I Think Hightower Could Lead The League In Rushing This Year

[Guest BlueShoe]

I can say this now that my fantasy team has already drafted. Shanahan's offense and Hightower could make for a really big year.

As soon as I heard Hightower was going to the Redskins, I knew I was going to target him in FF and after the preseason he is having I was hoping the cat wouldn't get out of the bag.

I got Hightower in the 6th round of a 16 team league. I feel pretty good about it.

My team:

SLOT PLAYER, TEAM *

QB Peyton Manning*, Ind QB O

RB LeGarrette Blount, TB RB

RB Fred Jackson, Buf RB

RB/WR Tim Hightower, Wsh RB

WR Reggie Wayne, Ind WR

WR Lee Evans, Bal WR

TE Jermichael Finley, GB TE P

D/ST Eagles D/ST D/ST

K Neil Rackers, Hou K

BENCH

SLOT PLAYER, TEAM *

Bench Mike Sims-Walker, StL WR P

Bench Ronnie Brown, Phi RB

Bench Kendall Hunter, SF RB

Bench Emmanuel Sanders*, Pit WR O

Bench Evan Moore, Cle TE Q

Bench Titus Young, Det WR

Bench Torrey Smith, Bal WR

Also, keep an eye on Evan Moore. He could have a HUGE year. You can get him in the last round in most leagues.

[CR91]

see this is why i only do 8 team league because then everyone gets great teams while if you do anything pass that your teams end being crap and scoring an average of 50 fantasy points

[Guest BlueShoe]

see this is why i only do 8 team league because then everyone gets great teams while if you do anything pass that your teams end being crap and scoring an average of 50 fantasy points

I think it's too much luck in 8 team leagues. In 16 team leagues you have to work for it and find the gems like Hightower and Evan Moore. Those kinds of draft picks make the difference. In an 8 team league you might as well play flip the coin.

[CR91]

I think it's too much luck in 8 team leagues. In 16 team leagues you have to work for it and find the gems like Hightower and Evan Moore. Those kinds of draft picks make the difference. In an 8 team league you might as well play flip the coin.

thats the whole point of fantasy is to see who got the right players, but you cant do that in a crowded league since your just picking and guessing who might give you a decent outing instead of guys you expect to

[Guest BlueShoe]

thats the whole point of fantasy is to see who got the right players, but you cant do that in a crowded league since your just picking and guessing who might give you a decent outing instead of guys you expect to

Not sure I follow you. If you're saying that 16 team leagues are harder then yes I agree. That's why I like them more.

To me it's not much fun seeing who is going to win between two teams will all all-stars. In 16 team leagues you have to scan all the way down to the third WR of every NFL team or a backup RB who could get some goalline touches to win. You have to predict what players are going to be good instead of just being handed players who are going to score 200 points or more in a season.

[CR91]

Not sure I follow you. If you're saying that 16 team leagues are harder then yes I agree. That's why I like them more.

To me it's not much fun seeing who is going to win between two teams will all all-stars. In 16 team leagues you have to scan all the way down to the third WR of every NFL team or a backup RB who could get some goalline touches to win. You have to predict what players are going to be good instead of just being handed players who are going to score 200 points or more in a season.

i rather have players on my team that i know will produce for me then get lucky on some back up

[Guest BlueShoe]

i rather have players on my team that i know will produce for me then get lucky on some back up

I think you're contradicting yourself though. What’s the point of having all Chris Johnson's vs. Adrian Peterson's? We all know they will get points. The owner who predicts the value in guys who are unlikely to be bread winners is what makes FF fun for me. Years ago, I had Wes Welker on my team when he was with Miami in a 20 team league. That was a great pickup because his return yards were big for me. I saw the value in him and that pick basically was the difference in me winning the league. Like I said 8 team leagues are about as much competition as flipping coins with someone. But everyone has their own likes.

Good luck on your season.

[CR91]

well this is my team

QB- MATT RYAN

RB- JAMMAL CHARLES, BLOUNT, BEST, FELIX JONES, RYAN MATHEWS, REGGIE BUSH

WR- CAL, FITZ, HOLMES, MARSHALL

TE-JIMMY GRAHAM, MERCEDES LEWIS

D-PATS,EAGLES

K- PATS KICKER

[ReMeDy]

I think you're contradicting yourself though. What’s the point of having all Chris Johnson's vs. Adrian Peterson's? We all know they will get points.

Actually, not so fast... I don't think Chris Johnson will be the awesome beast that he was. He is still holding out against the Titans and the Colts have had pretty easy times shutting him down, because unlike Maurice Jones Drew and Arian Foster, Chris Johnson is a speed back. The Colts have the speed to catch him, especially to the outside. I suspect he will struggle (and when I mean struggle, he will be mediocre).

Also, Arian Foster lost his favorite #1 ranked NFL FB, Vonta Leach. While Foster has been solid during preseason, it doesn't change the fact it's preseason. Furthermore, he might be playing through a hamstring injury, and while an injury hasn't stopped him in the past, it makes you wonder how hidden injuries like that will effect his regular season performance. Furthermore, we still can't deny Foster may have been a one-season wonder.

Same goes for Michael Vick - he may be a winner, but his reckless nature will get him injured. It's not a matter of if, but when. We've seen his tackle against Polamalu (in meaningless preseason no less!) and his tendency to fight for a rushing endzone TD.

What I'm trying to say is the guys who are clear-cut favorites may surprise you in how ineffective they are. That's what I like about fantasy football - last year's favorites may be next year's losers. So if you want Foster, Johnson, and Vick you can have them! I'm sticking with consistency, and that consistency's name is Adrian Peterson!

[Guest BlueShoe]

Actually, not so fast... I don't think Chris Johnson will be the awesome beast that he was.

I think you totally missed my point.

You guys can have the 8 team leagues. It's not for me though.

[Kyle]

8 team leagues are too easy, and 16 team league is too many. gotta go somewhere in the middle. i like 10 or 12 team leagues.

[pacolts56]

8 team leagues are too easy, and 16 team league is too many. gotta go somewhere in the middle. i like 10 or 12 team leagues.

Same here....I'm in a 10-team league.

QBs - Big Ben / Sam Bradford

RBs - LeGarrett Blount / Daniel Thomas / Mike Tolbert / Willis McGahee

WRs - Larry Fitzgerald / Roddy White / Mike Wallace / Lee Evans / Mike Sims-Walker

TEs - Marcedes Lewis / Rob Gronkowski

Def - Pittsburgh

K - Josh Brown

[mcafee75ydkickisgood]

i agree i am in a 12 team league and my roster is qb peyton, newton RB=peterson,deangelo williams, ryan torain,joe addaiWR= aj green,sidney rice, kenny britt, julio jones TE dallas clark, aaron hernandez DEF= packers, colts K=aeding

[indy_nick]

I dunno he is in the NFC East, which has always had very strong running backs. Consequently, the other three teams in the division have been forced to bulk up their D-line and LB core over the years to counteract the strong run game. That's 6 tough games where Hightower will be scrapping for yards. Also, The Redskins aren't that good of a team. They could very well be playing from behind a lot in the year, which will result in Sexy Rexy throwing the ball more as opposed to grinding it out with Hightower. I know Shanahan is a run first coach, but I do not think he will lead the league in rushing. There's a strong possibility the rushing leader will come from the AFC South again simply because everyone in our division draft to beat Peyton Manning and aren't too concerned about our running game. The 3 beast RBs in our division are built to play keep away from Manning.

[Andy]

It's either a hit or miss with Hightower, he either does really well 1200 + yards, or 500 yards. I'm leaning towards 500 yards

[patsallday]

fantasy football sleeper alert!!!

i also forecast a big year for hightower. lead the league is a stretch, but i am high on him.

i'm guessing cardinals aren't thrilled they shipped him out after williams going out for the year.

[SilentHill]

Same here....I'm in a 10-team league.

QBs - Big Ben / Sam Bradford

RBs - LeGarrett Blount / Daniel Thomas / Mike Tolbert / Willis McGahee

WRs - Larry Fitzgerald / Roddy White / Mike Wallace / Lee Evans / Mike Sims-Walker

TEs - Marcedes Lewis / Rob Gronkowski

Def - Pittsburgh

K - Josh Brown

10-team league.

Epic win if everyone stays healthy. Also, Hightower is still available in both my leagues.

QB

Michael Vick

(Phi - QB) New player notes

@StL Sun

1:00 pm 95% 3018 21 6 676 9 0 0 0 1 3 316.32

WR

Calvin Johnson

(Det - WR) New player notes

@TB Sun

1:00 pm 96% 0 0 0 32 0 1120 12 0 1 0 189.20

WR

DeSean Jackson

(Phi - WR) No new player Notes

@StL Sun

1:00 pm 94% 0 0 0 104 1 1056 6 1 0 1 162.00

WR

Wes Welker

(NE - WR) Player notes

@Mia Mon

7:00 pm 87% 0 0 0 0 0 848 7 0 0 0 127.80

RB

Peyton Hillis

(Cle - RB) Player notes

Cin Sun

1:00 pm 89% 13 0 0 1177 11 477 2 0 0 5 233.92

RB

Reggie Bush

(Mia - RB) Player notes

NE Mon

7:00 pm 20% 0 0 0 150 0 208 1 0 0 1 39.80

TE

Dallas Clark

(Ind - TE) No new player Notes

@Hou Sun

1:00 pm 92% 0 0 0 0 0 347 3 0 0 0 52.70

BN

Joseph Addai

(Ind - RB) No new player Notes

@Hou Sun

1:00 pm 23% 0 0 0 495 4 124 0 0 0 1 83.90

BN

BenJarvus Green-Ellis

(NE - RB) Player notes

@Mia Mon

7:00 pm 40% 0 0 0 1008 13 85 0 0 0 0 187.30

BN

Johnny Knox

(Chi - WR) Player notes

Atl Sun

1:00 pm 25% 0 0 0 2 0 960 5 0 0 1 124.20

BN

Jay Cutler

(Chi - QB) Player notes

Atl Sun

1:00 pm 17% 3274 23 16 232 1 0 0 0 1 6 226.16

BN

Mike Williams

(Sea - WR) Player notes

@SF Sun

4:15 pm 10% 0 0 0 0 0 751 2 0 0 0 87.10

BN

Visanthe Shiancoe

(Min - TE) New player notes

@SD Sun

4:15 pm 8% 0 0 0 0 0 530 2 0 0 0 65.00

K

Sebastian Janikowski

(Oak - K) No new player Notes

@Den Mon

10:15 pm 88% 0 8 13 8 4 43 158.00

DEF

Pittsburgh

(Pit - DEF) No new player Notes

@Bal Sun

1:00 pm 93% 224 48.0 0 21 14 3 1 189.00

[ReMeDy]

10-team league.

Epic win if everyone stays healthy. Also, Hightower is still available in both my leagues.

Awesome list. I agree with all of them except three:

Michael Vick - For I presume a first-round pick, you're playing with fire. His poor preseason play last game was very concerning, including the big tackle on Polamalu. If he is willing to do that to his body for meaningless preseason, then regular season will be even worse. Thankfully, Cutler should be a reliable backup. Mike Martz doesn't mind throwing it, but Cutler's lack of talent at WR is a concern.

Johnny Knox - Speaking of which, this guy has always disappointed me in my fantasy. I think it's how Cutler keeps taking too many hits and or Matt Forte steals playing time, I don't know. Many games Knox vanishes.

Peyton Hillis - I'm a firm believer of the Madden curse. He's got a bulls-eye on him now and the league is going to take him a lot more seriously. He's built tough though, so if anyone can survive an injury, it's him.

Also, as many have noticed, people aren't too gung-ho about taking Hightower in the draft, so do NOT draft him and wait to get him in free agency instead.

[Manning2Wayne]

seriously could be a possibility , just hope he doesnt lead the league in fumbles as well

rice, foster

can be up there 2

[FairleySuhper]

Do not see this happening at all.

[chad72]

12 team league - 1 QB, 2 WR, 2 RB, 1 TE, 1 WR/RB, 1 K, 1 DEF, draft was last Saturday

My team:

QBs: Matt Ryan, Colt McCoy

WRs: Andre Johnson, Vincent Jackson, Chad OchoCinco, Jordy Nelson

RBs: Steven Jackson, Ryan Grant, Beanie Wells, Tim Hightower

TEs: Visanthe Shiancoe, Greg Olsen

K: Garrett Hartley

DEF/ST: Chicago, Indianapolis (homer pick in round 15 , my reasoning was we could play 2 rookie QBs twice, and then Panthers, Browns & Bengals, so they should be good for a few games based on matchups )

I think I did alright.

[chad72]

Back to the OP's topic, I think Ray Rice leads rushing this year due to several reasons:

1. He will have FB Leach working for him
   
2. He will play in a run heavy offense
   
3. He will also get goal line touches