Category: Fantasy Football (Page 92 of 324)

“The League” debuts on FX

FX’s original broadcasting has a reputation for being pretty racy and adult-oriented — after all, this is the network that brought us “The Shield,” “Rescue Me,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “Nip/Tuck” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

Last night, “The League” debuted. It’s a half-hour comedy that follows a group of friends that are all in a fantasy football league together. One guy is the defending league champ, and his wife doesn’t want him to play, even going so far as giving away his lucky draft shirt. Another’s wife is supportive, and actually runs his team for him. Then there are the two clueless friends that are either too high or too ill-informed to compete in the league.

But fantasy football doesn’t dominate “The League,” which is more like “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” for the married, suburban set. It’s raunchy, but often funny.

FX is replaying the premiere tomorrow (Saturday) night and before the second episode next Thursday.

Love ‘Em & Leave ‘Em: Week 8

Every week, I will 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 Adrian Peterson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and keep them in your lineup. Instead, 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 Tony Romo, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.

The “love ‘em” players are listed in the order that I’d start them this week.

love-em

This week, Jay Cutler faces the Browns, who are 24th against the pass and were torched last week by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers…David Garrard has a great matchup this week against the Titans, who have given up an average of 311 yards and 3.2 pass TD per game…Matt Hasselbeck faces the Cowboys, who have yielded 239 yards and 1.7 pass TD per game. Dallas will probably put up some points, so Hasselbeck may post nice numbers in garbage time…For the desperate, Marc Bulger (@ DET), Vince Young (vs. JAX) and Derek Anderson (@ CHI) actually have good matchups this week. Proceed with extreme caution.

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Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW): Week 8

The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week, you pick up a defense, preferably one playing at home against a bad offense. And each week, you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position. To see how this approach performed last season, click here.

Last week, I recommended three DTBWW picks. Let’s see how they fared…

#1 Colts: 6 PA (8) + 3 SK + 2 INT + INT RET TD = 19 fantasy points
#2 Bills: 9 PA (6) + 2 SK + 3 INT + 1 FR = 12 fp
#3 Raiders: 38 PA (0) + 1 SK = 1 fp

The Colts and Bills performed as expected, maybe even beyond expectations. The Raiders? Well, they stunk up the joint. I realized watching the OAK/NYJ game that the Raiders performed well the previous week against the Eagles because Philly doesn’t run the ball. OAK is terrible against the rush and the Jets have a good rushing game.

On the season, my pick #1 has averaged 11.7 fantasy points, my pick #2 has averaged 9.6 and my pick #3 has averaged 7.3. On the whole, DTBWW is averaging 9.5 fantasy points per week, which is DT5-type performance. Not bad.

Let’s take a look at this week’s picks. Keep in mind that to be eligible for DTBWW, a defense must be available in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

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‘Good chance’ Brian Westbrook won’t play against Giants

According to Philly.com, the Eagles are unlikely to rush Brian Westbrook back, even for a big game like Sunday’s tilt against the Giants.

From a fantasy perspective, Westbrook’s owners knew that he was going to miss a few games throughout the season, so they shouldn’t be surprised or angry about this news. LeSean McCoy is a capable backup, but it’s not like next week’s game against the Giants is a tasty matchup for either RB.

Desperate owners should look to Shonn Greene and/or Beanie Wells, who may be available. Greene is going to get most of Leon Washington’s touches and Wells is getting more and more work in the Arizona backfield. He’s a much better natural runner than Tim Hightower, though Hightower has more experience and better hands.

If Greene and Wells are gone, Mike Bell is another option. He is getting all of the Saints’ goal line work and has 27 carries in the last two games. He’s not going to post Westbrook-like numbers, but he should help fantasy owners get by. If Bell isn’t available, Justin Fargas ran really hard against the Jets and has a nice matchup against the Chargers in Week 8.

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