Here are a few of the storylines I'll be following in the NFL this Sunday.
Does the bell toll?
There's word that the Saints want to try and get the now healthy Mike Bell back involved in their ground attack. This is bad news for owners of Pierre Thomas. It's downright horryfying if Bell scores from the stripe.
The time has come
Greg Jennings has no excuses if he can't score against Detroit this week. I'm going to lose faith in the Pack if Rodgers can't get time to thorw after a bye week to plug the leaks.
One toed Willie?
Let's see if Willie Parker even makes a dent in Rashard Mendenhall's PT upon his return to the lineup against the Browns.
Meat and potatoes
Two teams, the Vikings and Giants, have played pillow soft schedules and have raced to 5-0 starts. I'm interested to see how these teams start to perform against quality competition. I really want to see if you can throw on the Giants. I think Drew Brees will try to find out Sunday, don't you?
Bronco backfield
Buckhalter returns...does that cut into Moreno's touches? I still don't know if this team has a designated goal line guy.
Flight of the Falcons
Both Roddy White and Michael Turner exploded last week and made us remember why we pikced them in the top two rounds. Can they start producing consistently?
Edwards vs. Owens
You think Braylon is enjoying New York? Two whiny, stone-handed receivers square off in the Meadowlands.
Seattle slew
The Seahawks passing game came to life in a big way against the Jags last week. With their schedule being so tasty the rest of the way, I'm looking to see if they can keep putting up th numbers against poor defenses. Actually, I'm looking to see just how many numbers they can put up. I'm not sold yet, but I'm watching.
Cheers,
TFAM
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Friday Five
As I hinted in the hoops preview column, I'm not a fan of Greg Oden this year in hoops. So, today's Five gives us five things I'd rather do than select the 56-year-old Oden in my upcoming fantasy basketball draft.
I'd rather...
Vault in gymnastics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxk69lSk6m4
Play golf in South Carolina
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/pets/2009/10/09/2009-10-09_golfer_loses_arm_in_alligator_attack_as_he_reaches_for_ball_on_south_carolina_co.html
Have to stop this nine-year-old with the game on the line
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CiYv6R3OOc
Take the escalator
http://www.bestofyoutube.com/story.php?title=piano-stairs---the-fun-theory
Be a contestant on a Japanese game show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvETvLpGf_k&feature=related
Cheers,
TFAM
I'd rather...
Vault in gymnastics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxk69lSk6m4
Play golf in South Carolina
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/pets/2009/10/09/2009-10-09_golfer_loses_arm_in_alligator_attack_as_he_reaches_for_ball_on_south_carolina_co.html
Have to stop this nine-year-old with the game on the line
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CiYv6R3OOc
Take the escalator
http://www.bestofyoutube.com/story.php?title=piano-stairs---the-fun-theory
Be a contestant on a Japanese game show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvETvLpGf_k&feature=related
Cheers,
TFAM
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Idiotic Analysis
I'm back for a quick rant about so called fantasy sports experts. Matthew Berry of ESPN has his love/hate column up today and cites this strange piece of information.
Derrick Mason has at least eight receptions in his last three games against Minnesota.
What Mr. Berry fails to mention is that those games took place in 2005, 2004, and.....2001! I just wanted to let you know that you won't find any of that forced anaylsis garbage here. We're all smart enough to realize that those numbers are trash. Only nine players remain from the Vikings 2005 edition that was coached by Mike Tice, and I'm pretty sure Chris Kluwe didn't have much of an impact on Derrick Mason. What a bunch of BS. I hope ESPN is paying Berry well for that kind of sage advice.
Derrick Mason has at least eight receptions in his last three games against Minnesota.
What Mr. Berry fails to mention is that those games took place in 2005, 2004, and.....2001! I just wanted to let you know that you won't find any of that forced anaylsis garbage here. We're all smart enough to realize that those numbers are trash. Only nine players remain from the Vikings 2005 edition that was coached by Mike Tice, and I'm pretty sure Chris Kluwe didn't have much of an impact on Derrick Mason. What a bunch of BS. I hope ESPN is paying Berry well for that kind of sage advice.
Hoop Dreams
With the start of the NBA regular season less than two weeks away, it's time to reveal my award winning fantasy hoops advice for 2009-10.
I've had mixed success in hoops leagues in the past, winning a few and tanking in a couple others. Last year, I took a step up in class, race horse style, played against tougher competition, and flopped. This year, I'm back to defend my 10th place finish and right my wrongs of a year ago.
The main problem with my team last year was that I botched my draft in embarrassing fashion. I picked Dwight Howard, decided to dominate blocks, field goal percentage and boards and punt free throw percentage. However, I made the all too common mistake of not building a strength. I thought Howard alone would carry me in those three categories and he didn’t. When you build strength in a category in hoops, you need to back it up. Howard is a beast, but you need to pair him with a couple other block/board guys to really do it right. To my defense, it was the first time I had played in a head-to-head category based league. I usually play rotisserie basketball, where balance across the categories trumps building a strength in a few.
Anyway, Howard is one of those divisive players (a la Shaq a few years ago) who changes your entire vibe if you get him. If I end up with him again, I’m punting FT % and building a real strength. However, I’m hoping I get a top five pick this year where I don’t have to make that call. I’m zeroed in on Paul, Lebron, Durant and Wade, in that order. Gun to my head I take Kobe at 5, but I’m, hoping someone takes him before that. If I’m in the bottom half of the draft, I may have to suck it up and take Howard, or maybe Deron Williams.
So, to keep this short and simple, I’m going to list a bunch of players I like this year. That’s it. If you have strategy questions, make sure and hit me up.
Players I like for 2009-10:
Kevin Durant
Deron Williams
Amare Stoudemire
Carmelo Anthony
Caron Butler
Brook Lopez
Mehmet Okur
Andris Biedrins
Luis Scola
Kevin Love
Carl Landry
Anthony Parker
Stoudemire should bounce back with Terry Porter and Shaq out of town…Anthony could average 30 this year if he wants to…Lopez could go 20 and 10…I have a soft spot for Okur’s boards and threes…Landry and Scola will benefit from no Yao…Parker could be a multi-cat stat stuffer in Cleveland, particularly with Delonte West doing his best OJ Simpson impersonation.
Before I go, let’s go over some lists.
Dead to me
Rudy Gay
Greg Oden
Randy Foye
Jason Richardson
Al Thornton
Avoiding due to injury
Kevin Garnett
Baron Davis
Marcus Camby
Gilbert Arenas
Tracy McGrady
Overrated
OJ Mayo
Elton Brand
Trevor Ariza
Vince Carter
Allen Iverson
Underrated
TJ Ford
Michael Beasley (strong possibility I take him and he ends up on the dead to me list next year)
Ronnie Brewer
Andrea Bargnani
Marvin Williams
Best rookies
None—rookies are overrated in fantasy. Only Blake Griffin can really be counted on to produce starter caliber numbers. Others will, but you don’t know who they are, and most will likely kill your FG %.
Cheers,
TFAM
I've had mixed success in hoops leagues in the past, winning a few and tanking in a couple others. Last year, I took a step up in class, race horse style, played against tougher competition, and flopped. This year, I'm back to defend my 10th place finish and right my wrongs of a year ago.
The main problem with my team last year was that I botched my draft in embarrassing fashion. I picked Dwight Howard, decided to dominate blocks, field goal percentage and boards and punt free throw percentage. However, I made the all too common mistake of not building a strength. I thought Howard alone would carry me in those three categories and he didn’t. When you build strength in a category in hoops, you need to back it up. Howard is a beast, but you need to pair him with a couple other block/board guys to really do it right. To my defense, it was the first time I had played in a head-to-head category based league. I usually play rotisserie basketball, where balance across the categories trumps building a strength in a few.
Anyway, Howard is one of those divisive players (a la Shaq a few years ago) who changes your entire vibe if you get him. If I end up with him again, I’m punting FT % and building a real strength. However, I’m hoping I get a top five pick this year where I don’t have to make that call. I’m zeroed in on Paul, Lebron, Durant and Wade, in that order. Gun to my head I take Kobe at 5, but I’m, hoping someone takes him before that. If I’m in the bottom half of the draft, I may have to suck it up and take Howard, or maybe Deron Williams.
So, to keep this short and simple, I’m going to list a bunch of players I like this year. That’s it. If you have strategy questions, make sure and hit me up.
Players I like for 2009-10:
Kevin Durant
Deron Williams
Amare Stoudemire
Carmelo Anthony
Caron Butler
Brook Lopez
Mehmet Okur
Andris Biedrins
Luis Scola
Kevin Love
Carl Landry
Anthony Parker
Stoudemire should bounce back with Terry Porter and Shaq out of town…Anthony could average 30 this year if he wants to…Lopez could go 20 and 10…I have a soft spot for Okur’s boards and threes…Landry and Scola will benefit from no Yao…Parker could be a multi-cat stat stuffer in Cleveland, particularly with Delonte West doing his best OJ Simpson impersonation.
Before I go, let’s go over some lists.
Dead to me
Rudy Gay
Greg Oden
Randy Foye
Jason Richardson
Al Thornton
Avoiding due to injury
Kevin Garnett
Baron Davis
Marcus Camby
Gilbert Arenas
Tracy McGrady
Overrated
OJ Mayo
Elton Brand
Trevor Ariza
Vince Carter
Allen Iverson
Underrated
TJ Ford
Michael Beasley (strong possibility I take him and he ends up on the dead to me list next year)
Ronnie Brewer
Andrea Bargnani
Marvin Williams
Best rookies
None—rookies are overrated in fantasy. Only Blake Griffin can really be counted on to produce starter caliber numbers. Others will, but you don’t know who they are, and most will likely kill your FG %.
Cheers,
TFAM
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Sneaky Pickups
This week, it's the beastly Miles Austin that's the obvious add. I like him a lot, especially in keeper leagues. However, as always, here are three guys that the rest of you league may not be on to.
Mike Wallace, WR, Steelers
He has one 100 yard game and one touchdown in the last three weeks. The Steelers offense looks great, and Wallace appears to be their big play guy.
Shonn Greene, RB, Jets
Thomas Jones is running on empty and Greene has seen meaningful action the last couple weeks. This more of a stash and hope play, but I like Greene's talent a lot.
Donnie Avery, WR, Rams
Last year's rookie surprise is slowly coming around....5-87-1 this week. He's available in a lot of leagues.
Admittedly, it was a stretch this week. Avery is probably the only add here right now. Just keep an eye on the other two.
I still like all past members of thic column if they are still available. Jamaal Charles, Chad Henne, Andre Caldwell, Lance Moore, Sidney Rice and Mohamad Massaquoi should all be on fantasy rosters right now in 12 team leagues.
Cheers,
TFAM
Mike Wallace, WR, Steelers
He has one 100 yard game and one touchdown in the last three weeks. The Steelers offense looks great, and Wallace appears to be their big play guy.
Shonn Greene, RB, Jets
Thomas Jones is running on empty and Greene has seen meaningful action the last couple weeks. This more of a stash and hope play, but I like Greene's talent a lot.
Donnie Avery, WR, Rams
Last year's rookie surprise is slowly coming around....5-87-1 this week. He's available in a lot of leagues.
Admittedly, it was a stretch this week. Avery is probably the only add here right now. Just keep an eye on the other two.
I still like all past members of thic column if they are still available. Jamaal Charles, Chad Henne, Andre Caldwell, Lance Moore, Sidney Rice and Mohamad Massaquoi should all be on fantasy rosters right now in 12 team leagues.
Cheers,
TFAM
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Terrell the Terrible
I'm done apologizing for Terrell Owens, but before we go down that road, I want to explain why I WAS so certain he was a great buy low guy these last couple of weeks.
The main idea here is that there is something valuable about having a number one wideout on your fanatsy team. I know, that's obvious, but I'm going beyond just the stats here. A true number one WR almost forces coaches' hands. We all know that the premadonna factor can be high with number one WRs. Coaches know this, hence they know that failing to get that guy the ball will only create issues. So, the point is, sure, talent is what makes number one's so effective, but it's the ego of these guys that makes coaches force the ball in their direction more often than not (see Marshall, Brandon, circa 2008).
So, when I draft, I give an edge to number one WRs even over number twos who many others have ranked higher on their cheat sheets. This year, it caused me to rate guys like Antonio Bryant (fail) and Chad Ocho Cinco (success) higher than guys like Greg Jennings and Santonio Holmes. Jennings, for example, is viewed by his coaching staff and (equally as important) quarterback as a co-number one. So, there's no need to force the ball to him, and Donald Driver is actually having the better season.
Which gets us back to TO. I can't believe he's having a worse fall than Ted Williams' frozen head. He's the grand poobah of whiny number one WRs and his team still has done little to satisfy his ego through five weeks. This leads us to one of three possible scenarios.
1. TO is no longer any good.
2. Trent Edwards just isn't good enough to get him the ball.
3. The Bills just don't care about Owens ego or touches and will not force him the ball.
I refuse to buy into number three. After all, that would shoot a giant hole in my theory that has carried me for years. However, I think both one and two are in play here, which has to trump number three. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few scatered scores from here out from Owens, but I've stopped believing a rise in the rankings is in the offing.
Cheers,
TFAM
The main idea here is that there is something valuable about having a number one wideout on your fanatsy team. I know, that's obvious, but I'm going beyond just the stats here. A true number one WR almost forces coaches' hands. We all know that the premadonna factor can be high with number one WRs. Coaches know this, hence they know that failing to get that guy the ball will only create issues. So, the point is, sure, talent is what makes number one's so effective, but it's the ego of these guys that makes coaches force the ball in their direction more often than not (see Marshall, Brandon, circa 2008).
So, when I draft, I give an edge to number one WRs even over number twos who many others have ranked higher on their cheat sheets. This year, it caused me to rate guys like Antonio Bryant (fail) and Chad Ocho Cinco (success) higher than guys like Greg Jennings and Santonio Holmes. Jennings, for example, is viewed by his coaching staff and (equally as important) quarterback as a co-number one. So, there's no need to force the ball to him, and Donald Driver is actually having the better season.
Which gets us back to TO. I can't believe he's having a worse fall than Ted Williams' frozen head. He's the grand poobah of whiny number one WRs and his team still has done little to satisfy his ego through five weeks. This leads us to one of three possible scenarios.
1. TO is no longer any good.
2. Trent Edwards just isn't good enough to get him the ball.
3. The Bills just don't care about Owens ego or touches and will not force him the ball.
I refuse to buy into number three. After all, that would shoot a giant hole in my theory that has carried me for years. However, I think both one and two are in play here, which has to trump number three. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few scatered scores from here out from Owens, but I've stopped believing a rise in the rankings is in the offing.
Cheers,
TFAM
Monday, October 12, 2009
Help!
I was introduced to the eighth wonder of the world this Sunday...the NFL Red Zone channel. I was over at a friend's place and watched it all Sunday, along with the regularily scheduled slate of games (I decided to take the week off of Direct TV). The Red Zone channel, to me, almost makes Direct TV unneccessary. I get to see cut-ins to all the games, during red zone and non red zone situations. I can see all the teams, all the scoring plays, and all the action I may miss in the box score. It even splits the screen if there is important action happening in two games at once. Granted, I can't see all the games in their entirety, but I can't do that even with Direct TV without spending about ten grand to set up a war room. Something tells me that doesn't fit into the wife's idea of our budget.
So, how do I get this channel at my house? I think I'm supposed to have it, but I've never found it. I'm a Comcast guy who has the sports package with the NFL Network and such. Does this Red Zone channel just appear on Sundays?
Cheers,
TFAM
So, how do I get this channel at my house? I think I'm supposed to have it, but I've never found it. I'm a Comcast guy who has the sports package with the NFL Network and such. Does this Red Zone channel just appear on Sundays?
Cheers,
TFAM
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