Squish (252)
e-roc (119)
Jeff (53)
Mal (45)
Tommy (45)
Ken (42)
Amir (37)
Tj (29)
Here are our “Hits” and “Misses” for week thirteen, listing players you want to make sure are in your lineup, as well as those you might consider shelving for the week (or at least lowering your expectations!) With the playoffs right around the corner, you most likely need a win badly this week to clinch that first round BYE (or to even get a playoff spot!) Hopefully our list this week can help you get over the hump and into your league’s tournament, where you will surely bring home the bacon because you frequent such an awesome and knowledgeable fantasy football website! Alright, enough tooting of our own horn, let’s get to the hits and misses for this week and GOOD LUCK!
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Hits & Misses - Week 13: Win or Go Home
Brandon
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Hits & Misses - Week 10: Thursday Night Football Edition
Brandon
As I mentioned in an earlier post, make sure to check your rosters before the game tonight so that you don’t get screwed with a starter on your bench (or even worse if there are leagues out there that lock rosters after the first game of the week starts!) Anyways, I wanted to get this post out with time to spare before game-time tonight in case any of the 49ers or Bears players made the list. Here are our “Hits” and “Misses” for week ten, listing players you want to make sure are in your lineup, as well as those you might consider shelving for the week (or at least lowering your expectations!) (More …)
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Hits & Misses - Week 8: Happy Halloween!
Brandon
With Halloween right around the corner, hopefully your fantasy teams are in for more treats than tricks! While there is no game on Sunday night due to the World Series, I’m excited for the treat we’ll all get on Monday night when we actually get to see a good football game (Falcons @ Saints), instead of what we were forced to witness last week. Make sure to set your rosters early on Saturday so that you don’t forget while you’re nursing that post-party hangover on Sunday!Anyways, here are our “Hits” and “Misses” for week eight, listing players you want to make sure are in your lineup, as well as those you might consider shelving for the week (or at least lowering your expectations!) We start it off with a few big name running backs that you may be concerned about… (More …)
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Matt
A few quick thoughts on yesterday’s games from a fantasy perspective…
- Maybe the real QB controversy in Philly is Kolb-McNabb… but yeah, not really. Reid’s going to start McNabb as soon as he’s healthy, and the good news for his fantasy owners is the emergence of DeSean Jackson as a truly elite receiver. McNabb hasn’t had a target of this caliber since T.O. left town.
- I’m not usually one to say “I told you so,” but I’m feeling pretty good about my MJD pick.
- Joe Flacco looked good again, but I’ll wait to declare him an every-week fantasy starter until I see how he does in New England this Sunday.
- Matt Schaub and Co. are rounding into shape pretty nicely, wouldn’t you say? Slaton didn’t exactly have a breakout game fantasy-wise, but his owners should be relieved to see him look effective when he touched the ball (and to see his vulture Chris Brown fumble in the red zone). If you own him, hold onto him; if you don’t, see if his owner might be willing to trade him.
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Ask the Geeks: Countdown to Opening Day
Brandon
With opening day rapidly approaching, it’s high time for some more Ask the Geeks. Send us your burning questions here.
Brian asks: Hey Geeks, I have two flex positions to fill with six choices and am stuck. 12 man league and we get individual return yards keep in mind. Players are Ryan Grant, Santonio Holmes, Felix Jones, Willie Parker, Joseph Addai and X-factor Stefan Logan who is doing punt and kickoff returns for Pitt. Which two do you recommend?
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Matt
And so it begins: McNabb danced around the issue with the press and didn’t come right out and state the obvious – that Vick’s presence last night was as disruptive for the Eagles as it was for the other team – but it was telling that he repeatedly said how important it was to spend the second half playing “our offense” – e.g., the real Eagles offense, the one without Vick.
The season’s two weeks away. It’s hard to blame McNabb if he’s frustrated that instead of focusing on fine-tuning the Eagle’s effective, proven offense, Andy Reid is devoting large portions of a preseason game to experimenting with Vick.
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Quarterback rankings for 2009
Brandon
Here are our quarterback rankings for this season. Don’t forget to check out the rest of our cheat sheets here.
- Tom Brady, NE – He looked great this past weekend and seems to have no lingering issues from the shoulder injury. Draft him with confidence and watch attempt to break the records again.
- Drew Brees, NO – Brees tops a lot of other site’s quarterback rankings, but maybe it’s a little Patriots-bias that puts him in the #2 spot on my list.
- Peyton Manning, IND – He’s still Peyton Manning and he’s still got Reggie Wayne (and others.)
- Philip Rivers, SD – Decent receivers, pass-catching tailbacks and Antonio Gates make for a lot of targets.
- Kurt Warner, ARI – As long as he remains healthy, he’s throwing to a pair of Pro-Bowlers (unless Anquan Boldin gets shipped out of town) and will continue to put up solid stats.
- Aaron Rodgers, GB – He’s got a great target to throw to in Greg Jennings.
- Donovan McNabb, PHI – Wide receivers still somewhat suspect, but McNabb will make the most with what he has.
- Matt Schaub, HOU – He gets the joy of throwing to Andre Johnson…one of the best receivers in the NFL.
- Tony Romo, DAL – DOWNGRADE! Roy Williams has been a disappointment so far and the rest of the receiving corps worries me.
- Matt Ryan, ATL – He’s primed for another solid year throwing to Roddy White and crew.
- Jay Cutler, CHI – His main target is a reformed kick returner, but I have enough faith in Cutler’s abilities to believe he can get it done with anyone running routes.
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Top 25 scoring fantasy football players through 13 weeks
Brandon
It’s been 13 weeks since the season started and four since my last posting of the top 25 fantasy football players in the game. As I mentioned last time, this is a list of the top fantasy football scorers so far this season, based on a non-PPR league that Matt and I are in, which follows near-standard scoring rules…
Note: The number in parenthesis is the ranking of the player after week 9.
1 (4). Drew Brees, QB, Saints: Brees has been a yardage and touchdown machine this year, even with his top receiver from last season (Marques Colston) out for a bit. I’m sure he helped many a team into the playoffs this season.
2 (3). Kurt Warner, QB, Cardinals: Warner’s stats were pretty close to Brees’ and while he did throw less interceptions, he fumbled the ball a lot more. However, I’m sure he’s on a lot of playoff bound team’s rosters.
3 (5). Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers: Packers fans can’t complain about the production they got out of the quarterback after Favre’s departure and they should be happy that they won’t have to worry about the position for another decade or so.
4 (6). Jay Cutler, QB, Broncos: While I was expecting a bit more out of his “favorite” receiver Brandon Marshall, Cutler has been all that fantasy owners could have wished for.
5 (1). Philip Rivers, QB, Chargers: He’s dropped off a bit over the past few weeks, but you can’t really complain considering the receivers he’s passing to. (More …) -
Week 13 Wrap-up: Do we have to watch the Lions?
Brandon
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! If you were wishing that the football games would give you reason to ignore your family members and sit on the couch all afternoon, you were probably a bit disappointed with what transpired this past Thursday. In my opinion, this had to be one of the worst weekends of football in a long time, as eight of the fifteen games were near-blowouts, seven were missing a 30 point effort from either of the contestants, and three games featured teams whose leading rusher was either their quarterback or Jacob Hester (who needed one attempt to best LT!) Anyways, it was one of the most important weeks of football from a fantasy perspective, so let’s hope that the right guys had big days for your team, starting with the action from Turkey Day…
- Tennessee 47, Detroit 10 (Thursday): Is it time to remove Detroit from the Thanksgiving Day football schedule? After another pathetic performance from a team trying its hardest to go 0-16, do they really deserve a national audience every Turkey Day? Either way, the Titans got back to what got them to 10-0 a few weeks ago…the running game, as both Chris Johnson (125 yards, 2 TD) and LenDale White (106 yards, 2 TD) had a field day against the Lions. (More …)
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Hits and Misses: Turkey Day Edition
Brandon
Happy Thanksgiving! For the Thanksgiving holiday, I figured I’d do an early Hits and Misses article around the games that will be taking place as you stuff your face (and wonder why Detroit is on TV every friggin’ Turkey Day!) Anyways, over the past few weeks, it appears to me that the perfect storm has been brewing…and that storm is what the Titans running backs are going to do to the Lions defense tomorrow. Last weekend Tennessee finally got a dose of reality against the Jets when they realized that they can’t rely solely on the arm of Kerry Collins to carry them to victory and that they’re going to need their running game performing at a high level if they want to go anywhere in the playoffs. Lucky for them, they play the worst run defense in the NFL, the Detroit Lions, so this could be a perfect time to get back to the basics. So let’s get into more from that game and the rest of the action that will be taking place while you try your hardest to ignore your family members… (More …) -
Week 12 Wrap-Up: King of the Cassel
Brandon
Tom who? It’s amazing the job that Matt Cassel (415 passing yards, 4 TD – one rushing, INT) has done this year to keep the depression in New England over Tom Brady’s injury to a minimum. To his credit, the games are a bit more exciting now and as long as they still make the playoffs, you have to give him props for playing his ass off and earning the big contract that is sure to come his way in the off-season. Anyways, let’s dive into the action that took place this weekend, starting with the big Patriots victory over the Dolphins…
- New England 48, Miami 28: The second straight 400 passing yard performance from Cassel also paid dividends to the dynamic receiver duo, Randy Moss (8 catches for 125 yards, 3 TD) and Wes Welker (8 catches for 120 yards.) Over-shadowed by his team’s loss and the play of the opposing quarterback though, you can’t forget to mention the great effort from Chad Pennington (341 passing yards, 4 TD – one rushing, INT), who’s numbers were nearly as good. (More …)
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Hits and Misses - Week 12: Peyton ready for a playoff run
Brandon
Although the Patriots lost a close one to the Jets, last week ended up being a pretty good week for me in all areas of the fantasy football world. Not only did I win in nearly all of my leagues, but my predictions ended up with a stellar 19-4-5 record, led by great games from Turner the Burner, the Arizona passing game and DeAngelo Williams, along with sub-par efforts from Kyle Orton and Willis McGahee (even with Jake Delhomme doing his best to submarine me and one of my fantasy teams!)
With the playoffs fast approaching though, and me still needing a win or two more to clinch the playoffs in a few leagues, let’s move on to my picks for this week. I’ll start with the man who should help many a fantasy team make the playoffs in week 12 by handing out a good ol’ fashioned beatdown to San Diego…Peyton Manning.
Hits
- Peyton Manning, QB, Colts: This weekend Indianapolis will head to San Diego to take on a Chargers defense that has been one of the worst in the league against the pass (possibly due to the absence of their top pass rusher in Shawne Merriman?) For all those managers who drafted Manning with a top pick in their league and have been disappointed so far (although the past few weeks he’s been pretty good), this game should serve as redemption. The Chargers are allowing 267 passing yards on average to an assortment of signal callers across the league…and this weekend they take on one that is slightly better than your “average quarterback.” I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect 300 yards and at least two scores from Peyton this week.
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Guest Post: Week 11 QB Fantasy Rankings
Josh
Editors’ note: The following post was written by our new guest blogger, Josh from Pro Football 101.
Must Start:
1. Donovan McNabb vs. Cincinnati. These are the types of games that #5 relishes. No pressure, no problem. The Eagles, still fuming from their 36-31 loss to the Giants, will look to come out and put a hurtin’ on the Bengals. And since the Bengals can’t stop anyone on the ground or through the air, look for McNabb and his receivers – in particular DeSean Jackson – to do some real damage with the deep ball. 250+ yards and two, possibly three TDs.
2. Peyton Manning vs. Houston. Not sure exactly what it is, but something just isn’t right with Indy’s running game this season. I’m not basing that statement off last week’s game, as no one runs well on Pittsburgh, but the Colts have yet to have a dominating effort on the ground in ‘08. This is making fantasy owners happy, though, as it’s forcing Peyton to do more with his arm. If Joe Flacco just lit up Houston this past weekend, then it’s scary to think what Peyton will do. 250+ yards and three TDs. (More …)
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Week 10 Wrap-up: Keepin' up with the Jones'
Brandon
What a week 10, huh? The Jets and Ravens break the 40 point mark, Brady Quinn makes his big debut…and the Bills drop from first to last in the AFC East! The biggest achievements of the week though by far came from some of the league’s running backs, primarily Thomas Jones of the Jets, and Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jaguars, who both had three touchdown games. In addition to the Jones’, I think an honorable mention is also deserving of Adrian “All Day” Peterson, who broke the 200 yards from scrimmage mark in the Vikings exciting, last minute victory over the Packers. (By the way, all three running backs were on the Hit list this week!) Anyways, let’s jump into the action that took place in week 10…
- New York Jets 47, St. Louis 3: While I predicted a solid game from Thomas Jones, I was not prepared for what transpired Sunday afternoon when he dominated the Rams defense to the tune of 149 rushing yards and three touchdowns. What’s nearly as amazing as T-Jones’ performance was the fact that Brett Favre, Laveranues Coles nor Jericho Cotchery really contributed much of anything to this slaughter. Rookie tight end Dustin Keller had the biggest game of his short career with 107 yards receiving and a score, but the player who paid off the most for fantasy managers (besides Jones) was kicker Jay Feely, who had five extra points and four field goals, which equated to 21+ fantasy points in most leagues.
- Jacksonville 38, Detroit 14: My question is how many people started Maurice Jones-Drew this week? MJD has been extremely frustrating to own in fantasy football this season and has really only been worth playing three out of nine weeks the Jaguars have had a game so far (week 3, 6, 10…every third game actually…do I sense a big game in week 13 against the Texans?) So when he goes for 91 combined yards and three touchdowns, how many of you were screaming in joy? And how many in regret? In other news, Lions rookie running back Kevin Smith had a solid game with over 90 rushing yards and a score and is becoming a guy you can feel semi-confident starting as a RB2 or flex play against mediocre or worse defenses. Also, what is going on with Detroit’s quarterback situation? Nevermind…I just remembered that I don’t care. (More …)
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Top 25 fantasy football players after nine weeks
Brandon
It’s been nine weeks since the season started, and three since my last posting of the top 25 fantasy football players in the game. As I mentioned last time, this list is based on a non-PPR league that Matt and I are in, which follows pretty standard scoring rules. At this point, most teams have had their bye, so the stats paint a pretty accurate picture of the players effectiveness this season.
Note: The number in parenthesis is the ranking of the player after week 6.
1 (1). Philip Rivers, QB, SD: It’s pretty amazing, but at the three, six and now the nine week mark, Rivers is STILL the top fantasy football player in the league.
2 (7). Clinton Portis, RB, WAS: Portis has been solid all season long and now that all the aberations are starting to fall off the list, the greats are shining through.
3 (6). Kurt Warner, QB, ARI: Warner keeps getting it done and now that receiver Anquan Boldin is back and in action, Warner shouldn’t stray too far from the top of this list.
4 (2). Drew Brees, QB, NO: The bye week dropped him down a few spots, but he’ll stay at the top of the list for the duration.
5 (3). Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB: Rodgers continues to prove that Green Bay made the right decision in letting Favre go. (More …) -
Week 9 Weekend Wrap-Up: Halloween hang-over
Brandon
While I wish I could write about something super-exciting that happened this past weekend in the NFL, there just wasn’t a whole lot going on worthy of it. The most interesting thing to happen was probably the Chiefs near-victory over the heavily favored Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so we’ll start there…
- Tampa Bay 30, Kansas City 27: While the final outcome of this game was pretty predictable (TB beats KC), the score was no where near what we all expected. I’m not sure which stats are more interesting: 1) a non-quarterback for both teams (RB Earnest Graham for the Bucs, WR Mark Bradley for the Chiefs) threw a touchdown pass (with the Chiefs quarterback Tyler Thigpen catching the touchdown from Bradley) or one of the top run defenses in the league let up over 100 yards to a rookie (Jamaal Charles) who plays for the Chiefs. Anyways, in the end it doesn’t matter what the score was, as the Chiefs couldn’t find a way to stop the Jeff Garcia to Antonio Bryant (8 catches for 115 yards and a TD) connection all day long.
- New York Jets 26, Buffalo 17: I’m surprised that the Jets even won this game, considering the play of Brett Favre (201 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT.) Either way though, as a Patriots fan I can’t complain about how bad either of these teams look these days. Honestly, even though they’re the only team in the division without a winning record, the Dolphins are the team that scares me the most to challenge New England for the division crown. (More …)
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Hits and Misses - Week 9: Brandon Marshall ready to hand out tricks and treats
Brandon
To all of our devoted readers (and those who just stopped by for their first time), Happy Halloween! Make sure to go out and get some good candy (not the crappy kind that you hated getting as a kid!) to pass out to the kids tonight…or risk having to clean up toilet paper and shaving cream up in the morning.
Anyways, last week something relatively new happened in the world of FFGeekBlog hits and misses, which was that for the first time of the season, my feature pick did not completely bomb…nor did he do extremely well. For week eight, I recommended that you start Jets running back Thomas Jones at all costs against a Swiss-cheese style Kansas City run defense. If you took my advice, you probably don’t completely hate me…but you’re most likely not making up nicknames for me that include the words “genius”, “psychic” or “super awesome.” Against the Chiefs, Thomas Jones managed a mere 54 yards on the ground and also scored a touchdown, so while his fantasy stats weren’t something to cry about, they also weren’t something to warrant cover space on the revered Hits and Misses column.
After the dust settled though, even with Thomas Jones earning a “push” rating for the week (and J.T. O’Sullivan playing so badly that he lost the starting gig!), I still finished with a solid 16-4-5 (hits-misses-pushes) record, riding upon the shoulders of huge games from Drew Brees, Clinton Portis, Santana Moss, along with predictable stinkers from the Colts star receivers. This week I’ll try to continue my trend of solid picks, so here we go…
Hits
- Brandon Marshall, WR, Broncos: While Marshall’s numbers may have “dropped off” over the past few weeks (only 18 receptions for 200 yards in the last three games), it’s not because quarterback Jay Cutler was not looking his way. Brandon continues to get more looks than almost any other receiver in the league (possibly the most) and this week, following the bye, playing at home, against a fairly bad Dolphins secondary, I expect a huge performance from my doppelganger (in name only.) Cutler will have a big day, but I think it’s Marshall who reaps the most rewards as he hands out tricks to the Dolphins and treats to the fans. (More …)
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Hits and Misses - Week 8: T-Jones up next to abuse the Chiefs
Brandon
After weeks of mediocre results, last week I hit the jackpot with my picks (must have been the renaming of the post!) I finished up 17-7-6 (hits-misses-pushes) for the week, carried there by the stellar play of the Titans running game versus the joke that is the Kansas City Chiefs defense. I also got some help from a few other running backs including Ryan Grant, who finally found the endzone, and Dominic Rhodes, who filled in quite nicely for the injured Joseph Addai and rewarded fantasy managers with two touchdowns. While the Jets passing game failed pretty miserably against what I thought was supposed to be a weak Raiders pass defense, it wasn’t enough to keep me from my best week of the season.
This week I’m going to continue my trend of hating on the Chiefs defense by recommending all the Thomas Jones owners out there get him in your lineup this week. While I’m usually not too keen on picking against a team twice in a row (you figure they’ll try to make SOME adjustments), it’s just too good to pass up at this point. Anyways, here’s the rest of your hits and misses for week 8:
Hits
- Thomas Jones, RB, Jets: T.Jones has come alive the past two weeks (much to the enjoyment of his owners…like me!) with possibly the two best games of his career in terms of touchdowns (week 6) and yards (week 7.) As a reward for his hard work, this week he gets to take on a Chiefs defense that was absolutely annihilated by the Titans running game last week. If starting a running back at home against a defense that is allowing 5.6 yards per carry, 207 yards per game and has allowed 12 rushing touchdowns already this season is something you’re interested in (it better be), get Jones in your lineup ASAP! (More …)
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Top 25 fantasy football players after six weeks
Brandon
Well, it’s been six weeks since the season started, and three since my last posting of the top 25 fantasy football players in the game. As I mentioned last time, this list is based on a non-PPR league that Matt and I are in, which follows pretty standard scoring rules. You’ll want to keep in mind that only about half the teams have had their bye week so far, so some of the numbers might be slightly askew, but it still gives a pretty decent representation of the production levels of the players mentioned.
Note: The number in parenthesis is the ranking of the player after week 3. An asterisk means the player has already had their bye week.
1 (1). Philip Rivers, QB, SD: Rivers is still the number one fantasy player in the league and you have to give him props considering the receiving corps he’s throwing to.
2 (9). Drew Brees, QB, NO: Drew takes a pretty good leap forward since week three and he should only get better once he gets Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey back.
3 (5). Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB: Brett who? Rodgers has been all that Green Bay could ask for in a Favre replacement…but it’d be nice to see the stats translate into something better than a 3-3 record.
4 (2). Jay Cutler, QB, DEN: He’s fallen off a bit in the past few weeks, but a big showing against a weak New England defense could work wonders for him.
5 (18). Tony Romo, QB, DAL: Romo tore the list up the past few weeks, moving 13 spots in the rankings. However, a broken finger that sidelines him for upwards of a month could be enough to take him off the list completely…but maybe he’ll play through the pain. (More …) -
Week 6 Weekend Wrap-up: Expect the unexpected
Brandon
Not that weeks one through five this season were predictable, but week six seemed to continue and possibly enhance the old motto “on any given Sunday, anything can happen.” Who would have expected a Colts team that is struggling to put up big numbers this year to rack up 30+ points on the league’s top defense? How about the Cardinals to beat the Cowboys (especially considering Arizona tried to hand Dallas the game on a silver platter?) Or Miami to beat up on the Patriots and Chargers in consecutive weeks, then lose to the 0-4 Texans? What about the win-less Rams to beat a Redskins squad that was on a four game winning streak (including wins against the Saints, Cowboys, Cardinals and Eagles!) If I’ve learned anything from this season, it’s that sports betting is not a lifestyle for the faint of heart. Anyways, let’s get to the action from this weekend…
- Indianapolis 31, Baltimore 3: Just when we thought that the Colts were starting to get old and the Ravens were back to their defensively-dominant selves, we get smacked with a dose of reality. Peyton Manning (271 yards, 3 TD) and his boys Marvin Harrison (three catches for 83 yards, 2 TD) and Reggie Wayne (eight catches for 118 yards, TD) were back to their old ways in this lopsided contest. Not much worth mentioning on the Ravens side of the ball, except maybe the fact that their three-headed backfield monster (Willis McGahee, Ray Rice, Le’Ron McClain) is probably making more than one fantasy team manager a little uneasy/angry. On a side note, my emergency play of the Colts defense this week in one of my leagues proved to be a pretty genius move I guess! (More …)
