Colts, Dolphins Battle for NFL's Worst Record and Andrew Luck

The race is on for the first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

-by Braden Gall (@AthlonBraden on twitter)

COMMENTS

The 0-3 Rams Will Make The Playoffs. No, Seriously.

Their schedule gets much easier after Week 9 and they're in a very bad division

With the first three weeks of the NFL season in the books, there are five teams — Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings and St. Louis Rams — who have yet to win a game. According to research done by the NFL Network, teams that start the season 0-3 have a 2.8 percent chance of making the playoffs.

COMMENTS

Which 0-2 NFL Teams Still Have A Chance At Making The Playoffs

The Minnesota Vikings can climb out of their hole, but the Chiefs? Not so much.

By RALPH VACCHIANO

COMMENTS

Five NFL Teams That Improved and Five That Got Worse

Here's five NFL teams that will take a step forward this year, and five that will take a step back.

By RALPH VACCHIANO

No one has ever won an NFL championship in the spring and summer, and no one has ever lost one either. That’s not for lack of trying, of course.

Just ask the “Dream Team” in Philadelphia, or any of the up-and-comers pumping up their chests and thinking about a Super Bowl run. There are probably 32 teams thinking that way at the moment, even though a few of them are clearly braced for a fall.

COMMENTS

Seattle Seahawks 2011 NFL Team Preview

We look at the Seahawks chances of making the playoffs this season.

Pete Carroll did the Seahawks shuffle when he took over as coach, engineering 284 roster moves in his first 12 months. During this dizzying transformation, he lost his players in a big way at midseason (dropping six of eight games), got them back in a bigger way at season’s end (rescuing the postseason) and turned them strangely historical — coming up with the NFL’s first losing team (7–9) to collect a division title and win a playoff game (41–36 over New Orleans).

COMMENTS

Fantasy Football: Breaking down the Seattle Seahawks

SEATTLE
• Inside the Locker Room
With freelance writer Dan Raley

Mike Williams was able to make a comeback in Seattle with his former USC coach Pete Carroll. Should fantasy players be concerned that this was just a one-year wonder situation?
Williams was motivated to get in shape and play for Carroll again, and he rescued what was a lost career. Nothing should change in terms of his Seahawks performance the second time around — unless, of course, he got fat again during the lockout.

Marshawn Lynch moved to the top of the running back pecking order after coming over from Buffalo, and he finished the year with over 500 yards in a Seattle uniform. Is it Lynch as the workhorse, or is a committee expected?
Lynch should be the workhorse over a full season. Carroll prefers a big, bruising back, which Justin Forsett and Leon Washington aren’t and Lynch is. And the coach has made upgrading the offensive line his No. 1 priority — last year and in this year’s draft.

• Fantasy Playoff Run — Weeks 14-16: STL, @CHI, SF
All three opponents were in the top 12 in defending fantasy RBs last season. The matchup with the 49ers during the fantasy title game weekend is interesting for the Seahawks WRs, as San Francisco ranked 31st in the league in points allowed to WRs (31.0 ppg). All three opponents were in the top half against TEs as well.

• Athlon Best Bets
Sleeper: Golden Tate, WR
Deep-Sleeper: Ben Obomanu, WR
Overvalued: Sidney Rice, WR
Top Rookie: None
Bounce-Back: None
Top IDP: Earl Thomas, DB

• Try to Avoid
Justin Forsett, RB
He was given the chance to carry the load in 2010 (36 carries in Weeks 3 and 4) and failed to secure the job, prompting a trade for Marshawn Lynch. Pete Carroll will ride his new workhorse in 2011.
WAIT UNTIL: 13th RD

• Draft Class Fantasy Impact
Seattle’s draft certainly wasn’t flashy but should go a long way towards upgrading its chances to repeat as NFC West champs. James Carpenter and John Moffitt could start right away on the offensive line. Kris Durham had a quiet career at Georgia and was a surprise pick in the fourth round. Outside of Mike Williams and Sidney Rice, playing time is up for grabs in Seattle’s receiving corps.

More Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets and Rankings:
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 280
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 240 w/ IDPs
2 011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks
2 011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Kickers
2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Defense/Special Teams

COMMENTS

Quarterback Carousel

The NFL’s quarterback landscape has seen considerable changes since the lockout ended.

Kevin Kolb, Cardinals
Arizona traded away 2008 first-round pick (No. 16 overall) and 25-year-old Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie along with its 2012 second-round pick to acquire the young gun with seven career starts under his belt.

COMMENTS

Matt Hasselbeck Signs With Tennessee Titans

Veteran QB goes from frying pan into fire.

NFL News: Matt Hasselbeck, arguably the top quarterback in the free agent market, has agreed to a deal with the Tennessee Titans.