In the second instalment in this series on Fantasy Football, I’ll be looking at players to avoid in the early rounds this year… for one reason or another. There will basically be 2 kinds of player in this category. First, let’s start with those who will miss the start of the season (or even more).

Vincent Jackson – I love Vincent Jackson. The guy is a great player and has won me many a fantasy game over the years. He’s usually my first receiver pick in the draft, that’s how much faith I have in him when he plays. Unfortunately this season he has a 3 game suspension. On top of that he has refused to sign his tender as a restricted free agent, and rumours are flying around that because of this we might not see him play even after his suspension finishes. I hope not, because he is talented and a great guy to watch play. If it was up to me I’d be leaving him to the free agency wire and keeping a close eye on how events unfold.

Santonio Holmes – Santonio Holmes, fresh from a move to the New York Jets from the Pittsburgh Steelers, is joining a very, very good team. It’s just a shame he won’t be playing for the first 4 games. Usually you’d see Santonio go in the first 3 rounds of a draft, and rightly so. He is a solid receiver and will get you points. But missing 4 games AND a bye week means 5 total weeks of zero production. If you see him still there in the later rounds then by all means grab him as a bench warmer for half the season, but don’t waste a good pick in getting him early.
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Two divisions left to go, both in the AFC. The West, but first let’s take a look at the South.  Things didn’t happen in quite the way they were predicted last season. Judging by the number of Colts and Titans shirts we saw at Wembley last year, UK NFL fans would love to see some of these teams in London soon. But they’ll probably just have to hope for serious post-season runs for now…

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Thursday, 10th September
Tennesse @ Pittsburgh, 10-13
This was a tight, tight game and the Titans can walk out of Heinz Field with their heads held high. Well, maybe apart from Rob Bironas. Chris Johnson lit it up a couple of times, as did the Ben/Santonio connection. But the real stars were both defensive units, certainly against the run.

Anyway, we both called this one correctly.

Sunday, 13th September
Jacksonville @ Indiana, 12-14
Well, we thought that this would be a close game and so it proved! Jones-Drew looked good as the focal point of the Jags attack, and the Colts did enough but will need to show us more if we’re going to believe in them this year.

Detroit @ New Orleans, 27-45
Drew Brees put on another passing clinic, completing 6 TD passes to 5 receivers. Matt Stafford wasn’t quite as impressive, but did get the Lions moving when the running game was shut down. On the plus side, the Lions did put up 27 points which is more than in any game last year. There were signs, but there’s still work to do.

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So I’ve played the new Madden; I’ve watched Any Given Sunday; a fairly new addition: bought tickets for the Wembley game and got my predictions down on paper. What’s left?

Ah yes, the NFL Fantasy League draft…

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Taking a rest from the defense (though we’ll be back to look at linebackers soon) we move to the offensive side of play. We’ll start with the running backs.

We can’t vouch that these will be the best players in absolute terms, have the biggest fantasy football upside or even be any good (though they might be)… but they’re players that we like to watch.

First up is Steve Slaton of the Houston Texans.
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In my First Look at the AFC South I called it one of the toughest to call. And it still looks like that today.

I’ve not made many adjustments to my predictions elsewhere so far. Let’s see if there’s any changes here.
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So many of the divisions seem to have me saying “this is a tough one to call”… and the AFC South is the same again. The Colts took five successfive titles until last year’s impressive Titans‘ run but the Jaguars have made their mark in recent years too.

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