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8/6
Brandon Marshall - We dropped Marshall on our recently updated Cheatsheet because we expected him to be suspended. While the suspension is not quite as severe as we expected (in reality only two games), we still can't rank a guy who's going to miss the first two games of the season in the Top 10. That being said, you can expect him to move up slightly from where he is now.
Steve Smith - Like Marshall, Smith's drop was precipitated by a two game suspension. Unlike Marshall, we don't look for Smith to regain any of the ground he lost. There are a variety of reasons for that opinion including the presence of another NFL WR (Mushin Muhammed) on the team, something the Broncos don't have. (Please don't try to tell us that perennial under-achievers Darrell Jackson and Brandon Stokley count.) Also keep in mind that though everybody is saying the right things, Smith will need to once again earn the respect and trust of his teammates.
Nate Burleson - By all accounts Burleson is having a great camp and has worked his way back into HC Mike Holmgren's good graces. This combined with the uncertainty surrounding Deion Branch (see below) should mean more chances for Burleson, especially early in the season.
Deion Branch - Though his rehab is going well, it now looks like he won't be back in time to play at all in the pre-season. Expectations are that he will be available by Week one, but on a somewhat limited basis.
Jerry Porter - Yeah, we know he's not on our Cheatsheet, but it is worth noting that his rehab from hamstring surgery is going well and he hopes to participate in the final pre-season game.
Javon Walker - We've taken some heat for our low ranking of Walker, but his recent admission that he considered retiring after his off-season fiasco tells us we are on the right track. He has not exactly wowed them in Oakland so far with his performance either, though he has looked a little better recently. Walker had a monster year in 2004 and has been living off of that ever since. Sure he's in line to be the Raiders top WR, but we're not yet willing to have any confidence in him putting up big fantasy numbers this season.
8/4
Peyton Manning - Dropping a guy from 3rd to 4th is usually not a big deal, but when it's Peyton Manning, well that's another story. As of now we have not changed any of our projections for Manning but we are suspicious enough about his knee injury to put Drew Brees ahead of him. Sure we know the team says their keeping Manning away from camp to decrease the chances of infection (maybe the Browns should try that), but we can't shake the feeling that their real reason is to keep him away from prying reporters and photographers. Why else sign two QBs with NFL experience and why else only play Jim Sorgi for one series in the Hall of Fame game? There may be perfectly good answers to those questions that don't include the health of Manning, but until we're convinced of that we think Brees is a safer bet.
Carson Palmer - Palmer has slowly been inching back up our cheatsheet for a variety of reasons. To begin with, WR Chad Johnson has decided to be a good citizen in camp and keep his mouth shut (for a change). Secondly, Palmer and new TE Ben Utecht have hit it off immediately and are working well together. Thirdly, a slight decrease in Roethlisberger's projections have pulled Palmer within 6 points of Ben (see below) which is close enough to give the edge to Palmer due to the quality of his WRs.
Ben Roethlisberger - Despite the fact that the Steelers have been less than thrilled with what they have seen of RB Rashard Mendenhall, we still think that he will end up being the red-zone back which has caused us to cut Roethlisberger's projected rushing TDs to one. As a result the only difference between his projected point total and Palmer's is the one rushing TD we still have projected for him. That's not enough to keep him ahead of Palmer in our rankings. Remember, what matters is week to week consistency, not end of the year statistics.
Brett Favre - We said back in early June that we thought Favre would not stay retired. That being the case, as soon as he is named the starter (somewhere) he will immediately become a fantasy factor. His ranking will of course depend on where he ends up, so stay tuned.
Josh McCown - Though not officially on our CPR yet, we are already working on numbers for him. It appears that the fall from grace for John Beck that we anticipated has already begun which makes McCown the hands down favorite to be the starter when the season begins. (Though we still believe that Chad Henne will be the starter at some point this year.)
8/2
Steven Jackson - OK it's not a huge deal, but our decision to drop Jackson down one spot is a reflection of our concern over his on-going contract dispute. Jackson is coming off of an injury plagued season and missing training camp doesn't seem like the best way to get ready for the season. We expect all of this to be resolved relatively soon but nothing is for sure in the NFL.
Ryan Grant - Well we see that the little light went on inside of Grant's helmet. His mini-holdout was ill conceived and doomed to fail. We dropped him early on Saturday because we were concerned that he would stay out too long and give Brandon Jackson an opportunity to make a move. Apparently Grant had the same concerns. Still, Jackson did and said all the right things during the off-season so we're still not convinced that he won't cut into Grant's value.
Selvin Young - Word out of Broncos camp is that Ryan Torain is impressing "The Genius" which is all we need to hear to make us nervous. Bronco RBs are just frustration waiting to happen, so we decided not to allow it to happen to us again. Young still has value, but we're not as confident as we were.
Brandon Marshall - There seems little doubt that he's going to be suspended, the only question is for how long? Don't be surprised to see us drop him further in the coming days in response to a growing concensus that his suspension could be for more than 4 games.
Steve Smith - We dropped Smith as soon as we heard about the fight. Now with a two game suspension we'll be dropping him further.
Kurt Warner - Yeah, we know what the CPR says, but his upside makes him a much better pick than the guys below him. If he becomes the starter he will immediately be moved into the top 10.
Matt Leinart - Not as much upside as Warner, but more than the guys below him.
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