http://www.yardbarker.com/content/team/36 Recent articles about the Houston Texans en-us We searched near and far, high and low, North and South, East and West, East, Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones, and we have assembled the much anticipated list that you guys have all been waiting for: the candidates for Loser-ville, U.S.A. In case you don't remember the criteria, you can see it again here. Now, Juiced Sports is simply posting the 21 cities you guys nominated, so if you think a city that isn't on this list should be here, or if you think that a city on this list shouldn't be here, we are open to suggestion. The envelope please. Your 21 Loser-ville U.S.A choices. This ought to be fun. The list in no particular order: SEE THE LIST HERE: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:57:03 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295903 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295903 Last year, fans and fantasy owners witnessed a veritable aerial assault across the NFL. Ten wide receivers corralled 10 or more touchdown receptions, led by Randy Moss' record-breaking total of 23. By way of contrast, only six running backs amassed 10 or more touchdowns on the ground. The proliferation of specialist roles akin to those of middle relievers and closers in baseball, as well as the growth of committee situations, has split up the carries and goal-line glory. That's not the case in the air. Your fantasy heroes continue to add to their trophy cases and your highlight-watching pleasure. I begin this review of touchdown heroes with the aforementioned Moss, who rewarded gutsy fantasy owners with a season for the ages in 2007. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:02:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295816 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295816 A list of the top 40 fantasy NFL running backs heading into the 2008 season. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:22:04 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295576 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295576 The Texans start training for this year's season today.  The team's first practice is set to begin at 8:30 this morning.  The Texans reported to training camp yesterday.  Quarterback Matt Schaub says the energy level was high to start the season because of the team's record last year.  He added that the prospect of improving on last year's 8-and-8 season has the players eager to get started. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:53:04 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295355 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295355 As always we here at the Bruno Boys want to do our best to help you out there in Bruno Boys Nation claim your fantasy football league's championship. To do so, we know you have to have a solid fantasy draft and we know as those all precious drafts approach you have plenty of questions that you need answering. Don't worry, Bruno Boys Ziza has you covered. Check out part two of this Bruno Boys Q & A, which is focused on Draft Day Advice. If you use this Q & A along with the Bruno Boys 2008 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets, message boards and everything else that the Bruno Boys site has to offer, we have no doubt that your draft will be very successful! With that being said, click below for your draft day help. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:13:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295276 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295276 An impact trade did happen this week. The defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants traded four time pro bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints in return for draft picks. The Giants will receive the Saints 2nd and 5th round picks in the 2009 draft. But, how will this trade effect fantasy football? To find out, click below. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:04:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295275 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295275 According to the biggest idiot on the blogosphere, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Jared Lorenzen and Quinn Gray have signed with the Colts.  Rotoworld, a more competent site has confirmed this, so we can welcome Gray and The Hefty Lefty as official members of the Colts. Florio said that this means the Colts don't think Manning might be ready in time for the start of the preseason.  The 4 to 6 weeks time period still hasn't registered in Florio's mind.  But I'm sure he'll realize it soon.  Hopefully before September 7th, so we don't have "Sorgi May Start?" as the top rumor. I am really happy that we gave Sorgi some more competition.  Jared Lorenzen is accustom to backing up a Manning.  Quinn Gray knows the Jaguars system, so it would be nice to learn a little more about it.  Gray had a 55% completion percentage last year along with 10 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions.  Gray could be a quality backup, and I prefer him over Sorgi.  However, Sorgi has had training camp competition before.  Remember Shaun King?  He was at Colts camp a few years ago.  Sorgi dealt with him.  Let's see if he can deal with Gray and Lorenzen. Lorenzen played about as often as Sorgi.  Last year he played in 2 games and threw 8 passes.  He's just got the best nicknames of all-time.  The Hefty Lefty.  The Round Mound of Touchdown.  Pillsbury Throwboy.  That's worth him being signed for training camp. Right now, I think the QB depth chart would look something like this: Manning Sorgi Gray Lorenzen Tafralis Betts But I could see Gray passing Sorgi before the Hall of Fame Game.  Gray was waived by the Texans for not picking up the system quick enough.  That could be a problem since the Colts have a much more complicated system than the Texans. Lorenzen is just a camp body.  And a big one at that. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:51:38 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294965 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294965 Big Dogs The beauty about the WR position is there are more Big Dogs than any other position. For that reason, many fantasy footballers are contemplating grabbing stud WRs in the middle-to-late first round and early second round rather than mindlessly taking the best RB available. With that in mind, let's take a look at who those characters are. Randy Moss - How can you start anywhere else after the historic season Moss produced last year? The thing that worries me about Moss is he looked vulnerable to physical play during the playoffs. If you're expecting another 23 TDs, you'll be disappointed. Terrell Owens - So far so good in Big D for MeO, I mean T.O. As long as he's happy, he'll continue to produce in bunches. I can see T.O. lead all WRs in scoring this year. Reggie Wayne - Well, he officially surpassed Marvin Harrison as the Top Dog in Indy, and I don't see that changing any time soon. You can pretty much pencil him in for 1300 yards and 10 TDs. How many RBs can you say that with? That's why he's a safer pick than a Clinton Portis or Willis McGahee. Braylon Edwards - Braylon finally showed why he was a 3rd pick last year scoring 16 TDs. I don't see him reaching paydirt quite as often, especially with the addition of Donte Stallworth, but double-digits isn't out of the question. Andre Johnson - He averaged close to 95 yards and nearly a TD a game last year. That translates to 1500 yards and 14 TDs. Will he reach those lofty numbers? I doubt it, but he'll come close if he gets a full season in. Larry Fitzgerald - I am a huge fan of Fitzy. He just seems to get it. Must be his Minnesota ties. Every other year he gets 1400 yards and 10 TDs. If he can avoid his even-year slump, he'll be worth his weight in gold again for fantasy owners. Steve Smith - Here's a guy who NEEDS his QB to stay healthy. He's had two down years (compared to his 2005 masterpiece), but he still has what it takes to be an elite WR in this league. If Delhomme goes down, he could easily lose his Big Dog status. Chad Johnson - Ocho Cinco had 1440 yards and 8 TDs last year. Unfortunately his TDs came in just 4 games last year. That's what bugs me about Ocho. His end of the year stats look great, but he's not as solid week-to-week like some of the Big Dogs. His contract situation is a little scary, but I think he'll play. T.J. Houshmandzadeh - Unlike Ocho, Housh likes to spread the wealth out during his season. He scored a TD in his first 8 games last year. He's not going to wow you with big yardage (only three weeks over 100 and none after Wek 6), but you'll be happy with his production. Marques Colston - I was tempted to put him a tier lower, but his improvement on an already outstanding rookie season was too hard to ignore. If the 3rd Year Rule applies to Colston, the league better look out because he's already blown up. He caught nearly 100 balls last year for over 1200 yards and 11 TDs. Those are solid digits. Torry Holt - Holt had a down year by his standards last year, failing to produce either 1200 yards or 10 TDs for the first time since his rookie season. I see Marc Bulger bouncing back this year though, and Holt will rebound with him. He's going to be a great value pick this year. Plaxico Burress - I wasn't going to put him in the Big Dog Club, but when you consider what he did last year despite knee and ankle injuries. He scored in his first 6 games last year and racked up 1025 yards and 12 scores for the year. It was his second straight double-digit TD year with the G-Men, and Eli's added confidence (and pressure from NY media and fans removed) following the Super Bowl victory should keep the success going. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:11:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294914 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294914 The NFL season is approaching quickly, and with that, EZB will be providing previews of each division in the league. Up today: the AFC South. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:17:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294851 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294851 Russ Lande of the Sporting News highlights his top 25 prospects in college football Caleb Campbell won't be playing for the Lions this season after all Even without Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie, Tennessee State could be a force to be reckoned with, led by senior RB Javarris Williams Bruce Feldman's top college football games for 2008 Former Saints QB Aaron Brooks is one of many unemployed black quarterbacks having trouble finding a job Will Matt Stafford be picked #1 in April? North Carolina junior WR Hakeem Nicks is thinking about the draft LSU DT Al Woods is projected as the next great LSU D-lineman to go pro…and he may not even start Speaking of LSU D-Linemen, former Bayou Bengal, and now Rams DT Claude Wroten has been suspended by the NFL for the 2008 season for violating the league's substance abuse policy Texans Questions - Where does Steve Slaton fit in and can Duane Brown handle the left tackle position against the likes of Mario Williams? Former Bronco and Buccaneer LB Ian Gold has retired Broncos all time leading receiver Rod Smith has also retired after an exceptional career The Panthers have claimed OL Charles Spencer off waivers from the Texans. For specific links, check out the story at the NFL DraftNation page. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:26:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294822 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294822 It's come down to this – the ten best fantasy tight ends in the league. These are the guys you want on your roster, the guys that you plug in and forget about the position for the rest of the season (except on bye weeks, of course). So when the fourth or fifth round comes up, instead of picking up that second wideout, or grabbing a mid-tier QB, maybe start thinking about one of these guys. A good TE can make a lot of difference. So let's check out the ten best, after a short recap of 11-30. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:07:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294809 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294809 The top 10 of high risk and high reward players looks at players who have great potential this season but who have either had injury problems in the past or whose role could be reduced this year. Find out who made our list. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:50:34 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294779 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294779 So how do we beat the RBBC conundrum? Knowledge! I know, I sound like a bad public service announcement but in fantasy football, knowledge really is power. And there's just not enough info out there on all the various committees. I applaud the few sites out there that have attacked the RBBC analysis...though I can't say I really blame the experts out there for not wanting to talk about them. But now it's time we face committees head on and do our best to take a gamble and figure out which guys might pull to the front of the committee battles. Trust me, some of those guys might even be a top 10 back by the time the season is over. With that being said, let's take a look at 3 under-discussed teams and their backfield situation heading into 2008: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:40:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294709 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294709 Could this be true at all? I don't know what the logic behind this is at all but whatever! Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:25:53 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294636 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294636 The "running back by committee" strategy employed by numerous NFL teams will decrease the value of many prominent running backs. Ahman Green of the Texans is one example given here by The Scores Report Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:04:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294514 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294514