Author: John Paulsen (Page 113 of 937)

      Fantasy Football Q&A: Week 16

      December 21, 2010 /

      It’s playoff time!

      After checking out our Waiver Wire Watch, you can post your questions here, and unless you say differently, I’m assuming your league has a standard (non-PPR) scoring system.

      If you are wondering who to start in a standard scoring league, please wait until later this week (Wednesday) when I’ll release my official Week 16 rankings.

      And if you’re a regular visitor, please take a moment to rate my advice at Fantasy Pros (under Member Rating). I’d appreciate it.

      Also, follow me on Twitter @fantasytips.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Waiver Wire Watch, Week 16: Where it’s Tim Tebow time!

      December 21, 2010 /
      Denver Broncos rookie QB Tim Tebow takes off up the middle on a 40 yard TD run against the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California on December 19, 2010. Tebow ran for 78 yards and a TD in the Broncos 39-23 loss to the Raiders. UPI/Terry Schmitt Photo via Newscom

      Welcome to an abbreviated version of the Waiver Wire Watch. It’s Week 16, and most fantasy teams have been eliminated or on cruise control, so instead of listing virtually every player available on the waiver wire, I’m just going to highlight a few players at each position that might be able to help fantasy teams in Week 16. As always, I’m going to limit my scope to those players available in at least 40% (or thereabout) of ESPN leagues. I’ll put the player’s percentage-owned next to their name.

      Let’s start with the quarterback position, where I still find it amazing that Josh Freeman (69.8) is still available in 30% of leagues. Not only has he been very consistent this season, but he has a great matchup with the Seahawks in Week 16. I suspect he’ll be in my Top 12 when my rankings come out on Wednesday…Ryan Fitzpatrick (31.3) has the Patriots at home this week, and barring a snow storm, that’s shaping up to be a pretty good matchup. New England showed on Sunday night that its pass defense still leaves something to be desired…David Garrard (46.4) had a strong game against the Colts and has a terrific W16 matchup with the Redskins’ porous pass defense…Need a deep sleeper? Both Tim Tebow (4.0) and Rex Grossman (0.3) have nice matchups with the Texans and Jaguars, respectively. I wouldn’t trust either guy over a more established option, but if you’re desperate, you could do worse. These are some bad pass defenses we’re talking about.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Best Idea Ever: NFL Instant Replay

      December 20, 2010 /
      GREEN BAY, WI - NOVEMBER 30: Head coach John Fox of the Carolina Panthers throws a red challenge flag against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on November 30, 2008 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

      This series is sponsored by Captain Morgan. Make your Holiday legendary with Captain and Cola. Join the party on Facebook.

      The folks over at Captain Morgan asked us to write a post about the Best Idea Ever, or at least the best idea of the last decade or two, and NFL Instant Replay immediately jumped to mind.

      Remember the NFL pre-replay? You’d be sitting at home, watching your favorite team, and lo and behold, your defense would give up a touchdown pass. But wait, did he get both of his feet in? It looked like it was close. All of a sudden, a replay would pop up and show everyone at home and in the stadium that he in fact did NOT get two feet in. The broadcast would cut back to a shot of the extra point going through the uprights as a chorus of boos rained down on the referees working the game, and you’d wonder why they don’t use that technology to get the call right instead of frustrating fans around the country.

      Well, thanks to instant replay (adopted in 1999), coaches can now challenge up to three calls a game. Now, when the offense knows there’s a close call, they’ll rush to the line of scrimmage and quick run a play in the hopes of getting the snap off before the other coach can decide whether or not to pull his red flag and throw it onto the field. The coach waits to hear from his assistants in the booth to tell him whether or not it’s worth a challenge, and more often than not, it isn’t. Calls are overturned at about a 44% clip, which makes sense since the official needs to see “indisputable evidence” to overturn the call on the field.

      The NFL instant replay system certainly has its flaws, however. If a coach keeps winning his challenges, why is he only allowed to make three per game? And now, with offenses more aware of how quickly they need to get up to the line of scrimmage and take the snap, it can be tough for the network broadcasting the game to get best replay up for the coaches and fans to see. Sometimes the best replay is the third or fourth shot they show, and by then it’s too late.

      Still, instant replay is the best idea ever. At least when there’s an obvious mistake on the field, there’s a process in place to fix it.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Fantasy Fallout, Week 15: Where we have heroes…and we have goats…again

      December 20, 2010 /
      EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - DECEMBER 19: Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles rushes for a touchdown against the New York Giants at New Meadowlands Stadium on December 19, 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

      Welcome to another edition of Heroes and Goats, where we highlight (and lowlight) some of the best (and worst) performances of Week 15. Needless to say, we’re in crunch time now, as most leagues are holding their semifinals this week. So now is the time for studs to play like studs. Let’s see who did, and who didn’t…

      HEROES

      Michael Vick
      Vick did next to nothing in the first half, as the Giants defense kept him contained for the first two quarters. But he had a monster second half, finishing with three pass TDs and rushing for another (along with 130 rushing yards). I had a comfortable lead in one league and Vick single-handedly erased it in the second half. Grrr.

      Ray Rice
      Big things were expected of Rice this week, but I don’t think his owners saw 233 total yards and two TDs coming. He ran over, around and through the Saints defense this week and is going to send more than a few fantasy teams to the finals next week.

      Jason Witten
      Witten owners have to be loving him right now. He caught 10 passes for 140 yards and a TD in a time where TE production has been severely lacking. He has 32 catches and four TDs in his last four games.

      Santana Moss
      Moss was a really iffy start this week with Rex Grossman under center, but he seemed to thrive with ‘Sexy Rexy,’ catching eight passes for 72 yards and two scores. I was fortunate that I plugged him in for Danny Woodhead just before kickoff.

      Austin Collie
      I doubt we’re going to see Collie again this season after he took another hard hit in the middle of the field. But boy was he good before he was knocked out. He racked up eight catches for 82 yards and two TDs.

      Jamaal Charles*
      I had Charles ranked #12 this week thanks to Matt Cassel’s iffy status, but with an 80-yard run late in the game, Charles sealed his status as an elite RB1 option. He finished with 153 total yards and a TD.

      Brandon Marshall
      Marshall has been really spotty this season and wasn’t an elite option heading into Week 15, but he caught 11 passes for 106 yards and a TD against the Bills and came up big for those fantasy owners that kept the faith.

      Mario Manningham
      Jeremy Maclin*
      Overshadowed on their own teams, both Manningham (8-113-2) and Maclin (7-59-2) came up big for their respective teams. Manningham did have a bad fumble that helped to fuel Philly’s comeback, so Vick and Maclin owners should thank him.

      Rashard Mendenhall*
      In a terrible matchup, Mendy racked up 100 yards and a score, so owners who were forced to start him should be happy. This is a case where the player’s talent overcame a tough rush defense.

      * Players who were goats last week

      NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 19: Arian Foster of the Houston Texans runs against the Tennessee Titans at LP Field on December 19, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans defeated the Texans, 31-17. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

      GOATS

      Peyton Hillis
      Really? 82 yards and zero TDs against the Bengals? The yardage was okay, but Hillis owners were expecting a TD or two from their stud this week. After running roughshod over the league this season, Hillis failed to find the endzone in the last three weeks.

      Terrell Owens
      He had a great matchup, but left the game without a catch with a torn meniscus. Season over.

      Arian Foster
      He was shaken up in the second half, but wasn’t getting much done when he was playing. He finished with 61 total yards and failed to score.

      Maurice Jones-Drew
      He has been on a tear of late, gaining 100+ yards in six straight games, so of course he’d have a big game against the Colts, who always struggle against the run, right? Wrong. He posted just 68 total yards without a score. Sigh.

      LeSean McCoy
      Ahmad Bradshaw
      Given the way these two were playing recently, fantasy owners had to be expecting more than 157 total yards and zero TDs combined from this duo.

      Tim Hightower
      My deepest apologies to anyone who started Timmy on my advice this week. (I had him at #19 or #20 for most of the week.) He got a ton of carries last week and had a great matchup with the Panthers’ defense, but only saw nine touches all day.

      Knowshon Moreno
      Moreno had a great matchup and looked like he was primed for a big day, but left the game early with an injury to his side. Ugh.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Magic add Arenas, Turkoglu and J-Rich

      December 18, 2010 /
      Washington Wizards' Gilbert Arenas warms up prior to playing the Los Angeles Lakers at the Verizon Center in Washington on December 14, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch Photo via Newscom

      The Magic were busy on Saturday. Very busy.

      The Orlando Magic capped a blockbuster day of wheeling and dealing by trading one franchise cornerstone for another, sending Rashard Lewis to the Washington Wizards for Gilbert Arenas on Saturday.

      That trade followed news of a deal that sent Vince Carter to the Phoenix Suns in a six-player swap that returns Hedo Turkoglu to the Magic.

      The Magic also get Jason Richardson and Earl Clark from the Suns in exchange for Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus, a 2011 first-round pick and cash considerations.

      The Magic added Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark and lost Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus and a 2011 first round pick.

      Let’s take these deals one-by-one. First, Lewis for Arenas. The Magic had to be disappointed with the production they were getting from Lewis, who is averaging just 12.2 points per game this season, his lowest since his sophomore season. The truth is, Lewis’s production took a nosedive when Carter came to town. Now the Magic have Arenas instead, and Gilbert will have to embrace playing off-guard because Jameer Nelson is still slated to start at the point.

      Not a bad deal for the Wizards who get a starter-quality ‘stretch four’ in Lewis, who should thrive spacing the floor for John Wall. Lewis’s contract is ridiculous, but it’s one year shorter than Arenas’s deal, which is just as ridiculous. The real upside is that it’s Wall’s team now and he doesn’t have to deal with Agent Zero stepping on his toes.

      Now to the Suns’ deal. The Magic sent a starter-quality center (Gortat), Vince Carter’s expiring contract, Mickael Pietrus and a first round pick to Phoenix for Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark. J-Rich is the best player of this bunch, but his deal is expiring as well, so there’s little salary relief for either franchise.

      The bottom line is that the Magic just traded away four of its rotation players, so it’s going to take some time to work Turkoglu, Richardson and Arenas into the fold. Unless they expect Richardson to play some small forward, one of the three guards (Richardson, Arenas or Nelson) is going to be short on minutes. And let’s not forget that the Magic want to work J.J. Redick in as well.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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