If Aaron Rodgers had a personal theme song it would be "Who Gon Stop Me" by Jay-Z and Kanye West off the album "Watch The Throne". -->LISTEN HERE (EXPLICIT VERSION)<--
Because at this rate no one will be stopping him anytime soon. Rodgers had another monster game for all fantasy purposes completing 21 passes for 247 yards and 4 touchdowns. By far Aaron Rodgers is the leading candidate for the leagues Most Valuable Player and is showing no intentions of slowing down. The Packers as a team are rolling as well remaining undefeated at 8-0. At times their defense has looked shaky allowing points in bunches to several of their opponents (23+ points allowed in 5 of their 8 games, 14+ in 7 of their 8 games). And although the most common cliche in the NFL is "Defense wins championships", we are all aware of how much of a passing league the NFL has become and it seems like it does not matter how many points the Packers give up on defense, Aaron Rodgers and the offense will just continue to outscore their opponents on offense. So jealous of all you Aaron Rodgers owners.
I would now like to take the time to show some love for a team that has not received even close to the amount they deserve. That team is the Cincinnati Bengals. Yes, Bengals, not "Bungles". This team had some serious youth injected into them at the draft when they added Andy "Red Rifle" Dalton and A.J. Green. These two have helped revive the franchise almost to the point of being considered favorites to win the AFC North. Chances are they will not even sniff the grand stage of the Superbowl in Indianapolis, but there is no reason to believe they will not make a strong attempt at it. Lead by Dalton and Green on offense and a surprisingly stingy pass defense, the Bengals are tied with the Baltimore Ravens atop the AFC North standings with a 6-2 record and have won 5 games in a row. I never could have predicted this in a million years considering what the Bengals were going into the season with, essentially nothing. Young inexperienced players, a disgruntled Carson Palmer still on the roster, a patch-work defense and a head coach that has went from the hot seat to being talked about as a Coach of the Year candidate. This is what they were working with at the beginning of the season and turned a complete 180. The Bengals deserve some serious credit considered what they started with and what they have accomplished so far. The second half is where the challenge really begins. Their upcoming schedule looks like this: PIT, @BAL, CLE, @PIT, HOU, @STL, ARI, BAL. This is where Andy Dalton will need to play like the experienced quarterback he has looked like all season long. The match-up against the Rams and Cardinals may look like a cake walk but lets see how the team fares first against the Ravens, Steelers twice and a Texans team that most likely will have Andre Johnson back. And come week 17 they could be in line for a playoff spot and the match-ups against those weaker teams are classic look ahead spots. Do not give up on the Bengals quite yet. Like I said, 8 games ago, they were not supposed to be in the position they are in right now.
It is now time for my always controversial list of in-season MVP candidates. The number one spot is occupied by the same man as last week and barring any sort of catastrophic breakdown, I do not see it changing anytime in the near future.
1) Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers - I honestly do not know what else to say about Rodgers. Unstoppable. No one is even close to him right now. Lets see if he can keep it up in the second half.
2) Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants - You can't spell "Elite" without "Eli". Peyton's younger brother just continues to impress as the weeks go on. With only 1:36 to go in the game against New England, Eli Manning lead his Giants 80 yards down the field to score the game winning touchdown thus defeating the favored Patriots 24-20. The Giants are 6-2 right now and with the way their division rivals are playing, it looks quite favorable down the stretch for G-men. Eli has looked great this season and has his Giants primed to run away with their division. I guess it runs in the family.
3) Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans - After avenging their early season loss to the Buccaneers this past weekend, Drew Brees has his Saints ready to take control of the NFC South. Brees leads the league in passing yards (3004) and is second to Aaron Rodgers with 21 touchdown passes. The only knock against Brees, like I mentioned last week, is that he is second in the league with 11 interceptions thrown. However, if anyone has a legit chance at taking Rodgers off of his thrown, it is Brees.
4) Wes Welker, WR, New England Patriots - Normally when the words "Patriots" and "MVP" are mentioned in the same sentence it is followed by the reference of Mr. Tom "UGG" Brady. Not this time though folks. The only spectacular thing about Tom Brady this season is the fact that he is friends with Wes Welker. Welker has been the top guy in New England this year (from a statistical perspective) and has posted astronomical numbers through the first 8 games of the season and has been absolute gold for all fantasy owners. His 66 catches and 960 yards are tops in the league and his 6 touchdowns are tied for second in the league. Chances are he will not win MVP with the way the gentlemen above are playing but he very well could be the skill-player MVP of the fantasy world.
5) LeSean McCoy, RB, Philadelphia Eagles - McCoy has scored a touchdown in every game so far this season for the Eagles and is absolute dynamite with Michael Vick coming out of that backfield. McCoy has over 1000 total yards already this season to go along with 28 receptions and 11 total touchdowns. Although the Eagles are struggling to contend in the NFC East, LeSean as shown up every game for them and is making a strong case for MVP consideration.
Rankings subject to change with bye weeks yet to be completed.
Could any fantasy team be on more of a roll than our ESPN team? We have now won 5 games in a row and are currently tied for 1st overall in league standings after starting the season off 1-3. Week after week we seem to have two guys come out and put up monstrous numbers for us. This week it was the rookie Julio Jones (3 REC, 164 TOTAL YDS, 2 TDs) and the rolling pin Mike Tolbert (3 REC, 142 TOTAL YDS, 1 TD). And if these performances were not enough, we decided to keep my boy DeMarco Murray (4 REC, 186 TOTAL YDS) on the bench because we simply just did not have enough room in our lineup. Not to sound over confident (I have a history of such), but with the way our team looks and at the rate we are putting up large point totals, I cannot help but think that we will keep on rolling and dominate if we are fortunate enough to make playoffs seeing as how only 4 teams move on to the fantasy postseason.
There is a lot of the same going on in our Yahoo! league in terms of domination for my team. This week I defeated Jared (@JPDClinton) 167.98-138.68 while posting a league-high point total for that week. Maybe you should let your mustache set your lineups next time Jared. I was also able to improve my record to 8-1 and would love nothing more than to continue rolling into the playoffs picking up 'W' after 'W'. Vincent Jackson (7 REC, 141 YDS, 3 TDs) EXPLODED against the Packers this week and returned to the form I anticipated when I chose to keep him at the beginning of the year. Expect him to be a BOOM of the week with numbers like that. Andy Dalton (22 COMP, 217 YDS, 3 TDs) also continued to produce quite nicely as my spot fantasy starting quarterback. The one guy I was the most happy to see perform this week was Wes Welker (9 REC, 155 TOTAL YDS). After a drop in production over the Patriots last 2 games (12 REC, 84 YDS, 1 TD), Welker returned to his usual ways tearing up the Giants defense in a 24-20 loss. That being said, the Giants dominated Brady overall for almost all of the game, It also looks like the puzzle of how to get Brady consistently off of his game has been solved, pressure. The crumbling offensive line of the Patriots is not helping either. But as long as Welker keeps taking those screen and short passes for long distances and touchdowns, all is good in the world of fantasy football.
Jon was also able to pick up an ever-so crucial win against Matt (@deadasmatt) defeating him 114.06-90.02. Jon's point totals were lead by Tony Romo (19 COMP, 279 YDS, 2 TDs) and Atlanta's DST. His pick-up of Chris Ogbonnaya (Yes I had to look up how to spell his last name) did not pan out the way he may have anticipated this week but there are rumors floating around that Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty may both be held out for the rest of the Browns season. Normally you would think that this is great news for Jon seeing as how he owns the default starting running back in Cleveland. Lets not get ahead of ourselves now. Jon is also a Hillis and Hardesty owner. Dayum. He is however managing without the two and is only 2 games back of his division leader. His divisional match-ups will be make or break for his playoff chances and it could come down to his last match-up of the season.
It is now time for the main feature of this blog, the Booms, Bums and Waiver Wire Pickups of the week.
BOOMS:
VINCENT JACKSON (SD-WR): Like I stated earlier, Jackson torched Green Bay's defense in a high scoring game. Jackson faces Oakland this Thursday has all the potential in the world to dominate that Raiders defense. An obvious piece of advice would be to start VJax with confidence this week. If only his quarterback could stop playing like crap...
WILLIS MCGAHEE (DEN-RB): The only reason I am choosing McGahee right here is because I never thought I would this season. This was obviously a breakout game for veteran running back gaining 163 yards on the ground and scoring 2 touchdowns. It is very possible we could see a couple more decent games out of McGahee with Tebow running show in Denver but games like this consistently for the remainder of the season are not very likely. After a game like this McGahee could definitely be a guy that you could trade to someone that needs a running back for an upcoming week. Trade him while he is hot because before you know it he could be standing next to Brady Quinn, on the sidelines.
Honorable Mentions: Aaron Rodgers (GB-QB) (Obviously), Matt Moore (Mia-QB) (Not obviously), Roy Helu (Was-RB) (One-hit wonder, thanks Shanahan)
BUMS:
DEZ BRYANT (DAL-WR): I am going to get right into this. Dez Bryant is the type of guy that could, and probably should, be blowing up the stat sheet almost every week. He has all the potential in the world to dominate on the field and light a fire under a very mediocre Cowboys team. But every week he is only able to muster average numbers. This week he recorded only 4 catches for 76 yards. That is not BAD, but it is not what he should be settling for. I hear it from millions of people all the time that Dez Bryant is this great playmaker and an incredible talent. Sure, he may be physically talented, but when it comes to his focus and results on the field, he is no better than any 4th or 5th string wide receiver in the league. Although Romo is losing games for the Cowboys, he still is putting up big numbers and Bryant has yet to take advantage and make himself a real difference maker for the Cowboys. Example: Miles Austin has played in two-and-half less games than Bryant this season (left last weeks game with hamstring injury) and has been able to record the same stats as Bryant short of 40 receiving yards). I am extremely disappointed with Bryant this year and have no interest of owning him on my team anytime soon. All hype, no results. Things most definitely could change any instance for Dez but not only could he not pull his pants in a mall, he also cannot pull his socks up to produce for the Cowboys.
MATT SCHAUB (HOU-QB): Boy does Dez Bryant make me furious. Anyways, moving along. Matt "Stump the" Schaub is next on the list. Against a very inferior Cleveland Browns team, Schaub put up a stinker completing only 14 passes for 119 yards. Arian Foster was able to dominate the ground game for the Texans but this is inexcusable for a guy that often puts up huge fantasy points for the Texans. It very well could just be a minor stumble for Schaub as he should get back on track this coming weekend against a depleted Tampa Bay defense. Oh wait! Maybe thats why the Bucs brought in Albert Haynesworth, to stop the Houston offense (#sarcasm). Or, maybe to just occupy a large amount of the field come gameday. Either way Schaub and Foster should still be able to dominate.
Honorable Mentions: Michael Vick (Phi-QB), LeGarrette Blount (TB-RB) (He was benched late in game in favor of Kregg Munchkin, I mean Lumpkin), Curtis Painter (Ind-QB) (Not that he was good in the first place, he just sucked something awful this weekend)
WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS:
LAURENT ROBINSON (DAL-WR): Robinson will be a popular pickup this week especially with Miles Austin missing the next 2-4 weeks with his hamstring injury. Robinson helped has helped his cause lately by catching 10 passes for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns in the last 2 weeks. Robinson could be a very good play at the flex spot this weekend against a Bufflao team that does let up big yardage to their opponents despite leading the league in turnovers on defense. I would not be surprised if he ends up having a better game than Dez Bryant, a feat that has not been too difficult this season.
ANTONIO BROWN (PIT-WR): Antonio Brown is quickly putting the fantasy world on watch. With Emanuel Sanders out with a knee injury and Hines Ward regressing faster than the speed of light, Brown has taken full advantage of playing on the same field as the speedster Mike Wallace finding constant holes in coverages and putting up great numbers over the last couple of weeks. In his last 3 games Brown has caught 21 passes for 278 yards and 1 touchdown, exceeding his season totals leading up to week 7 (18 catches, 262 yards, 0 touchdowns in first 6 games of the season). Brown is on fire and can run side by side with Mike Wallace. It looks like Pittsburgh has found their receivers of the future and Brown looks to be one of them. His week 9 match-up against a very good Cincinnati pass defense will be a tough one but I would still roll with him this week. Go grab him if he is available in your league.
Honorable Mentions: Jake Ballard (NYG-TE), Michael Bush (Oak-RB) (Until DMC returns), Steve Breaston (KC-WR)
Is anyone else loving the New York Giants labeled as underdogs to the San Francisco 49ers as much as I am this week? I will most definitely be throwing down on them this weekend, I sense a roll coming on for that team. For fantasy purposes, I expect Matthew Stafford to come up big against a division rival Bears team, Greg Jennings should have a HUGE week against the Minnesota Vikings and my sleeper of the week is in the hands of Ravens tight end Ed Dickson. He needs to have a big game if he wants to stop Dennis Pitta from becoming Baltimore's number one tight end. DO NOT FORGET THERE ARE THURSDAY NIGHT GAMES FROM HERE ON OUT!!! Thanks for stopping by and more importantly than ever...
Don't forget to set your lineups
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Week 8: Fantasy Football In-Review
I would like to start this blog off by addressing all my fellow Colts fans: At least they didn't lose by 55 points this week. Boy, what a rough ride those Colts are giving me. Peyton cannot return any sooner. It really is unfortunate to see how far Reggie Wayne and his fantasy value has fallen. I think it is safe to say things would be much different for Reggie had Peyton be under center for the Colts but this drop off is beyond what I would have ever imagined. I honestly would not be surprised if you either did not see Reggie in a Colts uniform next year or at the least bit back with a much smaller contract than Wayne would normally be accustomed had not for the horrendous season he is currently in the middle of. #SuckforLuck
On a much more positive note, I am pretty sure even on a bye, Aaron Rodgers was able to top everyone in fantasy points scored. In the midst of another quiet fantasy week, certain teams find themselves either making a serious push into the post season, with the others the golf season. Speaking of Aaron Rodgers, The Green Bay Packers come into week 9 undefeated at 7-0 and look to continue their dominating ways against a shockingly inferior opponent in the San Diego Chargers. After the Chargers loss to the Kansas City Chiefs Monday night, I scrolled across a tweet of how bad Philip Rivers' quarterback rating is this year and took it upon myself to look more into this. Here are the names of a few quarterbacks that currently sport a better QB rating than Rivers this year to date: Andy Dalton, Donovan McNabb, Mark Sanchez, Jay Cutler, Jason Campbell, Cam Newton, Matt Hasselback, Tony Romo, Michael Vick, Alex Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Eli Manning. I name these select quarterbacks because at the beginning of the season, had a made the statement that halfway through the season all of these quarterbacks would have a better QB rating than Rivers, you would think I was crazy. I would think I was crazy! There is a lot of speculation that it may be an injury hindering Rivers performance but no one other than Rivers knows the real answer. It has been a tough year for all of Rivers owners (@ZacharyAllard), and I can only imagine how the Charger faithful are coping with how much of a letdown Rivers' season has been. Wait, I can relate to that, unfortunately.
A new section I would like to implement here is something I discussed weekly on Twitter and Facebook amongst all football fans over the last two years throughout the NFL season, and that is the leading canidates for the league MVP in-season. Often my decisions received a lot of criticism and questioning but hey, that is what I wanted intended for all along. It will be tough to argue my number one spot but like I said, all opinions are welcome. Let the talking begin!
1) Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers - Like I said, I find it hard to put anyone else at the top of this list. His performance on the field has been surgical for the Packers and the sole reason why they are currently undefeated. I do not see how Rodgers will not just keep on rolling towards his first ever league MVP leaving his competition in the dust.
2) Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers - What a story this kid has been for the Panthers and the NFL. Although the Panthers are 2-6 and last in the always competitive NFC South, Cam Newton is a legitimate MVP candidate. He has thrown for the 2nd most yards in the league behind only Drew Brees and has accounted for a total of 17 touchdowns. He has also helped inject new life into Steve Smith and without a doubt has the Carolina Panthers trending upwards. Good drafting Dan (@dannysuperstar).
3) Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions - Megatron has destroyed every DB he has faced so far this season scoring 11 league-leading touchdowns along the way, something only Randy Moss has done at this point in the season. Calvin is the toughest wideout to cover in the league and like I stated at the beginning of the season (See WR: http://thesportsrepstalk.blogspot.com/2011/06/sports-reps-fantasy-football-rankings.html), will be the best all-around wide receiver come seasons end.
4) Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans - I was very reluctant to place Drew Brees here. The first reason being because he is tied for second for the most interceptions thrown this season and the second being that aside from the matchup with the Colts, has not really been leading his team to domination as of late. They have already lost once to the Tampa Buccaneers, are coming off a tough loss to the now 1-6 St. Louis Rams and if they lose to the Buccaneers this week, it will be a dog fight for the top spot NFC South. On the other hand, Drew Brees is on pace to smash Dan Marino's passing yards in a season record, I cannot let that statistic go unnoticed.
5) Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants - Eli has his G-men winning. It is that simple. Manning is fortunate enough to be backed by a defense that leads the league in sacks and to his credit he is not turning the ball over like he was last year. Eli has the Giants sporting a 5-2 record and leading the NFC East. A division that at this point is the Giants to take and run away with if they can be consistent a football team for the remainder of the season.
Check back next week for an updated list of in-season MVP candidates. Now onto some fantasy talk.
I am really starting to like this ESPN fantasy because Jon and I just keep on rolling. This past week we picked up our fourth win in a row and are now 5-3 after starting the season 1-3. Ray Rice (7 REC, 99 TOTAL YDS, 3 TDs) lead the way scoring 27 fantasy points and punching in 3 touchdowns, helping us earn a promising 97-69 victory. It also has been a great surprise to have Eli Manning (31 COMP, 349 YDS, 2 TDs) playing the way he has been for us and we need it more than ever this week with Matthew Stafford on the bye. We also are looking for a HUGE game out of Mike Tolbert seeing as how it is looking like he will be the main guy this weekend with Ryan Mathews and Curtis Brinkley potentially both out with injuries.
In our Yahoo! league I was fortunate enough to move to 7-1 while still sitting in the 4th overall spot in our league standings. Although my decision to waste my waiver on Alfonso Smith (1 YD, 1 TKL) and start him over Beanie Wells (83 YDS, 1 TD) in a tough match-up against the Ravens, unaware of the amount of reps Wells was going to receive was a bad one, my other waiver pick-up of the Buffalo DST worked out much better than anticipated. Buffalo's DST picked up 29 fantasy points, a total that played a big part in my 134.42-120.86 victory over Flumpy. Yes, Flumpy. This week it looks like I will be without Darren McFadden (foot) for another week and that is extremely upsetting considering the amount of times in the last 2 years McFadden has torched Denver's defense. I was however able to snatch up Javon Ringer off waivers and really think that that move will pay dividends for me from here on out. Sorry Thomas (@Imtherealdougie), Chris Johnson (YEAR TOTALS: 43.1 RUSH YDS/GAME, 1 TD) is done. The other unfortunate part of this week is the fact that I really wanted Jared (@JPDClinton) to experience Darren McFadden and Calvin Johnson putting up a 30 spot on him this weekend in our match-up. Hey, maybe Plaxico Burress will catch 3 more touchdowns this week to make up for their absence. Here is some advice Jared, don't bet against the Jets again this week. Because if you do, the only comforting fall-back you will have will be that patch of fur above your top lip. That being said, no one and I mean NO ONE, grows a mustache quite like you buddy. (Chris Jericho shout-out anyone?)
Jon, I did my part for your playoff hopes last week, you didn't hold up your end of the virtual bargain. Although I was able to hand Jon's division leader a loss, Jon suffered another crucial loss at the hands of my divisional rival, Tyler (@OvieMyHomie). To Jon's defense, two of his players went down with an injury early in their respective games putting him at a disadvantage early. On the other hand, Tony Romo once again pretty much single-handily screwed him out of another victory. His awful play however is not something I personally would bring concern to. Reason being, that is what you would expect coming from an average quarterback. His trade for Reggie Wayne has also not worked out to well and it might almost be time to start thinking next year. Maybe Adrian Peterson's services will be complimented next year. Future divisional match-ups will be key for Jon's playoff chances.
It is now time for the Booms, Bums and Waiver Wire Pickups of Week 8...
BOOMS:
CAM NEWTON (CAR-QB): I am surprised I have not had Cammy Cam (22 COMP, 290 YDS, 3 TDs) on this list more often this year because he has been much more than deserving. Newton torched the Vikings defense for 3 touchdowns through the air in a 30-27 loss. He did however fumble the ball twice. Honestly though, the way this kid has played this season for a team that was dead last in the league last year, to be even considered an MVP candidate, is an accomplishment in itself. Keep it up Cam.
LESEAN MCCOY (PHI-RB): Boy can this guy run. And cut. And juke. And spin. And catch. And score. And, you get the idea. LeSean McCoy (2 REC, 200 TOTAL YDS, 2 TDs) can do it all and he was more than pleased to show the Cowboys what he is capable of on Sunday Night Football. It seems like McCoy does not get the attention he probably does deserve week-in and week-out. It is probably because he plays for the "Dream Team". *insert sarcastic Vince Young comment here* Nonetheless, you can find all the credit and attention McCoy deserves here because I am most certainly jealous I do not have him on my team. Even though this week he draws the often stingy Chicago Bears defense, I still believe he comes out a fantasy BOOM.
Honorable Mentions: Steven Jackson (STL-RB), Ray Rice (Bal-RB), Eli Manning (NYG-QB)
BUMS:
CHRIS JOHNSON (TEN-RB): Ha, when does it end? When is the embarrassment over? I said last week that if Chris Johnson (3 REC, 51 TOTAL YDS) cannot get the wheels turning against the Colts defense, it is over for him. And I truly believe that that is the case. It is only a matter of time before Javon Ringer takes over as the lead back in Tennessee this year, big contract or not. I have no comment for what will happen in the long term for Chris Johnson but as far as this year goes, halfway through the season there is no other man more worthy of the "Bust-of-the-Year" award than Chris Johnson is. Hey Thomas (@Imtherealdougie), could you imagine if you had kept LeSean McCoy instead of Johnson? Start Javon Ringer this week over Chris Johnson ladies and gentlemen.
WES WELKER (NE-WR): I can only hope that this is temporary and I do believe it is. But for now lets tell it like it is, Welker, as well as the Patriot offense, were dominated for the most part by the Pittsburgh defense. It was not so much Welker not performing, but Pittsburgh and Ike Taylor playing so tough. This week Welker and the Pats take on the NFC East leading New York "Football" Giants. Although this may be another tough match-ups for the Patriots, it is the rest of Patriots schedule that may has Welker owners licking their chops: Week 11 vs. Chiefs, Week 12 at Eagles, Week 13 vs. Colts, Week 14 at Redskins, Week 15 at Broncos, Week 16 vs. Dolphins, Week 17 vs. Bills. Yeah, get excited.
Honorable Mentions: Ryan Torain (Was-RB), Tony Romo (Dal-QB), Dez Bryant (Dal-WR) (This guy is hyped WAY too much)
WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS:
JAVON RINGER (TEN-RB): I may be the only one on this train but it is only starting to get rolling. It is clear as to why I believe Ringer is the guy to grab right now off of the waivers and it is only a matter of time before it begins to really pay off.
MICHAEL BUSH (OAK-RB): It looks as if Darren McFadden (foot) will be unavailable for the Raiders this weekend versus the Broncos. Enter Michael Bush. Where I do not believe you will get the yards and catches out of Bush that you would normally get from McFadden in this juicy Denver match-up, it would not surprise me at all to see 80+ yards and 2 TD's for the tough-running back. It also would not surprise me if Bush outperforms Tim Tebow.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Cassel vs. MIA (KC-QB), Oakland DST vs. DEN, Darrius Heyward-Bey vs. DEN (Oak-WR)
Now, although I have praised the Packers quite a bit this week and spent a significant amount of time pooping all over the San Diego Chragers, I cannot help but sniff an upset in San Diego. Crazier things have happened this year (Thank-you St. Louis Rams). If Beanie Wells can overcome the pain in his knee I like him to tear up that Rams defense. Oakland's DST should also have a big day with Tim Tebow "Tebowing" Denver's offense. My sleeper for this week is Doug Baldwin. I have no idea why I like this guy so much. And although he has had some great success as of late, Ben Roethlisberger is a guy I for sure am staying away from this week against the Baltimore Ravens.
It is only a matter of time before we see mustaches across the world in full grown and full-on greasy. I cannot figure out which one is worse, but I do know which one brings in the most ladies. Don't get any ideas Jared...
---> The Inspired <---
---> The Inspired's Hero <---
Goodluck in Week 9 everybody.
Don't forget to set your lineups
On a much more positive note, I am pretty sure even on a bye, Aaron Rodgers was able to top everyone in fantasy points scored. In the midst of another quiet fantasy week, certain teams find themselves either making a serious push into the post season, with the others the golf season. Speaking of Aaron Rodgers, The Green Bay Packers come into week 9 undefeated at 7-0 and look to continue their dominating ways against a shockingly inferior opponent in the San Diego Chargers. After the Chargers loss to the Kansas City Chiefs Monday night, I scrolled across a tweet of how bad Philip Rivers' quarterback rating is this year and took it upon myself to look more into this. Here are the names of a few quarterbacks that currently sport a better QB rating than Rivers this year to date: Andy Dalton, Donovan McNabb, Mark Sanchez, Jay Cutler, Jason Campbell, Cam Newton, Matt Hasselback, Tony Romo, Michael Vick, Alex Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Eli Manning. I name these select quarterbacks because at the beginning of the season, had a made the statement that halfway through the season all of these quarterbacks would have a better QB rating than Rivers, you would think I was crazy. I would think I was crazy! There is a lot of speculation that it may be an injury hindering Rivers performance but no one other than Rivers knows the real answer. It has been a tough year for all of Rivers owners (@ZacharyAllard), and I can only imagine how the Charger faithful are coping with how much of a letdown Rivers' season has been. Wait, I can relate to that, unfortunately.
A new section I would like to implement here is something I discussed weekly on Twitter and Facebook amongst all football fans over the last two years throughout the NFL season, and that is the leading canidates for the league MVP in-season. Often my decisions received a lot of criticism and questioning but hey, that is what I wanted intended for all along. It will be tough to argue my number one spot but like I said, all opinions are welcome. Let the talking begin!
1) Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers - Like I said, I find it hard to put anyone else at the top of this list. His performance on the field has been surgical for the Packers and the sole reason why they are currently undefeated. I do not see how Rodgers will not just keep on rolling towards his first ever league MVP leaving his competition in the dust.
2) Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers - What a story this kid has been for the Panthers and the NFL. Although the Panthers are 2-6 and last in the always competitive NFC South, Cam Newton is a legitimate MVP candidate. He has thrown for the 2nd most yards in the league behind only Drew Brees and has accounted for a total of 17 touchdowns. He has also helped inject new life into Steve Smith and without a doubt has the Carolina Panthers trending upwards. Good drafting Dan (@dannysuperstar).
3) Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions - Megatron has destroyed every DB he has faced so far this season scoring 11 league-leading touchdowns along the way, something only Randy Moss has done at this point in the season. Calvin is the toughest wideout to cover in the league and like I stated at the beginning of the season (See WR: http://thesportsrepstalk.blogspot.com/2011/06/sports-reps-fantasy-football-rankings.html), will be the best all-around wide receiver come seasons end.
4) Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans - I was very reluctant to place Drew Brees here. The first reason being because he is tied for second for the most interceptions thrown this season and the second being that aside from the matchup with the Colts, has not really been leading his team to domination as of late. They have already lost once to the Tampa Buccaneers, are coming off a tough loss to the now 1-6 St. Louis Rams and if they lose to the Buccaneers this week, it will be a dog fight for the top spot NFC South. On the other hand, Drew Brees is on pace to smash Dan Marino's passing yards in a season record, I cannot let that statistic go unnoticed.
5) Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants - Eli has his G-men winning. It is that simple. Manning is fortunate enough to be backed by a defense that leads the league in sacks and to his credit he is not turning the ball over like he was last year. Eli has the Giants sporting a 5-2 record and leading the NFC East. A division that at this point is the Giants to take and run away with if they can be consistent a football team for the remainder of the season.
Check back next week for an updated list of in-season MVP candidates. Now onto some fantasy talk.
I am really starting to like this ESPN fantasy because Jon and I just keep on rolling. This past week we picked up our fourth win in a row and are now 5-3 after starting the season 1-3. Ray Rice (7 REC, 99 TOTAL YDS, 3 TDs) lead the way scoring 27 fantasy points and punching in 3 touchdowns, helping us earn a promising 97-69 victory. It also has been a great surprise to have Eli Manning (31 COMP, 349 YDS, 2 TDs) playing the way he has been for us and we need it more than ever this week with Matthew Stafford on the bye. We also are looking for a HUGE game out of Mike Tolbert seeing as how it is looking like he will be the main guy this weekend with Ryan Mathews and Curtis Brinkley potentially both out with injuries.
In our Yahoo! league I was fortunate enough to move to 7-1 while still sitting in the 4th overall spot in our league standings. Although my decision to waste my waiver on Alfonso Smith (1 YD, 1 TKL) and start him over Beanie Wells (83 YDS, 1 TD) in a tough match-up against the Ravens, unaware of the amount of reps Wells was going to receive was a bad one, my other waiver pick-up of the Buffalo DST worked out much better than anticipated. Buffalo's DST picked up 29 fantasy points, a total that played a big part in my 134.42-120.86 victory over Flumpy. Yes, Flumpy. This week it looks like I will be without Darren McFadden (foot) for another week and that is extremely upsetting considering the amount of times in the last 2 years McFadden has torched Denver's defense. I was however able to snatch up Javon Ringer off waivers and really think that that move will pay dividends for me from here on out. Sorry Thomas (@Imtherealdougie), Chris Johnson (YEAR TOTALS: 43.1 RUSH YDS/GAME, 1 TD) is done. The other unfortunate part of this week is the fact that I really wanted Jared (@JPDClinton) to experience Darren McFadden and Calvin Johnson putting up a 30 spot on him this weekend in our match-up. Hey, maybe Plaxico Burress will catch 3 more touchdowns this week to make up for their absence. Here is some advice Jared, don't bet against the Jets again this week. Because if you do, the only comforting fall-back you will have will be that patch of fur above your top lip. That being said, no one and I mean NO ONE, grows a mustache quite like you buddy. (Chris Jericho shout-out anyone?)
Jon, I did my part for your playoff hopes last week, you didn't hold up your end of the virtual bargain. Although I was able to hand Jon's division leader a loss, Jon suffered another crucial loss at the hands of my divisional rival, Tyler (@OvieMyHomie). To Jon's defense, two of his players went down with an injury early in their respective games putting him at a disadvantage early. On the other hand, Tony Romo once again pretty much single-handily screwed him out of another victory. His awful play however is not something I personally would bring concern to. Reason being, that is what you would expect coming from an average quarterback. His trade for Reggie Wayne has also not worked out to well and it might almost be time to start thinking next year. Maybe Adrian Peterson's services will be complimented next year. Future divisional match-ups will be key for Jon's playoff chances.
It is now time for the Booms, Bums and Waiver Wire Pickups of Week 8...
BOOMS:
CAM NEWTON (CAR-QB): I am surprised I have not had Cammy Cam (22 COMP, 290 YDS, 3 TDs) on this list more often this year because he has been much more than deserving. Newton torched the Vikings defense for 3 touchdowns through the air in a 30-27 loss. He did however fumble the ball twice. Honestly though, the way this kid has played this season for a team that was dead last in the league last year, to be even considered an MVP candidate, is an accomplishment in itself. Keep it up Cam.
LESEAN MCCOY (PHI-RB): Boy can this guy run. And cut. And juke. And spin. And catch. And score. And, you get the idea. LeSean McCoy (2 REC, 200 TOTAL YDS, 2 TDs) can do it all and he was more than pleased to show the Cowboys what he is capable of on Sunday Night Football. It seems like McCoy does not get the attention he probably does deserve week-in and week-out. It is probably because he plays for the "Dream Team". *insert sarcastic Vince Young comment here* Nonetheless, you can find all the credit and attention McCoy deserves here because I am most certainly jealous I do not have him on my team. Even though this week he draws the often stingy Chicago Bears defense, I still believe he comes out a fantasy BOOM.
Honorable Mentions: Steven Jackson (STL-RB), Ray Rice (Bal-RB), Eli Manning (NYG-QB)
BUMS:
CHRIS JOHNSON (TEN-RB): Ha, when does it end? When is the embarrassment over? I said last week that if Chris Johnson (3 REC, 51 TOTAL YDS) cannot get the wheels turning against the Colts defense, it is over for him. And I truly believe that that is the case. It is only a matter of time before Javon Ringer takes over as the lead back in Tennessee this year, big contract or not. I have no comment for what will happen in the long term for Chris Johnson but as far as this year goes, halfway through the season there is no other man more worthy of the "Bust-of-the-Year" award than Chris Johnson is. Hey Thomas (@Imtherealdougie), could you imagine if you had kept LeSean McCoy instead of Johnson? Start Javon Ringer this week over Chris Johnson ladies and gentlemen.
WES WELKER (NE-WR): I can only hope that this is temporary and I do believe it is. But for now lets tell it like it is, Welker, as well as the Patriot offense, were dominated for the most part by the Pittsburgh defense. It was not so much Welker not performing, but Pittsburgh and Ike Taylor playing so tough. This week Welker and the Pats take on the NFC East leading New York "Football" Giants. Although this may be another tough match-ups for the Patriots, it is the rest of Patriots schedule that may has Welker owners licking their chops: Week 11 vs. Chiefs, Week 12 at Eagles, Week 13 vs. Colts, Week 14 at Redskins, Week 15 at Broncos, Week 16 vs. Dolphins, Week 17 vs. Bills. Yeah, get excited.
Honorable Mentions: Ryan Torain (Was-RB), Tony Romo (Dal-QB), Dez Bryant (Dal-WR) (This guy is hyped WAY too much)
WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS:
JAVON RINGER (TEN-RB): I may be the only one on this train but it is only starting to get rolling. It is clear as to why I believe Ringer is the guy to grab right now off of the waivers and it is only a matter of time before it begins to really pay off.
MICHAEL BUSH (OAK-RB): It looks as if Darren McFadden (foot) will be unavailable for the Raiders this weekend versus the Broncos. Enter Michael Bush. Where I do not believe you will get the yards and catches out of Bush that you would normally get from McFadden in this juicy Denver match-up, it would not surprise me at all to see 80+ yards and 2 TD's for the tough-running back. It also would not surprise me if Bush outperforms Tim Tebow.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Cassel vs. MIA (KC-QB), Oakland DST vs. DEN, Darrius Heyward-Bey vs. DEN (Oak-WR)
Now, although I have praised the Packers quite a bit this week and spent a significant amount of time pooping all over the San Diego Chragers, I cannot help but sniff an upset in San Diego. Crazier things have happened this year (Thank-you St. Louis Rams). If Beanie Wells can overcome the pain in his knee I like him to tear up that Rams defense. Oakland's DST should also have a big day with Tim Tebow "Tebowing" Denver's offense. My sleeper for this week is Doug Baldwin. I have no idea why I like this guy so much. And although he has had some great success as of late, Ben Roethlisberger is a guy I for sure am staying away from this week against the Baltimore Ravens.
It is only a matter of time before we see mustaches across the world in full grown and full-on greasy. I cannot figure out which one is worse, but I do know which one brings in the most ladies. Don't get any ideas Jared...
---> The Inspired <---
---> The Inspired's Hero <---
Goodluck in Week 9 everybody.
Don't forget to set your lineups
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Week 7: Fantasy Footbal In-Review
ALL HAIL DEMARCO MURRAY!!! WE ARE NOT WORTHY!!!
These were my exact thoughts on Sunday as I watched DeMarco Murray's (253 YDS, 1 TD) stats jump off the page in his first career start for the Dallas Cowboys against the once-again pathetic St. Louis Rams. Just to warn you, I am positive, just like last week, there will be much more DeMarco Murray talk throughout this blog. Stay tuned.
Now that we have that beast of a performance out of the way, I could not help but notice that other than an obvious day at the office for Aaron Rodger (24 COMP, 335 YDS, 3 TD's) and Drew Brees (31 COMP, 325, 5 TD's) beating the snot out of the Colts, for the second week in a row, it seemed to be somewhat of a quiet week from the fantasy aspect of the game. This is however comparing to what we were treated to at the beginning of the season. It seems as if the defenses are starting to wake up and find ways to stop quarterbacks from absolutely torching them week-in and week-out. Well, the Colts have decided to abort that strategy but hey, to each is his/her own (#sadColtsfan).
However, there is one man that was able to keep the excitement and debates alive on the weekend. Care to guess who? Yes, you guessed correctly, none other than Tim Tebow (13 COMP, 161 YDS, 2 TD's, 65 RU YDS, 2PT CONV). First and foremost, I am NOT a Tim Tebow fan nor have I ever been or will be. If I was jammed for a quarterback one week in fantasy and he was available, I most definitely would snatch him up hoping for those always wonderful rushing stats and touchdowns from my quarterback. That being said, as a fan of football, I cannot stand Tim Tebow (Just to get things straight, I am not meaning to start a "crap"-storm here, just my thoughts on Tebow as a quarterback and a fantasy asset). This week only solidified my feelings about the Broncos "saviour". Tebow was garbage the whole game against arguably the worst team in the league in the Miami Dolphins. Up until the fourth quarter with 5:23 left in the game, Tim Tebow's stat line read 4-14 passing for 40 yards, 19 rush yards, zero touchdowns, sacked 6 times and Denver as a team lead by Tebow was 0-10 on third down conversions (Thank-you to Yahoo! Sports for these stats). Yes in the end Tebow led the team to two touchdowns and converted a rushing 2-point conversion, but that does not take anything away from his BRUTAL game for the first 55 minutes of the game. And it was not Tebow who kicked and recovered the onside kick for nice field positioning, it was not Tebow who held the Miami offense from scoring in overtime, nor was it Tim Tebow kicking the 52-yard game-winning field goal in overtime. Matt Prater did not get near as much credit as deserved but was overshadowed by Tebows "heroics". Now I am probably sounding extremely irritating like a lot of other Tebow haters here, but from what I saw this weekend, Tim Tebow is nothing more than an average quarterback that can run like a fullback. I am not hating on the guy, I just do not see it in him like others do and will continue to think that way until consistently proven elsewise. This week will be quite the test against what is normally a very tough San Diego defense (Until Plaxico Burress found, or, put holes in their defense). Oh, did I mention beneath all the talk of his "AMAZING" comeback and great late-game play, it was against the Miami Dolphins?
For those Tebow fans, I apologize. Had to get it off my chest. Moving along. In the leagues I am currently participating in there was plenty of victories to go around as witnessed victories in all three leagues. Starting off with our con-joined ESPN league; it was our third win in a row and we won this one with authority. We picked up an 85-49 victory and it was all thanks to the one they call, DeMarco Murray. Murray racked up 31 points was our obvious team-points leader. The next behind him, John Kasay with 15 points. Kasay was a fill in pick-up for the injured Sebastian Janikowski and boy did that one pay off for us. Other than those two it was a pretty ugly week but hey, whatever captures the 'W' right? Side question: When does Reggie Wayne become droppable?
In our Yahoo! league Jon and myself were both able to jump back on the winning train and did in an emphatic way winning our match-up by 32 and 54 points respectively. Once again I recieved an amazing output from DeMarco Murray leading the way for my banged up group of running backs (McFadden-foot, Wells-knee). Plaxico Burress also decided to show up for me this weekend and did it with a BANG catching 4 balls for 25 yards and 3 touchdowns. The win was also a divisional win against Thomas (@Imtherealdougie), giving me the edge later down the road. This week half of my team is either on the bye (Sanchez, Burress, Keller, McFadden, Starks, GB DST) or hurt (McFadden, Wells). I have a couple fill-in guys playing this week but with some very favorable match-ups. Moving my record to 7-1 would put me in a very good position to clinch a playoff spot much sooner than expected. RUN DEMARCO RUN!!!
Jon's playoff hopes on the other hand are in serious jeopardy but the win he picked up in week 7 over Jordan (@jbeckham723) is a positive step towards that goal. Jon received a very solid and balanced amount of points from his team which was inevitably lead by Adrian Peterson's (1 REC, 175 TOTAL YDS, 1 TD) 24 points. With the good there does come some bad and Jon will be without Santana Moss for up to 6 weeks with a broken hand. He did however scoop up Michael Jenkins a couple weeks back for the FA pool and that is a guy I believe will have a very good second half with Christian Ponder at the quarterback position for Minnesota. All Jon needs now is for me to tack on a loss to his brothers record. Yes Jon, I am more than willing to help you out.
Moving on to the Booms, Bums and Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8...
BOOMS:
DEMARCO MURRAY (DAL-RB): 253 rushing yards and 1 touchdown in his first career start, amazing. I had this guy wired last week but I will tell you, I was not expecting this. I did not think the Rams run defense was this bad. Either way, Murray was unstoppable and although I doubt he repeats or even comes close to repeating this performance against the often poor Eagles run defense, it has all the makings in world for another MONSTER of a game this coming weekend.
DREW BREES (NO-QB): I am sure Jared (@JPDClinton) will like this one. In our Yahoo! league Drew Brees put up 52.50 fantasy points and 62 real points against the Colts. Not that you could not of seen this one coming, it is incredibly remarkable nonetheless. The Saints play the Rams this weekend. The Rams have the second-least amount of fantasy points (In Yahoo! leagues) in the league. My advice: keep Drew Brees and any other significant Saint you own active with confidence this week.
Honorable Mentions: Arian Foster (Hou-RB), Matt Forte (Chi-RB), Ben Roethlisberger (Pit-QB)
BUMS:
CHRIS JOHNSON (TEN-RB): This was a guy that more often than not was drafted within the top 5 of most drafts and potentially even taken first overall. Chris Johnson (6 REC, 45 TOTAL YDS) is the definition of a BUM this year. This incredibly awful production has been a re-occurring theme for him all year long and I honestly believe that if he does not tear up the Colts defense this weekend, that is it for him. His value will drop to Ryan Torain level. You can also forget about a 1st or 2nd round pick next year, not even close to being worth that at this point. It is now or never for Chris Johnson. Start looking at Jamie Harper and Javon Ringer for some significant carries down the stretch whether you are a Chris Johnson owner or not.
MILES AUSTIN (DAL-WR): Choosing Miles Austin (2 REC, 16 YDS) for this section is a little unfair considering the game DeMarco Murray had. That being said, Murray's dominance on the ground should have paved way for more than 2 catches and 16 yards for what I believe is an elite wide receiver in this league. I doubt this will continue for Austin and the Cowboys especially now that teams know what Murray is capable of and are essentially forced to stack the box and give Austin the chance to burn single coverages for some big yardage and several touchdowns throughout the remainder of the Cowboys games.
Honorable Mentions: Ray Rice (Bal-RB), Rashard Mendenhall (Pit-RB), Daniel Thomas (Mia-RB) (Should have TORCHED Denver's defense)
WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS:
MICHAEL JENKINS (MIN-WR): As previously mentioned I think Michael Jenkins (3 REC, 111 YDS, 1 TD) can see a significant rise in production with Christian Ponder now throwing him the ball. McNabb's bounce passes were just not doing Jenkins any favors. He has shown in the past that he is capable of being a reliable receiver when he was with Atlanta. I do not want to compare him to Brandon Lloyd of last year but I think you could see somewhat of the same thing out of Jenkins with the Vikings and Ponder.
FRED DAVIS (WAS-TE): I think we could be looking at the next elite tight end in the game in Fred Davis. This week the Redskins placed Chris Cooley on the IR which finally paves way for Fred Davis to get all the targets he can handle. Not only is Santana Moss out for a significant amount of time but Washington's game also took a hit with Tim Hightower going down for the year (Not that that makes any difference to Mike Shanahan). Washington's offense is nothing to write home about but I think Fred Davis can become a serious fantasy asset and a serious keeper pick for those in leagues with more than 2 keepers. Go grab this guy, potential starter status.
Honorable Mentions: Ryan Torain (Was-RB), Roy Helu (Was-RB), Jerome Simpson (Cin-WR)
And this is where the fun ends. Only to start back up on Sunday. I sure do hope Beanie Wells can play this weekend because I think he could be a very sneaky play against Baltimore. Call me crazy but I think Baltimore's performance against the "'Move Like' Jaguars" (@dannysuperstar) puts a serious damper on their confidence. I like Philip Rivers to finally show up this week against fraudulent Kansas City defense, Calvin Johnson should MURDER the Broncos secondary, with or without Matthew Stafford and Stevie Johnson should come off the bye running circles around the Washington defense putting up some very nice numbers. And for all you Chris Johnson owners, if you refuse to sit him, please, for your own sake, trade him before it is too late.
Don't forget to set your lineups
These were my exact thoughts on Sunday as I watched DeMarco Murray's (253 YDS, 1 TD) stats jump off the page in his first career start for the Dallas Cowboys against the once-again pathetic St. Louis Rams. Just to warn you, I am positive, just like last week, there will be much more DeMarco Murray talk throughout this blog. Stay tuned.
Now that we have that beast of a performance out of the way, I could not help but notice that other than an obvious day at the office for Aaron Rodger (24 COMP, 335 YDS, 3 TD's) and Drew Brees (31 COMP, 325, 5 TD's) beating the snot out of the Colts, for the second week in a row, it seemed to be somewhat of a quiet week from the fantasy aspect of the game. This is however comparing to what we were treated to at the beginning of the season. It seems as if the defenses are starting to wake up and find ways to stop quarterbacks from absolutely torching them week-in and week-out. Well, the Colts have decided to abort that strategy but hey, to each is his/her own (#sadColtsfan).
However, there is one man that was able to keep the excitement and debates alive on the weekend. Care to guess who? Yes, you guessed correctly, none other than Tim Tebow (13 COMP, 161 YDS, 2 TD's, 65 RU YDS, 2PT CONV). First and foremost, I am NOT a Tim Tebow fan nor have I ever been or will be. If I was jammed for a quarterback one week in fantasy and he was available, I most definitely would snatch him up hoping for those always wonderful rushing stats and touchdowns from my quarterback. That being said, as a fan of football, I cannot stand Tim Tebow (Just to get things straight, I am not meaning to start a "crap"-storm here, just my thoughts on Tebow as a quarterback and a fantasy asset). This week only solidified my feelings about the Broncos "saviour". Tebow was garbage the whole game against arguably the worst team in the league in the Miami Dolphins. Up until the fourth quarter with 5:23 left in the game, Tim Tebow's stat line read 4-14 passing for 40 yards, 19 rush yards, zero touchdowns, sacked 6 times and Denver as a team lead by Tebow was 0-10 on third down conversions (Thank-you to Yahoo! Sports for these stats). Yes in the end Tebow led the team to two touchdowns and converted a rushing 2-point conversion, but that does not take anything away from his BRUTAL game for the first 55 minutes of the game. And it was not Tebow who kicked and recovered the onside kick for nice field positioning, it was not Tebow who held the Miami offense from scoring in overtime, nor was it Tim Tebow kicking the 52-yard game-winning field goal in overtime. Matt Prater did not get near as much credit as deserved but was overshadowed by Tebows "heroics". Now I am probably sounding extremely irritating like a lot of other Tebow haters here, but from what I saw this weekend, Tim Tebow is nothing more than an average quarterback that can run like a fullback. I am not hating on the guy, I just do not see it in him like others do and will continue to think that way until consistently proven elsewise. This week will be quite the test against what is normally a very tough San Diego defense (Until Plaxico Burress found, or, put holes in their defense). Oh, did I mention beneath all the talk of his "AMAZING" comeback and great late-game play, it was against the Miami Dolphins?
For those Tebow fans, I apologize. Had to get it off my chest. Moving along. In the leagues I am currently participating in there was plenty of victories to go around as witnessed victories in all three leagues. Starting off with our con-joined ESPN league; it was our third win in a row and we won this one with authority. We picked up an 85-49 victory and it was all thanks to the one they call, DeMarco Murray. Murray racked up 31 points was our obvious team-points leader. The next behind him, John Kasay with 15 points. Kasay was a fill in pick-up for the injured Sebastian Janikowski and boy did that one pay off for us. Other than those two it was a pretty ugly week but hey, whatever captures the 'W' right? Side question: When does Reggie Wayne become droppable?
In our Yahoo! league Jon and myself were both able to jump back on the winning train and did in an emphatic way winning our match-up by 32 and 54 points respectively. Once again I recieved an amazing output from DeMarco Murray leading the way for my banged up group of running backs (McFadden-foot, Wells-knee). Plaxico Burress also decided to show up for me this weekend and did it with a BANG catching 4 balls for 25 yards and 3 touchdowns. The win was also a divisional win against Thomas (@Imtherealdougie), giving me the edge later down the road. This week half of my team is either on the bye (Sanchez, Burress, Keller, McFadden, Starks, GB DST) or hurt (McFadden, Wells). I have a couple fill-in guys playing this week but with some very favorable match-ups. Moving my record to 7-1 would put me in a very good position to clinch a playoff spot much sooner than expected. RUN DEMARCO RUN!!!
Jon's playoff hopes on the other hand are in serious jeopardy but the win he picked up in week 7 over Jordan (@jbeckham723) is a positive step towards that goal. Jon received a very solid and balanced amount of points from his team which was inevitably lead by Adrian Peterson's (1 REC, 175 TOTAL YDS, 1 TD) 24 points. With the good there does come some bad and Jon will be without Santana Moss for up to 6 weeks with a broken hand. He did however scoop up Michael Jenkins a couple weeks back for the FA pool and that is a guy I believe will have a very good second half with Christian Ponder at the quarterback position for Minnesota. All Jon needs now is for me to tack on a loss to his brothers record. Yes Jon, I am more than willing to help you out.
Moving on to the Booms, Bums and Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8...
BOOMS:
DEMARCO MURRAY (DAL-RB): 253 rushing yards and 1 touchdown in his first career start, amazing. I had this guy wired last week but I will tell you, I was not expecting this. I did not think the Rams run defense was this bad. Either way, Murray was unstoppable and although I doubt he repeats or even comes close to repeating this performance against the often poor Eagles run defense, it has all the makings in world for another MONSTER of a game this coming weekend.
DREW BREES (NO-QB): I am sure Jared (@JPDClinton) will like this one. In our Yahoo! league Drew Brees put up 52.50 fantasy points and 62 real points against the Colts. Not that you could not of seen this one coming, it is incredibly remarkable nonetheless. The Saints play the Rams this weekend. The Rams have the second-least amount of fantasy points (In Yahoo! leagues) in the league. My advice: keep Drew Brees and any other significant Saint you own active with confidence this week.
Honorable Mentions: Arian Foster (Hou-RB), Matt Forte (Chi-RB), Ben Roethlisberger (Pit-QB)
BUMS:
CHRIS JOHNSON (TEN-RB): This was a guy that more often than not was drafted within the top 5 of most drafts and potentially even taken first overall. Chris Johnson (6 REC, 45 TOTAL YDS) is the definition of a BUM this year. This incredibly awful production has been a re-occurring theme for him all year long and I honestly believe that if he does not tear up the Colts defense this weekend, that is it for him. His value will drop to Ryan Torain level. You can also forget about a 1st or 2nd round pick next year, not even close to being worth that at this point. It is now or never for Chris Johnson. Start looking at Jamie Harper and Javon Ringer for some significant carries down the stretch whether you are a Chris Johnson owner or not.
MILES AUSTIN (DAL-WR): Choosing Miles Austin (2 REC, 16 YDS) for this section is a little unfair considering the game DeMarco Murray had. That being said, Murray's dominance on the ground should have paved way for more than 2 catches and 16 yards for what I believe is an elite wide receiver in this league. I doubt this will continue for Austin and the Cowboys especially now that teams know what Murray is capable of and are essentially forced to stack the box and give Austin the chance to burn single coverages for some big yardage and several touchdowns throughout the remainder of the Cowboys games.
Honorable Mentions: Ray Rice (Bal-RB), Rashard Mendenhall (Pit-RB), Daniel Thomas (Mia-RB) (Should have TORCHED Denver's defense)
WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS:
MICHAEL JENKINS (MIN-WR): As previously mentioned I think Michael Jenkins (3 REC, 111 YDS, 1 TD) can see a significant rise in production with Christian Ponder now throwing him the ball. McNabb's bounce passes were just not doing Jenkins any favors. He has shown in the past that he is capable of being a reliable receiver when he was with Atlanta. I do not want to compare him to Brandon Lloyd of last year but I think you could see somewhat of the same thing out of Jenkins with the Vikings and Ponder.
FRED DAVIS (WAS-TE): I think we could be looking at the next elite tight end in the game in Fred Davis. This week the Redskins placed Chris Cooley on the IR which finally paves way for Fred Davis to get all the targets he can handle. Not only is Santana Moss out for a significant amount of time but Washington's game also took a hit with Tim Hightower going down for the year (Not that that makes any difference to Mike Shanahan). Washington's offense is nothing to write home about but I think Fred Davis can become a serious fantasy asset and a serious keeper pick for those in leagues with more than 2 keepers. Go grab this guy, potential starter status.
Honorable Mentions: Ryan Torain (Was-RB), Roy Helu (Was-RB), Jerome Simpson (Cin-WR)
And this is where the fun ends. Only to start back up on Sunday. I sure do hope Beanie Wells can play this weekend because I think he could be a very sneaky play against Baltimore. Call me crazy but I think Baltimore's performance against the "'Move Like' Jaguars" (@dannysuperstar) puts a serious damper on their confidence. I like Philip Rivers to finally show up this week against fraudulent Kansas City defense, Calvin Johnson should MURDER the Broncos secondary, with or without Matthew Stafford and Stevie Johnson should come off the bye running circles around the Washington defense putting up some very nice numbers. And for all you Chris Johnson owners, if you refuse to sit him, please, for your own sake, trade him before it is too late.
Don't forget to set your lineups
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Week 6: Fantasy Football In-Review
As the 14th century English author Geoffrey Chaucer once said, "All good things must come to an end" (Yes I had to look that up using "The Phrase Finder": http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/5/messages/1379.html). And that phrase, unfortunately, properly applies to the end result of my match-up this past weekend in our Yahoo! fantasy league. Although my players performances were not awful, they did not however stand a chance against my opponent, thus suffering my first loss of the season. More about that later on.
How did everyone else fare this weekend? From my personal point of view it seemed as if there were a lot of first half touchdowns scored on the weekend while the second half was much more quiet. Thus a promising fantasy performance for some may not have turned out too well in the end. The two men however that stood out above the rest and were affected by the "second-half slump", Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers (17 COMP, 310 YDS, 3 TD's) and New York "Football" Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw (2 REC, 130 TOTAL YDS, 3 TD's). These two had MONSTER games and single-handily beat the snot out of my Yahoo! team. Where it is expected out of Rodgers, Bradshaw actually came as a bit of a surprise to me. Bradshaw came into the game only scoring 2 rushing touchdowns on the year and had yet to crack the 90-yard mark on the ground this year. His rise in production could have been attributed to the absence of Brandon Jacobs (knee). Although Jacobs is expected to return after the Giants bye week, I believe Bradshaw's breakout game could lead to some big numbers down the road for the Giants and fantasy owners. This also makes him a fabulous sell-high candidate if you are afraid of Jacbos return and potentially stealing carries from Bradshaw.
Aside from the Packers dominating and the Dolphins and Colts pooping the bed, there were several teams changing the pace in regards to their performance and winning ways. Let us quickly review some of these teams and what they did in week 6...
The Detroit Lions chances of going undefeated on the season came to an end when they were dropped by the San Francisco 49ers. It was an extremely emotional game between the two now 5-1 teams. At the end of the game Lions head coach Jim Schwartz and 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh went to exchange handshakes at midfield and before you know it things exploded between the two coaches. After a UFC match almost broke out between I could not help but wonder, what kind of playoff match-up between the two teams this sets up. **<Cue Joe Buck intro HERE>** The Giants won a nail-biter over the "Cinderella" Buffalo Bills and while moving into first place in the always competitive NFC East in the process. Staying on the East coast, the Philadelphia Eagles picked up a much needed win over the Washington Redskins while intercepting Rex Grossman 4 times along the way amd ultimately knocking Sexy Rexy out of the starting quarterback role in Washington. Lastly but certainly not least, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens were all able to pick up a victory this past Sunday solidifying the AFC North as arguably the toughest division in football. The Steelers seem to be rounding out as the elite team we once thought they were at the beginning of the season. The Ravens are putting their early season domination on the backs of Ray Rice and their stingy defense lead by All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis. And to much surprise the now Carson Palmer-less Cincinnati Bengals led by their rookie ginger quarterback Andy Dalton and impressive pass defense are 4-2 on the season and are showing no signs of missing 85 and 81. Oh how I love the NFL.
Let us shift gears over to the fantasy aspect of the NF where Jon and I were successful for the second week in a row winning a close one 97-94 in our ESPN league. Rashard Mendenhall (146 YDS, 1 TD) FINALLY got off the schneid and paired some solid production along with the ever so consistent back of ours, Ray Rice (5 REC, 161 TOTAL YDS). We also received a very respectable amount of points from the Raiders DST with the Chargers DST on the bye this week. We were able to acquire DeMarco Murray off the waivers and plan on starting him this weekend against the lowly Rams. Look for a heavy workload for Murray as the feature back in Dallas for the next couple of weeks. If he really wants to be considered that "go-to" fantasy back he will have to start catching the ball a bit more, especially for those in PPR leagues. Got to capture that elusive third win in a row.
I personally was also able to pickup Murray in our Yahoo! league. I had been sitting with the number one waiver spot and decided that now was the time to use it. I will also need to see some solid production out of DeMarco if I want to get back into the 'W' column. As previously mentioned I suffered my first loss of the season this weekend at the hands of Tyler (@OvieMyHomie). What made the loss so much more worse was the fact that it was a divisional loss. Week 7 marks the end of the first wave of our league-wide divisional match-ups and I need the victory over Thomas (@Imtherealdougie) more than ever. This week I am without Wes Welker due to the Patriots bye and am looking for Plaxico Burress to step up in his place. Well, how about a touchdown to start Plax? It also looks as if Andre Johnson will be kept out of the Texans game against the Titans for Thomas and makes my match-up a slight bit easier. Your going down Tommy.
Jon suffered an even tougher loss, is now 0-2 in his divisional match-ups and currently sitting at the bottom of his division standings and 11th overall in the league. Did I mention the loss was to his brother who is running away with that division? Jon is in need of a serious boost and is making the hopeful moves to gain one. In last 7 days Jon has acquired Reggie Wayne for Ryan Fitzpatrick and Anquan Boldin and Peyton Hillis (hamstring) for Deion Branch, LaDainian Tomlinson and Mike Thomas. It is going to be tough for him to crawl out of his divisions basement but if anyone is capable of it I know he is.
It is now time for everyone's favorite section, Booms, Bums and Waiver Wire Pickups.
BOOMS:
AHMAD BRADSHAW (NYG-RB): I would LOVE to forget about this man and how touchdown'd me to death this weekend, but how do you look past a 3 touchdown game? Like I have already said, he was a BEAST against the Bills. Just my luck to draw this match-up. Solid performance nonetheless.
AARON RODGERS (GB-QB): Hey look! Another player that beat me this weekend! There did not seem to be too many BIG fantasy outputs on the weekend hence why I am choosing a quarterback for this section. Nothing against Rodgers, it is just that no one else matched up to him. Rodgers was able to gain 310 passing yards and 3 passing TD's with only 17 completions against the Rams. Just another day at the office for Mr. Rodgers, no pun intended.
Honorable Mentions: Josh Freeman (TB-QB) (Bounce back game for Freeman), Michael Turner (Atl-RB), Marques Colston (NO-WR)
BUMS:
ADRIAN PETERSON (MIN-RB): On Sunday night, although he was able to reach the endzone, Adrian Peterson (39 YDS, 1 TD) was only able to gain 39 rush yards against a Chicago defense that has been quite average as of late. I feel sorry for Peterson owners because it seems as if the Vikings are not using him as much as they, well, should be. I do not think that this trend will continue for Peterson but it will interesting to see how the Vikings utilize AD from now on with Christian Ponder now leading the offense.
VERNON DAVIS (SF-TE): I'm sorry, but with San Francisco playing like the NFC contenders they seem to be, Vernon Davis should be front and center in that offense and Alex Smith should be using him in the passing game nonstop. Vernon Davis is one of the most talented and athletic tight ends in the game and this weekend he had 2 catches for 8 yards. That is uncalled for. Just like Peterson, I do not think this will be a consistent line for Davis going forward but Alex Smith needs to start getting his receivers and Davis more involved when the offense is on the field if they want to continue to have success because once defenses find a way to put a complete stop to Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter, hello bad Alex Smith and bad San Francisco 49ers.
Honorable Mentions: Roddy White (Atl-WR), Jermichael Finley (GB-TE), Rex Grossman (Was-QB) (Wow Grossman is BAD #4INT)
WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS:
DEMARCO MURRAY (DAL-RB): I have talked enough of Murray in this blog. The longer Felix is out the more Murray's value increases. Go get this guy if you are short on running backs.
MONTARIO HARDESTY (CLE-RB): So far this season Hardesty has not done much for the Browns even with Peyton Hillis being in and out of the lineup. But it seems at bare minimum Hillis will miss week 7 when the Browns take on the Seahwaks. If so, Hardesty will be in line for a full workload and have a chance to shine. Obviously the Browns are willing to give Hardesty the chance to play and get consistent touches not only with Hillis battling injuries and the Madden Curse, but also because there were rumors prior to the just recently passed trade deadline of Hillis being shopped around. Hardesty is another guy you should go grab, even if it is only for the one week. Also a great handcuff for Peyton Hillis owners.
Honorable Mentions: Jackie Battle (KC-RB), Carson Palmer (Oak-RB) (Complete speculative pickup in my opinion), Demaryius Thomas (Den-WR)
With week 6 in the books and week 7 right around the corner, the NFL only gets better and better with every passing week. Make sure you are keeping aware of the the upcoming Thursday night games and remembering to set your lineups and make any add/drop moves prior to those Thursday night games. This weekend I really like Cam Newton to go H~A~M against the Redskins and Chris Johnson to get back to his "Chris Johnson" ways against the depleted Texans defense. Also if you have the option, sit Matt Ryan against an angry Detroit team and defense, Ryan may be in trouble this weekend. My sleeper of the week is Seahwaks WR Sidney Rice (at this point Rice CAN be considered a sleeper). Good luck in week 7 everybody!
Don't forget to set your lineups
How did everyone else fare this weekend? From my personal point of view it seemed as if there were a lot of first half touchdowns scored on the weekend while the second half was much more quiet. Thus a promising fantasy performance for some may not have turned out too well in the end. The two men however that stood out above the rest and were affected by the "second-half slump", Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers (17 COMP, 310 YDS, 3 TD's) and New York "Football" Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw (2 REC, 130 TOTAL YDS, 3 TD's). These two had MONSTER games and single-handily beat the snot out of my Yahoo! team. Where it is expected out of Rodgers, Bradshaw actually came as a bit of a surprise to me. Bradshaw came into the game only scoring 2 rushing touchdowns on the year and had yet to crack the 90-yard mark on the ground this year. His rise in production could have been attributed to the absence of Brandon Jacobs (knee). Although Jacobs is expected to return after the Giants bye week, I believe Bradshaw's breakout game could lead to some big numbers down the road for the Giants and fantasy owners. This also makes him a fabulous sell-high candidate if you are afraid of Jacbos return and potentially stealing carries from Bradshaw.
Aside from the Packers dominating and the Dolphins and Colts pooping the bed, there were several teams changing the pace in regards to their performance and winning ways. Let us quickly review some of these teams and what they did in week 6...
The Detroit Lions chances of going undefeated on the season came to an end when they were dropped by the San Francisco 49ers. It was an extremely emotional game between the two now 5-1 teams. At the end of the game Lions head coach Jim Schwartz and 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh went to exchange handshakes at midfield and before you know it things exploded between the two coaches. After a UFC match almost broke out between I could not help but wonder, what kind of playoff match-up between the two teams this sets up. **<Cue Joe Buck intro HERE>** The Giants won a nail-biter over the "Cinderella" Buffalo Bills and while moving into first place in the always competitive NFC East in the process. Staying on the East coast, the Philadelphia Eagles picked up a much needed win over the Washington Redskins while intercepting Rex Grossman 4 times along the way amd ultimately knocking Sexy Rexy out of the starting quarterback role in Washington. Lastly but certainly not least, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens were all able to pick up a victory this past Sunday solidifying the AFC North as arguably the toughest division in football. The Steelers seem to be rounding out as the elite team we once thought they were at the beginning of the season. The Ravens are putting their early season domination on the backs of Ray Rice and their stingy defense lead by All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis. And to much surprise the now Carson Palmer-less Cincinnati Bengals led by their rookie ginger quarterback Andy Dalton and impressive pass defense are 4-2 on the season and are showing no signs of missing 85 and 81. Oh how I love the NFL.
Let us shift gears over to the fantasy aspect of the NF where Jon and I were successful for the second week in a row winning a close one 97-94 in our ESPN league. Rashard Mendenhall (146 YDS, 1 TD) FINALLY got off the schneid and paired some solid production along with the ever so consistent back of ours, Ray Rice (5 REC, 161 TOTAL YDS). We also received a very respectable amount of points from the Raiders DST with the Chargers DST on the bye this week. We were able to acquire DeMarco Murray off the waivers and plan on starting him this weekend against the lowly Rams. Look for a heavy workload for Murray as the feature back in Dallas for the next couple of weeks. If he really wants to be considered that "go-to" fantasy back he will have to start catching the ball a bit more, especially for those in PPR leagues. Got to capture that elusive third win in a row.
I personally was also able to pickup Murray in our Yahoo! league. I had been sitting with the number one waiver spot and decided that now was the time to use it. I will also need to see some solid production out of DeMarco if I want to get back into the 'W' column. As previously mentioned I suffered my first loss of the season this weekend at the hands of Tyler (@OvieMyHomie). What made the loss so much more worse was the fact that it was a divisional loss. Week 7 marks the end of the first wave of our league-wide divisional match-ups and I need the victory over Thomas (@Imtherealdougie) more than ever. This week I am without Wes Welker due to the Patriots bye and am looking for Plaxico Burress to step up in his place. Well, how about a touchdown to start Plax? It also looks as if Andre Johnson will be kept out of the Texans game against the Titans for Thomas and makes my match-up a slight bit easier. Your going down Tommy.
Jon suffered an even tougher loss, is now 0-2 in his divisional match-ups and currently sitting at the bottom of his division standings and 11th overall in the league. Did I mention the loss was to his brother who is running away with that division? Jon is in need of a serious boost and is making the hopeful moves to gain one. In last 7 days Jon has acquired Reggie Wayne for Ryan Fitzpatrick and Anquan Boldin and Peyton Hillis (hamstring) for Deion Branch, LaDainian Tomlinson and Mike Thomas. It is going to be tough for him to crawl out of his divisions basement but if anyone is capable of it I know he is.
It is now time for everyone's favorite section, Booms, Bums and Waiver Wire Pickups.
BOOMS:
AHMAD BRADSHAW (NYG-RB): I would LOVE to forget about this man and how touchdown'd me to death this weekend, but how do you look past a 3 touchdown game? Like I have already said, he was a BEAST against the Bills. Just my luck to draw this match-up. Solid performance nonetheless.
AARON RODGERS (GB-QB): Hey look! Another player that beat me this weekend! There did not seem to be too many BIG fantasy outputs on the weekend hence why I am choosing a quarterback for this section. Nothing against Rodgers, it is just that no one else matched up to him. Rodgers was able to gain 310 passing yards and 3 passing TD's with only 17 completions against the Rams. Just another day at the office for Mr. Rodgers, no pun intended.
Honorable Mentions: Josh Freeman (TB-QB) (Bounce back game for Freeman), Michael Turner (Atl-RB), Marques Colston (NO-WR)
BUMS:
ADRIAN PETERSON (MIN-RB): On Sunday night, although he was able to reach the endzone, Adrian Peterson (39 YDS, 1 TD) was only able to gain 39 rush yards against a Chicago defense that has been quite average as of late. I feel sorry for Peterson owners because it seems as if the Vikings are not using him as much as they, well, should be. I do not think that this trend will continue for Peterson but it will interesting to see how the Vikings utilize AD from now on with Christian Ponder now leading the offense.
VERNON DAVIS (SF-TE): I'm sorry, but with San Francisco playing like the NFC contenders they seem to be, Vernon Davis should be front and center in that offense and Alex Smith should be using him in the passing game nonstop. Vernon Davis is one of the most talented and athletic tight ends in the game and this weekend he had 2 catches for 8 yards. That is uncalled for. Just like Peterson, I do not think this will be a consistent line for Davis going forward but Alex Smith needs to start getting his receivers and Davis more involved when the offense is on the field if they want to continue to have success because once defenses find a way to put a complete stop to Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter, hello bad Alex Smith and bad San Francisco 49ers.
Honorable Mentions: Roddy White (Atl-WR), Jermichael Finley (GB-TE), Rex Grossman (Was-QB) (Wow Grossman is BAD #4INT)
WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS:
DEMARCO MURRAY (DAL-RB): I have talked enough of Murray in this blog. The longer Felix is out the more Murray's value increases. Go get this guy if you are short on running backs.
MONTARIO HARDESTY (CLE-RB): So far this season Hardesty has not done much for the Browns even with Peyton Hillis being in and out of the lineup. But it seems at bare minimum Hillis will miss week 7 when the Browns take on the Seahwaks. If so, Hardesty will be in line for a full workload and have a chance to shine. Obviously the Browns are willing to give Hardesty the chance to play and get consistent touches not only with Hillis battling injuries and the Madden Curse, but also because there were rumors prior to the just recently passed trade deadline of Hillis being shopped around. Hardesty is another guy you should go grab, even if it is only for the one week. Also a great handcuff for Peyton Hillis owners.
Honorable Mentions: Jackie Battle (KC-RB), Carson Palmer (Oak-RB) (Complete speculative pickup in my opinion), Demaryius Thomas (Den-WR)
With week 6 in the books and week 7 right around the corner, the NFL only gets better and better with every passing week. Make sure you are keeping aware of the the upcoming Thursday night games and remembering to set your lineups and make any add/drop moves prior to those Thursday night games. This weekend I really like Cam Newton to go H~A~M against the Redskins and Chris Johnson to get back to his "Chris Johnson" ways against the depleted Texans defense. Also if you have the option, sit Matt Ryan against an angry Detroit team and defense, Ryan may be in trouble this weekend. My sleeper of the week is Seahwaks WR Sidney Rice (at this point Rice CAN be considered a sleeper). Good luck in week 7 everybody!
Don't forget to set your lineups
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Week 5: Fantasy Football In-Review
Happy Week 5 everybody! Before I jump into anything, I would like to offer the chance to my readers to get their name and questions into next weeks Fantasy Football In-Review blog. If you have any questions about pickups, starts, sits or matchups for the following week (it would be week 7), send them to be either by Twitter (@DBraemer), Facebook or to my email (colts10@hotmail.com). Just like Jon and I do on the podcasts I will include you and your questions on the blog. Now that I have got that out of the way...
The season is starting to get on a role and teams not only in the National Football League but Fantasy Football Leagues around the world are separating themselves from the pack and solidifying themselves as serious contenders at the top of the standings. As all you anxious readers of this blog know, I was unable to get a piece on here for Week 4. I have been under the weather for the past week and it simply will NOT GO AWAY. However, there is no excuse to be absent any longer and I am determined to keep this show running.
Week 5 was quite the week for myself. I won my first proline of the season (Big shout-outs to the Bills, Raiders, Packers and Lions), I pulled out another come from behind victory on Monday night over a division rival in Zach (@ZacharyAllard) in our league all thanks to Megatron and am 5-0 to start the season sitting atop our league standings, and the Colts are one week closer to acquiring Andrew Luck in next years draft. Like I said, it was a good weekend. All those stunning headlines aside, one tops them all, and that is the Oakland Raiders putting up a 'W' in Houston for their late owner, Al Davis. Davis passed away on Saturday at the age of 82. I am obviously not old enough to truly understand first-hand Davis' accomplishments, antics or the much deeper things he did for the NFL, but from what I have heard, read and have been told, the man was great for the game, love him or hate him. He was a rebel, just like the label his team is often given. He was famous for controversial decisions, for example: In the 2000 NFL Draft, under Al Davis' command, the Oakland Raiders selected placekicker Sebastian Janikowski 17th overall, making him the only kicker to ever be taken in the first round. At the time, yes, it seems crazy. However, this past weekend, Janikowski went 4-4 on his field goal attempts and 3 of those 4 converted were 50-plus yards. The man has a cannon for a leg. Not to say that Davis envisioned this 10 years ago, but obviously he saw something inside that crazy, old, experienced and intelligent mind of his. The Raiders did go on this weekend to beat the Houston Texans and do like their owner once and always said (you know where this one is going), Just Win Baby.
Lets now shift gears from the Raiders winning to the Lions moving closer to an undefeated season! I cannot believe I just said that. It is true though, the Detroit Lions are 5-0 for the first time since 1956 and are doing it in style. The Lions are arguably the biggest surprise of the season (we cannot forget about the Buffalo Bills) and are showing no signs of slowing down. Matthew Stafford looks healthier than ever and is playing the quarterback position at a pro-bowl level. Calvin Johnson is on pace to SMASH Randy Moss' receiving touchdowns in a season record already pulling down 9 in the first 5 games of the season. And let us not forget about the Lions defense. They are playing at an elite level and are led by the front four of Suh, Vanden Boesch, Williams and Avril. The return of their first round draft choice Nick Fairley will only improve the solidity of that line. Their pass defense has been questionable at times but as a whole the defense is getting to the quarterback, forcing turnovers and putting a seal on games late when it matters most. This team is full of young players on their way to stardom and have the experienced players where needed. I believe it is safe to say that the Detroit Lions are serious Super Bowl contenders this year if they can continue to play the way the have been going forward into the season.
Moving on the the meat and potatoes of this blog, fantasy football. After a rough start in our ESPN league, Jon and I were able to pick up a much needed win this weekend. Now, normally in fantasy football you tend to rely on your playmakers week-in and week-out. Whether it be your star quarterback, your endzone hunting running back, or your ball-hawking wide receivers. This week, Dwayne Bowe (7 REC, 128 YDS, 2 TD's) aside, we relied on the leg of the aforementioned Sebastian Janikowski. In our league his 4 field-goals (54, 55, 50, 42) and 2 extra points were worth an obvious season high 20 points. He single-handily... or LEGily led us to victory this weekend. Next week we are without the likes of Dwayne Bowe, Mike Tolbert and the Chargers DST. But as far as I'm concerned, as long as we got Janikowski, the championship is ours.
It should also be noted that in our Yahoo! league certain players were able to make an equal impact as they did in our ESPN league. As I am watching the Raiders-Texans game on Sunday, admiring these BOMBS of kicks Janikowski is making I shoot Jon a text saying how MONEY he is for us right now and could not help but wonder who has him in our Yahoo! league. Jon's response: "The guy you are facing". FML. Mr. Zachary Allard. My division rival. Not only did he have Sea Bass, but Pierre Garcon (5 REC, 125 YDS, 2 TD's) as well in his flex spot. Once the Packer game was over I went into Monday night down 19+ points to Zach. He still had Brian Urlacher (2 STKL, 1 ATKL) whereas I was still sitting on Jason Hanson (7 PTS) and Calvin Johnson (5 REC, 130 YDS, 1 TD). As previously mentioned I was able to capture my fifth win of the season and remain undefeated. I love me some Megatron. Next week I take on my "arch-nemesis" and divisional rival in Tyler who also sports a very nice 4-1 record and dominating victories over the last 3 weeks. I am without a banged up V-Jax and Beanie Wells in Week 6, nothing my team cannot overcome. Bring it on 6-0.
Jon on the other hand suffered a defeat that looked to be quite painful. Not only was it to Dan (@dannysuperstar) who was able to pick up his first win of the season, but it also came on the heels of an amazing performance by Jon's first-round keeper, Adrian Peterson (122 RUYDS, 3 TD's). Not to mention it was also a divisional match-up. That being said, there still is 5 more divisional match-ups throughout the regular season and still a small amount of time to make-up that ground in a VERY weak division (combined W-L record, 6-14). Flumpy is the only person standing in your way Jon. Hammer on your keyboard next time you go to set your lineup, you never know what could happen.
Time to get into the Booms, Bums and Waiver Wire Pickups of the week.
BOOMS:
BEN ROETHLISBERGER (PIT-QB): Normally I avoid choosing quarterbacks for this section but it is hard to avoid Jared's (@JPDClinton) favourite quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (24 COMP, 228 YDS, 5 TD's) for several reasons. One being that he threw 5 touchdown passes and the other that he was playing on a bum ankle. I know Roethlisberger has a record of making injuries seem bigger than they are so he can play the hero role, but this one was hard to argue against considering the news and information we did have leading into the game. And probably for the first time this season, the offensive line was able to keep him off the turf for the majority of the game.
ADRIAN PETERSON (MIN-RB): Like I had already stated, Peterson had an incredible game scoring 3 touchdowns all coming in the first quarter leading the Vikings to their first win of the season over the Arizona Cardinals. It was a little unfortunate to not see Peterson hit pay-dirt again in the remaining 3 quarters but regardless of the final stat line, I would take a 3 touchdown game from any of my players any day, ALL DAY.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Cassel (KC-QB), Dwayne Bowe (KC-WR), Doug Baldwin (Sea-WR) (Needs a consistent quarterback)
BUMS:
DARREN MCFADDEN (OAK-RB): Although the Raiders were able to pick up an emotional win in Houston this past Sunday, until second half where he picked up 40 yards, Darren McFadden (2 REC, 68 TOTAL YDS) was nowhere to be found against a Houston defense that he had all the potential to run wild on. As a McFadden owner this output was extremely discouraging but nothing you should be putting a warning sign up for. Michael Bush (9 YDS) was also extremely ineffective so we could chalk this one up to a good showing on the ground by the Houston defense.
JOSEPH ADDAI (IND-RB): Not to imply that Joseph Addai (1 REC, 25 TOTAL YDS) should or normally does put up eye-popping numbers, but the Kansas City defense is futile this year and Addai should have put up much better numbers than he was able to manage on Sunday. He aggravated his hamstring in the game so this opens the door for Delone Carter (2 REC, 34 TOTAL YDS, 1 TD) to carve his way into some consistent reps out of the Colt backfield. Addai may be safe once Peyton comes back but performances like this do not help his cause with the team or fantasy owners.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Ryan (Atl-QB), Josh Freeman (TB-QB), Brandon Lloyd (Den-WR) (1 REC, 20 YDs... Welcome to the Tim Tebow era Bronco fans)
WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS:
DOUG BALDWIN (SEA-WR): I know it is hard to justify a Seahawk wideout as a pickup in fantasy football but I truly think that if Seattle can find consistency at the quarterback position and Baldwin is able to find chemistry with that quarterback, he could end up having a big year considering what he is valued at now and was at the beginning of the season, next to nothing. This is the third game this year he has had if not a big game but a very respectable one and should be on everyone's watchlist going forward especially if Charlie Whitehurst ends up becoming Seattle's long-term quarterback.
MALCOLM FLOYD (SD-WR): Can comeone please explain to me why this man is only owned in 57% of Yahoo! leagues?! I understand he only has 1 touchdown this season and Philip Rivers is struggling somewhat, but once this San Diego offense starts going full-speed, Malcolm Floyd (3 REC, 100 YDS, 1 TD) will become the forgotten man by defenses across the league and is bound to have monster numbers every week he takes the field. This past week playing opposite a banged up Vincent Jackson (3 REC, 34 YDS), Floyd provided solid stats for a guy that is probably a WR3 on most fantasy teams. Go grab this guy if he is available in your league.
Honorable Mentions: Curtis Painter (Ind-QB), James Jones (GB-WR), Jackie Battle (KC-RB)
That wraps up this weeks in-review, be sure to send me your fantasy football questions to either Twitter (@DBraemer), Facebook or my email (colts10@hotmail.com) and I will answer them in next weeks blog. YES there will be one next week. This weekend I am loving Aaron Rodgers against the St. Louis defense (who isn't?), a bounce back from Darren McFadden against the Browns, BJGE against the Cowboys HORRENDOUS run defense and Brandon LaFell as a sleeper pick against the Falcons. As always you can find us (@TheSportsReps) or myself on Twitter, Facebook, iTunes or as always here on our website. Good luck in week 6 and especially because of the bye weeks...
Don't forget to set your lineups
The season is starting to get on a role and teams not only in the National Football League but Fantasy Football Leagues around the world are separating themselves from the pack and solidifying themselves as serious contenders at the top of the standings. As all you anxious readers of this blog know, I was unable to get a piece on here for Week 4. I have been under the weather for the past week and it simply will NOT GO AWAY. However, there is no excuse to be absent any longer and I am determined to keep this show running.
Week 5 was quite the week for myself. I won my first proline of the season (Big shout-outs to the Bills, Raiders, Packers and Lions), I pulled out another come from behind victory on Monday night over a division rival in Zach (@ZacharyAllard) in our league all thanks to Megatron and am 5-0 to start the season sitting atop our league standings, and the Colts are one week closer to acquiring Andrew Luck in next years draft. Like I said, it was a good weekend. All those stunning headlines aside, one tops them all, and that is the Oakland Raiders putting up a 'W' in Houston for their late owner, Al Davis. Davis passed away on Saturday at the age of 82. I am obviously not old enough to truly understand first-hand Davis' accomplishments, antics or the much deeper things he did for the NFL, but from what I have heard, read and have been told, the man was great for the game, love him or hate him. He was a rebel, just like the label his team is often given. He was famous for controversial decisions, for example: In the 2000 NFL Draft, under Al Davis' command, the Oakland Raiders selected placekicker Sebastian Janikowski 17th overall, making him the only kicker to ever be taken in the first round. At the time, yes, it seems crazy. However, this past weekend, Janikowski went 4-4 on his field goal attempts and 3 of those 4 converted were 50-plus yards. The man has a cannon for a leg. Not to say that Davis envisioned this 10 years ago, but obviously he saw something inside that crazy, old, experienced and intelligent mind of his. The Raiders did go on this weekend to beat the Houston Texans and do like their owner once and always said (you know where this one is going), Just Win Baby.
Lets now shift gears from the Raiders winning to the Lions moving closer to an undefeated season! I cannot believe I just said that. It is true though, the Detroit Lions are 5-0 for the first time since 1956 and are doing it in style. The Lions are arguably the biggest surprise of the season (we cannot forget about the Buffalo Bills) and are showing no signs of slowing down. Matthew Stafford looks healthier than ever and is playing the quarterback position at a pro-bowl level. Calvin Johnson is on pace to SMASH Randy Moss' receiving touchdowns in a season record already pulling down 9 in the first 5 games of the season. And let us not forget about the Lions defense. They are playing at an elite level and are led by the front four of Suh, Vanden Boesch, Williams and Avril. The return of their first round draft choice Nick Fairley will only improve the solidity of that line. Their pass defense has been questionable at times but as a whole the defense is getting to the quarterback, forcing turnovers and putting a seal on games late when it matters most. This team is full of young players on their way to stardom and have the experienced players where needed. I believe it is safe to say that the Detroit Lions are serious Super Bowl contenders this year if they can continue to play the way the have been going forward into the season.
Moving on the the meat and potatoes of this blog, fantasy football. After a rough start in our ESPN league, Jon and I were able to pick up a much needed win this weekend. Now, normally in fantasy football you tend to rely on your playmakers week-in and week-out. Whether it be your star quarterback, your endzone hunting running back, or your ball-hawking wide receivers. This week, Dwayne Bowe (7 REC, 128 YDS, 2 TD's) aside, we relied on the leg of the aforementioned Sebastian Janikowski. In our league his 4 field-goals (54, 55, 50, 42) and 2 extra points were worth an obvious season high 20 points. He single-handily... or LEGily led us to victory this weekend. Next week we are without the likes of Dwayne Bowe, Mike Tolbert and the Chargers DST. But as far as I'm concerned, as long as we got Janikowski, the championship is ours.
It should also be noted that in our Yahoo! league certain players were able to make an equal impact as they did in our ESPN league. As I am watching the Raiders-Texans game on Sunday, admiring these BOMBS of kicks Janikowski is making I shoot Jon a text saying how MONEY he is for us right now and could not help but wonder who has him in our Yahoo! league. Jon's response: "The guy you are facing". FML. Mr. Zachary Allard. My division rival. Not only did he have Sea Bass, but Pierre Garcon (5 REC, 125 YDS, 2 TD's) as well in his flex spot. Once the Packer game was over I went into Monday night down 19+ points to Zach. He still had Brian Urlacher (2 STKL, 1 ATKL) whereas I was still sitting on Jason Hanson (7 PTS) and Calvin Johnson (5 REC, 130 YDS, 1 TD). As previously mentioned I was able to capture my fifth win of the season and remain undefeated. I love me some Megatron. Next week I take on my "arch-nemesis" and divisional rival in Tyler who also sports a very nice 4-1 record and dominating victories over the last 3 weeks. I am without a banged up V-Jax and Beanie Wells in Week 6, nothing my team cannot overcome. Bring it on 6-0.
Jon on the other hand suffered a defeat that looked to be quite painful. Not only was it to Dan (@dannysuperstar) who was able to pick up his first win of the season, but it also came on the heels of an amazing performance by Jon's first-round keeper, Adrian Peterson (122 RUYDS, 3 TD's). Not to mention it was also a divisional match-up. That being said, there still is 5 more divisional match-ups throughout the regular season and still a small amount of time to make-up that ground in a VERY weak division (combined W-L record, 6-14). Flumpy is the only person standing in your way Jon. Hammer on your keyboard next time you go to set your lineup, you never know what could happen.
Time to get into the Booms, Bums and Waiver Wire Pickups of the week.
BOOMS:
BEN ROETHLISBERGER (PIT-QB): Normally I avoid choosing quarterbacks for this section but it is hard to avoid Jared's (@JPDClinton) favourite quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (24 COMP, 228 YDS, 5 TD's) for several reasons. One being that he threw 5 touchdown passes and the other that he was playing on a bum ankle. I know Roethlisberger has a record of making injuries seem bigger than they are so he can play the hero role, but this one was hard to argue against considering the news and information we did have leading into the game. And probably for the first time this season, the offensive line was able to keep him off the turf for the majority of the game.
ADRIAN PETERSON (MIN-RB): Like I had already stated, Peterson had an incredible game scoring 3 touchdowns all coming in the first quarter leading the Vikings to their first win of the season over the Arizona Cardinals. It was a little unfortunate to not see Peterson hit pay-dirt again in the remaining 3 quarters but regardless of the final stat line, I would take a 3 touchdown game from any of my players any day, ALL DAY.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Cassel (KC-QB), Dwayne Bowe (KC-WR), Doug Baldwin (Sea-WR) (Needs a consistent quarterback)
BUMS:
DARREN MCFADDEN (OAK-RB): Although the Raiders were able to pick up an emotional win in Houston this past Sunday, until second half where he picked up 40 yards, Darren McFadden (2 REC, 68 TOTAL YDS) was nowhere to be found against a Houston defense that he had all the potential to run wild on. As a McFadden owner this output was extremely discouraging but nothing you should be putting a warning sign up for. Michael Bush (9 YDS) was also extremely ineffective so we could chalk this one up to a good showing on the ground by the Houston defense.
JOSEPH ADDAI (IND-RB): Not to imply that Joseph Addai (1 REC, 25 TOTAL YDS) should or normally does put up eye-popping numbers, but the Kansas City defense is futile this year and Addai should have put up much better numbers than he was able to manage on Sunday. He aggravated his hamstring in the game so this opens the door for Delone Carter (2 REC, 34 TOTAL YDS, 1 TD) to carve his way into some consistent reps out of the Colt backfield. Addai may be safe once Peyton comes back but performances like this do not help his cause with the team or fantasy owners.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Ryan (Atl-QB), Josh Freeman (TB-QB), Brandon Lloyd (Den-WR) (1 REC, 20 YDs... Welcome to the Tim Tebow era Bronco fans)
WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS:
DOUG BALDWIN (SEA-WR): I know it is hard to justify a Seahawk wideout as a pickup in fantasy football but I truly think that if Seattle can find consistency at the quarterback position and Baldwin is able to find chemistry with that quarterback, he could end up having a big year considering what he is valued at now and was at the beginning of the season, next to nothing. This is the third game this year he has had if not a big game but a very respectable one and should be on everyone's watchlist going forward especially if Charlie Whitehurst ends up becoming Seattle's long-term quarterback.
MALCOLM FLOYD (SD-WR): Can comeone please explain to me why this man is only owned in 57% of Yahoo! leagues?! I understand he only has 1 touchdown this season and Philip Rivers is struggling somewhat, but once this San Diego offense starts going full-speed, Malcolm Floyd (3 REC, 100 YDS, 1 TD) will become the forgotten man by defenses across the league and is bound to have monster numbers every week he takes the field. This past week playing opposite a banged up Vincent Jackson (3 REC, 34 YDS), Floyd provided solid stats for a guy that is probably a WR3 on most fantasy teams. Go grab this guy if he is available in your league.
Honorable Mentions: Curtis Painter (Ind-QB), James Jones (GB-WR), Jackie Battle (KC-RB)
That wraps up this weeks in-review, be sure to send me your fantasy football questions to either Twitter (@DBraemer), Facebook or my email (colts10@hotmail.com) and I will answer them in next weeks blog. YES there will be one next week. This weekend I am loving Aaron Rodgers against the St. Louis defense (who isn't?), a bounce back from Darren McFadden against the Browns, BJGE against the Cowboys HORRENDOUS run defense and Brandon LaFell as a sleeper pick against the Falcons. As always you can find us (@TheSportsReps) or myself on Twitter, Facebook, iTunes or as always here on our website. Good luck in week 6 and especially because of the bye weeks...
Don't forget to set your lineups
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Week 3: Fantasy Football In-Review
More often than not the most common catch-phrase in the NFL is "Defense wins championships". I believe even by week 3 it is safe to say that it will be the offense taking center stage for whichever team takes home the Lombardi trophy this winter. Points and touchdowns are being scored at a record pace around the whole league (except for Kansas City, sorry Jamaal Charles owners) as the NFL turns a new leaf in solidifying itself as a passing league. And anyone that has a problem with that, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers would like to have a word with you. Now let us move on to the games this past weekend and what we learned in week number 3.
If I were to have told you at the beginning of July, lockout or not, that the Bills of Buffalo and the Detroit Lions would head into week 4 both 3-0, have scored a combined 214 points, orchestrated a total of 3 combined come-from-behind victories and a win over the New England Patriots, chances are you would have thought I took an illegal hit to the head courtesy of Dunta Robinson. But you would soon find out that my predictions were actually reality. Although I had a lot of optimism for both of these teams coming into this season, I never in my wildest imagination could have predicted this. Matthew Stafford has hooked up with Calvin Johnson for 6 touchdowns so far and the Lions as a team have already scored 101 points. Aside from his week one scare of cramps, Matthew Stafford has stayed healthy and as long as that constant, it appears the Lions will continue to roar. Look out Dallas DB's.
As for the Buffalo Bills, wow. Last week I said that I think by the last quarter of the season, at the latest, Ryan Fitzpatrick would become a legit starting fantasy quarterback. It seems as if that chapter has already begun. Fitzpatrick is leading the charge in Buffalo and more recently and importantly, a win over the New England Brady Bunch on Sunday. Leading up to the game the majority of people were giving Buffalo a serious chance in the game but not in the style the Bills ended up winning the divisional match-up. Although Brady threw for 387 yards, 2 touchdowns including 16 receptions and 217 yards to his buddy Wes Welker, who ran circles around the Bills secondary, as the game went on the Bills proved they no more are pushovers to anyone including the Patriots. The Bills defense intercepted Tom Brady 4 times including one by Drayton Florence which was returned for a touchdown in the 4th quarter. During the last drive of the game Fitzpatrick lead his team down the field into the Patriots redzone setting Rian Lindell up to boot through the game-winning field goal thus ending the Bills 15-game losing streak against the Patriots. The Buffalo Bills are for real and are contenders in the AFC East. Look for them to put a pounding on the lowly Cincinnati Bengals this weekend. START RYAN FITZPATRICK.
Although we are not Ryan Fitzpatrick owners, Jon and I were finally able to squeak out our first win of the season in our ESPN league in close fashion coming out on top 92-86. We recieved a fairly balanced attack from our players this weekend including a team high 26 points from Matthew Stafford (378 YDS, 2 TD's). We did however make the mistake of sitting Felix Jones (3 REC, 155 TOTAL YDS) this week in favor of Mike Tolbert (3 REC, 43 TOTAL YDS). It seems as if Tolbert is losing more and more value as the weeks go on and when Ryan Mathews (4 REC, 149 TOTAL YDS, 2 TD's) has games like the one he had this Sunday, all the more reason to trade Tolbert while you can. Hopefully this week Felix Jones does not fool us again because the shoulder injury is making it really hard to keep him a constant in our starting lineup.
As for our Yahoo! league, I was able to put up a league- and season-high total of 205.16 points in my dominating 86.68 point win over Dan (@dannysuperstar). All I can say is thank-you Wes Welker. As previously mentioned this man has put up gaudy numbers every week so far and it seems as if the sky is the limit for his fantasy production. Welker ended up posting larger (by a small margin) fantasy points than his quarterback in our PPR league, I did not even think that that was even possible! Along with Welker, Darren McFadden (3 REC, 176 TOTAL YDS, 2 TD's), the newly acquired Calvin Johnson (7 REC, 108 YDS, 2 TD's) and Mark "GQ" Sanchez (27 COMP, 369 YDS, 3 TOTAL TD's) contributed to an amazing week 3. I am looking for the production to be no different come this weekend with Beanie Wells expected to play, James Starks hopefully getting the start and all the carries with Ryan Grant (kidney) possibly not playing and Darren McFadden to continue his dominating ways against the vulnerable New England Patriots defense when I take on Matt (@deadasmatt) this weekend.
It also seems as if the tide may be turning for Jon after losing his first 2 match-ups of the season when he captured a win in his impressive 144.56-96.24 stomping over his week 3 opponent. Jon went against the grain started Ryan Fitzpatrick this week while sitting Tony Romo (22 COMP, 255 YDS) and boy did that decision ever pay off. Giving Tomlinson (5 REC, 154 TOTAL YDS, 1 TD) the week off in favor of Deion Branch (ZEROS ACROSS THE BOARD) in the flex spot did not pan out to well for Jon but it goes to show his players are starting to turn it around and help add wins to not only his record but the NFC West's win total. Thankfully you do not have to face me again in the regular season Jon.
With our leagues' news out of the way, time to get to the Booms, Busts and Waiver Wire Pickups of the week.
BOOMS:
WES WELKER (NE-WR): I have mentioned him enough and there is no way you cannot after he put up the receiving numbers he did this week, and 19 rushing yards. Welker is past previous knee surgery and will continue to be an elite WR as the year goes on.
JERMICHAEL FINLEY (GB-TE): Welcome back to the world of fantasy football Jermichael. We knew this was evident and it could not happen any sooner for all of his fantasy owners. Finley torched the Bears linebackers and secondary for 7 REC, 85 YDS and an astonishing 3 TD's. I imagine after this game Rodgers will be looking his way much more often. Quick side note: I am sorry Greg Jennings owners, in the long run this may not fair to well for you and his yearly fantasy production.
Honorable Mentions: Joe Flacco (Bal-QB), Darren McFadden (Oak-RB) (against a Jets defense), Torrey Smith (Bal-WR... SLEEPER ALERT)
BUMS:
CHRIS JOHNSON (TEN-RB): It is about time this (insert your own variety of adjectives HERE) is on this list. Arguably the biggest non-injured bust of the year. Although Johnson has been catching the ball like a WR (13 REC), he has 98 rushing yards on the season. 98!!! At this point last season Johnson had already accumulated 301 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. He is virtually splitting time with Javon Ringer, and it also does not help his cause that Matthew Hasselback is throwing the ball like a MVP caliber quarterback. This week the Titans face off against a not so dominating team in the Browns and are now without star wideout Kenny Britt (knee) for the rest of the season. If Johnson once again fails to put up anything close to what we know he is capable of, my advice to all you Chris Johnson owners is get anything you can for him at this point because it will only get worse. Hello Hanley Ramirez of football.
FRANK GORE (SF-RB): Gore is another running back that at the start of the year was deemed to have fabulous stats in a more often than not anemic offense. However that has not been the case for Frank Gore and it seems to only be getting worse for him. This weekend Gore was only able to muster 42 rush yards and lost a fumble against the Seattle Shi-- I mean Seahwaks. Gore has also been battling several minor injuries this year which does not help his cause. Normally I try to keep guys off this list where unfortunate injuries have been their downfall (ie. Arian Foster, Jamaal Charles and Michael Vick who I almost chose for this list this week) but the rumblings coming out of San Francisco now is that Gore will be splitting carries with Kendall Hunter. I do not know if this is because of the injury or lack of production but either way Gore, who looked to be a lock for a strong season in August, and his owners now have a reason to panic. Handcuff him with Hunter if you still have a chance.
Honorable Mentions: Rashard Mendenhall (Pit-RB), Philip Rivers (SD-QB), Matt Forte (Chi-RB)
WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS:
KENDALL HUNTER (SF-RB): **LOOK ABOVE** This choice is based solely on the situation Gore is currently in. If Hunter continues to score touchdowns and Gore continues to not produce or stay healthy, you may be looking at the new starting running back in San Francisco.
BERNARD SCOTT (CIN-RB): CEDRIC BENSON YOU MAY PROCEED INTO THE COURT ROOM. It is only a matter of time before Cedric Benson heads to jail for 3 weeks and Bernard Scott becomes the feature back in Cincinnati. It does look like Benson will play this week against the Bills which could of worked out very well for Scott. However, their upcoming schedule is very favorable for the running game in Cincinnati (vsBUF, @JAX, vsIND, BYE, @SEA, @TEN). So the sooner Benson is put behind bars, the sooner Bernard Scott's potential, value and stats HOPEFULLY sky-rocket.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Hasselback (Ten-QB), Denarious Moore (Oak-WR), Torrey Smith (Bal-WR)
I think we can all agree that Sunday's, but a long-shot, are the best. And if what we have witnessed in the first 3 weeks is any sort of a precursor to the way the season will unfold, week 4 will be an explosive one. Look for big games out of Mike Wallace against Houston, Chicago defense against Cam Newton, and anyone Green Bay against Denver. Dont't forget to check us out on Twitter (@thesportsreps) or myself (@DBraemer, I am an often user on Sunday's just as a warning), our podcast's are also available on iTunes and as always anything Sports Reps is always here on our website. Good luck in your week 4 matchups.
Don't forget to set your lineups
If I were to have told you at the beginning of July, lockout or not, that the Bills of Buffalo and the Detroit Lions would head into week 4 both 3-0, have scored a combined 214 points, orchestrated a total of 3 combined come-from-behind victories and a win over the New England Patriots, chances are you would have thought I took an illegal hit to the head courtesy of Dunta Robinson. But you would soon find out that my predictions were actually reality. Although I had a lot of optimism for both of these teams coming into this season, I never in my wildest imagination could have predicted this. Matthew Stafford has hooked up with Calvin Johnson for 6 touchdowns so far and the Lions as a team have already scored 101 points. Aside from his week one scare of cramps, Matthew Stafford has stayed healthy and as long as that constant, it appears the Lions will continue to roar. Look out Dallas DB's.
As for the Buffalo Bills, wow. Last week I said that I think by the last quarter of the season, at the latest, Ryan Fitzpatrick would become a legit starting fantasy quarterback. It seems as if that chapter has already begun. Fitzpatrick is leading the charge in Buffalo and more recently and importantly, a win over the New England Brady Bunch on Sunday. Leading up to the game the majority of people were giving Buffalo a serious chance in the game but not in the style the Bills ended up winning the divisional match-up. Although Brady threw for 387 yards, 2 touchdowns including 16 receptions and 217 yards to his buddy Wes Welker, who ran circles around the Bills secondary, as the game went on the Bills proved they no more are pushovers to anyone including the Patriots. The Bills defense intercepted Tom Brady 4 times including one by Drayton Florence which was returned for a touchdown in the 4th quarter. During the last drive of the game Fitzpatrick lead his team down the field into the Patriots redzone setting Rian Lindell up to boot through the game-winning field goal thus ending the Bills 15-game losing streak against the Patriots. The Buffalo Bills are for real and are contenders in the AFC East. Look for them to put a pounding on the lowly Cincinnati Bengals this weekend. START RYAN FITZPATRICK.
Although we are not Ryan Fitzpatrick owners, Jon and I were finally able to squeak out our first win of the season in our ESPN league in close fashion coming out on top 92-86. We recieved a fairly balanced attack from our players this weekend including a team high 26 points from Matthew Stafford (378 YDS, 2 TD's). We did however make the mistake of sitting Felix Jones (3 REC, 155 TOTAL YDS) this week in favor of Mike Tolbert (3 REC, 43 TOTAL YDS). It seems as if Tolbert is losing more and more value as the weeks go on and when Ryan Mathews (4 REC, 149 TOTAL YDS, 2 TD's) has games like the one he had this Sunday, all the more reason to trade Tolbert while you can. Hopefully this week Felix Jones does not fool us again because the shoulder injury is making it really hard to keep him a constant in our starting lineup.
As for our Yahoo! league, I was able to put up a league- and season-high total of 205.16 points in my dominating 86.68 point win over Dan (@dannysuperstar). All I can say is thank-you Wes Welker. As previously mentioned this man has put up gaudy numbers every week so far and it seems as if the sky is the limit for his fantasy production. Welker ended up posting larger (by a small margin) fantasy points than his quarterback in our PPR league, I did not even think that that was even possible! Along with Welker, Darren McFadden (3 REC, 176 TOTAL YDS, 2 TD's), the newly acquired Calvin Johnson (7 REC, 108 YDS, 2 TD's) and Mark "GQ" Sanchez (27 COMP, 369 YDS, 3 TOTAL TD's) contributed to an amazing week 3. I am looking for the production to be no different come this weekend with Beanie Wells expected to play, James Starks hopefully getting the start and all the carries with Ryan Grant (kidney) possibly not playing and Darren McFadden to continue his dominating ways against the vulnerable New England Patriots defense when I take on Matt (@deadasmatt) this weekend.
It also seems as if the tide may be turning for Jon after losing his first 2 match-ups of the season when he captured a win in his impressive 144.56-96.24 stomping over his week 3 opponent. Jon went against the grain started Ryan Fitzpatrick this week while sitting Tony Romo (22 COMP, 255 YDS) and boy did that decision ever pay off. Giving Tomlinson (5 REC, 154 TOTAL YDS, 1 TD) the week off in favor of Deion Branch (ZEROS ACROSS THE BOARD) in the flex spot did not pan out to well for Jon but it goes to show his players are starting to turn it around and help add wins to not only his record but the NFC West's win total. Thankfully you do not have to face me again in the regular season Jon.
With our leagues' news out of the way, time to get to the Booms, Busts and Waiver Wire Pickups of the week.
BOOMS:
WES WELKER (NE-WR): I have mentioned him enough and there is no way you cannot after he put up the receiving numbers he did this week, and 19 rushing yards. Welker is past previous knee surgery and will continue to be an elite WR as the year goes on.
JERMICHAEL FINLEY (GB-TE): Welcome back to the world of fantasy football Jermichael. We knew this was evident and it could not happen any sooner for all of his fantasy owners. Finley torched the Bears linebackers and secondary for 7 REC, 85 YDS and an astonishing 3 TD's. I imagine after this game Rodgers will be looking his way much more often. Quick side note: I am sorry Greg Jennings owners, in the long run this may not fair to well for you and his yearly fantasy production.
Honorable Mentions: Joe Flacco (Bal-QB), Darren McFadden (Oak-RB) (against a Jets defense), Torrey Smith (Bal-WR... SLEEPER ALERT)
BUMS:
CHRIS JOHNSON (TEN-RB): It is about time this (insert your own variety of adjectives HERE) is on this list. Arguably the biggest non-injured bust of the year. Although Johnson has been catching the ball like a WR (13 REC), he has 98 rushing yards on the season. 98!!! At this point last season Johnson had already accumulated 301 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. He is virtually splitting time with Javon Ringer, and it also does not help his cause that Matthew Hasselback is throwing the ball like a MVP caliber quarterback. This week the Titans face off against a not so dominating team in the Browns and are now without star wideout Kenny Britt (knee) for the rest of the season. If Johnson once again fails to put up anything close to what we know he is capable of, my advice to all you Chris Johnson owners is get anything you can for him at this point because it will only get worse. Hello Hanley Ramirez of football.
FRANK GORE (SF-RB): Gore is another running back that at the start of the year was deemed to have fabulous stats in a more often than not anemic offense. However that has not been the case for Frank Gore and it seems to only be getting worse for him. This weekend Gore was only able to muster 42 rush yards and lost a fumble against the Seattle Shi-- I mean Seahwaks. Gore has also been battling several minor injuries this year which does not help his cause. Normally I try to keep guys off this list where unfortunate injuries have been their downfall (ie. Arian Foster, Jamaal Charles and Michael Vick who I almost chose for this list this week) but the rumblings coming out of San Francisco now is that Gore will be splitting carries with Kendall Hunter. I do not know if this is because of the injury or lack of production but either way Gore, who looked to be a lock for a strong season in August, and his owners now have a reason to panic. Handcuff him with Hunter if you still have a chance.
Honorable Mentions: Rashard Mendenhall (Pit-RB), Philip Rivers (SD-QB), Matt Forte (Chi-RB)
WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS:
KENDALL HUNTER (SF-RB): **LOOK ABOVE** This choice is based solely on the situation Gore is currently in. If Hunter continues to score touchdowns and Gore continues to not produce or stay healthy, you may be looking at the new starting running back in San Francisco.
BERNARD SCOTT (CIN-RB): CEDRIC BENSON YOU MAY PROCEED INTO THE COURT ROOM. It is only a matter of time before Cedric Benson heads to jail for 3 weeks and Bernard Scott becomes the feature back in Cincinnati. It does look like Benson will play this week against the Bills which could of worked out very well for Scott. However, their upcoming schedule is very favorable for the running game in Cincinnati (vsBUF, @JAX, vsIND, BYE, @SEA, @TEN). So the sooner Benson is put behind bars, the sooner Bernard Scott's potential, value and stats HOPEFULLY sky-rocket.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Hasselback (Ten-QB), Denarious Moore (Oak-WR), Torrey Smith (Bal-WR)
I think we can all agree that Sunday's, but a long-shot, are the best. And if what we have witnessed in the first 3 weeks is any sort of a precursor to the way the season will unfold, week 4 will be an explosive one. Look for big games out of Mike Wallace against Houston, Chicago defense against Cam Newton, and anyone Green Bay against Denver. Dont't forget to check us out on Twitter (@thesportsreps) or myself (@DBraemer, I am an often user on Sunday's just as a warning), our podcast's are also available on iTunes and as always anything Sports Reps is always here on our website. Good luck in your week 4 matchups.
Don't forget to set your lineups
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Week 2: Fantasy Football In-Review
Welcome back boys and girls. What an excitement packed week two in the NFL linked with several HUGE fantasy performances. I would like to start off by publicly admitting that I was totally wrong about Cam Newton. I, along with many others, was a big Cam Newton doubter when he was drafted back in April by the Carolina Panthers. I have never been a big believer of the "mobile quarterback" in the present day of the NFL. I do however excuse Michael Vick from this group because at the top of his game, in my eyes, he is the most athletically gifted player on a football field (Yes he can be fumble prone but that is considered more of a fundamental). My predominant and ongoing reason for disregarding this "group" of quarterbacks is backed by these example QB's that were initially tagged with the label of "mobile quarterback": Tim Tebow, Pat White, JaMarcus Russell, Tavaris Jackson and Vince Young (extremely overrated in my opinion). Now I understand some of these guys have not had a real chance to prove themselves, but when they have the outcome has not been all that positive. Nor are their mechanics and skills passing the ball have not been something to write home about (I do not claim to have or know the skills of a professional quarterback, I am just going by opinion, personal viewing and comparison). My point behind all of this is to claim that I am now a believer in Cam Newton seeing as how he obviously has decided to focus more on the passing skills he can offer, and not so much the running. The success he has had so far is phenomenal and the future looks bright for him and the Carolina Panthers.
Now that I have got that out of the way, lets dive into the action week two presented us this past weekend.
Let us start off with what I thought was the game of the weekend, Oakland at Buffalo. What a barn burner this game turned out to be. A couple of my buddies kept saying to me how choked they were that this was the only game they got on cable television. I proceeded to tell them that it is the games between these 2 types of teams that always ends up being the head of the class for excitement and this one lived up to all of its "hype". The game really came down to the last 3 drives of the game. With under 4 minutes to go in the fourth quarter Jason Campbell tossed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Denarius Moore (Who? Exactly). He was only to be trumped the following drive by Ryan Fitzpatrick leading the team down the field in the last 2 minutes of the game where he found David Nelson in the endzone to put the Bills up 38-25 and remain undefeated on the season. The Raiders had a chance to put Sea Bass in for a game tying 73-yard field goal, but unfortunately the game was not being played in Denver. Ryan Fitzpatrick continued to add to his legacy by completing 28 passes for 264 yards and 3 TD's which included the game winner. We all know the Raiders have an extremely spotty defense but we are talking about a Buffalo Bills quarterback here. Their recent history of quarterbacks have not been to pretty *cough* Trent Edwards *cough*. Fitzpatrick began to prove himself last year and has continued that trend so far this year. I believe that by the last quarter of season, at the latest, Fitzpatrick will be a clear-cut starting fantasy football quarterback. Oh yeah, and Darren McFadden had 143 all-purpose yards, 7 catches and 2 TD's, no big deal.
In our Yahoo! league Jon and myself were at opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to our respective match-ups. I put up massive numbers with the help of guys like Darren McFadden, Vincent Jasckson (10 REC, 172 YDS, 2 TD) and not Plaxico Burress (ZEROS ACROSS THE BOARD) winning my match-up 173.08-105.68. Jon on the other hand fell short 155.72-138.40 to Jared (@JPDClinton). The fact that Jon was facing the likes of Larry Fitzgerald (7 REC, 133 YDS, 1 TD), Kenny Britt (9 REC, 135 YDS, 1 TD) and Jahvid Best (6 REC, 133 TOTAL YDS, 2 TD) did not help his chances a whole lot. Here's to next week and Jon starting Ryan Fitzpatrick over Romo. Never been so confident in a Bills player in my life.
Also to pick up where I left off last week with my mini Rashard Mendenhall (2 REC, 88 TOTAL YDS, 1 TD) rants, I was satisfied with the numbers he put up this week versus the Seattle Seahawks compared to his lackluster week one performance. We all know Mendenhall is much more capable than what he has done this year to date and I believe his next week match-up against Indianapolis could turn out to be a big one. I cry a little inside every time I think about the Colts run defense. All that aside, this week I made a corporate decision to trade Mendenhall. Outside of Vincent Jackson and Wes Welker, my WR depth is extremely pathetic (Plaxico Burress and Steve Breaston). So, I proceeded to complete a trade with Mr. Allard (@ZacharyAllard). He was in desperate need of a star running back so we swapped Mendenhall and Calvin Johnson. I feel I am set at RB with McFadden, Beanie Wells and Starks and am looking forward to inserting Calvin Johnson into my starting lineup next week.
Now enough about our league, time to help you with yours. Here are my Booms, Bums and Waiver Wire Pickups of the week.
BOOMS:
This week I have selected a tri-fecta of WRs that are impossible not to mention...
MILES AUSTIN (DAL-WR), JEREMY MACLIN (PHI-WR) and VINCENT JACKSON (SD-WR): While I have already mentioned Vincent Jackson, Miles Austin (9 REC, 143 YDS, 3 TD) and Jeremy Maclin (13 REC, 171 YDS, 2 TDS) went on to put up even bigger numbers than Jackson thus making them a "must-have" commodity for weeks to come (this is assuming Miles Austin's hamstring holds up).
Honorable Mentions: Tom Brady (NE-QB) (I mentioned him last week, give me a break), Adrian Peterson (Min-RB), Tony Gonzalez (Atl-TE) (This is simply due to the catch he made Sunday night: CLICK HERE TO VIEW)
BUMS:
ANTONIO GATES (SD-TE): The Chargers played the New England Patriots this weekend, a team that is notoriously bad for their defense against the tight-end position. Antonio Gates finished the game with 0 catches for 0 yards and 0 TDs. No, you do not detect a typing error. Gates actually did finish the game with 0 catches for the first time since 2008. In fact, he was only targeted by Philip Rivers once in the whole game in comparison to being targeted a team-high 13 times in week one against the Vikings. Gates was the top projected TE at the beginning of the season, no one could have projected this. In fact, its Plaxico like. Minus the whole gun in the sweat pants thing.
REGGIE BUSH (MIA-RB): Not that I would have ranked this punt returner... er, I mean running back high at the beginning of the season in the first place, but Reggie Bush was almost as ineffective as Antonio Gates was this past weekend. Barring any other setbacks it seems clear to me that Daniel Thomas will be the feature back there in Miami this year and hopefully into the future. And I know it is hard to make a claim that someone is a bust when they do not get playing time, but this is a guy that was projected (Yahoo! leagues) to be the 35th most productive player in the league this weekend. Not mention is owned in 87% of leagues. At this point, I find more value in Ted Ginn Jr. over Reggie Bush. Not that that is a hard decision to make.
Honorable Mentions: Joe Flacco (Bal-QB), Carnell "Cadillac" Williams (STL-RB), LaDainian Tomlinson (NYJ-RB)
WAIVER WIRE PICK-UPS:
DEXTER MCCLUSTER (KC-WR/RB): This seems to be a re-occurring trend, pick up the back-up running back of a guy that just went down with an injury. In this case it is Jamaal Charles (knee). After suffering a season ending injury someone has to step up into the Chiefs backfield in Charles' spot. The leading candidate for now seems to be the veteran Thomas Jones but I believe in the long run McCluster has way more upside and much better pass catching skills thus making his value so much higher. Not to mention in most, if not all leagues he has dual eligibility at the wideout and running back position. Starting a running back at your wide receiver spot? A gold mine waiting to be discovered.
DEMARCO MURRAY (DAL-RB): I will stick with the trend and choose the Dallas Cowboys' back-up running back. This choice is based solely on the near-future health of Felix Jones. Jones seperated his shoulder against the 49ers on Sunday and there currently is no timetable set in stone for his return. If and only IF Jones cannot go next week or even the future weeks to come, Demarco Murray will be in line for a decent amount of touches. It also only helps his value that Miles Austin tweaked his hamstring in that game as well and is currently questionable for next weeks game against the Redskins. Murray could have the rock in his hands quite a bit Monday night.
Honorable Mentions: Eric Decker (Den-WR), Nate Washington (Ten-WR), Mike Kafka (Phi-QB) (Yeah, I just did that)
Well, I believe a Mike Kafka reference is the only fitting way to wrap this baby up. You can check us out and send us any questions on Twitter (@thesportsreps or @DBraemer), on Facebook under the name J.d. Reps, or send us an email to thesportsreps@yahoo.ca. Our podcasts are also available on iTunes if you have not already been listening to them on there. We are working on getting another up soon. Good luck in week three.
Shout-out to those bigger fantasy names (and everyone else, I'm not a jerk) that got hurt this past week and a speedy recovery.
Don't forget to set your lineups
Now that I have got that out of the way, lets dive into the action week two presented us this past weekend.
Let us start off with what I thought was the game of the weekend, Oakland at Buffalo. What a barn burner this game turned out to be. A couple of my buddies kept saying to me how choked they were that this was the only game they got on cable television. I proceeded to tell them that it is the games between these 2 types of teams that always ends up being the head of the class for excitement and this one lived up to all of its "hype". The game really came down to the last 3 drives of the game. With under 4 minutes to go in the fourth quarter Jason Campbell tossed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Denarius Moore (Who? Exactly). He was only to be trumped the following drive by Ryan Fitzpatrick leading the team down the field in the last 2 minutes of the game where he found David Nelson in the endzone to put the Bills up 38-25 and remain undefeated on the season. The Raiders had a chance to put Sea Bass in for a game tying 73-yard field goal, but unfortunately the game was not being played in Denver. Ryan Fitzpatrick continued to add to his legacy by completing 28 passes for 264 yards and 3 TD's which included the game winner. We all know the Raiders have an extremely spotty defense but we are talking about a Buffalo Bills quarterback here. Their recent history of quarterbacks have not been to pretty *cough* Trent Edwards *cough*. Fitzpatrick began to prove himself last year and has continued that trend so far this year. I believe that by the last quarter of season, at the latest, Fitzpatrick will be a clear-cut starting fantasy football quarterback. Oh yeah, and Darren McFadden had 143 all-purpose yards, 7 catches and 2 TD's, no big deal.
In our Yahoo! league Jon and myself were at opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to our respective match-ups. I put up massive numbers with the help of guys like Darren McFadden, Vincent Jasckson (10 REC, 172 YDS, 2 TD) and not Plaxico Burress (ZEROS ACROSS THE BOARD) winning my match-up 173.08-105.68. Jon on the other hand fell short 155.72-138.40 to Jared (@JPDClinton). The fact that Jon was facing the likes of Larry Fitzgerald (7 REC, 133 YDS, 1 TD), Kenny Britt (9 REC, 135 YDS, 1 TD) and Jahvid Best (6 REC, 133 TOTAL YDS, 2 TD) did not help his chances a whole lot. Here's to next week and Jon starting Ryan Fitzpatrick over Romo. Never been so confident in a Bills player in my life.
Also to pick up where I left off last week with my mini Rashard Mendenhall (2 REC, 88 TOTAL YDS, 1 TD) rants, I was satisfied with the numbers he put up this week versus the Seattle Seahawks compared to his lackluster week one performance. We all know Mendenhall is much more capable than what he has done this year to date and I believe his next week match-up against Indianapolis could turn out to be a big one. I cry a little inside every time I think about the Colts run defense. All that aside, this week I made a corporate decision to trade Mendenhall. Outside of Vincent Jackson and Wes Welker, my WR depth is extremely pathetic (Plaxico Burress and Steve Breaston). So, I proceeded to complete a trade with Mr. Allard (@ZacharyAllard). He was in desperate need of a star running back so we swapped Mendenhall and Calvin Johnson. I feel I am set at RB with McFadden, Beanie Wells and Starks and am looking forward to inserting Calvin Johnson into my starting lineup next week.
Now enough about our league, time to help you with yours. Here are my Booms, Bums and Waiver Wire Pickups of the week.
BOOMS:
This week I have selected a tri-fecta of WRs that are impossible not to mention...
MILES AUSTIN (DAL-WR), JEREMY MACLIN (PHI-WR) and VINCENT JACKSON (SD-WR): While I have already mentioned Vincent Jackson, Miles Austin (9 REC, 143 YDS, 3 TD) and Jeremy Maclin (13 REC, 171 YDS, 2 TDS) went on to put up even bigger numbers than Jackson thus making them a "must-have" commodity for weeks to come (this is assuming Miles Austin's hamstring holds up).
Honorable Mentions: Tom Brady (NE-QB) (I mentioned him last week, give me a break), Adrian Peterson (Min-RB), Tony Gonzalez (Atl-TE) (This is simply due to the catch he made Sunday night: CLICK HERE TO VIEW)
BUMS:
ANTONIO GATES (SD-TE): The Chargers played the New England Patriots this weekend, a team that is notoriously bad for their defense against the tight-end position. Antonio Gates finished the game with 0 catches for 0 yards and 0 TDs. No, you do not detect a typing error. Gates actually did finish the game with 0 catches for the first time since 2008. In fact, he was only targeted by Philip Rivers once in the whole game in comparison to being targeted a team-high 13 times in week one against the Vikings. Gates was the top projected TE at the beginning of the season, no one could have projected this. In fact, its Plaxico like. Minus the whole gun in the sweat pants thing.
REGGIE BUSH (MIA-RB): Not that I would have ranked this punt returner... er, I mean running back high at the beginning of the season in the first place, but Reggie Bush was almost as ineffective as Antonio Gates was this past weekend. Barring any other setbacks it seems clear to me that Daniel Thomas will be the feature back there in Miami this year and hopefully into the future. And I know it is hard to make a claim that someone is a bust when they do not get playing time, but this is a guy that was projected (Yahoo! leagues) to be the 35th most productive player in the league this weekend. Not mention is owned in 87% of leagues. At this point, I find more value in Ted Ginn Jr. over Reggie Bush. Not that that is a hard decision to make.
Honorable Mentions: Joe Flacco (Bal-QB), Carnell "Cadillac" Williams (STL-RB), LaDainian Tomlinson (NYJ-RB)
WAIVER WIRE PICK-UPS:
DEXTER MCCLUSTER (KC-WR/RB): This seems to be a re-occurring trend, pick up the back-up running back of a guy that just went down with an injury. In this case it is Jamaal Charles (knee). After suffering a season ending injury someone has to step up into the Chiefs backfield in Charles' spot. The leading candidate for now seems to be the veteran Thomas Jones but I believe in the long run McCluster has way more upside and much better pass catching skills thus making his value so much higher. Not to mention in most, if not all leagues he has dual eligibility at the wideout and running back position. Starting a running back at your wide receiver spot? A gold mine waiting to be discovered.
DEMARCO MURRAY (DAL-RB): I will stick with the trend and choose the Dallas Cowboys' back-up running back. This choice is based solely on the near-future health of Felix Jones. Jones seperated his shoulder against the 49ers on Sunday and there currently is no timetable set in stone for his return. If and only IF Jones cannot go next week or even the future weeks to come, Demarco Murray will be in line for a decent amount of touches. It also only helps his value that Miles Austin tweaked his hamstring in that game as well and is currently questionable for next weeks game against the Redskins. Murray could have the rock in his hands quite a bit Monday night.
Honorable Mentions: Eric Decker (Den-WR), Nate Washington (Ten-WR), Mike Kafka (Phi-QB) (Yeah, I just did that)
Well, I believe a Mike Kafka reference is the only fitting way to wrap this baby up. You can check us out and send us any questions on Twitter (@thesportsreps or @DBraemer), on Facebook under the name J.d. Reps, or send us an email to thesportsreps@yahoo.ca. Our podcasts are also available on iTunes if you have not already been listening to them on there. We are working on getting another up soon. Good luck in week three.
Shout-out to those bigger fantasy names (and everyone else, I'm not a jerk) that got hurt this past week and a speedy recovery.
Don't forget to set your lineups
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)