http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/2413 Recent articles about Eric Johnson en-us The Jason Taylor trade that was rumored but always "danced around" by the Dolphins seemed like it was never going to happen until it did on Sunday. Little did we know yesterday that the bigger fantasy football news was still to come this week. The other much-rumored trade of disgruntled Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints is a done deal today. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:21:11 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293351 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293351 Having an elite tight end on your team could be the difference between winning your league's title or missing the playoffs completely. So when you start getting to the fourth or fifth round, you should definitely start thinking about addressing the TE position with one of the top four or five guys on my list… and you'll find out who they are soon enough. For now, here's my list from 21-30. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:48:57 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293292 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293292 After an incredible 2006 season, the New Orleans Saints came back to earth last year as they finished 7-9 overall with sub-par performances all around. The Saints lost their first four games, with quarterback Drew Brees throwing nine interceptions and just one touchdown in those games, and were simply unable to recover. Brees actually finished strong, setting career highs in passing yards (4,423), attempts (652), completions (440), completion percentage (67.5) and passing touchdowns (28). Unfortunately he added nine fumbles, four of them lost, and a career-high 18 interceptions. The running back tandem of Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush took a major hit when McAllister was lost for the season with another knee injury in the week 3 loss to the Tennessee Titans... Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:57:16 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/282807 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/282807 The tight end position was utilized more often when Mike Heimerdinger was in his first stint with the Titans but things are different now. Frank Wycheck and Erron Kinney, two guys who you could count on, are retired. The Dinger won't find as much talent on hand now and the Titans are in dire need of an upgrade for the position group... Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:26:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/136169 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/136169 Saturday's FIO weekly fantasy football column deals with the injury report for the coming weekend - co-founder & editor Matt Hinzpeter lists those players who may be in question for their respective games in Week 16. Check this article each and every week on Saturdays. Sat, 22 Dec 2007 22:43:57 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/51399 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/51399 Saturday's FIO weekly fantasy football column deals with the injury report for the coming weekend - co-founder & editor Matt Hinzpeter lists those players who may be in question for their respective games in Week 15. Check this article each and every week on Saturdays. Sat, 15 Dec 2007 21:52:58 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/44585 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/44585 Hey it's a list of players that could provide your fantasy football team with some immediate help or depth on your bench. Go check it out. Mon, 22 Oct 2007 12:28:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/32275 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/32275 My 1st Pick - Reggie Bush My 2nd Pick - Tom Brady My 3rd Pick - Edge James My 4th Pick - Randy Moss My 5th Pick - Vincent Jackson My 6th Pick - Vernon Davis My 7th Pick - Devery Henderson My 8th Pick - Jeremiah Trotter My 9th Pick - Jay Cutler QB - Tom Brady/Jay Cutler WR - Randy Moss, Vincent Jackson, Devery Henderson, Duane Bowe RB - Reggie Bush, Edge James, Jeremiah Trotter TE - Vernon Davis, Eric Johnson K - Olindo Mare Def - GB Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:03:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/26015 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/26015 The San Francisco 49ers got good news about running back Frank Gore and confirmed bad news about tight end Vernon Davis on Monday. Gore is expected to be in the 49ers' lineup at Kansas City on Sunday despite bruised ribs that sidelined him in the third quarter of their loss to Philadelphia. Davis, the sixth overall pick in the draft, will be out four weeks with a broken bone in his right leg. The 49ers' two young offensive stars were hurt on the same play last Sunday in their 38-24 loss to the Eagles. Update your fantasy lineups if you have Davis. Eric Johnson appears to be a decent option. Tue, 26 Sep 2006 08:57:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/2713 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/2713 Check out this commentary article from the 49ers' fansite www.49erswebzone.com. It's a very in-depth breakdown of the 49ers opening weekend loss to the Cardinals, with emphasis on player analysis from both the author and head coach Mike Nolan. Sat, 16 Sep 2006 18:30:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/2404 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/2404 Maiocco has covered the 49ers for 12 years and here are his thoughts about who will make the final roster for the season opener against the Cardinals. I like his idea about Norris over Heatherington at the FB position because of the idea that Delanie Walker could line up as an H-Back and take that position as well. I love Walker... It also interests me that we traded away Mike Rumph to the Redskins for a receiver who is mediocre at best and considered by Maiocco as a "bubble" player. Fri, 01 Sep 2006 01:13:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/1888 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/1888 Here's an analysis of some of the recent trade rumors concerning hte San Francisco 49ers and TE Eric Johnson, including rumors for Deion Branch or Nathan Vasher. I'm a bit torn. I love the idea of either of these guys coming to the Niners, they'll provide depth and improvement talent-wise to two of the Niners' weaker positions. The problem is parting with Eric Johnson, who is still one of the most talented members of the Niners' offense. The prospect of watching rookie Vernon Davis improve and then lineup with Johnson as a second TE or with Davis in the slot as a receiver is too appealing to me. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 23:39:02 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/1851 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/1851 My write-up on the 49ers, what I see from all of their positions and some interesting things to know about them. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 23:15:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/1845 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/1845 Thanks to a wildly escalating salary structure and the indelible mark Mel Kiper-led draft punditry has left on the cultural landscape, the #1 pick in the NFL Draft has achieved a level of notoriety that transcends any reasonable expectation its founders could have envisioned. As a result of this phenomenon, every year, one fresh-faced college jock is immortalized, for better or worse, fairly or unfairly, as a savior to a franchise that is, by design, the worst in the NFL. Anything short of a Hall of Fame career and the player's a bust, a financial albatross in a bottom line league. In the past nine years, including the 2006 Draft, 7 of the past 9 #1 picks have been quarterbacks, the trend beginning with none other than Peyton Manning, that rare #1 pick who has fulfilled his advance billing. His first year, he threw 28 interceptions, so let's assume that the #1 pick needs at least one year under his belt to fairly assess his long-term prospects. But by his second year, there were plenty of positive signs that indicated Manning's future career curve. So where does that leave the 49ers' Alex Smith, the last QB chosen as a franchise savior a little more than a year ago? Now staring down the barrel of a season that could make or break his young career, Smith definitely has a few things working in his favor. His fate is tied inextricably to his coach, Mike Nolan. Nolan, hired months before he made Smith his first major personnel decision, convinced his boss, team owner and alleged cheapskate John York, to invest over $20 million guaranteed into the kid. As such, it is in Nolan's interest to protect his boss's investment my emphasizing the development of the offensive line. In the last two offseasons, Nolan and his front office, headed by Scot McCloughan, the man who drafted much of the personnel on last year's NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks, have made offensive linemen their splashiest signings. In 2005, the team gave Jonas Jennings, the best offensive tackle in a thin market, a $36 million deal and this past March, snapped up future Hall of Famer Larry Allen days after the Cowboys made him a cap casualty. Both Jennings and Allen aren't without their warts – Jennings' reputation as injury-prone was immediately substantiated in his first season as he landed on injured reserve early on, and Allen is considered to be, at 34, on the downside of his career – but there is a potential for a dominant left side if they remain on the field. Sadly, it looks like former Pro Bowl center Jeremy Newberry is done with two bum knees, meaning the line will be rounded out by the erstwhile Eric Heitmann at center and some combination of Justin Smiley, David Baas, Adam Snyder and Kwame Harris, all former first day picks with plenty of potential. The necessary resources have been invested into a line to protect Smith, and this will be the unit behind which he will either sink or swim. Smith also sorely missed playmakers last year, when he threw one touchdown against 11 interceptions and finished with a 40.7 QB rating. In the offseason, the 49ers drafted a an athletic freak in Maryland tight end Vernon Davis, who shattered the 40 yard dash time record for tight ends at the NFL Combine, clocking in at a gazelle-like 4.38 seconds. Combine that with a 253 lb frame and, all of a sudden, the middle of the field looks like a much more promising target for Smith, particularly when compared with the roster of last year's tight ends on the Niners, which included the likes of Billy Bajema, Trent Smith and Terry Jones. Davis, we must remember, however, is not exempt from the first year adjustment most NFL rookies not named Roethlisberger face. That being said, there are still a number of new faces that could help Smith. Let's not forget tight end Eric Johnson, who missed the entire 2005 season with a torn plantar fascia but posted an 82 catch season in 2004. Johnson may not be mentioned in the same breath as Tony Gonzalez or Antonio Gates, but when healthy, which has been the former Yale standout's knock, he is a top 10 receiving tight end. Having both Johnson and Davis available at a position that is traditionally a safety valve for a quarterback will help Smith immeasurably. Johnson has impressed coaches at training camp thus far and appears to be holding onto the starting job, although there is a high probability that the team will employ a number of sets getting both Davis and Johnson on the field at the same time, particularly now that Norv Turner is the new offensive coordinator in town. Turner may prove to be the most significant offseason addition. Turner replaced Mike McCarthy, who left to become head coach of the Green Bay Packers in possibly one of the more curious head coaching hires in recent memory. Turner has been credited as a guru of young quarterbacks (see: Drew Brees, Troy Aikman). In fact, at Aikman's Hall of Fame induction ceremony earlier this month, Turner, not Jimmy Johnson or Jerry Jones, introduced Aikman, himself a former #1 pick who endured a very painful beginning with Dallas before Turner arrived. The Turner connection between Smith and Aikman has been made many times by local media outlets, but, as it stands, there is little grounds for the comparison besides the presence of Turner and the initial ineptitude by both quarterbacks. Yet Smith also has a mercurial but talented wide receiver who has perhaps shown more concrete evidence that he has a little of Turner's #1 wideout in Dallas in Antonio Bryant, who signed in March. Bryant and Smith have been seen hooking up since his March signing at 49ers headquarters, and there have been many positive reports on their connection coming out of training camp. Bryant's acquisition may be the biggest key to Smith's development – a true #1 wideout on which Smith can rely may speed up his progress to put him more along the career curve of Manning and less on David Carr's. There is reason for cautious optimism for the Niners' offense, the caveat being that Smith must improve and effectively utilize his new weapons. The running game, essentially a two-headed monster with underachieving Kevan Barlow and talented but injury-prone Frank Gore, is questionable, as it stands, so he will be asked again to make some plays to keep the offense on the field and the still suspect defense off of it. But, in his first test this preseason against the Bears, Smith put together a performance that momentarily gave him a respite from his critics: 16 for 21 for 137 yards with no interceptions for a 92.8 rating. It is what it is: a glimmer of hope in his finest pro performance in a meaningless game. But, right now, the kid looks comfortable, and that's no small task for a #1 pick. Mon, 14 Aug 2006 08:41:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/1231 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/1231