Ravens 20 @ Steelers 23
Ben Roethlisberger (191 yards, TD, INT) didn’t finish with great stats, but he played pretty well against a tough Ravens defense and his numbers would have been better had his receivers not dropped the ball a couple of times…Santanio Holmes (3-61-1) had a nice game which included a wonderful 38-yard catch and run for a score…Hines Ward (2-57) was rather quiet but almost scored on a 49-yard pass where he just needed to make one Baltimore defender miss to hit paydirt…Heath Miller (2-8) was a disappointment…Rashard Mendenhall (10 touches, 36 yards) left the game with an injury…Willis McGahee (16 touches, 51 yards) looked pretty good until he left the field gingerly with what looked like a painful chest injury. He returned for a single carry, but didn’t play after that…Le’Ron McClain (19 touches, 89 yards, TD) took over and looked strong, especially on his 2-yard TD run. He should be picked up in all leagues; he’s clearly the RB2 in Baltimore, not Ray Rice…Joe Flacco (192 yards, TD) looked pretty sharp all night, connecting with Derrick Mason (8-137) numerous times…Neither Mark Clayton nor Todd Heap caught a pass. Heap has been a huge disappointment this season and I can only assume that he slept with Flacco’s girlfriend…Both defenses looked strong and should be owned in all leagues.
Tag: fantasy football strategy (Page 74 of 80)
It turns out that Jeremy Shockey’s injury wasn’t the typical sports hernia.
Payton said he’s hopeful that Shockey could be back as early as the Saints’ home game against Oakland in two weeks after positive reports from Shockey’s hernia surgery earlier this week. The damage to Shockey’s ligaments wasn’t as extensive as some sports hernias can be, so the recovery time should be in the three-week range.
Payton said Shockey feels more comfortable already and said he is excited to see Shockey when he’s no longer limited by the nagging injury.
“Although he played well last week, you guys haven’t seen what I know (he’s capable of),” Payton said.
The original estimate had Shockey missing 3-6 weeks, so if he returns in Week 6, he would have only missed two games. Some impatient fantasy owners have cut ties with the tight end, so if he’s out there on your waiver wire, you’d be wise to snatch him up.
Amongst tight ends, he is fourth in average targets per game (6.7) behind Tony Gonzalez (10.0), Kellen Winslow (10.0) and Jason Witten (9.0). Half the battle for a tight end is getting enough targets to be productive, and it’s clear that Payton feels that he’s a big part of the Saints’ attack.
As I was reading one of Bill Simmons’ recent columns, I was struck by something he said about last Monday’s Cowboys/Eagles game:
Only later did I realize I had spent infinite more time biting my nails, e-mailing friends, throwing my remote, refreshing my league’s “Live Scoring” browser, piecing together different miracle comeback scenarios and basically fretting about the Eagles-Cowboys game than I had enjoying the game itself.
I remember those days. I used to be in two or three fantasy football leagues and I always found myself obsessing over my players, refreshing the live scoring box score repeatedly, and panicking when one of my guys was underperforming or – gasp! – if he went down with an injury. Since one or two of my games would inevitably depend on the Sunday and/or Monday night games, they turned into a gut-wrenching roller coaster of emotions.
Those days are over.
You might be thinking that I reduced my number of teams to one or zero, but I went the other direction. I joined 10 leagues last season and 11 this year. And I haven’t enjoyed watching the games this much since my first few years of playing fantasy football.
When I tell people how many leagues I’m in, I usually get one of three reactions: (1) their eyes get big and they start to stare off in the middle distance, pondering about how much time it would take to manage that many teams, (2) they cackle, thinking that I’m joking but when I fail to join them in laughter they ratchet it down to a chuckle and probably start thinking that I’m a total sports nerd, or (3) they gaze in wonder, jealous that I have so many fantasy football teams and wishing they did too.
When you have multiple teams, there’s a point when it becomes basically useless to root against anyone. You have so many players in your starting lineup and are going against so many other players that you’d probably be rooting for and against the same guys. Those situations cancel each other out and you’re left with a surprisingly serene Sunday. It’s sort of like watching the games in the eye of the hurricane. Things are rather pleasant where you are, but a few miles away, all hell is breaking loose.
Sure there are a few guys that I have on several teams: Roddy White (5), Jason Witten (4), Ben Roethlisberger (4), Jerricho Cotchery (4), Reggie Bush (3), Marion Barber (3), Larry Fitzgerald (3) and Jamal Lewis (3). But for the most part, my fantasy risk is spread around, and no single injury or bad season can ruin my year. My draft positions were all over the place (and I even got into an auction league), so when it was my time to pick, I just grabbed the guy I thought was the best fit for my team at that particular time.
It also allowed me to pretty much draft every guy I liked heading into the season. You know how you go into a draft with a few players that you’d like to draft late but inevitably miss out on most of them? For me, that list included surprises like DeSean Jackson and Eddie Royal (as well as disappointments like Ronald Curry and Ted Ginn). Save for a couple of exceptions – Steve Slaton, I’m looking at you – I managed to get every player I liked on at least one team.
When it comes to the Sunday or Monday night games, I’m pretty relaxed. Sure, I often find myself with four or five games tipping in the balance, but if I lose one, all is not lost. I basically just sit back and watch the week’s action and then pick up the pieces on Tuesday. The first week of waivers is kind of a bitch, but after that it’s not too much work to manage my teams.
So if you find yourself stressing out about your fantasy team, consider joining a few more leagues. You might find that’s just what the doctor ordered.
This week, Anthony Stalter and I discuss the Matt Millen firing, injuries to the Eagles, the Bulger benching, what’s going on in the mind of Plaxico Burress, Willie Parker’s injury and what waiver wire quarterbacks can provide immediate help to fantasy owners in need.
Click here to listen to the podcast.
(Opening and closing music is Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy” featuring Steve Winwood on keyboards and vocals.)
Neither Brian Westbrook nor Donovan McNabb are expected to practice this week. McNabb is listed as probable and is likely to play, but Westy is listed as questionable and is trying to recover from a high ankle sprain in seven days. That doesn’t usually happen, so my gut says make other plans at RB, especially since the Eagles play on Sunday night. Correll Buckhalter is Westy’s backup (not Lorenzo Booker) but he’s not a great option against a tough Bears defense. Still, if you’re a desperate Westbrook owner, Buckhalter is a great pickup. You can stick him in your lineup and then sub Westy in if it looks like he’s going to play…Willie Parker is likely to miss the next two weeks with a knee sprain. This is an opportunity for Rashard Mendenhall to earn some playing time. Thus far, he’s been an afterthought in the Steelers’ running game. The bad news is that he has a rough matchup with the Ravens in Week 4, but things look much better against the Jaguars in Week 5…Damon Huard is going to start for the Chiefs, which is an upgrade for Dwayne Bowe, Tony Gonzalez and probably Larry Johnson as well. Bowe is off to a good start, but Gonzo and LJ have been a little spotty thus far. Huard isn’t going to set the world on fire, but he has played well in stretches before and since the Chiefs always seem to be trailing, all fantasy owners need right now is a guy who can complete passes against a prevent defense…In a mysterious move, Trent Green will replace Marc Bulger as QB1 in St. Louis. Green is old and fragile, so this looks like a downgrade for the entire St. Louis offense, including Torry Holt and Steven Jackson. Both players are still startable, but do so at your own peril…If you’re in need of a QB this week, Brian Griese isn’t a bad option. He threw the ball 67 times against the Bears and should find some success against a Green Bay secondary that will be without CB Al Harris. The Packers figure to put up some points, so the Bucs will likely have to throw to stay in the game.
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