Week 5 was a wake-up call for me, as I had been cruising through the league with no problem for four weeks, and cockily assumed that I would be able to keep it going. But with all the byes and several players on my team playing as if their teams were on byes, I got killed, and now am in danger of falling into second place. So here is the gameplan to get back on top in week 6...
...Quarterbacks...
On second thought, Jon Kitna still did give me 15 points in week 5, which is actually pretty decent in my league(25 yds for a point, TD = 6 points, INT = -2 points). But even with a seemingly good matchup against Buffalo, I have to go with Michael Vick against the New York Giants. The Giants are coming off a big win against Washington in which they totally shutdown the Redskins. But, they will not be able to perform the same act against Vick and the Falcons, who are primed to run all over them. Michael Strahan was commenting earlier in the week that the Giants don't need to run any special schemes to contain Vick, which was probably one of the stupider things I have heard a player say this year. Uh, sorry "Mike", but every team in the NFL prepares a special scheme to stop Vick, and you're a fool to suggest otherwise.
Anyway, Vick doesn't appear to be caught up on trying to be a pocket passer this year, and he will take every opportunity to run the ball against New York, putting up a couple scores on the board. As for Donovan McNabb, I don't really need to say much more than if he had Donte Stallworth, his numbers would be even BETTER than the incredible 1600 yards passing, 14 total touchdowns, 1 interception, 87 yards rushing he has managed so far...wow...McNabb and Vick at QB....
.....Running Backs....
Well, if you can't start Lamont Jordan against the 49ers, who can you start him against? Definitely not the Broncos..In hindsight, I should have played Willie Parker last week, even going against the stout San Diego defense, but it wouldn't have affected the outcome, so who cares? For that reason, I will leave Parker on the bench again this week. Actually, that's not it all. Some moron in my league dropped Tatum Bell on Sunday, and I was lucky enough to pick him up on the waiver wire just in time to throw him in against the hapless Raiders.
Hopefully Bell can put some life into my team and get me back into the win column. Ladanian is facing the aforementioned 49ers, and I am only worried that Michael Turner will steal some of his touchdowns because the Chargers will be blowing the 49ers out. Reggie Bush finally got his first NFL touchdown in week 5 on a punt return , and he had a huge game overall for me(my league counts return yards and is PPR(points per reception)). So yeh, I can't sit Bush because he is leading the NFL in receptions! NO matter that he has looked terrible running the ball....Bush and Tomlinson at RB and Bell in the WR/RB swing...(hopefully Willie Parker doesn't come back to haunt me again)...
....Wide Receivers....
Donald Driver thankfully has a bye this week, because he has been hurt, quite frankly, I might of have had to bench him if he were playing. Driver has become the second option in Green Bay, with rookie Greg Jennings stealing the show, getting more looks and scoring all the receiving touchdowns for the Packers. Darrell Jackson is back in this week, and should see a lot of balls with receiving mate Bobby Engram out. Jackson has been my best free agent pickup this year, and his knee hasn't been a problem. Housh is also back, and is looking to blow up against Tampa Bay, who many experts are actually picking to upset the Bengals in week 6. Regardless Housh has been putting up better numbers than Chad Johnson this year, and I can't believe that I grabbed him near the end of the 8th round, and some idiot took Johnson with the last pick in the 1st round.
Ok so moving on, I can't bring myself to put Chris Chambers on the bench this year. Maybe it's because last year I was playing the team that had him when he 20 catches for like 250 yards and two touchdowns. I wasn't encouraged last week by the fact that Joey Harrington was inexplicably throwing to Wes Welker on like every play. I have to put rookie Colston back on the bench after doing absolutely nothing in week 6, but if you have him in your league, you should probably play him at TE. I myself have L.J. Smith, so I have the luxury of stowing Colston away for now...Chambers, Jackson, Housh at WR, Smith at TE....
...the rest...
Well week 6 is going to be a tough battle, but I caught one break in that Tom Brady, his best QB, is out on bye. Instead he is rolling with Matt Leinart, who is almost a lock to put up negative points this week against the Bears. I'm a little wary of Terrell Owens(his best WR) going against Houston, who has the worst pass defense in the league), but his other WRs are Drew Bennett and Joe Horn, so I should be OK. At running back he has Kevin Jones, Julius Jones,and Cadillac Williams, which is a decent trio, but I think I easily have a better one, and unless the fantasy "stars" align themselves just right in week 6, I will be back in sole possession of first place...Good luck to all...
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Week 5 Fantasy Recap....ouch....
Week 5 was a rough week for fantasy players all-around with several crucial byes. There is six byes again in week 6, so having a deep team in all positions is crucial. Fortunately this week I have more options at receiver with T.J. Houshmandzadah and Darrell Jackson returning to action, as well as Michael Vick at the quarterback position. Jon Kitna was a disaster fill-in start(3 picks, a fumble, 2 TDs), and even though he has more fantasy points than Vick on average per week, Vick is still a much better play because of his potential to put up better all-around numbers.
Anyway, I reluctantly have to admit that in week 5 saw me take my first defeat, as my whole team didn't bother to show up, with the notable exceptions of Donovan McNabb and Reggie Bush. My receivers(Donald Driver, Marques Colston, and Chris Chambers) combined for a whopping 11 catches and 92 yards and 0 touchdowns. Ladanian Tomlinson had a horrible game(34 yards rushing, but he did have 8 receptions at least to help me in my PPR format) and Lamont Jordan couldn't even score a touchdown or break 75 yards against a terrible San Francisco 49er team.
These horrible performances on offense were matched by my defense, which managed 45 measly points as a unit(I start 5 players, a good individual score is 15-20). Not ot mention the fact that my top point man for the season, Mike Peterson(MLB from Jacksonville), tore a pectoral muscle, and will be out for the season. I won't bore you with the details anymore, because I know most people play only with team defenses, but suffice to say I got my butt kicked this week, but I am still on top of the league because I have scored the most points. A matchup with the second place team is looming in week 6, so be sure to check back later on in the week....
Anyway, I reluctantly have to admit that in week 5 saw me take my first defeat, as my whole team didn't bother to show up, with the notable exceptions of Donovan McNabb and Reggie Bush. My receivers(Donald Driver, Marques Colston, and Chris Chambers) combined for a whopping 11 catches and 92 yards and 0 touchdowns. Ladanian Tomlinson had a horrible game(34 yards rushing, but he did have 8 receptions at least to help me in my PPR format) and Lamont Jordan couldn't even score a touchdown or break 75 yards against a terrible San Francisco 49er team.
These horrible performances on offense were matched by my defense, which managed 45 measly points as a unit(I start 5 players, a good individual score is 15-20). Not ot mention the fact that my top point man for the season, Mike Peterson(MLB from Jacksonville), tore a pectoral muscle, and will be out for the season. I won't bore you with the details anymore, because I know most people play only with team defenses, but suffice to say I got my butt kicked this week, but I am still on top of the league because I have scored the most points. A matchup with the second place team is looming in week 6, so be sure to check back later on in the week....
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Eagles Take Charge in NFC East, For Now...
The Eagles came up with a stop when they needed it the most. With the Cowboys only 3 yards away form sending the game into overtime, Drew Bledsoe threw a game-ending interception, and the Eagles grabbed control of the division, for now anyways.
The Eagles beat the Cowboys by continually getting pressure on Drew Bledsoe with its defensive line and timely blitzes. They recorded seven sacks and forced five turnovers. The depth of the defensive line, even without Jevon Kearse, is the backbone of the team, and could be the reason make another Super Bowl run. Philly's run defense is also improved this year, despite looking atrocious in the first half against the Cowboys. Although injuries have already hit the defense pretty hard, with cornerbacks Lito Sheppard and Rod Hood both missing, the defense is playing well as a unit and backups like Joselio Hanson are doing a good job of filling in.
The Eagles' stock is soaring now, but Eagles' fan shouldn't start celebrating too much, because they have played a much easier schedule than both Dallas and New York.
New York has lost to Indianapolis and Seattle (both good teams) and beaten Philly and Washington. Dallas has lost to Jacksonville and Philly and beaten Washington (who the jury is still out on) and Tennessee. The Eagles have beaten three horrible teams in Green Bay, San Francisco, and Houston and one good team in Dallas, and of course lost to New York. The conclusion is that although it appears the Eagles have separated themselves from the rest of the NFC East, things will probably will become cluttered once the Eagles start playing some tougher teams. They have yet to play either of the two good AFC South teams (Jacksonville or Indy), and would be fortunate to gain a split again them. Not to mention the horrible back-to-back-back road trip through the rest of the NFC East to finish the season. The Eagles must have atleast a 2 game lead or hope that one or two of the teams they play in that brutal stretch is eliminated from the playoff hunt, and has only pride to play for.
The Giants finally played a complete game, totally dominating the Redskins in the NFC East "undercard", as ESPN anaylists refered to it. It was a mostly uneventful game, with both teams struggling to move the ball for much of the first half, until the Giants broke through. Washington had shown considerable improvement on offense the last couple weeks, highlighted by a high-scoring overtime win against Jacksonville last week. But the key to that game was how they got Santana Moss involved.
Moss caught three touchdowns, including the game-winning TD against Jacksonville, but mysteriously had only 3 catches for 39 yarda against New York. With Santana Moss, he's such a dynamic playmaker, all you need to do is get him the ball with some space 7-8 times a game, and he will make things happen. If you're Dan Snyder, you got to be wondering what on Earth you brought in highly-respected offensive coordinator Al Saunders for when the best player (in my opinion, although some may say Clinton Portis a.k.a. Dolemite Jenkins) on your team can't even get the ball.
Another key to the game was that Eli Manning was very accurate, connecting on 69 percent of his passes. Manning is not typically a high-percentage passer, so it remains to be seen of this performance was an anomaly or a sign of things to come. He just may have the best combination of receivers in the NFC East to throw to, in Jeremy Shockey, a reborn Amani Toomer (just two years ago Toomer went the whole season without catching a TD), and Plaxico Burress. The only problem is Shockey and Burress can be headcases at times, so when the Giants face adversity, these two are usually quick to point the finger at others.
New York's matchup in Atlanta should be a good measuring stick for them, as we can see if they match the same defensive intensity they showed against Washington...
The Eagles beat the Cowboys by continually getting pressure on Drew Bledsoe with its defensive line and timely blitzes. They recorded seven sacks and forced five turnovers. The depth of the defensive line, even without Jevon Kearse, is the backbone of the team, and could be the reason make another Super Bowl run. Philly's run defense is also improved this year, despite looking atrocious in the first half against the Cowboys. Although injuries have already hit the defense pretty hard, with cornerbacks Lito Sheppard and Rod Hood both missing, the defense is playing well as a unit and backups like Joselio Hanson are doing a good job of filling in.
The Eagles' stock is soaring now, but Eagles' fan shouldn't start celebrating too much, because they have played a much easier schedule than both Dallas and New York.
New York has lost to Indianapolis and Seattle (both good teams) and beaten Philly and Washington. Dallas has lost to Jacksonville and Philly and beaten Washington (who the jury is still out on) and Tennessee. The Eagles have beaten three horrible teams in Green Bay, San Francisco, and Houston and one good team in Dallas, and of course lost to New York. The conclusion is that although it appears the Eagles have separated themselves from the rest of the NFC East, things will probably will become cluttered once the Eagles start playing some tougher teams. They have yet to play either of the two good AFC South teams (Jacksonville or Indy), and would be fortunate to gain a split again them. Not to mention the horrible back-to-back-back road trip through the rest of the NFC East to finish the season. The Eagles must have atleast a 2 game lead or hope that one or two of the teams they play in that brutal stretch is eliminated from the playoff hunt, and has only pride to play for.
The Giants finally played a complete game, totally dominating the Redskins in the NFC East "undercard", as ESPN anaylists refered to it. It was a mostly uneventful game, with both teams struggling to move the ball for much of the first half, until the Giants broke through. Washington had shown considerable improvement on offense the last couple weeks, highlighted by a high-scoring overtime win against Jacksonville last week. But the key to that game was how they got Santana Moss involved.
Moss caught three touchdowns, including the game-winning TD against Jacksonville, but mysteriously had only 3 catches for 39 yarda against New York. With Santana Moss, he's such a dynamic playmaker, all you need to do is get him the ball with some space 7-8 times a game, and he will make things happen. If you're Dan Snyder, you got to be wondering what on Earth you brought in highly-respected offensive coordinator Al Saunders for when the best player (in my opinion, although some may say Clinton Portis a.k.a. Dolemite Jenkins) on your team can't even get the ball.
Another key to the game was that Eli Manning was very accurate, connecting on 69 percent of his passes. Manning is not typically a high-percentage passer, so it remains to be seen of this performance was an anomaly or a sign of things to come. He just may have the best combination of receivers in the NFC East to throw to, in Jeremy Shockey, a reborn Amani Toomer (just two years ago Toomer went the whole season without catching a TD), and Plaxico Burress. The only problem is Shockey and Burress can be headcases at times, so when the Giants face adversity, these two are usually quick to point the finger at others.
New York's matchup in Atlanta should be a good measuring stick for them, as we can see if they match the same defensive intensity they showed against Washington...
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