As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am developing a tool fantasy football evaluation tool. It is the Per Play Index, a.k.a. the PPI.
Initially I built it for the Quarterbacks, and now I have completed the formula for running backs as well. In the next two weeks I will have it completed for Receivers and Tight Ends, but there is some more research that needs to be done first.
The PPI will allow you to better analyze your player comparisons to help optimize your drafting strategy and ultimately your team.
The PPI will be a purchaseable product. For more on the PPI, please visit our fantasy football page.
Please contact me with your inquiries.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Examining the remaining free agent market
PFT has done a good job tracking all the moves, here is a snapshot of some of the talent that is left out there, from their perspective.
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on August 1, 2011, 2:18 PM EDT
The avalanche of free agent acquisitions didn’t slow down over the weekend. That figures to change this week, because the numbers of quality free agents has dropped dramatically.
Our top-80 free agent list is hardly perfect, but it gives us a broad look at what type of player is out there.
1. 16 of our top 20 players have been signed. Our best remaining guys: Zach Miller, Braylon Edwards, Matt Roth, and Aubrayo Franklin.
2. 39 of our top 50 players have been signed. The middle tier guys still available:Kevin Boss, Steve Smith (NYG), Carlos Rogers, Ronnie Brown, Dashon Goldson, Jared Gaither, and Malcom Floyd.
3. 59 of our top 80 players have been signed. No. 80 Randy Moss has retired. Names towards the bottom list: Shaun Ellis, Kirk Morrison, Marc Bulger,Jason Snelling, Bo Scaife, Manny Lawson, , Le’Ron McClain, Ricky Williams, and Tommie Harris.
While this is a rough approximation, about 75% of the quality free agents out there have been accounted for. Not bad for a week of action.
To stay on top of all the moves big and small, keep checking back with ouracquisition tracker and release tracker.
Peyton Manning's blind side protector on his way to Minnesota
Posted by Mike Florio on August 1, 2011, 2:44 PM EDT
While catching up on a hectic morning and early afternoon, I tripped over an e-mail from the Vikings that eventually made my jaw drop.
At first, it didn’t drop. Because I assumed that the there must be another tackle named Charlie Johnson, other than the one that plays left tackle for the Colts. You know, the one who started 15 games at left tackle for the Colts last year, protecting Peyton Manning’s blind side.
After donating a few page views to the billionaires at Google, it was then clear that the Vikings had swiped Johnson away from the Colts, even though the Colts had hoped to keep him.
“I wouldn’t say that ship has sailed,” Colts vice chairman Bill Polian said on Sunday regarding the chances of keeping Johnson. “We’ll discuss it as we go forward. But the market has slowed down right now. So who’s to say what’s going on at this point.”
What’s going on at this point is that Johnson is gone. And so only one day after Manning talked about taking less money so that quality players could be put in place around him, one of the most important players to a slow-footed, aging, right-handed quarterback will be protecting Donovan McNabb instead.
Of course, Johnson likely won’t supplant Bryant McKinnie. But Johnson can play other positions on the line, including both guard positions and right tackle. Either way, he gives the Vikings some help with a unit that could use it.
Ahmad Bradshaw will return to Big Blue
Posted by Mike Florio on August 1, 2011, 1:47 PM EDT
After running back Ahmad Bradshaw flirted with a couple of other terms and after the Giants flirted with at least one other running back (Jason Snelling), the player and the team reportedly have decided to love the ones they were with.
Mike Garafolo of the Newark Star-Ledgerreports that Bradshaw has agreed to terms with the Giants. A source with knowledge of the situation has confirmed that a deal has been struck. Per the source, it’s a four-year deal.
Bradshaw, a four-year veteran who played college football at Marshall (that otherprogram in West Virginia), rushed for 1,235 yards in 2010.
Randy Moss calls it a career
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on August 1, 2011, 1:05 PM EDT
It doesn’t matter what kind of shape Randy Moss is innow: The surefire Hall of Fame player is going to retire.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter got the word from Moss’ agent Joel Segal: ”After weighing his options and contemplating offers, he’s decided to retire,” Segal said.
It’s not a huge shock to us. We suspect Moss did not have many attractive offers, and he didn’t want to take a huge paycut to do the Terrell Owens thing and keep taking one-year deals. We guessed more than once that Moss would ultimately hang em up because of low contract offers.
It’s a shame that Moss’ career ended on such a sour note, but most great careers do. One of the singular players of his generation, Moss is second all time in career touchdowns and fifth in yards. He’s in the discussion as one of the best receivers and big play threats ever.
Speculation will ensue that Moss will pull a Brett Favre and return at some point. We have our doubts.
Moss didn’t return to football because teams didn’t want to pay him. His pride is too big to battle for snaps and a roster spot on a low salary. We don’t expect to him on the field again, but we do expect to see him in Canton.
Giants give Osi Umenyiora freedom to seek a trade
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on August 1, 2011, 11:09 AM EDT
The “good conversation” between Osi Umenyiora and the Giants on Sunday provided immediate results.
ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio reports that the Giants have granted Umenyiora’s agent permission to seek a trade. This sounds promising for Umenyiora’s hope for a new deal, but the Giants’ trade demands could hold things up.
The Giants want a first round pick in exchange for Umenyiora, which will be difficult to attain. Umenyiora’s agent began calling teams Monday morning to find out who is interested. The Giants may have to come off that price if they really plan to move the disgruntled pass rusher.
Umenyiora will remain at Giants camp while trade talks happen.
Seven first rounders remain unsigned
Posted by Mike Florio on August 1, 2011, 9:40 AM EDT
With Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (No. 11 overall) and Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder (No. 12) agreeing to terms on Sunday, seven first-round picks are still unsigned.
Strangely, they all land from picks No. 17 through 24. They are Patriots tackle Nate Solder (No. 17), Chargers defensive tackle Corey Liuget (No. 18), Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara (No. 19; pictured), Browns defensive tackle Phil Taylor(No. 21), Colts tackle Anthony Castonzo (No. 22), Eagles guard Danny Watkins (No. 23), and Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (No. 24).
The only player signed in that eight-man stretch is the first first-rounder to sign: Bucs defensive end Adrian Clayborn, the 20th overall pick. Clayborn’s deal, negotiated by up-and-comer Blake Baratz, overshot the pick-by-pick formula not only for the 20th slot, but also for the 19th slot, occupied by Amukamara. That wrinkle could be keeping Amukamara’s deal from getting done.
The bigger issue is the extent to which the teams are willing to fully guarantee the four-year deals. Clayborn’s at No. 20 is fully guaranteed. The contract signed by Seahawks offensive lineman James Carpenter at No. 25 is guaranteed only for the first three years. For picks No. 21 through No. 24, the fight centers on whether three or four years will be guaranteed.
The Colts are drawing a line in the sand at No. 22 with Castonzo. “Agents are asking for a four-year guarantee, which we will not do,” Colts vice chairman Bill Polian said, via News-Sentinel.com. “As I mentioned, we are old school and if we won’t give Joseph Addai, who helped us to two Super Bowls and helped us win two AFC championships, a fully guaranteed contract, we aren’t going to do it for a rookie, any rookie. We love Anthony. We think he’s a great draft choice and we think he would be a great Colt, but it’s time for him to prove that before he gets a fully guaranteed contract.”
Ditto for the Eagles at No. 23; per Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com, the Eagles only want to guarantee the first three years of the contract.
The solution could be for the teams and the agents to agree to guarantee three years — the last three years. As a practical matter, this guarantees the entire deal, allowing the teams to say that they didn’t guarantee the entire four years.
Either way, look for these deals to get done soon.
Asante Samuel back on the field today
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on August 1, 2011, 9:44 AM EDT
Absent for the start of training camp for an excused personal issue, cornerback Asante Samuel went back to work Monday.
Samuel reported for camp and immediately took a physical, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He could be on the field by the afternoon, joining Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
For now, Nnamdi Asomugha is watching from the sideline. The Eagles seem very open to trading Samuel and his $5.9 million salary, even though it would be fun to see the three cornerbacks play together.
Philly may have to wait for an injury elsewhere in the preseason to get a good offer. It still wouldn’t shock us if Samuel stayed with the team.
Tommie Harris working out for Patriots today
Posted by Mike Florio on July 31, 2011, 11:44 PM EDT
Maybe the Pats really are moving away from a 3-4 defense.
Days after trading for top-shelf (when motivated) 4-3 defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, the Pats will be taking a look at 4-3 defensive tackle Tommie Harris, according to Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald.
Per Rapoport, Harris will be working out for the Patriots on Monday.
Harris, a seven-year veteran and three-time Pro Bowler, was cut before the lockout by the Bears.
This would explain a few of the moves that the patriots have made defensively over the past week or so. Releasing Tully Banta-Cain was a bit of a head scratcher, but if they are indeed shifting to the 4-3, I don't think he would have fit. Having Fat Albert and now potentially Tommie Harris could be a good indication that at least a hybrid defense is on the horizon. The Jedi Master is anything but conventional anyways. They have to be adding some form of a 4 man front to their scheme if Tommie Harris is an option.
A few years ago when Harris came into the league, he was the prototypical 3-technique under tackle. He had the power and leverage, but more so the explosiveness that really set him apart. He was one of the league's most promising young defenders. But a few injuries and a big contract have helped him disappear. With that being said, if anyone can get something out of a player it is Bill Belichick. That is, if Tommie Harris actually feels he has something to prove.
Antonio Cromartie signs 4yr/$32 Million contract with Jets
Posted by Mike Florio on August 1, 2011, 6:55 AM EDT
If cornerback Antonio Cromartie was upset by the Jets’ flirtation with Nnamdi Asomugha, it didn’t keep Cromartie from telling the Jets he didn’t want to play for them in 2011 and beyond.
Then again, the Jets gave him 32 million reasons not to have a stick stuck in a place where sticks ordinarily aren’t stuck.
Manish Mehta of the New York Daily Newsreports that the Jets have re-signed Cromartie to a four-year, $32 million contract.
The move gives the Jets a pair of its highest-profile acquisitions from 2010, providing continuity at a time of compressed preparation for the coming season. They also have swapped out Plaxico Burress for Braylon Edwards. The only significant free-agent loss to date was receiver Brad Smith, who signed with the Bills.
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