2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers

The upcoming weekend is a big one in the world of fantasy football, coinciding with the third and most telling week of preseason action. We've knocked out our Quarterback and Running back rankings, and we're going to help you get ready for the weekend with our third installment of fantasy football position rankings, this time focusing on the wide receivers.



Tier 1

1. Andre Johnson

2. Roddy White

3. Calvin Johnson

4. Hakeem Nicks

5. Larry Fitzgerald

6. Greg Jennings

7. Reggie Wayne

8. Mike Wallace



Tier 2

9. Vincent Jackson

10. DeSean Jackson

11. Dwayne Bowe

12. Dez Bryant

13. Kenny Britt

14. Miles Austin

15. Santonio Holmes

16. Marques Colston

17. Brandon Marshall

18. Brandon Lloyd

19. Steve Johnson

Tier 3

20. Percy Harvin

21. Anquan Boldin

22. Wes Welker

23. Mike Williams (TB)

24. Jeremy Maclin

25. Mario Manningham

26. Chad Ochocinco

27. Sidney Rice

Tier 4

28. Santana Moss

29. Pierre Garcon

30. Austin Collie

31. Mike Sims-Walker

32. Mike Thomas

33. Steve Smith (CAR)

34. A.J. Green

35. Michael Crabtree

36. Robert Meachem

37. Julio Jones

38. Braylon Edwards

Tier 5

39. Malcolm Floyd

40. Roy Williams

41. Johnny Knox

42. Lee Evans

43. Jordy Nelson

44. James Jones

45. Jerome Simpson

46. Jacoby Ford

47. Plaxico Burress

48. Hines Ward

49. Davone Bess

50. Danny Amendola

51. Deion Branch

52. Derrick Mason

53. Donald Driver

54. Lance Moore

55. Steve Breaston

56. Emmanuel Sanders

57. Kevin Walter

58. Nate Burleson

59. Steve Smith (PHI)

60. Mike Williams (SEA)

61. Andre Roberts

62. Arrelious Benn

63. Jason Hill

64. Eddie Royal

For the wide receiver group, our tiers are expanded as there is only a slight difference between many of the players in the talent pool. The lesson here, as always, is get at least one guy in the top tier. If you are yourself with a top tier quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end in the first four or five rounds, you'll be in good shape no matter how the rest of the draft shakes out.

2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs

Ahhh running backs. The lifeblood of fantasy football. Or at least, they used to be, back when all 32 teams had a feature running back to take all the carries and rack up a ton of points. Not so anymore, which is where we come in to sort through them all and make sure you get the right ones.



Continuing our 2011 Fantasy Football series after unveiling our Quarterback Rankings last week, it's time to take a look at the top running backs in the the NFL--for fantasy purposes, anyway.



Tier 1

1. Adrian Peterson

2. Chris Johnson

3. Jamaal Charles

4. Arian Foster

5. Ray Rice



Tier 2

6. LeSean McCoy

7. Maurice Jones-Drew

8. Rashard Mendenhall

9. Darren McFadden

10. Frank Gore



Tier 3

11. Matt Forte

12. Steven Jackson

13. Michael Turner

14. Ahmad Bradshaw

15. Peyton Hillis



Tier 4

16. LeGarrette Blount

17. Knowshon Moreno

18. Jahvid Best

19. Shonn Greene



Tier 5

20. Mark Ingram

21. Daniel Thomas

22. Ryan Mathews

23. Felix Jones

24. DeAngelo Williams

25. Cedric Benson

26. Ryan Grant

27. Marshawn Lynch

28. Fred Jackson

29. BenJarvus Green-Ellis



Tier 6

30. Jonathan Stewart

31. Tim Hightower

32. Beanie Wells

33. Ryan Williams

34. Mike Tolbert

35. Michael Bush

36. Pierre Thomas

37. Joseph Addai

39. C.J. Spiller

40. James Starks



Tier 7

41. Brandon Jacobs

42. Reggie Bush

43. Danny Woodhead

44. Ryan Torain

45. Roy Helu

46. Darren Sproles

47. Rashad Jennings



Tier 8

48. LaDainian Tomlinson

49. Ronnie Brown

50. Willis McGahee

51. Thomas Jones

52. Ricky Williams



Tier 9

53. Montario Hardesty

54. Jerome Harrison

55. Javon Ringer

56. Bernard Scott

58. DeMarco Murray

59. Jason Snelling

60. Ben Tate

61. Marion Barber

62. Brandon Jackson

63. Delone Carter

64. Shane Vereen

65. Justin Forsett

66. Donald Brown

67. Toby Gerhart

68. Anthony Dixon

69. Cadillac Williams



The Running Back position, as you can see, has turned into one big clusterfudge in the fantasy football world. Just as we advised that you pick up a Tier 1 quarterback, that would be ideal with running backs as well, but definitely have at least one of the top 15 guys or you really don't know what you're getting.



The shortage of quality backs means, quite simply, just pick as many of them as you can. That 20-40 group can almost be flipped around without anybody putting up too much of a fight, which is quite the predicament for fantasy players looking to get a stud No. 2 back. So our advice is to stockpile the position and hope that your Tim Hightowers separate from your Ryan Torains.



At the top, there are more enticing options than Adrian Peterson, but old reliable gets our No. 1 nod for his consistency. Chris Johnson's holdout is a little fearful, as is Arian Foster without bruising fullback Vonta Leach, so we'd stick with Peterson as the first overall pick.



With QBs and RBs behind us, it's time to take a look at another seemingly convoluted position--wide receivers. Check back later this week for our WR rankings.

2011 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks

We are finally back to football after last night's NFL action (albeit preseason) and we are celebrating by rolling out the first installment of our 2011 Fantasy Football rankings. In our first position ratings, we are naturally taking a look at quarterbacks.



While the position is often referred to as the most important position in football, it may just be the most important in fantasy football as well. Running backs and wide receivers will still rule the early rounds, but it's important to get a good QB early (we recommend making sure to get a guy in the first tier).



Without further ado, our 2011 Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings:



Tier 1

1. Michael Vick

2. Aaron Rodgers

3. Drew Brees

4. Phillip Rivers

5. Tom Brady

6. Peyton Manning

7. Tony Romo



Tier 2

8. Matt Schaub

9. Matt Ryan

10. Ben Roethlisberger

11. Eli Manning

12. Joe Flacco



Tier 3

13. Matt Stafford

14. Josh Freeman

15. Sam Bradford

16. Jay Cutler

17. Kevin Kolb

18. Kyle Orton

19. Ryan Fitzpatrick

20. Donovan McNabb

21. Mark Sanchez

22. Matt Cassell



Tier 4

23. Colt McCoy

24. Cam Newton



As you see, we've broken the quarterbacks into convenient tiers. As we mentioned above, if you see some of the top quarterbacks flying off the board early, make sure to get one of the top seven (Romo is a controversial pick for the top tier that some might not feel comfortable with, so in that case, grab one of the top six).



Fantasy Football players are just starting to truly realize the importance of a consistent, reliable quarterback. Get one early and don't worry about it for the rest of the year.



After that, Tier 2 is mostly dependable starters who we feel will maintain their current production with no dropoff. There is a little more potential in Tier 3, along with a few players who we do, in fact, think have a dropoff coming (Josh Freeman, namely).



Finally, our last tier is just two deep: McCoy and Newton. If you're drafting a quarterback this late into the talent pool, go for the boom or bust guys who could break out rather than the consistently mediocre options such as Matt Hasselbeck or David Garrard.



Now that you have your signal-caller picked out, we'll continue with our series of 2011 Fantasy Football Rankings to help you fill out the rest of your fictional squad. Next up: Running backs.

Stock Lemon's Advice on Betting the NFL Preseason:

Don't.

The Tiger Woods Major Tournament Betting Strategy

The last of the 2011 golf majors takes place this weekend, and for betters feeling nostalgic about Tiger's seemingly long-gone dominance in the golf world, here's a strategy to consider.



With a mediocre performance over the weekend (and the last two years), Tiger's odds are dwindling with every tournament. You'd be hard-pressed to find him at odds of 10/1 or better at a major until he wins another one, a far cry from the days when you could actually bet on him versus the field--and get better odds on the field!



So here's a strategy: Knowing that 10/1 is the worst of the odds you'll have to lay (he's double that at 20/1 at the PGA Championship this weekend), you could feasibly bet on Tiger at the next 10 majors (covering 2 1/2 years of golf), needing only to win in the last tournament of those 10 to break even. Which means, should he win next year's PGA, you would have unsuccessfully bet on four tournaments, say for $100 each, but in the fifth tournament, assuming at worst 10/1 odds, you would profit $1,000. Our math tells us that you made yourself a $600 profit, at which point you scrap the system.



Now, maybe our logic is flawed. Maybe Tiger will show promise at a tournament and get everybody jacked up about his game again, thus boosting the odds to unfavorable amounts (and given the public's betting affection for Tiger, this is not unlikely). Maybe injuries and mental fatigue have ruined the once immortal Tiger for good. But hey, that's gambling. There are no guarantees, just opportunities.



In the end, the risk may prove greater than the reward. But vise versa is possible, too, particularly if he keeps getting 20/1 odds.



Essentially, under this strategy you are betting on Tiger Woods, perhaps the greatest golfer of all-time, to win just one major in the next 2 1/2 years. Would you take that bet?

Stock Lemon's 2011 Fantasy Football Rankings Coming Soon

Thankfully, it's football season yet again, where all your fantasies become realities.

For those of you who have been fantasizing about our 2011 Fantasy Football Rankings, wipe that drool from your lip and check back soon for our position-by-position ranks of the best of the NFL.

And since there will likely be very few Raiders in our rankings, fantasize about the picture above for as long as you can.

Check back soon for our rankings!

Tiger Tempting Bridgestone Bettors

The big golf news of the week (year) is that Tiger Woods will finally return from his physical and mental injuries and take part in the Bridgestone Invitational which begins tomorrow.

This is an event that Tiger has won seven times, and other golfers have won just five, so yeah, a lot of people are betting on Tiger Woods in his first tourney back.

We like Tiger as much as the next obscure sports betting/stocks website, but let's hold on just a minute. Bookmakers are enticing betters with great odds on Tiger, especially at an event he has historically dominated like none other. But keep in mind, this is his first event back, and with a new caddy at that. Let's give him a tourney to work out the kinks. Our prediction is that he does just that--and then goes on to win the PGA next weekend. But we think this is just a tune-up to prepare for next week.

Keep in mind that Tiger's list of goals looks like this: 1) majors; 2) everything else. Obviously, he would like to win the tournament, but he has his eye on an even bigger prize next week. Though it is extremely tempting to bet Tiger at a tournament he has won nearly 60 percent of the time at such favorable odds (currently 12/1 on Bodog after opening upwards of 20/1!), this is the only Bridgestone tourney in history in which we advise taking the field.

Now don't get us wrong, despite what his arbitrary ranking might tell you, we still think Tiger is the best golfer in the world. We just don't think he will be this weekend.