That's a wrap for preseason, folks.
The injury bug claimed one final big name before closing its preseason books, as Andre Brown suffered a fractured leg in New York's finale, leaving David Wilsons owners giddy that they get new York's backfield all to themselves. Wilson ran well in preseason, but there are so many question marks surrounding this Giants offense that it's a little premature to start planning your fantasy championship parade if you think you got a steal in Brown.
Raiders secretive about QB
This situation is like someone informing you "You have a choice -- you can either wrestle a starving alligator or swim in a piranha-infested lake!" Raiders coach Dennis Allenrefuses to name the team's starter for Week 1. And it's not because he's being coy -- it's because he has no good options available.
Wouldn't it be far more entertaining if Allen was just straight up about the situation during his next press conference? "Look, anyone in their right mind will be shocked to see this team do any better than 3-13 this year. Matt Flynn has been a huge disappointment, and Terrelle Pryor can't locate the ball within the same zip code as an open receiver. You know it, I know it. What the hell do you want me to do? In fact, if any of you media guys are interested in a career change and have even halfway decent accuracy while throwing on the run, come see me after this presser and we can talk."
The good news is the team has the inside track on landing Teddy Bridgewater about eight months from now. The bad news is there really aren't any Raiders worth starting in fantasy this year, and that includes Darren McFadden. I don't trust his injury history, and even if he does play, defenses know Oakland can't pass. So what's the risk for opponents to just stick eight guys in the box and dare Oakland's QBs to make plays?
Cards become RB happy
In what could be the ultimate disservice to fantasy owners, the Cardinalsplan to keep five running backs on their roster. Five!
Bruce Arians claims it may only be temporary, but come on. With roster sizes set to erode to 53 by the end of the week, each cut survivor needs to contribute something on the field. Teams can't afford to keep that many players at one position unless they plan on playing all of them. Rashard Mendenhall still leads the depth chart, but it's pretty much him and then everyone else. This is going to be a ridiculous and murky split allocation that probably won't make itself clear until a few weeks into the season. At least Ryan Williams presumably gets to stay on board, but Mendenhall is the only one who is even borderline startable at this point.
Quick hits
» The Pats have dumped a couple tight ends from their roster, with Jake Ballard being one of them. Ballard wasn't productive, but he may have been as good as Zach Sudfeld and Michael Hoomanawanui. Because Bill Belichick would never tell us anything direct, it's up to you to read between the lines. Those moves probably mean good news on the Rob Gronkowski prognosis.
» The Niners are really hurting on offense, as now LaMichael Jameshas suffered a sprained ACL, putting his status into the uncertain category. James didn't look as sharp as I thought he might this preseason, and with no one really stepping up at wide receiver outside of Anquan Boldin, it'll be interesting to see exactly how the Niners manufacture points this year.
» So, we completed our fantasy experts draft today, and I drafted on behalf of Americans everywhere. How did I do? Use Fantasy Genius to rate the team, then check out the complete draft results for the league! This is basically the fantasy equivalent of a government-run team, and I can't wait. I get to outspend everyone else if necessary, go over my player budget each week and maybe even strong-arm others in the league to make trades favorable to our team if they don't want sanctions imposed. Let's do this!
John Juhasz is a fantasy editor at NFL.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JohnJuhasz
