Christian Ponder and Kyle Rudolph were drafted together. Ponder went in the first round and Rudolph, his future safety net came in the second. While the rookies were locked out of mini-camps and OTAs they worked out together. Both Ponder and Rudolph were going the same thing.
They had yet to get the first taste of NFL money and they had to know they would be the sacrificial lamb of the collective bargaining negotiations. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say they formed a great rapport. As they started their NFL careers they would lean on each other.
While that is still the case, a lot of their time could be spent together on the second team.
Sure the Vikings will run plenty of two tight end sets, but by bringing in McNabb the Vikings are making a statement that says they want [...]
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| fantasy football, Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings, NFL
With Brett Favre gone and the drafting of rookie tight end Kyle Rudolph, Visanthe Shiancoe is hard to rely on this year for fantasy team owners. Here's a breakdown of my top 2011 twenty fantasy tight ends.
Here’s an expanded and updated look at my 2011 tight end rankings.
1. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers: Gates was limited to ten games last year, but his ten touchdowns and 782 yards were enough maintain the top slot.
2. Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys: Steady as they come. He’s topped 90 catches and 1000 yards in three of the past four years. His “off” year was still 81 and 952.
3. Jermichael Finley, Green Bay Packers: His ability is not an issue. Durability is a different story. High risk, high [...]
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| fantasy football, Minnesota Vikings, NFL, Visanthe Shiance
Toby Gerhart’s 322 rushing yards and 21 catches for 167 yards hardly made him a blip on the 2010 fantasy football radar. Neither did his one lonesome touchdown. Adrian Peterson has been a model of consistency his first four seasons in the league. So will there be enough touches to make Gerhart a fantasy option?
Assuming Brett Favre is gone for good, which I believe is the case at least for the Vikings, then this will likely be a run heavy offense once again. That style would make sense with a rookie quarterback (Christina Ponder) or virtually a rookie quarterback (Joe Webb) under center. When Bill Musgravedeveloped Matt Ryan, he was firmly committed to running the ball [...]
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| fantasy football, Minnesota Vikings, NFL, Toby Gerhart
The Vikings have so many questions on offense that it’s easy to overlook their defensive issues. The Vikings were once considered a unit in the same company as Baltimore and Pittsburgh, at least in terms of fantasy production. They were great against the run thanks to a dominant front four, which was the heart and soul of their defense. That may not be the case in 2011.
For starters, Kevin Williams and Pat Williams are expected to serve a four game suspension for the star caps case that finally caught up with them. That’s if Pat Williams returns to the club. The odds are good that he’ll be back. Ray Edwards, on the other hand, has already made it quite clear that he no longer wants to play for the purple. Brian Robison will take over for Edwards, but that is a step [...]
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| fantasy football, Minnesota Vikings, NFL
Adrian Peterson delivered once again despite playing on the Vikings’ sinking ship. He ran for 1298 yards and 12 touchdowns. He added 36 catches for 341 yards and another score. After being dogged by fumbles, he improved his ball control by coughing up just one fumble all year. Peterson is once again in the conversation for the first overall pick in fantasy leagues. He shouldn’t slip by the top four or five picks even in PPR leagues. With a rookie quarterback he’ll likely be called upon to take some of the pressure off. Toby Gerhart showed he was capable towards the end of the year, and should see an increase in touches this year. He remains strictly a handcuff though.
Matt Forte bounce back from a somewhat disappointing [...]
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| fantasy football, NFC North, NFL
So I write about the Vikings at NFLTouchdown.com. That doesn't mean I'm going to reach on Christian Ponder or Visanthe Shiancoe in fantasy football drafts. It's just a coincidence that I ended up with two Vikings in my first six picks in my ongoing fantasy football experts early 2011 mock draft. Here's a look at the websites participating in the mock:
Lesters Legends
Fantasy Football Starters
GO Ahead Score
Fantasy Football Trader
Fanatic Fantasy Football
Junkyard Jake
All Purpose Roto
DraftSharks.com
FootballGuys
Pro Football Focus
Fantasy Footall Xtreme
Fantasy Shrink
Here's a look at my roster through nine rounds:
QB: Tom Brady
RB1: Adrian Peterson
RB2: Michael Turner
WR1: Dwayne Bowe
WR2: Brandon Marshall
TE: Zach Miller
Flex: [...]
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| adrian peterson, fantasy football, Minnesota Vikings, NFL, Percy Harvin
Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers is by far the best in the division. The writing was on the wall the wall he handled the Brett Favre situation while still delivering on the field. A concussion cost Rodgers from reaching 4000 yards for a third straight year, but fantasy owners can live with the 3922 yards, 28 TDs (11 INTs), 356 rushing yards, and four rushing TDs. If he’s not the best fantasy quarterback in the league, he is certainly a top three choice.
Chicago’s Jay Cutler cut his interception total from 26 to 16. His yardage (3274) and touchdowns (23) also dipped, but the Bears were winning and more committed to the run. He doesn’t have great weapons around him, but he makes do. The Bears drafted Gabe Carimi to provide some much [...]
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| Aaron Rodgers, Chicago Bears, Christian Ponder, Detroit Lions, fantasy football, Green Bay Packers, Jay Cutler, Matthews Stafford, Minnesota Vikings, NFC North, NFL
The Vikings were terrible last year. Brett Favre was nowhere near the level he played at in his first year with the Purple. Sidney Rice wasn’t Sidney Rice. Percy Harvin and Visanthe Shiancoe were in the same boat. Jared Allen and Kevin Williams weren’t even as dominant. It was like it was a completely different team…except for Adrian Peterson.
Peterson, who was much maligned for his fumbling issues, lost just one fumble, and it was caused by his own teammate, Bernard Berrian. AP ran for a career low 1298 yards, but nobody should be complaining about nearly 1300 rushing yards. He added 36 catches for 341 yards. Peterson ran for 12 touchdowns and caught another one. Quite simply, Adrian Peterson had a typical year for him.
What exactly is a typical year for #28? In his four [...]
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| adrian peterson, fantasy football, Minnesota Vikings, NFL
Last season the Chicago Bears wide receivers showed a lot of potential. Johnny Knox was a fifth round pick out of Abilene Christian and Devin Aromasohodu spent a couple seasons on the Indianapolis Colts practice squad.They both excelled when they had a chance and this season their expected to do big things.
Now the two receivers will be a big part of the offense. Devin Aromashodu appeared in 10 games last season making 24 catches for 298 yards and four touchdowns. Aromashodu didn't get playing time until week 14 against [...]
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| 2009 chicago bears, 2010 chicago bears, 2010 Training Camp, Bears Backer, Chicago Bears, chicago bears offense, chicago bears offseason, fantasy football, johnny knox, Mike Martz, NFL draft, Pro Bowl, wide receivers
John Carlson, a second round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2008 NFL draft. In his rookie season with the Seahawks, Carlson bloomed into one of the top ten tight ends in the National Football League.
In his first season, the rookie out of the University of Notre Damn compliled 627 receiving yards, five touchdown receptions and 55 receptions averaging over 11 yards per catch.
Not only did Carlson have a great statistal season, he broke two Seahawks tight end records and tied another one.
Carlson broke the Seahawks TE [...]
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| ESPN, fantasy football, John Carlson, Seahawks, Seattle
