Category: Fantasy Football (Page 189 of 324)

      NFL Week 6 Primer

      October 10, 2008 /

      Jake DelhommeSunday’s Best: Panthers (4-1) at Buccaneers (3-2), 1:00 PM ET FOX
      This isn’t the sexiest matchup on the Week 6 schedule, but it’s a battle for first place in the NFC South. Carolina is coming off a 34-0 rout of the Chiefs, a game in which they held Larry Johnson to only two yards rushing, while Tampa dropped a close one in Denver. The Panthers can thank a healthy Jake Delhomme and a stingy run defense for their hot start this season. With Delhomme back under center and a nice 1-2 punch of DeAngelo Williams and rookie Jonathan Stewart in the backfield, the Panthers’ offense has been incredibly balanced this season and therefore, hard to stop. And Carolina’s front seven has kept opponents from averaging over 100 yards on the ground. The Bucs will go back to Jeff Garcia at quarterback with Brian Griese nursing an injured arm. It’ll be interesting to see if the Panthers take away Tampa’s 8th-best rushing attack, because the last time the Bucs couldn’t run the ball was against the Bears – a game in which Griese attempted 67 passes. Will Garcia have to do the same this week?

      Upset Watch: Cowboys (4-1) at Cardinals (3-2), 4:15 PM ET FOX
      I’m going right back to the well. In my primer last week, I warned to watch out for the Cards upsetting the previously unbeaten Bills. I’ll do the same this week as the Cowboys roll into the desert after almost blowing a 17-point lead to the Bengals last Sunday. Dallas has more talent than any other team in the NFC, but they’ve proven to be as fragile as T.O.’s emotions. Arizona flat out plays a different brand of football at home and could have wideout Anquan Boldin back this week, although it’s doubtful. Even without Boldin, the Cards have more than enough weapons to score on a Dallas defense that is giving up close to 23 points a game. The key obviously will be whether or not Arizona can stop the Cowboys’ high-powered offense. Dallas is racking up over 400 yards and 30 points a game and the Cards are just two games removed from surrendering 56 points to the Jets. Even if ‘Zona can’t pull off the upset, I would expect one wild shootout.


      LaDainain Tomlinson      Intriguing Matchup: Patriots (3-1) at Chargers (2-3) 8:15 PM ET NBC
      Remember when New England mocked Shawne Merriman’s “Lights Out” dance after a playoff win in San Diego a couple of years ago and hurt LaDainian Tomlinson’s feelings? The Pats return to the scene of the crime and no team plays with a bigger chip on their shoulder (and for really no reason) than the Chargers. Even though they won in convincing fashion against the 49ers last week, this is clearly a different Patriots team without Tom Brady. (What a statement, I know). It’ll be interesting to see if Matt Cassel can have a coming out party this weekend, because no team in the entire NFL is playing worse against the pass right now than San Diego.

      Other Notable Games:
      Bears (3-2) at Falcons (3-2), 1:00 PM ET FOX
      The last time rookie QB Matt Ryan faced the Tampa 2 defense he had his worst outing as a pro, throwing two interceptions in a loss to the Bucs in Week 2. He’ll get a chance for redemption this week against Chicago, a team that has typically owned Atlanta in the past.

      Jaguars (2-3) at Broncos (4-1), 4:15 PM ET FOX
      Big Ben and the Steelers lit up Jacksonville’s defense last week. Will Jay Cutler and the Broncos’ offense do the same on Sunday?

      Ravens (2-2) at Colts (2-2), 1:00 PM ET CBS
      Peyton Manning vs. Ray Lewis is always fun to watch.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Love ‘Em & Leave ‘Em: Week 6

      October 10, 2008 /

      Every week, I highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t tell you about how Drew Brees or LaDainian Tomlinson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and start them. I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances. It’s important to note that depending on your roster and situation, you may not be able to follow these recommendations. For example, if I suggest you bench a solid starter like Donovan McNabb, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.

      New for Week 6… I am now putting “Love ‘Em” players in the order that I’d start them.

      LOVE ‘EM

      QB: Jason Campbell is a great start this week against the Rams, who 28th in the league against the pass…Don’t look now, but Kyle Orton (a.k.a. “Beard”) is a starting quality fantasy QB. This week he has a Falcons defense that is 22nd in the league against the pass…Gus Frerotte plays the Lions. Start him…Matt Schaub should be back under center (and after Sage Rosenfels’ fourth quarter performance against the Colts, I don’t see Schaub losing his job anytime soon). He faces a Dolphins defense that is playing better, but has given up an average of 206 yards and 1.8 pass TD per game…JaMarcus Russell isn’t a bad start (for the desperate) against a Saints team that has yielded 245 pass yards and 1.8 pass TD per game.

      RB: Get Maurice Jones-Drew into your lineups this week. He faces a Denver team that is 25th in the league against the rush…The Colts have yielded a league-worst 189 rushing yards per game on the ground, so Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain both look startable even though they’re splitting carries. It’s doubtful that the Ravens will even bother to pass the ball at all…Ronnie Brown faces the Texans, who have given up an average of 140 rushing yards and 2.0 rush TD per game this season.

      WR:       Greg Jennings is pretty much a must-start every week, but Donald Driver deserves a starting spot this week since he faces a Seattle defense that is really struggling against the pass…Bernard Berrian has been productive the last three games (averaging 4.7 catches for 89 yards and 0.3 TD) and this week he faces a porous Lions secondary…Andre Johnson has regained his must-start status, but Kevin Walter is a sneaky good start against the Dolphins this week…Antwaan Randle El has a nice matchup against the Rams, who are 28th in the league against the pass.

      LEAVE ‘EM

      QB: Joe Flacco has a tough matchup with a Colts defense that is pretty bad against the run, but quite stout against the pass (165 pass yards, 0.3 pass TD per game)…J.T. O’Sullivan has been pretty good fantasy-wise, but this week he faces the Eagles, who are 11th in the league against the pass. He’s still startable, but only if you don’t have any good options on your bench…I’d stay away from Jeff Garcia, who is back under center but faces the Panthers, who are 3rd in the league against the pass (156 pass yards, 0.8 pass TD per game).

      RB: There are a number of good running backs that have bad matchups this week. They’re still startable, but proceed with caution and bench them if you have good depth at RB: Michael Turner (vs. CHI), Jamal Lewis (vs. NYG), Steve Slaton (vs. MIA), Joseph Addai (vs. BAL), Frank Gore (vs. PHI), Steven Jackson (@ WAS) and Earnest Graham (vs. CAR).

      WR: Marvin Harrison isn’t himself this season, and it’s unlikely that he’ll bust out against the #1 pass defense in the league…Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton should probably ride the pine against a Colts defense that is good against the pass…I wouldn’t think that Isaac Bruce would continue his recent success (4 TD in the last three games) against a solid Eagles team that really needs a win…Ike Hilliard and Antonio Bryant should probably ride the pine against the Panthers, who have been great against the pass.

      DTBWW

      Welcome to the world of Defensive Team By Waiver Wire. Each week, you pick up a defense usually playing at home against a bad offense, and each week, you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position. All teams are available in at least 50% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

      Here are this week’s picks:

      WAS (vs. STL) – In fact, WAS has good matchups for the next three weeks
      NYJ (vs. CIN)

      Last week’s picks:

      Panthers: 0 PA, 3 SK, 2 INT, 1 FR = 16 fantasy points
      Cardinals: 17 PA, 5 SK, 1 INT, 3 FR = 11 fantasy points

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Florio: Reggie Bush will never be great

      October 9, 2008 /

      Mike Florio of SportingNews.com suggests that Saints’ RB Reggie Bush will never be a great NFL player.

      Reggie BushBut with two punt returns for touchdowns Monday night, folks now assume Bush, after two-plus years of average-to-mildly-above-average play, has arrived.

      Um, not quite.

      Bush had a great game. It’s still only one game. Less than four years ago, Eddie Drummond returned two punts for touchdowns on the same day and is now out of the league. Jermaine Lewis did it for the Ravens not once but twice, and he won’t ever get into Canton without paying admission.

      Apart from those punt returns Monday night, Bush was ordinary. He ran the ball 12 times for 29 yards.
      For the season, Bush is averaging 3.3 yards per carry. For his career, he is at 3.6 yards per carry. Monday night’s showing of less than 2.5 yards per attempt only brought down those numbers.
      Bush also caught seven passes for 64 yards Monday. Solid, not spectacular.

      I’m not saying Bush isn’t a solid player. I am saying Bush has a ceiling on his skill level, and that his performance on Monday night did nothing to shatter it.

      He’s good, not great. He’s definitely not the guy everyone thought he would be.

      Reggie Bush isn’t going to live up to the hype because the hype was too much to begin with. And that’s not Bush’s fault. Just like when Michael Vick came out of VA Tech, everyone had these grandioso ideas that just because the guy was a superb athlete, meant he was going to revolutionize the quarterback position. And then when he didn’t, writers like Florio jumped all over him and said he’ll never live up to the hype. Gee, you think? Joe Montana couldn’t live up to the hype that’s bestowed upon some athletes these days.

      It’s the same deal with Bush. People who actually took the time to watch him in college knew that he was an amazing athlete, but that LenDale White got the bulk of the carries in between the tackles. Bush wasn’t all of a sudden going to be an every down back in the NFL and that’s why the Saints have wisely hung on to Deuce McAllister over the years. So will Bush ever be a great NFL player? Probably not, but he’s still the same player that lit it up at USC when you stop and think about it, only now the stage is a hell of a lot bigger and he’s not getting the same pub. It’s because of the media’s hype-machine that people even debate whether or not he’ll ever be a “great” player.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Fantasy Football Podcast #6 (10/9/08)

      October 9, 2008 /

      Listen in as Anthony Stalter and I discuss the Giants’ success, Denver’s injuries, the Cowboys/Cardinals game, Jon Kitna’s possible successor, the rise of the “Beard,” and why Anthony hates Matt Prater.

      Click here to listen to the podcast.

      (The opening and closing music is “The Bucket” by Kings of Leon, which has one of the best opening guitar sequences of the decade. Seriously.)

      Fantasy Football, NFL, Podcasts

      Report: Adam Jones involved in hotel scuffle with bodyguard

      October 8, 2008 /

      Looks like his idea to take “Pac Man” out of his name to reinvent himself didn’t help Adam Jones, who has once again successfully tracked down trouble. CBS11tv.com is reporting that Jones got into a scuffle at a hotel room with one of the members of his bodyguard unit.

      Adam JonesThe question now is – what happened inside the Joule Hotel? Hotel management wouldn’t talk to CBS 11 News and offered no comment regarding the incident. However CBS 11 Sources say there was a violent confrontation, involving Jones, at the hotel Tuesday night.

      Sources say police were called after Jones argued with one of his own bodyguards. By the time police arrived he was headed back inside the hotel and patrons could clearly hear a fight going on in the bathroom.

      That fight was allegedly between ‘Pacman’ Jones and a member of his security detail. Security inside the hotel allegedly pulled the two apart. At least one mirror was broken in the confrontation.
      Sources say Jones went outside and left the hotel without paying his tab. He was reportedly with a woman who drove the two away from the scene.

      There was no police report filed regarding the incident. In a statement, Dallas Cowboys Spokesperson Rich Dalrymple said in part, “The organization has no information regarding the incident involving Adam Jones, therefore they had no comment.”

      It’ll be interesting to see what comes out of this, because word is the Cowboys hired the bodyguards to make sure Jones wouldn’t get into trouble. If that’s true, one could logically assume that the bodyguard wouldn’t allow Jones to do something he wanted to do and the two got into a fight. Either that or Jones is just a moron that will find trouble no matter what the circumstance. I’ll go with the latter.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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