It sure didn’t seem to matter for the Dolphins that they lost Ronnie Brown for the season tonight as Ricky Williams put on a show. In the first half, he scored on a touchdown run and a touchdown catch. In the fourth quarter, he put the Panthers away on a long touchdown run.

Ricky Williams a Top Ten Fantasy Football Running Back

Now that Brown is out of the way, Williams can turn up his fantasy production into high gear for the rest of the season. Tonight on short rest (Thursday game) Williams ran the football 22 times for 119 yards and two rushing scores.

Running wasn’t the only part of Williams game as he had two receptions for 19 yards and a touchdown in the passing game.

Not only did Williams put the numbers up, but he took snaps out of the quarterback position for the wildcat offense.

Look for Williams to continue his surge of fantasy football production next week against the Buffalo Bills horrible run defense.

Panthers Continue Their Passing Struggles

The Carolina Panthers seemed to have no problems running the football. DeAngelo Williams had 122 yards on the ground on only 13 carries for the game.

The Panthers struggles in this game are the same struggles they’ve had as an offense all season long and that is passing the football.

Sure, star receiver Steve Smith had a solid game with seven receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown score, but that was about it for the team.

Jake Delhomme was coming of a solid performance against the Falcons last week, but tonight he was off on most of his passes. To his credit, he did only have one interception on 42 pass attempts but only completed 19 attempts. For those of you scoring at home that is a completion percentage of less than 50 percent.

Next week Delhomme’s competition won’t be any easier as the Panthers travel to New York and take on the Jets solid pass defense.

The running backs should have another solid game but Smith should be the only player from this team’s passing attack that is worth a look the rest of the season.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

Early this week it looked like the Panthers might bench quarterback Jake Delhomme in favor of backup Matt Moore. In the end, head coach John Fox decided to stick with his veteran quarterback for another game and Delhomme rewarded him with a victory.

Delhomme and Smith Hook Up

This season hasn’t bee a good one for fantasy football owners with Steve Smith on their rosters. Smith didn’t have a touchdown coming into this game but by the end of this contest, he did get a 50-yard touchdown catch.

Smith has now put together a couple of nice games since his horrible game against the Buccaneers in week six.

Next week the Panthers play against the Saints and I’m sure Smith with have plenty of opportunities to produce in that game.

Panthers Running Games Goes Wild

The Panthers running game was supposed to struggle against the Cardinals’ league leading defense against the run. Instead DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart dominated the Cardinals and shredded their defense all day.

Williams had over 150 yards and Stewart had two rushing touchdowns.

If the Panthers can continue to run the football this way they may pull out a decent season after all.

Kurt Warner Turns the Ball Over Six Times

Many expected the Cardinals to have a strong game against the Panthers and run away with a victory. Instead Kurt Warner and the Cardinals struggled all day long and had a very bad loss.

Arizona had a golden opportunity to advance their lead over the 49ers with a victory but they failed to get the job done.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

This week the Carolina Panthers announced they plan to stick with their struggling veteran quarterback Jake Delhomme. This news came as a surprise to some but not to me. I say that not because I believe it’s the right move but because head coach John Fox is too loyal to his veterans.

This is not the first time we have seen coach Fox be overly loyal to veterans as just a few years ago he continued to start DeShaun Foster over DeAngelo Williams. Foster wasn’t cutting it and Williams was the more explosive player.

In the end, it really wasn’t until the next season in 2008 that Williams was given a chance to start. This was also funny given the fact that the Panthers drafted a relatively high first round pick on running back Jonathan Stewart.

The reason Fox makes these moves is because he believes in playing his veteran over a younger player.

Sometimes that works for Fox and other times like this situation between quarterbacks (and Foster over Williams) it really hurts the team.

How Long Will it Last?

Although Fox is overly loyal to his veteran players, I don’t believe Delhomme will play much longer if he doesn’t improve. This weekend the Panthers travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals.

Remember, last year in the playoffs Delhomme was intercepted five times by this same secondary. One could easily build a case that Delhomme has never been the same since that very game.

If Delhomme should struggle early on than I believe you will see coach Fox turn to Matt Moore in the middle of the game.

What Happens After That?

Once Moore takes over as quarterback we will probably see him play for a few weeks. In that time if the Panthers offense should continue to struggle I would expect to see quarterback A.J. Feeley get the nod.

Feeley had success with the Philadelphia Eagles in the past and is a more proven player than Moore. If Feeley is in, he should be able to at least move the offense with better efficiency than Delhomme.

If either Feeley or Moore get on a hot streak they could help bring back the fantasy values of the key players in the offense.

Right now, Delhomme is killing the fantasy values of Williams, Stewart and highly talented receiver Steve Smith.

Hopefully, change will come and it will be very soon. Fantasy football owners are being killed by Delhomme.

NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

The Carolina Panthers needed a win to get their season on the right track. Fantasy football owners that have Panther players wanted to see this team win just so they stay competitive.

Jake Delhomme Leads Come Back

This game started bad for the Panthers offense but Jake Delhomme was up for the challenge of leading the team back. Late in the 2nd half the Panthers were down by 15 points but came back and took the lead over the Redskins.

This comeback was helped by steady running by DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Stewart put the team up for good with a 4-yard touchdown run in the four quarter.

This was a big win for the Panthers, and hopefully they can build on this going into next week against the Buccaneers.

Clinton Portis Scores Twice

Much has been made this week about Clinton Portis’s fantasy football value. This week he showed that he still has fantasy football life as he had two touchdowns.

Hopefully, Portis can continue this good play and continue to help fantasy football owners.

NFL Fantasy Football Information writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

No doubt the Carolina Panthers starting running back DeAngelo Williams is a talented player. Last season he broke out for fantasy football owners with a fabulous 20 touchdown season.

This season Williams has not performed as the fantasy football stud, we saw a season ago. The Panthers themselves have also scuffled as they are still looking for their first win of the season.

How can the Panthers win football games and how can Williams return to his fantasy stud self?

Give the Williams the Football

This season quarterback Jake Delhomme has two touchdowns to go with seven interceptions.

While those numbers are bad, Delhomme’s pass attempts this season to over 30 a game. This is up from around 25 a game last year when the Panthers had so much success.

So far, this season Williams is carrying the football less than 14 times a game. This is a very low amount of rushing attempts for a player with the gifts that Williams has.

This team is built to run the football, and if they have any hopes of winning football games this season, they need to get back to a ground game.

Just What the Doctor Ordered

A major reason for the Panthers’ lack of rushing attempts is that they have been playing from behind against potent offenses.

In the next three weeks, the Panthers will play three offenses that are struggling mightily. With this break in schedule it should allow the Carolina to run with confidence.

If the Panthers can win their next three contest, they would pull back to an even record. After that they will start fighting it out against playoff contending teams.

Below I have listed Carolina’s schedule from this week until week 16.

• Wk. 5- Redskins
• Wk. 6- @ Buccaneers
• Wk. 7- Bills
• Wk. 8- @ Cardinals
• Wk. 9- @ Saints
• Wk. 10- Falcons
• Wk. 11- Dolphins
• Wk. 12- @ Jets
• Wk. 13- Buccaneers
• Wk. 14- @ Patriots
• Wk. 15- Vikings
• Wk. 16- @ Giants

Fantasy Football Ranking for DeAngelo Williams

With an increase in touches, Williams should have a strong fantasy season for fantasy football owners from here.

Furthermore, look for the Panthers to pull it together in the next three weeks and get themselves back to winning football games.

In the end, their slow start may cost them a playoff spot, but if they can pull it together, players like Williams and Steve Smith can be productive.

NFL Fantasy Football Information writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

This was a crucial game for both teams as the Cowboys and Panthers faced off on Monday Night Football. The game started out slow as both teams failed to score in the first quarter. As the game moved on the Cowboys flexed their muscle and beat the Panthers 21 to 7.

Felix Jones Impressive Before Injury

Second year running back Felix Jones got the start for Dallas as Marion Barber was out with a quad injury. When Jones got his hands on the football he was explosive with 94 rushing yards on only eight carries. He also add a 20 yards through the air on only one catch.

Unfortunately, for the Cowboys (and fantasy owners) Jones went out of the game in the third quarter with a knee injury and didn’t come back.

Tashard Choice then ran the football as the feature back and had 18 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown.

If Jones and Barber can’t go next week, Choice will make for a fabulous play next week against the Broncos.

Panthers Passing Game Struggles

The Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme struggled in different spots of the game. Both of his interceptions could have been avoided if his receivers would have fought for the football. While Delhomme continue to struggle he did find tight end Dante Rosario for a nice 25 yards touchdown to make things interesting in the middle of the game. Rosario helped his team say in the game for awhile with three receptions for 58 yards and the touchdown

DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart were effective in the running game when they got opportunities.

For a game that was close most of the time, this team needed to keep the Cowboys offense off of the field. If they ran the football they would have accomplished that goal.

Hopefully, Carolina will correct there mistakes and come off of their bye week with strong play in week 5.

NFL Fantasy Football Information writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

The Panthers and Eagles faced off in week one, and this figured to be a close game. In the end, the Eagles blew out their opponent as Donovan McNabb broke a rib.

Jake Delhomme has Four Interceptions

In watching the highlights of this game it was clear that the Eagles had strong pressure on Jake Delhomme. While Delhomme had a horrible game, I do believe he will come back and play respectable football.

This veteran quarterback is a fighter, and just when you think he’s down for the count he bounces back. Look for Delhomme to have a much better game next week against the Falcons.

For fantasy owners with Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams, go ahead and keep starting your studs. I would not be worried about this, unless this bad play continues into October.

Donovan McNabb Breaks Rib

Today we found out that McNabb broke a rib on his three yard touchdown run. This injury has left McNabb’s status up in the air for week two.

The Eagles also took action today by signing veteran quarterback Jeff Garcia. Garcia who once played for the Eagles had just recently asked for his release from the Raiders.

If McNabb can’t go this weekend against the Saints than Garcia should get the nod.

Just like the Panthers situation, I wouldn’t pull any of your fantasy football starters from this team. Garcia is very capable of running this offense as he did in 2006.

Eagles Defense a Surprise

I was very surprised by the play of the Eagles defense this week. For a team that has lost key players and coordinator Jim Johnson, they didn’t skip a beat.

Let’s see how they perform against Drew Brees this Sunday.

Fantasy Football Information writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

2009 Mock Draft- August Auction Draft Cheat Sheet for Fantasy Football

September Auction Mock Draft Board

With the fantasy football season starting in just a short while from now I thought it would be a good idea to have one last mock draft for auction league play. This mock is for all of you fantasy football owners that like drafting your team as close to the start of the season as possible. Below I have a link to our mock drafts for standard league play from August. If you like you can click on the link and see where different players have gone as the season has drawn closer. After the monthly mock draft postings, I have selected a few points of interest that I wanted to talk about. August Auction League Mock Draft Board Over Paying Early in the Draft The first time I selected to talk about drafted Adrian Peterson (80 dollars) and Michael Turner (65 dollars). This draft was a standard 200 dollar budget and when a fantasy owner drafts two players for 145 dollars you end up with the starting lineup below. QB.- Tom Brady RB.- Adrian Peterson RB.- Michael Turner WR.- Ted Ginn Jr. WR.- Steve Breaston Flex.-Josh Morgan TE.- Kellen Winslow K.- Robbie Gould D.- Panthers BN.- Ricky Williams BN.- Bobby Engram BN.- Jerious Norwood BN.- Mushin Muhammed BN.- Kevin Boss BN.- Glen Coffee BN.- Jake Delhomme Outside of his running backs and Tom Brady (38 dollars) this team will suffer at receiver and the depth of the team is not strong. I would definitely say that this team is one of an inexperience fantasy owner.

No doubt the team above is an extreme example of what can happen if you spend a lot of money on just a few players.

Finding Solid Balance

While the team above was spend happy early on, I noticed another team in our mock draft that did a good job of waiting for good buys and spreading his wealth out. Below is a good example of what can happen when you spend reasonably at your draft.

QB.- Matt Schaub
RB.- Marion Barber
RB.- Kevin Smith
WR.-Marques Colston
WR.-Vincent Jackson
Flex.-Derrick Ward
TE.- Jason Witten
K.- David Akers
D.- Steelers

BN.- LenDale White
BN.- Chad Ochocinco
BN.- Donovan McNabb
BN.- Knowshon Moreno
BN.- Cedric Benson
BN.- Ben Roethlisberger
BN.- Fred Taylor

The only problem I have with this team is that they don’t have a great game breaking talent at running back. Sure Barber, Smith, Ward, Moreno and McFadden are all good talents but it’s always nice to have that one player that can go off at any time. Maybe McFadden or Moreno can be that runner for this team.

Other than a great playmaker this team is loaded with talent up and down the list as they had the most balanced team of all ten fantasy owners in the draft.

Auction Draft Wrap Up

After all is said and done, in fantasy football you can draft a good team and having solid depth always helps. But if your key players get injured and your team is one of the highest teams scored against in your head to head leagues, than your in trouble.

Of the two teams listed above I would say that the second one has the best chance to go through the injuries and make it to the playoffs in their respective fantasy league. The first team mentioned had best hope that Peterson, Turner or Brady don’t go down to injury or they are finished.

Fantasy Football Information Writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com