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"&lt;p&gt;                       Recent Fantasy Clicks                                         8-10-09: Meet The Avoidables/HOF Revelations                                         8-07-09: Defending The (Seemingly) Indefensible                                         8-05-09: Welcome To The Hotel California                                         8-03-09: Houston, We Shouldn't Have A Problem                                         7-31-09: Meet The New Fantasy Four Horsemen                                         7-29-09: The Obligatory All-Favre Revelations                                         7-27-09: The Great American RB Race For No. 1                                         7-24-09: Buehrle's Relentless Pursuit Of Perfection                                         7-22-09: It's All About The Slot -- #9                                         7-20-09: Ian's Opening Salvo/Parting Shot                                         7-17-09: It's All About The Slot -- #6                                          7-15-09: MLB All-Star Game Revelations                                          7-13-09: Another Twin-Killing Under The Dome                                          7-10-09: The Giant Beast Walks Among Us                                          7-08-09: It's All About The Draft Slot: #1                                          7-06-09: Just Another Day At The Bronx Zoo                                          7-03-09: Meet Your Fantasyland All-Stars                                          7-01-09: Fitz &amp; His Merry Men Of Angry Rushers                                          6-29-09: The Joys Of Stealing Home On The Road                                          6-17-09: Joe Versus The Volcano Of Expectations                                          6-15-09: Phabulous Phantasy Goodness in Philly                                          6-12-09: Fenway Franks &amp; Losers' Angst                                          6-10-09: Where Fantasy Eagles Dare Fly                                          6-08-09: Marathon Men Take Over Petco Park                                          6-05-09: Mr. 300 Goes To Washington                                          6-03-09: Just Shooting The Bayou Brees                                          6-01-09: Angels and speed demons in SoCal                                          5-29-09: Fantasy foxes invade the desert                                          5-27-09: A Study In Jungle Karma                                           5-25-09: M&amp;M Boys' A-list production                                          5-22-09: It Was A 20-to-1 Shot, Doc                                          5-20-09: SI's Bout with NFL Mock Madness                                          5-18-09: Tigers making most of split personality                                          5-15-09: Chris Davis ... Built For Fun                                          5-13-09: Not Favre From Over? Ugh!                                          5-11-09: Prince Albert's Great American Day                                          5-08-09: Manny's Suspended Animation                                          5-04-09: The Man Of Steal Rides Again                                          4-29-09: Dangers of RB Overpopulation                                          4-27-09: It's All About The O's                                          4-24-09: The New Falconer                                          4-22-09: Fantasy Breakdown Of NFL Sked                                          4-20-09: The Utlimate Fantasy Catch-22                                          4-17-09: Cyclist Of The Century                                          4-15-09: NFL Slices Of Heaven, Part II                                          4-13-09: All Hail The Check-Swing King                                          4-10-09: Welcome To Adventureland                                          4-08-09: NFL Slices Of Heaven                                          4-06-09: Opening Night Revelations                                          4-03-09: Draft Night Revelations, Part II                                          3-30-09: Draft Night Revelations, Part I                                          3-27-09: Draft Rules To Live By                                           3-23-09: Catch A Rising Star                                          3-20-09: Look Out For Pick No. 1 ... and 24                                          3-18-09: PVR Perfect                                          3-17-09: Don't Forget About Me                                          3-13-09: Welcome To Spring Break                                          3-12-09: LT2 Losing His Charge                                          3-11-09: Sudden Impact                                          3-09-09: Hip, Hip ... Hurry Back, A-Rod                                          3-06-09: Revenge Of The Cyst                                          3-05-09: A Disappointing Deadline Day                                          3-04-09: Cosmic Charlie                                          3-02-09: Aces In The Hole                                          2-27-09: Depth Perceptions                                          2-23-09: NFL Combine Revelations                                           2-20-09: Designated Long Drivers                                          2-19-09: The Brady Hunch                                          2-16-09: Seeking Sweet Relief                                          2-13-09: Sneak peek at an MLB mock draft                                          2-12-09: Boozer's Snoozer Of A Season                                                    2-11-09: Impossible to ignore                                          2-9-09: The Secret Life of A-Rod                                           2-6-09: Pick of the 2B litter                                                    2-5-09: Time for a fantasy bailout                                                              2-4-09: Another winged wonder?                                          2-2-09: Super Bowl Revelations                                           1-30-09: Super Bowl Clicks                                                             1-29-09: Aussie Re-Open                                                             1-27-09: Fire sale!                                         1-26-09: Tim Lincecum vs. the world                                         1-23-09: The can't-miss kid?                                         1-22-09: Rip off!                                                             1-20-09: No consolation prizes                                         1-19-09: Championship Sunday Revelations                                         1-16-09: Into the great wide open                                                             1-15-09: Chickens, a King and free throws                                                             1-13-09: Grab your Skates                                                                  1-12-09: Divisional Playoff Revelations                                              1-09-09: Playoff horse of a different color                                                             1-07-09: Rocky Mountain Low                                                             1-05-09: Wild Card Revelations                                         1-02-09: Playoff-A-Palooza                      Meet The Avoidables                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Chris Johnson: Doug Benc/Getty Images                                                                                                                                                                  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I may have Titans rusher &lt;strong&gt;Chris Johnson&lt;/strong&gt; as the No. 9 overall player in the current SI.com rankings, but I won't be drafting him in Round 1 this year. The reason: He has amazingly (read: inexplicably) fallen to Round 2 in 100 percent of the mock drafts I've joined this summer. In other words, I can afford to wait for greatness (I'm thinking 1,800 total yards, 11 TDs).I have Jaguars wide receiver &lt;strong&gt;Torry Holt&lt;/strong&gt; as the 152nd player in the same Top 200; but believe me, I will most definitely pass on him in Round 15 -- for someone like Dolphins WR &lt;strong&gt;Ted Ginn, Jr.&lt;/strong&gt; or Holt's Jacksonville teammate, rookie WR &lt;strong&gt;Jarrett Dillard&lt;/strong&gt; -- simply because I'd rather possess a young player with admirable upside ... than a once-great talent with bad knees who hasn't had a 100-yard receiving game on grass since the days of &lt;i&gt;Simon &amp; Simon&lt;/i&gt; (or something like that).So, allow me to present &lt;i&gt;The Avoidables&lt;/i&gt;, a group of players whom I will ignore within their specially earmarked draft-rounds (as listed in the 12-team mock draft in the latest issue of &lt;i&gt;Fanball&lt;/i&gt; magazine). It bears repeating: I am not condemning studs like Chris Johnson, &lt;strong&gt;Joseph Addai, Knowshon Moreno, Vincent Jackson&lt;/strong&gt; or &lt;strong&gt;Greg Olsen&lt;/strong&gt; -- I'm simply saying I won't be &lt;i&gt;reaching&lt;/i&gt; for them, for various reasons. But I'm sure that little disclaimer will fall upon blind eyes, upon receiving nasty emails or bitter Tweets for this segment.&lt;strong&gt;The Avoidables&lt;/strong&gt;Round 1 -- RB &lt;strong&gt;Chris Johnson&lt;/strong&gt;, Titans (I PROMISE to dance a jig upon landing him in Round 2)Round 2 -- RB &lt;strong&gt;Joseph Addai&lt;/strong&gt;, Colts (wave bye-bye to the golden days of 1,436 total yards/12 TDs)Round 3 -- RB &lt;strong&gt;Knowshon Moreno&lt;/strong&gt;, Broncos (I'd consider this time-share victim in Round 6 or lower)Round 4 -- WR &lt;strong&gt;Vincent Jackson&lt;/strong&gt;, Chargers (only elite WRs go this high ... and V-Jax isn't there yet)Round 5 -- WR &lt;strong&gt;Bernard Berrian&lt;/strong&gt;, Vikings (in the year of &lt;strong&gt;Sidney Rice&lt;/strong&gt;, this is an obvious reach)Round 6 -- RB &lt;strong&gt;Tim Hightower&lt;/strong&gt;, Cardinals (he may score 8 TDs, but he'll be lucky to net 800 yards)Round 7 -- TE &lt;strong&gt;Greg Olsen&lt;/strong&gt;, Bears (way too high for tight ends who aren't red-zone specialists)Round 8 -- WR &lt;strong&gt;Torry Holt&lt;/strong&gt;, Jaguars (sing with me: &lt;i&gt;old gray paint ain't what he used to be&lt;/i&gt;)Round 9 -- WR &lt;strong&gt;Justin Gage&lt;/strong&gt;, Titans (it's rare for 9th-year players to take a seismic step forward)Round 10 -- QB &lt;strong&gt;David Garrard&lt;/strong&gt;, Jags (I'd rather have &lt;strong&gt;Campbell, Russell, Rosenfels&lt;/strong&gt; at QB2 )Round 11 -- WR &lt;strong&gt;Muhsin Muhammad&lt;/strong&gt;, Panthers (no longer a lock for 8 catches, 134 yards, 1 TD)Round 12 -- TE &lt;strong&gt;Jeremy Shockey&lt;/strong&gt;, Saints (wayyyy too much TE depth for a Shockey leap of faith)Round 13 -- D/ST &lt;strong&gt;Chicago Bears&lt;/strong&gt; (declining D + &lt;strong&gt;Hester&lt;/strong&gt;'s expanded role on offense = no thanks)Round 14 -- RB &lt;strong&gt;Mewelde Moore&lt;/strong&gt;, Vikings (by now, you've surely moved down to the next section) Hall Of Fame Game Revelations&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Titans 21, Bills 18&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What I Liked&lt;/strong&gt;: Titans quarterback &lt;strong&gt;Kerry Collins&lt;/strong&gt; looked extremely sharp for Aug. 9, and I'm not necessarily talking about going 7-of-10 for 82 yards. His play-fakes were crisp, and he looked quite mobile (for him, at least) around the pocket. Safe to say the man is ready for whatever competition &lt;strong&gt;Vince Young&lt;/strong&gt; should provide in camp. &lt;strong&gt;What I Liked, Part II&lt;/strong&gt;: As expected, &lt;strong&gt;Chris Johnson&lt;/strong&gt; didn't get a lot of reps against the Bills defense (6 carries, 17 yards). But I loved his 16-yard scamper down the left side, after the 4-hole collapsed on the handoff. &lt;strong&gt;Barry Sanders&lt;/strong&gt; could not have done it better himself.  &lt;strong&gt;What I Liked, Part III&lt;/strong&gt;: If the suddenly svelte &lt;strong&gt;LenDale White&lt;/strong&gt; (12 rushing yards, 1 TD) can stay fighting-trim AND remain a bruising red-zone back, then I fully expect his famous No-Tequila Diet to be a fixture on grocery-store shelves everywhere next year. But then again, who's going to buy an empty bottle of Jose Cuervo?  &lt;strong&gt;What Made Me Yawn&lt;/strong&gt;: Believe me, I tried, folks. But there's no gleaning insight to report from &lt;strong&gt;Terrell Owens&lt;/strong&gt;' two catches for 27 yards. On the first reception, he deftly wiggled into an open seam against the Titans' zone defense. On the second one, a simple down-and-out pattern, he jogged out of bounds upon making the catch. I will give T.O. credit for something, though: At least he showed up on the stat sheet, which leads me to ...  &lt;strong&gt;What I Loathed&lt;/strong&gt;: ... The invisible travails of Bills receiver &lt;strong&gt;Lee Evans&lt;/strong&gt;, who finished with nary a catch or signature play. Yes, I am fully aware that Sunday was the start of a long (and meaningless) preseason campaign; but I'm also worried that Evans won't be a factor in 10-11 games this year -- while posting all-world numbers in four or five outings. And like I always say: Good luck guessing when the explosions will occur.&lt;strong&gt;What I'll Remember On Fantasy Draft Day&lt;/strong&gt;: Putting the proverbial gun to my head ... I might rather have Tennessee receiver &lt;strong&gt;Nate Washington&lt;/strong&gt; over &lt;strong&gt;Justin Gage&lt;/strong&gt; (by a nose, at least), and I'm confident Bills No. 2 QB &lt;strong&gt;Gibran Hamdan&lt;/strong&gt; (11-of-13 for 89 yards) is a stronger fantasy option than Patriots backup &lt;strong&gt;Kevin O'Connell&lt;/strong&gt;. But that only applies to fantasy owners playing in 20-team leagues -- or deeper. The Power Of ADP &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You have to love the practitioners at Fantasy Football Calculator. They're already hard at work, making mathematical sense of this year's top fantasy football prospects. In fact, this site represents sublime one-stop shopping for mock drafts and the Average Draft Position tool (ADP) -- perhaps the best learning aid for NOT reaching during the August (and September) drafts. Speaking of ADP, here's a list of quarterbacks likely earmarked for Rounds 1-11 (for 12-team leagues), if a draft were held today: &lt;strong&gt;Drew Brees&lt;/strong&gt;, Saints -- Round 2, Pick 3&lt;strong&gt;Tom Brady&lt;/strong&gt;, Patriots -- Round 2, Pick 7&lt;strong&gt;Peyton Manning&lt;/strong&gt;, Colts -- Round 3, Pick 4&lt;strong&gt;Aaron Rodgers&lt;/strong&gt;, Packers -- Round 4, Pick 3&lt;strong&gt;Philip Rivers&lt;/strong&gt;, Chargers -- Round 4, Pick 9&lt;strong&gt;Kurt Warner&lt;/strong&gt;, Cardinals -- Round 5, Pick 2 &lt;strong&gt;Tony Romo&lt;/strong&gt;, Cowboys -- Round 5, Pick 10&lt;strong&gt;Donovan McNabb&lt;/strong&gt;, Eagles -- Round 5, Pick 12 &lt;strong&gt;Matt Ryan&lt;/strong&gt;, Falcons -- Round 7, Pick 1&lt;strong&gt;Matt Schaub&lt;/strong&gt;, Texans -- Round 7, Pick 2&lt;strong&gt;Jay Cutler&lt;/strong&gt;, Bears -- Round 7, Pick 9 &lt;strong&gt;Carson Palmer&lt;/strong&gt;, Bengals -- Round 8, Pick 1&lt;strong&gt;Ben Roethlisberger&lt;/strong&gt;, Steelers -- Round 9, Pick 4 &lt;strong&gt;Matt Cassel&lt;/strong&gt;, Chiefs -- Round 9, Pick 9&lt;strong&gt;Matt Hasselbeck&lt;/strong&gt;, Seahawks -- Round 9, Pick 11 &lt;strong&gt;Kyle Orton&lt;/strong&gt;, Broncos -- Round 10, Pick 8&lt;strong&gt;Eli Manning&lt;/strong&gt;, Giants -- Round 10, Pick 11 &lt;strong&gt;Trent Edwards&lt;/strong&gt;, Bills -- Round 11, Pick 2 &lt;strong&gt;Michael Vick&lt;/strong&gt;, Free Agent -- Round 11, Pick 5&lt;strong&gt;Jake Delhomme&lt;/strong&gt;, Panthers -- Round 11, Pick 11 ADP Afterglow&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here are some quick thoughts on the above ADP rankings:**For the record, I believe &lt;strong&gt;Michael Vick&lt;/strong&gt; has paid his (very-steep) debt to society and deserves a second chance at the NFL. But even in his heyday, Vick was never more than a 9th-round fantasy pick. So, how in the world could he possibly be an 11th-rounder -- after a two-year layoff AND without an NFL team, a starting-QB role or any positional definition, for that matter? Absolutely ridiculous. On a completely unrelated note, I would welcome having a Vick-lover in any one of my 12 fantasy leagues this fall. **Not since 1999 have fantasy owners had the opportunity to steal Colts QB &lt;strong&gt;Peyton Manning&lt;/strong&gt; in Round 3 ... but by all appearances, some lucky guy/gal will get a free shot at Peyton's 33 TDs and 4,300 passing yards around pick No. 25. In fact, if you own the No. 4 overall pick in 10-team leagues, you're staring at &lt;strong&gt;Matt Forte, Calvin Johnson&lt;/strong&gt; and Peyton in the first three picks. How's that for a foundation? &lt;i&gt;Ka-boom!&lt;/i&gt;  **I'm a little surprised that &lt;strong&gt;Drew Brees&lt;/strong&gt; is universally viewed as the No. 1 QB over Brady and Manning. Sure, I have Brees ranked atop my list as well, but you'd think the aura surrounding Brady/Manning would still be enough for the top spot.**I see the debate between &lt;strong&gt;Aaron Rodgers&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;Philip Rivers&lt;/strong&gt; as a virtual toss-up ... so imagine my chagrin to see Rodgers dwarfing Rivers by six solid slots. **&lt;strong&gt;Matt Schaub&lt;/strong&gt; getting ADP run over &lt;strong&gt;Jay Cutler&lt;/strong&gt; makes perfect sense: He has the better receiving corps (&lt;strong&gt;Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Owen Daniels&lt;/strong&gt;) and the receiving-prowess gap between stud running backs &lt;strong&gt;Steve Slaton&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;Matt Forte&lt;/strong&gt; is essentially negligible. Summertime Reality Check&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the wake of the Titans' convincing exhibition victory (don't let the close score fool ya) ... this seems like a good time to remind everyone of the following: The 2008 Detroit Lions posted a spotless 4-0 record in the preseason, beating the Giants, Bengals, Browns and Bills by an average score of 20-8. And as we all know, NONE OF THAT meant jack-squat once the regular season began. Pearls Of Wisdom&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dan&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;Kelly Grogan&lt;/strong&gt; are not only award-winning fantasy writers, but they also have a knack for unearthing major fantasy nuggets, via painstaking research. In the &lt;i&gt;Athlon Sports Fantasy Football Analyst&lt;/i&gt; -- a must-read for all fantasy owners before &lt;i&gt;and after&lt;/i&gt; draft day -- the Grogans dropped a ton of knowledge regarding workhorse running backs ... or the lack thereof:&lt;i&gt;Looking for that running back who gets 25-30 carries per game? Keep looking. The last time we saw one, it was when &lt;strong&gt;Larry Johnson&lt;/strong&gt; averaged 26 rushes per game in 2006. (&lt;strong&gt;Shaun Alexander&lt;/strong&gt; averaged 25.2 carries that same year, but played only 10 games.) Before LJ, it was &lt;strong&gt;Eddie George&lt;/strong&gt; in 2000 (25.2 per game) and &lt;strong&gt;Jamal Anderson&lt;/strong&gt; way back in 1998 (25.6). Interestingly, only 13 backs averaged more than 17 rushes per game last year. Heavy-duty workhorse backs aren't just a dying breed; they're all but dead ...&lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt; ... There were only 58 times last season in which a running back saw at least 25 carries. That might sound like a lot, but with 512 opportunities for this to occur (32 teams at 16 games each), those big-workload outings came only 11.3 percent of the time.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Translation&lt;/strong&gt;: If there was ever a time to build your fantasy team from the outside in -- loading up on elite wide receivers in the early rounds, and then getting great value with running backs in time-shares -- that time is now! I Tweet, Therefore I Am&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I'm a little ambivalent on the whole Twitter thing. Yes, I'm happy to finally have an account (@SI_JayClemons) -- one that fantasy football fans can access 24/7 with questions/comments about players, teams, drafts and starting lineups. Yes, it's great to \"follow\" hilarious celebrities like &lt;strong&gt;Michael Ian Black, Kevin Pollak, Jason Segel, Steve Carell, Stewie Griffin, Bonnie Hunt&lt;/strong&gt; and, of course, Statler and Waldorf of &lt;i&gt;Muppets&lt;/i&gt; fame. And yes, it's sweet to already have 100 followers after just four days of service. However, Twitter is more voyeuristic than Facebook, and I cannot help but wonder if this one-sided e-fad won't outlast the Pet Rock from the 1970s.In the meantime, I will try to pass the Twitter downtime with inane (but oh-so-comical) comments like the following:\"I did a little research on who was the first celebrity to regularly attend Lakers games: None other than &lt;strong&gt;Mr. Haney&lt;/strong&gt; of &lt;i&gt;Green Acres&lt;/i&gt; fame ...\"\"I just visited an out-of-town friend's house to feed/clean up after his cats ... and one of 'em hissed when I gave him/her the wrong omelette ...\"\"Thank god for IMDB ... how else would we know what &lt;strong&gt;Lacey Underall&lt;/strong&gt; is up to these days -- 30 years since the filming of &lt;i&gt;Caddyshack?&lt;/i&gt; ...\" \"&lt;strong&gt;Billy Mays&lt;/strong&gt; ... say it ain't so, brother? ...\"\"Someone oughta tell &lt;strong&gt;Michael Crabtree&lt;/strong&gt;'s adviser the NFL is a big boys league ... veiled threats of sititng out the season mean bupkes!\"\"The NFL Network's &lt;i&gt;Missing Rings&lt;/i&gt; series has been great ... suggestions for next batch -- '80 Browns, '79 Rams, '82 Jets, '84 Dolphins ...\"   We Interrupt Fantasy Clicks ... &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;... To announce the arrival of &lt;i&gt;Sports Illustrated&lt;/i&gt;'s fantasy football spectacular, available online and at magazine racks nationwide. This 168-page tome is chock-full of rankings, columns (two from yours truly), features, draft-day advice, in-season strategies, booms, busts and an experts' mock draft, enlisting an army of SI's award-winning fantasy and NFL writers (including &lt;strong&gt;Peter King&lt;/strong&gt;). Last but not least, it boasts perhaps the coolest cover of any fantasy magazine you'll ever see!Am I overselling it a little bit? Perhaps. But the early feedback I've gotten from my fantasy brethren suggests SI's first major foray into fantasy football will be an absolute triumph -- and that it could become an all-time best seller within the genre. (UPDATE: My well-placed moles have informed me that SI's fantasy mag is indeed the top seller to date ... sweeeeeet!)    Choose Your Quarterback        .cnnContentHead { margin-bottom:6px; }.cnnStoryHeadline { display:none; }.cnnRightMoreBox .cnn_title { background-color:#e7e7e7;color:#c00; }.cnnRightMoreBox .cnn_title A { color:#c00; }.cnnRightMoreBox .cnn_title A:hover { color:#c00; }                                                                                                            Your name:                                                                                                                        Your E-mail Address:                                                                                                                        Your Hometown:                                                                                                                        Paste URL below:                                                                                    SEND IT               &lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/fantasy/2013/12/13/monday-nflclicks>