Chuck from the Extra Points forums joins Steve to discuss all the news in a week that turned everything upside down. This week, Maurice Jones-Drew is our waiver wire pick of the week, the Madden Curse comes for Shaun Alexander, Kurt Warner goes from starter to benchwarmer to starter overnight, Chris Simms' splenectomy, T.O.'s hospital visit, and answers to lots of questions!

Podcasts Mentioned:
Audio Pandemic
Ask Lyndon
The Mind of Men

Technorati Tags: Sports Football American Football Fantasy Football Podcasts NFL

For what it's worth, at the news conference today TO claims he never attempted to commit suicide, he just had an allergic reaction to medication, and the whole thing was all a big misunderstanding. He also said he may even be ready to play this week vs. TEN. I still think there's no way he's missing Week 5 in Philly.

I said before the season started I wouldn't touch TO with a 10-ft. pole, and I stand by that opinion. And that's the last thing I'll say about this whole situation.

--Scott

The AP is reporting that, according to a Dallas police report, Terrell Owens overdosed on painkillers he was prescribed for his broken finger in an apparent suicide attempt. The report states that he was depressed and swallowed 35 pills, including two more as rescue workers arrived.

Owens had said on Tuesday that his injury was not serious and that he would practice this week, but obviously his availability is uncertain at this time for Week 4 and beyond. The Cowboys have planned a press conference for 2:30 PM Eastern Time.

So all of you who had visions of riding Matt Lienart to victory this week may have to be patient; ESPN reports that Dennis Green has changed his mind overnight and Kurt Warner will start after all.

Given that Denny Green likes to change his QBs like most of us change our socks, this situation could change daily until Sunday, so if you're planning on starting any members of the Arizona offense, you'd be well advised to keep a close eye on the situation.

For those of you who chose Shaun Alexander as your #1 RB, I have some bad news: the Seahawks star has a broken foot, and will be out for a couple of weeks at a minimum. Time to start making alternate plans. Also, word out of Chiefs camp is that Trent Green will miss Week 4 due to the lingering effects of his concussion.

And apparantly the Cardinals have had enough of Kurt Warner's inconsistency and susceptibility to turnovers. It is reported that rookie QB Matt Leinart will start in his place this weekend vs. ATL.

Well, that didn't take long, now did it?

RB Ahman Green apparently tweaked his hamstring and has been added to the injury report as questionable. Needless to say, a mid-week downgrade is a very bad omen, and coupled with Green's storied injury history, it would be prudent for Green owners to watch the Sunday inactives very closely this week.

If Green can't go, then Vernand Morency and Noah Herron would likely split carries. The RBBC lowers the potential value of both, but the matchup against Detroit is favorable, so if you're in dire straits, it might be worth looking for one or the other on the waiver wire.

This week, don't sleep on the byes, how Rex Grossman can help your team, the most talked about broken finger in football, fumblitis leads to injury in Oakland, the Jake Plummer bench-watch begins, and we take our weekly guess on what the running back situation is in Hoston (and why it probably doesn't matter).

Podcasts Mentioned:
The Jersey Todd Show
Upon Further Review
The Mep Report

Technorati Tags: Sports Football American Football Fantasy Football Podcasts NFL

As speculated on our message board(!), Titans backup QB Billy Volek was dealt to the Chargers for a future draft pick. After TEN signed Kerry Collins, Volek dropped to the third spot (why? Volek was great filling in for McNair last year) and decided he could do better elsewhere.

So now he'll be #2 in SD, behind Philip Rivers. Is this an improvement? Probably, and he could provide some fantasy value should Rivers start to struggle (or get hurt). But, based on Rivers's performances in the first two weeks, that doesn't seem likely. So Volek might be worth picking up if you have Rivers and want some insurance, but otherwise I can't see this increasing his fantasy value that much.

Want to get in on the debate? Join our message board!

If you've been having trouble registering for the message board, please send an e-mail to ExtraPointsPodcast@gmail.com and we'll delete your username so you can re-register. Apparently, the forum server was having some issues yesterday, but everything seems to be fixed today. We apologize for the inconvenience.

And if you haven't already signed up, what are you waiting for?

Thanks to Kjell1979 from the message board for alerting us that both Deion Branch and Steve Smith will be inactive for Week Two. Adjust your lineups accordingly.

Don't forget to sign up for the message board to hear and discuss news like this as it happens!

This week, how to recover from a week 1 loss without destroying your team in the process, Morency and Gado switch places, Joe Jurevicius get hurt again, Deion Branch finds a new home, Jerry Porter builds himself a new doghouse. Plus: The first post-game interview in our podcaster celebrity league, and lots of listener questions!

Links:
Sign up for our new message board!
The Bostonist
Mrs. B's Patriot World

Technorati Tags: Sports Football American Football Fantasy Football Podcasts NFL

It's reported that Green Bay and Houston have swapped backup running backs. We'll have full analysis on the next episode of Extra Points. For now, if either player is on your waiver wire, it's worth grabbing them if you have room on your roster, because the value of both backs increases with this trade.

So, the drama ends. Deion Branch is now a Seahawk. The Patriots got a first-round pick in compensation, which will in no way help the passing game this season.

Branch will certainly be successful in the Seahawks' offense, though it will take him a few weeks to acclimate himself to the offense. Wait until he has a big game before you start him.

As for the Patriots, hopefully Doug Gabriel is as good as he's supposed to be, because the passing game without Branch against the Bills didn't look all that great, and the competition isn't likely to get much easier...

Just some fun for a Friday:
I'm reading this week's installment of Sports Guy's NFL Picks, and he links to a YouTube video of a bug in Madden 2007. Apparently, under some circumstances, if you let the computer control your QB, he'll throw backwards on every down. The person who posted the video called it the "Aaron Brooks Glitch". Now, given how much I bust on Brooks for throwing in the wrong direction, how could I not post about that?

The Washington Post's Redskins blog quotes RB Clinton Portis as saying that he feels like he is at 75% and doesn't want to rush himself back and consequently hurt himself for the long haul, so he'll sit out if he doesn't feel 100%. Since Washington is slated to play Monday night, avoid Portis at all costs. If you have no other choice, try to grab Ladell Betts off your waiver wire if he's still available; he's likely to shoulder most of the load if Portis sits, and the matchup against Minnesota is a favorable one.

This week, Scott reviews his draft, Big Ben gets cut up, Domanick Davis gets shut down, Deion Branch sits out, and the Chicago RBs and Titans QBs get jerked around.

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Due to the overwhelming response to the Survival League, we have expanded the maximum number of entrants to 50, the highest Yahoo allows!!

To enter our league (which is free- see post from Aug. 31 for complete details), go to http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/survival. Our group ID# is 14153 and the password is eppodcast.

The deadline for submitting your Week 1 pick is 2:59 am EST on Thurs. Sept. 7. The deadlines thereafter are 2:59 am EST on the day of (11:59 pm PST the day before) the first game of that week. E-mail us at extrapointspodcast@gmail.com with any questions.

Good luck!

Ben Roethlisberger has been ruled out for Week 1 following an emergency appendectomy. He will be week-to-week following Week 1, so keep a close eye on the situation if this affects you. Charlie Batch is expected to start at QB, so downgrade the rest of the Steelers offense accordingly.

In response to Deion Branch's threats to hold out until Week 10 if he is not traded, the Patriots have traded for Doug Gabriel, formerly of the Oakland Raiders, for an undisclosed draft pick. Gabriel is arguable a better receiver than anyone in New England's current receiving corps, so he should start. If he learns the offense quickly, he could turn into a #1 receiver and become a genuine fantasy asset.

Back in Oakland, this move helps both Jerry Porter and Ronald Curry, who move up to the #2 and #3 slots, respectively. Porter has had a disasterous preseason to this point, so Curry could end up being Oakland's #2 receiver before long. The only question is how effective Aaron Brooks will be in that offense once the regular season starts.

The Texans have made it official: Domanick Davis has been placed on injured reserve, ending his 2006 season before it even began.

Currently, the Week 1 starter is slated to be Wali Lundy, who will split carries to some degree with Vernand Morency. Both should move up on your draft sheets. Also monitor the Texans' waiver moves, as they may try to gain some experience at RB by picking up someone who was released following this weekend's cuts.

This week, the case against Antonio Gates, TEs to look for in the later rounds, whether LJ or LT is the better pick, Stephen Davis is MIA at Yahoo, RB or WR in the 2nd round, offline drafts take forever, who's starting in Houston if Domanick Davis doesn't play, a power ranking formula for commissioners, Vernon Davis's fantasy value, truth or BS regarding the Travis Henry starting rumors, and whether Detroit is for real this year.

Links:
FFToday
AntSports
Power Ranking Formula
Oberon Mountain FFL

Technorati Tags: Sports Football American Football Fantasy Football Podcasts NFL

We're all about variety here at Extra Points! As many of you know, fantasy football appears in many differnet forms. This season, we decided to organize a league for those who don't have the time to devote to the more traditional matchup-type leagues (or are already doing those other leagues and want an additional challenge): Survival Fantasy Football.

How does the game work? Simple: Every week, you pick a team you think will win its game. If the team you picked ends up winning that weekend, you stay in the game and move on to the next week. If your team loses, you are eliminated from the competition.

It's that easy. It can take as little as one minute per week to participate in this league. Just sign on to the web site, pick a team, and hope they win.

But there is a catch: once you pick a team, you cannot pick that same team again for the rest of the competition. This makes the game quite challenging.

There is no money required to enter, and we may even rustle up a prize for the eventual winner. Also, should everyone in the league be eliminated early on, we can reset everyone's status and start again.

So to sign up, go to http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/survival. You will need a Yahoo ID to play, but if you don't have one it's free to get one (Click "Sign Up" at the top of the screen). Follow the prompts to join a private group. Our group ID# is 14153 and the password is "eppodcast" (enter all lower case, without quotes).

As of now I capped the group size at 25, but can raise it up to 50 if there's interest (if you try to sign up and the group is full, please e-mail us indicating such).

And tell your friends! This group is open to anyone interested.

Questions? E-mail us at extrapointspodcast@gmail.com. Good luck becoming the last survivor!