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  Cedric Benson vs Matt Forte: What have you done for me lately?

  Brandon 4:10 pm on 8/20/2010 | 7 Permalink Reply
  Tags: cedric benson (16), chicago bears (3), Matt Forte, running backs (11)

  Remember when Cedric Benson was the Matt Forte of the Chicago Bears? He was a running back that everyone had given up on and we all chuckled when he was signed by the Bengals. He then proceeded to put up very average numbers over the 2008-09 season for the Bengals, finishing with 747 yards (3.5 ypc) and two scores. That same year, the new kid on the block in Chicago, replacing Benson, rushed for 1,238 yards (3.9 ypc) and eight touchdowns to become the next up-and-coming fantasy football star. That kid was Matt Forte out of Tulane University.

  Fast forward to the 2009-10 season, where the roles were reversed. Forte hit a sophomore slump, finishing with under 1,000 yards and only four touchdowns, while Benson barreled his way to 1,251 yards (with a solid 4.2 ypc) and six scores.

  Now, as we all prepare for the 2010-11 fantasy football season, it seems that no one cares about either of these players beyond one season ago. Just a few notes on the two players…

  • Cedric Benson has never played a full 16 game season.
  • Matt Forte has never NOT played a full 16 game season.

  • Cedric Benson has 37 receptions, 296 receiving yards and 0 receiving touchdowns over the past two years.
  • Matt Forte has 120 receptions, 948 receiving yards, and 4 receiving touchdowns over the past two years.

  • Cedric Benson has had four “average” seasons as an NFL running back.
  • Matt Forte has had one “average” season as an NFL running back (sophomore slump?)

  • Cedric Benson’s rated as the 14th best running back by Yahoo! for the 2010-11 season.
  • Matt Forte is rated as the 28th best running back by Yahoo! for the 2010-11 season.

  I just find it odd at how these two players are looked at going into this season. Someone feel free to change my mind if you want/can. Until then, I’m hoping to snag Forte as a sneaky, mid-round pick in my league drafts.

  Update: Just found a blog that shares my pseudo-optimism in Matt Forte this year. In his post Don’t Nap on these 10 SLEEPERS!, John Charles of Fantasy-Football-First.com writes about Matt Forte:

  Analysis: This time last year some were making the debate that Forte was worthy of the # 1 pick. He had a disappointing season in which he finished #18 for fantasy running backs. He averaged 10.2 points a game. Would you take 10 points a week out of your RB2 position? I would. I think he improves on that a bit this year and could average 12 points a game which should put him in the top 15.

  Strategy: Fantasy football owners have a short term memory so the thought of Forte being a first round bust last year will be fresh in their minds. Mock Drafts have him going in the 4th-6th round and being the 21st running back selected. I am targeting a 4th round steal and it might be hard to pass him up in the 3rd round.

   

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  Brandon 11:49 am on 8/18/2010 | 9 Permalink Reply
  Tags: Matt Forte

  I might end up regretting it, but right now I’m on the Matt Forte bounce-back bandwagon http://bit.ly/aEZGK5

   
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  Hits & Misses - Week 16: CHAMPIONSHIP TIME!

  Brandon 2:39 pm on 12/23/2009 | 76 Permalink Reply
  Tags: aaron rodgers (30), andre johnson (19), ben roethlisberger (21), cedric benson (16), derrick mason (8), frank gore (13), heath miller (7), jamaal charles (7), julius jones (8), Matt Forte, matt ryan (19), matt schaub (19), Peyton Manning (28), Randy Moss (21), reggie wayne (11), roddy white (22), steve smith (26), steven jackson (13), Tom Brady (25), vernon davis (4)

  Here are our “Hits” and “Misses” for this week. It’s championship week for most league’s out there, so hopefully these tips can help you bring home the bacon! As usual, please feel free to leave a comment on any of our posts with additional hit/miss questions and we’ll try our hardest to get back to you in a timely fashion. Good luck!

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  Hits & Misses - Week 14: Win or Go Home!

  Brandon 3:46 pm on 12/10/2009 | 18 Permalink Reply
  Tags: aaron rodgers (30), antonio bryant (18), ben roethlisberger (21), brett favre (34), bruce gradkowski (2), cedric benson (16), chris chambers (10), derrick mason (8), donnie avery (15), eli manning (19), fred davis (7), fred jackson (8), heath miller (7), hits and misses (9), jamaal charles (7), Matt Forte, matt schaub (19), mike sims-walker (12), pierre garcon (7), ricky williams (16), thomas jones (20)

  Here are our “Hits” and “Misses” for the upcoming games, 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!) In most leagues out there this is the first week of the playoffs, so you absolutely need to win if you want to continue your journey towards that league championship. Hopefully a few of these hit and miss suggestions will help you make those tough roster decisions and if they don’t, please feel free to leave a comment with your specific situation. Good luck!

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  Hits & Misses - Week 12: Happy Thanksgiving!

  Brandon 10:32 am on 11/25/2009 | 49 Permalink Reply
  Tags: aaron rodgers (30), braylon edwards (10), brett favre (34), eli manning (19), hits and misses (9), jermichael finley (8), joe flacco (15), josh freeman (5), kevin boss (12), kevin smith (9), lesean mccoy (5), marion barber (19), matt cassel (26), Matt Forte, michael crabtree (9), mike sims-walker (12), mohamed massaquoi (5), steve smith (26), thomas jones (20), vincent jackson (11)

  Here are our “Hits” and “Misses” for week twelve, 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 Turkey Day right around the corner and a record three games being played tomorrow, we needed to post the hits and misses ASAP this week. As usual, I left off a few obvious picks from the list, including Ricky Williams running over the Bills, Larry Fitzgerald smoking the Titans secondary and Greg Jennings beating up on the Lions, but there is still plenty of picks to go around. Hopefully everyone has a great holiday weekend, filled with lots of fantasy football points!

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  Matt Forte Owners: Time to Sell

  Matt 2:38 pm on 11/16/2009 | 14 Permalink Reply
  Tags: Matt Forte

  If there was ever a time for Matt Forte owners to try and dump him on the highest bidder, this is it. He’s had three straight respectable fantasy outings thanks largely to Jay Cutler’s difficulty throwing the ball to anyone else, but his YPC remains low at 3.4 and he simply looks nothing like the emergent superstar we were introduced to last season. Daily Herald columnist Barry Rozner thinks the blame falls at least as much on Forte himself as on the struggling offensive line.

  The real reason to sell him ASAP, though, is the Bears’ upcoming schedule:

  Week	Date	Opponent
  11	Nov 22	PHI
  12	Nov 29	@ MIN
  13	Dec 6	STL
  14	Dec 13	GNB
  15	Dec 20	@ BAL
  16	Dec 28	MIN
  17	Jan 3	@ DET

  5th-ranked rushing defense Minnesota twice – including week 16, championship week in most leagues – 4th-ranked Green Bay, 9th-ranked Philly, 6th-ranked Baltimore… yikes. The 28th-ranked Rams are the only reprieve.

  Get rid of him now while it still looks (to an ill-informed manager) like Forte has finally hit his stride. It won’t last long.

   
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  Hits & Misses - Week 8: Happy Halloween!

  Brandon 11:07 am on 10/29/2009 | 39 Permalink Reply
  Tags: adrian peterson (32), alex smith (12), andre johnson (19), brandon marshall (36), brett favre (34), david garrard (13), deangelo williams (17), derrick mason (8), devin hester (11), donovan mcnabb (26), jeremy shockey (7), Matt Forte, matt ryan (19), michael crabtree (9), mike sims-walker (12), ryan grant (21), steve slaton (18), steven jackson (13), tony gonzalez (13), tony romo (26)

  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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  Hits & Misses - Week 3: Bring out your Steve Smiths!

  Brandon 10:06 am on 9/25/2009 | 18 Permalink Reply
  Tags: aaron rodgers (30), devin hester (11), eli manning (19), jay cutler (32), jeremy shockey (7), jericho cotchery (5), joseph addai (16), kurt warner (31), lendale white (17), mark sanchez (11), Matt Forte, maurice jones-drew (23), roddy white (22), Shaun Hill (10), steve smith (26), thomas jones (20), vincent jackson (11), willis mcgahee (13), zach miller (10)

  Here are our “Hits” and “Misses” for week three, listing players who you want to make sure are in your lineup, as well as those who you might consider shelving for the week (or at least lowering your expectations!) As usual, I tried to keep the most obvious players off the list, such as Drew Brees against a Bills defense that is allowing over 330 yards per game through the air (make sure to have him in your lineup this week though.) Anyways, let’s get to the good stuff, starting with a pair of receivers who share a name… (More …)

   
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  Running back rankings for 2009

  Brandon 11:12 pm on 7/30/2009 | 20 Permalink Reply
  Tags: adrian peterson (32), brandon jacobs (20), brian westbrook (13), cheat sheets (15), chris johnson (29), deangelo williams (17), ladainian tomlinson (31), Matt Forte, maurice jones-drew (23), michael turner (24), running backs (11), steve slaton (18), steven jackson (13)

  Following my wide receiver rankings, here is the list for running backs. Keep in mind that this is primarily for non-PPR leagues, but I’ve mentioned in my comments the tailbacks that will be valued higher in leagues that award points for receptions.

  You can check out the rest of our positional cheat sheets here.

  Adrian Peterson, MIN – Unless you’re in a PPR league, A-Pete is top dog and Favre should distract defenses a bit and open more holes. Michael Turner, ATL – As with Peterson, he is spectacular as long as you’re not in a PPR league, and he’s only slightly less than spectacular then. DeAngelo Williams, CAR – Jonathan Stewart continues to show durability issues, meaning plenty of carries again this year for D-Williams! Matt Forte, CHI – I’m digging Forte this season with Cutler in town. Maurice Jones-Drew, JAX – Finally mini-me becomes the feature back…I expect it to pay some dividends Steven Jackson, STL – UPGRADE! The Rams offense scares me…and S-Jax has trouble staying healthy. He is a beast though. LaDainian Tomlinson, SD – He didn’t go from the best in the league to Average Joe over night. Expect LT to surprise the quick-to-be-haters this year. Frank Gore, SF – Taking a leadership role on the team, hopefully it equates to some leader-like stats. Brian Westbrook, PHI – He’s never played a full 16 game season and there are already injury worries. He’s a monster when he plays (especially in PPR leagues), but he’ll be 30 in a few weeks and this could be the year he starts slowing down, LT-style. Ryan Grant, GB – UPGRADE! As long as he stays healthy, Grant should put up decent numbers. Brandon Jacobs, NYG – He’s a beast when not injured, just hope he can stay on his two feet the whole season. Chris Johnson, TEN – He hasn’t been impressing this preseason, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt at this point. (More …)

   
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  Matt 11:44 am on 7/28/2009 | 3 Permalink Reply
  Tags: cbs sportsline (2), funston, ladainian tomlinson (31), Matt Forte, steven jackson (13)

  I think Funston is spot-on with his top 5. Sportsline is nuts. Forte at #3? Steven Jackson all the way down at #9?! LT at #17?!?!?!!?

   
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  Hits and Misses - Week 16: Take a ride in the PT Cruiser!

  Brandon 12:26 am on 12/20/2008 | 4 Permalink Reply
  Tags: antonio bryant (18), ben roethlisberger (21), brett favre (34), calvin johnson (16), chad pennington (11), chris johnson (29), clinton portis (22), deion branch (11), jake delhomme (13), jeff garcia (7), joe flacco (15), jonathan stewart (8), kerry collins (10), lendale white (17), marshawn lynch (19), Matt Forte, pierre thomas (20), ronnie brown (17), santana moss (12), santonio holmes (9), steve slaton (18), tashard choice (5), vincent jackson (11)

  Of all the cars out there to get a nickname from (see: Cadillac Williams), I’m not sure I would want people calling me the name of one of the worst new vehicles to come out this century, but whatever works I guess! It apparently IS working for Saints running back Pierre Thomas, who has put up some great fantasy numbers over the past few weeks in an offense that is traditionally pass-first (and made a lot of fantasy team managers very happy in the process.) This weekend you should have the PT Cruiser parked right in the RB1 or RB2 slot on your roster when the Saints head to Detroit, helping your team cruise to a fantasy football championship!

  Hits

  • Pierre Thomas, RB, Saints: Although I recommend a few of our readers sit the PT Cruiser last week, this week my tune has changed a bit. The Saints head to Detroit on Sunday to play a Lions team that has been absolutely dreadful against the run this year, allowing 169 yards per game (4.9 ypc) to opposing tailbacks, while allowing them to rack up 26 touchdowns. With Reggie Bush out of the picture, expect a big day for Thomas.
  • Antonio Bryant, WR, Buccaneers: For all of you who snagged Antonio Bryant off the waiver wire in the middle of the season, you have to be loving your decision at this point. In most leagues, Bryant has now racked you up around 300 yards and a couple touchdowns through the first two rounds of the playoffs, and I’m predicting that he’ll continue that trend against a bad San Diego Chargers defense. You know those commercials that ESPN had for the Fantasy Football Hall of Fame? If Bryant comes through this weekend, I think you need to add him for next year’s ads. (More …)
   
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  2009 Pro Bowl rosters announced

  Brandon 10:01 pm on 12/17/2008 | 5 Permalink Reply
  Tags: brett favre (34), calvin johnson (16), deangelo williams (17), Matt Forte, philip rivers (17), ronnie brown (17), steve slaton (18)

  If you haven’t seen them yet, the 2009 Pro Bowl rosters were announced today and you can see the entire teams here. I’ve already been reading articles mentioning Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams (2nd in NFL for rushing touchdowns, 4th in NFL for rushing yards), Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (leads the NFL in passer rating and touchdown passes) and Texans rookie running back Steve Slaton as the biggest snubs, while listing Jets quarterback Brett Favre (leads NFL in interceptions) and Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown (17th in NFL for rushing yards, got 4 of 10 touchdowns in one game) as the most undeserving of a roster spot. After reviewing the stats, a few other snubs, who will probably make it anyways after guys drop off due to injuries/injury worries/laziness, include Chicago rookie running back Matt Forte and Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (tied for 2nd in NFL in receiving touchdowns.) I’ll open it up to the forum for anyone else’s opinions on the selections…

  [poll id="4"]

   
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  Week 14 Wrap-Up: Reggie Bush is back

  Brandon 10:47 pm on 12/08/2008 | 0 Permalink Reply
  Tags: adrian peterson (32), brandon marshall (36), brett favre (34), brian westbrook (13), chris johnson (29), clinton portis (22), darren sproles (6), deion branch (11), ladainian tomlinson (31), lendale white (17), Matt Forte, matt schaub (19), maurice jones-drew (23), Peyton Manning (28), philip rivers (17), pierre thomas (20), plaxico burress (5), reggie bush (14), roddy white (22), ryan grant (21), senaca wallace, steve smith (26), Tim Hightower (15), vincent jackson (11)

  With the playoffs in action in many of the fantasy leagues out there, let’s just jump into the action that took place this weekend, starting with the Saints and their resurgent ground game…

  • New Orleans 29, Atlanta 25: This is supposed to be the year that the Falcons win the division (after ending up in last place last season), but with a loss to the Saints, they now find themselves in third place and will be two games behind whoever wins tonight’s game between the Panthers and Buccaneers. For Atlanta, Roddy White put up another big effort with 10 receptions for 164 yards, but it wasn’t enough to counter the Saints dominant passing rushing game (?) Pierre Thomas broke the century mark and scored two touchdowns, while Reggie Bush (106 combined yards, TD) seems to be back in action, which can only mean good things for the Saints. (More …)
   
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  Top 25 scoring fantasy football players through 13 weeks

  Brandon 10:54 pm on 12/02/2008 | 1 Permalink Reply
  Tags: aaron rodgers (30), adrian peterson (32), andre johnson (19), anquan boldin (15), brandon jacobs (20), brett favre (34), calvin johnson (16), chris johnson (29), clinton portis (22), deangelo williams (17), donovan mcnabb (26), drew brees (25), eli manning (19), frank gore (13), greg jennings (12), jay cutler (32), kurt warner (31), kyle orton (24), lance moore (9), Larry Fitzgerald (18), marion barber (19), matt cassel (26), Matt Forte, matt schaub (19), maurice jones-drew (23), michael turner (24), Peyton Manning (28), philip rivers (17), Randy Moss (21), roddy white (22), ronnie brown (17), santana moss (12), steve slaton (18), steve smith (26), terrell owens (21), thomas jones (20), tony romo (26)

  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 …)

   
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  Hits and Misses - Week 12: Peyton ready for a playoff run

  Brandon 3:45 pm on 11/21/2008 | 2 Permalink Reply
  Tags: aaron rodgers (30), antonio pittman (2), brett favre (34), brian westbrook (13), chris johnson (29), daunte culpepper (6), desean jackson (12), donnie avery (15), donovan mcnabb (26), greg jennings (12), jamal lewis (21), jason campbell (15), jericho cotchery (5), justin gage (6), kerry collins (10), kevin curtis (5), kris jenkins, ladainian tomlinson (31), lendale white (17), marshawn lynch (19), Matt Forte, matt ryan (19), maurice jones-drew (23), Peyton Manning (28), philip rivers (17), sammy morris (8), Shaun Hill (10), steve slaton (18), Tim Hightower (15), tony romo (26), vincent jackson (11), warrick dunn (7)

  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.

  (More …)

   
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  Guest Post: Week 12 RB Fantasy Rankings

  Josh 10:58 am on 11/20/2008 | 2 Permalink Reply
  Tags: ahmad bradshaw (10), clinton portis (22), joseph addai (16), marshawn lynch (19), Matt Forte, NFL (7), ryan grant (21), steve slaton (18), warrick dunn (7), willie parker (9)

  Editors’ note: The following post was written by a guest blogger, Josh from Pro Football 101.

  Must Starts

  1. Willie Parker vs. Cincinnati Bengals. Parker came back with a strong effort vs. the Chargers this past Sunday, and on Thursday he gets the Bengals. Got to love that matchup.

  In what could be frigid conditions at Heinz field Thursday night, look for the Steelers to get back to playing Pittsburgh Steelers football and pounding away on the ground. And as the line begins to gel together, this all bodes very well for Parker. 100 yards and two TDs.

  2. Matt Forte vs. St. Louis Rams. Ok, the game by the Bay (San Francisco) last Sunday convinced me that the Rams have officially mailed the season in.

  After a few nice efforts that led to upsets over Washington and Dallas, the bottom has fallen out and this defense has given up 40 and 35 points respectively in the first halves alone of each of the past two games.

  Look for the Bears to get back on track after the debacle in GB and for Forte to be a major focal point of the offensive attack. 100 yards and two TDs. (More …)

   
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  Hits and Misses - Week 11: Turner the Burner ready to blaze!

  Brandon 9:17 am on 11/14/2008 | 4 Permalink Reply
  Tags: anquan boldin (15), ben roethlisberger (21), bernard berrian (11), brandon jacobs (20), daunte culpepper (6), deangelo williams (17), derrick mason (8), earnest graham (10), gus frerotte (5), hines ward (3), jake delhomme (13), joe flacco (15), joseph addai (16), kurt warner (31), kyle orton (24), ladainian tomlinson (31), Larry Fitzgerald (18), Matt Forte, matt ryan (19), michael turner (24), roddy white (22), ronnie brown (17), sage rosenfels (4), steve breaston (8), steve smith (26), tyler thigpen (11), vincent jackson (11), willis mcgahee (13)

  Last week I came through with my second great feature pick of the season (I know, only two through ten weeks is a little embarassing!), as Vikings running back Adrian Peterson absolutely torched the Packers defense to the tune of 225 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. I ended up the week with a respectable 15-5-3* record, helped out by stellar, three-score games from Thomas Jones and Maurice Jones-Drew, along with a solid performance from Tony Gonzalez and a predictable, lackluster showing by Steve Slaton (could he be hitting the rookie wall?) Although the Jets passing game proved to be non-existant in their demolition of the Rams and Peyton Manning had a huge game against one of the better defenses in the league (ironically, his two best games this season against the Steelers and Ravens…go figure!), I still finished with some fairly good predictions and I hope to do the same this week. For week 11,  my sure bet is for Michael Turner “The Burner” to have a big game against a less than average Broncos defense in Atlanta this weekend, so get him in your lineup!

  * Hits-Misses-Pushes

  Hits

  • Michael Turner, RB, Falcons: I admit, I tried to come up with some clever saying here that some how involved the Broncos, Turner the Burner, and the game being a potential barn burner, but I couldn’t come up with some all that witty, so I ended up with the title you currently see on the post. Anyways though, continuing the trend (big games against bad defenses…poor games against good ones) that he has followed all season, you can expect big things from Turner this weekend as he takes on an Denver defense that is allowing 5.6 yards per carry. This should turn into a barn burner if all goes according to plan…and expect Turner to be right in the middle of the action. (More …)
   
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  Sell High, Buy Low: Trade ideas for Week 11, 2008

  Matt 11:32 am on 11/12/2008 | 2 Permalink Reply
  Tags: buy low (5), Matt Forte, maurice jones-drew (23), Peyton Manning (28), sell high (5), steve breaston (8)

  The trade deadline approacheth! In many leagues, there are just a couple days left, so if you don’t know when yours is, check your league’s settings ASAP. The default deadline in Yahoo leagues is this Friday; in ESPN leagues it’s next Wednesday.

  This is your last opportunity to sell high on your overvalued players and buy low on your leaguemates’ undervalued players – let’s get to figuring out who those guys are!

  Sell High

  Maurice Jones-Drew - This season, MJD has been only been consistent in one way – he has great games against bad defenses (Indy, Denver, Detroit) and horrible games against good ones (Tennessee, Pittsburgh). He hasn’t shown any signs of being able to rise to the occasion against top-tier defenses this season. His schedule for the next four weeks: Tennessee, Minnesota, Houston, Chicago. Gulp. Houston would stand out as the lone opportunity for a big game in there, except for one little detail: Against the Texans in week 4, he contributed a whopping 49 total yards. In a high-scoring, 30-27 game.

  (More …)

   
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  Top 25 fantasy football players after nine weeks

  Brandon 5:54 pm on 11/04/2008 | 13 Permalink Reply
  Tags: aaron rodgers (30), adrian peterson (32), brandon jacobs (20), brett favre (34), chris johnson (29), clinton portis (22), donovan mcnabb (26), drew brees (25), eli manning (19), frank gore (13), greg jennings (12), jason campbell (15), jay cutler (32), kurt warner (31), kyle orton (24), ladainian tomlinson (31), Larry Fitzgerald (18), marion barber (19), Matt Forte, matt schaub (19), maurice jones-drew (23), michael turner (24), Peyton Manning (28), philip rivers (17), reggie bush (14), roddy white (22), ronnie brown (17), santana moss (12), tony romo (26)

  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 …)

   
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  Week 9 Weekend Wrap-Up: Halloween hang-over

  Brandon 5:58 pm on 11/03/2008 | 0 Permalink Reply
  Tags: adrian peterson (32), ahmad bradshaw (10), anthony gonzalez (5), antonio bryant (18), bernard berrian (11), brandon jacobs (20), brandon marshall (36), braylon edwards (10), brett favre (34), cedric benson (16), chris johnson (29), derick mason (2), derrick ward (5), donovan mcnabb (26), gus frerotte (5), jay cutler (32), jeff garcia (7), kurt warner (31), kyle orton (24), lendale white (17), matt cassel (26), Matt Forte, michael jenkins (8), michael turner (24), ocho cinco (8), ray rice (8), rex grossman (2), Tim Hightower (15), tony romo (26), tyler thigpen (11)

  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 …)