http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/1611 Recent articles about Chris Cooley en-us "It pretty much sucks. I'd much prefer to be at home, lyin' down in bed on my only day off. But, you know, I mean, it's great to come out and be with the guys." ~ Clinton Portis Hopefully you'll enjoy the Bog's behind-the-scenes look at the latest Easterns commercial more than Portis enjoyed making it: Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:04:57 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302550 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302550 The NFL is full of characters, but I might have to say that my two favorite are the Washington Redskins own Clinton Portis and Chris Cooley. Here they are on the Eastern Motors commercial shoot joking around with a bunch of teammates. Although I don't understand what spraying silly string on each other has to do with selling cars, it sure looks like fun. VIDEO! Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:09:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302511 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302511 I thought I might spend the next few columns here at A Librarian's Touch looking at some positions on your fantasy team that you might be glossing over in your draft prep. So, today let's look at the tight end and where you might be able to snag some serious value with your TE spot. Much like QBs this year, there are really only two or three TEs that are truly top tier going into the season: Jason Witten and Kellen Winslow. Perennial favorite Antonio Gates could be listed there as well, but there are lingering concerns about his recovery from foot surgery, making him a bit more of a risk than in past years. Gates hasn't practiced yet this season and says he'll only come back if he's "ready to contribute" to the team. To read more, click the link... Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:49:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302296 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302296 A few spirals thrown around the Web on Wednesday… John Clayton mentioned in his mailbag that J.T. O'Sullivan could win the starting quarterback job. Oh, god… Matthew Barrows, staff writer for the Sacramento Bee, noted that Alex Smith looked impressive in two-minute drills… The obligatory column that Vernon Davis is filled with confidence. I mean, who isn't confident at this time of year? Davis should be the number one receiving option for the 49ers, so you figure he has to be thinking Pro Bowl; he should actually consider All-Pro, although Jason Witten and Chris Cooley could have something to say about that… Nothing really new on the starting quarterback front, overall. There is an exhibition game on Friday against the Raiders, but a starter hasn't been announced. Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:53:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302222 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302222 Tiered tight end rankings for the 2008 fantasy football season. Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:47:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301879 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301879 Having not one, but two quality quarterbacks on your roster can help drive you to the playoffs and even a championship, so it's important you evaluate all the quarterbacks and not just concern yourself with the top 10 arms. Luckily, the Bruno Boys help do that for you and below have identified our favorite sleepers and undervalued players at the quarterback position. Two are league veterans poised for a big rebound after injury-riddled seasons last year, while the other two are young guns looking to take the next step. To read who they are, click the link... Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:17:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301038 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301038 A detailed look at the top 20 Fantasy NFL tight ends going into the 2008 season. Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:13:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300623 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300623 As reported earlier, Javon Walker became big news Saturday. When ESPN's Chris Mortensen broke the news about his attempted retirement, we decided to take a 'wait and see' approach to the news. Even though it's rare that Mortensen whiffs, when it comes to the Raiders ESPN has a way of turning into BS-spin... Mon, 04 Aug 2008 02:20:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300439 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300439 It?s late July and that means fantasy football is getting ready to kick off.. Some players are going to come out of nowhere and flat out dominate. Some older players who used to be studs will fall off and some players will be affected by a coaching staff change or a quarterback that leaves town. It is all ways wise to do some research before walking into a draft. The NFL is a copy cat league and there are some trends popping up fantasy owners should keep their eyes on. First running back by committee a lot have teams have made the switch. Darren McFadden or Justin Fargas would be fine backs to have but both players will split time at least early on and they will take carries away from each other. The only team that can pull that off is Jacksonville Fred Taylor and MJD are both worthy of consideration. When looking for a back stay away from Denver, Miami, Tampa Bay, Tennessee and Detroit. The fullback is dead and has given birth to the slot receiver. Wes Welker redefined the position last year and put up crazy fantasy numbers. Expect more teams to follow the trend. If you have a receiver go down to injury or some of them end up on the same bye week you can find value on the waiver wire. The third wide out on a pass happy team won?t be a long term solution but can get you by in a stop gap situation. Last but not least teams that have classified their quarterbacks as game managers are teams that don?t have a fantasy worthy quarterback. Game Manager means 10 of 17 passing 123 yards and no touchdowns. When you think game manager think Damon Huard. Be aware of the unstable quarterback situations in Chicago, Kansas City, Minnesota, Baltimore and San Francisco. Quarterback 1.Tom Brady- New England Patriots 2.Peyton Manning- Indianapolis Colts 3.Tony Romo- Dallas Cowboys 4.Carson Palmer- Cincinnati Bengals 5.Drew Brees- New Orleans Saints 6. Derek Anderson- Cleveland Browns 7.Eli Manning- New York Giants 8.Ben Roethisberger - Pittsburgh Steelers 9.Phillip Rivers- San Diego Chargers 10.Marc Bulger- St. Louis Rams 11.Donavon McNabb- Philadelphia Eagles 12. Matt Hasselbeck- Seattle Seahawks 13.Jake Delhomme- Carolina Panthers 14.Jeff Garcia- Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15. Matt Lienart - Arizona Cardinals Running back 1.Ladanian Tomlinson- San Diego Chargers 2.Adrian Peterson- Minnesota Vikings 3.Brian Westbrook- Philadelphia Eagles 4. Marion Barber- Dallas Cowboys 5.Steven Jackson- St. Louis Rams 6.Larry Johnson- Kansas City Chiefs 7.Frank Gore- San Francisco 49ers 8.Joesph Addai- Indianapolis Colts 9.Clinton Portis- Washington Redskins 10.Marshawn Lynch- Buffalo Bills 11.Ryan Grant- Green Bay Packers 12.Willie Parker- Pittsburgh Steelers 13.Willis McGahee- Baltimore Ravens 14.Jamal Lewis- Cleveland Browns 15.Michael Turner- Atlanta Falcons Wide Receiver 1.Randy Moss- New England Patriots 2.Terrell Owens- Dallas Cowboys 3.Andre Johnson- Houston Texans 4.Reggie Wayne- Indianapolis Colts 5.Braylon Edwards- Cleveland Browns 6.Chad Johnson- Cincinnati Bengals 7.Marques Colston- New Orleans Saints 8.Steve Smith- Carolina Panthers 9.Larry Fitzgerald- Arizona Cardinals 10.Plaxico Burress- New York Giants 11.Torry Holt- St. Louis Rams 12.Wes Welker- New England Patriots 13. T.J. Houshmandzadeh- Cincinnati Bengals 14.Roy Williams- Detroit Lions 15.Dwayne Bowe- Kansas City Chiefs Tight end 1.Antonio Gates- San Diego Chargers 2.Jason Witten- Dallas Cowboys 3.Tony Gonzalez- Kansas City Chiefs 4.Todd Heap- Baltimore Ravens 5.Jeremy Shockey- New Orleans Saints 6.Kellen Winslow- Cleveland Browns 7.Chris Cooley- Washington Redskins 8.Heath Miller- Pittsburgh Steelers 9. Ben Watson- New England Patriots 10.Dallas Clark- Indianapolis Colts 11Vernon Davis- San Francisco 49ers 12.Kevin Boss- New York Giants 13.Greg Olsen- Chicago Bears 14.Tony Scheffler- Denver Broncos 15.Alge Crumpler- Tennessee Titans Defense 1.New England Patriots 2.San Diego Chargers 3.Minnesota Vikings 4.Pittsburgh Steelers 5.Dallas Cowboys 6..Jacksonville Jaguars 7.Baltimore Ravens 8.Chicago Bears 9.Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10.Washington Redskins 11.New York Giants 12.Green Bay Packers 13.Philadelphia Eagles 14.Indianapolis Colts 15.Seattle Seahawks Kicker 1.Stephen Gostkowski- New England Patriots 2.Adam Vinateri- Indianapolis Colts 3.Nick Folk- Dallas Cowboys 4.Nate Kaeding- San Diego Chargers 5.Mason Crosby- Green Bay Packers 6.Shayne Graham- Cincinnati Bengals 7.Rob Bironas- Tennessee Titans 8.Phil Dawson- Cleveland Browns 9.Neil Rackers- Arizona Cardinals 10.Jason Hanson- Detroit Lions 11.Josh Brown- St.Louis Rams 12.Jason Elam- Atlanta Falcons 13.Josh Scobee- Jacksonville Jaguars 14.Jeff Reed- Pittsburgh Steelers 15.Matt Stover- Baltimore Ravens Top 25 Overall 1.Ladanian Tomlinson- San Diego Chargers 2.Adrian Peterson- Minnesota Vikings 3.Tom Brady- New England Patriots 4.Brian Westbrook- Philadelphia Eagles 5.Peyton Manning- Indianapolis Colts 6.Randy Moss- New England Patriots 7.Steven Jackson- St. Louis Rams 8.Marion Barber- Dallas Cowboys 9.Tony Romo- Dallas Cowboys 10.Larry Johnson- Kansas City Chiefs 11.Terrell Owens- Dallas Cowboys 12.Frank Gore- San Francisco 49ers 13..Joesph Addai- Indianapolis Colts 14.Andre Johnson- Houston Texans 15.Reggie Wayne- Indianapolis Colts 16.Clinton Portis- Washington Redskins 17.Marshawn Lynch- Buffalo Bills 18.Ryan Grant- Green Bay Packers 19.Braylon Edwards- Cleveland Browns 20.Carson Palmer- Cincinnati Bengals 21.Willie Parker- Pittsburgh Steelers 22.Willis McGahee- Baltimore Ravens 23.Chad Johnson- Cincinnati Bengals 24.Marques Colston- New Orleans Saints 25.Drew Brees- New Orleans Saints Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:35:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298770 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298770 Every year the league is flooded with first year players fresh from college. Some go on to Pro Bowl and Hall of Fame careers while others are done after one season. And like many of you, we here at the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football have a strange fascination watching these players adapt and adjust to life in the NFL. With every rookie class, there is a wealth of new talent ready to produce in the league and in fantasy football and this year is no different. We'll continue our rookie report with those rookies who'll be lining up off the tackle, being used as a blocker or pass catching option in their teams' offenses - the rookie tight ends...... Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:48:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298450 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298450 The Tight End position in football is one of the more underrated spots in a fantasy football team. Over the past few years, top tier TE's have been putting up Wide Receiver type numbers. It may be worth it to draft a top 5 TE over a WR who's rated in the 20-25 area of his position. It is also important to grab one of the better TE's because there is a lack of depth at this position. Last year, the number 6 ranked TE had 53 more fantasy points (According to Yahoo! Sports scoring system) than the number 7 ranked TE. Here are the top 15 TE for the 2008 fantasy season: 1. Antonio Gates SD 2. Jason Whitten DAL 3. Tony Gonzalez KC 4. Kellen Winslow CLE 5. Dallas Clark IND 6. Chris Cooley WSH 7. Jeremy Shockey NO 8. Heath Miller PIT 9. Todd Heap BAL 10. Vernon Davis SF 11. Owen Daniels HOU 12. Benjamin Watson NE 13. Alge Crumpler TEN 14. Tony Scheffler DEN 15. Greg Olsen CHI Antonio Gates will retake his number 1 Tight End spot from Jason Whitten with an outstanding season this year. Gates, who played injured last year, finished 3rd in TE fantasy points and though is still fighting through that same toe injury, is primed to have a big year and help his Chargers make it to the Super Bowl. The one danger here is that as of right now, Gates is on the PUP List (Physically Unable to Perform) which means if they don't take him off of it before the season starts, he will be forced to sit out the first 6 games. Personally, I don't see Gates missing that much time and according to reports, he is working with trainers and is very optimistic he will play the season opener. The first 6 players on this list are all worthy of a higher draft choice, even considering a healthy Gates in the last 3rd round of your drafts. Jeremy Shockey is a mystery. His fantasy production has been as high as the number 2 ranked TE, all the way down to number 13 in recent years. With a change of scenery, Shockey will have a good season and perhaps even vault himself into the top 6 of the TE list. Another interesting TE that can have a top 6 type year is Todd Heap. Heap has had healthy issues and that has led to his statistics taking a drastic drop, especially last season. Hopefully he can be the safety net for young QBS Troy Smith and Joe Flacco and get back to his 2005-2006 production. Look for a solid season for Titans TE Alge Crumpler. Titans QB Vince Young has struggled with his passing efficiency since he began his career. The Titans didn't upgrade their WR group because they believed Crumpler fit the style of play for the team and their young quarterback. Young will lean on Crumpler because it is the first time he has had a proven veteran catching passes for him and Crumpler is very good at creating space with his body and finding open spots in a defense. Here are 3 Tight Ends to look at this season: Zach Miller OAK- An Arizona St. grad, Miller was a 2nd round pick in 2007 by the Raiders and as he got more playing time, he garnered more attention from fantasy owners looking for a fill-in TE. His last game of the year was an 8 catch 84 yd day and he should perform better with more experience this year. With JaMarcus Russel, Darren McFadden, and Javon Walker getting most of the attention by the bay, look for Miller to sneak in with some nice games of his own and can be worth picking to be a starting TE for the entire season. L.J. Smith PHI- L.J. had one of the more disappointing seasons for a fantasy TE last year. He came in with a lot of expectations but injury and a lack of looks his way by Donovan Mcnabb hurt his statistics. Mcnabb developed a lot of chemistry with WR Kevin Curtis, but his other receivers didn't perform as well as predicted. As teams will start to shade safeties and linebackers over to Curtis, Smith should see more holes in the defense and can use his athleticism to stretch the field. Don't expect a great year from L.J., but look to see respectable statistics that could put him back in the top 15 TE rankings by the end of the year. Kevin Boss NYG/Dustin Keller NYJ- Now I know these are technically 2 people but just give me a break it's a fantasy football article. Boss moves into the starting job and all reports out of Giants camp so far is that he is catching everything thrown his way. In his last game of the regular season vs. NE last year, Boss had 4 catches along with 50 yds and a TD. The Giants need to use the TE occasionally to be successful and look for Boss to have an adequate season. As for the other team that plays in that stadium, rookie TE Dusin Keller is going to fight with Chris Baker for playing time. It will be very important for Keller to have a good training camp and preseason and to develop a relationship with starting (For now) QB Chad Pennington. Keller has the ability to do well in the Jets offensive system but he needs the snaps to get used to the speed of the NFL game. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:11:22 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298023 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298023 Wide receivers, more than any other position, have the most trouble adjusting to the NFL game. Cornerbacks at the pro level are just quicker, stronger, and smarter than at the college level. Still, every year one or two rookie wide receivers emerge and have an immediate impact in fantasy football circles (ala Dwayne Bowe). To help you identify the rookies with the greatest potential for success in 2008, Bruno Boys staff writer Cory Steger has done his homework and presents to you the 2008 Wide Receiver Rookie Report. Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:56:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297839 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297839 If I'm directing the Fantasy File commercial for Chris Cooley, I'm delivering something deserving of one of the NFL's top personalities and pass-catching tight ends. Something like him snagging Jason Campbell laser beams with one hand while enjoying a beverage with the other. This is not that: The problem is this is obviously fake, whereas those [...] Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:27:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297502 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297502 If I'm directing the Fantasy File commercial for Chris Cooley, I'm delivering something deserving of one of the NFL's top personalities and pass-catching tight ends. Something like him snagging Jason Campbell laser beams with one hand while enjoying a beverage with the other. This is not that: The problem is this is obviously fake, whereas those [...] Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:27:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297502 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/297502 The Redskins' Chris Cooley has been writing a blog for awhile now, and it's pretty entertaining. He recently sat down with a reporter from the Washington Post to discuss some things about training camp, new coach Jim Zorn, old coach Joe Gibbs, and teammate Jason Fabini's introduction to the blogosphere. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:13:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295649 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295649