Preise » ng ahead to 2016Last season saw the Cardinals David J

TORONTO -- Albert Pujols had a productive night at the plate and passed a former teammate on the all-time home run list, helping the Angels to a rare road win.Pujols moved into sole possession of 10th place on baseballs all-time list by hitting his 584th home run, Matt Shoemaker pitched six shutout innings and Los Angeles snapped an 11-game road losing streak by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 on Wednesday.Pujols had a season-high four hits and three RBI. After he and Mike Trout hit back-to-back homers in the first, Pujols hit a sacrifice fly in the second, singled in the fourth and sixth innings, then capped his night with an RBI double in the eighth.Pujols left without speaking to reporters, but his teammates shared their happiness at his historic homer.Albert will probably pass a few more of those guys, hopefully all of them, Shoemaker said. Its always special and were happy for him.Pujols leads the Angels with 99 RBI.Albert just keeps going, manager Mike Scioscia said. Hes approaching 100 RBI. Hes in the middle of our lineup virtually every day. He got some big hits tonight.For Pujols, the homer broke a tie with Mark McGwire on the all-time list. Pujols hit 37 homers as a rookie with St. Louis in 2001, McGwires final season before retirement.Thats pretty special, Trout said of Pujols milestone homer. Obviously he and McGwire were teammates, they know each other well.A three-time MVP and 10-time All-Star, Pujols is two home runs shy of tying Frank Robinson for ninth place.A 16-year veteran, Pujols has hit at least 20 home runs in every season but 2013, when he was limited to 99 games.He hasnt shown any signs of slowing down, Trout said. Hes still putting up numbers, still driving in 100. Its fun to watch.Two pitches after Trout hit his 24th home run, Pujols did the same. It was the fourth time this season the Angels have hit back-to-back homers.Both shots came off Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada, who allowed season-worsts of six runs and 10 hits in five innings. Estrada (7-6) is winless in his past three starts and has allowed six homers in that span.My last two outings havent gone well but these things happen, Estrada said. Im sure things will turn around for me.Jett Bandy had a career-high four hits as the Angels won away from home for the first time since July 26 at Kansas City. They matched the 1963 squad for the third-longest road skid in Angels history. Los Angeles lost a record 14 straight road games in 1969.Shoemaker (8-13) allowed three hits, walked one and struck out three to win consecutive starts for the second time this season.Shoe did a great job, Scioscia said. That lineup can swing the bats if you make mistakes. He didnt make very many mistakes.Toronto remained tied with Boston atop the AL East after the Red Sox lost 4-3 in 11 innings at Tampa Bay.FOUR PLAYPujols hadnt had a four-hit game since June 17, 2013, against Seattle.POWER OUTAGEThe Blue Jays are 8-23 when they dont hit at least one home run. Toronto had homered in its previous six games.TRAINERS ROOMAngels: RHP Cam Bedrosian (right middle finger) has been shut down after tests revealed a blood clot in his upper arm. He will visit a specialist for further treatment. ... RHP Huston Street had season-ending surgery on his right knee Wednesday. Street went 3-2 with a career-low nine saves and a 6.45 ERA. He is the sixth player to undergo season-ending surgery for the last-place AngelsBlue Jays: 2B Devon Travis (sore right ring finger) missed his second straight game. ... OF Jose Bautista (left knee) was cleared to come off the DL on Thursday after participating in a simulated game at Torontos spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida.UP NEXTAngels: RHP Jared Weaver (8-11, 5.47) will seek to avoid matching a career-worst streak of four straight losing starts.Blue Jays: LHP J.A. Happ (17-3, 3.05) can become the first 18-game winner in the majors Thursday. Happ has won 11 straight decisions. Hes 0-4 with an 8.00 ERA in four career starts against Los Angeles. Ozzie Albies Jersey .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Matt Joyce Jersey . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/phil-niekro-braves-jersey/ . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. Ender Inciarte Jersey .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. David Justice Braves Jersey . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. The rookie running back is a unique commodity in both real and fantasy football. If the sport of football is considered a young mans game, the tailback position is undoubtedly a key inspiration for this idiom.Few positions in sport, if any, incur such consistent and constant physical erosion as the NFL running back. The job description is to run through and past large groups of astonishingly strong and athletic men. This means the league, and thus fantasy investors, often look to the next wave of talent at the position for replenishment of workload and production. With an eventual eye on the 2016 class at the position, lets take a look at the past decade of rookie running backs in the context of fantasy football production.A brief history of top-flight rookie RBsThe premise that the league has continually devalued the running back position in the draft and in free agency over the past several seasons might ring true with regards to draft capital and bonus cash in free agency, yet this study revealed the fact that weve seen 19 rookie running backs tally at least 100 rushing attempts over the past two seasons combined. The past two seasons mark the biggest two-year stretch of 100-carry rookie backs over the past decade. Last years mark of 10 such performances was a 10-year high.From 2006 to 2013, we saw an average of 5.8 rookie backs accrue at least 100 carries. So while the sample isnt so sizable, its interesting to consider that while the league isnt allocating draft and cash assets to the position as it once did, on-field opportunity has actually increased over recent seasons.As a fun exercise, we compiled the top 30 fantasy seasons (ordered by standard fantasy points) since 2001. Even though Clinton Portis rookie opus in Denver in 2002 is the high-water mark for rookies since 2001, he finished fourth at the position that season in fantasy production, while Doug Martins 2012 netted him the highest finish (third) at the position for a rookie over the past 15 seasons.For some context for rookie backs in the past decade, consider that 40 rookie backs since 2006 have amassed as many as 150 rushing attempts in their debut season. During the past decade, 29 professional freshmen at the position have been targeted at least 40 times in the passing phase. Just how have rookie backs translated to fantasy production?Taking an overhead look at the league during the past decade, weve produced the production thresholds required for RB1, RB2 and RB3 seasons over the past 10 seasons. In the table below, youll find what each tier of production in both standard and PPR leagues demands for NFL running backs (not isolated solely to rookies). It has required at least 125 standard fantasy points, for example, to finish 24th or better among running backs on average over the past 10 NFL seasons.Lets apply these numbers to rookies at the position since the 2006 campaign.Rare RB1 rookie seasonsUsing 170 fantasy points as the threshold for producing a top-12 fantasy season using ESPN standard scoring, we find 13 rookie tailbacks since 2006 to have met this mark (rounding up Marshawn Lynchs 169 fantasy points in 2007). Using per-game production -- limiting the sample to having played at least eight games during their rookie campaign -- we find 12 backs qualify for the top-12 per-game threshold of 11.6 fantasy points per game.In a PPR (point per reception) format, just 12 rookie backs since 2006 have produced at least 206 fantasy points (the milestone for a PPR RB1 season over the past decade), again proving generous with the inclusion of both LeVeon Bells and Giovani Bernards 2013 efforts that resulted in 205 PPR points for each. Using per-game production, 13 backs since 2006 have met the requirement (14.3 FP/G) for a top-12 PPR finish.Rookie RB2 campaignsFor the top-24 tier, we find 12 tailbacks since 2006 have scored between 125 and 170 fantasy points -- the realistic range for an RB2 finish -- over the past decade (13 met the per-game mark of 9.1 to 11.6 points per game). Adding these tiers together, we find 25 backs have produced a top-24 fantasy season at the position in standard leagues over the past decade.In PPR formats, 10 backs over the past 10 seasons have produced RB2 results -- between 157 and 205 fantasy points -- and nine have met the per-game requirements for RB2 consideration, averaging at least 11 PPR points. This means 22 rookie backs have totaled top-24 efforts in PPR formats over the past decade, expanding to 24 using the per-game confines of the study.SSince 2006, 255 rookie running backs have appeared in at least four games during their inaugural pro season, thus we find just less than 1 percent of such rookies have produced RB2-worthy efforts over this sample.dddddddddddd.Rookie RB3 effortsThe group understandably expands as we lower the bar for fantasy production, as 20 rookie backs have totaled between 92 and 125 standard fantasy points since 2006, the range for RB3 production. The sample grows to 24 backs when looking at point totals in PPR formats over the past decade. When it comes to per-game production, 19 rookie backs have averaged RB3 production in standard scoring formats since 2006, which expands to 20 backs using a PPR key.Looking ahead to 2016Last season saw the Cardinals David Johnson and the Rams Todd Gurley lead fantasy teams to glory, while respectable stretches from the likes of Jeremy Langford, Matt Jones, T.J. Yeldon, Buck Allen, Duke Johnson and Thomas Rawls didnt go unnoticed. With a new crop to study, identifying the top talents in this 2016 class could prove profitable come December.Referencing the table above, weve compiled this years rookie class with ESPNs current fantasy football projections for 2016. Based on the research above, we have Ezekiel Elliott projected for a surefire RB1 campaign in both standard and PPR formats (more on him below).The Titans Derrick Henry is projected within 10 percent of the RB2 tier using standard scoring, while Jordan Howard, C.J. Prosise, Kenyan Drake, Kenneth Dixon and Tyler Ervin are set to achieve or come close to RB3-worthy production this season; all of them are within 22 percent of the RB3 scoring threshold.My personal favorites of this rookie possible RB3 tier would be Dixon and Howard, as I find the depth charts in both Baltimore and Chicago realistically scalable. Dixon has some LeSean McCoy to his game in both negative and positive regards; in that he can get stuffed at the line with some regularity, but then again, he also flashes Shadys rare ability to induce missed tackles from opponents. Of the Ravens trio of backs in Marc Trestmans space-friendly system, Ill take shares of Dixon. As for Howard, hes a between-the-tackles force compared to Langfords more reception-friendly skill set, so meaningful early-down work could come sooner than later for the bruising Hoosier.The key 2016 rookie asset to evaluate is surely Zeke, as the Cowboys top pick is currently going fifth on average at the position and in firmly the first round overall in ESPN drafts so far this summer. Our projection for Elliott this season, powered by the ever-accurate Mike Clay, has him set for the fourth-most carries in the league, with roughly 280. Fittingly, Brett Jepsen of the teams website has Elliott projected for 280-300 carries this season.Elliott is also projected for the 11th-most catches at the position, with 51, netting him the fourth-most projected yards from scrimmage (1,673) among all players at the position. Converting this gaudy expected workload into fantasy numbers, were projecting Elliott for the fourth-most fantasy points at the position in both standard and PPR formats.From Week 6 on last season, when he began to receive feature work, the Cowboys Darren McFadden averaged 107.8 yards per game, the most in the league over the final 12 weeks of the season. The Rams remarkable rookie, Gurley, rushed for just 17 more yards than McFadden on 10 fewer attempts last season. Which is to say, Dallas vaunted run-blocking line helped McFadden, in his eighth season, keep pace with the leagues elite talents at the position.Nine rookie running backs have been afforded at least 250 rushing attempts since 2006, with eight of these efforts resulting in RB1 production (at least 170 standard fantasy points). Of those nine rookie workhorse campaigns, six earned at least 40 targets and 260 receiving yards. This select six averaged 210 standard and 259 PPR points -- good for RB1 production in each of the past 10 seasons -- thanks to such voluminous workloads.Opportunity is a monumental influence for fantasy success with rookie running backs. We are banking on Elliott to join Doug Martin and Matt Forte in fantasy lore with a top-five finish at the po