The New York Giants released running back Ahmad Bradshaw on Wednesday, a move that saved the team nearly $3 million in cap space for 2013.

The oft-injured Bradshaw will turn 27 in March and has dealt with chronic foot issues the past couple of seasons. He is currently recovering from an operation to repair multiple breaks to his right foot, but expects to be ready by training camp. 

Bradshaw finished 2012 with 1,260 total yards and six touchdowns in 14 games. The veteran has only played in 16 games once though in six NFL seasons.

The team has left opened the door to resign him once healthy, but will likely turn to a committee of David Wilson and Andre Brown.

Wilson, the team’s first-round pick in 2012, got out of the gate slowly in his rookie campaign after an early fumble and struggled in pass blocking schemes. However, he came on strong down the stretch filling in for Bradshaw. He finished the season with 358 rushing yards, 34 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He also averaged 26.9 yards per kickoff return and returned one kickoff for a touchdown. Expect him to be a hot commodity leading up to next season’s fantasy drafts. With Bradshaw out of the mix he could be a top 15 RB in our early rankings.

Brown should also prove to have fantasy value. Expect him to be the go-to-guy in short-yardage and goal line situations. He scored eight times in just 10 games. Brown figures to have more value in non-PPR and heavy-TD formats, but will be a solid RB3 on any fantasy team with strong upside.

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Every week I’ll address some topics that have my head spinning after Sunday’s action:

Ryan Mathews
Fantasy owners were disappointed on Sunday when Norv Turner opted to start Jackie Battle over Ryan Mathews against the Chiefs. The coach insisted on Monday that the move was not intended as a punishment rather that Battle gave the Chargers “the best chance to win”.  Despite being limited to just six first-half carries Mathews still managed to finish with 61 yards on 14 carries. However, once the Chargers entered the red zone it was Battle that got the call, finishing with a pair of touchdowns. Mathews is far superior in talent and will return to his lead role sooner rather than later. He makes for a great buy low candidate as owners begin to lose their patience.

Michael Turner
Atlanta got a solid day of production out of Michael Turner in Sunday’s win over Carolina. He rushed for 103 yards on just 13 carries and pulled in the first receiving touchdown of his career as he turned a short screen pass into a 60-yard TD catch. The matchup suggested success for Turner in Week 4, but it was still encouraging to see him rack up huge chunks of yardage throughout the game. While Jacquiz Rodgers will continue to cut into his touches, Turner still possesses enough value to make him a formidable weekly RB2 play.

Ahmad Bradshaw
Running back Ahmad Bradshaw returned to action in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles after missing action a week earlier due to a neck injury. The veteran reported suffering no setbacks on Monday, but was from impressive against a tough Philly run defense. He finished with 77 total yards, but only gained 39 yards on 13 carries.  A bigger concern for Bradshaw owners remains the presence of Andre Brown, who carried the ball eight times in Week 4, and the potential emergence of rookie David Wilson. Consider Bradshaw a low-end RB2 play until further notice.

Darren McFadden
The woeful start to the 2012 season for running back Darren McFadden continued in Sunday’s loss at Denver. He only managed 34 yards on 13 carries while being held without a TD for the third time in four weeks. In addition, after tying a franchise record with 13 catches in Week 1 of the season McFadden has only five receptions over the past three weeks.  He makes for a great buy-low candidate, but with bye week lurking in Week 5 it may be best to wait before making an offer.

CJ Spiller
CJ Spiller surprised many fantasy owners by playing on Sunday after suffering what appeared to be a serious shoulder injury just a week earlier. However, with Fred Jackson back in the mix as well in Buffalo, Spiller turned in his worst performance of the 2012 campaign. He finished the game with just 10 touches for 38 total yards and coughed the ball up at the goal line. He still has a decent amount of upside moving forward, but with his touches limited he will be hard-pressed to continue to be considered as anything more than a flex option for the time being.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS
--Christian Ponder, Reggie Bush, Doug Martin, Julio Jones, Kyle Rudolph, Martellus Bennett

BIGGEST SURPRISES
--Kevin Kolb, Chris Johnson, Brandon Bolden, Brian Hartline, James Jones, Scott Chandler

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GSI.com's Stefanie Theobald updates us on some of the bigger injuries for Week 3:

WATCH VIDEO

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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Eli Manning posted career highs in passing yards (4,933) and yards per attempt (8.38) a year ago on his way to his third consecutive 4,000-yard season. He’s averaged 29 TD’s during that span. Manning took better care of the football in 2011 as he watched his interceptions drop from 25 in 2010 to 16 during his run to a second Super Bowl ring. The Giants’ signal caller is a solid QB option and one of the top selections in fantasy quarterbacks second tiers.

SCHEDULE
The 2012 slate is full of challenges for the defending Super Bowl champs. For starters, two of their first three games come in the middle of the week which will make it difficult to get into an early rhythm. Playing in the NFC East is always a daunting task and drawing the NFC South and the AFC North only makes the grind harder.  New York faces seven teams that made the playoffs a year ago, including three of the four teams who earned byes a year ago.

STUDS
It’s a rare that one team can boast two top 10 fantasy wideouts, but the Giants’ Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz may prove to be the exception. Nicks, who broke a bone in his foot during May’s OTA’s, is legitimate candidate to be a top 5 fantasy receiver after eclipsing 75 catches and 1,000 yards for the second straight year with 18 TD’s over his past 28 contests. Cruz emerged as one of fantasy football’s top waiver wire pickups in 2011, finishing third in the NFL in receiving yards (1,536), while ranking among the top 10 in receptions (82) and TD receptions (9).

DUD
Even though the Giants’ offense is a high-powered attack, place kicker Lawrence Tynes has yet to emerge as a consistent fantasy option. He’s never kicked more than 27 field goals in a season and connected on just 19 of 24 attempts a year ago. He struggles on long-range kicks, costing owners who get bonus points based on the distance of the field goal. Throw in the cold weather games late in the year that he’ll likely be playing in and Tynes is nothing more than a bye-week filler.

SLEEPER
With a current ADP of 39.63 (16th RB off board), Ahmad Bradshaw is falling into the fourth round of many drafts. However, with the departure of Brandon Jacobs his final numbers in 2012 could prove to be much more valuable. Bradshaw totaled 926 yards and scored a career-best 11 touchdowns a year ago despite being limited to playing parts of just 12 games due to injury. If Bradshaw can avoid the injury bug, he should be able to take full advantage of being the team’s unquestioned No. 1 RB.

NEW ADDITION
After watching Mario Manningham depart via free agency, New York moved to add depth to its receiving corps by nabbing Rueben Randle out of LSU with its second-round pick in April’s draft. Widely considered one of the most NFL-ready wide receivers coming out of college, Randle could make an immediate impact. He’ll have to beat out Domenik Hixon and Jerrel Jernigan for snaps and might be inconsistent early in his career, but the rookie wideout has a ton of upside.

POSITION BATTLE
Veteran DJ Ware is currently listed as the No. 2 running back on the team’s depth chart, but rookie David Wilson has more fantasy appeal and is the better option as a handcuff to Bradshaw. Ware has been part of the team for five years and has great familiarity with the offense. However, Wilson possesses a much greater skill set and is greatly undervalued heading into drafts. While Ware could be worth a late-round stab, Wilson could be a nice grab in the mid-rounds of a draft and even higher in dynasty/keeper leagues.

BENCH BUILDER
Over the past two seasons Kevin Boss and Jake Ballard have both emerged as weapons in the Giants’ passing game at the tight end position. With Boss long gone and Ballard recovering from a knee injury, newcomer Martellus Bennett could be the next in line. The former second-round pick by the Cowboys never really got a chance to shine in Dallas playing behind Jason Witten, but snaps won’t be a problem in New York. He’s worth a look as a late-round TE2 option in deeper formats.

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DEFENSIVE FRONT – There’s no questions a big part of the Giants winning six of their last seven contests has been the play of their defensive front since the unit has gotten fully healthy. The key in slowing down Tom Brady is applying pressure and New York is equipped to that as any team in the league.

RUNNING GAME – Unlike New England, the Giants’ offense is not one-dimensional. Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacbos are running on all cylinders right now and provide a perfect 1-2 punch to challenge a mediocre Patriots defense.

VICTOR CRUZ – This guy has been simply amazing. Along with Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham, Cruz has caused matchups for most defenses. With New England likely to match wide receiver turned DB Julian Edelman up against him on many snaps, Cruz could be saving his best performance for last.

ELI MANNING – Many in the Hoosier State dreamed of Manning Super Bowl in Indy and they’ve got one. Just not the one they were hoping for. Eli will have a chance to surpass his older brother Peyton in the house that he built. I couldn’t think of a better way to top off a career season.

GRONKOWSKI INJURY – The Pats’ best offensive weapon, tight end Rob Gronkowski, enters the game with an ankle injury. If he’s not able to perform at the same level in which he played at throughout his 20-touchdown season the Giants will gain a big advantage.

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The weekend featured four wildcard games and not single wildcard team advanced.  Here are some of my initial thoughts from the opening weekend of the playoffs:

Saints Looking Super - New Orleans broke the postseason mark for total yards with 626 and Drew Brees accounted for 466 of them through the air as the Saints pulled away from the Lions late.  With the team clicking on all cylinders, the Saints are going to be a tough out. They are the key challenger to the Packers in the NFC, but now have to hit the road to take on a rested 49ers’ team.

Tebow Stuns Steelers – The Broncos were eight-point underdogs at home to a beat up Pittsburgh team that lost even more key players during Sunday’s tilt at Mile High Stadium. Tim Tebow turned in his best effort in weeks, including a game-winning 80-TD strike on the first play of overtime as Denver dashed the Steelers’ playoff hopes with a 26-23 win. Ben Roethlisberger made it through the game on his bum ankle, but he was clearly limited. It will get much tougher next week for Denver as they head to New England.

A Giant Effort – If defense wins championships, you have to like what you saw from the Giants on Sunday in their 24-2 domination of the Falcons.  The G-Men got their ground attack going well too as Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combined for 172 yards. Since dropping a 38-35 heartbreaker to the Packers on December 4th, New York has now won four of their last five including three straight. The latest run resembles made by the 2007 Giants’ squad on their way to becoming improbable Super Bowl Champs. They’ll have to play even better next week as they head to Lambeu Field to face to the top-seeded Packers.

Bengal Blowup – Making their third playoff appearance in seven years, the Bengals once again came up short as they to the Texans in Houston 31-10.  Kevin Watt returned the first of three Andy Dalton interceptions for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half as Houston took a 17-10 lead that they would never relinquish. The Bengals’ offense showed its inexperience as it struggled in a raucous environment.  Cincinnati was the surprise team of the season, but the loss dropped them to 0-8 against playoff teams and marked the sixth time they’ve loss over their past nine contests.

STAT PILE
*Texans’ RB Arian Foster picked up 102 of his 152 rushing yards prior to initial contact Saturday. That comes after getting just 17 yards before contact against the Bengals in Week 14.

* The Bengals are the 1st team in NFL postseason history to play 4 consecutive playoff games, score first in each and lose each of the four games.

* Saints’ QB Drew Brees finished the regular season with seven straight 300-yard or more passing games and finished Saturday’s contest vs. DET with 466 yards passing.

* Calvin Johnson is the third player since the merger with 200 receiving yards and 2 TD catches in a playoff game. It marks the third time over the past four weeks that Johnson has eclipsed the 200-yard mark. He has caught 36 balls for 771 yards and a six touchdowns in that span.

* Entering Sunday, Eli Manning had been flagged for intentional grounding 11 times in his career (since 2004). Only Matt Hasselbeck (12) had more during that span.

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QB Game Ball – Kevin Kolb, Philadelphia – 23/29, 326 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Andy Reid’s problems are good problems. Having two quarterbacks on fire is not a bad thing for a football team. Kolb showed that he is more than capable of delivering big fantasy numbers when given the opportunity.

QB Honorable Mention: Matt Schaub, Houston - 23/33, 305 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT (The Texans’ QB delivered a much-needed outing for his disappointed owners).

RB Game Ball – Ahmad Bradshaw, NY Giants -19 carries, 137 yards; 2 catches, 10 yards
Despite losing two goal-line carries to Brandon Jacobs, Bradshaw proved that he is a stud as RB2 in any fantasy lineup.  He is hitting the holes and making great cuts. Bradshaw has become one of fantasy’s most reliable runners.

RB Honorable Mention: Ryan Torain, Washington – 20 carries, 100 yards, 2 TD (Torain appears to be a fantasy star in the making and is one of the few backs in the league not sharing carries).

WR Game Ball – Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City – 6 catches, 108 yards, 2 TD
Bowe delivered by far his best effort of the season. He led the Chiefs with nine targets and was tough to handle for a Texans’ defense that seemingly can’t stop anyone. Expect things to continue rolling next week for Bowe as he faces the league’s worst secondary, Jacksonville.

WR Honorable Mention: Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia – 7 catches, 159 yards, 2 TD (He benefited greatly from the early departure of teammate DeSean Jackson).

Game-Used Sock Award - Michael Turner, Atlanta – 15 carries, 45 yards, 0 TD
You can’t knock Turner for his team getting behind early and abandoning the running game, but he only mustered 3.0 yards per carry when he did get the touches. It marked the fifth game in six weeks that the fantasy first-round pick failed to score a touchdown.

Stinky Sock Honorable Mention: Jay Cutler, Chicago – 17/39, 290 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (Cutler didn’t throw a pick, but no TD’s versus Seattle is embarrassing, even if he was sacked six more times).

Fantasy Football, NFL week 6, game balls, kevin kolb, ahmad bradshaw, dwayne bowe, michael turner

The conference championship games are set, but before we turn the page to next week's big showdown, I had to sound off on some final takes from the divisional rounds...

*The Ravens continued to live up to the hype I've been giving them, but the Titans really shot themselves in the foot. They can blame the refs all they want about the blown call on a blatant delay of game, yet they still can not deny the fact that despite 391 total yards of offense costly turnovers and penalaties sealed their fate. It's amazing that the Titans kept it as close as they did even though they turned the ball over three times to the Ravens' zero.

*Joe Flacco once again did enough to help his team won the game. Another game without a pick or a sack. Consider that the Ravens managed just 50 yards rushing and the rookie's 161 passing yards seem pretty impressive.

*The game could have been a different story had Chris Johnson not suffered an ankle injury midway through the second quarter. He left the game with 72 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown.  The Ravens were struggling to find an answer for the rookie.

*I still can't get over the thumping Arizona handed Carolina. The Panthers had two weeks to prepare, were 8-0 at home, and a double-digit favorite. Take nothing away from Arizona, but that is the biggest egg laid by a higher-seeded team in this round in recent memory. 

*Larry Fitzgerald continues to show me that he is the best receiver in football and right now the Cardinals look smart for giving him the money they deserved. He accounted for 75% of the team's 220 receiving yards, finishing with 8 receptions for 166 yards and a TD.

*The Eagles beat the Giants for the second time this season in their house. New York did not look like Super Bowl champs today and really have not looked as good since troubled wideout Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg and shot the Giants' chances for a repeat.

*Andy Reid outcoached Tom Coughlin on Sunday and it started with the coin flip. Coughlin opted not play the wind game and took the ball right off the bat. It didn't seem bad when Ahmad Bradshaw ran his longest return of the season back. However, Eli Manning couldn't get on track throwing into the fierce breezes early in the game and it was even worse in the fourth quarter when the team was forced to come from two scores down.

*Brian Westbrook was not a factor in this game. He had 20 touches, yet he only mustered 46 total yards and did not score. The Giants owned him, but they couldn't translate that into a victory.

*It figures Willie Parker finally gets healthy after my fantasy season is over. Two touchdowns and 146 yards on the ground shows that Fast Willie is finally nearing 100%.

*Pittsburgh officially has the best homefield advantage in football.

*Phillip Rivers' season may be over, but it wasn't because of his play. He finished with 308 yards and three scoring strikes against a very good secondary and while under intense pressure. Rivers has arrived as one of the league's elite passers.

*As a Bengals' fan I hate the Steelers and Ravens. Stil, I was rooting for both this weekend. Sure, money had something to do with (bet on both). I would rather have our division do good than have it look like chumps. Clearly, these our the two best defenses in the league and now they meet next Sunday for a third time this year.

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Green Light, Yellow Light, Red Light – STOP!!! There are some appealing names each week on the waiver wire, I supply my weekly take on whether these players should be considered or not.

QUARTERBACKS
Trent Edwards – You could do much worse at quarterback, just ask the owners of Carson Palmer. The Bills’ young signal caller is delivering on his upside and is capable of putting up 20+ PaTD’s this season.

Brian Griese – Jeff Garcia is in Jon Gruden’s doghouse big time right now and that has left Griese with the starting job in his hands to lose. He didn’t overwhelm me against the Falcons though, and better step up soon or the plug may be pulled on him too.



RUNNING BACKS
Ahmad Bradshaw – Regular blog readers are probably sick of hearing me talk about this guy, but the numbers Sunday don’t lie (31-yard RuTD; 19-yard ReTD).  Bradshaw is frustrating from a consistency standpoint as the Giants have a stable of solid runners, but if he’s still out there in your league snatch him now and hope for an injury as his upside is huge.

Michael Bush – With both Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden banged up, Bush could be the starter this week vs. the Bills. He is at 100% following a trip to the I.R. last year and at 245 pounds, he seems to be a natural fit to be the short-yardage guy even when all three backs are healthy.

Darren Sproles – L.T. owners need to be concerned about the lingering toe injury and they better not hesitate to insure themselves with Sproles.  He only has fantasy value if Tomlinson stays dinged up and has a huge boost if Tomlinson were to get sidelined for a lengthy period.  He’s not worth cutting for a RB that has more a defined role though. For example, I am not cutting Edgerrin James (disappointing start) or a Willis McGahee (battling injury) to take a flyer on him.


WIDE RECEIVERS
Bryant Johnson – The 49ers’ passing attack has been surprising and Johnson appears as if he’s going to be a big part of it, particularly in the red zone. He followed up a slow first week of the season by grabbing 6 balls for 78 yards and a TD in Week 2.

Matt Jones – He has led the Jaguars in receptions in two straight weeks, but that is not saying much. Don’t get me, Jones has upside. However, you don’t need to carry away too much. He’s yet to proven he’s consistent, there are the off-the-field concerns to worry about, and I still think Jerry Porter (when healthy) is going to be the team’s top wideout.

TIGHT ENDS
John Carlson – With nearly every receiver on the Seahawks down with an injury, Carlson is the top option for Matt Hasselbeck to throw to. It showed on Sunday when he pulled in 6 catches for 78 yards.

Dustin Keller – He caught his first career catch, a 19-yard grab, in Sunday’s loss to the Patriots. There was plenty of hype leading up to the season and many owners know that Favre loves tight ends. However, with Chris Baker and Bubba Franks still in the mix it is uncertain how quickly the rookie will develop.



DEFENSE
Packers – Through two weeks of fantasy football the Green Bowl Packers are fantasy’s third-ranked defense. That may not stand true for the length of the season, but they have enough young talent and are fortunate to play some weak offenses ahead. That’s enough to make them a respectable starting fantasy option.

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With only one game tonight there is only one ball to give away, and that goes to Plaxico Burress. The Giants WR set a career high with 10 receptions and he finished with 133 yards. His performance helped his QB, Eli Manning, put together a solid performance. The Superbowl MVP finished with 216 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. But a rare rushing touchdown (by any Manning) helped out those owners that started him against Washington.

While any number of Redskins could walk away with the Game Used Sock Award, it too is going to a member of the Giants - Ahmad Bradshaw. After an excellent performance in the post-season Bradshaw became a very trendy pick in the last few weeks. However, he did not even get into the game against the Redskins. To make things worse, Brandon Jacobs showed no signs of slowing down by carrying the ball 21 times for 116 yards. What's even worse than that is that when Jacobs rested it was Derrick Ward who spelled him. Maybe it isn't fair to give a dirty sock to a guy that didn't get into the game. Maybe the dirty sock should go to those that took him too high or paid too much for him in their fantasy leagues.

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