How to Fill the Fantasy Football Void Left by Andre Johnson

I've been asked a few times who I think will pick up the slack while Texans star Andre Johnson is out.

We all know that Johnson owners are hurting and there is no word coming on how long AJ will be out. So, from a fantasy football perspective, where does this leave owners who suffered from this loss? Or for that matter, how can any fantasy football owner who is struggling at the wide receiver position capitalize on this?

Let's take a fantasy football look at how the Texans skill players will pan out in Johnson's absence.

2011 Fantasy Football Week 5 Rankings

We're already into Week 5 of the NFL season, and onto another weekly position ranking. And, as has been a theme this year, we are seeing a lot of sleepers and backups cracking starters lists due to injuries.

Here are some highlights from the list below:

1) With games like Carolina/New Orleans, Detroit/Chicago, Green Bay/Atlanta, San Diego/Denver, New York Jets/New England, I think we can expect to see a ton of shootouts for a huge scoring weekend. Expect a lot of big numbers out of quarterbacks and receivers.

2) Arian Foster returns to his rightful spot in the top three running backs. I like him best this week as the Andre Johnson-less Texans hosts the Raiders.

3) Continuing on the Houston theme. It's hard to call which Houston receiver will be getting most of the work. For my money though, I think tight end Owen Daniels is the guy to watch.

4) I like at least one Jets running back to have a big week with New England hurting up front and at linebacker. Whether it is Shonn Greene or LT, I'm not so sure. I'd love to see Tomlinson get most of the snaps though.

5) Patriots' RB Ridley looked nice, but I still have BJGE higher, as does the New England depth chart. The safe bet is to play Welker as he is a monster this year, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Revis moving inside to cover him. This could open up some sleeper potential for Deion Branch and other NE wideouts. Gronkowski should have no problems.

Working on another post going in to some sleepers and predictions, so stay tuned for that.

As always, if you've got any questions or comments (or if I left someone obvious out) post it all in the comments.

Week 1 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

Here we are. The long awaited Player Rankings for Week 1. This is a weekly post where we will look at every matchup in the league and list the players how we think they will perform.

A few little notes for you:

• This isn't exactly standard and isn't exactly PPR. Consider it almost a .5 PPR ranking. 
• Just because these are my rankings, they may not reflect the advice that I give you one-on-one. Sometimes the gut has to outweigh the statistics.
• Kicker is borderline impossible to predict. My picks are based a lot on strength of offense. Its all about how many times a team will make the red zone.
• The Defense rankings you see here are what I will be using for Shuffling Defense Strategy. There are a handful of teams in the top 10 that are likely available in your waivers. Snatch them up unless the team you already own is higher.
• If I happened to skip any player that seems he should obviously be on the list, please bring it to my attention. I likely just forgot him.
• Feel free to use this post as an Advice post. If you have any roster questions, fire away.
• IDP rankings are very similar week in and week out. Basically, if the guy is performing well, play him. If he is not, drop him. I'm not in the game of predicting tackles.

Enjoy!

Draft Time: Fantasy Site Battle

So I’m doing this awesome thing this year in the hopes of proving just how awesome I really am. I’m getting together with some fellow fantasy football gurus and playing in a 12 man league. These are all guys who work on radio shows, or write other blogs and somehow contribute to the fantasy football community. And I’m going to do everything in my power to prove the GHL is the greatest fantasy site on the internet.

The rules are a little funky, but for sanity’s sake, let’s just say that it is basically a PPR league.

We just finished the first round of the draft, so let’s take a look at the picks and break them down a bit. Feel free to analyze the picks yourself in the comments below and let me know what you think was a good move and what could be considered tragic.

Adrian Peterson vs. Arian Foster: Who is Really Number One?

You've got the first pick in your fantasy football draft. So who will it be? Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson or Houston Texans' Arian Foster?

There are two backs at the top of everyone’s draft chart. It’s borderline unanimous. Adrian Peterson, a top fantasy football running back since his rookie season, versus Arian Foster, a monster who broke onto the scene in 2010. There is a clear argument to be made for draft either one of these stars. But which one will be better? We’ll look at five different categories to find out exactly which of these running backs you should be taking with the first overall pick.

Strategy for Drafting Early Receivers

Every day we are getting closer and closer to the 2011 NFL season, which means that we are definitely getting closer and closer to your fantasy football draft. For the next few weeks we will be updating the player rankings as preseason statistics come in. We’ll also be providing you with more draft analysis and strategies so you get the most out of your 2011 fantasy football selections. If you have an idea for a draft strategy article or something you would like to know more about in the preseason, give us a comment and we’ll provide our expertise.

Something that I have been talking about a lot is the need to draft your running backs early. There is a dwindling number of elite talent at the running back position, so taking them with your first couple picks is a pretty simple way to a successful season. However, in larger leagues, this sometimes poses a problem for those with early picks.

Value over Risk: 5 Arguments Against Fantasy Football Handcuffing

Hey GHL fans. This week we’re going to be focusing a little bit on some draft tactics and strategies that you can enforce in your league. Over the weekend, I tried my damnedest to run a few mock drafts, but unfortunately there was at least one idiot in each one of them skewing the data. I kid you not, some ass took Peyton Hillis with the second overall pick. Jerk. Anyways, let’s kick things off with my five arguments AGAINST Fantasy Football Handcuffing.

Fantasy football owner are constantly trying to maintain the greatest team they can manage. Whether it is by way of the snake draft or through auctions, the primary goal is a simple one: Value. Value is most noticeable in the first five or six rounds of the draft, after all those are the rounds that you are drafting your starters. But the real subtlety of value comes in the later rounds in selecting backups.

2011 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings

Alright. We’re slowing down to a shuffle with the Free Agency moves. Welcome to day two of the preseason position breakdowns. Let’s take a look at the 2011 Fantasy Football class of running backs. I included a little bit of explanation for a handful of them. And either you guys really enjoyed the quarterback rankings or are a little bit shy. I want some comments people! Tell me what you think about the running back class of the 2011 Fantasy Football Draft. And let me know if you want an explanation on any of the guys. Click the link to read the list...

Follow these links to see rankings of other positions:
Quarterback - Running Back - Wide Receiver - Tight End - Kicker/Defense