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S^2 [starts/sleepers] wk 2 – fantasy football

Posted: September 17, 2011 by dduren06 in NFL
0

Whats good everyone — sorry it’s so late but here is you starts/scrubs/sleepers…

Let’s start with QBs…

I could take the easy route and tell you to start Brees/Rodgers/Brady but what’s the fun in that? Sometimes you have to roll the dice. If you have a middle of the road QB (ala a Kevin Kolb or the adopted Manning)…

she-li manning
she-li manning

 

I hope you really didn’t draft, Eli… but if you did, hopefully you have one of these guys…

1. Big Ben — ok I guess you can’t technically call a two time Super Bowl champ a sleeper but I’m not sure why everyone is so down on yinzer Ben.. He’s got a nice match up this week against Seattle and Pittsburgh should roll at home of the Seattle Seahawks (aka the WR wasteland — that’s talking to you TJ/Branch/Sidney Rice…

Yinzer Ben...

Yinzer Ben...

2. Matt Stafford. If you live under a rock (or just don’t like football) The lions are primed for a huge season. That’s so long as Mr. Glass stays healthy. But that’s neither here nor there. Stafford gets Kansas City this week who seem to have regressed to their 2009 form (and have lost Eric Berry for the season). The Chiefs got rocked at home by the Bills (yes those Bills) and gave up 4 (four) Touchdowns to Ryan Fitzpatrick… who? Stafford can make all the throws and he has Megatron working with him. I’d start him in a heartbeat if I didn’t have one of the top three QBs…

3. Your Sleeper: Rex Grossman… yes, sexy rexy. He gets the Cardinals that gave up 400 yards to a rookie who appeared unable to hit the broadside of a barn in the preseason. The Skins have a few more weapons IMO and Rex should be able to throw at least two touchdowns for every turnover he has this week. He is who we thought he was… but he is in a QB friendly system and looked sharp against the Giant’s pass rush. Arizona is installing a new defense and will have their growing pains.

Running Backs

1. Jahvid Best (sensing a pattern here?). Best should have a decent shot at putting up a decent game going against a KC defense I suspect will have a hard time getting their bearings together. He’s the clear #1 in Detroit and barring injury, should have a solid game against the same defense that gave up over 100 yards to Fred Jackson & the dollarmenu-aires — i mean Bills.

lol…

2. Reggie Bush. Yes Mr. Kardashian isn’t the best between the tackles runner, but who else is going to carry the ball for Miami? Grandma ma? Don’t worry, I’ll wait… Bonus points if you are in a PPR league. Bush is still a match up nightmare for a transitioning Houston D and could put up big numbers.

3. Cedric Benson. This might be the last week you can get some value out of Benson, so enjoy it while it lasts. He get’s to face an undersized Denver D who is transitioning from a 3-4 to a 4-3. Oh yea, Cincinnati’s QBs suck like a newly initiated Tri-Delt… Look for a lot of carries for Benson as the Bengals meander through football purgatory…

4. Sleeper: Cadillac Williams. With Steven Jackson out, look for Cadillac to put up ok numbers. Hope for the best but don’t get too ecstatic. Giants run d is solid but someone will have to tote it for the Rams. Caddy is also a decent pass catcher out of the backfield. There’s hope for you none the less.

5. Honorable mentions — Any of the Saint’s running backs (hard to pick one with their three headed monster, but look for them to try to run the ball to get Da Bears out of their cover 2 shell), Fred Jackson (he gets the Raiders, why not?!)

WR’s

1. If you drafted a WR high (first 3-4 rounds), chances are you should start him (unless his name rhymes with Dwayne Bowe… wait…)

2. I’ll just go ahead and name the sleepers… probably the biggest one this week is going to be Santana Moss.

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Cam Newton had no business throwing for 400 yards last week. Something has to be wrong with Arizona… Plus Adrian Wilson is playing with a partially torn biceps and it’s early in his rookie season, Peterson can be fooled. Who’s gonna burn them? Santana Moss, who’s quicker than fast at this point in his career but still can put on some of the burners. I think that Rex will find Santana early and often (#nh). Bonus points if you are in a PPR league.

3. Robert Meachem. Hey he had a TD against the Packers and you know the saints want to throw the ball. With Colston out, someone is going to have to step up. Meachem should be a decent play this week — so long as Jimmy Graham and Sproles don’t steal his production. Owners beware…

4. Plaxico Burress. Santonio Holmes is a good starter, Cheddar Bob is a good sleeper this week against a Jacksonville Defense that let Megamind throw for 250+ & 2 TDs. I’m still not sure who caught those passes last week. Plax is a huge target for Sanchez and should get some redzone opportunities as the Jets move more to a passing offense and as their running game continues to struggle for whatever reason…

TEs

1. Jimmy Graham. For whatever reason, he did Aaron Rodger’s belt celebration when the saints where down two scores in Green Bay. Ok so his situational awareness is low. The guy is a freakish athlete and will be relied on heavily to beat Chicago’s Cover 2 right down the middle of the field. He can put up WR numbers this week… so if you have him, start him.

2. Fred Davis. Davis is a little like Graham, only he has had proven production the last few years when Chris Cooley was hurt. Cooley is dinged a bit again but Cooley is on the field. Doesn’t matter to Davis, who’s in a contract year. He went out and caught five passes for a career high 105 yards. With the Skins missing a big target thus far this season, look for Davis to continue to stay involved and for the Skins to test Arizona’s (another one of those patterns) Linebackers and Safteys…

Good luck this week. Hopefully you won’t look like this around this time on Monday…

 

be easy… D

the morning after… [fantasy football thoughts - wk 2]

Posted: September 13, 2011 by dduren06 in Fantasy Football, NFL
Tags:
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What’s good everyone? Hope your first ffb weekend went well for you. Here are my observations from this weekend…

Again, it’s always better to be early than to be late when it comes to picking up players on the waiver wire.

Running Back

1. Steven Jackson — quad injury. It’s so bad that the Rams have already ruled him out for next monday. What does this mean? If you need a running back or just want to screw your league, target Cadillac Williams. He had a decent game against the Eagles D (91 yards on the ground, 49 receiving).

2. Derick Ward got dinged against the colts and Ben Tate took advantage of it. If you haven’t picked him up now, I’d suggest you try. It’ll be hard since he’s a hot commodity.

Quarterback

1. Cam Newton. Personally, I think this bodes more about Arizona’s Pass D than it does Newton’s prowess — he’s a rook, so he’s going to have his ups and his downs. But Newton will probably be a much better Fantasy QB than a real QB this season. 400 yards is hard to ignore on any level and there is the threat of rushing yards/TDs. Plus with Steve Smith and the a dynamic duo at TE, he should be able to put up decent numbers.

2. Ryan Fitzpatrick. The guy looked sharp in Buffalo’s demolition of KC on the road. 4 TDs is nothing to sneeze at. It looks like Chan Gailey has a decent passing game working and if you need a QB because you Drafted oh, let’s say, Donovan Mcnabb (who put up up warner numbers – 7-15 for 39 (thirty-nine!) yards).

3. Rex Grossman. Yea the Giants were down a few CBs. Yes the Skins OL had a few struggles in pass protection. But Rex distributed the ball well all game and remember, if you snooze, you loose. Rex placed the ball in decent positions all game hitting 6 different receivers and putting up over 300 yards. Oh yea, the skins get the Cardinals next week (remember they gave up over 400 yards to a rookie who’s name rhymes with Sham Gluten…)

Wide Receiver

1. Kevin Walter has a broken shoulder blade and will be out 10-12 weeks. Go pick up Jacoby Jones. Now. Jones may finally take that leap he has been supposed to take the last few years. He can also help your team out if you get points for Return TDs.

2. Ted Ginn Jr. Yes the 49er’s QBs are suspect. But the man had a Punt and a Kick Off Return TD. The 49er’s will need to get him involved as much as possible. Again, if your league doles out return TDs, pick the man up.

3. Marques Colston is out with a collarbone issue. That means you can upgrade Meachem, Henderson, and maybe snag Adrian Arrington.

4. Jabar Gaffney may also be a decent play this week. He was close to having a big game on Sunday and he has rapport with Grossman from their days at Florida. Trust me on this one. Or roll the dice with your crappy receivers. Your choice.

Tight End

1. Scott Chandler. He had 63 yards and 2 TD’s in Buffalo’s rout of Kansas City. If you need a TE upgrade, pick him up.

2. Fred Davis. With Chris Cooley still recovering from knee surgery, Davis has seized his opportunity. Cooley played last Sunday against the Giants, but Davis at this point is the better athlete. Freddy D went for over 100 yards and got close to getting in the endzone. On a team hurting for big receivers and playmakers in the redzone, Davis should continue to flourish and get opportunities to score TDs. TE’s are bonus points in fantasy, any how, so you might as well find a decent one with some upside. Fred Davis could be your guy…

I’ll be back later in the week with Starts/Sits for the week and the players I like as sleepers for week two. Be Easy.

D.

The Morning After… [fantasy football thoughts]

Posted: September 9, 2011 by dduren06 in Fantasy Football, NFL
Tags: , ,
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Last nights season opener was a fantasy owners dream — if you had the right players… Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees showed everyone why you should draft elite QBs like people used to draft RBs. Shoot, Darren Sproles [75 receiving yards, 1 return TD ] reaffirms this — if the elite running backs (read: Peterson, Rice, CJ2K — maybe Jamaal Charles – though I’m not ready to anoint him as elite yet..) are gone, strongly consider a top Notch QB in the middle-late First/early second round. The last couple of years, I’ve been content to draft two stud receivers and go the RB/QB value/sleeper route. I digress…

In fantasy it’s always better to be early than late… after last night’s game/yesterday’s news, here are some moves I’d recommend.

1. Pick up a 3rd QB if you drafted Manning — I’d consider dropping him. They are calling for him to take up to three months to fully recover – Colts are probably considering putting him on IR. With that said, I’d still draft Clark and probably would upgrade Addai. I think the Colts become a more run heavy team with Manning down. I think Clark is affected less than Reggie Wayne, Austin Collie, or Pierre Garcon because Kerry Collins (aka Bobby Reese) loved the TE in Tennessee.

Kerry Collins Totally looks like..

Kerry Collins Totally looks like..

I’d be interested to see how this first game goes for Wayne and the WRs, I’d probably consider dangling them for trade bate — maybe pick up an undervalued Santana Moss + a Running back.

2. Look to pick up Cobb/Nelson from the Packers. The two look like nice safety valves for Rodgers, both put up solid games, and both are probably available in your league. Pick them up, now. Drop that second TE or second Kicker you drafted for whatever reason and pick up a big play threat in Cobb or a reliable, strong route runner in Jordy Nelson. Do it. Now.

3. If you are hurting for a running back, look to pick up Sproles. Saints offense is predicated on players like him and Reggie Bush and Sproles is a match up nightmare for linebackers. Did you see the way he burnt AJ Hawk? I see more of this to come and this is probably only the beginning. To me, Ingram seemed to struggle a bit and consistently ran up people’s backs instead of running to daylight. Ingram seemed to go down easy — maybe he doesn’t have any wiggle — maybe he’s just getting warmed up. To me, it seems that Ingram would be better in an offense that needed a work horse — he kind of seems like a Steelers style back, give him 30 carries and he gets better as the game progresses. Thomas may have affected his rhythm. Speaking of Thomas, he ran hard but he really didn’t do too much. Now, this may all have to do with the Packers DL — particularly BJ “you gone eat yo conebread?” Raji.  (Raji TD Video – #nh)

BJ Raji in the famous movie "Life"
BJ Raji in the famous movie “Life”
BJ Raji

BJ Raji

But the Saints short yardage offense was woeful at best. Not saying you should give up on Ingram — he has potential to be a double digit TD man this year, just if you need RB help — stash for Sproles and don’t look back.

Needless to say, I’m pumped for the rest of this football season, and I am looking forward to kicking some ass in fantasy… Maybe I can help you out while I’m at it… feel free to hit me up on twitter: @diwigit06. Good luck, I’m out.

Fantasy Profiling: What kind of fantasy football player are you? Where do you (or your rivals) fit in?

Posted: August 23, 2011 by dduren06 in Fantasy Football, NFL
3

There are several different kinds of players, allow me to help you recognize what you’re dealing with. I’ll give you some signs and some general tips along the way… without further adieu…

First up: The Novice

 

Ok so you want to play fantasy football – great. You understand the game and you want to enhance your football season experience by trying your hand (hopefully with no money involved) at fantasy football. Grab a magazine, find some blogs, just promise that you’ll at least stick with it throughout the year. Few things are more frustrating than being in a draft with an autopick person who in turn never changes their roster the whole year (even on bye weeks). Fantasy football can be as involved or uninvolved and fun as you like, but most people would appreciate at least some level of active participation. I’m all for winning, but I’d at least like to know I beat you at your best (whatever that may be).

 

The Oblivious Jackass

 

So – you’ve been around the block before & officially “get” fantasy football better at some level higher the Novice. But you have no flippin’ idea who’s worth that mid round pick or who’s really going to help your team. This player may pick someone just because they recognize the name or they were good 4 years and 2 knee surgeries ago…

 

Case and point: I was in a draft in 2006, had the 6th overall pick in the first round. Who falls in my lap? LaDainian Tomlinson.

 

(side bar: check out this high-coonery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GExIu9-QXbI)

This guy, (we’ll refer to him as, uhm, Gavin) said “Oh you know LT is DONE…blah blah blah). That year LT ran for 1,815 yards and 33 total touchdowns (28 rushing, 3 receiving, 2 passing).

Maybe Gavin was just talking crap – who knows, but the next year (2007) Gavin proceeded to draft Tiki Barber in the 4th round… after Barber had retired…

Later that season, I picked up Adrian Peterson from the Bears (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_N._Peterson).

 not to be confused with… 

This guy sent me a trade offer giving me Reggie Wayne & Kurt Warner for Peterson. Of course I accepted it. Need I say any more? Take advantage of these ass-clowns when you find them. Do your due diligence to NOT be that guy…

 

The Homer

 

Great, you’re a football fanatic (aren’t we all?!). You’ve got the ropes of fantasy football down to a T and you’re pumped for draft day. The only problem is, you throw all of your eggs in one basket – you’re a homer. Having a team is great, matter of fact, I encourage it (so long as your not a bandwaggoner…) – it makes the season that much more interesting. But don’t take it too far… I’ve been in a draft where one guy selected: Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Randy Moss, Lawrence Maroney, Benjamin Watson and the Patriots Defense – really?! Talk about bye-week hell – let alone being a major injury or two away from a wasted fantasy season (and money if they are dumb enough).

 

On the other hand, there is a milder version of the Homer, the person who avoids players from a team because the play on their favorite team’s rival. As a Skins fan, if there is a Cowboy player that will help me win (and win money) I’m drafting him. So I’ll draft Tony Romo, and I hope he throws for 400 yards and 4 TD’s against the skins – but also he throws 3 pick 6’s and the cowboys lose by at least one point. If a player is good, draft him. It’s as simple as that. Now if the team sucks (read: the Bengals this year) – avoiding players on that team may not be so hare-brained. But keep in mind that someone on that team is going to have to run and pass and catch the ball. You could find some gems on these sorry squads (see Calvin Johnson 2008 – Lions went 0-16 – Megatron went for 1,331 yards and 12 TDs).

 

The Shit-Talking Average Joe

 

Ok maybe you’ve played for a few years, even made the playoffs a few times. You show up for your draft (maybe leaving after the 9th round?) and you always bench players that are on a bye. Bravo. But you talk a bunch of crap (which is all in fun) but your team is average as hell. Few things are more frustrating than to lose to someone who’s kicker goes for 20 points in a game and you lose by 1 point to this clown. This guy might also draft the Steelers and the Ravens defense back to back and hope you are desperate enough to trade for them. Hardcore players, beware…

 

Regular dude

 

Generally unremarkable. Like S.T.A.J. but minus the shit talking.

 

Demi-Guru/Hardcore player

   

Ok, admittedly I spend too much time on this stuff. But I have made money in the process. Last year I played in 13 leagues and I won 4. Not a perfect record, but 9 of my teams made the playoffs. With the amount of uncertainty and luck involved in fantasy football – I’d say that’s pretty good. But back to the hardcore players, you do your scouting in the preseason, maybe buy a magazine or two. Shit, you may even subscribe to a site like Rotoworld.com. You run a few teams every year and you make the playoffs more often than not. Maybe theMancave can put you over the top…

 

Other comments…

 

With fantasy football, you usually get back what you put in. At some point you may realize your team isn’t going anywhere but there’s always next year. Maintain the integrity of the league and don’t cut all of your players. Accept your team’s position and maybe try to knock someone out of the playoffs. All in all, fantasy football makes the entire season more interesting and expands fans from their niche of their favorite team to becoming fans of the entire league. Good luck this season (unless you’re playing me).

 

Be Easy,

 

D.