NFL Preseason: Week 1 fantasy football thoughts

Welcome to football season. After a volatile offseason that left many of us wondering if the NFL lockout would ever be resolved, it's nice to have training camps open around the country and preseason games in action.

Lion King: Is Stafford ready to lead the Lions and fantasy football teams?

For the third consecutive year, I'll be sharing random fantasy football thoughts and tidbits based off of the preseason games. I break it down in a variety of categories based on what I'm seeing on the field in conjunction with how it is making me feel about their value in fantasy football leagues this year. This series won the Fantasy Sports Writers Association's Best Fantasy Football Series last year, which was an honor and another awesome achievement for team KFFL.

As with every year, the first week of preseason action doesn't give us a ton to work with. Most starters only see a series or two, and it doesn't help that a lot of others are simply held out as precautionary measures. With the lockout stealing time this summer, the first week of preseason play was also riddled with sloppy play. That should not come as a surprise, and I fully anticipate many teams not firing on all cylinders when the regular season begins. Rust is rust, and missing all of the summer is going to be felt with timing, communication and general chemistry amongst teams.

Drinking the Kool Aid

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has been a sleeper favorite for many the past two preseasons. Injuries robbed him of his potential a year ago. Will injuries force him to miss the majority of three seasons in a row? Stafford opened the preseason hitting six of seven passes for 71 yards passing and two touchdowns (one to Calvin Johnson and a questionable one to Nate Burleson). He made quick decisions, had pretty passes and was on the money with most of them. I don't think you can enter the season comfortably with Stafford as your No. 1 fantasy quarterback, but I'm targeting him as my No. 2 in almost every league format. The Lions have a lot of weapons and Stafford looks like he gets it ... now he just has to stay upright and off of the injury report. It's worth noting that both of Stafford's touchdowns went against Bengals cornerback Leon Hall, too, so it's not like he was picking on a third-string defender. Tap your mouse here for more »

Weak free-agent QB class could lead to more trades

With the NFL lockout (hopefully) coming to an end soon, the 2011 free-agent market - albeit about five months late - is ready to begin.

Quarterback is always a highly sought after position, as the general belief is an NFL team cannot win without a good one under center. There are reasons they make the big bucks, are always in the spotlight, land the hot chicks and are also the most scrutinized. They are, after all, a team's "field general."

Entering training camp, there are plenty of teams that could use an upgrade at the position, including: The Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers. Tap your mouse here for more »