Ryan Mathews Support Group meets here

There's a lot of upset Ryan Mathews owners out there.

I know. I am one.

Welcome to the club.

In order to help everyone get over their feelings of being burned by the San Diego Chargers running back, I'm asking anyone who feels upset to post away in the comments below.

Seeing what other Mathews owners are going through can help you get over your anxiety.

Right now, I'm keeping Mathews in my 10-team league. We keep five, so I have a larger margin for error than those that keep fewer or those who spent an early pick on him already.

I've had Mathews for two seasons, so I'm well aware of the frustrations of owning him.

Here's why I'm not giving up on him yet:

• He might only miss one game. 
• The injury is not as bad as the Chargers originally thought.
• San Diego has not signed any running backs yet.

For now, I'm staying the course. I have more than a week to change my mind, and I'll let you know if I do.

Ryan Mathews: injured, out and falling on draft boards

I couldn't believe it Thursday night.

I opened up my Twitter feed and it was going crazy. Tweet after tweet kept popping up. Finally, I saw it: Ryan Mathews injured.

Ouch.

On the first carry, no less.

Instead of proving he's worthy of a first-round pick and able to be the main running back for the San Diego Chargers, Mathews confirms his fragile reputation by breaking his clavicle.

Initial diagnosis: out four to six weeks.

How does that change things with Mathews?

If you draft him in the third round, you're probably reaching. He might be a safer pick toward the end of the fourth round, but you're probably better waiting until the fifth.

Plus, you need to handcuff him. The problem there, however, no one has emerged as the handcuff. It could be Ronnie Brown, but Curtis Brinkley could be the guy, too.

In my dynasty league, Mathews was a player I was planning on keeping. We keep five in a 10-team league, and now I feel stuck.

I have 10 days to decide, so after this initial buzzkill, I'll be able to look at it more objectively.

However, if I was drafting Saturday, I would be looking at other options.

Keep in mind, if Mathews returns in four weeks, we're looking at the start of the season. It might not be as bad as we're dreading right now.

However, this doesn't bode well for a season where he was supposed to emerge as a feature back.

Ryan Mathews injury watch begins again?

Ryan Mathews' stock was rising going into training camp.

Earlier this week, however, I had flashbacks to his first two seasons.

Mathews was slightly injured in a car accident.

Mathews called the accident a "freak thing."

This likely won't bother him this camp, but it was a reminder that Mathews and injuries seemed to go hand-in-hand.

Things were looking good for him with Mike Tolbert leaving. And Mathews is going in the first round of most drafts.

As a Mathews owner in a dynasty league, I'm nervous about him.

If I'm drafting in a regular league, it might be tempting to take Trent Richardson or Maurice Jones-Drew before Mathews, although both of those players have their risks as well.

It's July, that means fantasy football season is upon us

I can't believe it's time to get ready for fantasy football season already.

It seems like yesterday there was labor strife in football, but it's been more than a year.

Just wanted to let you know we'll be posting more football opinion and analysis soon.

Here are some of the questions I've been pondering -- and hopefully answering in the not-to-distant future:

• Why is Ryan Mathews' stock rising?
• Is Trent Richardson a safe first-round pick?
• Will Michael Vick bounce back this year?

So, enjoy the upcoming Fourth of July holiday and come back soon.

I had Antonio Brown and Julio Jones on my bench ... and won

Well, if you saw my post last week about Antonio Brown being on my bench, you might be wondering how it went.

I hate Thursday night games, so I benched Brown, believing he wouldn't go off against the Browns' top pass defense. I also thought Rashard Mendenhall would get a heavy workload, minimizing the chances for Brown.

Well, I was wrong.

Brown had a 30-plus point day, keeping the curse of Thursday night games alive, at least for me.

I still had a good team, so I wasn't completely in panic mode.

Santana Moss was on waivers, so I could have picked him up.

Instead, I was looking a Julio Jones and Mike Tolbert.

Of course, I went with Tolbert, who had a nice matchup against the Bills, instead of Jones, who scored 30-plus points himself in my league's PPR scoring.

Tolbert at least vultured a TD from Ryan Mathews and helped me win by four points.

Next week, however, I doubt Tolbert will be in my flex. His touches are down and Brown and Jones are looking good.

The incredibily talented and frustrating Roy Helu

Yes, I'm still a Roy Helu owner.

No, I did not start him Sunday.

I thought about starting the Redskins running back over the Chargers' Ryan Mathews, but I didn't.

I just couldn't trust Mike Shanahan and his revolving door of running backs. I fully expected Shannahan to start Evan Royster this week, even though Royster was just on the team's practice squad.

Will I start Helu later this season?

I'm not sure.

I think he's very talented. In fact, I've had him in a league where I co-own a team with a co-worker since we drafted Helu in August.

Never cut him. Still hangin' on.

All I wanted to see was one game with Helu as the featured back.

We saw that Sunday with Helu's 108-yard performance that included a 28-yard score. Helu also added seven receptions for 54 yards.

Great game. And he did that against a tough Seahawks run defense.

I'm a Helu believer.

Now we just need Shanahan to believe in Helu, too.

Ryan Mathews: Too much hype or is there hope?

Like many fantasy owners, I drank the Ryan Mathews Kool-Aid last season.

I spent an early pick on him, hoping to find a future keeper.

Instead, I got burned.

Luckily, I was able to salvage something from my season with the acquisition of Mike Tolbert.

But with keeper lists due soon, Mathews' name has come up again.

In my one dynasty league, we have pretty deep benches, so I never cut Mathews. Now, with five keepers due in a couple weeks, I have a tough decision.

Do I believe in Mathews, or do I cut my losses at last season?

I was leaning towards keeping Mathews, just for another season. Then I saw an article on chargers.com that gave me pause. San Diego might be looking at a two-back system this season.

Mathews reportedly didn't pass his conditioning test at the start of camp, which also is a red flag.

If keepers were due today, I'd pass on Mathews and let someone else worry about his situation. In his place, I'd go with Felix Jones or Shonn Greene.

But there's still time for Mathews to show me something.