A Bold move by Baltimore

The Baltimore Ravens pride themselves on being a tough, physical bunch.

They've also lacked a playmaking wide receiver for what seems like a decade.

That's why their trade for WR Anquan Boldin makes a whole lot of sense.

Boldin is one tough cookie (see video - he had to have his jaw wired shut after that hit but was back on the field in 4 weeks) and a tremendous playmaker, evidenced by his five 1,000-yard seasons in his seven-year pro career.

The move to the Ravens from Arizona's wide-open offensive attack won't change Boldin's fantasy value much - he's still a dependable No. 2 WR. But his change of address - along with Baltimore's signing of deep threat/manslaughterer Donte' Stallworth - makes Joe Flacco a legit fantasy QB.

As for Arizona, there's probably more double-coverages headed Larry Fitzgerald's way and a potential for former No. 3 WR Steve Breaston to step up - assuming they can find someone to play quarterback.

The scoop on the NFL's free-agent frenzy

The NFL's annual free-agent blitz has been in full swing for the past few days, with lots of vets getting kicked to the curb and even more guys cashing in with new multi-million deals. It can get a little dizzying trying to keep track of all the moves, so we've sifted through the transactions so far and examined a few notable relocations (and one big re-signing) and their effects on fantasy football:

• RB Michael Turner to Falcons: Turner's been on everybody's radar the past few seasons as the unofficial "best backup in the league" and a popular handcuff to San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson, but he's rarely made much of a fantasy impact becuase his carries were so sporadic. Now he gets his chance to show off in Atlanta, where he'll only have to compete with Jerious Norwood for playing time - a talented player, for sure, but no LT2.

It's unclear how this situation will unfold: Turner, though listed just an inch shorter than Norwood at 5-10, has a considerable weight advantage (more than 30 pounds) and seems to be more of a power runner to Norwood's speed game. He's always been productive in limited playing time (5.5 yards a carry in his career), but Atlanta obviously plans to give him a good chunk of the carries after committing $34.5 million to him over six years.

Norwood is explosive, though, in his own right (6.2 yards a carry in two seasons), as he showed while playing second fiddle to the since-released Warrick Dunn. Turner will likely be getting more touches and would thus be the more useful fantasy player, but it will be interesting to see how this shakes out. New Falcons coach Mike Smith comes over from Jacksonville, where the Jaguars wrote the book on the modern two-back system with Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. Both of those guys have been consistent fantasy producers while sharing time, and Turner and Norwood might do the same.

• Patriots re-sign WR Randy Moss: Good news for Moss and Tom Brady owners, bad for the rest of the league. In fact, it's the best possible news for Moss' value, as he had his greatest season playing for the near-perfect Pats as part of a record-busting duo. The prospect of Wes Welker being New England's top WR wasn't appealing for anybody involved, but now you can sleep easily and consider Moss and Brady both top-notch options at their respective positions again next year. As he said Monday on his official Web site, Moss has "unfinished business to take care of" in 2008 - music to your ears if you've got him in a keeper league.

• WR Donte' Stallworth to Browns: This move probably doesn't change Stallworth's value too much: he's still an inconsistent deep threat who's usually good for two or three outstanding fantasy weeks, depending on the situation, and a lot of clunkers. But it certainly helps recently re-signed Derek Anderson (or that young backup they've got, what's his name again?) to have another target, and it might even create more openings for Braylon Edwards and Kevin Winslow.

• WR Bernard Berrian to Vikings: We know the kid's got speed, but he moves from one ugly QB situation to another with the shift from Chicago to Minnesota. He's clearly the Vikings' No. 1 receiver right now, but that doesn't mean a whole lot with Tarvaris Jackson "throwing" him the ball, at least the Jackson of 2007. I have a hard time seeing him surpassing his 951 yards/five TDs from last season unless the QB play in Minnesota improves drastically. That means he's still a fantasy No. 3 WR that you play when the matchup suits you.

• TE Alge Crumpler to Titans: It wasn't long ago our buddy Algernon was a top-five tight end option, but his reputation took a hit during last year's train wreck of a season in the ATL. He did manage 444 receiving yards and five TDs, but he also butted heads with Bobby Petrino and was bothered by bad knees before being released - never a good sign. If Crumpler can hold up, however, he'll be a definite upgrade over what Tennessee had as red-zone options. He should also be accustomed to QB Vince Young's playmaking style after enjoying his best seasons when paired with Michael Vick. He's no longer an upper-tier TE, but assuming his knees are OK, I'd still put him toward the bottom of a growing pool of second-tier TEs with contemporaries Jeremy Shockey, Todd Heap and others.

Beware of the dud

I was going to do a Week 14 recap, but why live in the past? If you're reading this, odds are your fantasy team is in the playoffs this week, so I'll do everything I can to get you prepared.

The following guys are setting off my dud radar, and I’d give serious thought to benching them unless I’m really stuck:




• Donovan McNabb is usually hurt around this time of year, so you can understand if he’s a little rusty against the Dallas Cowboys. It’s been a rough year for his Philadelphia Eagles.

• Kurt Warner has produced since taking over as the Arizona Cardinals’ starter, but do you really trust him with your fantasy life? Sure, he threw three TDs last week, but he was also picked off five times.

• Kansas City Chiefs rookie Kolby Smith rushed 13 times for 12 yards against the Denver Broncos, who can’t stop anybody. What makes you think he’ll fare better against the Tennessee Titans?

• Shaun Alexander’s been good for about 60 rushing yards a game this season. Start him if that’s what you’re into, but don’t expect anything special.

• I’ve seen enough touchdown-free games by Vince Young this year – six to be exact. Don’t let that happen to you this week. Start Cleo Lemon if you have to.

• Laurence Maroney and Donte’ Stallworth look like afterthoughts in the New England Patriots’ juggernaut offense. They should be fantasy afterthoughts too, even though their team won’t hold any punches against the New York Jets.

• I enjoy Maurice Jones-Drew’s highlights as much as the next guy, but would a 30-yard, no-TD game shock you this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers?

• It’s been an awful season for Steve Smith and the Carolina Panthers. He hasn’t scored since Week 6. No reason to believe that'll change this week against Seattle.

• Sure, Jay Cutler's coming off a four-TD game. But he's also got three zero-TD games and six one-TD games this year.

• Kevin Jones has put some great games on this year's stat sheet, but there are also 1-yard and minus-4-yard games sprinkled in there. Be careful using him this week against the Chargers.

Photo by The Associated Press.

Great Dayne?

-This isn't easy for me as a Giants fan, but I'm recommending Ron Dayne this week. Not one of my favorite players, and his record as a pro is pretty spotty. That being said, the guy's on a considerable roll right now (at least 87 rushing yards in his last three games, plus three TDs in that span) and it comes at the perfect time - he faces the Colts on Sunday, and you know all about their run defense. Just recognize the risk involved (it's Ron Dayne after all, and he is a Texan). It's a gamble worth taking if you're lacking a solid No. 2 back.

-A stronger bet is Ladell Betts, who's making his case to be part of a platoon with Clinton Portis next season. Four straight 100-yard efforts make him almost a no-brainer against the Rams this week. That Skins backfield situation will be really interesting next season. And at the start of this year, who could have guessed we'd be considering Betts a better fantasy option than Shaun Alexander?

-As if you needed any more incentive to start Maurice Jones-Drew, Fred Taylor has been ruled out this week. Get him in that lineup.

-Is Tim Rattay actually a legit fantasy start? Well, the Bucs' offense finally stopped its Weekend at Bernie's impression last week in a surprisingly competitive game with the Bears, and most of that was due to Rattay (268 yards, three TDs). Unlike most of the other late-season replacement QBs around the league this year, Rattay actually has some NFL seasoning, and he's got a great matchup against the Browns. If you've got a void at QB, you could do worse. Just be a little wary of these late-season games that pit two bottom-feeders (see Thursday's Packers-Vikings game, last week's Packers-Lions game) - facing a poor defense isn't always a cure-all for a bad offense.

-Speaking of the Bucs, Cadillac Williams is out this week - too bad, because he misses out on the Brownies, a rare team he might have been able to run against. Michael Pittman will get most of the work, with a little Mike Alstott mixed in, but I don't think I'd be willing to risk my playoff life on either of those guys unless I'm in a super-deep league or I can time-warp to 2001.

-I'd ride the Mike Vick rollercoaster again this week. You never really know what you're going to get out of the guy, but he's got a tantalizing matchup at home against a Carolina's bruised bodies and bruised egos. His groin seems to be OK, and the last time he was coming off a four-TD game he followed it up with three scores (waiting another week to fizzle against the Lions and Browns and give his owners the finger).

-Gotta have a little Laveranues Coles in your stocking this Christmas (get it?) against the Dolphins ... he's had a couple huge games this year (last week included), and although his dealing with some back issues, the dude never misses games, and he always comes up big against Miami.

-Speaking of the Jets, this photo offers some insight on mastermind coach Eric Mangini's offensive gameplanning meetings. I think the furry red guy might be Brian Schottenheimer.

-Vernon Davis has scored in three of his first five games as a pro. If not for that broken leg he'd be near the top of all these discussions of the Great Rookie Class of '06. Start him against Arizona and keep him on your 2007 watch list. He'll be next year's Kellen Winslow.

-I like Buffalo's defense against Tennessee. Vince Young may be the greatest QB in the history of football, but I think the Bills will force the rook to make some mistakes up at the Ralph and maybe even score another TD.

-Willie Parker's been great, but he might have a tough time against the Ravens, who stuffed him in their first meeting (22 yards). Unless you're really deep at RB you might have to suck it up and start him, though. Hines Ward is an easier choice, as Ben Roethlisberger will be testing that hurting Baltimore secondary - as long as Big Ben can stay upright this time.

-I'd probably stay away from Donte' Stallworth this week. Last week's five-yard showing brought an end to a lot of fantasy seasons, and Stallworth's totals have been a mixed bag since Jeff Garcia took over as Eagles QB. Don't let your fate rest on this guy.

WEEK 1 - Sunday Recap

- Tough loss for the Chiefs in their opener, and even more damaging is the loss of QB Trent Green with a head injury for the forseeable future. Eddie Kennison, Tony Gonzalez and even Larry Johnson have to be slightly downgraded while K.C. goes with Damon Huard (seriously, he's the backup? Seriously? Koy Detmer wasn't available?).

- Rams-Broncos was supposed to be a track meet but turned into a field goal festival. New St. Louis coach Scott Linehan and his coaching staff unveiled this radical new thing called "defense," intercepting Jake Plummer three times and officially beginning the Jay Cutler Watch. Now the Rams' offense just needs to perfect those things called "touchdowns" and they'll be all set.

- Are things any clearer in Denver's RB situation? Not really. Tatum Bell went over 100 yards but predictably fumbled, while Mike Bell gained 58 yards on just 10 carries but scored a TD. It's gonna be like this all year, folks.

- Um, who were those imposters playing defense for Tampa Bay and Carolina? Two top-5 Ds played like expansion teams. Very disappointing showings, but you have to believe things will be fixed soon.

-And the Bucs' offense was almost as embarrassing. I know it was against the Ravens, and I know two OL starters were out this week ... but 25 yards for Cadillac Williams? No catches for Joey Galloway? Three INTs by Chris Simms? I'd be concerned.

- Warrick Dunn (132 yards) was a pleasant surprise against the Panthers. He doesn't get the respect he deserves as a fantasy force. Start him against New Orleans next week.

- Could Michael Jenkins (three catches, 77 yards, TD) be the breakout Atlanta receiver we've been waiting for?

- Nice Eagles debut for WR Donte' Stallworth (141 yards, TD), but keep this important fact in mind: He was playing the Texans.

- Decent debut for Reggie Bush, but the Earth is still rotating on its axis. Too bad return yardage doesn't count. I still think Deuce McAllister will have slightly more fantasy value this year.

- Checking in on some murky RB situations: Lawrence Maroney (17 carries-86 yards-0 TDs) vs. Corey Dillon (16-73-0) in New England; Thomas Jones (21-63-0) vs. Cedric Benson (11-34-0) in Chicago; Dominic Rhodes (16-29-1) vs. Joseph Addai (7-26-0) in Indianapolis; Chris Brown (16-64-0) vs. Travis Henry (9-22-2) in Tennessee; Derrick Blaylock (19-36-0) vs. Kevan Barlow (11-35-1) with the New York Jets.

- More signs of the Tight End Renaissance: eight TEs (Jeremy Shockey, Alge Crumpler, Kellen Winslow, Tony Gonzalez, Vernon Davis, Dallas Clark, Chris Baker, Adam Bergen) caught TDs on Sunday.

- Byron Leftwich (237 yards, 1 TD rushing, 1 TD passing) is a viable fantasy QB. He's got some weapons and will give you points when he's healthy.

- Is it time to worry about Shaun Alexander (19 carries, 51 yards, two fumbles, no TDs)? Not yet - he had a similar game (14 for 73 yards, no TDs) in last year's opener, and that season turned out OK) - but the Madden Curse is a powerful thing.

- Sure, Eli Manning was outdone by big brother Peyton, but he's going to put up numbers this year. He's learning.

- Those Manning brothers could be big stars someday. If only their agents could get them in some commercials or something.

- Titans QB Kerry Collins might actually be a usable spot starter at some point this season. One of his two INTs wasn't his fault. Vince Young will see a little action, but he's in no condition to start at this point.

- Good to see signs of life from Ahman Green and Jamal Lewis. They'll come in handy on your studs' bye weeks. Unless they are your studs.

- An encouraging sign: Clinton Portis was cleared to play tonight, even if it's just a backup role. Watch him closely, and if all goes well he should start next week.