer, but for now here’s a few guys I’ll be avoiding come draft time. Ronnie Brown (RB, Mia) – Look, we know how talented this guy is, but he’s played a full season just once in the last four years and just 32 games over the last three. Whether it was the torn ACL in 2007 or last year’s Lisfranc foot problem that continues to plague him this off-season, Brown just ...