I hope everyone enjoyed that three week window of getting to start your full lineup without having to worry about Bye Weeks. Between Week 4 and Week 12 there will be at least two teams missing from the schedule. I say it every year, but this will be the time of the year will the depth of your team and your ability to make the proper waiver moves/trades will pay off.
And injuries...oh I can't forget the injuries. They will still be around to throw a wrench into any best laid plan.
Thursday night marks yet another installment of night time football. This week we will be treated to two struggling offenses/defenses when SAN FRANCISCO takes on ST. LOUIS.
BYE WEEKS for Week 4 are: GREEN BAY and CAROLINA
We had five 2-0 teams looking to go to 3-0 and with none of them playing each other it was a viable option.
The first team attempting to stay undefeated was Nick B who was my Week 3 opponent. Cam Newton was the only player to show up for The Knacks this week as he scored 32 of the teams' 48 total points. CJ Spiller went down injured and Danny Amendola was still not replaced in the starting lineup. On my side I had my own game day injury as Daryl Richardson re-aggravated his injury on the first play of the game holding him scoreless. Luckily TE Jordan Cameron has gone to the Norv Turner school of tight ends and come out valedictorian. He scored three touchdowns for 22 points and along with 13 from Justin Tucker and 10 from the Patriots D, I got just enough to overcome another shoddy outing by Colin Kaepernick.
Final Score: Escaped Lunatics 71 The Knacks 48
Adam sat 2-0 and on paper had the stiffest test going up against Mike who had already had weeks of scoring the most and second most points in the league. Unfortunately that left him 1-1, but certainly fired up to take down the 'Basers. Adam was going to have none of that, knowing he needed to score a lot he got massive days from most everyone. Jamaal Charles was beat by LeSean McCoy heads up on Thursday 20-21, but the tone was set for Adam. He got 18 from Tom Brady, 17 from Matt Prater, 14 from Eric Decker, 13 from the Bengals D and 10 from a still healthy Darren McFadden. Mike tried to keep pace as Jimmy Graham scored 20 and Matt Ryan tossed for 18, but his other five players scored just 4 total points. For the second week in a row Mike 'gave up' the most points and Adam takes home $10 and a 3-0 record for his troubles.
Final Score: Biggums' 'Basers 99 Bookoo Barbarians 63
Next up Ben had his chance to stay undefeated going up against a struggling squad from Jody who was looking for win #1. Through Sunday's games it was more of the same for both teams. Jody saw Philip Rivers be his top scorer with just 13 points and while MJD helped with 11 points, there wasn't much to be happy about. Ben had his top Sunday scorer be the Browns D with a paltry 9 points. Jody held a 40-28 lead with one game to be played...MNF. With only Peyton Manning left to play for Ben and Jody having one of his targets in Demaryius Thomas and the Raiders kicker, Sebastian Janikowski this looked to be headed down to the wire. The Peyton crushed the soul of Jody as he threw three 1st half TDs to everyone not named Demaryius. Even a Thomas caught one as Julius scored again, but Jody got left out of the party. The Raiders also never attempted a field goal at the high elevation for SeaBass to show off. All in all Ben outscored Jody 28-9 and took home his third victory.
Final Score: The Magic Wands 56 DoggNutz 49
It turned out the Nick G had the closest game of any of the 2-0 teams as he went toe to toe with win-less John this week. Behind 36 points from Drew Brees and 12 from DeAngelo Williams, John took early control of the game. The Packers D scored 14 and AP ran for 13 to get Nick G started. In the afternoon, Andrew Luck scored 16 and Matt Bryant booted in 10 and suddenly Nick G took a slim lead. With just a five point lead and stud WR Brandon Marshall left to play for John, it certainly appeared that Nick G was going to be handed his first defeat. The Bears destroyed the Steelers on Sunday night scoring 40 points, but Marshall was basically a non-factor. He hauled in just 52 yards receiving good for just 3 points and John fell just short. For those keeping track at home...the big pre-draft trade now has Nick G at 3-0 while Mike is 1-2 even though Mike has scored 21 more points.
Final Score: The Lollipop Kids 72 The Situation 70
Last 2-0 team going this week was Luke who battled our defending champion Nate. Luke rode his Stafford/Megatron pairing again this week to the tune of 39 total points while Nate had the error prone RGIII on the other side score just 16 points (oh to have had that 57 yard TD back). Nate did get 24 points from the all or nothing DeMarco Murray and 10 from the Cowboys D. It must be killing a Redskins fan to have to watch Cowboys help his team so much. Luke countered with 14 each from Gio Bernard and Stephen Gostkowski to run away and hide. Luke makes it 4/5 teams to hit the 3-0 mark this week.
Final Score: Deathtongue 88 The Bounchers 66
Joel looked for win number one has he took on Matt who was without Reggie Bush and a benched Larry Fitzgerald. Matt also had his #1 draft pick, Trent Richardson, traded mid-week to add to the early season drama. His team responded poorly to all the troubles, especially Eli Manning who mustered just 5 points. Only his kicker scored double figures and as I've said for 15 years...that's never a good sign. Joel took advantage in this runaway win with 20 from the Bears D, 16 from Aaron Rodgers and 10 from his kicker Blair Walsh to get off the mat (pun intended) for his first win.
Final Score: Nikachu 64 Rainbows & Puppies 44
Our final game of the week pitted two 0-2 teams, Ike and Alex, against each other. Ike sat an injured Ray Rice, but had his backup Bernard Pierce and his starting QB Russell Wilson for backup Alex Smith to try and send a message that no job is safe. Pierce did well with 12 points, but Alex Smith got outscored by Wilson 24-16. Outside of those two, nobody else found double digits for Ike as his scoring slump continued. Alex had better success with his squad as Tony Romo got going with 22 points, Matt Forte scored 15, ALF had 13 and Wes Welker chipped in 11 on MNF to get Alex his first win.
Final Score: Worthless Peons 77 Myra's College Fund 52
Standings after Week 3:
Back Wall Division:
Biggums' 'Basers (Adam) 3-0
Lollipop Kids (Nick G) 3-0
Magic Wands (Ben) 3-0
Bookoo Barbarians (Mike) 1-2
Worthless Peons (Alex) 1-2
DoggNutz (Jody) 0-3
Myra's College Fund (Ike) 0-3
Critter Corner Division:
Deathtongue (Luke) 3-0
Escaped Lunatics (Jason) 2-1
The Knacks (Nick B) 2-1
The Bounchers (Nate) 1-2
Nikachu (Joel) 1-2
Rainbows & Puppies (Matt) 1-2
The Situation (John) 0-3
Week 4 Schedule:
Adam 3-0 vs. Ben 3-0 (Game of the Week)
Luke 3-0 vs Nick B 2-1
Nick G 3-0 vs Jody 0-3
Jason 2-1 vs Nate 1-2
Mike 1-2 vs Alex 1-2
Joel 1-2 vs Ike 0-3
Matt 1-2 vs John 0-3
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Back to Back: 2013 Oakland Athletics
Last season I waxed poetic about my affinity for the 2012 version of the Oakland Athletics. It was partly due to them coming out of nowhere to win the A.L. West on the final day of the season in dramatic fashion. It was mainly due to the collection of players and the fun that they had on and off the field that won me over. You had the walk-offs with the pies, the 'Bernie lean' dance and Balfour rage. Off the field on the Twitter-verse it was the world of the McCarthy's, Brandon and Amanda, who kept fans in stitches with their witty repartee.
But that was last season. Gone were the McCarthy's. Gone was the element of surprise. After winning 94 games, nobody (including me) expected the 2013 Athletics to do it again. The Rangers appeared to take a step back as they lost slugger Josh Hamilton to the Angels. Everybody had Los Angeles running away with the division in pre-season projections (yes, including me). Of course I wanted Oakland to win, but I'm a realist. I thought they played out of their minds last season and had everything break right for them.
The young pitching was going to regress. Bartolo Colon was going to be clean of PED's and 40+ years old. The Angels were going to score 900 runs! I predicted the Athletics narrowing out the Rangers for a Wild Card slot and losing that play-in game to the Tampa Bay Rays.
So how would Oakland respond? Would they collapse under the weight of expectations like my local team the Washington Nationals? After a quick 0-2 start, the Athletics went crazy. Nine straight wins scoring 69 runs. I had never seen an Oakland offense get off to a hot start. It had always been a struggle. Maybe they were for real last year and it was going to carry over into 2013.
Then reality set in. Following a loss to Texas, Oakland slumped to 20-22 or 11-20 in just over a month's worth of games. They were seven games out of first place and the offense had disappeared.
Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp were all struggling. Chris Young brought in to help the offense was putrid. Opening Day starter, Brett Anderson was (shockingly) injured. Thankfully the Angels had also gotten off to a wretched start. It was the Texas Rangers that appeared to have control of the A.L. West this season after choking it away a few months earlier.
That seven game deficit was the furthest they would be back for the rest of the season.
By the end of May they would be three games back. Bartolo Colon was having his best season since he won the Cy Young in 2005. Josh Donaldson was carrying the offense. Jed Lowrie was a doubles machine. The bullpen was lights out. Behind Sean Doolittle, Ryan Cook and Grant Balfour all leads were safe. Balfour would go on to break the Athletics team record of consecutive saves set by Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley. Some things were working.
The month of June saw Oakland win 16 games for the third straight month. At 13 games over .500 they stood just 0.5 out of first place. By the end of July, they would be alone in first by four games. It had been a full six games on the 29th of July, but by August 10th, just 11 days later, the Athletics were in second place once again, a game behind the Texas Rangers. For the second consecutive season the A.L. West would come down to those two teams.
On August 13th, it was a moment off the baseball field that would turn the season around. Coco Crisp received a cortisone shot on his ailing left wrist.
From that moment on Coco Crisp could do no wrong. He has hit 11 home runs since he returned on August 17th. The Athletics followed suit. At last count the Athletics had homered 68 times in their last 43 games (starting August 6th). The next highest amount in MLB is 50 with the resurgent Nationals here in D.C..
From the one game deficit back on August 10th, the A's would fall as much as 3.5 games behind Texas on August 23rd. September has belonged to the green and gold.
This month Yoenis Cespedes had his own cortisone shot and from the looks of it everyone should have one. He has been producing at an MVP level this month hitting .361 with 6 HR's and 19 RBI's. His previous high for a month had been .237 in July.
Up and down the lineup everyone is hitting. Outside of Coco and Yoenis, Lowrie and Donaldson are still doing their thing. Brandon Moss has been terrific. Josh Reddick has been better. Aleberto Callaspo was brought in from the Angels and has been hitting better than expected. The platoon team (which needs a nickname) of Eric Sogard, Nate Freiman, Derek Norris, Kurt Suzuki, Stephen Vogt, Daric Barton and yes even Chris Young have chipped in along the way in various ways.
The pitching has been good enough, but their deficiencies have been largely ignored thanks to the offense. The bullpen is shaky at best right now. Ryan Cook looks lost and the once invincible Grant Balfour has shown cracks in his armor. Bartolo Colon has returned from a DL vacation stint as strong as he was to start the season. Jarrod Parker had an 18 game start streak of not losing come to and end recently, but rebounded in his most recent start. A.J. Griffin has been homer prone but seems to be just good enough each start to be successful. Dan Straily quietly has been effective and rookie Sonny Gray has been solid.
Brett Anderson, still stuck on one win this season, is working out of the bullpen as is fellow starter Tommy Milone who had been demoted to AAA earlier in the year.
This month Oakland has gone 16-5 while the Rangers have flat lined at 5-15. This includes Oakland walking into Arlington and sweeping the Rangers on their home field. Fittingly it was a Texas lost that officially clinched the A.L. West for Oakland today even though they took care of business a few hours later with a victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Currently Oakland has the second best record in not only the American League, but in all of baseball. They have proven to be a more complete team this season. I believe they can still play better. Maybe not on the offensive side, but their pitching could easily improve, especially on the back end.
With six games left Oakland should exceed their win total of 94 games from last year, but as always it will be how they do in the playoffs that will be what everyone remembers. Since making the playoffs in 2000 Oakland will now be playing in the postseason for the seventh time in that 14 year period. They have only won one series in those previous six appearances. It has also been nearly 25 years since the franchise has last won a World Series. Could this be the group that gets them back to the mountaintop?
My 25 man playoff roster would look like this:
Pitching:
1. Bartolo Colon
2. Jarrod Parker
3. A.J. Griffin
4. Dan Straily
5. Dan Otero
6. Sean Doolittle
7. Ryan Cook
8. Grant Balfour
9. Brett Anderson
10. Jerry Blevins
11. Jesse Chavez
Hitting:
1. Coco Crisp
2. Jed Lowrie
3. Josh Donaldson
4. Yoenis Cespedes
5. Brandon Moss
6. Josh Reddick
7. Alberto Callaspo
8. Eric Sogard
9. Stephen Vogt
10. Kurt Suzuki
11. Chris Young
12. Seth Smith
13. Daric Barton
14. Derek Norris...yes three catchers.
If you want one more bullpen arm I suppose I'd keep Norris out and put Pat Neshak or Sonny Gray in his place.
But that was last season. Gone were the McCarthy's. Gone was the element of surprise. After winning 94 games, nobody (including me) expected the 2013 Athletics to do it again. The Rangers appeared to take a step back as they lost slugger Josh Hamilton to the Angels. Everybody had Los Angeles running away with the division in pre-season projections (yes, including me). Of course I wanted Oakland to win, but I'm a realist. I thought they played out of their minds last season and had everything break right for them.
The young pitching was going to regress. Bartolo Colon was going to be clean of PED's and 40+ years old. The Angels were going to score 900 runs! I predicted the Athletics narrowing out the Rangers for a Wild Card slot and losing that play-in game to the Tampa Bay Rays.
So how would Oakland respond? Would they collapse under the weight of expectations like my local team the Washington Nationals? After a quick 0-2 start, the Athletics went crazy. Nine straight wins scoring 69 runs. I had never seen an Oakland offense get off to a hot start. It had always been a struggle. Maybe they were for real last year and it was going to carry over into 2013.
Then reality set in. Following a loss to Texas, Oakland slumped to 20-22 or 11-20 in just over a month's worth of games. They were seven games out of first place and the offense had disappeared.
Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp were all struggling. Chris Young brought in to help the offense was putrid. Opening Day starter, Brett Anderson was (shockingly) injured. Thankfully the Angels had also gotten off to a wretched start. It was the Texas Rangers that appeared to have control of the A.L. West this season after choking it away a few months earlier.
That seven game deficit was the furthest they would be back for the rest of the season.
By the end of May they would be three games back. Bartolo Colon was having his best season since he won the Cy Young in 2005. Josh Donaldson was carrying the offense. Jed Lowrie was a doubles machine. The bullpen was lights out. Behind Sean Doolittle, Ryan Cook and Grant Balfour all leads were safe. Balfour would go on to break the Athletics team record of consecutive saves set by Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley. Some things were working.
The month of June saw Oakland win 16 games for the third straight month. At 13 games over .500 they stood just 0.5 out of first place. By the end of July, they would be alone in first by four games. It had been a full six games on the 29th of July, but by August 10th, just 11 days later, the Athletics were in second place once again, a game behind the Texas Rangers. For the second consecutive season the A.L. West would come down to those two teams.
On August 13th, it was a moment off the baseball field that would turn the season around. Coco Crisp received a cortisone shot on his ailing left wrist.
From that moment on Coco Crisp could do no wrong. He has hit 11 home runs since he returned on August 17th. The Athletics followed suit. At last count the Athletics had homered 68 times in their last 43 games (starting August 6th). The next highest amount in MLB is 50 with the resurgent Nationals here in D.C..
From the one game deficit back on August 10th, the A's would fall as much as 3.5 games behind Texas on August 23rd. September has belonged to the green and gold.
This month Yoenis Cespedes had his own cortisone shot and from the looks of it everyone should have one. He has been producing at an MVP level this month hitting .361 with 6 HR's and 19 RBI's. His previous high for a month had been .237 in July.
Up and down the lineup everyone is hitting. Outside of Coco and Yoenis, Lowrie and Donaldson are still doing their thing. Brandon Moss has been terrific. Josh Reddick has been better. Aleberto Callaspo was brought in from the Angels and has been hitting better than expected. The platoon team (which needs a nickname) of Eric Sogard, Nate Freiman, Derek Norris, Kurt Suzuki, Stephen Vogt, Daric Barton and yes even Chris Young have chipped in along the way in various ways.
The pitching has been good enough, but their deficiencies have been largely ignored thanks to the offense. The bullpen is shaky at best right now. Ryan Cook looks lost and the once invincible Grant Balfour has shown cracks in his armor. Bartolo Colon has returned from a DL vacation stint as strong as he was to start the season. Jarrod Parker had an 18 game start streak of not losing come to and end recently, but rebounded in his most recent start. A.J. Griffin has been homer prone but seems to be just good enough each start to be successful. Dan Straily quietly has been effective and rookie Sonny Gray has been solid.
Brett Anderson, still stuck on one win this season, is working out of the bullpen as is fellow starter Tommy Milone who had been demoted to AAA earlier in the year.
This month Oakland has gone 16-5 while the Rangers have flat lined at 5-15. This includes Oakland walking into Arlington and sweeping the Rangers on their home field. Fittingly it was a Texas lost that officially clinched the A.L. West for Oakland today even though they took care of business a few hours later with a victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Currently Oakland has the second best record in not only the American League, but in all of baseball. They have proven to be a more complete team this season. I believe they can still play better. Maybe not on the offensive side, but their pitching could easily improve, especially on the back end.
With six games left Oakland should exceed their win total of 94 games from last year, but as always it will be how they do in the playoffs that will be what everyone remembers. Since making the playoffs in 2000 Oakland will now be playing in the postseason for the seventh time in that 14 year period. They have only won one series in those previous six appearances. It has also been nearly 25 years since the franchise has last won a World Series. Could this be the group that gets them back to the mountaintop?
My 25 man playoff roster would look like this:
Pitching:
1. Bartolo Colon
2. Jarrod Parker
3. A.J. Griffin
4. Dan Straily
5. Dan Otero
6. Sean Doolittle
7. Ryan Cook
8. Grant Balfour
9. Brett Anderson
10. Jerry Blevins
11. Jesse Chavez
Hitting:
1. Coco Crisp
2. Jed Lowrie
3. Josh Donaldson
4. Yoenis Cespedes
5. Brandon Moss
6. Josh Reddick
7. Alberto Callaspo
8. Eric Sogard
9. Stephen Vogt
10. Kurt Suzuki
11. Chris Young
12. Seth Smith
13. Daric Barton
14. Derek Norris...yes three catchers.
If you want one more bullpen arm I suppose I'd keep Norris out and put Pat Neshak or Sonny Gray in his place.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
FCNPFFL: Week 2 Results
If you think falling to 0-2 in the NFL is difficult to overcome, imagine the troubles a fantasy owner might have in a shortened fantasy season. Whereas the NFL season is a full 16 games, a fantasy season is, at most, 14 games with many seasons lasting just 13 weeks. Throw in future Bye Weeks to your starting lineup and 0-2 is a world of hurt.
Seven teams in this league are facing that unwanted fate.
Before we get to the scores, a friendly reminder of the upcoming Thursday night game between KANSAS CITY and PHILADELPHIA. For those of you not keeping score at home, that is Andy Reid returning to the city of brotherly love. That should be good television.
This week marked the first week in as long as I could remember that the MNF game meant absolutely nothing to the final scores of the games. So here I sit on Monday night actually typing up this recap allowing me to be more productive at work on Tuesday.
Onto the games:
John and I tangled in a battle of teams looking to avoid that 0-2 hole. I took a quick lead behind a solid Patriots defense as they stymied the Jets and scored 11 points. On Sunday, I extended that lead with early strikes from my wide receivers. Dez Bryant wound up scoring 15 and Randall Cobb added 14. John answered with 13 from Brandon Marshall and 11 from Eagles kicker Alex Henery. Then John took a small lead behind 22 from Drew Brees, but Doug Martin kept me right in it with 14 points. Only needing a handful of points from Colin Kaepernick on Sunday night, things looked good. Through three quarters, I still hadn't wrapped up the game, but eventually Kaepernick squeaked out just enough to get me a win.
Final Score: Escaped Lunatics 75 The Situation 69
Another game with a guaranteed 0-2 starter (barring the dreaded fantasy tie) had our defending champion Nate, locking horns with Joel. On the field, the Packers trounced the Redskins and on the fantasy field, Joel got the best of Nate in the quarterback battle as Aaron Rodgers outscored RGIII 40-27. That's the good news for Joel. The bad news was that his other seven players scored just 35 more points with none in double figures. Nate had three other players score in double figures with Arian Foster tallying 15 and Jermichael Finley and Garret Hartley kicking in 10 apiece. That was enough to get Nate over the top and back to his winning ways.
Final Score: The Bounchers 85 Nikachu 75
Okay enough of the slow starting teams. Week 1 top scorer, Mike took on fellow 1-0 member Ben in a pure classic. Both teams hit triple digits this week as they (barring a huge Bengals D scoring night) were the top two scoring teams in Week 2. That means somebody lost a game that they really shouldn't have. Outscoring 12 teams and losing is the worst. Mike was led by Matt Ryan who posted 30 points, but Jimmy Graham did his best to assist with 23 points. Mike Wallace woke up from a long slumber with 13 points, LeSean McCoy put up 12 and Josh Brown booted in 11 points. Ben responded with 23 from Peyton Manning, 15 from Pierre Garcon and 12 from Lamar Miller who had a better Week 2 that his 1 yard Week 1 effort. Still, Mike was in great shape, up 27 points with Ben having just a single player left. He must've already been counting that second $10 prize. No chance Marshawn Lynch could go #BeastMode on the vaunted 49ers defense, right? Wrong. Lynch scored a hat trick of touchdowns along with 135 total yards to amass 29 total points. His final score, a meaningless one in a Seahawks blowout, was a killer for Mike. Congrats to Ben on a huge comeback and the $10 payout.
Final Score: The Magic Wands 103 Bookoo Barbarians 101
And then there was the other 1-0 vs 1-0 game pitting Nick B against Matt. Each team battled injuries and poor performances this week in an ugly effort. Matt saw Larry Fitzgerald barely do anything fighting an injury and his favorite player (as a Lions fan) Reggie Bush go down mid-game. Randy Bullock also added to Matt's misery by scoring (or is it pissing away) -1 points. Only Eli Manning (18) and the Ravens D (11) went into double digits for Matt. Nick B didn't fare much better. Already without injured receiver Danny Amendola, Nick B also saw Michael Floyd, Jason Witten and Phil Dawson combined for a paltry 3 points. Cam Newton did put up 19 points and Rashard Mendenhall added 13, but Nick was still in need of help. The Seahawks defense came to the rescue with 18 points as Nick B moved to 2-0.
Final Score: The Knacks 64 Rainbows & Puppies 51
Nick G looked to stay undefeated while Alex looked to get win #1 in a pretty solid matchup. Nick G had the games top two scoring players as Desean Jackson continued to flourish in the new Eagles offense with 24 points and Andrew Luck continued his steady play with 22 points. Jordy Nelson added 16 points for Nick G which just happened to be the point total of Alex's top scorer. That's never a good sign. Alex tried to stick around with balanced scoring. Tony Romo had the aforementioned 16 points to lead the way while Dan Bailey added 14, Matt Forte 11 and Alfred Morris chipped in 10. His other players did well, but not well enough.
Final Score: The Lollipop Kids 87 The Worthless Peons 76
Even though Lucas still has a player left tonight (and he has already scored a touchdown), it won't make a difference against Jody this week. Phillip Rivers led all scorers with 33 for Jody in a shootout win over the Eagles. Sebastian Janikowski, unfortunately for Jody, was his only other double digit scorer with just 10 points. Luke countered with his Lions tandem of Matt Stafford and Megatron who paired up on both a 72 yard (double) touchdown and a 3 yard scored for 48 total points. Heading into MNF Luke already led by 3 points and it now stands at 10 with 30 minutes left to play...and Gio scores again. Luke joins the crew at 2-0 while Jody falls to 0-2.
Final Score: Deathtongue 86 DoggNutz 67
Just like last week, our final pairing proved to be the clunker of the week. One of the two teams had a pretty decent outing while the other just had the bottom fall out. Adam and Ike proved to be a tale of two Sundays this week. With 24 points from Julio Jones, Adam nearly had all the points he would need. Yup, that about sums it up. To kick dirt on Ike's fresh grave, Adam also saw Jamaal Charles score 14, Tom Brady and Matt Prater add 13 and Darren McFadden post 11. Ike saw both his starting running backs, Ray Rice and Eddie Lacy, leave injured after just scoring two total points. The silver lining for Ike is that his two bench RBs scored 32 points. All is not lost. This week, though, all was completely and utterly lost.
Final Score: Biggums' 'Basers 88 Myra's College Fund 29
Standings after Week 2:
Back Wall Division
The Magic Wands (Ben) 2-0
Lollipop Kids (Nick G) 2-0
Biggums' 'Basers (Adam) 2-0
Bookoo Barbarians (Mike) 1-1
DoggNutz (Jody) 0-2
The Worthless Peons (Alex) 0-2
Myra's College Fund (Ike) 0-2
Critter Corner Division
Deathtongue (Luke) 2-0
The Knacks (Nick B) 2-0
Rainbows & Puppies (Matt) 1-1
Escaped Lunatics (Jason) 1-1
The Bounchers (Nate) 1-1
The Situation (John) 0-2
Nikachu (Joel) 0-2
Week 3 Schedule:
Nick B 2-0 vs Jason 1-1
Luke 2-0 vs Nate 1-1
Adam 2-0 vs Mike 1-1
Ben 2-0 vs Jody 0-2
Nick G 2-0 vs John 0-2
Matt 1-1 vs Joel 0-2
Ike 0-2 vs Alex 0-2
A very interesting schedule as none of the undefeated teams face each other. Will they pull away or will the league become wide open?
Seven teams in this league are facing that unwanted fate.
Before we get to the scores, a friendly reminder of the upcoming Thursday night game between KANSAS CITY and PHILADELPHIA. For those of you not keeping score at home, that is Andy Reid returning to the city of brotherly love. That should be good television.
This week marked the first week in as long as I could remember that the MNF game meant absolutely nothing to the final scores of the games. So here I sit on Monday night actually typing up this recap allowing me to be more productive at work on Tuesday.
Onto the games:
John and I tangled in a battle of teams looking to avoid that 0-2 hole. I took a quick lead behind a solid Patriots defense as they stymied the Jets and scored 11 points. On Sunday, I extended that lead with early strikes from my wide receivers. Dez Bryant wound up scoring 15 and Randall Cobb added 14. John answered with 13 from Brandon Marshall and 11 from Eagles kicker Alex Henery. Then John took a small lead behind 22 from Drew Brees, but Doug Martin kept me right in it with 14 points. Only needing a handful of points from Colin Kaepernick on Sunday night, things looked good. Through three quarters, I still hadn't wrapped up the game, but eventually Kaepernick squeaked out just enough to get me a win.
Final Score: Escaped Lunatics 75 The Situation 69
Another game with a guaranteed 0-2 starter (barring the dreaded fantasy tie) had our defending champion Nate, locking horns with Joel. On the field, the Packers trounced the Redskins and on the fantasy field, Joel got the best of Nate in the quarterback battle as Aaron Rodgers outscored RGIII 40-27. That's the good news for Joel. The bad news was that his other seven players scored just 35 more points with none in double figures. Nate had three other players score in double figures with Arian Foster tallying 15 and Jermichael Finley and Garret Hartley kicking in 10 apiece. That was enough to get Nate over the top and back to his winning ways.
Final Score: The Bounchers 85 Nikachu 75
Okay enough of the slow starting teams. Week 1 top scorer, Mike took on fellow 1-0 member Ben in a pure classic. Both teams hit triple digits this week as they (barring a huge Bengals D scoring night) were the top two scoring teams in Week 2. That means somebody lost a game that they really shouldn't have. Outscoring 12 teams and losing is the worst. Mike was led by Matt Ryan who posted 30 points, but Jimmy Graham did his best to assist with 23 points. Mike Wallace woke up from a long slumber with 13 points, LeSean McCoy put up 12 and Josh Brown booted in 11 points. Ben responded with 23 from Peyton Manning, 15 from Pierre Garcon and 12 from Lamar Miller who had a better Week 2 that his 1 yard Week 1 effort. Still, Mike was in great shape, up 27 points with Ben having just a single player left. He must've already been counting that second $10 prize. No chance Marshawn Lynch could go #BeastMode on the vaunted 49ers defense, right? Wrong. Lynch scored a hat trick of touchdowns along with 135 total yards to amass 29 total points. His final score, a meaningless one in a Seahawks blowout, was a killer for Mike. Congrats to Ben on a huge comeback and the $10 payout.
Final Score: The Magic Wands 103 Bookoo Barbarians 101
And then there was the other 1-0 vs 1-0 game pitting Nick B against Matt. Each team battled injuries and poor performances this week in an ugly effort. Matt saw Larry Fitzgerald barely do anything fighting an injury and his favorite player (as a Lions fan) Reggie Bush go down mid-game. Randy Bullock also added to Matt's misery by scoring (or is it pissing away) -1 points. Only Eli Manning (18) and the Ravens D (11) went into double digits for Matt. Nick B didn't fare much better. Already without injured receiver Danny Amendola, Nick B also saw Michael Floyd, Jason Witten and Phil Dawson combined for a paltry 3 points. Cam Newton did put up 19 points and Rashard Mendenhall added 13, but Nick was still in need of help. The Seahawks defense came to the rescue with 18 points as Nick B moved to 2-0.
Final Score: The Knacks 64 Rainbows & Puppies 51
Nick G looked to stay undefeated while Alex looked to get win #1 in a pretty solid matchup. Nick G had the games top two scoring players as Desean Jackson continued to flourish in the new Eagles offense with 24 points and Andrew Luck continued his steady play with 22 points. Jordy Nelson added 16 points for Nick G which just happened to be the point total of Alex's top scorer. That's never a good sign. Alex tried to stick around with balanced scoring. Tony Romo had the aforementioned 16 points to lead the way while Dan Bailey added 14, Matt Forte 11 and Alfred Morris chipped in 10. His other players did well, but not well enough.
Final Score: The Lollipop Kids 87 The Worthless Peons 76
Even though Lucas still has a player left tonight (and he has already scored a touchdown), it won't make a difference against Jody this week. Phillip Rivers led all scorers with 33 for Jody in a shootout win over the Eagles. Sebastian Janikowski, unfortunately for Jody, was his only other double digit scorer with just 10 points. Luke countered with his Lions tandem of Matt Stafford and Megatron who paired up on both a 72 yard (double) touchdown and a 3 yard scored for 48 total points. Heading into MNF Luke already led by 3 points and it now stands at 10 with 30 minutes left to play...and Gio scores again. Luke joins the crew at 2-0 while Jody falls to 0-2.
Final Score: Deathtongue 86 DoggNutz 67
Just like last week, our final pairing proved to be the clunker of the week. One of the two teams had a pretty decent outing while the other just had the bottom fall out. Adam and Ike proved to be a tale of two Sundays this week. With 24 points from Julio Jones, Adam nearly had all the points he would need. Yup, that about sums it up. To kick dirt on Ike's fresh grave, Adam also saw Jamaal Charles score 14, Tom Brady and Matt Prater add 13 and Darren McFadden post 11. Ike saw both his starting running backs, Ray Rice and Eddie Lacy, leave injured after just scoring two total points. The silver lining for Ike is that his two bench RBs scored 32 points. All is not lost. This week, though, all was completely and utterly lost.
Final Score: Biggums' 'Basers 88 Myra's College Fund 29
Standings after Week 2:
Back Wall Division
The Magic Wands (Ben) 2-0
Lollipop Kids (Nick G) 2-0
Biggums' 'Basers (Adam) 2-0
Bookoo Barbarians (Mike) 1-1
DoggNutz (Jody) 0-2
The Worthless Peons (Alex) 0-2
Myra's College Fund (Ike) 0-2
Critter Corner Division
Deathtongue (Luke) 2-0
The Knacks (Nick B) 2-0
Rainbows & Puppies (Matt) 1-1
Escaped Lunatics (Jason) 1-1
The Bounchers (Nate) 1-1
The Situation (John) 0-2
Nikachu (Joel) 0-2
Week 3 Schedule:
Nick B 2-0 vs Jason 1-1
Luke 2-0 vs Nate 1-1
Adam 2-0 vs Mike 1-1
Ben 2-0 vs Jody 0-2
Nick G 2-0 vs John 0-2
Matt 1-1 vs Joel 0-2
Ike 0-2 vs Alex 0-2
A very interesting schedule as none of the undefeated teams face each other. Will they pull away or will the league become wide open?
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
FCNPFFL: Week 1 Results
Season #16 is officially underway!
A fantasy team doesn't feel 'real' until we actually get to see them play on the field when it counts. Nobody will ever get the projections correct for the week and any single player has the ability to take over a fantasy matchup. Who had Anquan Boldin going for 208 yards receiving??
Before we get to the results, let me cover some of the week to week rules as a refresher course. Waivers are done by the computer every Wednesday night. Please do not send my any waiver requests for that. I will ignore them, you have been warned.
As soon as the computer is done doing its thing, all KICKERS/DEFENSES become open game free agents until 12:55pm EST on Sunday. YOU MUST EMAIL/TEXT/TWEET/CALL me with your add/drop request for that. If you submit it on the website, I won't see it and it will just go for the waivers for the following Wednesday.
Simple enough? We haven't changed this process in about five years now, so everyone should be good to go, even newbie Joel.
As a reminder their will always be at least one Thursday game each week, so set your rosters accordingly. This weeks game is: NEW ENGLAND vs NEW YORK JETS
Okay, with that out of the way...lemme plug, one last time, my new writing venture with LeagueSafePost.com where I'll be writing a couple of fantasy matchups each week. As always I guarantee 72% accuracy!
Onto the games!
My first game of the season saw me taking on Matt in what turned out to be the first of a string of close, high scoring, games this week. Thursday was a dud for Matt as the Ravens defense posted a goose egg while Justin Tucker got me going with 8 points. Come Sunday, the scoring began. Reggie Bush got Matt rolling with a huge 27 point performance including a double touchdown of 77 yards. Jordan Cameron's 13 and 10 from Doug Martin kept the game tight. The afternoon games saw me take a big lead behind 34 from Colin Kaepernick and 13 from Randall Cobb. Matt got 17 from Larry Fitzgerald, but he was to need a standout performance from Eli Manning to get back into the game. Well 450 yards, 4+ TD's (another double score) and 39 points later, Matt was within a point with his kicker still to play. Randy Bullock scored 7 and Matt notched an opening week victory.
Final Score: Rainbows & Puppies 96 Escaped Lunatics 90
Mike and Jody saw the 186 combined points that Matt and I produced and said 'We can go higher.' These two put up 203 total points and the game didn't get decided until Monday night. Jody came out on fire with 28 points from Demaryius Thomas on Thursday night. The two quarterbacks, Matt Ryan for Mike and Andy Dalton for Jody nearly matched one another as Ryan outscored Dalton 23-20. Jody took an even larger lead with 12 from the Dolphins defense and 10 from Marques Colston. Mike was in trouble. That was until Victor Cruz salsa'd his was to 31 points on Sunday night giving Mike a shot at a victory. He needed LeSean McCoy to come up with a good night, yeah, not a problem. McCoy shredded the Redskins for 24 points and Mike not only won going away but he also pocketed the first $10 weekly prize of being the top scoring team of the week!
Final Score: Bookoo Barbarians 110 DoggNutz 93
You want drama? You want a week one nail biter? I'm sure this was a great game, coming down to the last seconds of the second MNF game, but I was fast asleep. Daddy duty is exhausting. Ike and Nick G had themselves a whale of an opening game. Ike saw all of his Thursday/Sunday players hit double digits with 22 from AJ Green, 18 from Russell Wilson, 12 from Reggie Wayne, 11 each from Ray Rice and David Akers and 10 from Eddie Lacy. Nick G got 34 from #1 overall draft pick Adrian Peterson, 25 from Andrew Luck and 14 from Jordy Nelson to keep the game close. Each team had two players going on Monday night and Ike held a slim 5 point lead. In the early game it was all Nick G who got 12 from DeSean Jackson to just a single point for Ike from Fred Davis. Nick G up six. The late game came down to Antonio Gates vs. the Texans defense. Ike won that battle 8-3, but Nick G won the war by a single point.
Final Score: The Lollipop Kids 94 Myra's College Fund 93
Similar MNF drama came between Alex and Adam who played our fourth great game of the week. Adam was led by Tom Brady who posted 19 while Vernon Davis got him 18, Jamaal Charles put up 14 and Run DMC stayed healthy long enough to score 11 points. Alex saw his quarterback, Tony Romo, also lead the way with 20 points while Wes Welker added 14 and both Matt Forte and Dan Baily chipped in 13 apiece. With Alex having the last bullet in the gun in the form of Redskins running back Alfred Morris, he looked to be in decent shape. Needing just 11 points to win against a porous Eagles defense, he had to be feeling good. Until Morris fumbled on his first touch of the season...-2 points. Then he mishandled a ball for a safety and the drama was on! The Redskins inched their way back, mainly through the air, but Morris did score a late touchdown, which proved to be too little too late for them and for Alex.
Final Score: Biggums' 'Basers 81 The Worthless Peons 79
The we head to our defending Super Bowl Champion, Nate, who looked to continue his run of 13 consecutive wins and his overall unbeaten streak of 16 games (one tie last season). He took on Ben who was thankful that he owned Peyton Manning. The Broncos quarterback posted an astounding 55 points on Thursday night and then Ben saw his other seven players muster just 28 more points the rest of the weekend. Nate took the more balanced approach with five players tallying between 9-11 points. With the Giants D posting -1 points Nate still found himself down 40 points heading in MNF with three players left while Ben had just Pierre Garcon. RGIII got Nate within striking distance with 24 points while Garcon had just 4 points. The lead had been shaved in half and with both Arian Foster and Andre Johnson left to play, Ben had to have been sweating bullets. Although the two Texans combined for 236 total yards from scrimmage neither found pay dirt and they settled for just 16 total fantasy points, ending the magical run that Nate strung together.
Final Score: The Magic Wands 83 The Bounchers 79
I haven't forgotten about the Hardi clan. With three members from one family within one single division, it's going to get messy by Thanksgiving. Week 1 saw father John, take on one of his sons, Luke and the game did not disappoint. Again the quarterbacks basically evened out as Luke won the battle 28-24 behind Matt Stafford (vs. Drew Brees). Each team had a double digit scoring running back as Steven Jackson scored 10 and Frank Gore rumbled for 11. Brandon Marshall pieced together 12 for John while Luke got the same 12 from Stephen Gostkowski. It came down to the tight ends. John saw a good effort from Brandon Myers who hauled in 10 points, but it was Jared Cook that stood out and earned Luke a week one victory. Cook whipped together a tasty 19 point effort which could have been more had it not been for a goal line fumble early on.
Final Score: Deathtongue 76 The Situation 70
And then there was this clunker...usually I say 'last, but not least' in this spot, but not this week. Nick B and Joel combined for just 107 points in this game. Mike wins again!! For Joel he got more than half of his points from the golden right arm of Aaron Rodgers who scored 28. His two running backs, Stevan Ridley and David Wilson scored a grand total of -1 points. Ouch. Nick B wasn't a whole lot better, but he was good enough this week. 16 from Jason Witten and 13 from Cam Newton along with middling efforts from the rest of the team, got him a week one victory.
Final Score: The Knacks 62 Nikachu 45
Back Wall Division Standings:
Mike (Bookoo Barbarians) 1-0
Nick G (Lollipop Kids) 1-0
Ben (Magic Wands) 1-0
Adam (Biggums' 'Basers) 1-0
Jody (DoggNutz) 0-1
Ike (Myra's College Fund) 0-1
Alex (Worthles Peons) 0-1
Critter Corner Division
Matt (Rainbows & Puppies) 1-0
Luke (Deathtongue) 1-0
Nick B (The Knacks) 1-0
Jason (Escaped Lunatics) 0-1
Nate (The Bounchers) 0-1
John (The Situation) 0-1
Joel (Nikachu) 0-1
Week 2 Schedule:
Mike 1-0 vs Ben 1-0
Matt 1-0 vs Nick B 1-0
Nick G 1-0 vs Alex 0-1
Adam 1-0 vs Ike 0-1
Luke 1-0 vs Jody 0-1
Jason 0-1 vs John 0-1
Nate 0-1 vs Joel 0-1
A fantasy team doesn't feel 'real' until we actually get to see them play on the field when it counts. Nobody will ever get the projections correct for the week and any single player has the ability to take over a fantasy matchup. Who had Anquan Boldin going for 208 yards receiving??
Before we get to the results, let me cover some of the week to week rules as a refresher course. Waivers are done by the computer every Wednesday night. Please do not send my any waiver requests for that. I will ignore them, you have been warned.
As soon as the computer is done doing its thing, all KICKERS/DEFENSES become open game free agents until 12:55pm EST on Sunday. YOU MUST EMAIL/TEXT/TWEET/CALL me with your add/drop request for that. If you submit it on the website, I won't see it and it will just go for the waivers for the following Wednesday.
Simple enough? We haven't changed this process in about five years now, so everyone should be good to go, even newbie Joel.
As a reminder their will always be at least one Thursday game each week, so set your rosters accordingly. This weeks game is: NEW ENGLAND vs NEW YORK JETS
Okay, with that out of the way...lemme plug, one last time, my new writing venture with LeagueSafePost.com where I'll be writing a couple of fantasy matchups each week. As always I guarantee 72% accuracy!
Onto the games!
My first game of the season saw me taking on Matt in what turned out to be the first of a string of close, high scoring, games this week. Thursday was a dud for Matt as the Ravens defense posted a goose egg while Justin Tucker got me going with 8 points. Come Sunday, the scoring began. Reggie Bush got Matt rolling with a huge 27 point performance including a double touchdown of 77 yards. Jordan Cameron's 13 and 10 from Doug Martin kept the game tight. The afternoon games saw me take a big lead behind 34 from Colin Kaepernick and 13 from Randall Cobb. Matt got 17 from Larry Fitzgerald, but he was to need a standout performance from Eli Manning to get back into the game. Well 450 yards, 4+ TD's (another double score) and 39 points later, Matt was within a point with his kicker still to play. Randy Bullock scored 7 and Matt notched an opening week victory.
Final Score: Rainbows & Puppies 96 Escaped Lunatics 90
Mike and Jody saw the 186 combined points that Matt and I produced and said 'We can go higher.' These two put up 203 total points and the game didn't get decided until Monday night. Jody came out on fire with 28 points from Demaryius Thomas on Thursday night. The two quarterbacks, Matt Ryan for Mike and Andy Dalton for Jody nearly matched one another as Ryan outscored Dalton 23-20. Jody took an even larger lead with 12 from the Dolphins defense and 10 from Marques Colston. Mike was in trouble. That was until Victor Cruz salsa'd his was to 31 points on Sunday night giving Mike a shot at a victory. He needed LeSean McCoy to come up with a good night, yeah, not a problem. McCoy shredded the Redskins for 24 points and Mike not only won going away but he also pocketed the first $10 weekly prize of being the top scoring team of the week!
Final Score: Bookoo Barbarians 110 DoggNutz 93
You want drama? You want a week one nail biter? I'm sure this was a great game, coming down to the last seconds of the second MNF game, but I was fast asleep. Daddy duty is exhausting. Ike and Nick G had themselves a whale of an opening game. Ike saw all of his Thursday/Sunday players hit double digits with 22 from AJ Green, 18 from Russell Wilson, 12 from Reggie Wayne, 11 each from Ray Rice and David Akers and 10 from Eddie Lacy. Nick G got 34 from #1 overall draft pick Adrian Peterson, 25 from Andrew Luck and 14 from Jordy Nelson to keep the game close. Each team had two players going on Monday night and Ike held a slim 5 point lead. In the early game it was all Nick G who got 12 from DeSean Jackson to just a single point for Ike from Fred Davis. Nick G up six. The late game came down to Antonio Gates vs. the Texans defense. Ike won that battle 8-3, but Nick G won the war by a single point.
Final Score: The Lollipop Kids 94 Myra's College Fund 93
Similar MNF drama came between Alex and Adam who played our fourth great game of the week. Adam was led by Tom Brady who posted 19 while Vernon Davis got him 18, Jamaal Charles put up 14 and Run DMC stayed healthy long enough to score 11 points. Alex saw his quarterback, Tony Romo, also lead the way with 20 points while Wes Welker added 14 and both Matt Forte and Dan Baily chipped in 13 apiece. With Alex having the last bullet in the gun in the form of Redskins running back Alfred Morris, he looked to be in decent shape. Needing just 11 points to win against a porous Eagles defense, he had to be feeling good. Until Morris fumbled on his first touch of the season...-2 points. Then he mishandled a ball for a safety and the drama was on! The Redskins inched their way back, mainly through the air, but Morris did score a late touchdown, which proved to be too little too late for them and for Alex.
Final Score: Biggums' 'Basers 81 The Worthless Peons 79
The we head to our defending Super Bowl Champion, Nate, who looked to continue his run of 13 consecutive wins and his overall unbeaten streak of 16 games (one tie last season). He took on Ben who was thankful that he owned Peyton Manning. The Broncos quarterback posted an astounding 55 points on Thursday night and then Ben saw his other seven players muster just 28 more points the rest of the weekend. Nate took the more balanced approach with five players tallying between 9-11 points. With the Giants D posting -1 points Nate still found himself down 40 points heading in MNF with three players left while Ben had just Pierre Garcon. RGIII got Nate within striking distance with 24 points while Garcon had just 4 points. The lead had been shaved in half and with both Arian Foster and Andre Johnson left to play, Ben had to have been sweating bullets. Although the two Texans combined for 236 total yards from scrimmage neither found pay dirt and they settled for just 16 total fantasy points, ending the magical run that Nate strung together.
Final Score: The Magic Wands 83 The Bounchers 79
I haven't forgotten about the Hardi clan. With three members from one family within one single division, it's going to get messy by Thanksgiving. Week 1 saw father John, take on one of his sons, Luke and the game did not disappoint. Again the quarterbacks basically evened out as Luke won the battle 28-24 behind Matt Stafford (vs. Drew Brees). Each team had a double digit scoring running back as Steven Jackson scored 10 and Frank Gore rumbled for 11. Brandon Marshall pieced together 12 for John while Luke got the same 12 from Stephen Gostkowski. It came down to the tight ends. John saw a good effort from Brandon Myers who hauled in 10 points, but it was Jared Cook that stood out and earned Luke a week one victory. Cook whipped together a tasty 19 point effort which could have been more had it not been for a goal line fumble early on.
Final Score: Deathtongue 76 The Situation 70
And then there was this clunker...usually I say 'last, but not least' in this spot, but not this week. Nick B and Joel combined for just 107 points in this game. Mike wins again!! For Joel he got more than half of his points from the golden right arm of Aaron Rodgers who scored 28. His two running backs, Stevan Ridley and David Wilson scored a grand total of -1 points. Ouch. Nick B wasn't a whole lot better, but he was good enough this week. 16 from Jason Witten and 13 from Cam Newton along with middling efforts from the rest of the team, got him a week one victory.
Final Score: The Knacks 62 Nikachu 45
Back Wall Division Standings:
Mike (Bookoo Barbarians) 1-0
Nick G (Lollipop Kids) 1-0
Ben (Magic Wands) 1-0
Adam (Biggums' 'Basers) 1-0
Jody (DoggNutz) 0-1
Ike (Myra's College Fund) 0-1
Alex (Worthles Peons) 0-1
Critter Corner Division
Matt (Rainbows & Puppies) 1-0
Luke (Deathtongue) 1-0
Nick B (The Knacks) 1-0
Jason (Escaped Lunatics) 0-1
Nate (The Bounchers) 0-1
John (The Situation) 0-1
Joel (Nikachu) 0-1
Week 2 Schedule:
Mike 1-0 vs Ben 1-0
Matt 1-0 vs Nick B 1-0
Nick G 1-0 vs Alex 0-1
Adam 1-0 vs Ike 0-1
Luke 1-0 vs Jody 0-1
Jason 0-1 vs John 0-1
Nate 0-1 vs Joel 0-1
Monday, September 2, 2013
NFL Crystal Ball 2013
Third time is the charm, right? After swinging and missing last year with a Houston over Atlanta Super Bowl, I'm back with another 72% guaranteed accurate prediction of the upcoming NFL season. I'll predict every game, a bunch of break outs and flops, your future MVP and of course the winner of the first ever outdoor Super Bowl in a cold weather climate.
Seeing as my XBOX is currently covered in dust due to lack of use, I was resorted to breaking out my old Patriots vs Bears Super Bowl XX Electric Football Game and simulate the games while listening to that awful buzzing sound. Basically, I started playing these games in early March and I have just now finished them. Now although my all too early prediction from my post in February didn't come true exactly this go around, I was close. I do know that the editors at ESPN the Magazine read my blog as their prediction of Denver over Seattle matched mine although they were 6 months late. The only thing that kept Seattle from advancing in my mind during my simulation was the injury to Percy Harvin. They'll drop a game that they shouldn't have forcing them to play on the road in the playoffs.
Here are some predictions for the season:
Break out candidates - T.Y. Hilton who finally emerges as the #1 receiver in Indianapolis over personal favorite Reggie Wayne. Daryl Richardson who will either be the next Alfred Morris or Donald Brown making me look smart or costing me two fantasy leagues. Ben Tate who takes over as the primary back in Houston in the 2nd half due to fatigue/injury concerns with Arian Foster. Dwayne Bowe has been waiting for an offense like the one Andy Reid will compose. He becomes a Pro Bowl starter if there is a Pro Bowl anymore.
Busts - C.J. Spiller becomes the latest top talent on a bad team to suffer an early season ending injury. Vincent Jackson doesn't come close to his 2012 numbers mainly due to the lack of progression in the career of quarterback Josh Freeman who gets benched for a short spell mid-season. DeSean Jackson wears out his welcome with the new Eagles coaching staff by sleeping through yet another team meeting and is relegated to 2nd string down the stretch. Carson Palmer suffers behind the worst offensive line in the NFL for the second year in a row (Oakland was horrid in 2012) and doesn't make it through the season upright.
Regular season MVP: Colin Kaepernick narrowly edging out Peyton Manning
Here are you 2013 NFL Standings:
NFC EAST
Washington Redskins 10-6
New York Giants 9-7
Dallas Cowboys 8-8
Philadelphia Eagles 7-9
NFC NORTH
Detroit Lions 11-5
Green Bay Packers 10-6
Chicago Bears 7-9
Minnesota Vikings 5-11
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons 12-4
New Orleans Saints 11-5
Carolina Panthers 7-9
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5-11
NFC WEST
San Francisco 49ers 12-4
Seattle Seahawks 11-5
St. Louis Rams 9-7
Arizona Cardinals 2-14
AFC EAST
New England Patriots 13-3
Miami Dolphins 6-10
New York Jets 3-13
Buffalo Bills 3-13
AFC NORTH
Cincinnati Bengals 11-5
Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7
Baltimore Ravens 8-8
Cleveland Browns 8-8
AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis Colts 13-3
Houston Texans 11-5
Tennessee Titans 5-11
Jacksonville Jaguars 4-12
AFC WEST
Denver Broncos 12-4
Kansas City Chiefs 10-6
Oakland Raiders 3-13
San Diego Chargers 2-14
Playoffs:
NFC
1. San Francisco
2. Atlanta
3. Detroit
4. Washington
5. New Orleans
6. Seattle
Wild Card Round:
Seattle over Detroit
Washington over New Orleans
Divisional Round:
San Francisco over Seattle
Atlanta over Washington
NFC Championship:
Atlanta over San Francisco
AFC
1. New England
2. Indianapolis
3. Denver
4. Cincinnati
5. Houston
6. Kansas City
Wild Card Round:
Denver over Kansas City
Houston over Cincinnati
Divisional Round:
New England over Houston
Denver over Indianapolis
AFC Championship:
Denver over New England
Super Bowl:
Denver over Atlanta 27-20; Peyton Manning MVP 24-33 285 yards 2 TD's, 0 INT's and he retires on top.
Seeing as my XBOX is currently covered in dust due to lack of use, I was resorted to breaking out my old Patriots vs Bears Super Bowl XX Electric Football Game and simulate the games while listening to that awful buzzing sound. Basically, I started playing these games in early March and I have just now finished them. Now although my all too early prediction from my post in February didn't come true exactly this go around, I was close. I do know that the editors at ESPN the Magazine read my blog as their prediction of Denver over Seattle matched mine although they were 6 months late. The only thing that kept Seattle from advancing in my mind during my simulation was the injury to Percy Harvin. They'll drop a game that they shouldn't have forcing them to play on the road in the playoffs.
Here are some predictions for the season:
Break out candidates - T.Y. Hilton who finally emerges as the #1 receiver in Indianapolis over personal favorite Reggie Wayne. Daryl Richardson who will either be the next Alfred Morris or Donald Brown making me look smart or costing me two fantasy leagues. Ben Tate who takes over as the primary back in Houston in the 2nd half due to fatigue/injury concerns with Arian Foster. Dwayne Bowe has been waiting for an offense like the one Andy Reid will compose. He becomes a Pro Bowl starter if there is a Pro Bowl anymore.
Busts - C.J. Spiller becomes the latest top talent on a bad team to suffer an early season ending injury. Vincent Jackson doesn't come close to his 2012 numbers mainly due to the lack of progression in the career of quarterback Josh Freeman who gets benched for a short spell mid-season. DeSean Jackson wears out his welcome with the new Eagles coaching staff by sleeping through yet another team meeting and is relegated to 2nd string down the stretch. Carson Palmer suffers behind the worst offensive line in the NFL for the second year in a row (Oakland was horrid in 2012) and doesn't make it through the season upright.
Regular season MVP: Colin Kaepernick narrowly edging out Peyton Manning
Here are you 2013 NFL Standings:
NFC EAST
Washington Redskins 10-6
New York Giants 9-7
Dallas Cowboys 8-8
Philadelphia Eagles 7-9
NFC NORTH
Detroit Lions 11-5
Green Bay Packers 10-6
Chicago Bears 7-9
Minnesota Vikings 5-11
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons 12-4
New Orleans Saints 11-5
Carolina Panthers 7-9
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5-11
NFC WEST
San Francisco 49ers 12-4
Seattle Seahawks 11-5
St. Louis Rams 9-7
Arizona Cardinals 2-14
AFC EAST
New England Patriots 13-3
Miami Dolphins 6-10
New York Jets 3-13
Buffalo Bills 3-13
AFC NORTH
Cincinnati Bengals 11-5
Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7
Baltimore Ravens 8-8
Cleveland Browns 8-8
AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis Colts 13-3
Houston Texans 11-5
Tennessee Titans 5-11
Jacksonville Jaguars 4-12
AFC WEST
Denver Broncos 12-4
Kansas City Chiefs 10-6
Oakland Raiders 3-13
San Diego Chargers 2-14
Playoffs:
NFC
1. San Francisco
2. Atlanta
3. Detroit
4. Washington
5. New Orleans
6. Seattle
Wild Card Round:
Seattle over Detroit
Washington over New Orleans
Divisional Round:
San Francisco over Seattle
Atlanta over Washington
NFC Championship:
Atlanta over San Francisco
AFC
1. New England
2. Indianapolis
3. Denver
4. Cincinnati
5. Houston
6. Kansas City
Wild Card Round:
Denver over Kansas City
Houston over Cincinnati
Divisional Round:
New England over Houston
Denver over Indianapolis
AFC Championship:
Denver over New England
Super Bowl:
Denver over Atlanta 27-20; Peyton Manning MVP 24-33 285 yards 2 TD's, 0 INT's and he retires on top.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Fantasy Football Draft Weekend Is Here!
Merry Christmas to me!!! Now that I'm all grown up and my son is still too young to enjoy the holiday season, this is what I look forward to each year. It's my own personal Festivus!!
This year I am in four fantasy football leagues, the first of which drafts tonight. It's the league that I will be writing about, once again, this season here. I am the commissioner of the 14 team league and we are now in our 16th season. We will gather in a room too small for 14 people and lay out pizzas and wings while we draft the old school way, in person. This is a normal snake draft save for the fact that we do a 3rd round reverse twist. After going 1-14 and then 14-1 in round two, we repeat 14-1 once again in round three before continuing to snake. In the five years or so since starting this, it has been proven that teams 1-7 and 8-14 have an equal chance of making the playoffs, which wasn't true before with such a large league size.
With the fourth pick tonight, it becomes imperative that I hit a home run with my choice. I only have two picks out of the first 38 which leaves me very little room for error (like taking the Darren McFadden/Steven Jackson combination from a year ago). I probably won't make up my mind until I'm on the clock tonight about which direction I want go.
Tomorrow afternoon I head over to my friends house for another in person draft. This league is completely different than my league. It is only 10 teams big and it is not only an auction draft, but we use keepers as well. I have not had much success in this league for whatever reason. I have tried to balance the win now approach while keeping an eye out for players who are a year away from stardom and getting them cheap. I have rarely drafted rookies which very well could be my main problem. This year I do have a rookie keeper in the form of Russell Wilson. I'm banking on him being starter worthy (one of the best 10 quarterbacks in the league) and freeing up some cap room space for other players. I will also be keeping his teammate, Marshawn Lynch and past diva/enigma receiver Dez Bryant. It's a good base, but I'm sure to screw up the rest of the roster. Once again I was burned by keeping Darren McFadden last season. No more.
Sunday brings me a new league. I will be writing for a fantasy football website (http://www.leaguesafepost.com/) this year and they have invited all the new writers into a league. It will be an online, auction draft and, obviously, it comes with some twists. There are no kicker or defensive spots. There is a normal flex spot as well as a, new to me, OP slot (offensive player utility) where you can even start a second quarterback. The scoring in this league leans heavily on touchdowns over yardage as 120 yards rushing/receiving will equal the points of one touchdown. Not knowing any of the owners and not being strong in auction drafts along with not seeing exactly how the scoring system will affect players puts me at a strategy disadvantage. I'll have to use guile and pure dumb luck to succeed in this one.
After I have recovered from my weekend of fun, I have one final draft on Thursday night. It's a relatively standard league save for it being a PPR (points per reception) league. That will slightly change my strategy as a player like Reggie Bush becomes a far more valuable player than the likes of Alfred Morris (if you believe Bush can stay healthy). This will be an online, snake draft and only 10 teams this year (we lost two mainly to the guys becoming fathers and hating a certain league mate who is just plain vile). It's only my 3rd year in this league and very possibly could be my last if that certain someone continues his wrath of being a prick. There are just certain things that ruin fantasy football and foul mouthed idiots will do it. I have never met him, but his online persona is of a person I'm glad I've never met.
Fantasy football is meant to be fun. A way to enjoy games in a secondary way rather than just rooting for your favorite team and against the Cowboys. I love to be active in my league with add/drops, trades and polite trash talking. Nobody can claim to be a master at fantasy football, there are just too many variables, but you can put yourself in a good situation to succeed in all league formats by doing a bit of research.
Good luck to everyone drafting this weekend, may your #1 draft pick not tear an ACL in Week 1 and may your sleepers become league MVP's.
This year I am in four fantasy football leagues, the first of which drafts tonight. It's the league that I will be writing about, once again, this season here. I am the commissioner of the 14 team league and we are now in our 16th season. We will gather in a room too small for 14 people and lay out pizzas and wings while we draft the old school way, in person. This is a normal snake draft save for the fact that we do a 3rd round reverse twist. After going 1-14 and then 14-1 in round two, we repeat 14-1 once again in round three before continuing to snake. In the five years or so since starting this, it has been proven that teams 1-7 and 8-14 have an equal chance of making the playoffs, which wasn't true before with such a large league size.
With the fourth pick tonight, it becomes imperative that I hit a home run with my choice. I only have two picks out of the first 38 which leaves me very little room for error (like taking the Darren McFadden/Steven Jackson combination from a year ago). I probably won't make up my mind until I'm on the clock tonight about which direction I want go.
Tomorrow afternoon I head over to my friends house for another in person draft. This league is completely different than my league. It is only 10 teams big and it is not only an auction draft, but we use keepers as well. I have not had much success in this league for whatever reason. I have tried to balance the win now approach while keeping an eye out for players who are a year away from stardom and getting them cheap. I have rarely drafted rookies which very well could be my main problem. This year I do have a rookie keeper in the form of Russell Wilson. I'm banking on him being starter worthy (one of the best 10 quarterbacks in the league) and freeing up some cap room space for other players. I will also be keeping his teammate, Marshawn Lynch and past diva/enigma receiver Dez Bryant. It's a good base, but I'm sure to screw up the rest of the roster. Once again I was burned by keeping Darren McFadden last season. No more.
Sunday brings me a new league. I will be writing for a fantasy football website (http://www.leaguesafepost.com/) this year and they have invited all the new writers into a league. It will be an online, auction draft and, obviously, it comes with some twists. There are no kicker or defensive spots. There is a normal flex spot as well as a, new to me, OP slot (offensive player utility) where you can even start a second quarterback. The scoring in this league leans heavily on touchdowns over yardage as 120 yards rushing/receiving will equal the points of one touchdown. Not knowing any of the owners and not being strong in auction drafts along with not seeing exactly how the scoring system will affect players puts me at a strategy disadvantage. I'll have to use guile and pure dumb luck to succeed in this one.
After I have recovered from my weekend of fun, I have one final draft on Thursday night. It's a relatively standard league save for it being a PPR (points per reception) league. That will slightly change my strategy as a player like Reggie Bush becomes a far more valuable player than the likes of Alfred Morris (if you believe Bush can stay healthy). This will be an online, snake draft and only 10 teams this year (we lost two mainly to the guys becoming fathers and hating a certain league mate who is just plain vile). It's only my 3rd year in this league and very possibly could be my last if that certain someone continues his wrath of being a prick. There are just certain things that ruin fantasy football and foul mouthed idiots will do it. I have never met him, but his online persona is of a person I'm glad I've never met.
Fantasy football is meant to be fun. A way to enjoy games in a secondary way rather than just rooting for your favorite team and against the Cowboys. I love to be active in my league with add/drops, trades and polite trash talking. Nobody can claim to be a master at fantasy football, there are just too many variables, but you can put yourself in a good situation to succeed in all league formats by doing a bit of research.
Good luck to everyone drafting this weekend, may your #1 draft pick not tear an ACL in Week 1 and may your sleepers become league MVP's.
Friday, August 9, 2013
John Cusack and 2013 Fantasy Football
For my third annual article of my introduction into the fantasy football season, I have chosen one of my favorite actors. Over the last
30 years, John Cusack has entertained viewing audiences with his quirky sense of humor
and his reluctance (for the most part) to avoid doing a movie just to
cash a Hollywood paycheck. The first movie I truly remember watching
repeatedly was One Crazy Summer when it aired pretty much every other
weekend on my local television stations. Whether it was the animated
sequences or the 'climatic' boat race at the end, it was always a movie
that kept me laughing.
Two movies that I won't touch on in this article, but that are two of my favorite of all time are Being John Malkovich and Grosse Pointe Blank. These are two completely different movies, but both fit the odd ball personality of Cusack characters to a tee. Now, Con Air is not what most would call an Academy Award worthy film, but I can't help watching it every time it is on television. Its the perfect time waster on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Put the bunny back in the box.
Last season I covered Denzel Washington where I definitely had some opportunities for improvement. I undersold the rookie class and overbought the Philadelphia Eagles. Frank Gore still had some gas left in the tank, but Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees once again put up monster numbers. I thought the Tennessee Titans would make some bigger strides and I completely bombed on my Donald Brown breakout prediction.
This season I will be looking back at the career of John Cusack and hopefully give my faithful readers an edge on either what to do or what not to do, depending on how good you think I am at this.
The Raven
I've wanted to watch this movie, but for some reason I haven't gotten around to it, but what better way to start this season than with a look at the defending Super Bowl Champions. Trying to repeat as a champion is difficult in any sport and this year already looks daunting for Baltimore. Gone are two legendary defensive stalwarts in retired linebacker Ray Lewis and free agent (Houston) safety Ed Reed. You have to expect a step back for the defense that has been such a fantasy monster over the last decade. On the other side of the ball, Joe Flacco has a new contract, but he lost veteran (and aging) wide receiver Anquan Boldin to free agency and recently, and far more importantly, emerging tight end Dennis Pitta to injury. In the four years since his rookie year, Flacco has been the model of consistency: mid to upper 3000's in yards passing, low to mid 20's in TD passes and double digit interceptions. Not the sexiest stat line and the main reason he'll never be a consistent fantasy starter. He'll keep Torrey Smith's numbers down, unfortunately, but he is the only receiver with massive upside, if Flacco can put a full season together. Ray Rice is the do it all back for the Ravens and for your fantasy team. There was something to worry about when the Ravens let Vonta Leach go, but he recently re-signed with the club and that cements Rice as a top 5 fantasy pick in my book. With Leach in the backfield with Rice, the numbers have been strikingly alarming. In the two seasons as a starter without Leach, Rice averaged 1908 yards from scrimmage per season while the two seasons with Leach he averaged 1844 yards from scrimmage per season. Wait? What? Doesn't that contradict the value of Leach?? No and here's why, Rice scored just 14 touchdowns without Leach and 25!! with Leach. That is the key number. Leach paves the way for the diminutive Rice inside the five without stealing the touchdowns.
Hot Tub Time Machine
In this comedy, a bunch of old dudes find a way to travel back in time to relive the years when they were young and hip in their own minds. Which aging veteran has one more viable fantasy season left in him like what Tony Gonzalez was able to to do last season for the Falcons (by the way he's definitely got something left)? Outside of Peyton Manning, the QB position is a young mans spot. If I had to take a veteran signal caller with the shot of doing something special, I'd go with Carson Palmer. Why? Two words: Bruce Arians. Oh you thought I was going to say Larry Fitzgerald? He's good, but maybe, just maybe Arians can find the proper scheme for those two to thrive. As for RB's, Frank Gore showed he wasn't ready to pass the torch to LaMichael James or Kendall Hunter just yet. The door is still open for one more season with Hunter injured, but its Reggie Bush (who I personally disowned three years ago) that should be primed to succeed. He loves open space and joins a Lions team that spreads the field like no other. Similar to the role that Darren Sproles has in New Orleans (that Bush was supposed to be), this could be a season of 75 receptions and double digit total touchdowns. Out wide, Dwayne Bowe has suddenly turned 28 before our eyes and his hopes for resurrecting his career rely solely on Andy Reid. The question is whether both of them are washed up or whether Bowe just needed a (once?) great offensive mind. Alex Smith isn't the greatest quarterback, but he should be sufficient enough to lead an above average offense in a weakened division. At tight end, old dudes still shine led by Gonzalez, Jason Witten and Antonio Gates, but its Greg Olsen who once again is primed to shine if only the Panthers use him more wisely. He's a match up nightmare, but he loses too many touchdowns to the run heavy goal line offense of Carolina. If Cam Newton just passes a handful more times inside the 10, Olsen could see his touchdown total climb to 9+ and make him a top five option.
2012
Oh John. I like you and I love end of the world movies, but 2012 just didn't do it for me. Just like the Mayans, the movie missed its mark with audiences. The rookie class of 2012 proved to be unlike the movie and was a complete box office smash hit. Andrew Luck, RGIII, Russell Wilson, Doug Martin, Trent Richardson and even late round sensation Alfred Morris all starred. This years crop of rookies can not and will not match them. As Ralph Wiggum once uttered: 'That's unpossible!' The fact that WR Tavon Austin was the first fantasy worthy choice at pick 12 says it all. There weren't high end, impact ready rookies this season. Now, of course, somebody will step in and shine, but I can't think of too many rookies that I'll spend a valuable pick on this go around. EJ Manuel and Geno Smith will aim to be the next in the line of hybrid quarterbacks a la RGIII and Colin Kaepernick, but unless you're in a deep keeper league, look elsewhere come draft day. The first running back off the board was my favorite college back as a UNC fan, Gio Bernard. He won't be the starter in Cincinnati, but he'll have his chances and could be a Darren Sproles clone in a year or two. Montee Ball is the one to watch as he is on a pass heavy team and will have room to run from day one. If any of the group has the potential to be a fantasy hero, it's him because Denver is going to score and score a lot. Peyton will have to let his rookie back score every once in a while, won't he? I also think Le'veon Bell is in a good spot with Pittsburgh while both Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin will be looking to earn the majority of reps in Green Bay. Rookie wide receivers are usually a must avoid, but everyone is speaking wonders about Texans rookie DeAndre Hopkins. He is on a really good team with a stud receiver in Andre Johnson opposite him and he can catch the ball, no really catch the ball. I am calling him the next Reggie Wayne whom I coveted for years as Marvin Harrison was aging in Indianapolis. That being said, it took Wayne four seasons to have his first 1,000 yard campaign. Back to Austin who is in a good place in St. Louis where his speed will be on full display, but there's no chance he produces to his current ADP which is ahead of the likes of Cecil Shorts and T.Y. Hilton who will be far more productive.
Bullets Over Broadway
I've never been a fan of Woody Allen films (save for Antz) and I've never, ever, ever, been a fan of sports teams in the great state of New York. The fact is I downright loathe every team based out of the Empire State and luckily for me there are three New York based teams in the NFL for me to dislike. Yes, the Buffalo Bills are still both in New York (not Toronto) and still in the NFL. The Giants and the Jets get most of the publicity and seeing as they are co-hosting the Super Bowl this season, all eyes will once again be focused on them. In western New York, the Bills have overhauled the offense dispatching incumbent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to Tennessee and bringing in Kevin Kolb and rookie E.J. Manuel. Fred Jackson gave way to C.J. Spiller in the backfield last season and boy did Spiller shine averaging 6.8 yards per TOUCH while accumulating 1,700 yards from scrimmage and he only started 7 games (playing in all 16). The step back at quarterback will hinder his progression this season, but he's the one Bills player to grab. Steve Johnson is already injured and not worth much more than a third receiver on your roster at this point. The Jets have said adieu to the failed Tim Tebow experiment and hopefully they can refocus on football. Of course, I think a distraction to the pig slop that the Jets will roll out might be exactly what the fans will need. When Chris Ivory is your best bet at fantasy gold, you know you'll be struggling. That's not saying Ivory won't be a beast now that he has a chance to shine, but he's an awfully risky choice as a #2 starter in most 12+ team leagues. For the Giants, the picture is much more appetizing. Eli Manning has his stable of weapons back with Victor Cruz re-signing, Hakeem Nicks still fighting bumps and bruises, new tight end Brandon Myers and sleeper pick Rueben Randle to step in when Nicks misses his handful of games. David Wilson and Andre Brown could prove to be a fantasy owners nightmare with a split backfield. Wilson might handle the between the 20's running while Brown will steal away the scores. A disaster in the making barring someone breaking through. Pay close attention to that race during the preseason.
Money For Nothing
A mostly forgettable movie about John Cusack lucking into $1.2 million and his decision on whether to take the money and run or be a good citizen and return it. In the era of big money free agency, there are plenty of players who have parlayed one (or more) good seasons into a big paycheck from another team. Fantasy owners are also fooled easily by the big dollar sign and ignore whether the signing was actually a good fit for both the player and the team. I had high hopes for Percy Harvin (officially a trade, but Minnesota wasn't paying the big bucks) up in Seattle, but his hip injury has derailed his season until at least Thanksgiving. For quarterbacks, there really was nothing to write about. Ryan Fitzpatrick will probably play in a couple of games, but he's Ryan Fitzpatrick, so I'll pass. The running back position has at least one gold member in Steven Jackson. After nearly a decade toiling away in St. Louis, Jackson has been gifted the most idyllic situation he could ask for. He replaces Michael Turner, who, with limited burst left in his legs still mustered 10 rushing touchdowns. Jackson might be just a year younger than Turner, but he will feel seven years younger this season. No longer will he be facing an eight man front. Hell, he'll have his pick of holes with the vertical passing game that Atlanta can throw at defenses. This will be Jackson's last great fantasy year. Reggie Bush has moved on from Miami to Detroit and he is in a very similar situation to Jackson, with a slightly more inconsistent offense. Bush will excel in PPR leagues, but be more than serviceable in all league formats. Ahmad Bradshaw has moved on from the New York Giants to an up and coming offense in Indianapolis. His situation is a bit murkier as even though he can be seen as opening day starter, he'll have to deal with Vick Ballard and the ever disappointing Donald Brown for touches. Running the ball was the biggest opportunity for the Colts as they only scored 11 times on the ground and five of those were by quarterback Andrew Luck. Their top two backs did combine for 1,200 yards which would be a great season for Bradshaw if everything breaks right. Wes Welker is the obvious best wide receiver on a new team this season. He has partnered with long time rival Peyton Manning in Denver as the Broncos gear up to make a Super Bowl run. The only question is how Denver will spread the ball around to their big three receivers. The catches and yardage will be there for Welker, but he could be anywhere from 3-10 touchdowns. Mike Wallace could be a huge smash in Miami, but my 'Spidey-senses' feel it will be more of the same for Wallace as a one trick pony. He runs fast, he runs deep and when he's on, he's great. Too bad Ryan Tannehill hasn't proven himself enough to warrant my seal of approval. Greg Jennings pulled a Brett Favre and jumped from Green Bay to division rival Minnesota. The downward spiral for Jennings has been quick and decisive. Not only is he on the way out, but he has gone from fantasy stud Aaron Rodgers to fantasy enigma Christian Ponder. He's, at best, a third wide receiver in a deep league for me. At tight end Jared Cook is my guy to watch in St. Louis. I have high hopes for a breakout season from him. Martellus Bennett has gone to Chicago and is an interesting sleeper if Jay Cutler can stay upright and learn to once again use his tight end wisely. Bears tight ends caught just 25 passes in 2012 with 3 receiving touchdowns. Bennett will double that.
Shadows and Fog
Another Woody Allen film that I somehow missed. John Cusack wasn't among the top billed cast in this film, but was relegated to a smaller role. Just because a player isn't a starter on opening day, it doesn't mean he won't become a fantasy all-star for the season. Most players that fit this bill might not even be drafted. They will be picked up off the waiver wire in the first few weeks. The draft is just the stepping stone for fantasy owners. Not all the players you draft will be with you come week 12. Through trades, injuries, poor play and the waiver wire, your roster is mostly expendable. Weeks 1-4 are the key time frame to shape your roster into a playoff contender. Think back to Mike Vick a few years ago or Alfred Morris last season. Players come out of nowhere to All-Pro type seasons. Of course for every success off the waiver wire there will be a Kevin Ogletree who exploded last year in Week 1 and only had one more serviceable game over the next 15. This is also the most difficult list to prepare because nobody knows the practice squad guys yet, but I'll pick out a couple of guys and see if I get lucky. Rookies Latavius Murray in Oakland and Joseph Randle in Dallas are in prime positions as backups/third stringers. The veteran starters for their respective teams, Darren McFadden and DeMarco Murray are fragile (they must have Italian heritage). Both will get their chances to step in sometime this season. Roy Helu Jr. in Washington and Shaun Draughn in Kansas City could also find some playing time with the right breaks. Until last season, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan was known to change running backs as often as his underwear. Who is to say he doesn't revert back to that in 2013? Jamaal Charles has the majority of the touches locked up in Kanasas City, but Shaun Draughn was decent with his chances last season and could be a surprise if Charles comes up lame one week. Out wide, Riley Cooper may be a racist, but he is one of the few Eagles currently healthy. DeSean Jackson is a problem child and Jason Avant had zero touchdowns while catching 53 passes a year ago. In Minnesota, Percy Harvin is gone, Greg Jennings is in, but it is rookie Cardarrelle Patterson, that may wind up being the most productive by years end. Who knows if Jennings can stay on the field and Jerome Simpson was awful after his suspension in 2012. The one tight end that might surprise is Jordan Cameron. He has done next to nothing in his career to date, but now with tight end career maker Norv Turner in the house, he'll be given every chance to succeed.
The Grifters
I love movies about con artists and robberies. They could make 100 more Ocean Eleven movies and I'd watch them all. The Sting, Matchstick Men, The Thomas Crown Affair and on and on. Nothing beats a good theft. The same holds true in fantasy football. As an owner you are trying to maximize value out of each pick. Your first round pick should be the league MVP, your third round pick should post first round numbers and most importantly you need to find a breakout star in the sixth or seventh round (eighth or ninth in 10 team leagues). After you've acquired a solid starting lineup through the first handful of rounds, its time to grab players with pure upside. These picks won't cost you any games, but they do have a chance to make your season. Some of the the players that I'm keeping an eye on during the middle rounds are: Ben Tate in Houston, Ryan Williams in Arizona, Golden Tate in Seattle, Greg Little in Cleveland and Rob Housler in Arizona. I think that through injury and poor play in front of them, all five of these players could excel if given the right opportunity. Arian Foster is in trouble this season (so he'll be MVP right?). He has been overused with over 400 touches last season and has been battling injuries all off season. Ben Tate is more than capable as a backup and if I were coaching Houston, I'd be splitting the touches at a 60/40% clip, meaning horrible value for Foster, great value for Tate. Ryan Williams can't stay healthy while Arizona can't find a running back they like. Beanie Wells was shuttled away and Rashard Mendenhall replaced him. Stop laughing. This is Williams job for the taking and the only Cardinals running back I'm even thinking about drafting. Golden Tate has seen his numbers progressively increase over his three year career. Just when it appeared that Seattle was bringing in competition in Percy Harvin, Tate caught a break with the hip injury to Harvin. Still, Tate is being drafted, on average, 30 picks behind teammate Sidney Rice. That is great value for a player that is no worse than a co-number one wide receiver for the Seahawks. Greg Little took a step back in his progression last season thanks in large part to the play of rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden. My reason for hope, outside of the 3rd year receiver golden fantasy rule, is that Little ended 2012 strong with two of his three touchdown receptions. Weeden will have a year of experience and with Josh Gordon missing the first two games, Little will have a chance to get some looks as the go to guy right off the bat. Rob Housler is the starting tight end in Arizona, but he'll be no fantasy owners starter at the start of the season. With Carson Palmer under center for the Cardinals, Housler has to think he is in store for a lot of targets. Brandon Myers caught 79 passes from Palmer last season in Oakland. Housler can do that too.
Eight Men Out
This is one of my favorite sports movies of all time. The mostly true story of the 1919 ChicagoBlack
White Sox who threw the World Series to make some extra money because
of their hatred for owner Charles Comiskey. After taking the money and
intentionally losing the Series, eight players were banned from baseball
forever. Over the years I have banned players from my teams after
being burned one too many times. Yeah I'm looking at you Reggie Bush!
You can now welcome Darren McFadden to the club. This year (outside of
those two) there are eight players I have already crossed off my list
based purely on value versus their current ADP.
1. Rob Gronkowski - Barring a minor medical miracle, this will not be the year of the Gronk. I'm not wasting a third round pick on somebody who very well may miss the first six games of the season. I cannot deny his talent when healthy but he has had far too many surgeries in the last year for my liking.
2. Vernon Davis - I could easily put Jermichael Finley here as well. I just don't know what to do with these two. Davis disappeared when Colin Kaepernick took over and Finley saw 88 balls thrown his way and scored just twice. Two scores while playing on the Packers juggernaut of an offense?? Really?? Donald Driver and Tom Crabtree caught a total of 16 balls for Green Bay last season and had 5 total touchdowns. Meanwhile, Davis had one touchdown in his final 13 regular season games. That's unacceptable and I'm not going to watch and wait to see if the 49ers figure out how to use their best receiver better.
3. Chris Ivory - Well actually the entire Jets squad is nominated here. They look awful. Chris Ivory wasn't good with New Orleans and I am scared to death on how bad he'll be in New York. Simple as that.
4. Steve Johnson - I don't get the fascination with Johnson. It took him 12 weeks last season to hit 100 yards in a game. He's got a rookie quarterback that was overvalued throwing to him. He's already battling injuries. Red flags on the field everywhere. Avoid at all costs.
5. DeSean Jackson - The diva receiver. How I loathe thee. You can add Miles Austin to this spot too. Both of these guys have gutted my teams over the years and I'm done with them. Man up and play the game right. Shut your trap, run your routes, catch the ball and go back to the huddle.
6. Hakeem Nicks - Yes a Tar Heel. Even as a die hard fan of UNC, I'm giving up on Nicks. He can't stay on the field enough for my liking. Such a shame. Prove me wrong.
7. Tom Brady - Too many questions and I never take quarterbacks early, much less ones that have lost every single receiver he trusted in a year before. The quarterback position is so deep this year that there is no reason to reach for someone in such a precarious situation.
8. Maurice Jones-Drew - After being injured and while still playing for the lowly Jaguars, MJD is still being picked in the 3rd round in most leagues. Nope, not going to happen. I'd rather a younger David Wilson or Montee Ball on a much better offense instead.
The Sure Thing
Some say that John Cusack peaked in the '80s thanks to films like this one. Your classic boy wants perfect girl, but is paired up with another, completely opposite girl and you guessed it, they fall for each other. Throw in a road trip and you have the secret recipe for Hollywood success. Last season it seemed like every fantasy draft I did, quarterbacks went flying early and often. In my oldest league, a 14 team draft where the majority of us have been together for 15 years, there were five...count them...five quarterbacks drafted in the first round. That was unprecedented. I can't remember a season where more than two quarterbacks were chosen in round 1. I snagged an unknown rookie named RGIII in the sixth round which worked out nicely. Too bad I screwed up my first five picks so royally he couldn't salvage my season. This season the quarterback position is as deep as ever. In addition to Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady who were by far and away the sure thing in 2012, Peyton Manning and Cam Newton returned to form. Matt Stafford might not have matched his 2011 campaign, but Detroit has Megatron and he throws 40 times a game. Rookies RGIII, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson blew away any predictions and Colin Kaepernick came from off the bench to guide his team to a Super Bowl. Then there's Eli Manning and Tony Romo, two NFC East quarterbacks that put up good numbers and continue to be undervalued year in and year out. Last, and certainly not least, is Matt Ryan who was my preseason MVP choice last season, and he'll be in the running this season for the high flying Falcons. That's 13 top notch starting quarterbacks for any fantasy team. A glutton of a sure thing. Here's my advice for you when drafting...wait for a quarterback. I say it every year and it used to be a very risky proposition, but this season there is no need to take a quarterback until past pick 60 at the earliest. In a 10 team league you could even wait until the 8th or 9th round and still grab Luck or Eli and be quite happy.
Say Anything
The last great 80s comedy that John Cusack did is fitting for my closing rant. I'm going to stand outside your window with boombox in hand and rant all season. It's what I do. I've been doing fantasy football since the mid 1990's when the Bills were the preeminent offensive team. Here's my list of advice for people just getting into fantasy football or those looking to get better:
1. Immerse yourself into the world of football in preparing for your draft. Leave no stone unturned. Learn the rosters, the depth charts, the rookies, the veterans. A fantasy roster is not just about the starters in Week 1, its about having the players on your bench that will emerge in weeks 4 through 8.
2. Be active, if not overly active. You are the GM of a team and just like real GM's, be ready to move players to make your team better. Unless you're in a keeper league, you have just one shot with your roster. Don't get attached to anyone. If you see an opportunity to make your roster better, do it.
3. Have fun. I'm in a friends league where there is one bad apple who constantly brings down the morale of the league with his disgraceful banter on the league message boards. He fights with every owner, offers horrible trades and thinks he is God's gift to fantasy football. There's a reason you're playing in a $50 league sir, nobody has it all figured out. We all make mistakes, but some of us are humble enough to ride out the bad seasons in the same manner that we enjoy the good ones.
4. Draft with your brain and not with your heart. I'm a Redskins fan and in my keeper league I'm keeping two Seahawks (who ended Washington's season) and a Cowboy (hated rival). I play to win the game! Last season was awesome having RGIII and Alfred Morris on the same fantasy team while watching Washington streak towards the playoffs. That doesn't happen often and I'm not going to force it this season. Draft the best available player whether you hate his team or not.
5. Remember every league is different. The owners act differently. The scoring is different. League size varies. Each draft is different. My three primary leagues consist of a 14 team, in person, snake draft with the caveat of our 3rd round is reversed. This means we go 1-14, 14-1 and then 14-1 again in round 3. The next league is an online, 10 team, snake draft with the caveat of being a PPR (points per reception) league. My last league is an in person, 10 team, keeper league, with the caveat of it being an auction league. That's where each owner has a salary cap and every non-keeper is available for purchase at the right price. There are a million ways to run a league. Try them all.
Good luck this season.
Two movies that I won't touch on in this article, but that are two of my favorite of all time are Being John Malkovich and Grosse Pointe Blank. These are two completely different movies, but both fit the odd ball personality of Cusack characters to a tee. Now, Con Air is not what most would call an Academy Award worthy film, but I can't help watching it every time it is on television. Its the perfect time waster on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Put the bunny back in the box.
Last season I covered Denzel Washington where I definitely had some opportunities for improvement. I undersold the rookie class and overbought the Philadelphia Eagles. Frank Gore still had some gas left in the tank, but Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees once again put up monster numbers. I thought the Tennessee Titans would make some bigger strides and I completely bombed on my Donald Brown breakout prediction.
This season I will be looking back at the career of John Cusack and hopefully give my faithful readers an edge on either what to do or what not to do, depending on how good you think I am at this.
The Raven
I've wanted to watch this movie, but for some reason I haven't gotten around to it, but what better way to start this season than with a look at the defending Super Bowl Champions. Trying to repeat as a champion is difficult in any sport and this year already looks daunting for Baltimore. Gone are two legendary defensive stalwarts in retired linebacker Ray Lewis and free agent (Houston) safety Ed Reed. You have to expect a step back for the defense that has been such a fantasy monster over the last decade. On the other side of the ball, Joe Flacco has a new contract, but he lost veteran (and aging) wide receiver Anquan Boldin to free agency and recently, and far more importantly, emerging tight end Dennis Pitta to injury. In the four years since his rookie year, Flacco has been the model of consistency: mid to upper 3000's in yards passing, low to mid 20's in TD passes and double digit interceptions. Not the sexiest stat line and the main reason he'll never be a consistent fantasy starter. He'll keep Torrey Smith's numbers down, unfortunately, but he is the only receiver with massive upside, if Flacco can put a full season together. Ray Rice is the do it all back for the Ravens and for your fantasy team. There was something to worry about when the Ravens let Vonta Leach go, but he recently re-signed with the club and that cements Rice as a top 5 fantasy pick in my book. With Leach in the backfield with Rice, the numbers have been strikingly alarming. In the two seasons as a starter without Leach, Rice averaged 1908 yards from scrimmage per season while the two seasons with Leach he averaged 1844 yards from scrimmage per season. Wait? What? Doesn't that contradict the value of Leach?? No and here's why, Rice scored just 14 touchdowns without Leach and 25!! with Leach. That is the key number. Leach paves the way for the diminutive Rice inside the five without stealing the touchdowns.
Hot Tub Time Machine
In this comedy, a bunch of old dudes find a way to travel back in time to relive the years when they were young and hip in their own minds. Which aging veteran has one more viable fantasy season left in him like what Tony Gonzalez was able to to do last season for the Falcons (by the way he's definitely got something left)? Outside of Peyton Manning, the QB position is a young mans spot. If I had to take a veteran signal caller with the shot of doing something special, I'd go with Carson Palmer. Why? Two words: Bruce Arians. Oh you thought I was going to say Larry Fitzgerald? He's good, but maybe, just maybe Arians can find the proper scheme for those two to thrive. As for RB's, Frank Gore showed he wasn't ready to pass the torch to LaMichael James or Kendall Hunter just yet. The door is still open for one more season with Hunter injured, but its Reggie Bush (who I personally disowned three years ago) that should be primed to succeed. He loves open space and joins a Lions team that spreads the field like no other. Similar to the role that Darren Sproles has in New Orleans (that Bush was supposed to be), this could be a season of 75 receptions and double digit total touchdowns. Out wide, Dwayne Bowe has suddenly turned 28 before our eyes and his hopes for resurrecting his career rely solely on Andy Reid. The question is whether both of them are washed up or whether Bowe just needed a (once?) great offensive mind. Alex Smith isn't the greatest quarterback, but he should be sufficient enough to lead an above average offense in a weakened division. At tight end, old dudes still shine led by Gonzalez, Jason Witten and Antonio Gates, but its Greg Olsen who once again is primed to shine if only the Panthers use him more wisely. He's a match up nightmare, but he loses too many touchdowns to the run heavy goal line offense of Carolina. If Cam Newton just passes a handful more times inside the 10, Olsen could see his touchdown total climb to 9+ and make him a top five option.
2012
Oh John. I like you and I love end of the world movies, but 2012 just didn't do it for me. Just like the Mayans, the movie missed its mark with audiences. The rookie class of 2012 proved to be unlike the movie and was a complete box office smash hit. Andrew Luck, RGIII, Russell Wilson, Doug Martin, Trent Richardson and even late round sensation Alfred Morris all starred. This years crop of rookies can not and will not match them. As Ralph Wiggum once uttered: 'That's unpossible!' The fact that WR Tavon Austin was the first fantasy worthy choice at pick 12 says it all. There weren't high end, impact ready rookies this season. Now, of course, somebody will step in and shine, but I can't think of too many rookies that I'll spend a valuable pick on this go around. EJ Manuel and Geno Smith will aim to be the next in the line of hybrid quarterbacks a la RGIII and Colin Kaepernick, but unless you're in a deep keeper league, look elsewhere come draft day. The first running back off the board was my favorite college back as a UNC fan, Gio Bernard. He won't be the starter in Cincinnati, but he'll have his chances and could be a Darren Sproles clone in a year or two. Montee Ball is the one to watch as he is on a pass heavy team and will have room to run from day one. If any of the group has the potential to be a fantasy hero, it's him because Denver is going to score and score a lot. Peyton will have to let his rookie back score every once in a while, won't he? I also think Le'veon Bell is in a good spot with Pittsburgh while both Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin will be looking to earn the majority of reps in Green Bay. Rookie wide receivers are usually a must avoid, but everyone is speaking wonders about Texans rookie DeAndre Hopkins. He is on a really good team with a stud receiver in Andre Johnson opposite him and he can catch the ball, no really catch the ball. I am calling him the next Reggie Wayne whom I coveted for years as Marvin Harrison was aging in Indianapolis. That being said, it took Wayne four seasons to have his first 1,000 yard campaign. Back to Austin who is in a good place in St. Louis where his speed will be on full display, but there's no chance he produces to his current ADP which is ahead of the likes of Cecil Shorts and T.Y. Hilton who will be far more productive.
Bullets Over Broadway
I've never been a fan of Woody Allen films (save for Antz) and I've never, ever, ever, been a fan of sports teams in the great state of New York. The fact is I downright loathe every team based out of the Empire State and luckily for me there are three New York based teams in the NFL for me to dislike. Yes, the Buffalo Bills are still both in New York (not Toronto) and still in the NFL. The Giants and the Jets get most of the publicity and seeing as they are co-hosting the Super Bowl this season, all eyes will once again be focused on them. In western New York, the Bills have overhauled the offense dispatching incumbent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to Tennessee and bringing in Kevin Kolb and rookie E.J. Manuel. Fred Jackson gave way to C.J. Spiller in the backfield last season and boy did Spiller shine averaging 6.8 yards per TOUCH while accumulating 1,700 yards from scrimmage and he only started 7 games (playing in all 16). The step back at quarterback will hinder his progression this season, but he's the one Bills player to grab. Steve Johnson is already injured and not worth much more than a third receiver on your roster at this point. The Jets have said adieu to the failed Tim Tebow experiment and hopefully they can refocus on football. Of course, I think a distraction to the pig slop that the Jets will roll out might be exactly what the fans will need. When Chris Ivory is your best bet at fantasy gold, you know you'll be struggling. That's not saying Ivory won't be a beast now that he has a chance to shine, but he's an awfully risky choice as a #2 starter in most 12+ team leagues. For the Giants, the picture is much more appetizing. Eli Manning has his stable of weapons back with Victor Cruz re-signing, Hakeem Nicks still fighting bumps and bruises, new tight end Brandon Myers and sleeper pick Rueben Randle to step in when Nicks misses his handful of games. David Wilson and Andre Brown could prove to be a fantasy owners nightmare with a split backfield. Wilson might handle the between the 20's running while Brown will steal away the scores. A disaster in the making barring someone breaking through. Pay close attention to that race during the preseason.
Money For Nothing
A mostly forgettable movie about John Cusack lucking into $1.2 million and his decision on whether to take the money and run or be a good citizen and return it. In the era of big money free agency, there are plenty of players who have parlayed one (or more) good seasons into a big paycheck from another team. Fantasy owners are also fooled easily by the big dollar sign and ignore whether the signing was actually a good fit for both the player and the team. I had high hopes for Percy Harvin (officially a trade, but Minnesota wasn't paying the big bucks) up in Seattle, but his hip injury has derailed his season until at least Thanksgiving. For quarterbacks, there really was nothing to write about. Ryan Fitzpatrick will probably play in a couple of games, but he's Ryan Fitzpatrick, so I'll pass. The running back position has at least one gold member in Steven Jackson. After nearly a decade toiling away in St. Louis, Jackson has been gifted the most idyllic situation he could ask for. He replaces Michael Turner, who, with limited burst left in his legs still mustered 10 rushing touchdowns. Jackson might be just a year younger than Turner, but he will feel seven years younger this season. No longer will he be facing an eight man front. Hell, he'll have his pick of holes with the vertical passing game that Atlanta can throw at defenses. This will be Jackson's last great fantasy year. Reggie Bush has moved on from Miami to Detroit and he is in a very similar situation to Jackson, with a slightly more inconsistent offense. Bush will excel in PPR leagues, but be more than serviceable in all league formats. Ahmad Bradshaw has moved on from the New York Giants to an up and coming offense in Indianapolis. His situation is a bit murkier as even though he can be seen as opening day starter, he'll have to deal with Vick Ballard and the ever disappointing Donald Brown for touches. Running the ball was the biggest opportunity for the Colts as they only scored 11 times on the ground and five of those were by quarterback Andrew Luck. Their top two backs did combine for 1,200 yards which would be a great season for Bradshaw if everything breaks right. Wes Welker is the obvious best wide receiver on a new team this season. He has partnered with long time rival Peyton Manning in Denver as the Broncos gear up to make a Super Bowl run. The only question is how Denver will spread the ball around to their big three receivers. The catches and yardage will be there for Welker, but he could be anywhere from 3-10 touchdowns. Mike Wallace could be a huge smash in Miami, but my 'Spidey-senses' feel it will be more of the same for Wallace as a one trick pony. He runs fast, he runs deep and when he's on, he's great. Too bad Ryan Tannehill hasn't proven himself enough to warrant my seal of approval. Greg Jennings pulled a Brett Favre and jumped from Green Bay to division rival Minnesota. The downward spiral for Jennings has been quick and decisive. Not only is he on the way out, but he has gone from fantasy stud Aaron Rodgers to fantasy enigma Christian Ponder. He's, at best, a third wide receiver in a deep league for me. At tight end Jared Cook is my guy to watch in St. Louis. I have high hopes for a breakout season from him. Martellus Bennett has gone to Chicago and is an interesting sleeper if Jay Cutler can stay upright and learn to once again use his tight end wisely. Bears tight ends caught just 25 passes in 2012 with 3 receiving touchdowns. Bennett will double that.
Shadows and Fog
Another Woody Allen film that I somehow missed. John Cusack wasn't among the top billed cast in this film, but was relegated to a smaller role. Just because a player isn't a starter on opening day, it doesn't mean he won't become a fantasy all-star for the season. Most players that fit this bill might not even be drafted. They will be picked up off the waiver wire in the first few weeks. The draft is just the stepping stone for fantasy owners. Not all the players you draft will be with you come week 12. Through trades, injuries, poor play and the waiver wire, your roster is mostly expendable. Weeks 1-4 are the key time frame to shape your roster into a playoff contender. Think back to Mike Vick a few years ago or Alfred Morris last season. Players come out of nowhere to All-Pro type seasons. Of course for every success off the waiver wire there will be a Kevin Ogletree who exploded last year in Week 1 and only had one more serviceable game over the next 15. This is also the most difficult list to prepare because nobody knows the practice squad guys yet, but I'll pick out a couple of guys and see if I get lucky. Rookies Latavius Murray in Oakland and Joseph Randle in Dallas are in prime positions as backups/third stringers. The veteran starters for their respective teams, Darren McFadden and DeMarco Murray are fragile (they must have Italian heritage). Both will get their chances to step in sometime this season. Roy Helu Jr. in Washington and Shaun Draughn in Kansas City could also find some playing time with the right breaks. Until last season, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan was known to change running backs as often as his underwear. Who is to say he doesn't revert back to that in 2013? Jamaal Charles has the majority of the touches locked up in Kanasas City, but Shaun Draughn was decent with his chances last season and could be a surprise if Charles comes up lame one week. Out wide, Riley Cooper may be a racist, but he is one of the few Eagles currently healthy. DeSean Jackson is a problem child and Jason Avant had zero touchdowns while catching 53 passes a year ago. In Minnesota, Percy Harvin is gone, Greg Jennings is in, but it is rookie Cardarrelle Patterson, that may wind up being the most productive by years end. Who knows if Jennings can stay on the field and Jerome Simpson was awful after his suspension in 2012. The one tight end that might surprise is Jordan Cameron. He has done next to nothing in his career to date, but now with tight end career maker Norv Turner in the house, he'll be given every chance to succeed.
The Grifters
I love movies about con artists and robberies. They could make 100 more Ocean Eleven movies and I'd watch them all. The Sting, Matchstick Men, The Thomas Crown Affair and on and on. Nothing beats a good theft. The same holds true in fantasy football. As an owner you are trying to maximize value out of each pick. Your first round pick should be the league MVP, your third round pick should post first round numbers and most importantly you need to find a breakout star in the sixth or seventh round (eighth or ninth in 10 team leagues). After you've acquired a solid starting lineup through the first handful of rounds, its time to grab players with pure upside. These picks won't cost you any games, but they do have a chance to make your season. Some of the the players that I'm keeping an eye on during the middle rounds are: Ben Tate in Houston, Ryan Williams in Arizona, Golden Tate in Seattle, Greg Little in Cleveland and Rob Housler in Arizona. I think that through injury and poor play in front of them, all five of these players could excel if given the right opportunity. Arian Foster is in trouble this season (so he'll be MVP right?). He has been overused with over 400 touches last season and has been battling injuries all off season. Ben Tate is more than capable as a backup and if I were coaching Houston, I'd be splitting the touches at a 60/40% clip, meaning horrible value for Foster, great value for Tate. Ryan Williams can't stay healthy while Arizona can't find a running back they like. Beanie Wells was shuttled away and Rashard Mendenhall replaced him. Stop laughing. This is Williams job for the taking and the only Cardinals running back I'm even thinking about drafting. Golden Tate has seen his numbers progressively increase over his three year career. Just when it appeared that Seattle was bringing in competition in Percy Harvin, Tate caught a break with the hip injury to Harvin. Still, Tate is being drafted, on average, 30 picks behind teammate Sidney Rice. That is great value for a player that is no worse than a co-number one wide receiver for the Seahawks. Greg Little took a step back in his progression last season thanks in large part to the play of rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden. My reason for hope, outside of the 3rd year receiver golden fantasy rule, is that Little ended 2012 strong with two of his three touchdown receptions. Weeden will have a year of experience and with Josh Gordon missing the first two games, Little will have a chance to get some looks as the go to guy right off the bat. Rob Housler is the starting tight end in Arizona, but he'll be no fantasy owners starter at the start of the season. With Carson Palmer under center for the Cardinals, Housler has to think he is in store for a lot of targets. Brandon Myers caught 79 passes from Palmer last season in Oakland. Housler can do that too.
Eight Men Out
This is one of my favorite sports movies of all time. The mostly true story of the 1919 Chicago
1. Rob Gronkowski - Barring a minor medical miracle, this will not be the year of the Gronk. I'm not wasting a third round pick on somebody who very well may miss the first six games of the season. I cannot deny his talent when healthy but he has had far too many surgeries in the last year for my liking.
2. Vernon Davis - I could easily put Jermichael Finley here as well. I just don't know what to do with these two. Davis disappeared when Colin Kaepernick took over and Finley saw 88 balls thrown his way and scored just twice. Two scores while playing on the Packers juggernaut of an offense?? Really?? Donald Driver and Tom Crabtree caught a total of 16 balls for Green Bay last season and had 5 total touchdowns. Meanwhile, Davis had one touchdown in his final 13 regular season games. That's unacceptable and I'm not going to watch and wait to see if the 49ers figure out how to use their best receiver better.
3. Chris Ivory - Well actually the entire Jets squad is nominated here. They look awful. Chris Ivory wasn't good with New Orleans and I am scared to death on how bad he'll be in New York. Simple as that.
4. Steve Johnson - I don't get the fascination with Johnson. It took him 12 weeks last season to hit 100 yards in a game. He's got a rookie quarterback that was overvalued throwing to him. He's already battling injuries. Red flags on the field everywhere. Avoid at all costs.
5. DeSean Jackson - The diva receiver. How I loathe thee. You can add Miles Austin to this spot too. Both of these guys have gutted my teams over the years and I'm done with them. Man up and play the game right. Shut your trap, run your routes, catch the ball and go back to the huddle.
6. Hakeem Nicks - Yes a Tar Heel. Even as a die hard fan of UNC, I'm giving up on Nicks. He can't stay on the field enough for my liking. Such a shame. Prove me wrong.
7. Tom Brady - Too many questions and I never take quarterbacks early, much less ones that have lost every single receiver he trusted in a year before. The quarterback position is so deep this year that there is no reason to reach for someone in such a precarious situation.
8. Maurice Jones-Drew - After being injured and while still playing for the lowly Jaguars, MJD is still being picked in the 3rd round in most leagues. Nope, not going to happen. I'd rather a younger David Wilson or Montee Ball on a much better offense instead.
The Sure Thing
Some say that John Cusack peaked in the '80s thanks to films like this one. Your classic boy wants perfect girl, but is paired up with another, completely opposite girl and you guessed it, they fall for each other. Throw in a road trip and you have the secret recipe for Hollywood success. Last season it seemed like every fantasy draft I did, quarterbacks went flying early and often. In my oldest league, a 14 team draft where the majority of us have been together for 15 years, there were five...count them...five quarterbacks drafted in the first round. That was unprecedented. I can't remember a season where more than two quarterbacks were chosen in round 1. I snagged an unknown rookie named RGIII in the sixth round which worked out nicely. Too bad I screwed up my first five picks so royally he couldn't salvage my season. This season the quarterback position is as deep as ever. In addition to Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady who were by far and away the sure thing in 2012, Peyton Manning and Cam Newton returned to form. Matt Stafford might not have matched his 2011 campaign, but Detroit has Megatron and he throws 40 times a game. Rookies RGIII, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson blew away any predictions and Colin Kaepernick came from off the bench to guide his team to a Super Bowl. Then there's Eli Manning and Tony Romo, two NFC East quarterbacks that put up good numbers and continue to be undervalued year in and year out. Last, and certainly not least, is Matt Ryan who was my preseason MVP choice last season, and he'll be in the running this season for the high flying Falcons. That's 13 top notch starting quarterbacks for any fantasy team. A glutton of a sure thing. Here's my advice for you when drafting...wait for a quarterback. I say it every year and it used to be a very risky proposition, but this season there is no need to take a quarterback until past pick 60 at the earliest. In a 10 team league you could even wait until the 8th or 9th round and still grab Luck or Eli and be quite happy.
Say Anything
The last great 80s comedy that John Cusack did is fitting for my closing rant. I'm going to stand outside your window with boombox in hand and rant all season. It's what I do. I've been doing fantasy football since the mid 1990's when the Bills were the preeminent offensive team. Here's my list of advice for people just getting into fantasy football or those looking to get better:
1. Immerse yourself into the world of football in preparing for your draft. Leave no stone unturned. Learn the rosters, the depth charts, the rookies, the veterans. A fantasy roster is not just about the starters in Week 1, its about having the players on your bench that will emerge in weeks 4 through 8.
2. Be active, if not overly active. You are the GM of a team and just like real GM's, be ready to move players to make your team better. Unless you're in a keeper league, you have just one shot with your roster. Don't get attached to anyone. If you see an opportunity to make your roster better, do it.
3. Have fun. I'm in a friends league where there is one bad apple who constantly brings down the morale of the league with his disgraceful banter on the league message boards. He fights with every owner, offers horrible trades and thinks he is God's gift to fantasy football. There's a reason you're playing in a $50 league sir, nobody has it all figured out. We all make mistakes, but some of us are humble enough to ride out the bad seasons in the same manner that we enjoy the good ones.
4. Draft with your brain and not with your heart. I'm a Redskins fan and in my keeper league I'm keeping two Seahawks (who ended Washington's season) and a Cowboy (hated rival). I play to win the game! Last season was awesome having RGIII and Alfred Morris on the same fantasy team while watching Washington streak towards the playoffs. That doesn't happen often and I'm not going to force it this season. Draft the best available player whether you hate his team or not.
5. Remember every league is different. The owners act differently. The scoring is different. League size varies. Each draft is different. My three primary leagues consist of a 14 team, in person, snake draft with the caveat of our 3rd round is reversed. This means we go 1-14, 14-1 and then 14-1 again in round 3. The next league is an online, 10 team, snake draft with the caveat of being a PPR (points per reception) league. My last league is an in person, 10 team, keeper league, with the caveat of it being an auction league. That's where each owner has a salary cap and every non-keeper is available for purchase at the right price. There are a million ways to run a league. Try them all.
Good luck this season.
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