After posting a regular-season record of 12-2, averaging 155.5 points per week, and winning 10 in a row, I’m one game away from the championship and the substantial amount of money that comes with it.My opponent? None other than the man I created this meager website with—Stuart, AKA the Stuman. Folks, this is going to be a battle for the ages. CJ versus AP. Brees versus Rivers. Ochocinco versus Moss. Celek versus Gates. Swimmin’ with Bowlegged Women versus the Stuman. Let’s do this!
In other news, what the fuck is wrong with the Colts? Every ass with a blog or a byline has commented on this, and for good reason. The Colts have long been the poster team of this “resting players before the playoffs” philosophy. And what has it done for them, really? They’re a playoff let-down every year. I can’t agree with it. Here’s why: First, they’re getting a rest; it’s called a bye. They earned it. So keeping the momentum becomes doubly important. Second, they say it’s to protect Manning from getting injured. He played 14 full games before this. He was never hit, hardly ever pressured. He’s not Matt Schaub, people. He’s tough; he played in the SEC. Third, a team owes it to their fans to win games. Period. If the game is in hand, take the starters out. But up by 5 is not “in hand.” And, finally, they gave up a chance to make history. Manning, when all is done, is going to be the greatest QB to ever play. And had they not been overly cautious, he could have been the hero of the greatest team ever. They could have gone 19-0. Instead, we’re stuck with Mercury Morris for what may be forever.
And what a great MNF game, yeah? Cutlerfucker against the five-o-clock-shadowed one for frosty-temperatured supremacy. And Cutler somehow won it with Devin Whatever-his-name-is. Instant classic.
Anyway, good luck if you need it. And stay tuned for my victory speech.
Or Feliz Navidad for our readers below the border. Unfortunately, you’ll get no real substantial update from me again this week. I’m still standing by my opinions from two weeks ago, although Aaron Rodgers was superhuman at Pittsburgh.
The Chargers and Titans battle it out tonight. Chris Johnson is playing for an MVP and two stacks, and the Chargers aren’t exactly the NFL’s best run-stoppers. Plus, it’s CJ, the best Christmas present in fantasy. 24-17, Titans.
suck my balls byron. here’s a prediction: you lose to me two weaks in a row.
Doing it a little different this week. I thought I’d discuss some players I like going forward, and others I’m not so sure about.
Players I like:
Drew Brees—Hes obvious, right? What’s scary is he has Atlanta, Dallas, Tampa, and Carolina left. He will not slow down. He will not be stopped.
Joe Flacco—He’s played horrible recently, but I believe things are going to turn around. The Ravens have a favorable schedule left and they’re not entirely out of the playoff picture.
Thomas Jones—He’s been quietly great all year, but now that Sanchez is hurt he’ll explode.
Ricky Williams—If he can avoid taking a beating in the final four games he’ll put up decent numbers. Miami is committed to the run, and they’re magical when it works right.
Chad Ochocinco—His production has been sporadic mainly because the Bengals are now a run-first team. The have a brutal schedule ahead, including three on the road, and I think 85 is up to the challenge.
Vincent Jackson—Four straight games with single-digit fantasy points doesn’t cut it. He has the talent, and the Chargers are playing like mad dogs, so VJ will get his down the stretch.
Visanthe Shiancoe—Favre may have more challenges ahead and he’ll know exactly what to do this time. Find his tight end again and again.
Players I’m not so hot on:
Anyone from the NFC East besides DeSean Jackson—Seriously, none of them, not McNabb, not the other Steve Smith. It’ll be sloppy, defensive football, and that doesn’t bode well for the fantasy playoffs.
Peyton Manning—I’m not even taking into consideration the very real possibility he won’t play but a drive in their season finale. I think the Colts will lose this week to the Broncos. They may lose two. And he’s got a sore ass muscle.
Aaron Rodgers—O.K., if you got him, you’re starting him. No questions asked. I just don’t think he’ll be able to close this year out as the top fantasy player. The O-line is no better, and they’re on the road three out of four. Just lower the expectations. A lot, I think.
Adrian Peterson—Again, don’t bench him. Just don’t expect him to win it for you. He’s been down all year, at least by AP standards, and it’ll get worse before it gets better. Plus, Childress will rest him even before Favre.
Cedric Benson—I expect the Bengals to do a 180 and rely more on Palmer and Ocho to win their tough games ahead. But if he tears it up against the Vikes in MN, I’ll feel a lot better about him.
Sidney Rice—It was a nice ride as Favre’s unknown flavor of the month, but defenses will keep him in check the rest of the way.
Jeremy Shockey—I’ve been super high on the guy all year, and he’s not really done much. Consider he has a preternatural QB throwing him the ball and it becomes all the more disappointing.
So that’s it. Enjoy the Bengals and the Vikings tomorrow. It should be fun. And good luck with your games.
Big Thursday nighter this week. The champs need a W or they’re done and Cleveland just needs a W. Also, a few key fantasy starters. So here we go.
Should be huge night for Steelers. Big Ben should have a nice game. If Ward plays, start him, if not go get Mike Wallace. No Ward will equal huge night for Holmes. Mendenhall will have a great game, possibly a career game. But expect the Browns to show up. Quinn will throw some tds to Massoqui or however you spell it. If you’re real desperate, like I am, grab Jerome Harrison. He looked good last week and I think he can carry it over. Steelers D is weak, and Harrison will get some decent numbers.
Try to enjoy the game.
For the twenty or so people that read this regularly, I’m sorry if I let you down by not picking players or teams this week. Really, a thousand apologies. I spent most of my week sending positive thoughts Alabama’s way so they could get over the Tebow hump. And it worked.
Anyway, there weren’t that many surprises this week. Sure, Tomlin didn’t exactly unleash hell against the Raiders, but I’m smart enough to know people who talk like that are in trouble. The Giants looked great against Dallas, and because of it the NFC East is once again a colossal playoff clusterfuck. The Saints caught two breaks with Suisham’s missed field goal and Favre’s lackluster game. Home-field advantage is within their reach.
The playoffs start next week, at least for most owners, and congrats if you made it in your league. It looks like I’ll be playing for a title in 3 of my 5, which is pretty good I think. Really, only one of those, my money league, matters, and I am fully focused on winning the championship that got away from me last year. (Damn you Cutler and Marshall!)
The fantasy playoffs can get confusing for a lot of owners. There seems to be this idea that you have to try to reinvent the wheel to be able to win one of these things. I, however, don’t see any reason to treat the playoffs any different than a regular season game. Sure, every league is different. You may have tough choices when it comes down to flex plays, things like that. But making wholesale changes like dropping Romo and picking Alex Smith is ridiculous.
The only rule I have is to keep an eye on how the NFL playoff picture is shaping up, especially in standard leagues, where each round takes two weeks. Say the Vikings can take home-field away from the Saints with a win and a NO loss in week 17. Then I know Favre’s more likely to play the entire game. I would consider starting him over a lot of other QBs in that situation, even at the Giants. Will Caldwell sit Manning after the first quarter if they have a chance to go undefeated? I don’t think so. Sure, if the Colts get up, Manning will go to the bench. But on the road at Buffalo is no easy game. What if Brees is put in the same situation? Are the Cowboys and Eagles going to play for the division in the final week? These are the questions to think about when fine-tuning your lineups. Finding the right balance between making decisions with your head and with your gut is what’s going to win a FF championship.
I like-
QBs-McNabb, Redman, Cutler, Palmer, Big Ben, Young, Manning, Orton, Brady, Brees, Schaub, Rivers, Farve
RBs-McCoy, Jackson, Mendenhall, Johnson, Moreno, Charles, Maroney, Ricky Williams, Pierre Thomas, Cadillac, Stewart and DeAngelo, MJD, LT, Gore, AP
WRs/TEs-White and Gonzalez, Avant, Johnny Knox, Olson, Avery, Ocho, Santonio Holmes, Heath Miller, Scaife, Kenny Britt, Wayne, Clark, Garcon, Marshall, Chambers, Moss/Welker, Colston, Steve Smith (Car), Andre Johnson, Sims-Walker, V. Jackson, Gates, M. Floyd, Austin, Smith, Boss, Rice and Fitz.
Don’t like- Hines Ward, Bulger, anybody from Oakland, Garrard, Cards Giants Cowboys run games
The NFL world tour continues this evening as the Bills host the Jets in fabulous Toronto. I’m guessing most regular people don’t care about tonight’s stellar match up, but I do.
T.O.? He worries me tonight. I agree with my counterpart Dave. Revis will probably keep him in check most of the night, which means Lee Evans will probably get the majority of the down-field throws tonight. Jets D has looked less than solid lately, so the Bills will put up some points. I also think Fred Jackson will have another good week. One regular TD and a kick return.
Bills D causes lots of turnovers and the Jets are already turnover-prone. Sanchise is going to have a bad night. 3 picks (one for a TD) and a fumble. If Gang Green wants to pull this one out, they’re going to have to stick to the run game. Jones should have another excellent night, probably 2 TDs. Shonne Green has not turned out to be the second back; Leon was leaving more touches for TJ. Somebody will catch a TD pass, but who knows if it will be Braylon or Jerricho.
Enjoy the game. I think it is going to be better than most people think.
I’ve had a rough week. I’ve been sick, my internet has been malfunctioning, and I’m being worked to death at my job.
But enough of that—what a week of football, huh? Favre was perfect at home yet again. Chris Johnson rushed for 100+ yet again, his sixth game in a row. The talk about concussions and how they’re handled heated up. Vince Young’s winning drive was pretty spectacular. And with the exception of three teams, the playoff’s are by no means set. Exciting stuff.
The game of the week turned out to be just that, and more maybe. The Saints absolutely steamrolled the Pats. It was nasty. And a blast to watch. I thought Brees would do well and lead his team to the win, but I didn’t think it would be a dismantling. The Saints D was awesome. The Saints are fighting the Vikings for home field advantage, it seems, and that should provide some good drama.
But the thing that surprised me the most from Monday night is how much the Pats are a bunch of bitches. Shouldn’t be too surprising. After all, this is the team that took no mercy on opponents two years ago and then sulked off the field—early in Belichick’s case—when they got beat by the G-Men. They were sore losers then and they were sore losers on MNF. Five and a half minutes were left in that game when Brady and the boys tossed in the towel. That’s a lot of time. Anything can happen in five minutes. Every week the Pats give me a new reason to hate them. Real reasons. They are the biggest group of douchebags in all of sports. End of story.
Jets at Bills on NFL Network tonight, if you don’t have anything better to do. Gang Green is the 3 point favorite, which sound about right to me. Fitzpatrick might manage a halfway-decent game, but I wouldn’t expect TO to continue his streak, especially with Revis covering him. Thomas Jones is a safe start, though.
More to come soon.
These are the players I like this Sunday:
QBs- Ryan, Palmer, Hasselbeck, McNabb, Manning, Schaub, Rivers, Garrard, Favre, Warner, and Young
RBs- Turner, Ricky Williams, Jackson, DeAngelo and Stewart, Thomas Jones, McCoy, Charles, MJD, Gore, Peterson, Wells, CJ, Mendenhall, and Rice
WRs- White, Bess, TO, Ocho, Caldwell, Housh, Avery, D. Jackson, Wayne, Garcon, Andre Johnson, Walter, V. Jackson, Floyd, Sims-Walker, Rice, Berrian, Fitz, Boldin, Gage, Ward, and Mason
TEs-Gonzalez, Celek, Keller, Shiancoe, V. Davis, Miller, Heap, Gates, and Clark
Don’t like:
Cutler, Bengals RBs, Quinn, Bills RBs, Delhomme and Smith, Sanchez and WRs, Skins period, Texans RBs, Chiefs passing game, LT, Alex Smith, Bears offense, Hightower, Steelers and Ravens receivers.