News: Rob Gronkowski is absent from the Patriots' practice for the second straight day with an injured left ankle. A report on the specifics of the injury comes from WIVB-TV in Buffalo, who reported that his father, Gordy Gronkowski, said he has a high ankle sprain but expects him to be fine for the Super Bowl against the Giants. Gronkowski, whose 17 touchdown catches set an NFL single-season record for tight ends, was injured late in the third quarter of Sunday's 23-20 AFC championship victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
Analysis: Gronkowski finished the season with 90 catches for 1,327 yards, giving him the single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end. The big fella continues to make plays in the postseason. With a week to go until the big game against the Giants, he should be fine. Gronkowski should not only be one of the first tight ends off the board on Draft Day in 2012, but get snapped up with a pick between 20th and 30th overall.
News: Giants WR Hakeem Nicks did not participate in any practices during the team's bye week before Super Bowl XLVI. He's listed as questionable on the team's preliminary practice report. Nicks is dealing with a shoulder injury after being on the injury report for a spell with an ankle problem.
Analysis: At this point we're not concerned about Nicks missing the game, nor are we concerned for his long-term health. Assuming he can get in a few practices before the big game, he should be ready to go against a pass defense that has struggled against most of its opponents. Expect a good game from Nicks and consider him a No. 1 Fantasy WR for 2012 worth a second- or third-round pick.
News: The Ravens announced that Cam Cameron will stay on as the team's offensive coordinator following their loss in the AFC title game. Cameron has been the team's OC and playcaller since 2008 and has been the only coordinator to work with QB Joe Flacco. The Ravens have gone 44-20 over that time and have been to playoffs every season.
Analysis: Cameron's helped the Ravens win, but he hasn't helped Flacco progress as a quarterback. For example, Flacco has had between 3,610 and 3,622 passing yards and between 20 and 25 touchdowns in each of his last three seasons. But this year his completion percentage and yards per attempt dropped like a rock while his pass attempts hit a career high (542, breaking the previous mark of 499). Flacco fits the bill as a great No. 2 Fantasy QB; though he's finally outfitted with a quality receiving corps, he simply doesn't invoke much confidence as a starting option. Look for him late in drafts.
News: The Ravens will replace Chuck Pagano with Dean Pees as their defensive coordinator. Pagano left the Ravens to coach the Colts. Pees previously coached the Ravens linebackers and was last a defensive coordinator with the Patriots.
Analysis: Pees should be fine running a Ravens defense that's been consistently strong. They have a good pass rush in place along with a great run-stuffing unit. They could improve in some areas (while they limited running backs on the ground they still allowed a bunch of rushing touchdowns) but it's assumed that they'll be worth a late-round pick in drafts this summer as a No. 1 unit.
News: When the Bears promoted Mike Tice to offensive coordinator, many felt it would keep the team in a run-first mentality. But Tice says that's not the case as he told the Chicago Tribune that he plans to fit the offense into the scheme, not the other way around, which was a problem with ex-coordinator Mike Martz's system. Tice admits he'll run plenty, but he wants to cater to the strength of the unit, and that's Jay Cutler's arm. "[He] can make all the throws," Tice said. " ... Right now, we have a great understanding of what our philosophy is going to be. And, all of the stuff that we are going to do, he has done. So that is a good thing."
Analysis: Tice especially is interested in using the no-huddle approach and giving Cutler the chance to get into a rhythm. That's a benefit, as is not changing the terminology, which means there won't be an overhaul on the playcalling system for Cutler to learn. He's far from a perfect quarterback, but anything the Bears can do to keep him comfortable and firing away down the field will go a long way in Fantasy. Cutler will be drafted as a No. 2 option but he has some potential to be a big stat producer. He's well worth a middle- to late-round pick in drafts this summer.
News: The Colts hired Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano as their new head coach, replacing Jim Caldwell. The hire signals in a new era in Indianapolis, one that might mean a change in defensive strategy. Since the team hired Tony Dungy, the Colts have run a Cover-2 defense. Pagano is coming from the Ravens which ran a 3-4 attacking style. Pagano wouldn't commit to a scheme at his introductory press conference. "We're not going to try to jam a square peg into a round hole," Pagano said. "We're going to find out the strengths of this unit, the weaknesses, and we're going to put them in the best possible position to be successful."
Analysis: Who Pagano hires to be his defensive coordinator might go a long way in determining what kind of scheme the Colts will run. Of course, this is a defense that's a long way in being relevant in Fantasy to begin with. Keep them off your radar for now.
News: The Buccaneers are counting on Greg Schiano to lead them back to respectability and transform Tampa Bay into consistent winners -- much in the same way he made Rutgers matter again. Schiano was at Rutgers for 11 seasons, taking them from college football laughingstocks to a program that has had winning records in six of the last seven years. He was an assistant coach in the NFL with Chicago from 1996-98. "Coach Schiano is a bright, meticulous teacher who knows how to get the most out of his players," GM Mark Dominik said. "He built and ran a pro-style program at Rutgers, and he's a defensive-minded coach whose teams have always been characterized by toughness and a physical style of play."
Analysis: Schiano inherits a team that allowed the most points in the NFL this season and is also among the league's youngest. There's no doubting his football knowledge or his ability to garner respect, but unless the Bucs surround him with some experienced coaches to help him through his first few years, there could be some struggles. We don't think the hire will improve the defense overnight as they have too many issues that warrant change. At the most, we could see the Bucs DST as a one-week replacement option during the season.
News: The Raiders formally agreed Thursday on a four-year deal to make Denver defensive coordinator Dennis Allen their new head coach. New general manager Reggie McKenzie had decided Tuesday to hire Allen to replace the fired Hue Jackson as head coach. The Raiders have gone nine straight seasons without a winning record or a playoff berth, just missing out on the AFC West title on tiebreakers with an 8-8 record last season. The 39-year-old Allen will be the first new Raiders coach to come from the defensive side of the ball since late owner Al Davis hired linebackers coach John Madden in 1969. The Raiders are coming off one of their worst defensive seasons ever. Oakland had franchise worsts in touchdown passes allowed (31), yards per carry (5.1), yards passing (4,262) and total yards (6,201), while giving up the third-most points (433) in team history.
Analysis: In his first season as coordinator in Denver, Allen helped the Broncos improve from allowing a league-worst 29.4 points and 390.8 yards per game to ranking 20th in yards (357.8) and 24th in points (24.4) this season on the way to an AFC West title. He'll help a Raiders unit that has potential but isn't quite worth trusting in Fantasy play just yet.
News: The Palm Beach Post reports that the Dolphins plan on moving to a 4-3 scheme in 2012. They had played in the 3-4 front previously but are switching back to a style the franchise has had a lot of success with. Former Bengals DB coach Kevin Coyle, who has worked in the 4-3 scheme for much of his career in Cincy, has agreed to become the defensive coordinator. "There are some pieces that we'll need to find, but I think we certainly have personnel that we can make a pretty good transition," Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland said.
Analysis: The idea behind the switch is to make playing defense easier for the players, namely the secondary, which struggled for much of 2011. With Cameron Wake turning into a defensive end and putting some pressure on opposing quarterbacks regularly, the defense could improve quickly. They still need some work, but they're a unit we're watching between now and the start of the season.
News: The Palm Beach Post reports that the Dolphins plan on moving to a 4-3 scheme in 2012. That means Cameron Wake would no longer be a 3-4 linebacker and would move to a defensive end. Wake entered the league as an end but moved to LB when the Dolphins moved to a 3-4 scheme.
Analysis: Wake had 8.5 sacks last year with 42 total tackles in 2011, finishing way behind the leaders of the pack as a linebacker. But if he did that as a Fantasy defensive lineman he'd have finished as a Top 25 DL. Assuming he indeed makes the move to DE, Fantasy owners should consider Wake a low-end No. 2 DL with potential to deliver some nice stats -- he's only a year removed from a 14-sack, 57-tackle season.
