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
Thursday, September 29, 2011
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
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
NFL Fantasy Football Week 1
We are fresh off of the first week of the NFL season and more importantly the fantasy football season. Doesn't that sound so wonderful? How did everyone fair with their teams and match-ups? Are you panicking or basking in early season glory? Either way, let us re-cap some of the more noteworthy players, news and booms, bums and waiver wire pickups in week 1 of the fantasy football season with the first ever Sports Reps Fantasy Football Week-in-Review.
Hopefully no one had too many Rams players because their guys were dropping like flies as the game went on against the Eagles. Amongst the offensive players, Sam Bradford suffered nerve damage to his finger, Danny Amendola went down with a dislocated elbow (potentially out for the season) and Steven Jackson left the game after 2 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown with a quad injury. WOW, hashtag ramsinjuries. Along with Steven Jackson several other running backs also got hammered with injuries including Derrick Ward (ankle), who ended up starting for the injured Arian Foster (hamstring). After scoring 3 touchdowns on Sunday Mike Tolbert left at the end of the game with a hamstring injury but has already stated that he is fine and will be ready for next weeks game against the New England Patriots (START ALERT). Lastly, although he was not injured, he might as well of been because Chris Johnson was a non-factor this week. Johnson only had 9 CARRIES, yes, 9 CARRIES for 24 yards and 6 catches for 25 yards. Although the 6 catches is nice to see for those in PPR (points per reception) leagues, the 9 carries is almost unacceptable and somewhat concerning even though it is only week 1. Johnson MUST redeem himself next week against Baltimore... Which on paper seems like an impossible task (YES that is a shot at you Rashard Mendenhall).
Moving on from injuries to actual match-ups themselves, for those not aware, we joined a public ESPN fantasy football league this year. It is a 10-team standard league with 1 flex (RB-WR) starting position. For those unfamiliar with our team refer back to First Ever Sports Reps Fantasy Football Draft. We suffered a close loss in week 1 and really could have benefited from starting guys such as Matthew Stafford and Mike Tolbert. Not that Eli Manning was disappointing or anything, Rashard Mendenhall just was. Incredibly unfortunate to take that loss in the first week of the season but we look to bounce back like Mendenhall next week.
Speaking of unfortunate losses, before I move along to booms, bums and waiver pick-ups, Jon and myself faced off in the first week of the season as previously mentioned in The Sports Reps Talk Episode 14. It was our marquee Head-to-Head match-up topic. Going into Sunday night's game Jon was leading me 82.10-52.60. Both of our QB's were facing off (Romo@Sanchez) Sunday night while I also had the likes of Plaxico Burress, Wes Welker and Darren McFadden yet to play and my boys ended up coming through big for me Sunday and Monday night. With Sanchez and Burress hooking up for 45+ points, Darren McFadden running wild for 150 yards and Wes Welker putting up top-tier WR numbers for the week with 8 catches for 160 yards and a 99 yards touchdown, I was able to pull off a late 149.80-118.18 victory over Jon. But more importantly, a strong step into the fantasy football season (without Peyton Manning).
Now, moving on from my minor yet well deserved gloating moments, here are my booms, busts and waiver wire pickups for week 1 and 2 respectively:
BOOMS:
WES WELKER (NE-WR): As previously mentioned Wes Welker put up the second highest points for wide receivers (standard no bonus PPR leagues) (32.00). The 99-yard reception most certainly helped his totals and those who own him (DONNY!!) can only hope for continued production such as this moving forward.
TOM BRADY (NE-QB): Staying along the Patriot path, Tom Brady threw the ball around Monday night against the Dolphins like he was in video game mode. Brady completed 32 passes for 517 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sickening numbers. I feel sorry for whoever played Brady this week. (Well maybe @dannysuperstar you'll get em' next week).
Honorable Mentions: Cam Newton (Car-QB), Steve Smith (Car-WR), Kenny Britt (Ten-WR)
BUMS:
RASHARD MENDENHALL (Pit-RB): Everyone see the re-occurring trend here? I will ride this for one more day before going right back to having EXTREME faith in my first round draft pick. Rashard only picked up 45 rush yards, 0 catches and fumble (which I still believe should not have been credited to him... Watch Here, damn you Roethlisberger). Here's to next week everyone.
LEGARRETTE BLOUNT (TB-RB): 5 attempts, 15 yards. That is all. I feel sorry for you LeGarrette owners moving on this season. That is all.
Honorable Mentions: Ben Roethlisberger (Pit-QB), Dwayne Bowe (KC-WR), Chad Ochocino (NE-WR)
WAIVER WIRE PICK-UPS:
CARNELL "CADILLAC" WILLIAMS (STL-RB): I feel like this choice is an easy way out but lets be realistic here, how many quality running backs are available in 12-team (maybe even 10-team) standard leagues? You do not need to answer that question, it is a rhetorical one. With Steven Jackson (quad) currently being ruled out for week 2 Cadillac will get the start and may put up respectable numbers against an ailing Giants defense if you are lacking week 2 RB depth.
DEVERY HENDERSON (NO-WR): Marques Colston broke his collarbone last Thursday night in the game against Green Bay and is expected to be out a minimum 4 weeks. Henderson, who had a fabulous game Thursday night to begin with, will only benefit from this injury moving into a starting role (especially with Lance Moore still hurt) and getting a lot of looks from Drew Brees, potentially for the rest of the season.
Honorable Mentions: Chad Henne (Mia-QB), Jermaine Gresham (Cin-TE), Ed Dickson (Bal-TE)
That concludes the week 1 version of The Sports Reps Fantasy Football Week-in-Review. Check us out on Twitter (@thesportsreps), on Facebook (J.d. Reps) and our podcasts also available on iTunes. Any questions or concerns for any fantasy sport? Send them our way ladies and gents!
Don't forget to set your lineups
Hopefully no one had too many Rams players because their guys were dropping like flies as the game went on against the Eagles. Amongst the offensive players, Sam Bradford suffered nerve damage to his finger, Danny Amendola went down with a dislocated elbow (potentially out for the season) and Steven Jackson left the game after 2 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown with a quad injury. WOW, hashtag ramsinjuries. Along with Steven Jackson several other running backs also got hammered with injuries including Derrick Ward (ankle), who ended up starting for the injured Arian Foster (hamstring). After scoring 3 touchdowns on Sunday Mike Tolbert left at the end of the game with a hamstring injury but has already stated that he is fine and will be ready for next weeks game against the New England Patriots (START ALERT). Lastly, although he was not injured, he might as well of been because Chris Johnson was a non-factor this week. Johnson only had 9 CARRIES, yes, 9 CARRIES for 24 yards and 6 catches for 25 yards. Although the 6 catches is nice to see for those in PPR (points per reception) leagues, the 9 carries is almost unacceptable and somewhat concerning even though it is only week 1. Johnson MUST redeem himself next week against Baltimore... Which on paper seems like an impossible task (YES that is a shot at you Rashard Mendenhall).
Moving on from injuries to actual match-ups themselves, for those not aware, we joined a public ESPN fantasy football league this year. It is a 10-team standard league with 1 flex (RB-WR) starting position. For those unfamiliar with our team refer back to First Ever Sports Reps Fantasy Football Draft. We suffered a close loss in week 1 and really could have benefited from starting guys such as Matthew Stafford and Mike Tolbert. Not that Eli Manning was disappointing or anything, Rashard Mendenhall just was. Incredibly unfortunate to take that loss in the first week of the season but we look to bounce back like Mendenhall next week.
Speaking of unfortunate losses, before I move along to booms, bums and waiver pick-ups, Jon and myself faced off in the first week of the season as previously mentioned in The Sports Reps Talk Episode 14. It was our marquee Head-to-Head match-up topic. Going into Sunday night's game Jon was leading me 82.10-52.60. Both of our QB's were facing off (Romo@Sanchez) Sunday night while I also had the likes of Plaxico Burress, Wes Welker and Darren McFadden yet to play and my boys ended up coming through big for me Sunday and Monday night. With Sanchez and Burress hooking up for 45+ points, Darren McFadden running wild for 150 yards and Wes Welker putting up top-tier WR numbers for the week with 8 catches for 160 yards and a 99 yards touchdown, I was able to pull off a late 149.80-118.18 victory over Jon. But more importantly, a strong step into the fantasy football season (without Peyton Manning).
Now, moving on from my minor yet well deserved gloating moments, here are my booms, busts and waiver wire pickups for week 1 and 2 respectively:
BOOMS:
WES WELKER (NE-WR): As previously mentioned Wes Welker put up the second highest points for wide receivers (standard no bonus PPR leagues) (32.00). The 99-yard reception most certainly helped his totals and those who own him (DONNY!!) can only hope for continued production such as this moving forward.
TOM BRADY (NE-QB): Staying along the Patriot path, Tom Brady threw the ball around Monday night against the Dolphins like he was in video game mode. Brady completed 32 passes for 517 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sickening numbers. I feel sorry for whoever played Brady this week. (Well maybe @dannysuperstar you'll get em' next week).
Honorable Mentions: Cam Newton (Car-QB), Steve Smith (Car-WR), Kenny Britt (Ten-WR)
BUMS:
RASHARD MENDENHALL (Pit-RB): Everyone see the re-occurring trend here? I will ride this for one more day before going right back to having EXTREME faith in my first round draft pick. Rashard only picked up 45 rush yards, 0 catches and fumble (which I still believe should not have been credited to him... Watch Here, damn you Roethlisberger). Here's to next week everyone.
LEGARRETTE BLOUNT (TB-RB): 5 attempts, 15 yards. That is all. I feel sorry for you LeGarrette owners moving on this season. That is all.
Honorable Mentions: Ben Roethlisberger (Pit-QB), Dwayne Bowe (KC-WR), Chad Ochocino (NE-WR)
WAIVER WIRE PICK-UPS:
CARNELL "CADILLAC" WILLIAMS (STL-RB): I feel like this choice is an easy way out but lets be realistic here, how many quality running backs are available in 12-team (maybe even 10-team) standard leagues? You do not need to answer that question, it is a rhetorical one. With Steven Jackson (quad) currently being ruled out for week 2 Cadillac will get the start and may put up respectable numbers against an ailing Giants defense if you are lacking week 2 RB depth.
DEVERY HENDERSON (NO-WR): Marques Colston broke his collarbone last Thursday night in the game against Green Bay and is expected to be out a minimum 4 weeks. Henderson, who had a fabulous game Thursday night to begin with, will only benefit from this injury moving into a starting role (especially with Lance Moore still hurt) and getting a lot of looks from Drew Brees, potentially for the rest of the season.
Honorable Mentions: Chad Henne (Mia-QB), Jermaine Gresham (Cin-TE), Ed Dickson (Bal-TE)
That concludes the week 1 version of The Sports Reps Fantasy Football Week-in-Review. Check us out on Twitter (@thesportsreps), on Facebook (J.d. Reps) and our podcasts also available on iTunes. Any questions or concerns for any fantasy sport? Send them our way ladies and gents!
Don't forget to set your lineups
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Sports Reps Talk Episode 14
We are fresh out of our own lockout and back talking fantasy sports. THE FANTASY FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE!!! Along with that little piece of news, fantasy baseball is heading into the playoffs and we find players to help your team win your championship. We also give our week 1 predictions as well as our SB predictions.
Fister or Coco? Which is the better name?
The Sports Reps Talk Episode 14 by thesportsreps
Click Here To Download
Fister or Coco? Which is the better name?
The Sports Reps Talk Episode 14 by thesportsreps
Click Here To Download
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