England 23 for 1 trail Australia 497 for 8 (Smith 211, Labuschagne 67) by 474 runs

For about two overs on the second day at Old Trafford, Steven Smith looked fallible as he resumed his comeback innings after yesterday's preamble half-century. Stuart Broad found his edge with his first ball of the day, then induced that rarest of aberrations, a waft outside off from his second.

Moments later, it appeared that Smith's neurotic focus had found the root of his discomfort - a rogue van's windscreen, visible through the slenderest of gaps in a gate behind the bowler's arm, and winking at him with unfathomable persistence, much as the North Star might after one too many disco biscuits.

But even after a towel had been lodged under the wipers to block out the glare, Smith was unable to settle immediately, and three balls into Jofra Archer's first over of the day, he pumped a low full toss at a catchable height through the bowler's outstretched fingers and away to the boundary for four. A final, flighty fence past leg stump followed. And there and then, England knew, deep in their souls, that their window of opportunity had clanged shut.

Fidget, shuffle, nudge, smack. Rinse. Repeat. Back and across, coiled like a pinball launcher, way outside off if needs be, to clip a perfectly decent ball off the hip, or to pongo onto the front foot for another freakishly emphatic drive, bat pointing to the precise patch of grass that he had targeted, rubbing in his genius while simply completing the arc of his stroke.

For the remainder of his 263-ball, 497-minute stay, Smith batted as if he had never been away - which, but for that delivery from Archer at Lord's, he might indeed never have been. Once again, he encountered an opposition that ran out of plans and patience in equal measure, as he found sufficient support from, first, Tim Paine and then Mitchell Starc to leave England praying for more rain to assist the series-extending draw that is surely now the limit of their ambitions.

By the time he eventually fell for 211, reverse-sweeping the part-time spin of Joe Root (having frogmarched England's frontline bowlers to the brink of that inevitable declaration), Smith had racked up a nonsensical haul of 589 runs in four innings, at an average of 147.25 that would have been closer to 200 but for his brave but unwise decision to resume that Lord's knock while displaying the early signs of concussion.

And by the close, the ease of Smith's own progress had been put into stark perspective by the agonised extraction of England's own erstwhile No.4, Joe Denly. Promoted to open due to Jason Roy's clear unsuitability for the task, Denly endured for 23 balls and four sketchily gathered runs, before stabbing Pat Cummins into the midriff of Matthew Wade at short leg, who snaffled the rebound brilliantly in one hand, diving to his right.

The difference between Australia's focus and England's was as visible in that final half-an-hour with the ball as it had been for so long with Smith's bat. Starc, armed with the new ball after stewing on the sidelines for three Tests, looked as "cherry-ripe" as Archer in particular has looked fatigued in this contest, while his fellow quicks, Josh Hazlewood and Cummins, were no less eager to show what can yet be achieved on this surface.

But it was the energy in the field was the most palpable difference. For if England could be excused for being blown off-track by the howling gales of the first truncated day, today's (largely) blue skies robbed them of any mitigation. They needed to be at their best on a pivotal day of the series, but they were by and large as poor as they've been all summer.

Smith's first century of the day, his third of the series, was a formality - ushered through with a misfield at square leg, and celebrated with a pointed wave of the bat that doubled as a "hello, I'm back". It was his fifth in his last eight innings against England, his 11th in Ashes cricket, and his 26th in 67 Tests all told. Comparisons with Don Bradman have long been sacrilege in Test cricket, but the relentless weight of these numbers are starting to scotch all complaints.

There was, however, one moment that stood head and shoulders above all England's other errors. Jack Leach has had a storied summer - that 92 as a nightwatchman at Lord's, that most glorious of 1 not outs at Headingley last week. And with the ball, all things considered, he was probably second only to the toiling Broad as England's most probing option of the day.

But when, with Smith on 118 and showing another fleeting glimpse of mortality against his relative kryptonite of left-arm spin, Leach found the edge of his bat with a flighted, dipping, ripping delivery that sent every data analyst in the game into raptures, the moment was immediately lost as replays showed that he had overstepped by a good half an inch.

A spinner's no-ball is one of cricket's unforgivable sins, and traumatically for Leach it was only his 13th out of more than 15,000 in his career. But what a delivery to serve one up on. Smith turned on his heel, marching back to resume his innings through a phalanx of crestfallen fielders, who were immediately torn a strip by a livid Joe Root, desperately trying to lift some flat-lining standards. But once again, that window of opportunity was already shut.

The absence of Smith, after all, would have meant the presence of another not-Smith - but even the less impossible task of making dents in the rest of the batting order proved to be beyond England, at least at the first grasp. Earlier in the day, Matthew Wade had gifted his wicket with a foul slog to mid-on, where Root clung onto a swirling chance that left him white with relief, but when the under-pressure Tim Paine arrived to replace him, the equally under-pressure Roy dropped a shocker at second slip, the ball barely hitting the heel of his palm before plopping to the turf to leave Broad, the bowler, apoplectic.

Paine is without a first-class century in 12 years, and is increasingly lacking in mandate as Australia captain now that Smith, for all his sins, is so clearly restored as the team's front-man. His removal for 9 would have left him with a highest score of 34 in seven innings. But instead he found the resolve to grind through to a cathartic half-century, albeit that he required another let-off to get there, as Sam Curran - briefly on the field for Ben Stokes - dropped a low pull at mid-on on 49 as Archer bent his back in the best spell of his wicketless innings.

Paine didn't last much longer - he nicked a fine legcutter from Craig Overton's first ball after tea to depart for 56 - but his presence had augmented Smith's dominance of a stand of 145, and though Pat Cummins didn't linger long, Starc's eagerness to get involved in the series manifested itself in the ideal tailender's innings.

His 54 from 58 balls included seven fours and two sixes, but began as a keen supporting role, just 6 runs from 23 until Smith's double-century gave him licence to unleash the long handle. Broad was hacked for four fours in a row to kickstart a helter-skelter finale that might have carried on to the close against a despondent attack, had Paine not waved them in with half-an-hour of the day to go.

By then, of course, Smith was gone - an event so rare that it would have justified on of the Don's bespoke "He's Out!" billboards, had the Manchester Evening News deemed it worthy to publish a special edition. His nudge behind square off Broad pushed him ever further into into the elite of Ashes combatants, with only the Don himself (EIGHT!) and Wally Hammond (4) having recorded more double-hundreds in the game's oldest rivalry.

Either way, his series tally is 589 runs from four innings, one of which was effectively sawn off by concussion. And now, after this latest masterclass, the only dizziness on display is that being induced by the vertigo of his statistics, and the bewilderment of an England opposition that must now be believing that Headingley was a fever-dream after all.

It looked, for a moment, like the perfect delivery. Not just a perfect delivery, but a perfectly executed plan.

Jack Leach, bowling round the wicket, had drawn Steve Smith forward and, having found just a little drift into him, gained just enough turn away from him to see the ball take the edge of the bat and carry to slip. Smith had already scored 118 by then but, such is his form and so great his dominance, England might have settled for that. Besides, Australia were 273 for 6 and England could, perhaps, anticipate bowling them out for little more than 320.

But then came the replays. And after that came the realisation. Leach, despite the most gentle of run-ups, despite bowling at a 51 mph, had over stepped. Smith was reprieved and England's joy turned to despair. We may look back on it as the tipping point in this series.

Maybe that's unfair on both Leach and Smith. Certainly Leach, at times, bowled really nicely. His misjudgement was, it its way, tiny: no more than a rash shot from a batsman or a dropped catch from a fielder. But the consequences were significant and it was avoidable. An unforced error, as they say in tennis.

Most of all, when we come to reflect on this series in years to come, we'll almost certainly conclude that the difference between the sides was one man: Smith. England have thrown pretty much everything they have at him in not just this series but the previous couple. The fact is, while most other batsmen have struggled, Smith has gorged on runs. Yes, the pitches might have offered England more assistance. And yes, James Anderson's availability might have tested Smith more. But to a large extent, England just have to accept he has been too good for them.

There will be nagging irritation, however, that England did not do themselves justice. For there were moments on the second day when they became more than a little ragged in the field. Tim Paine was also reprieved twice - he was dropped on 9 and 49, once at slip by Jason Roy and once at mid-on by substitute fielder Sam Curran; both relatively straightforward chances - with Jofra Archer also missing a tough caught and bowled chance offered by Smith when he had 65. England keep dropping catches. Leach's no-ball is a symptom of a wider malaise.

Most of all, England didn't seem able to build or sustain pressure in the field. With Ben Stokes, suffering from a sore shoulder, unable to replicate the match-shaping spell he produced in Leeds and Smith managing to manoeuvre the ball into the gaps with his unique skill, England leaked 124 runs in 32 wicketless overs after lunch.

Archer, only five months into his England career, already looks as if he is in danger of being ruined - news that he required a pain-killing injection after normal play in the World Cup final and before the super-over should have alarm bells ringing - with his pace dropping by the match. Not for the first time in this series, it seemed England's captain, Joe Root, had no way of lifting his team and no answers to the questions raised by Smith. It was agony from an England perspective; a session where you could feel their Ashes hopes slipping away.

And then there's that no-ball. Spinners - certainly finger spinners with a gentle approach to the crease, shouldn't be bowling no-balls. Ravi Ashwin, for example, has never bowled a no-ball in Test cricket. And while Moeen Ali has, they have all been head high full tosses rather than front-foot no-balls. In all, finger spinners have, on average, bowled one no-ball - including head-high no-balls - every 1,236 deliveries in Test cricket since the start of 2010. Leach has now bowled 1,566 deliveries in Test cricket and 13 no-balls.

So while we must be careful not to pin too much blame on Leach - he's not responsible for England's enduring inability to bat, or catch, after all - we can't just dismiss it as 'one of those things.' That's too cosy; that's too laissez-faire. For we know that, in ODI cricket, England went more than 10,000 deliveries without conceding a front-foot no-ball. We know that, if there are free-hits at stake and they make it a priority, it can be done. But in training in recent days, England's bowlers have regularly over-stepped in the nets without any of the coaching staff acting as umpires and notifying them of their error. As a consequence, instead of good habits becoming ingrained, bad habits can take root. It seems just a bit sloppy and just a bit unnecessary. The team management have to take some responsibility.

England's issues extend beyond playing matters. At some stage, if England are to make any meaningful use of home advantage, Ashley Giles, the director of England's men's cricket, will have to improve the communication between the team and the groundsmen.

England turned up in Manchester expecting to find a hard pitch offering pace and carry. Just as they turned up for the World Cup final expecting a batting paradise. On both occasions - and several more in between - they have been disappointed. Indeed, one member of the England team management noted that this surface - offering little of the grass coverage that might have encouraged England's seamers - would have delighted Australia. If England are to have any hope of dismissing Smith, they require lateral movement and the carry to ensure nicks make it to slip. They didn't really have either here.

Everyone understands that the job of groundsmen is desperately tough, with poor weather and an unrelenting schedule combining to reduce preparation time. But at some stage it would surely make sense for the left hand to know what the right hand is doing in English cricket. It would surely make sense for Giles to make it clear what groundsmen are expected to provide and hold them accountable if they do not.

England's Ashes hopes aren't over yet. Not quite. They only need to escape with a draw here to make it to The Oval with their chances alive and it may well be that poor weather comes to their aid. But, for the second Test in a row, you get the impression they're going to require something special to keep them in it. They can't keep expecting Stokes to bail out their substandard batting and fielding.

Believe it or not, Steven Smith batted badly today, at least to start with.

His first couple of overs were redolent of those passages in which, as he has described it, he forgets how to hold the bat. There was an edge short of the slips first ball, a couple of balls beating the bat, an inside edge past the stumps, and a dropped return catch by Jofra Archer when Smith bunted a full toss back towards the bowler who by the end of the day was still to dismiss him in a Test match.

The fact that missed chance strolled on down the ground to the boundary, meaning Smith had still scored 10 runs from those ropey first two overs, rather suggested that this would be his day. He had, on day one, already proven that there were to be no after-effects from his Lord's concussion and Headingley absence, save for a change in bouncer evasion technique against Archer and the successful adaptation to wearing a stem guard on the back of his helmet. In this he had plenty of help from Marnus Labuschagne, during a stand of 116 that gave Australia a foothold.

But more needed to be done on day two, offering as it did far less likelihood of rain breaks, against an England bowling attack of uncertain stamina if they could be ground down. Smith, beyond his early jitters, returned to the combination of calm combat against each ball and exaggerated "eccentric stuff", as he calls it, after. What he needed more than anything were batting partners, not something that he had been able to find in ready supply so far.

Early in the day, the major obstacles for Australia's left-handed batsmen were again on display, as Stuart Broad bent the ball fiendishly away from the bat after angling it in from around the wicket. Both Travis Head and Matthew Wade had plenty of now familiar difficulties against this angle of attack, and while they were there a wicket never seemed far away. Vitally, though, Head and Wade each hung around long enough for stands of 39 and 41, not much but enough to prevent England from generating the rush of wickets they needed.

And even though Wade's unsuccessful attempt to hammer Jack Leach into Stretford ended with a skied catch to Joe Root and much gnashing of teeth about his choice of shot - not least among those who may have preferred the retention of Usman Khawaja - his innings allowed Tim Paine to walk to the wicket facing spin and an old ball. In averaging little more than 12 for the series so far, Paine had made a point of spending extra time on his batting leading into this match, after the fashion of none other than Smith.

On match eve he was the last man in the nets for Australia, working against left-arm spin throwdowns from the assistant coach Sridharan Sriram. They returned to the same spot bright and early the following morning, before the rest of the team had even arrived on the bus from central Manchester, trying to find the key to a better score than those of 5, 34, 23, 4, 11 and 0 he had managed over the first three Tests.

What was soon clear, for both Paine and Smith, was that they had the opportunity to put the match more or less beyond England in terms of victory. The home side's bowlers were looking increasingly sloppy, and fatigued, the fielders similar, while Ben Stokes was fighting not only a tired body but a sore bowling shoulder. As a result, their cricket was far from England's most exacting this series, personified by how Archer's speed and venom was demonstrably down, frustrated too by the fact that his short ball was being much better read by Smith.

Here could also be seen the benefits Smith reaped from how the Australians had acquitted themselves without him at Headingley, putting 30-odd more overs into both Archer and Broad to contribute to an overall series ledger that always looked likely to favour Australia's deeper battery of pace options. If the conditions at Lord's had been more favourable for Archer against Smith, then so too had his preparation. By the time their battle was rejoined, Smith was facing a bowler experiencing the brutality of a long Test series for the first time in his life.

It would not, of course, have been this bewitching series without a moment of sliding doors, leaving both sides pondering the consequences. They arrived when Paine was dropped by Jason Roy in the slips immediately after the interval, and again when Smith, having glided to a third century of the series before lunch, threw his hands at a Leach delivery that turned away nicely, drawing the edge straight to Stokes at slip.

Stokes, already frustrated by how the day had gone, hurled the ball angrily into the ground by way of celebration; he soon had cause to repeat the act, only with a little more anger. When the umpires went upstairs to check, there was nothing of Leach's front foot behind the crease either raised or grounded, allowing Smith the fortune of turning on his heels and walking back to re-mark his guard.

That moment was both sapping for England and restorative for Paine and Smith, who took their stand to 145, the highest of the series, and underlined how Australia's captain generally deals in key partnerships as opposed to large individual scores. When he finally fell for 57, first ball after tea, it was Paine's 30th consecutive score of 50 or more in first-class matches that had not got as far as three figures. Annoying as that may be for him, his contribution was exactly what Smith had needed.

All that remained was for Smith, equal parts quirk and command, to stride to the third Ashes double century of his career - only Sir Donald Bradman (eight) and Wally Hammond (four) have more. His grinding down of England's bowlers, interspersed with the regular flourishes of 24 boundaries and two sixes, served to soften up the ground so effectively that Mitchell Starc was able to hammer a brisk half-century in the closing overs of Australia's innings.

Smith reckoned that Paine was at his best as a batsman when he was trying to score as much as survive.

"We kept talking in the middle about building that partnership, just keep trying to put as many runs on the board as possible in that partnership," Smith said.

"I thought Tim played exceptionally well today. He came out with a really positive mind-set, put away the loose balls, defended the good balls, left the balls that he had to leave and was really disciplined. But he had that positive mind-set of really hitting the ball, and when Tim's got that, that's when he's batting at his best. That was a good partnership.

"And then Starcy as well came out and did the same. He hit the middle of the bat a lot, played some beautiful straight drives in the air and along the ground and that's pleasing to see. We've seen how lower-order runs have been in big Ashes games. The fact that he's been able to work on his batting during the three games he hasn't played in so far, to come out and do that just shows a sign of someone who wants to get better and play their part for the team."

Save for Bradman, no-one can boast of more Test runs after 121 innings than Smith's 6,678, a tally that for now has granted him the neat average of 64.64. His genius has been undimmed by the Lord's blow, and perhaps even enhanced. His dealing with the Archer short ball has improved markedly, and he was able to find enormous reserves of concentration that if anything would have been refreshed by the time out of Leeds.

What Smith needed most, however, were allies. And in this innings, much to Australia's relief, he was able to find them. The Ashes, once again, look close to their keeping.

Given how often he has tormented England's bowlers while forming the bulwark of so many vast Australian first innings, Steven Smith's revelation about how much stem guards had irked him was somewhat surprising. For so hard wearing has Smith become at adapting to the many and varied challenges thrown his way by opponents, the fact that he revealed a tendency - prior to his heavy hit by Jofra Archer at Lord's that ruled him out of Headingley - to cast away the guard without much in the way of persistence felt out of step.

But now that he has successfully added a stem guard to his protective measures, in addition to an arm guard in response to a blow he also suffered from Archer a little earlier in the same innings, it looks very much as though Smith is now even more impervious to opposition attacks than previously. That will be an ominous thought for bowlers, not only in England but all over the world, as Smith continues his pursuit of team victories and batting records.

"I noticed it a couple of times. I guess I got used to it pretty quick," Smith said of the stem guard. "I never really gave it a chance in the nets. I'd wear it for 10 balls and if I got out or something I'd say, 'nah this isn't working' and get rid of it. For me it was just giving it a chance and wearing it for a while and you get used to it.

"I walked in and I told the doc - I'm pretty superstitious with different things - I said the stem guards are good to stay now and my arm guard's probably good to stay as well that I wore this game. I got a bit of a laugh from the boys out of that because they know how strange I am."

Also read: Team-mates finally turn up to Steve Smith's party

As for the short ball, which Smith was almost never troubled by during his 319-ball stay, the memories of Lord's had faded beneath a more familiar sense of security, not only in terms of dealing with bouncers, but also knowing that the challenge of dealing with a moving Dukes ball is counterbalanced by bowlers intent on banging it in their own half of the pitch.

"I was just watching the ball and playing the ball. I've faced a lot of short pitched bowling in my life and haven't had too many issues with it," Smith said. "For a day-one, day-two wicket, then bowling up there, I said it before the game, means they can't hit me on the pad or nick me off. And it softens their ball up as well. It played into our hands I think, and enabled that ball to get soft pretty quickly and for us to score some big first-innings runs.

"Lord's was a tough wicket. His angle wasn't very easy with the wicket being up-and-down. That was hard work and I said before the game that if they bowl a lot at my head then they're not bowling at my stumps and trying to get me out lbw and caught behind the wicket. And I think that perhaps played into our favour a little bit in this innings.

"I think we saw when Stuart Broad came on with the new ball, he bowled some really nice lengths and beat my bat on the outside a couple of times and I got an inside edge to fine leg. He was quite challenging when he hit that length. For them to go as short as they did and as early as they did with the new ball, softened that ball up and played into our hands."

Having missed the Leeds Test, Smith had a little more time to think about the approaches England were taking to him, and in the wake of his 211, a third Ashes double century, he offered an insight into how he thought his way through the traps laid for him. "I think and visualise before I play where people are likely to bowl to me and where I am likely to score and try to picture fields that are set and play things over in my mind, where I am going to get runs and how they are looking to get me out," Smith said.

"Then out in the middle you have to adapt to whatever is thrown at you. You might have noticed when Overton was bowling really wide to me and I was just going a mile across and staying almost front on and felt like I was playing a bit of French cricket for a bit, just covering my stumps. If they got straight I was going to score, if not I was waiting on a half volley or a short one to put away, and just tried to stay patient.

"If you look at the best players around the world, they sum up what people are trying to do and adapt to it and are willing to change and have the confidence to change what they are doing to get the right outcome."

This was an innings not without good fortune, Archer dropping a return catch in the second over of the morning, then Jack Leach dismissing Smith off a no-ball shortly after he made made his century. "I think you always need some luck when you score big runs. It fell my way today," Smith said. "I lost a bit of concentration for around 20 minutes or so when Leach was bowling. I tried to hit one into next week and landed safely and obviously got a nick from a ball that spun and bounced a little bit, but probably didn't need to play it the way I did.

"After I got caught off the no-ball I switched myself back on and got back in to where I needed to be. Generally when you score runs people try a few different tactics to you so you have to be switched on and adapt to those tactics that they're throwing at you and get through them so I would say it changes throughout your innings."

Nottinghamshire 165 for 0 (Hales 83*, Nash 74*) beat Middlesex 160 (Morgan 53) by 10 wickets

A bleak season at Trent Bridge might yet have something to redeem it. Seemingly doomed to relegation in the County Championship, thrashed here at the semi-final stage in the One-Day Cup, Nottinghamshire inflicted a humbling on Middlesex that no one could have anticipated to reach a third Vitality Blast Finals Day in four years.

Middlesex, after such an impressive start, may have only just scraped into the quarter-finals, but with AB de Villiers and Mujeeb Al Rahman back in tandem and Eoin Morgan threatening to cap off his own outstanding year, this was a moment in which they gave themselves a real chance. And 160, to which Morgan contributed 53 off 31 balls, did not seem a terrible score.

Yet they were utterly demolished. Alex Hales, taking another step towards redemption, smashed 83 off 47 balls, sending seven sixes soaring into the night sky. Chris Nash, given his first outing of the season after being surprisingly preferred to Joe Clarke, hit 74 from 53.

Middlesex dropped key catches, putting Nash down on 31 on, Hales on 47 and 56, but after they had been 76 without loss in six overs, a target of 161 that looked likely to be a challenge to a Nottinghamshire side with no reputation for fortitude this summer suddenly seemed rather modest. At the same stage - or rather, just one over later - Middlesex had been four down for 44, with De Villiers already gone.

"We had talked all year about trying to play the perfect game," the Nottinghamshire captain, Dan Christian, said. "About trying to take early wickets, restrict them in the middle, have a good death period, get off to a good start with the bat and try to cash in and, well, it was just about perfect."

Hales smote three of his sixes in that dramatic opening passage, which began with Nash clipping Mujeeb's opening ball for four and continued with boundary after boundary, a dozen in total. Mujeeb, normally so hard to get away at the top of an innings, went for 31 in his first two overs.

The first dropped catch, which should have been so easy for Steven Finn at mid-off, allowed Nash off the hook on 31. The others, by Toby Roland-Jones at deep midwicket and Steve Eskinazi at deep backward square, should have been held as well but whether they influenced the outcome was doubtful. With plenty of batting to come and the target already within reach, Middlesex's fate was probably irreversible.

Hales and Nash were past 100 by the ninth over, with the luxury of coasting through the middle overs before launching another assault that saw Hales demonstrating the full range of destructive shots that make him such a formidable opponent in this form of cricket when the force is with him. Fittingly, his seventh six, a howitzer blow deep into the crowd at deep midwicket, ended the match.

With Morgan, the man who seemingly was central to dashing Hales's World Cup dreams in such a brutal manner earlier in the year, standing just a few yards away, it must have felt a sweet moment.

"I think that was him back to his best," Christian said. "He has played some really important innings for us this year but that was the best. We saw him hitting top-of-the-stumps balls back over the bowler's head, which is what he can do."

Five of the six completed group matches on this ground this season were won by the team batting first, yet Nottinghamshire this time decided it suited them to chase and as Middlesex stumbled to 43 for 4 in the seventh over they appeared to have made a good decision.

Spin was the effective weapon as Nottinghamshire made these early incisions. Matt Carter, the tall off-spinner, took two wickets in his second over, Paul Stirling picking out deep midwicket before Dawid Malan, taking a big stride down the pitch, was bowled.

Imad Wasim, left-armer, did likewise in his second, dealing the visitors a major setback when De Villiers, looking in ominously good touch when he strong-armed Harry Gurney to the boundary in the previous over, launched a muscular slog-sweep directly into the hands of Ben Duckett, a foot in front of the boundary at square leg. Eskinazi, attempting to scoop the next delivery down the leg side, made poor contact and was caught behind. John Simpson kept out the hat-trick ball.

Much now rested on Morgan to reproduce some of his heroics of Taunton last week as Middlesex, their form having faltered after a blistering start in the South Group, pulled off that astonishing record run chase to qualify for the last eight.

With the scoreboard showing 66 for 4 at the halfway stage, he went on the attack, going inside out to send Samit Patel six rows back into the seats at extra cover before pulling the same bowler high over midwicket in the next over. Simpson found Hales at long-on a couple of balls later but he and England's World Cup-winning captain had added 47 in six overs.

Simpson's replacement with Roland-Jones brought no loss of momentum and for the first time Middlesex looked capable of posting a score they might defend, not least when Hales, at long-off to Gurney, could only palm the ball over the rope with Morgan ready to turn towards the pavilion.

Morgan profited from the reprieve, but not heavily, completing a 30-ball half-century by taking another maximum off the next ball, but slicing the one that followed to be caught at wide third man. Only a couple of overs remained in the innings but it may have cost Middlesex 20 runs.

As it was, on a ground which has seen lower scores this season than have been customary, 161 to win looked much more of a test than it proved to be, thanks to the brutality of Hales and Nash.

"I think pretty much everything that could have gone wrong for us did," Middlesex skipper Malan said. "We lost wickets at crucial times and to be 40-odd for four was not good enough. Getting 160 on the board, we thought we had a slight sniff if we bowled well enough at the top but they batted so well we were behind it from the first six."

FRISCO, Texas -- Since April, the Dallas Cowboys have signed defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, linebacker Jaylon Smith, right tackle La'el Collins and running back Ezekiel Elliott to deals totaling $185.5 million in guaranteed money, which is more than what Jerry Jones paid to buy the franchise in 1989.

The team hopes to deliver more guaranteed money on long-term deals with quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper, and they'd hope it can happen before Sunday's season opener against the New York Giants while acknowledging it might be difficult.

"Don't ever say never, executive vice president Stephen Jones said. "The season doesn't start until Sunday. We still got three or four days here. Obviously we've ended up signing a few players we didn't necessarily know we were going to sign, but at the same time I certainly felt optimistic that we can get these guys. Whether it's by the start of the season or if it goes over that, it does. That was our goal. Sometimes you don't get it quite done on the exact timing that you had hoped, but obviously the ultimate goal is to get them signed."

The Cowboys held a press conference to announce Elliott's six-year extension that made him the highest paid running back in the NFL with $50 million in guaranteed money. Elliott reiterated he was glad the deal was finished in time for him to play Sunday and keep him with the Cowboys potentially for the rest of his career.

Next up would appear to be Prescott, although there have not been many discussions recently. Talks with Cooper have been slow all summer, but Jones said things could come together quickly with the receiver as well.

Prescott is set to start the regular season on Sunday against the New York Giants on the final year of his rookie contract, making $2.02 million.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Rams signed quarterback Jared Goff to a four-year, $134 million deal that included $110 million guaranteed, according to sources. Earlier in the offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Carson Wentz to a contract extension worth $32 million per season and $107 million guaranteed.

Goff and Wentz were the top two picks of the 2016 draft class. Prescott went No. 135 overall in the fourth round.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones has made it clear the Cowboys want to keep Prescott for the long term. Prescott has said he wants to remain a Cowboy for the long term. Coming to an agreement on the financial terms is never easy. One issue is Goff and Wentz were each guaranteed roughly $27 million over the 2019 and 2020 seasons as part of the fifth-year options on their rookie deals. Prescott has no guaranteed money remaining on his deal, which makes reaching the $110 million and $107 million guarantee thresholds a little more difficult.

Prescott has started every game in his first three seasons, something Goff and Wentz cannot say. Since 2016, he has 32 wins, fewer than only Tom Brady. Prescott has not thrown for 4,000 yards or had more than 23 touchdown passes in a season. Goff has had 60 touchdown passes the last two seasons and 4,688 yards passing last season when he helped the Rams to the Super Bowl. Goff was having an MVP-type season in 2017 before suffering a knee injury.

Prescott's focus, however, is not on the contract. It is on the Giants and the upcoming season.

"Obviously I want to see it done," Prescott said. "To put a timeframe on it, I think I've said this before, I'm not going to do that. At this point my focus is all on the Giants and the Giants defense and what this team needs to do to win the game. And next week it will roll to the next opponent. I don't want to blur my mind or distract myself any with thinking about those talks or thinking about what's going on when I've got enough on my plate to handle. So I'm just focused on the Giants and I've got people to take care of (the contract)."

As for seeing Elliott's contract situation get resolved, Prescott was happy to know he will have his backfield mate next to him on Sunday.

Elliott wants the Prescott deal to get done, too.

"I want to play with him for the rest of my career," Elliott said. "I'm excited to see what comes."

The Cowboys signed Lawrence to a five-year, $105 million deal in April with $65 million guaranteed. Before signing Elliott, they reached contracts with Smith ($35.5 million guaranteed) and Collins ($35 million guaranteed).

The Cowboys' design was to "keep a really good young football team together," Stephen Jones said.

"As I've said, we spent a lot of work on our financial models for the next three years. Certainly staring down a labor agreement in the eyes we hope. We don't have one, got work to do, but you're factoring all those things in. But obviously we're making moves that every step of the way we think that we cannot only do what we've done, but also, as we've said, sign Dak and sign Amari."

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Running back Todd Gurley's playing time will not be restricted when the Los Angeles Rams open the season against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

"Nope," Rams coach Sean McVay said Thursday when asked if Gurley would be on a limited play count.

In an effort to slowly build Gurley's workload, the All-Pro was placed on a strict training schedule throughout camp. He participated in practice every other day and was used in a rotation that included backups Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson.

Gurley did not participate in any preseason games, along with the rest of the Rams' starters and key rotational players.

"I'm excited to see Todd Gurley continue to do his thing," McVay said. "He looks good, he's feeling good and we're looking forward to Sunday."

Gurley is coming off a season in which he rushed for 1,251 yards and scored a league-high 21 touchdowns.

He did not play in the final two games of the regular season because of inflammation and soreness in his left knee. Gurley returned in a divisional-round win over the Dallas Cowboys and rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Against the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game, Gurley had five touches for 13 yards. In Super Bowl LIII, he rushed for 35 yards in 10 carries as the Rams fell 13-3 to the New England Patriots.

Antonio Brown and Raiders general manager Mike Mayock got into a heated exchange Wednesday, and the team is now planning to suspend its star wide receiver, league sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The length of the suspension was not immediately known, as the Raiders are still weighing their options, sources tell Schefter.

There are some within the Raiders that want the organization to move on from the mercurial Brown, according to Schefter, and sources around the league believe that the team could suspend him with the idea of trying to void the $30.125 million guaranteed in his contract.

The confrontation, according to Schefter, stemmed from Brown's Instagram post Wednesday when he displayed a letter from Mayock that detailed about $54,000 in fines for missing time during training camp.

Mayock told reporters that Brown was not at the facility Thursday and would not be practicing. He did not confirm or deny that Brown will be suspended.

Coach Jon Gruden also wouldn't divulge any specifics, saying after practice that the Raiders would "have an official announcement later" and was asked if he saw the alleged incident between Brown and Mayock.

"Like I said, I'm not going to get into all of it," Gruden said. "Obviously, he wasn't here today and when we have some information for you, we'll give it to you.

"I'm emotional about it, I hope you understand why. I think a lot of this guy. I think Antonio is a great receiver, and deep down I think he's a really good guy. So, I'm frustrated, I'm not going to say anything more about it, hope it all works out. But I don't have anything official to say about anything else, until I get all the facts and that's what I'm going to do."

Brown was listed as a non-participant for Thursday's practice.

Gruden said the Raiders must prepare for the possibility of playing Monday night's season opener against the Denver Broncos without him.

"Yeah, and we've been doing that," Gruden said. "Obviously, you've been at training camp, I think for the last four weeks, we have been practicing without him and preparing to play. No matter who's injured, you have to adapt. Unfortunately, we had to adapt again today, but we're really excited about our receiving corps.

"... I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed and I'm just gonna say to you, I'm really excited about the guys that we do have and we'll do the best we can."

In the letter, Mayock informed Brown that he was being fined $13,950 for missing a walk-through on Aug. 22, an unexcused absence. The letter also mentions that the team previously had fined Brown $40,000 for missing camp on Aug. 18 -- the day the GM issued his ultimatum to Brown, saying, "It's time for him to be all-in or all-out, OK?"

The Raiders had yet to announce anything official regarding a potential suspension, though there was confusion in the facility, according to sources. According to the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, a player can be suspended a maximum of four weeks for conduct detrimental to the team.

On Wednesday, an agitated Brown did not stretch with the team during warm-ups but then joined the receivers group for individual drills. Even then, he took plays off, which was unusual for Brown, whose hard-charging practice habits are well-known.

After catching one pass from Carr, Brown jogged toward the end zone and fired the football into the fence.

Antonio Brown fires the football into the fence after catching a pass from Derek Carr at #Raiders practice. pic.twitter.com/HX2c559j4R

— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) September 4, 2019

Brown was also overheard barking at a strength and conditioning coach before the media window closed on practice.

He declined to speak in the locker room after practice on Wednesday, saying he would talk Thursday.

It has been an adventurous offseason for the mercurial receiver and the Raiders, who parted with third- and fifth-round picks to acquire Brown from the Pittsburgh Steelers in March and gave him a three-year, $30.125 million extension. After he showed up to training camp with frostbite on the bottoms of both feet from a cryotherapy treatment mishap in France, he left camp for two weeks seeking therapy, which included laser treatment.

Brown also was upset at the NFL for not allowing him to use his 10-year-old Schutt Air Advantage helmet because it did not pass safety standards. And after returning to the team, he took off again for a day after losing a grievance over the issue. That was on Aug, 18, the day Mayock issued his ultimatum.

While many in the front office wondered whether Brown could be trusted after his second departure, he seemed to be on his best behavior of late, even as he skipped out on a mandatory walk-through the morning of the Raiders' exhibition in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Aug. 22.

Brown and quarterback Derek Carr put on shows in pre-exhibition drills in Arizona and Winnipeg.

The letter from Mayock, which many saw as more of a warning against future behavior than an actual attempt to recoup money, seemed to set Brown off, and the team has to wonder whether Brown will ever play for the Raiders.

The news of Brown's impending suspension had an impact at Caesars Sportsbook. The Broncos now are a 2-point favorite at Caesars; the spread had been a pick 'em before news of the suspension. The total also dropped a point to 42.5.

You love fantasy football.

I love fantasy football.

But neither of us loves fantasy football as much as Tracy Rudolph loves fantasy football.

Hold that thought.

Kurt Rudolph has a fairly typical story.

Kurt is 34 years old, he grew up in Minnesota, started playing fantasy football in high school and went to college. He made some good friends in college, graduated, moved back to his home state to work and kept in touch with college buddies by, among other ways, playing in a fantasy league with them.

In 2012, he decided to take a trip to Kansas City to visit a couple of his fantasy football league buddies from college: Josh Christian and his wife, Susie, and the commish himself, Matthew Johnson. And while Kurt was there, Josh introduced him to his sister, Tracy, who was single.

A friendship formed between Kurt and Tracy and they kept in contact, emailing, texting and talking on the phone. And in May 2013, Kurt was once again back in KC, visiting his friends, including Tracy.

While Kurt was visiting, Tracy had a routine eye exam.

Except it didn't stay routine for long. The ophthalmologist noticed something that didn't look right and a little later that afternoon Tracy was getting an MRI.

Which showed she had a brain tumor.

And just like that, her life changed, as did all the lives of her friends and family.

As Kurt wrote, "Tracy had her first brain surgery in June of 2013, just one month after we started dating, and seven weeks after the initial diagnosis."

Read that again. Think about that timeline.

Tracy finds out she has a brain tumor. And three weeks after that, her yearlong friendship with Kurt turns romantic and they start dating.

Some people, upon finding out someone they care for is very sick, would not be able to handle it and would quietly drift away.

Kurt Rudolph is not some people.

They, in fact, grew closer. They would face this together and, as Kurt wrote, a month after they started dating, Tracy went in for surgery. The surgery was a success and the thought was that she wouldn't need another surgery for 10-20 years, because the tumor was slow-growing and benign.

You don't go through something like that and not grow closer, so it was no surprise to their friends that in June 2015, Kurt and Tracy got married. They live together, they love together and maybe most importantly, they play fantasy football together.

They compete against each other in the Two-Minute Drillers league, a 10-team half-point-PPR, half-point-for-first-downs redraft league that has banned kickers. Comprised of college friends (including Josh and Matthew) and family, the league has three different couples competing with each other.

Tracy loves her some fantasy football. They set up two TVs in their house every Sunday, one for the Chiefs and one for Red Zone, and Tracy will watch football all day, from start to finish. Yeah, Tracy is one of us.

The league, and her fantasy football team, became increasingly important to Tracy.

That's because, in 2017, Tracy noticed she was having a difficult time finding words and keeping her train of thought. The tumor was located on the left hemisphere of the brain, which mostly affected her speech. The chemo wasn't working. The tumor had grown much faster than anticipated. She needed another surgery and she needed it soon.

Her surgeon, Kurt notes, is Dr. Paul Camarata, the head of neurosurgery at the University of Kansas, and he has given her excellent care.

Tracy's second surgery for her brain tumor was planned for Dec. 12. Right during the fantasy semifinals, which Tracy was in.

Against Kurt.

Tracy had two important battles to win that day.

But first things first: At 7 a.m., Tracy was put under anesthesia. The surgery was supposed to last eight hours or so, but ended up lasting 12, which of course is not ideal.

You see, the interesting thing Kurt told me about this particular surgery was that once her surgeon opened up Tracy's cranial cavity, they were going to "wake her up" with conscious sedation. They needed to do that so they could map the tumor and determine which areas of her brain were tumorous and which were vital. And the surgery was taking much longer than expected.

So while Tracy was "awake," to continue to keep her talking and make sure they were able to map the tumor correctly, her speech pathologist started asking her specific questions ... about her fantasy team. A subject Tracy was passionate about. So Tracy took the pathologist through her semifinal-bound roster (Drew Brees, Kareem Hunt, Adam Thielen, Doug Baldwin), the fact that David Johnson was injured and whether she should start Paul Richardson, among many fantasy-related topics.

Yes, you read that correctly.

The surgeon was able to correctly determine which areas of Tracy's brain were tumorous and which were vital thanks to Tracy's ability to focus enough during a 12-hour surgery to talk about her fantasy football team.

So when I say you and I don't love fantasy football as much as Tracy Rudolph, I mean it.

After getting through a surgery like that, beating her husband in fantasy was no sweat. She moved on to the finals, but sadly was not able to bring home the title. Tracy blames Giovani Bernard for her finals loss, which makes sense. Even when you have a brain tumor, the Bengals still screw you. (My editor wouldn't allow me to use the word I wanted, but regular 06010 podcast listeners know it quite well.)

I spoke to Kurt earlier this week to ask for an update on Tracy and he told me she's doing as well as can be expected. Little victories.

She's off chemo and after 33 days of radiation, her last MRI in April of this year showed the tumor is shrinking. She's currently on disability from her job as a registered nurse while she goes though therapy, but she volunteers at her church's pantry, she sings in the church choir and, of course, she's prepping hard for the upcoming season in the Two-Minute Drillers league.

Turns out she lost in the finals again last year, as she rode Patrick Mahomes (she loves her Chiefs) to the finals, so she's hoping the third year is the charm to take home the title. Her tumor is in the auditory processing part of her brain, making it tough for her to process things that are said to her. But, Kurt tells me, she can read perfectly.

So Tracy, if you are reading this, know that the entire fantasy football nation has your back. You've got this.

If you would like to reach out and show some support, Tracy's twitter handle is @TracyRudolph2 and Kurt is @Rudolph218.

And as we slowly meander into the Week 1 Love/Hate and start our 2019 fantasy football journey, we know things won't go as planned. Players will underperform, get hurt and we will make the wrong choices when it comes to starts and sits, waivers and trade evaluations. Why, there's even a chance some bonehead will put someone in his "hate" list, only to see that player go off ... while sitting on your bench. Because you dumbly listened to said bonehead.

And when those things happen, I want you to think of Tracy and Kurt, working to overcome more than just a bad fantasy football call, and succeeding.

Here's hoping your journey this year is filled with victories, both big and small.

One last quick note before we start. Kurt reached out with his and Tracy's story because he had read my column last year about Travis Anderson, the 38-year-old fantasy football commish and father of three who is battling his own brain tumor. I'm happy to report that I've heard from Travis recently and he tells me, "on the brain front, I've gotten clean scans all year." As you read this, Travis will have just finished running his league's draft. Awesome to hear, Travis. Keep fighting.

Time now for Love/Hate and as always, this is NOT a start or sit column. I don't "love" or "hate" players. I do, however, "love" or "hate" their ESPN projection for PPR leagues. So that's what this is. Players who are "loves" are players I believe will generally meet or exceed their ESPN projections. "Hates" are players I believe will fall short of their ESPN projections. That simple. For specific "this player or that player" questions, please always consult my rankings, which are constantly updated all the way through Sunday morning up until kickoff. You can also watch The Fantasy Show on ESPN+, which is expanding to four episodes a week this year.

And finally, don't forget the Emmy Award-winning Fantasy Football Now returns for its 13th season. This Sunday only, we start on ESPNEWS at 10 a.m. ET and then we switch over to ESPN2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (following the Formula 1 race). Tune in! Lastly, a thank you as always to "Thirsty" Kyle Soppe of the 06010 podcast and The Stat-a-pillar from The Fantasy Show on ESPN+, Damian Dabrowski.

Week one. Let's go.

Quarterbacks I love in Week 1

Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles, vs. Redskins (ESPN projection: 19.3 points): You'll call me a homer and you'd be right, but the Redskins' defense is going to be good this season. Unfortunately, the offense won't be, especially on the road against the Eagles with Case Keenum under center and no Trent Williams protecting his blind side. Expect a turnover or two, giving a short field to Wentz, who since the start of 2017 is the fifth-best QB in fantasy, which includes multiple touchdown passes in each of his past three games against Washington. Wentz is healthy and surrounded by the best supporting cast of his career, including a #revengegame narrative for DeSean Jackson. More on him later, but suffice it to say that last season the Redskins gave up multiple touchdown passes in nine games and Sunday, it will happen again.

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys, vs. Giants (ESPN projection: 21.2 points): Wait, what? I'm a lifelong Redskins fan and my first two loves are the QBs of the Eagles and the Cowboys? Anyway, 21.2 is a big number for Dak, but I say he gets there in a game the Cowboys are favored to win by a touchdown. In wins last season, Prescott averaged 21.7 points and has averaged 23.0 in his past four games against the G-Men. With a less-than-usual workload in terms of touches expected for Ezekiel Elliott in Game 1, the offense will run through Prescott, who was the sixth-best QB in fantasy last season after Amari Cooper showed up. The Cowboys' offensive line is healthy and faces a Giants team that was bottom three in sacks last season and has a lot of new faces that might take time to jell. How 'bout them Dakboys?

Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, vs. 49ers (ESPN projection: 18.8 points): All the things that contributed to the "Tampa Bay QB" being awesome last season are back in place in 2019: A bad defense, a lack of run game, talented pass-catchers, a fantasy-friendly and a pass-first head coach and playcaller. Only one thing is missing: Ryan Fitzpatrick. This is Winston's gig to lose, and while it won't always be pretty, expect him to light up a 49ers defense that intercepted all of two passes last season. Not a misprint. Two. While giving up 35 touchdown passes. Winston is averaging 19.54 points for his career when throwing at least 28 passes and without throwing multiple interceptions. In a game with one of the five highest over/under numbers of the week in Vegas, Winston is an easy top-five play for me.

Others receiving votes: I've been all-in on Kyler Murray this offseason, so you think a subpar preseason performance or two will deter me? Remember, Cam Newton looked BRU-TAL in the preseason his rookie year only to ball out. The Lions spent the offseason bolstering their defense, but all these new faces who haven't seen the real Arizona offense yet, making it hard to prep for. Murray's rushing keeps his floor high here. ... The Titans are a good defense, but they aren't great. They beat up on some bad competition last season and tied for the most touchdown passes of 30-plus yards allowed. Think Baker Mayfield, in the home opener, finds Odell Beckham Jr. deep for at least one? Me too. ... The Dolphins played four games last season against a QB who ranked top five in rushing yards at the position (Josh Allen twice, Deshaun Watson and Mitchell Trubisky). They were the four highest-scoring QB games against Miami all season (31.9 PPG). The Dolphins have done little this offseason to suggest their defense will turn it around, and the Ravens are road favorites by a touchdown. Give me all the Lamar Jackson this week. ... Looking for a two-QB league starter, a cheap DFS play or still scrambling after Andrew Luck retired? Nick Foles should be usable in a deep-league sort of way, as he'll very likely have to throw, and throw a lot, against the Chiefs in a game where the over/under is 52.5, second highest of the week.

Quarterbacks I hate in Week 1

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers, at Bears (ESPN projection: 15.9 points): I get it. He's Aaron Rodgers. And you spent a relatively high draft pick on him, so you're probably starting him. But temper expectations. A new offense isn't going to help the traditional slow road starter (less than 200 passing yards in four of his five career Week 1s on the road), especially in Chicago. The Bears were the No. 2 defense against QBs last season and A-Rod has exactly zero passing touchdowns is his past two games at Soldier Field.

Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams, at Panthers (ESPN projection: 17.2 points): The 17th-best QB in fantasy when on the road last season, Goff travels east for a 1 p.m. local start behind a rebuilt Rams offensive line against a Carolina defense that blitzed at the fourth-highest rate last season. When pressured last season, Goff ranked 21st in both yards per attempt and TD percentage. I ultimately think he'll be fine (I mean, the man did just get PAID), but the bar is so high for QBs these days, "fine" just doesn't cut it. Against the team that had the fourth-most interceptions at home last season and ranked 10th best in opponents' completion percentage, I have Goff outside my top 12 for Week 1.

Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers, vs. Colts (ESPN projection: 16.7 points): Either the Colts fold up and go home after the Andrew Luck retirement or they rise up with an "us against the world, no one believes in us" rallying cry. Gut call: it's the latter, as this is a talented team with the right head coach and front office. The Colts also have a helluva defense that allowed three or more touchdown passes only twice in 2018, tied for the fourth fewest in the league. That's important because Rivers adds nothing with his legs, so he needs to throw for scores to be worth it. With a bad offensive line made worse with Russell Okung's absence and much less of a threatening run game to help with play-action, Rivers probably will be fine but has no upside. When all is said and done in Week 1, he is unlikely to have been worth starting in any 10- or 12-team league.

Running backs I love in Week 1

Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings, vs. Falcons (ESPN projection: 16.6 points): Death, taxes and fantasy analysts mentioning that the Falcons allow a lot of RB receptions. But hey, Atlanta has allowed the most running back receptions in the league four years in a row. It's not a coincidence, it's a way of life. Cook's issues have never been about talent but rather about health. Well, he's healthy now and has caught at least three passes in nine of his past 11 games. Remember, in the three games Cook played last season under offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski he averaged 110 yards from scrimmage and scored twice. He'll likely be a popular selection in DFS this week, and rightfully so. Can you smell what Dalvin is cooking? Sorry. I'll show myself out.

James Conner, Pittsburgh Steelers, at Patriots (ESPN projection: 15.2 points): On the road for a season opener in New England is no fun for anyone, especially an offense in transition with regard to its passing game due to the departure of Antonio Brown. That means you can expect a heavy dose of Conner. Last season, when Conner got at least 18 touches, he averaged 28.9 fantasy PPG and scored multiple touchdowns in five of those seven games. The preseason eased any running back by committee (RBBC) concerns for Conner, who will once again get a massive touch share in a game with one of Week 1's highest over/under totals.

Mark Ingram II, Baltimore Ravens, at Dolphins (ESPN projection: 14.3 points): You know, as fantasy analysts, sometimes we dig really deep into the data, the film study or get a great tip from a source to unearth an obscure gem to recommend a start. This is not one of those times. Once Lamar Jackson became the starter last season, the Ravens had the second-highest run percentage in the NFL. Ingram is their starting running back (#analysis). Even if rumors of Baltimore's offense being more wide open this season turn out to be true, the Ravens are 7-point favorites against a defense that gave up the third-most yards per play last season and is probably worse this season. Just because it's obvious doesn't mean it's not true.

Josh Jacobs, Oakland Raiders, vs. Broncos (ESPN projection: 15.8 points): One issue with declaring someone your 2019 fantasy ride-or-die? People overdraft him in leagues you are in and you don't have nearly enough shares of him as you'd like. Those jerks in my leagues are about to be handsomely rewarded, too, as Jacobs is going to get a ton of work against Denver. In a game Vegas has as a pick 'em, the game should be close enough for Jon Gruden to make good on his promise to keep riding Jacobs. In 2018, a running back got 20-plus touches against Denver 10 times. In all 10 of those instances, the back went over 95 total yards OR scored a TD. A quiet preseason erupts into a fantasy star Monday night.

Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks, vs. Bengals (ESPN projection: 15.7 points): The season-long love starts with a big Week 1. The Seahawks employed not only the run-heaviest offense in the NFL last season, but actually hold that distinction over the past seven seasons. NBC Sports reported that, heading into the team's third preseason game, Rashaad Penny was losing ground on Carson in terms of a role in this offense. Carson ended last season with four straight games of at least 90 rushing yards and a TD. The Seahawks are an almost double-digit home favorite, so Carson will be busy and productive Sunday.

Others receiving votes: If there was a list of running backs with the best odds to score a touchdown this week, Jordan Howard would have to be at the top of the list. Miles Sanders is coming, but not yet, and of the 24 running backs since 2016 to have 60 or more red zone carries, only Alvin Kamara and David Johnson have converted a higher percentage of those carries into scores than Howard. As an almost double-digit home favorite, expect Howard to salt the game away and hit paydirt. ... On the road against the NFL's worst red zone defense from a year ago, I like both Tevin Coleman and Matt Breida in a flex sort of way in what should be one of Week 1's highest-scoring games. ... While Carlos Hyde is still introducing himself to his fifth set of teammates in less than three years, Duke Johnson Jr. should be getting a lot of work, both on the ground and in the passing game, as the feature back in a game with Week 1's highest over/under. ... For super-deep leagues or a cheap DFS punt, I bet we see more Ty Montgomery on Sunday than you'd think. Le'Veon Bell might not get a full workload early on and the Bills gave up the sixth-most RB targets last season, so 10 or so useful touches are possible for Montgomery.

Running backs I hate in Week 1

Le'Veon Bell, New York Jets, vs. Bills (ESPN projection: 16.4 points): Didn't see this one coming, did you? Didn't play in the entire preseason, didn't play all last season, there have been hints that they might ease him back in and Ty Montgomery may split some touches. It's not a great offensive line, the Bills-Jets game is the second-lowest over/under on the Week 1 slate, and by the way, the Bills figure to have a pretty good defense. If you drafted him you have to play him, but I'm taking the under on 16.4 points.

Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans, at Browns (ESPN projection: 13.9 points): Even in Henry's "breakout" last season, he still averaged only seven points in games in which the Titans lost. He's not involved in the passing game, so he needs Tennessee to win or be competitive to get his and I'm not convinced they are that close in this one. Neither is Vegas, as the Browns are 5 1/2-point favorites. Coming off a nagging calf injury, it's worth remembering that in the 16 games prior to his Week 14-17 explosion last season, Henry averaged just 3.29 yards per carry.

Kenyan Drake, Miami Dolphins, vs. Ravens (ESPN projection: 13.1 points): The 2018 Ravens allowed the second-fewest running back fantasy points last season, the third-fewest yards per carry and were one of two defenses that did not allow a single carry of 25-plus yards to a running back. NFL Nation Dolphins reporter Cameron Wolfe projected a timeshare in this Miami backfield at the beginning of August, before Drake suffered a foot injury that set him back roughly two weeks in the season prep process. Plus, this is an offensive line that just got worse with the trade of Laremy Tunsil. Kenyan Drake. Rap artist Drake. Matthew Berry. Matthew Perry ... we all had the same number of games with at least 15 carries last season. Lack of volume, bad O-line and a bad matchup. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how do you like Drake this week?

Tarik Cohen, Chicago Bears, vs. Packers (ESPN projection: 11.5 points): David Montgomery impressed plenty this preseason and that has Cohen back in a role that is going to be tough to rely on consistently. Don't believe me? Fine, will you believe Matt Nagy? He said two weeks ago that he "probably gave Cohen a little bit too much" last season. I like the Bears to control this game and that's bad news for Cohen's volume, especially against a Packers team that was tied for the second-fewest RB receptions allowed last season.

Pass-catchers I love in Week 1

Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings, vs. Falcons (ESPN projection: 15.3): The Falcons allowed the fifth-most red zone slot completions last season, were 27th against wide receivers, and as of this writing (Wednesday night), Stefon Diggs missed practice and is banged up. Given that Vegas has the over-under at 47 1/2 (with the Vikes being 4-point favorites), I like the Vikings' chances of scoring more than 20 points Sunday. When the Vikings scored more than 20 points last season, Thielen averaged 21.1 fantasy points. Oh yeah, gimme the over on 15.3.

Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks, vs. Bengals (ESPN projection: 12.8 points): With David Moore banged up, rookie DK Metcalf having missed most of training camp with his own injury, Jaron Brown never having found consistency with Seattle and Doug Baldwin retired, Sunday should be the Tyler Lockett show. Last year, when Baldwin was off the field, Lockett was targeted on more than 23% of routes. Last season, there were nine instances of a wide receiver getting 10 or more targets versus Cincinnati. Those wideouts averaged 18.14 PPG. For comparison's sake, last season on a per-game basis, Mike Evans was WR10 with 18.15 PPG.

Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, vs. 49ers (ESPN projection: 12.6 points): As one of my favorite breakouts this year, I am required by fantasy analyst law to have him on the "love" list this week. You know I think Winston is gonna rock, you know there are more than 200 targets available with Adam Humphries and DeSean Jackson gone. Speaking of D-Jax, Godwin has averaged 1.93 fantasy points per target with Jackson off the field. For reference, Julio Jones averaged 1.92 points per target last season and Antonio Brown 1.90. Godwin isn't Julio or AB, but in a shootout against undermanned slot corner K'Waun Williams, he should definitely beat 12.6 points.

Evan Engram, New York Giants, at Cowboys (ESPN projection: 11.9): I mentioned this in the preseason Love/Hate, but it's worth mentioning again. Over the past two seasons (2017-18), Engram has played in 15 games without Odell Beckham Jr. He averaged 13.4 PPG in those games. In the final four games last season without Beckham but WITH Saquon Barkley, Engram had at least 75 receiving yards and averaged 16.2 points per game. No Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard was banged up during most of the preseason and the G-Men are 7-point underdogs. They will likely have to throw a lot and when they throw, they'll throw to Engram.

O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, vs. 49ers (ESPN projection: 10.3): See Winston, Jameis. Or Godwin, Chris. Or imagine what I would have written about Evans, Mike. I'm on the Bucs in this one and excited to see what a healthy Howard does in Bruce Arians' offense. Last year, when healthy, Howard ranked fifth among TEs in slot points per game (7.01). Last season, the Niners allowed a TD on a league-high 10.6% of slot pass attempts.

Others receiving votes: Fully healthy and ready for a shootout in New Orleans, I like Will Fuller V this week against a Saints defense that last season allowed opponents to complete deep passes at the second-highest rate in the NFL. ... A favorite for a few years now and a preseason sleeper, Dede Westbrook is another guy who should benefit from a high-scoring game. Especially considering the Chiefs gave up the seventh-most slot yards last season and K.C. slot corner Kendall Fuller is no match for the guy Jags offensive coordinator John DiFilippo called "the best route runner I've ever been around."... Hashtag revenge game for DeSean Jackson and while I don't buy into stuff like that, I do buy into the idea that Wentz will take some deep shots to D-Jax and with Josh Norman expected to spend a decent amount of time on Alshon Jeffery, they'll scheme him open. ... I've been talking up Raiders tight end Darren Waller since the NFL combine when Oakland offensive coordinator Greg Olson came on our podcast and gushed about him. Well, it's time for the size/speed freak to show up against a Broncos team that last season allowed the fourth-most yards per pass attempt to tight ends. ... If Jordan Reed plays for Washington, he's a high-upside pick in a game in which the Skins are going to be forced to throw.

Pass-catchers I hate in Week 1

T.Y Hilton, Indianapolis Colts, at Chargers (ESPN projection: 12.8 points): I'm actually a "Jacoby Brissett won't hurt Hilton that much" truther. But on the road, in the first start for Brissett in a while ... and this is a tough matchup against a Chargers team that last season allowed the fifth-fewest wide receiver points, allowed just six deep TD passes (tied for third fewest) and 45 deep completions (tied for ninth fewest). As Mike Clay notes in his must-read, terrific WR/CB matchup column, Hilton is expected to see shadow coverage from Casey Hayward, at least when he is on the outside. Better days are ahead for Hilton, but odds say Sunday isn't going to be one of them.

Robby Anderson, New York Jets, vs. Bills (ESPN projection: 11.4 points): I had Anderson ranked as a top-25 receiver this preseason and I generally think this Jets offense can impress ... starting next week on ESPN's Monday Night Football -- I'm a company man. This week, Anderson will draw shadow coverage from Tre'Davious White. Davante Adams, Keenan Allen and Corey Davis were all held more than 22% below their season averages when they played the Bills (between the three: 27 targets, no touchdowns, no receptions gaining more than 25 yards). With this being one of only two games that opened with a Vegas total below 40 points, this isn't a spot where I'm expecting fantasy fireworks.

Mike Williams, Los Angeles Chargers, vs. Colts (ESPN projection: 12.7 points): Like Anderson, I'm a fan of BMW (Big Mike Williams) for the season as a whole, but I'm not going that direction this weekend. Indy, the third-best defense against wide receivers last season, ranked 11th in touchdown prevention on red zone drives, a strength amplified by the fact that the Colts ranked third in terms of limiting such drives. As we've discussed, a bad offensive line means a lot of dump-offs to Ekeler and close-to-the-line-of-scrimmage stuff with Keenan Allen.

Eric Ebron, Indianapolis Colts, at Chargers (ESPN projection: 7.4 points): He was on the preseason hate list for the inevitable touchdown regression, and that was before Andrew Luck hung it up. Ebron needs to score to be fantasy-relevant and that's unlikely against a Bolts team that was 10th best in opponents' red zone completion percentage (52.1%) and sixth best in red zone pass TD rate (21.1%).

David Njoku, Cleveland Browns, vs. Titans (ESPN projection: 8.9 points): Given how much Baker Mayfield spreads it around, it's hard to see enough volume for Njoku to overcome a tough matchup against a Titans squad that was the second-best defense against fantasy TEs last season and the second-best red zone defense. It's less likely he gets the TD he will need to bail you out.

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- still has not mentally prepared himself for the idea that he might have to say nice things about LeSpoiler McCoy now that he's on the Chiefs.

A bill that would let college athletes in California profit from endorsements has a high-profile backer: NBA superstar LeBron James.

The bill, SB 206, called the Fair Pay to Play Act, would prohibit schools in California from taking away scholarships or eligibility from college athletes who use their celebrity to make money. Senate Bill 206 has cleared the state Senate and is awaiting a vote by the full California State Assembly.

James tweeted his support Thursday.

Everyone is California- call your politicians and tell them to support SB 206! This law is a GAME CHANGER. College athletes can responsibly get paid for what they do and the billions they create.

— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 5, 2019

The Los Angeles Lakers star followed that with a tweet saying: "California can change the game. This is only right waaaayy overdue. #morethananathlete."

The Fair Pay to Play Act, which was introduced in February by state Sens. Nancy Skinner and Steven Bradford, also allows for athletes to hire an agent or attorney to represent them in business deals without losing their eligibility. Skinner said it would not require schools to pay their players, but instead guarantee players the same rights given to Olympic athletes. The law, if it is passed, would go into effect in January 2023.

NCAA president Mark Emmert wrote a letter to California legislators in May asking that they consider delaying their vote while his organization considered the impact of the law. Emmert suggested that California institutions, both public and private, would be barred from participating in NCAA championships if the law passed.

The NCAA formed a working group in May to examine issues with its current rules, which prevent any student-athletes from marketing their own names, images or likenesses. The NCAA working group is expected to provide a final report in October.

Several California schools, including Stanford and USC, are opposed to the bill.

Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir wrote a letter to the California State Senate expressing Stanford's opposition.

"Allowing student-athletes to receive compensation from their name, image, and likeness, would present serious challenges for higher education institutions and to the collegiate sports model," Muir said in his letter. "We believe that for any reform to be fair and meaningful to all student-athletes it needs to occur at the national level and be adopted by the NCAA."

ESPN's Dan Murphy contributed to this report.