In-depth film analysis of NFL Draft Prospects With a Fantasy Football Lens - by Matt Waldman ©2025
This Week’s On The Couch with Sigmund Bloom stars OFBG (original Footballguy) Jason Wood and yours truly as we have a quality football hang:
Lance Zierlein was kind enough to invite Sigmund Bloom and I to a hangout to talk overrated and underrated fantasy prospects. Here’s the 24-minute conversation that starts at the 0:27 mark.
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Brandon Lloyd…Choo-Choo!!!
With the help of numerous Footballguys.com writers, Bob Henry creates a weekly aggregation of camp news titled (simply enough) Training Camp Update. I can’t recommend it highly enough. The first issue is free to the public.
I’m going to quote some of the notes and provide my own take.
Carolina Panthers FB Mike Tolbert: Why I want to see All-22 analysis of Carolina this year. Continue reading
Reads
This is a quick post, but one I want to make this week before my access to Internet becomes less constant. I have three recommendations for reading material before the season begins. One is a fantasy football magazine. The other is a book. I’m sure most of you have one and plan to get the other, but I still want to do my due dilligence and give them a mention.
The first is the Footballguys Interactive Magazine, which is iPad, Android, desktop, and laptop friendly. The magazine is jam-packed with fantasy football goodies, photos, swipeable navigation, and yes, even an Upside Down (and counterpunch) draft strategy that many of you have been asking me about. Check it out here and learn about the deal Footballguys offers for subscribers to the site.
And for the few of you that haven’t made the connection, yes, I write for the site. I love working at Footballguys and a big reason why is the quality of work that so many of the people produce. They produce far more than what they charge for it.
My newest gig is with Football Outsiders and I’m thrilled to be starting a column with a top-notch group of writers at this terrific football resource. The Football Outsiders 2012 Almanac is now available for download. This publication has become an annual “must-have” for football fans. Lot’s a great work there and the link I just provided includes links to samples from this highly praised annual publication.
One of the things I enjoy about Football Outsiders is the thought-provoking work that you’ll see there on a regular basis from excellent writers. The RSP blog recently posted FO columnist Ben Muth’s RSP team and Muth was instrumental in creating our player values to help this blog deliver a project that has been a hit with readers.
My final recommendation this week is a publication that I have no connection to in terms of employment, but I read chapters from nightly. I’ve probably read this book twice through since I got it six weeks ago: The Essential Smart Football by Chris Brown. Almost every writer participating in the RSP Project has cited Brown’s work thus far. That should tell you how influential his knowledge is to the writer’s community. I’ve learned a ton from Brown when it comes to the X’s and O’s of the game and it is helping me gain a valuable scope with the work I do.
These three publications are the must-haves that cover three of the four essential parts of football table today: fantasy football, statistical football analysis, and strategic X and Os analysis. What’s the fourth you ask? You don’t have to ask about rookie analysis, do you? 🙂
Listens and Views
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I get the sense that Dickerson is the most underappreciated of the great backs in recent NFL history.
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I’ll tell you about it when I get back.
I’m pleased to announce that I will be joining Football Outsiders to pen analysis on pro prospects. My weekly column will be published on Saturdays beginning this fall until the NFL Draft. I will provide player/game analysis of high-performing college players, including non-skill positions on both sides of the ball.
I’m excited become a part of another great team of writers on the Internet, but nothing else is changing. You can still find me writing fantasy football-related content at Footballguys.com and maintaining this blog. Football Outsiders is an additional opportunity to write about what I study.
I want to thank all of you who read and recommend my work on a regular basis. You’re a great audience and I appreciate the opportunities you have helped to provide. I’m still thinking of a name for the column so if you have suggestions, I’m all ears.
The Name the Prospect Contest has earned a great response and a lot of readers are asking me if I have revealed the answers. You’re going to have to wait a little longer because only 1 reader out of nearly 100 entries has correctly identified all three players. I love a good contest and the fact only 1 out of 100 entries were correct is a strong indicator that the question was a worthy one.
I’m going to let the contest run a full week. If I don’t get three readers with correct answers by the end of Day Seven, Continue reading
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Did you know 40 percent of Vince Young’s career wins are fourth quarter comebacks?
I Know How Kevin Smith Feels
I was going to play football today for the first time in 22 years – an annual post-Turkey day contest in the neighborhood where I grew up. Then I started running last week. Before you get the wrong idea, I’ve been biking 10 miles a day for nearly six months so I’m in decent cardiovascular shape.
I learned that your knees also need to work up to the pounding. Continue reading
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Check out Walter Payton’s 75-yard reception.
It’s been a great week at the RSP blog. Chad Spann not only provided great information for an enlightening interview series about his training camp experience with Indianapolis, but he’s now a part of the Buccaneers practice squad and in London for the team’s match up with the Chicago Bears. Jay Cutler gave us a rare, “take this job and shove it,” moment on Sunday night. And Jene Bramel writes a fantastic piece where he dissects a play from an angle that gives us a different conclusion than what television commentators saw at first glance.
The only downer was Skype failing me when I was going to deliver my “And Justice For All” defense parody of John Beck on The Audible Roundtable. Google Phone, we’re pals for now. Don’t let me down…
If you’re new to this blog, thank you for checking out the digs. Even more thanks if you liked enough of what you’ve seen to subscribe. Continue reading
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Billy “White Shoes” Johnson. Get acquainted with him if you don’t know who he is. A terrific football player from the `70s and early `80s. One of my favorite receivers/return specialists from any era.
As I do every Friday at the Rookie Scouting Portfolio, I extend my thanks to all of you who take the time out of your day to consistently read the work I post here. It’s been the best week yet for the blog and I want to thank Greg Cosell for being a big reason for it. He’s a great interview.
I you like what you’ve seen thus far, please consider these three acts of kindness: Continue reading
Preseason football is underway and before you know it, college football. Thank you to those of you who are making the Rookie Scouting Portfolio Blog a part of your regular reading schedule. As I’ve been saying weekly, if you like what you’ve seen thus far, please consider these three acts of kindness: 
And then consider performing one special act of kindness to yourself: Get my publication The Rookie Scouting Portfolio. Those who buy it love it.
The RSP is a 120-150 page rookie report loaded with analysis, rankings, and player comparisons of over 150 offensive skill position prospects. And unlike any publication remotely of its type, Continue reading