KISS Meets the Phantom of the PUP List

Many of you have been contacting me asking when my positional player rankings will be updated. I greatly appreciate your interest and you can now check out the updated rankings and my new overall Top 150 in the Draft Kit if you are a RotoExperts member. It's free to register, so don't worry, I won't show up at your house selling anything. If you have any cool KISS collectibles to sell, though, I may come over. That's my biggest hobby outside of sports.

Speaking of my favorite band, I found a way to combine my two favorite interests a few years ago: I started running KISS-themed fantasy football leagues. Check out a full story on the leagues here. If you are a major fan of the band, and would like to join a league, send me an e-mail. This is serious stuff, as you must be a dedicated follower of both KISS and the NFL. My buddy and fellow NFL expert K.C. Joyner, the noted "Football Scientist", is in one of the leagues. I remember meeting K.C. in person for the first time a few years back, and he whipped out his laptop and KISS mouse pad, creating an instant bond between us. We're serious about our love of the band and fantasy football.

In current fantasy news, the injury to Bobby Engram really hurts the Seattle offense. I wouldn't even draft him now. He may perform well when he returns, but I tend to let guys who are out for  a long time slip past me on draft day while letting others stash him to occupy a roster spot or worry about when he is going to return. Matt Hasselbeck's value takes an obvious hit, as he falls to ninth overall in my personal rankings with a depleted receiving corps and a shaky running game. If Deion Branch is actually ready to return early in the season, we can call him "Decoy Branch", as he won’t be up to full speed. Nate Burleson is simply not capable of being a solid No. 1 receiver and I am not moving him up in my rankings just because he moves up to the top spot on the WR depth chart in Seattle for now. He may struggle often against top cover corners and I like him less than I did before. I am liking Ben Obomanu to step up as a possible No. 2 WR. Hasselbeck seems to have faith in him, and Obomanu has pretty good hands and looked unfazed when he was needed to step forward briefly last season. He's a nifty final round pick.

I am also avoiding Aaron Rodgers. What has struck me the most in terms of his development and approach is that he has "happy feet", or what I used to call "Kelly Stouffer's disease." Rodgers seems to get somewhat panicky when he goes through his progressions and can't find an optimum opening. Also, he tends to lock onto receivers and make questionable throws into tight coverage. I think Rodgers has a lot of confidence that will eventually lead to him becoming a quality passer, but I am steering clear of him in yearly leagues. In the next “Fantasy Football Scout,” I will identify players who I always pass on even though it's logical to pick them in any given round. I always pass on Rodgers in the late rounds, and if he is still the best QB on the board for a backup option in Round 12 or so, I take another RB or WR and wait one more round for the backup QB.

Robert Royal caught a pair of TD passes on Thursday against Pittsburgh. Meaningless. Royal has teased us before and is simply battling Derek Schouman for playing time. I would not draft either guy in any league, just to clarify.

Donovan McNabb looked good again on Thursday against Carolina, playing well in adverse conditions. I couldn't figure out why the Eagles would risk playing him in those conditions, yet he was impressive and I am not hesitating to draft him as a starter as long as I grab a solid backup a round or two after I grab him. McNabb seems to trust Kevin Curtis a lot, and the wide receiver is looking pretty good as a fantasy starter as long as McNabb stays healthy.

Santonio Holmes scored yet again on Thursday against Buffalo. He really seems primed for a breakout season and can be an outstanding WR2 if you can fit him into that slot in your league.

Chris Perry has looked good in the preseason so far, and Marvin Lewis indicated to the Bengals' official website that he could be battling for a starting job. It should be noted that Lewis then said "everyone" was battling for a starting job, but a healthy Perry can be a nifty playmaker for Cincinnati and is at least worth monitoring for fantasy depth.

Ernest Wilford has actually fallen on the depth chart in Miami. That's like being put on a waiting list for Florida Marlins tickets. Chad Pennington has to throw to someone, though, and we'll just have to wait and see who emerges to catch those five-yard slants and curls. They might be worth a backup spot in a points per reception league.

I'm not nearly as high on Chris Johnson as everyone else is right now. It seems widely assumed that LenDale White is doomed to failure or extensive absences from action, and you just can't think like that. The Titans have a firm commitment to White, who could actually be a good value selection. Johnson figures to be a complementary back, but likely won't get enough reps to be a significant fantasy contributor on a consistent basis. If White does go down, Johnson isn't built for extensive duty and may still share carries with another RB. He'll certainly rip off some big plays, but you won't be able to depend on him. He's no Brian Westbrook, who is more elusive and equipped to handle frequent touches. I'm thinking Johnson is a slightly more productive version of Jerious Norwood from the fantasy perspective.

I'm not excited about David Clowney, either. The guy is simply battling to make the team, and when the season starts, he may not be able to get any higher than third on the depth chart, which will make him useless in most fantasy leagues. I'm not drafting him, even though he was in Packers camp last year and might have some familiarity with Brett Favre.

Speaking of Favre, he is going 86th overall at Mock Draft Central, even below Eli Manning, the other quarterback in New Jersey. I was in a draft the other day and Favre went in the 10th round. Too low on both counts. Spare me talk about his age; he is the model of durability. Don’t talk about 2005 and 2006; Favre had a weak supporting cast and put too much pressure on himself, and this will not be the case in "New York." Favre will easily be a top 10 QB this year and you can seemingly get good value on him now. I simply don’t get the reasons for the pessimism. By the way, there is only one real New York football team, and that is the AFL’s Dragons. Buffalo is not one of the five boroughs, and I don't care that "you can see Manhattan" from the Meadowlands or that it's only a few miles away. Just because you see something in the distance or live near it doesn't make you part of it. If I live next door to you, does that mean I am part of your house, too? Our residences are clearly separated, as is the state line between New York and New Jersey.

SPORTS GAMING: For my initial look at Madden NFL 09, go to our Other Sports Coverage section. I also sat down with NCAA Football 09, and like Madden, the graphics nearly overwhelm you at first. The opening montage features stadium shots, a graphical centerpiece of the game. Heck, even the domes look amazing. I played a game in the Louisiana Superdome, and I can assure you that having been on the field there recently, the rendition of the venue in this game was very authentic.

Game play is smooth and flows well, and that is what keeps bringing me back. The passing game is very intuitive and it's great to watch the pass-catchers make leaping grabs in traffic. The playbook is deep and allows for a lot of versatility. Yet it's impossible to ignore the extras in this game that add to the in-game experience. The roar of the crowd adds a unique and authentic aura, and the three-man broadcast crew is often on point and customizes reactions based on players or situations. Player reactions are better than ever. It was really cool to return a kickoff for a touchdown and watch another special teamer celebrate next to me as I raced to the end zone.

The TD celebrations, from the players themselves to the cheerleading crews, are great to watch. Instant replays, often from a press box view, are highly entertaining, and the post game highlight reel is another fine feature. When you throw an interception, you must take a QB "quiz", which asks you to identify the coverage that led to the pick, which is a great learning tool for the less experienced player. The CPU is very smart and will try to fake me out with play action passing on third and short. Other nice options include being able to customize your stadium music and unique mini-games, such as "Horse", which puts a fun spin on the old hoops variation, this time using field goal kicks. The Online Dynasty Mode is already making the blood of hardcore gamers pump faster. Next week, I'll look at the distinctive Wii version of the game.

MISSING MR. MAC: I was very saddened to learn of the passing of Bernie Mac. Not only did I enjoy his TV show regularly, and loved his roles in Bad Santa and Don't Be a Menace to South Central, among many others, he was also a very engaging and warm person. I had the opportunity to interview him in 2006 about his experiences playing in the NBA Cares Celebrity League and the Fantasy Football episode on his series. I have interviewed many celebrities over the years, and no one was as much fun to interview as Mr. Mac. He treated me like an old friend, actually researched me before the article, and made sure he drove me to some hearty laughs before proclaiming that he basically knew he could get me to break down from my professional approach and simply talk to him on a very informal level. He talked about how fantasy sports reminded him of "talking s---t" with his family members when he was growing up as a big baseball fan. He then realized what he said and followed up with "well, I guess you can't write it like I said it, so you'll have to say 'stuff" or something else." Then came a big laugh from both of us. I am very glad to have shared that moment with him and will always cherish it. You can read the interview here.

Scott Engel has been covering Fantasy Sports as a professional since 1996. E-mail Scott at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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