The pain and the sorrow of preseason

Now it's official. All of my AUFL keepers are hurt. Derek Anderson has a concussion and Brady Quinn is looking competent. Willis McGahee had knee surgery and Ray Rice looked great against the Ravens. At least I drafted Rice. Andre Johnson hasn't played yet, but considering his injury history, that might not be a bad thing.

At least I have decent backup options. Brett Favre is heartburn waiting to happen. Jamal Lewis and Matt Forte should hold the fort down until I figure out who's the man between McGahee and Rice. I briefly thought about floating a McGahee/Rice for Thomas Jones trade offer before common sense and watching Ray Rice run changed my mind. At wideout I picked up Santonio Holmes, Roddy White, and Donald Driver. I can survive a week or two without Johnson if that's what happens.

In the hating Mike Shanahan moment of the week, one of my fellow dynasty owners picked up Anthony Alridge. It's the ultimate "how many guys do you have to pick up to lock up a RB situation" move. At the moment I have Selvin Young, Andre Hall, Ryan Torain, and Peyton Hillis. Heck, I haven't released Mike Bell, who couldn't stick with the RB-hurting Texans for more than a week. Alridge is hellafast, but I can't see him doing more than making a practice squad.

I'm going to blow off last Friday's poor QB performance for the Titans. The Raiders play press man coverage and that's not good when you have receivers who can't get open or catch. I am not getting warm fuzzy feelings from the mess that is the Titan wideout situation. I do feel confident in the defense and the offensive line. I wonder if there will be 40 pass attempts total in the season opener against the Jags.

I did an audit of my fantasy teams last weekend. Other than my z34 defensive line (Mario Williams and a bunch of stiffs led by Dwight Freeney), I feel good about my teams. I'm not going to be bold and guarantee three playoff spots. I do believe that my teams won't suck.

Roster stat of the week: In z34, I have 16 running backs. In z17, I "only" have 13. I do have four starters in that league, and Ricky Williams might be number five. If there ever was a time to sell high on a guy, Williams after week one might be the one.