M.A.S.H. Unit

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who has this right now. In one of my fantasy football leagues, here is who I had out for the day, either from injuries or bye weeks. I barely had enough to play and I had to make two late roster moves to field a proper team. Here's a list of the players in my M.A.S.H Unit:

Lendale White - bye
Maurice Jones-Drew - bye
Steven Jackson - injured
Ahman Green - injured
Javon Walker - injured
Anquain Boldin - injured
Lamont Jordan - injured in today's game
Marvin Harrison - injured in today's game
Donovan McNabb - sucks unless he's playing Detroit

59 points this week, aw baby!

Oh, by the way, I'm 8-4 so far on my NFL spread picks this week so far.

Hip Hip ...

Hurray!

I can't celebrate too much with my suicide pick, as I think almost everyone in America went with Dallas over St. Louis. I should have made this my NFL spread pick of the week (Doh!)

3-1 on the year.

Went to the Lions well once too often

Well, right on queue, my first weekly NFL spread pick of the week went south ... in a hurry.

Chicago's in some big time trouble right about now. An interception return for a touchdown, a kickoff return for a touchdown, a Lions rushing touchdown, and 2 passing touchdowns ... oh and one blocked extra point for a robust 34 points scored by the Detroit Lions in the fourth quarter.

Are you freaking kidding me? Make that an NFL record 34 points in the fourth quarter for the Lions ... and they finish the game with 37 points.

286 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions for Greise on 51 passing attempts. Where's the running game? Where was the defense in the fourth quarter? Why are you passing 51 times in a game that you were up 13-3 at the start of the fourth?

This game was in the bank ... I already earmarked it as a lock. Where's Rex Grossman when you need him ... oh yeah that's right. And I don't think the defense can use the same excuse this week as they made last week. I don't think the Lions offense really "wore them down."

So far, it seems like any well-reasoned thought that I post on this board gets blown back in my face with the double-gooch, and Nelson from the Simpsons laughing at me. No Whammy! No Whammy! No Whammy! STOP! Aw man! And I really wanted that 1986 Yugo and $800.

That makes me 0-1 for my pick of the week. Let's roll on with this exercise in futility ... next week baby! Going for 1-1. (You suck Bears)

Week 3 Who's Hot and Who's Not

Haven't had time to create a detailed Who's hot and Who's not page for my Fantasy Fooball website this week, so this abbreviated version is going to have to do for this week.

Also, please visit my NFL Fantasy Football Week 4 Rankings

Here are my week 3 picks for the top 5 players at each position:



QBs –

Week 4 Hot Fantasy Football Quarterbacks
1) Donovan McNabb -
2) Tony Romo
3) Tom Brady
4) Brett Favre
5) Jon Kitna

Week 4 Cold Fantasy Football Quarterbacks
1) Marc Bulger
2) Derek Anderson
3) Ben Roethlisberger
4) Jay Cutler
5) Carson Palmer

RBs –

Week 4 Hot Fantasy Football Runningbacks
1) Brian Westbrook
2) Marion Barber III
3) LaMont Jordan
4) Joseph Addai
5) Willis McGahee

Week 4 Cold Fantasy Football Runningbacks
1) Edgerrin James
2) Kevin Jones
3) Derrick Ward
4) Larry Johnson
5) Travis Henry

WRs –

Week 4 Hot Fantasy Football Wide Receivers
1) Randy Moss
2) Roy Williams
3) Terrell Owens
4) Kevin Curtis
5) Bernard Berrian

Week 4 Cold Fantasy Football Wide Receivers
1) Isaac Bruce
2) Reggie Brown
3) Javon Walker
4) Braylon Edwards
5) Marvin Harrison


Week 4 Top 5 Tight Ends
1) Antonio Gates
2) Tony Gonzalez
3) Jeremy Shockey
4) Todd Heap
5) Owen Daniels

Week 4 Top 5 Place Kickers
1) Nick Folk
2) Adam Vinatieri
3) Stephen Gostkowski
4) Robbie Gould
5) David Akers

Week 4 Top 5 Team Defenses
1) Dallas
2) Baltimore
3) Indianapolis
4) Chicago
5) Pittsburgh

NFL Spread Pick of the Week

Well, I'm going for broke. Another chance to go big or go home.

Here is the one game that I am going to highly recommend for my first NFL Spread Pick of the Week:

Chicago -2 1/2 on the road against the Detroit Lions

I know, I know ... I picked on the Lions last week. Well, its time to pick on them again. The Lions are going to be good for at least two turnovers. The Bears are going to be very angry after giving up 34 points to Dallas. The pressue is going to be on the Bears offense to help their defense out and keep them off of the field. I'm betting you are going to see Bernard Berrian burn the Lions corners the way that Kevin Curtis did last weekend. Of course, this assumption is predictated on my belief that a Chicago Bears quarterback will do good for once and that the Lions still won't have a running game. This will force Kitna to throw the ball a lot, and that will be the downfall of the Lions in this game.

Week 4 - NFL Spread picks

I said it last week, I need to go at least 8-6 or else this week is a failure. I'm putting the pressure on myself now, not only do I want 8-6 here, but I want to go relatively flawless with my hot a cold picks this week as well. We have enough of the NFL season played now, and I should have a pretty good idea of who's going to do what.

Here are this weeks spread picks -
(Home teams in bold)

Atlanta +2 1/2
Buffalo +3 1/2
Baltimore -4 1/2
Dallas -12 1/2
Chicago -2 1/2
Oakland +3 1/2
Green Bay -2 1/2
Tampa Bay +2 1/2
San Francisco +1 1/2
Pittsburgh -5 1/2
Indianapolis -9 1/2
Kansas City +12 1/2
Philadelphia -2 1/2
New England -7 1/2

Fingers crossed ... We'll see how I do

NFL Suicide pick for Week 4

Ah yes, the much anticipated return of the weekly suicide pick. Also known as my desperate attempt to not get eliminated in the first half of the season.

I've used the following teams so far in my quest for success: Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers (loss), Philadelphia Eagles. I am not allowed to use these teams again this season, which I hope will last more than just the next week. By the way, I am going to officially eliminate myself if I get another game wrong.

Here it is ... my suicide pick for Week 4 (drumroll please ..........................)

The Dallas Cowboys (at home) over the St. Louis Rams.

Damn, how anti-climatic. This game is like a PAT, if I miss it, its most likely because the holder botched the snap. I thought about going out on a limb and pick a tighter matchup, but I thought to myself, there isn't a better week to use the Cowboys. How often do you think that an NFC East should beat up on their own division, only to have the underdog pull off the upset?

This game is a safe as safe can get. The best team in the NFC versus a suddenly anemic offense and pourus defense. Anyways, I have to get my confidence back up and try to have a great week for once. If not, I'm not going to inspire many people with my poor picks.

Week 3 in Review - Who's Not

Quarterback –

1) Matt Leinart –53 yards passing, 2 yards rushing – replaced by Kurt WarnerActual week 3 QB rank - #31That’s the definition of a cold quarterback. Kurt Warner came in and almost rescued the day. I can’t see Arizona going back to Leinart for the time being.

2) Phillip Rivers –306 yards and 3 touchdowns passing, 1 interception, -1 yard rushingActual week 3 QB rank - #4Well, he most certainly woke up this week. Problem is, it still wasn’t enough and the Chargers aren’t utilizing Tomlinson correctly. San Diego is heading in the right direction, though, and I expect them to start clicking in the upcoming weeks.
3) Marc Bulger –116 yards passing, 3 interceptionsActual week 3 QB rank – tied for last with J.P. LosmanSt Louis is in deep trouble for right now. The loss of Orlando Pace is killing them. Compounding the problem is Steven Jackson’s injury. I would completely avoid St Louis fantasy players for the time being.

4) David Garrard –154 yards and 1 touchdown passing, 52 yards rushing, 1 fumbleActual week 3 QB rank - #15Not horrible, the Jags offense still confuses me. They are winning though, so it doesn’t matter what us fantasy football managers think.

5) Derek Anderson –248 yards and 1 touchdown passing, 2 interceptions, 12 yards and 1 touchdown rushingActual week 3 QB rank - #11Cleveland was showing their colors in the first half against Oakland. Then they rebounded and almost pulled out that game against the Raiders. Derek Anderson still isn’t your starting fantasy quarterback material yet, but he’s at least worth considering if the Browns can keep this up.

Fantasy Football Week 3 in Review

Week 3 in Review - Who's Hot

Gotta love the work week. I wish I had more time to get on this blog and my Fantasy Football website. I'm going to hammer down some blogs and updates for my site tonight. I've still got a lot to do before the games start on Sunday. The sooner I get it up, the better. Hopefully, in the future weeks, I will be able to get all of this done before the week end.

Full version of the Week 3 results

Quarterback -

1) Tom Brady – 311 yards and 4 touchdowns passing, 2 yards rushing, 1 fumbleActual week 3 Quarterback rank - #2There is no limit to the effectiveness of Tom Brady’s quarterbacking ability. I am convinced that with the addition of Randy Moss, New England could go 15-1 this year. I don’t know who the one loss will be to, but I’m not ready to anoint any team with an undefeated record.

2) Drew Brees –225 yards passing, 4 interceptions, 9 yards rushing, 1 fumbleActual week 3 Quarterback rank – better off not starting a QuarterbackOh so close on this pick … well not really. Nothing like a 0-5 touchdown-to-turnover ratio. Now I know that Tennessee’s defense was pretty stout again Peyton Manning in week 2, but they aren’t that good; Drew was horrible. The Saints’ offense looked confused and disoriented. Worse yet, Deuce McAllister is out for the season. All and all, it was about as bad a game as could be for New Orleans.

3) Matt Hasselbeck –248 yards and 3 touchdowns passing, 2 interceptions, -1 yard rushingActual week 3 Quarterback rank - #6Good game out of Hasselbeck, but I don’t know how often you can expect this kind of a game out of him. Cincinnati’s defense obviously had a much better game, in comparison to week 2 against Cleveland; but it will definitely be the Bengals downfall for the foreseeable future.

4) Jon Kitna –446 yards and 2 touchdowns passing, 1 interception, 2 fumblesActual week 3 Quarterback rank - #7Jon Kitna had the exact kind of game that I expected out of him. Without a running game, Kitna is likely going to throw his arm out before long; not to mention the fact that the more he throws, the more he gets hit, the more likely he gets injured, and the more likely the Lions are out of any serious contention for a playoff spot.

5) Carson Palmer –342 yards and 1 touchdown passing, 2 interceptions, -1 yard rushingActual week 3 Quarterback rank - #16For the first time I can remember, Carson looked confused and Chad Johnson looked upset. Palmer was completely off on his timing for most of the second half. He is going to have to play a near perfect game this week to avoid falling to 1-3 against the Patriots this weekend.

Week 3 NFL Spread picks

Ouch! Let's just put it this way, I started off 3-0 with my picks; but that's about all that went right with my NFL spread picks. You think after touting up the Eagles for my suicide pick that I would have picked them to win the spread. No, silly me for thinking the Lions would actually be close in a game that involved the Eagles. The line was 6 1/2. There was a few late game turns that went against me, the New York Jets, Oakland and Minnesota. That said, it still takes some kind of skill to pick eight straight losers.

So for the week, I went a paltry 6-10:

Arizona +7 1/2 - Winner
Green Bay +4 1/2 - Winner
Indianapolis -5 1/2 - Winner
Minnesota +2 1/2 - Loser
Buffalo +15 1/2 - Loser
New York Jets -3 1/2 - Loser
Detroit +6 1/2 - Loser
San Francisco +8 1/2 - Loser
St Louis +3 1/2 - Loser
Denver -3 1/2 - Loser
Oakland -3 1/2 - Loser
Cincinnati +3 1/2 - Winner
Carolina -3 1/2 - Winner
Washington -4 1/2 - Loser
Dallas +3 1/2 - Winner
New Orleans -4 1/2 Loser

My record coming into the weekend was 18-14, meaning that I've effectively loss my status of being over .500 on the year.

Current record after week 3: 24-24

Next week, a little more well thought out picks are in order. Now, because of the upcoming bye weeks, the NFL will only be playing 14 games per week. In my case, anything less than 8-6 on my picks next week is a failure.

More Maddenisms - This time on Monday night

Well no sooner than I posted my Mike Shanahan post, Sean Payton two-ups him on the Madden scale by not only going for it on fourth and 1 from the Saint's own 45 yard line, but doing so in the first quarter and throwing a very incomplete 40 yard bomb. "What do you mean 'Hail Mary' didn't work?! There's no way the computer saw that play coming on 4th and 1. And Drew Brees doesn't throw that inaccurately, and I saw that receiver break open for a second."

As we speak ... the Madden "unstoppable momentum" has set in and Tennessee scores easily to shove it right back in Payton's face.

I guess I'm going to have to rethink my pregame thoughts. One part I'm going to get dead right: neither Bush or McAllister are going to get to the century mark in rushing, and they might not get it combined, either. (Yes, I guess the Saints really are as bad as they've looked)

Mike Shanahan goes Madden 2008

Did you hear about this one yet?

Denver trailed 20-14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars with four minutes left in the fourth quarter yesterday. The Broncos were out of timeouts. Mike Shanahan decided to put all of his eggs in one basket and went for it on 4th and 5 at Denver's own 9-yard line. Shanahan said he had a gut feeling they would make it.

Just like Madden football, the game didn't allow him to be rewarded with his "gut reaction" and Denver's tight end Daniel Graham dropped the ball. "Awwww Crap! How could Madden do this to me? I used the 'Tight end seam' play and he had his hands on the ball! You know that should have been completed. I don't see this game as a loss because if the computer hadn't screwed me over, I would have gone straight down the field and won." Unfortunetly for Mike, he doesn't have the option to quit and reload the memory card.

I know you would have gotten the ball back with minimal time for a lengthy drive, but you have that little confindence in your defense's ability to stop the Jags three times on the ground?

And how "Keep games close" of Jacksonville for than going three and out and having to kick a chip shot field goal. Yes, that put them up 9 points, but it's been the Jags style this year. Whether they win or not, you know the game will be within a touchdown late in the fourth.

Are you ready for some blogging?

Pre-game prediction for the Saints-Titans game:

Saints win 27-24

Drew Brees is going to have a good night tonight. 300 yards passing and 2 touchdowns, probably an interception as well.

Neither Reggie Bush or Deuce McAllister will reach 100 yards rushing, but one of them will score on the ground.

Marques Colston will finally have a note-worthy fantasy performance.

Tennessee will have over 150 yards rushing from the combination of Vince Young, LenDale White, and Chris Brown.

Vince Young will have at least two touchdowns.

Suicide Pool Pick Week 3 result

Now that's how a suicide pick is suppose to work. Everything I said in the previous post rang true. Detroit's lack of a running game, Detroit's defense wasn't as good as they appeared, Minnesota's passing game really being that bad, Detroit's turnover problem ... everything happened the way I thought.

Now if only my spread picks for this week weren't turning out so horrible ...

Week 03 - Who's Not

Week 03 Who's Not

Quarterback
1) Matt Leinart
2) Phillip Rivers
3) Marc Bulger
4) David Garrard
5) Derek Anderson

Running Back -
1) Marion Barber III
2) Maurice Jones-Drew
3) Larry Johnson
4) DeShaun Foster
5) Chris Brown

Wide Receiver
1) Lee Evans
2) Reggie Brown
3) Larry Fitzgerald
4) Isaac Bruce
5) Santonio Holmes

Week 03 - Who's Hot

Week 03 Who's Hot

Quarterbacks
1) Tom Brady
2) Drew Brees
3) Matt Hasselbeck
4) Jon Kitna
5) Carson Palmer

Running Back -
1) LaDainian Tomlinson
2) Joseph Addai
3) Willie Parker
4) Clinton Portis
5) Lamont Jordan

Wide Receiver -
1) Steve Smith
2) Reggie Wayne
3) Randy Moss
4) Joey Galloway
5) Santana Moss

Tight End
1) Antonio Gates
2) Kellen Winslow
3) Chris Cooley
4) Owen Daniels
5) Tony Gonzalez

Kicker
1) Adam Vinatieri
2) Jason Elam
3) Shaun Suisham
4) Josh Brown
5) Jeff Reed

Defense
1) New England
2) Baltimore
3) Minnesota
4) Pittsburgh
5) Kansas City

NFL Spread Winners - Week 3

Here are my picks for week 3 NFL spread winners:
(Bold denotes home teams)

Arizona +7 1/2
Green Bay +4 1/2
Indianapolis -5 1/2
Minnesota +2 1/2
Buffalo +15 1/2
New York Jets -3 1/2
Detroit +6 1/2
San Francisco +8 1/2
St Louis +3 1/2
Denver -3 1/2
Oakland -3 1/2
Cincinnati +3 1/2
Carolina -3 1/2
Washington -4 1/2
Dallas +3 1/2
New Orleans -4 1/2

Suicide pool pick - part duex

Yup, I sure was glad I posted Carolina over Houston for my inaugural weekly suicide pick (brutal). 0-1 (1-1 if you count my pick for week 1 that I didn't post) to start things off. Wahoo!

Alright, I'm going to start over (I'm going into the loser's bracket ... double elimination, baby!), but I still can no longer use the Steelers or Panthers in future picks.

Here's my suicide pick this week:

Philidelphia (at home) over Detroit

I'm walking on thin ice with this pick given that Philly's 0-2 and the offense has yet to prove itself and Detroit is 2-0 with a "great" offense. Great is in quotation marks because don't you ever try telling me that an offense is great without a running game. Jon Kitna's already been picked off in the end zone twice this year and the Lions have gone a couple years now without a turnover free game. I'm not getting to hyped about Detroit's defense either. It may have looked good against Minnesota, but that's because the Minnesota Vikings' passing game is just that bad.

Week 2 NFL Spread Picks results

I started out horrible on the day, losing 5 of my first 6 games; but I came back with a bang. Here's how I did:

Carolina -6 1/2 - Loser
Cincinnati -6 1/2 - Loser
Jacksonville -10 1/2 - Loser
Green Bay -3 1/2 - Winner
Buffalo +9 1/2 - Loser
St. Louis -3 1/2 - Loser (1-5 ... doing great so far)
Tampa Bay +3 1/2 Winner
Tennesse +7 1/2 Winner
Seattle -2 1/2 Loser (*Hasselbeck* ... excuse me ... I sneezed)
Minnesota +3 1/2 Winner
Dallas -3 1/2 Winner
New York Jets +7 1/2 Winner
Kansas City +12 1/2 Winner
Oakland +9 1/2 Winner
New England -3 1/2 Winner
Philadelphia -6 1/2 Loser

Week 2 record - 9-7

Week 1 results (I promise these are accurate)

Indianapolis -6 1/2 Winner
Denver -3 1/2 Loser
Pittsburgh -3 1/2 Winner
Green Bay +2 1/2 Winner
Kansas City +1 1/2 Loser
Jacksonville -5 1/2 Loser
Minnesota -2 1/2 Winner
New England -5 1/2 Winner
St. Louis -1 1/2 Loser
Miami +3 1/2 Winner
Oakland -2 1/2 Loser
Chicago +5 1/2 Loser
Seattle -6 1/2 Winner
Dallas -3 1/2 Winner
Baltimore +3 1/2 Loser
Arizona -3 1/2 Winner

Week 1 record - 9-7

Overall record for 2007 - 18-14

I will be posting this weekend's picks either tonight or tomorrow. Here's hoping for a ten win week.

I guess Friday's the new Monday

Took a little while off there; busy with work, busy with the fantasy football website. If you not too busy (like me), why don't you take a look at my fantasy football rankings for week 3.

Ok, that's enough with the links (cough, cough, week 3 injuries, 2007 fantasy football stats, cough) ahem, excuse me.

Well now, let's get to the recap of last weeks action shall we.

Hot picks - What I got right

Carson Palmer - 401 yards and 6 touchdowns passing, 2 interceptions, 10 yards rushing. It didn't take a mental giant to figure out he was going to torch the Browns defense; but, that doesn't mean I still don't owe the team an apology. I didn't give Cleveland any chance of winning that game. Yet it was their defense that forced three turnovers that kept them in the game in the first half.

Tom Brady - 279 yards and 3 touchdowns passing, 1 interception, -2 yards rushing. Couldn't have been more right with my analysis. The Pats are the most dangerous team in the league when their motivated and they proved as much on both sides of the ball.

Brett Favre - 286 yards and 3 touchdowns passing, 1 interception, -2 yards rushing. Yes, the Giants defense is just that bad right now. There offense didn't help them out much either, but what can you expect from a gimpy quarterback and a backup running back. That being said, Favre did show flashes of his former self. Don't sleep on him this year, not with the way Green Bay's defense has been playing.

Rudi Johnson - 118 yards rushing, 33 yards and 1 touchdown receiving, 1 fumble. Pretty good game overall, but then again every offensive player for both Cincinnati and Cleveland were.

Chad Johnson - 209 yards and 2 touchdowns receiving. Only Steve Smith did better. Which begs the question "What was Steve Smith doing off of this list?" Like I said last week with LT, it would be easy to pick the best player for these lists every time, but then there would be no creativity.

Roy Williams - 111 yards and 1 touchdown receiving, 9 yards rushing, 1 fumble. If only Jon Kitna could have been healthy the entire game, his numbers could have even been better. A lot better. Two interceptions and a fumble by J.T. O'Sullivan are the only reasons the Vikings stayed in this game. Without a running game (for now), the Lions wide receivers should all be considered to start on your fantasy team (if you need a viable third receiver to start)

Cold picks - What I got right

Vince Young - 184 yards and 1 touchdown passing, 53 yards rushing. Vince is not going to be a viable passing threat yet; however all bets are off this weekend against the Saints' defense.

Jason Campbell – 209 yards and 1 touchdown passing, 1 interception, 39 yards rushing. He did better than McNabb did on Monday night, and it was good enough to win.

Chris Brown – 34 yards rushing, 2 yards receiving. Spot on this time around, but don't sleep on him if LenDale White gets injured.

Marshawn Lynch – 64 yards rushing, 21 yards receiving. No touchdowns, but not a bad day for a rookie against the Steel Curtain.

Lee Evans – 17 yards receiving. You might want to look elsewhere with Losman's struggles.

Reggie Brown – 27 yards receiving. Even with the good matchup against the Lions defense, you still might want to avoid Reggie Brown until he proves himself.

Laveranues Coles – 57 yards receiving. He will do better in the future, maybe not this weekend against Miami, though.

Plaxico Burress – 32 yards and 1 touchdown receiving. Once Eli Manning is healthy, Plaxico will be rolling again.

Hot picks - What I got wrong (didn't list middle of the road results)

Brian Westbrook - 96 yards rushing, 66 yards receiving. Guess he doesn't own Washington anymore. The yardage was what I expected, but I didn't expect the Redskins' defense to hold the Eagles without a touchdown.

Shaun Alexander - 70 yards 1 touchdown rushing, 5 yards receiving. Yikes, not the kind of game I expected from him either. Hasselbeck did find his receivers more, but he couldn't find Alexander for the game-blowing handoff. Not an impressive game by Shaun or the Seahawks.

Maurice Jones-Drew - 31 yards rushing, 10 yards receiving. Yuck! That says all you need to know about that Jacksonville-Atlanta game. Way to play down to you competition Jags. You do know that Maurice Jones-Drew is your best running back, right? I think ... one would be lead to believe ... in my humble opinion. 11 carries is the best you can do for him. Stay away from Jacksonville's players until the team figures out where they are going with that offense.

Steven Jackson - 60 yards rushing, 36 yards receiving. Gag me with a spoon. Again, this may be a sign of things to come if St Louis doesn't get over not having Orlando Pace. 0-2 at home to start the season? The Rams better start converting some of those field goals into touchdowns post haste if they want to be in contention for the playoffs.

Marvin Harrison - 87 yards receiving. Neither Harrison or Wayne got into the end zone against Tennessee. Not bad on the yardage, but this isn't what you would expect for one of the top 5 receivers in the NFL. Credit the Titans' defense.

Cold picks - What I got wrong (again, not listing middle of the road results)

Matt Schaub – 227 yards and 2 touchdowns passing, 3 yards rushing. I didn't do too bad on the cold quarterback picks overall. This would be the exception. No sacks? No turnovers? This is Houston were talking about, right? Schaub did very well against Carolina. This upcoming week might not so kind to Matt and the Texans as they are going to be without Andre Johnson at home against the Colts.

Jamal Lewis – 216 yards and 1 touchdown rushing. Oops. Not the best choice I've ever made. Did Jamal try to call his shot again to break the rushing record? Otherwise, this was completely unexpected.

Carnell Williams – 61 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing. A couple of 1 yard touchdowns helped Cadillac turn this pick south.

Deion Branch – 122 yards receiving. Redemption for Deion Branch is my only fault with my wide receiver picks. Several long completions, but still no touchdowns.

Either tonight (Friday) or tomorrow, I will be coming out with this weeks fascinating and exciting edition of the Hot and Cold picks. Be sure to stay tuned!

Any given cliche

Wow! ... Cleveland ... wow.

Cincinnati, you disappoint me. How are you going to flop so badly after I gave your defense some love? 51 points! To Cleveland! ... ow, my pride. And what's worse is that I played their defense this week (minus 2 points this week, quality) because the Pats were playing the Chargers.

Haven't had a very good week so far. All of my offensive picks for Cincy did really well; but, I labeled Jamal Lewis number 1 of my cold list for running backs. What did he do? Not much (215 yards rushing and a touch).

Bonus, I had Carolina flop on me at home against Houston for my eliminator challenge. Guess I'm going to have to start on my second chance eliminator challenge.

Maurice Jones-Drew is not officially a flop, but he's definetly leaning in that direction.

I'll give the post week wrap-up after Monday night. Hopefully, I'll get some late love and won't look completely incompetent.

See you then.

At the half, what have I learned so far

Here's what I've learned so far this Sunday:

I would have been right about the Cincinnati-Cleveland game had the Bengals learned how to take care of the ball. Now, the Bengals' D is making Derek Anderson look good. There's still a half to go, though, so I'm not officially eating crow yet.

Maurice Jones-Drew may be the biggest first (early second) round fantasy draft bust of the young season.

And already I'm playing against fantasy football competition that doesn't look at their stating lineup to see that Brandon Jacobs is out for the game. Nothing like a person who's going to give up this early in the season, or doesn't care to look at his starting lineup (Hello bye weeks!)

I'm sure I'll find a lot more things to talk about as the day progresses.

NFL Spread Winners

Just in under the 1 o'clock ET bell for these picks.

Here is another topic I'm going to be posting on weekly. I'm going to keep a running tally of how I'm doing over the course of the season. I'm not sure whether or not to include my week one picks into my season total, because I did not post them here and there's no proof of what picks I made. But, I might (I went 9-7 week 1 and I will list my week one picks later)

Here are my picks for this week:

Carolina -6 1/2
Cincinnati -6 1/2
Jacksonville -10 1/2
Green Bay -3 1/2
Buffalo +9 1/2
St Louis -3 1/2
Tampa Bay +3 1/2
Tennessee +7 1/2
Seattle -2 1/2
Minnesota +3 1/2
Dallas -3 1/2
New York Jets +7 1/2
Kansas City +12 1/2
Oakland +9 1/2
New England -3 1/2
Philadelphia -6 1/2

Tune Monday night to see the results (as well as my week 1 picks) and see how I'm doing against the spread overall for the season.

Eliminator Challange

We'll see how long I can stay in the Eliminator Challange this year. The Eliminator Challange is a contest where you pick one winner in any NFL game per week, but you can only pick any particular team once. You lose one game at any point of the season and your out.

Your going to have to trust me on this, but last week I picked the Steelers over the Browns, so I'm 1-0 and still in it for this year.

This weeks pick for me is Carolina over Houston.

This of course means that should I move on, I can't use either Pittsburgh or Carolina in future weeks. I will have a more in depth look at the Eliminator Challenge, when I have more time. I've been busy so far updating my site and spending my time coming up with fantasy predictions.

Week 02 - Who's Not

Who's going to do poorly this weekend? Here are my top five likely busts for the three main skilled positions for week 2.

*Lists do not include players not worth starting

Quarterback –

1) Matt Schaub
2) Vince Young
3) Jason Campbell
4) Matt Hasselbeck
5) Matt Leinart

Running Back -
1) Jamal Lewis
2) Carnell Williams
3) Chris Brown
4) Ahman Green
5) Marshawn Lynch

Wide Receiver –

1) Deion Branch
2) Lee Evans
3) Reggie Brown
4) Laveranues Coles
5) Plaxico Burress

We’ll see if any of these players prove me wrong and I’ll be right back here to discuss where I was wrong … next week after the Monday night games.

See the reason for these picks at Fantasy Football Manager

Week 02 - Who's Hot

Who's going to do well this weekend? I will give you my top five picks for each of the NFL fantasy football league positions. After the Monday night games, I will come back and review how I did in comparison to the actual top five players at each position.

Quarterback -

1) Carson Palmer
2) Tom Brady
3) Marc Bulger
4) Peyton Manning
5) Brett Favre

Running back -

1) Brian Westbrook
2) Shaun Alexander
3) Maurice Jones-Drew
4) Rudi Johnson
5) Steven Jackson

Wide Receiever

1) Chad Johnson
2) Marvin Harrison
3) Roy Williams
4) Terrell Owens
5) Donald Driver

Tight Ends -

1) Antonio Gates
2) Todd Heap
3) Dallas Clark
4) Vernon Davis
5) Kellen Winslow

Kickers -

1) Jason Hanson
2) Neil Rackers
3) Adam Vinatieri
4) Shayne Graham
5) Jeff Wilkens

Defense -

1) Chicago
2) Cincinnati
3) Baltimore
4) Jacksonville
5) Minnesota

There you have it, tune in next week to see the results.

See a more in depth look at my picks at my fanatsy football website

Darryl Jackson Heart Attack Special

Call it kharma for being so smug this morning.

At the start of the day, I was down in my second league by a score of 53 - 85. Everything sailed smoothly through the first game as I got 32 points from Carson Palmer and Baltimore's D. I was now tied up with my oppenent. I had three players left: Larry Fitzgerald, Neil Rackers and Vernon Davis. He had one player left, the aforementioned Darryl Jackson. "Easy as cake" ... "a sure win" ... "why am I staying up to watch this game?" These were all questions floating around in my mind.

What did I say earlier today? "Never say die while playing your fantasy football competition ... ever." Well, it almost rang true in reverse on me tonight; and I stayed up to watch the entire game this time around. I watched as neither the Cardinals or the 49ers could muster up any kind of offense against each other. I watched as my to receivers in this game combined for 2 points. Sweet!

The game was winding down now. Darryl Jackson hasn't done anything all game. My oppenent was stuck at 86 points from the first quarter on. I was stuck at 91 points for most of the second half. Darn it all to heck, I still have to stay up for this? One lucky play can get my oppenent the win?

Arizona gets a clutch touchdown to put them up 17-13 late in the game. Alex Smith has passed for less than 70 yards all game; there's no way he could take them all the way down the field with a little over two minutes left ... could he?

Right on cue, two passes to Darryl Jackson. Two more points closer to me; starting to have signs of stress. Alex Smith leads his team to the Cardinal's 45 yard line. Short yardage situation on a second down, what do you think is going to happen? Again on cue, a perfect deep pass to Jackson that should have been the knife in my heart for opening my mouth earlier today ... miraculously slips through his hands in the endzone.

Danger averted, right? Wrong!

After a third down incomplete pass, Alex Smith does his best Steve Young impression on 4th and 1 by running 25 yards down to the 20 yard line. Starting to sweat bullets now. They already went to him. He's getting open. It's my turn to get devistated. So hows it going to happen?

A pass to Arnaz Battle; what looks like a completion at the goal line. He fumbled it, wait for it ... Arizona has a crack at it! Oh no! Darryl Jackson jumped on it in the endzone!! Son of a (bleep)! (followed by a whole lot more bleeps)

What? Are you kidding?! Incomplete pass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! (my heart skips a beat) No time for celebrations yet; its first and goal with the 5 yard line. Oh yes, its a hand off - for a touchdown! Disaster averted. That game made me tired; well that and staying up to write my memoirs of the game.

With the first weeked of fantasy football in the books, I am now 1-0 in both my leagues thanks to two miraculous (and completely lucky) endings. I know what's coming in the upcomming weeks. No good deed goes unpunished, so I will be expecting this to come back at me full circle. As I speak, I know that I will probably be back on upcoming blogs saying how I used up all my magic in the first week. Then again, maybe I can luck my way to the championship.

In my upcoming blogs, expect to find the following:

Fantasy Football updates, injuries, and other news
NFL spread winners
Who's going to be hot/Who to sit/Weekly Sleeper Picks
Week ending results
Fantasy Football Stories and such

Hope you find it infomative and entertaining

The real start of my blog - with a bang

Never have I deserved to lose a game more. I had five starters with three points or less and boy was I pissed at my team. I watched the stat tracker barely move for most of the Sunday morning and afternoon games. It was like the forces that be decided that a watched stat tracker doesn't boil. The best was, in the span 10 minutes, my team lost 12 points (couple touchdowns score on the D and three fumbles) and didn't make it back up until near the end of the afternoon games. I had scored 56 points, only because my receivers bailed me out. My team was done and now I'm questioning most of my draft picks.

Never say die while playing your fantasy football competition ... ever. Sometimes, that is hard to swallow. Especially when you get a combined 4 points out of your top two picks overall (Steven Jackson and Maurice Jones-Drew, thanks guys!) and your down to your last player down 41 points (97-56). They only good thing, if can even be called that at this point, is that my week 1 opponent was done for the week. So, if there was some way I could get Tony Romo to get 42 points ...

I'm not going to lie to you; I completely gave up on this matchup. I did not watch most of the Cowboys-Giants game. I turned off my stat tracker. I had given this game up and was pinning my hopes on my other fantasy team which needs about 40-45 points out of five players tonight when low and behold, the Tony Romo Express interveened and stole the show. You have got to be kidding me, Romo. 345 yards and 4 touchdowns passing, 11 yards and a touch rushing, 1 interception. 42 Points! I win by one! Hahahahahahaha!

Fantasy Football Rap

Fantasy Football: The Rap

Drafting Tips for Kickers

Do not pick a kicker in any of the first 10-12 rounds of your fantasy football draft; it will usually be a wasted pick. The one exception is if one of the rounds becomes the “place kicker round.” Most of the time, it only takes one person drafting a place kicker to spark a flood of place kicker picks. If you miss out on the initial flood of picks and all of the elite kickers are gone, wait until free agency to get your kicker. I can almost guarantee that no one in your fantasy football league will pick two kickers in the draft (at least no competent fantasy football manager will). Usually the difference in points between the elite kickers and the second tier kickers isn’t very large, so don’t worry if you miss out on one of the top tier place kickers.

more...

Drafting Tips for Defenses

There are two stages of thought when it comes to select a team defense for your fantasy football team:

Should you draft Baltimore or Chicago’s defense or not?

If you find yourself asking this question, remember not to overvalue these two teams with a top five-round pick. Odds are that one or both of them will likely be drafted in the sixth or seventh round of your draft. If you cannot find another player of equal worth at this point, don’t be afraid to take one of these two defences. Baltimore and Chicago have the capability to score a lot of fantasy football points and can be the difference between you winning a week’s match-up or losing it.

more...

Drafting Tips for Tight Ends

Tight Ends are traditionally a question mark when it comes to most fantasy football owners. Simply stated, there aren’t enough consistently productive tight ends in the NFL; there aren’t even enough for every fantasy owner in your league to have one. Most NFL teams don’t have large scoring roles for the tight end position, so it’s important to find a tight end that is a basic part of his team’s passing game.

So when should you draft your team’s tight end?

Inevitably, someone will take Antonio Gates in the 3rd or 4th round of almost any fantasy football draft. If you draft him, it may pay off because Gates will be by far the most productive tight end. Make sure before you pick him that there aren’t any great running backs left on the board. Antonio Gates is on par with or better than most wide receivers on the board.

more...

Drafting Tips for Wide Receivers

Wide Receiver is the most difficult fantasy football position to draft. Compared to Running backs and quarterbacks, most wide receivers are inconsistent at scoring points from week to week. There are many factors that can negatively impact a wide receiver’s production during a game or during the NFL season as a whole. A quarterback’s relationship with his wide receiver, the team’s lack of a running game, minor injuries slowing the wide receiver down enough that he is unable to break coverage, an offensive line not giving the quarterback enough time. Any of those situations can be detrimental to your wide receiver’s production.

more...

Drafting Tips for Quarterbacks

Although the quarterback position is an important one as far as your fantasy football team is concerned, unless you draft Peyton Manning (and don’t draft Peyton in the first round), you will be better served waiting to draft your starting quarterback until the middle rounds of your fantasy football draft. With many of the NFL positions in fantasy football, there is a large drop-off in production after the top tier players. That is often not the case with quarterbacks in fantasy football leagues. While you might not get a 300-yard and 3 touchdowns quarterback every game, the top tier running backs and wide receivers that you draft in your fantasy football league can compensate for the lost production from week to week.

more...

Drafting Tips for Running Backs

When selecting running backs for your fantasy football team, try to be aware of the following things:

Make sure your top two running backs don’t have the same bye week (be aware of this for every position). Every week in your fantasy football league is important towards getting to the playoffs. While having your top two running backs on the bench in the same week won’t necessarily automatically result in a loss, it will start you off on an uphill battle for the week.

Try to avoid the running backs that run between the 20’s. While they might get a lot of rushing yardage, they will often be taken off the field in goal line formations, leading to a complete lack of touchdowns. Classic examples of these running backs are Julius Jones and Warrick Dunn. Also, try to avoid running backs on teams that like to throw near the end zone, such as the Detroit Lions.

more...

Top 100 Fantasy Football Players Cheatsteet

Overall NFL Player NFL
Ranking NFL Team Position
1 LaDainian Tomlinson SD RB
2 Steven Jackson STL RB
3 Larry Johnson KC RB
4 Shaun Alexander SEA RB
5 Frank Gore SF RB
6 Joseph Addai IND RB
7 Brian Westbrook PHI RB
8 Willie Parker PIT RB
9 Rudi Johnson CIN RB
10 Laurence Maroney NE RB
11 Peyton Manning IND QB
12 Travis Henry DEN RB
13 Steve Smith CAR WR
14 Maurice Jones-Drew JAC RB
15 Reggie Bush NO RB
16 Chad Johnson CIN WR
17 Marvin Harrison IND WR
18 Terrell Owens DAL WR
19 Ronnie Brown MIA RB
20 Torry Holt STL WR

Overall NFL Player NFL
Ranking NFL Team Position
21 Clinton Portis WAS RB
22 Cedric Benson CHI RB
23 Willis McGahee BAL RB
24 Edgerrin James ARI RB
25 Reggie Wayne IND WR
26 Antonio Gates SD TE
27 Larry Fitzgerald ARI WR
28 Roy Williams DET WR
29 Brandon Jacobs NYG RB
30 T.J. Houshmandzadeh CIN WR
31 Carson Palmer CIN QB
32 Javon Walker DEN WR
33 Thomas Jones NYJ RB
34 Marques Colston NO WR
35 Lee Evans BUF WR
36 Drew Brees NO QB
37 Donald Driver GB WR
38 Deuce McAllister NO RB
39 Anquan Boldin ARI WR
40 Andre Johnson HOU WR

Overall NFL Player NFL
Ranking NFL Team Position
41 Randy Moss NE WR
42 Marshawn Lynch BUF RB
43 Tom Brady NE QB
44 Ahman Green HOU RB
45 Cadillac Williams TB RB
46 Jamal Lewis CLE RB
47 Donovan McNabb PHI QB
48 Marc Bulger STL QB
49 Plaxico Burress NYG WR
50 Adrian Peterson MIN RB
51 Marion Barber III DAL RB
52 Laveranues Coles NYJ WR
53 Reggie Brown PHI WR
54 Hines Ward PIT WR
55 Joey Galloway TB WR
56 Santana Moss WAS WR
57 Julius Jones DAL RB
58 Deion Branch SEA WR
59 Fred Taylor JAC RB
60 Braylon Edwards CLE WR

Overall NFL Player NFL
Ranking NFL Team Position
61 Jon Kitna DET QB
62 LaMont Jordan OAK RB
63 Calvin Johnson DET WR
64 Tony Gonzalez KC TE
65 Tatum Bell DET RB
66 Chris Cooley WAS TE
67 Kellen Winslow CLE TE
68 Chester Taylor MIN RB
69 Todd Heap BAL TE
70 Darrell Jackson SF WR
71 Jeremy Shockey NYG TE
72 Jerricho Cotchery NYJ WR
73 Vince Young TEN QB
74 Bernard Berrian CHI WR
75 Chris Chambers MIA WR
76 Warrick Dunn ATL RB
77 Vincent Jackson SD WR
78 Jerious Norwood ATL RB
79 Brandon Jackson GB RB
80 Ladell Betts WAS RB

Overall NFL Player NFL
Ranking NFL Team Position
81 DeShaun Foster CAR RB
82 Vernon Davis SF TE
83 Tony Romo DAL QB
84 Matt Hasselbeck SEA QB
85 Alge Crumpler ATL TE
86 Philip Rivers SD QB
87 DeAngelo Williams CAR RB
88 Mark Clayton BAL WR
89 Terry Glenn DAL WR
90 Kevin Curtis PHI WR
91 Jason Witten DAL TE
92 Baltimore Ravens D
93 Vernand Morency GB RB
94 Chicago Bears D
95 Donte' Stallworth NE WR
96 Devery Henderson NO WR
97 D.J. Hackett SEA WR
98 Santonio Holmes PIT WR
99 Jay Cutler DEN QB
100 Eli Manning NYG QB