Month: September 2009 (Page 23 of 66)

      Fantasy Quick-Hitters: Fitz, Marshall, and more

      September 22, 2009 /

      Larry Fitzgerald isn’t happy with the number of balls being thrown his way. In PPR leagues, Fitz is averaging 16.3 fantasy points through two games, which isn’t bad, but he’s only averaging 53 yards per game, well off last season’s average of 89 ypg. If he weren’t catching TDs, fantasy owners might be a little panicked.

      Mike Bell is likely to miss Week 3, at least according to Jay Glazer, who is usually right about such things. Pierre Thomas is coming back from his own knee sprain and was active on Sunday, so if Bell misses, he’ll have a shot to post some nice numbers against Buffalo if the Saints give him his usual workload. The good news for Bell is that an MRI revealed no structural damage.

      Troy Williamson is out for the year. The Jags also cut Nate Hughes, so the starting duties are left up to Torry Holt and Mike Sims-Walker (who posted some nice numbers in garbage time on Sunday). Sims-Walker is worth a pickup in most 12-team leagues. Let’s just hope he can stay healthy.

      HC McDaniels says that B. Marshall is a rotational player. This is not what we wanted to hear. It’s not clear why McDaniels is rotating his WRs when Marshall and Eddie Royal are far and away the Broncos’ two best wideouts. Royal has been getting consistent snaps, so this looks like some sort of punishment for Marshall. Not good. Fantasy owners can feel free to bench Marshall if they have a better option waiting in the wings. It looks like Marshall’s days of 10-15 targets a game are long gone, at least for now.

      Fantasy Football

      NFL Week 3 Odds & Point Spreads

      September 22, 2009 /

      Along with the odds and over/under totals, here’s a look at some of the marquee matchups for Week 3 in the NFL.

      Falcons (2-0) at Patriots (1-1), Sunday, 1:00PM ET
      This will be a great test to see where both of these teams currently lie. The Falcons are 2-0 with wins over two struggling 2008 playoff teams, while the Patriots could very easily be 0-2 right now. Behind quarterback Matt Ryan’s (108.5 QB Rating) great start, Atlanta’s offense is gearing up for big things this season, but the defense is giving up 5.1 YPC and just lost starting DT Peria Jerry for the year. New England has its own defensive problems without middle linebacker Jerod Mayo and Tom Brady still hasn’t looked comfortable on his surgically repaired knee. It would be unwise to doubt Bill Belichick and the Patriots, but the Falcons would go a long way in proving that they’re a legitimate Super Bowl contender with a win at Foxboro.
      Odds: Patriots –4.

      49ers (2-0) at Vikings (2-0), Sunday, 1:00PMET
      Who would have thought that the only matchup this week featuring two 2-0 teams would be the 49ers at Vikings? San Francisco’s defense has been solid in the first two games, yielding less than 300 total yards per game and limiting opponents to only 13 PPG. But neither Arizona nor Seattle posed the rushing threat that Adrian Peterson and Minnesota will provide this Sunday. This will be a great test to see where Mike Singletary’s team is and whether or not the Niners are legitimate playoff contenders. Can Shaun Hill beat the Vikings through the air if/when the Williams Wall takes away Frank Gore?
      Odds: Vikings –7.

      Titans (0-2) at Jets (2-0), Sunday, 1:00PM ET
      Panic hasn’t set in yet for Jeff Fisher and the Titans, although a loss this week in East Rutherford would make things unsettling in Tennessee. Jets’ rookie Mark Sanchez has looked more like a five-year pro than a quarterback with only two career starts under his belt, but will this be the week that he finally suffers some growing pains? Tennessee’s defense has a way of making opposing quarterbacks look bad, although that certainly wasn’t the case last week when Houston’s Matt Schaub threw a career high four touchdown passes against the Titans. If Fisher’s squad falls to 0-3, the Titans may never recover. On the flip side, if the Jets start 3-0 they’ll set themselves up for making a run at the AFC East crown.
      Odds: Jets –2.5.

      (2-0) Colts at Cardinals (1-1), Sunday, 8:20PM ET
      If you like watching quick-tempo offenses, then the Sunday night game will be right up your alley. The Colts defeated the Dolphins on Monday might despite only running 35 plays, which means Peyton Manning and the rest of Indy’s offense is already in midseason form. The Cards bounced back from their opening week loss to the 49ers by pounding the Jaguars last Sunday thanks to Kurt Warner’s amazing 24-for-26 passing day. Watching Manning and Warner dissect the opposing defense is going to be one of the more intriguing things to watch in Week 3.
      Odds: Cardinals -2.5.

      Continue reading »

      NFL

      Michael Beasley rejoins the Heat

      September 22, 2009 /

      The Associated Press reports that Michael Beasley is participating in voluntary workouts with the Miami Heat after spending a month in a rehab facility in Houston. Details of his treatment are unknown.

      Beasley worked out for two months prior to entering rehab and reportedly looks “bigger” and is in “phenomenal shape.” The Heat had representatives with Beasley on a daily basis while he was in Houston and head coach Erik Spoelstra personally visited three times.

      NBA, News

      Burress sentenced for two-years, begins serving time

      September 22, 2009 /

      Former NFL receiver Plaxico Burress has been sentenced to two years in prison and will begin serving his time immediately.

      From USA Today:

      Burress was accompanied by this wife, son and father to the hearing this morning. He pled guilty to a weapons charge last month stemming from an incident in which he suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a Manhattan nightclub in Novembver.

      ESPN reported Burress’ attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said it was “a tragic day for a decent man.”

      I think the tragedy was avoided in this situation because Burress only shot himself and nobody else. Hopefully other athletes will think about this incident and how Burress will lose two years of his life because he was careless about a weapon and be more careful themselves.

      Burress says he intends to play football once he’s released from prison, although he’ll be 34 and probably won’t have many options. His best football days are definitely behind him.

      NFL

      Meyer, Kiffin exchange verbal barbs

      September 22, 2009 /

      Apparently nobody told Florida’s Urban Meyer and Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin that the game is over.

      Via ESPN.com:

      In looking back at the game, Meyer said Sunday he probably should have opened up the defending national champs’ offense. But he said there was no reason to because of the Vols’ conservative approach to their own offense.

      “When I saw them start handing the ball off, I didn’t feel like they were going after the win,” Meyer said.

      “The way we lose a game there is throw an interception. Why put yourself in that position? Let’s find a way to win the game. We’re not trying to impress the pollsters.

      We’re trying to win the game. A lot of it had to do with the way they were playing. It made our life a little easier.”

      Kiffin said he put his Volunteers in the best position they could be in to beat Florida. Then he took one more shot at Meyer, who said several of his players had been hit by the flu.

      Asked whether he was worried about the flu also hitting Tennessee, Kiffin said: “I don’t know. I guess we’ll wait and after we’re not excited about a performance, we’ll tell you everybody was sick.”

      “They wanted to shorten the game. I remember looking out there and there’s 10 minutes left in the game and there’s no no-huddle, they are down, I think it was 23-6 and [there’s no] urgency,” he said.

      I can’t believe I’m writing this, but I actually side with Kiffin here. This sounds like Meyer is trying to make excuses and deflect attention away from the fact that his team didn’t give Tennessee the beating of a lifetime when everyone expected them to. Watching Florida defeat Tennessee by 10 points was like waiting all week in school to watch a huge fight at the flagpole and instead both kids exchanging blows, they came out slapping each other.

      The Gators may have won, but they weren’t impressive. And as I wrote after the game, maybe that’s the medias fault for hyping up a Tennessee massacre but the bottom line is that thanks to Monte Kiffin’s defense (and Tim Tebow’s second half fumble), the Vols were able to keep things relatively close.

      As far as Tennessee not showing any urgency, Kiffin is right – he put the game in the hands of his tailbacks, which were the only offensive production the Vols had. Kiffin knew that defense and his running game were the only things that were going to get him a win, so he stuck to that plan.

      Meyer should move on. Florida got the win and that’s the most important thing. Maybe the massacre at the flagpole will come next year.

      College Football

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