Chicago Bears 33, Washington Redskins 31 – RGIII looked more like a rookie in this one but he didn’t look horrible. He’s just having a few growing pains. QB Kirk Cousins threw 3 TD passes with the second team. Bears WR Alshon Jeffery looks like the player “they THOUGHT they were” (getting, that is – hat tip to Denny Green). The biggest concern was when Redskins OLB and Pro-Bowler Brian Orakpo injured his right pectoral muscle on a tackle – the same one he injured last year. Hopefully it’s just a strain, but a tear would keep him out possibly the entire season. It’s too early to know yet but listen for news as it develops. Redskins starting safety Brandon Meriweather hurt his knee, was helped off the field, and didn’t return in the game. I wonder if the GEICO caveman is gloating?

Houston Texans 20, San Francisco 49′ers 9 – Matt Schaub looked sharp once again and Andre Johnson looked horse-healthy on a 43 yard completion as the Texans’ first teams looked impressive once again. 9′ers RB Brandon Jacobs left the game after a tackler speared his right thigh/knee area on a tackle. It looked quite painful to be sure, but probably will wind up being a deep bruise. Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter are still the top two backs and that shouldn’t change. Jim Harbaugh seems to be interweaving his new receiving bodies into his run-based offense nicely and they’ll be a force in the NFC. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me all that much if this game is a Super Bowl Preview.

St. Louis Rams 31, Kansas City Chiefs 17 – Rams’ QB Sam Bradford looked sharp, throwing 2 TD passes on 6 of 9 passing and appears to be healthy again after an ankle injury hampered his sophomore season. Rookie WR Brian Quick had 3 catches and he was considered a talent who needs a little seasoning but seems to be developing nicely so far. Danny Amendola had 3 catches for 58 yards and a TD. Matt Cassel of the Chiefs had a nice outing as well while RBs Peyton Hillis and Jamaal Charles, both injured much of last season, got a little work and looked nice on a few runs. If that duo can get going, they could possibly be the best “Thunder (Hillis) and Lightning (Charles)” combo in the NFL if they live up to their talent…and if Hillis doesn’t get Strep Throat again. Rookie NT Dontari Poe’s struggles continue as he recorded a single tackle on the contest.

Seattle Seahawks 30, Denver Broncos 10 – 38 year-old WR Terrell Owens dropped a sure 48 yard TD pass from QB Matt Flynn, but the Seahawks won anyway. Peyton Manning had a good day other than a couple of interceptions – one on a tipped pass and the other on a throw that drifted on him a bit when he had to make a perfect pass. Don’t worry about Manning; he’s Manning and will be fine. Fantasy owners should take notice that Brandon Stokley and Manning seem to be getting familiar with each other again. Keep tabs on the pair; Stokley might be worth a late-round pick as a bit of a sleeper that some owners will pass over due to his age and injury history, but might see some production in this offense.

San Diego Chargers 28, Dallas Cowboys 20 – Dallas loses their second preseason game but their starting defense is really looking good. All of the Chargers’ points came in the second half. Lots going on in this game. First, Chargers’ apparent #1 receiver Vincent Brown broke his ankle and will miss at least 8 weeks. The Chargers WR group as a whole isn’t the most durable even while they have depth. QB Philip Rivers continued throwing picks like last year. It’s not all his fault, however, as his line is giving up ground so he can’t step into some of his throws. That Cowboy first-team looks pretty good on both sides but especially on defense as they have yet to allow a score in two games. Undrafted rookie free agent Cole Beasley from SMU had 7 catches and 104 yards as he stated his case for the #3 WR behind Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. Bryant made a would-be spectacular one-handed catch in the back of the endzone, leaping high to snag it out of the air. He came down JUST out of bounds and there was a holding penalty anyway, but the spectacle clearly demonstrated his talent and ability. They don’t make many like him.

1) Last year’s studs rarely are this year’s studs – Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew led the NFL in rushing. This season, he’s holding out…possibly even into the season. Hardly first-round material unless it’s resolved fast. Adrian Peterson is coming off an ACL tear in week 17. While he’s vastly ahead of schedule in his recovery, will he be the same player in week one as he was last season’s week one?

2) Even the best QBs rarely repeat a particularly good year – but the elite ones will always deliver. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, even Cam Newton should all be high-scoring fantasy players worthy of round one picks. What I’m talking about is don’t expect Matt Stafford to repeat his breakout year, although he should still be a top-ten fantasy QB. Just don’t expect quite the same big numbers in consecutive seasons from anyone…there always seems to be some variance.

3) Don’t even BOTHER drafting a kicker…from one season to another, kickers’ FP output seems random. Last year’s top kicker is rarely this year’s one, and with kickers the swings are even wilder than other positions. Instead, use that last spot to draft a sleeper. You can ALWAYS pick up a kicker off waivers just before the first game and you’ll have that last guy on the bench. Someone will eventually need to go but more often than not, it’s someone OTHER THAN the last guy you drafted. Unless there are 2 active kicker spots, in which case it’s a good idea to grab both – just do the math for your league. If there are more kicker spots open than teams in the NFL, you’ll have an advantage over those that didn’t get two. Depends on your league’s setup and rules

4) Don’t bother drafting Mike Shanahan-coached running backs. Nothing against Mike, but he uses running backs like paper towels…uses them, throws them aside when a cleaner one is ready. After Terrell Davis, he’s gone through lots and throw a dart to figure out who winds up the better fantasy player. Best just to avoid them all.

5) If you don’t get a top-6 or so QB, wait a few rounds and draft a second-tier guy. He’ll do better than you might think – after Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Rodgers, Newton, and possibly Phillip Rivers and the Manning brothers and Stafford, lots of teams have second-tier QBs that often score nearly as many FP as the big guys, or the difference isn’t worth picking them 4 or 5 picks higher. I’d take a Big Ben in round 6 or a Matt Ryan in round 5. Don’t neglect sleeper QBs either, like Chad Henne due to circumstance or a T.J. Yates in case Matt Schaub gets injured again, you just hit the jackpot. Trade bait if nothing else…but don’t count on trading to improve your team because guess what: ALL FANTASY OWNERS ALWAYS OVERVALUE ALL THEIR PLAYERS.

5a) Same for Tight Ends. The Elite ones will go in rounds 2-4, then there’s generally a bit of a lull before the “others” go – simply because of the perceived difference in numbers. Sure, it might be a good idea to get a Gronk in round 2, but again, he’s got a very high bar to reach again, and are a difference of 500 yards and 5 TDs really worth a 2nd round pick, where a 7th round pick could get you a Brandon Pettigrew? Maybe, maybe not.

6) This may be the most overlooked AND most important thing of all – READ THE LEAGUE RULES. Compare what QBs, RBs, WRs get for the same yardage gained, and how many FP for a TD. Usually it’s 4 for QBs, 6 for RBs and WRs. I won two leagues in two different seasons because I had noticed they had 2 QB spots and a hybrid QB/WR/RB spot. So my first 5 picks were QB, QB, WR, QB, RB. I picked up DeMarco Murray midway through the year and his big second half carried me to a championship, so you’ve gotta stay alert for the waiver wire. Sometimes others will waive players they have, not knowing they’re about to see a huge uptick in action. Keep an eye on that.

7) Keep in mind some players 2nd or 3rd on the depth chart that may be playing behind injury-prone guys – see the Schaub example above. Trent Richardson’s main backups may fall into this category, depending on his knee. Ryan Matthews of the Chargers, Jahvid Best of the Lions…injury-prone. So it’s a good idea sometimes to go ahead and draft a durable backup late rather than getting a fragile producer (Dez Bryant) early.

This is by no means all-inclusive, but it’s a general guide. Know your positions, know the scoring rules for your league. Draft with those rules in mind and consider the entire team as well. Offensive players on a team with a poor rush defense won’t see as many snaps as those on a team with a good defense.

Jan 15, 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson (80) is defended by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Laradarius Webb (21) in the AFC Divisional Playoff game at M

With the collapse of the Indianapolis Colts last season, the Houston Texans finally were able to win their first division title in franchise history in 2011 despite injuries to some key players and lost their best defender, Mario Williams, via free agency. With that in mind, here’s their 2012 draft:

1 26 Whitney MercilusLB Illinois
3 68 DeVier Posey WR Ohio State
3 76 Brandon Brooks G Miami (Ohio)
4 99 Ben Jones C Georgia
4 121 Keshawn Martin WR Michigan State
4 126 Jared Crick DE Nebraska
5 161 Randy Bullock K Texas A&M
6 195 Nick Mondek T Purdue

A glance at their top pick makes one realize the loss of Super Mario wasn’t “lost” on the organization. Whitney Mercilus was a bit of a one-year wonder at Illinois, but he did have a monster final college season, leading the NCAA in sacks. The Texans hope he can translate that and do so quickly as a rookie and earn the nickname “Ming.”

WR DeVier Posey is the latest attempt to put an outside threat opposite All-Pro WR Andre Johnson. Posey has good size, speed, soft hands and strength to play the outside.

The ensuing 2 picks show that they want to improve their interior offensive line for Arian Foster in Gary Kubiak’s zone-blocking scheme.

WR Keshawn Martin from Michigan State is a smaller guy that should find a home in the slot and is an accomplished punt returner that could steal Jacoby Jones’ job there and DE Jared Crick is a strong run defender that lacks great pass-rush skills but will get a few sacks due to his relentless, high-motor style.

It looks like their draft could produce up to five immediate starters or sub-package/rotational players that should see the field quite a bit. For a playoff team, that’s huge.

The one issue they cannot solve is QB Matt Schaub’s durability issues. The Texans had to go 3 deep at the QB spot last season and didn’t have Schaub for the stretch run or the playoffs. While the backups played well, including rookie T.J. Yates, they can’t fully replace Schaub. This offense has several bona fide stars with WR Andre Johnson and RB Arian Foster so they are capable of making a lot of noise. So far in mini-camp, they’ve been bitten by the injury bug much like last season so we’ll have to wait and see how everyone is when September rolls around.

Defensively, the Texans dominated in 2011 under first-year DC and former Cowboys HC Wade Phillips. The scary part is that they’re also a young defense with their oldest projected starter being Pro-Bowl defensive end Antonio Smith at age 31.

They have a number of star players on the defensive side as well, even after losing Super Mario to free agency and the Buffalo Bills. Brian Cushing played well moving to ILB from OLB last season when they switched to the 3-4 from the 4-3. Rookie J.J. Watt could easily have been DROY and should dominate in his second season. Another 2011 rookie, Brooks Reed, had a few sacks as he helped fill in for Mario Williams, who was lost to IR after week 5 last year. Connor Barwin was moved to OLB and played well also.

The added LB Bradie James through free agency to add into the mix. Their other notable signing was RB Justin Forsett from the Seahawks as a third-string RB behind Foster and Ben Tate and should see action on special teams.

The secondary appears to be in good shape as well with Danieal Manning at safety and Pro-Bowl cornerback Jonathan Joseph returning. Glover Quin played well moving to strong safety so Phillips had to be pleased with the way his squad gelled with so many players at new positions.

The only issue I can see the Texans possibly struggling with is cohesion in the passing game. With Schaub being injury-prone and Andre Johnson showing a recent propensity to nagging injuries, those two rookie WRs need to come in and start producing very quickly. TE Owen Daniels is a solid player but unspectacular when compared to the recent trend of players like Vernon Davis, Rob Gronkowski, or Jermaine Gresham. The Texans didn’t attempt to upgrade there through the draft nor free agency.

Considering their vault to the top of the division and Indy’s fall along with their roster changes and factoring in injuries last year, I’d say the Houston Texans took…

…one step forward. They made the playoffs with a rookie QB at the helm for a couple of games and that means the rest of the team is very solid. They lost a big free agent, Super Mario, but replaced him with as good a rookie as they could in Whitney Mercilus. While I don’t expect a rookie to come right in and fill those shoes, the rest of the team should be able to pick up the slack there. They also made a serious attempt to get Andre Johnson some help on the outside. If Schaub can stay healthy, this team is a Super Bowl contender and matches up with the Patriots particularly well should they find themselves in the AFC Championship Game in January, 2014.

Next up, the Indianapolis Colts.