Bill Smith

Join me on the Internet radio version of News, Notes and Rumors Mon, Thurs, and Friday at 6 PM EST on http://www.justin.tv/papaburl or https://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/.Follow me @NNRonDSNBill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He edits https://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on http://www.eBooks-Library.com/Contemporary/ and a non-fiction work at http://www.merriam-press.com/.William Lee Smith, 73, died peacefully on December 8, 2020 at Genesis Memorial Hospital. He was born in Newark, OH on January 19, 1947 of the late William Carl Smith and June Elizabeth (Armentrout) Smith.https://www.brucker-kishlerfuneralhome.com/obituary/william-lee-smith

NFC North Starting lineup grades

January 24, 2025September 7, 2018 by Bill Smith

For everyone asking for NFC North starting lineup grades, here you are. Hope you have time to get ready for opening weekend.

	NFC North

	Bears
QB	Mitch Trubisky
	I am not sure Mitch is the right guy but he is all they have C

RB	Jordan Howard
	Howard is solid but this group is deep with quality A-

WR	Allen Robinson & Taylor Gabriel & Anthony Miller
	Robinson is FA from JK. He & Gabriel will start. White is a bust & may get cut. Miller & Fowler will stay. B

TE	Trey Burton
	Miller is out so Burton will start C

OL	lt Charles Leno lg James Daniels c Cody Whitehair rg Kyle Long rt Bobby Massie
	Right side is OK left not so much. C

DL	le Jonathan Bullard nt Eddie Goldman re Akiem Hicks
	Hicks is solid rest are not D

LB	lolb Khalil Mack lilb Danny Trevathan rilb Nick Kwiatkoski rolb Leonard Floyd
	Group is solid and will be better with Mack and when Roquan Smith gets in B+

DB	lc Prince Amukamara rc Kyle Fuller fs Eddie Jackson ss Adrian Amos
	This is the strength of the D and will get better with Amukamara healthy

… Read more at FryingPanSports

NFC East starting lineup Grades

January 28, 2025September 5, 2018 by Bill Smith

Lets take a look at the NFL NFC East starting lineup grades. Get the grades before you make your trades.

Cowboys

QB Dak Prescott is a capable leader who had an outstanding rookie campaign but regressed notably in his sophomore effort. Jury’s still out on whether the problem was him or his offensive teammates. C+

RB Zeke Elliott – Assuming he stays out of trouble and off the suspended list, he’s among the best in the NFL. A-

WR Allen Hurns was a good pickup. Terrance Williams is a perpetual underachiever. Cole Beasley is yet to develop into the Julian Edelman type he’s been touted as. Pain in the butt though he may be, this wasn’t the right time to cut Dez. C

TE Witten’s abrupt retirement put the team in a bad spot at TE. Geoff Swaim and Rico Gathers don’t look up to the task. D

OL LT Tyron Smith LG Connor Williams C Travis Frederick RG Zack Martin RG La’el Collins. Smith is having a great camp, but there are no standouts here and the whole group badly underachieved last season. C-

DL DE Demarcus Lawrence DT Datone Jones DT Jihad Ward DE Tyrone Crawford A decent

… Read more at FryingPanSports

AFC West starting lineup Grades

January 23, 2025September 4, 2018 by Bill Smith

NFL AFC West starting lineup Grades for all you kids working on your fantasy football teams this team.

	AFC West

	Broncos
QB	Case Keenum
	Has GM John Elway found his franchise QB? B-

RB	Devontae Booker or Royce Freeman
	Booker did not run well last season. Freeman will challenge this season. C-

WR	Demaryius Thomas & Emmanuel Sanders
	Thomas is top 20 but Sanders is not. C

TE	Jake Butt
	Lost all last year from Inj. B-

OL	lt Garett Bolles lg Ronald Leary c Matt Paradis rg Connor McGovern rt Jared Veldheer
	lt Bolles was a rookie but played OK rt Veldheer is decent, Middle of OL is an issue. B-

DL	le Derek Wolfe nt Domata Peko re Bradley Chubb
	Chubb is the hope for DL. D

LB	slb Shane Ray lib Brandon Marshall rib Todd Davis wolb Von Miller
	Miller leads the pass rush Marshall leads the team in run stops B

DB	lc Bradley Roby rc Chris Harris Jr. fs Darian Stewart ss Justin Simmons
	cbs are a disaster safeties are decent C

	Chiefs
QB	Patrick Mahomes
	Very unproven and a big risk D for now D

RB	Kareem Hunt
	Hunt is a keeper if he

… Read more at FryingPanSports

AFC South lineup Grades

January 23, 2025September 3, 2018 by Bill Smith

My line up grades for the NFL AFC South teams for the 2018 season. You need to keep these grades close by when you select your teams for the coming year.

	AFC South

	Texans
QB	Deshaun Watson
	If Watson can survive the season, he will be fine. A-

RB	Lamar Miller
	Miller was horrible last yr with 21y his longest run. D

WR	DeAndre Hopkins & Will Fuller V & Braxton Miller
	Hopkins is outstanding. Watson deserves better from Fuller & Miller B

TE	Stephen Anderson
	Anderson is barely OK. C

OL	lt Julie’n Davenport lg Zach Fulton c Nick Martin rg Senio Kelemete rt Seantrel Henderson
	Watson deserves better in the OL than this group. Henderson was 3rd string in BF. D

DL	Le J.J. Watt nt D.J. Reader re Joel Heath
	Watt was hurt most of 17, putting pressure on Clowney. Rest are nothing special. C

lb	slb Whitney Mercilus lilb Zach Cunningham rilb Benardrick McKinney wlb Jadeveon Clowney
	Mercilus was hurt but Clowney is outstanding. B

DB	lc Johnathan Joseph rc Aaron Colvin fs Kareem Jackson ss Tyrann Mathieu FA
	Signing Mathieu helped but Watson needs to score a lot of points to keep HO in the

… Read more at FryingPanSports

AFC North starting lineup grades

January 28, 2025September 1, 2018 by Bill Smith

My grades for the AFC North starting lineups. Make sure you know who is a keeper and who you should drop going into the first week.

	Ravens
QB	Joe Flacco
	He has not had a great season since he got paid. D+

RB	Alex Collins
	Much better than the previous group at 116y/g B

wr	Michael Crabtree & John Brown & Willie Snead
	BA hopes that it was the WRS not the QB that lead to 29th passing yardage. BA Changed out all WRS but that won’t help C-

te	Hayden Hurst R
	BA hopes that first round pick Hurst can put some life into TE pos. C

OL	Lt Ronnie Stanley lg James Hurst c Ryan Jensen FA rg Marshal Yanda rt Alex Lewis
	Nothing special here except Yanda IF he can stay healthy. C

DL	le Brandon Williams nt Michael Pierce re Willie Henry
	DL over performed B

lb	slb Albert McClellan lilb C.J. Mosley rilb Patrick Onwuasor wolb Terrell Suggs
	Mosley & Suggs are special rest are not. C+

DB	lc Brandon Carr rc Jimmy Smith fs Tony Jefferson ss Eric Weddle
	S are both solid but CBS are less solid. B

	BENGALS
QB	Andy Dalton
	Dalton

… Read more at FryingPanSports

Starter Grades for AFC East

January 23, 2025August 31, 2018 by Bill Smith

Here are my Starter Grades for AFC East teams. If you are picking your fantasy sports teams this weekend you’ll want to have a look at these ratings.

	Bills
QB	new AJ McCarron FA Josh Allen R gone Ty Taylor T
	McCarron is unproven & Allen is a rookie. D

RB	LeSean McCoy
	McCoy is Outstanding as a runner & receiver. A

WR	Kelvin Benjamin & Zay Jones D-

TE	Charles Clay & Nick O’Leary C-

OL	lt Dion Dawkins lg John Miller C Russell Bodine rg Vlad Ducasse rt Jordan Mills
	lt Glenn T & lg Incognito ret were the keys to the O. D

DL	Le Trent Murphy FA lt Star Lotulelei FA rt Kyle Williams re Jerry Hughes T
	The 4/3 which fits the D better. C+

lb	wlb Matt Milano mlb Tremaine Edmunds R slb Lorenzo Alexander
	MLB Preston Brown was allowed to leave as FA.R Edmunds replaced him. C-

db	lc Tre’Davious White rc Vontae Davis fs Jordan Poyer ss Micah Hyde
	ss Hyde & lc White are solid, rc Davis is not longer elite. Gaines left via FA. B

	Dolphins
QB	Ryan Tannehill
	MI is convinced Tannehill is the guy. I am not.

… Read more at FryingPanSports