A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
It’s go time.
The playoffs are dead ahead. Now, more than ever, it is vital that you start the right guys.
We already advised you on the waiver wire. We’ve already outlined who you should start and sit on Thanksgiving. We’ve also told you about a fun Thanksgiving-only fantasy challenge.
Heck, we’ve even outlined the complete history of Thanksgiving Day football for you.
Now it’s time to look at the rest of Week 12.
There are many different factors that make fantasy football difficult: bye weeks; injuries; random lucky days for your opponent; and worst of all, Chris Johnson.
In my opinion though, the hardest thing is staying in the present.
What do I mean?
Well, that was fast.
As soon as I opened up my big mouth and proclaimed that 2011 was going to be the most prolific fantasy year ever, scoring around the league plummets. No worries.
At least I had a great week on the predictions front, as I was right on nearly 80% of my picks.
As always, here is a quick look back at last week before we move on to week 7.
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Injuries!
Andre Johnson is gone. Ben Roethlisberger is banged up. Miles Austin is on the mend. Marques Colston is back, but when will he get on track?
With the bye weeks now here, the time has come when fantasy leagues are truly won and lost. If you drafted well, and got a little lucky, you should be near the top of the standings. But nobody can ever completely escape the injury bug. Managing your lineup properly when byes and injuries attack is what separates the good owners from the great ones.
So let’s look at the Week Five games and decide who to start and who to sit this week.
Well, as I explained in this week’s waiver wire sleeper picks post, I needed another Monday night miracle to make the playoffs in the P&G-sponsored Blogger Fantasy Football League*. Barring something truly miraculous over the next hour, my season will end at the hands of Team Gunaxin.
Regardless, it has been a great experience, highlighted by the trip to New York and the draft in the NFL boardroom. That was a truly memorable experience that I’ll remember forever, and I cannot thank P&G and the NFL enough for making it reality. I would have loved to be able to enjoy this year’s Super Bowl live from Jerry World as well; but alas, it was not meant to be.
Luckily I am in many more leagues than just that one and actually had three byes this week. So fear not, dear reader! Just because my season has come to a screeching halt in the P&G league, I still have leagues with friends and family that I must win for essential bragging rights and pride. Thus, I will still be working just as hard as always to analyze the players, trends, matchups, and injuries to help myself out in my other leagues and to help you out in yours.
Let’s start analyzing.
Brett Favre is injured everyone. Seriously.
What? You hadn’t heard yet? Yeah, he’s got a bum ankle. He’s been in a walking boot all week. Hasn’t practiced. The streak – the streak – is in jeopardy.
Look, let’s just get the Brett Favre portion of this injury update out of the way right off the bat. I will believe that Brett Favre is not going to start on Sunday when Tarvaris Jackson is under center and has taken the first snap of the game. Until then, I don’t care if practices or doesn’t practice. I don’t care if he says he’s going to play or not. I don’t care if Brad Childress says Favre will play or not.
If we’ve learned one thing from all of the Favre nonsense over the past few years, it’s this: no matter what, when the issue is Brett Favre playing football, expect him to play. That’s it, it’s that simple.
Good lord, Pierre Garcon. For a guy who will drop easy passes, you sure do know how to catch ‘em when the degree of difficulty is high.
Cris Collinsworth could not stop gushing over this one-handed Garcon grab last night, and it only takes one viewing to see why.
What an incredible grab.
Regular readers know that from time to time I try to step outside of the world of sports and use whatever small level of influence I may have here at MSF to help good causes.
Unfortunately, as you surely know by now, a “good” cause was recently created by the tragic earthquake that struck Haiti.
I spent a good portion of the evening listening to TV reports from Haiti describing the utter destruction and despair consuming this already near-destitute nation. The reports are both gut wrenching and heart breaking.
What makes the reports even harder to watch is the ubiquitous feeling expressed by every reporter that the crescendo of horror in Haiti has not yet reached its zenith.
Before we begin this Friday’s Morning Would column, I want to make a declaration about one of its subjects, Browns rookie WR Mohammed Massaquoi.
And that declaration is as follows: henceforth on Midwest Sports Fans, Mohammed Massaquoi will be known as MoMass. This a common practice among fantasy writers and players who are lazy and don’t feel like typing out long, complicated names (ex. Maurice Jones-Drew is “MJD” and DeAngelo Williams is “DAW”).
You see, as much as I love MoMass, both as a building block for the Browns and as a fantasy sleeper for the balance of 2009, his name is one of those difficult ones that is very hard to get through typing without making a mistake.
Here, I’ll try a couple of times typing it at my normal rate without stopping: Mohammed Maaquia; Mohammed Massaquoi, Mohammed Massaqoo, Mohammed Massaquoi, Mohammed Massaqio.
As you can see, the second and fourth attempts were spot on. But 40% accuracy is not acceptable to be. so I’m shortening it to MoMass and that’s that.
And now we can move on to more important subjects…
Two of the hottest names in the WR sleeper category this week — and certainly two of the players that I have been asked about the most in the comments section of the Week 5 start em, sit em post — are MoMass and Pierre Garcon.
This morning, I will analyze which of these two players I’d rather have on my team in Week 5 and beyond.
As the 2009 season quickly approaches, The Indianapolis Colts look toward yet another season. This time, however, there is a much different look and feel to what has become one of the most prolific teams in the NFL.
The coaching staff has experienced the most turnover, starting with the departure of head coach Tony Dungy, who was replaced by protégé and former assistant coach Jim Caldwell. Several other coaching changes also have been made in addition to Caldwell taking over.
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Longtime offensive coordinator Tom Moore retired as well, as did offensive line coach Howard Mudd, although both were brought back to the team before the start of training camp as “special advisors.†In addition, defensive coordinator Ron Meeks was replaced by Larry Coyer, who has been assigned the challenge of turning a mundane defense into at least a respectable one. And the most scrutinized position of late is that of new special teams coach Ray Rychlesky, who replaced Russ Purnell.
Other less notable coaching changes also have been made this offseason in an attempt to correct what was viewed by many as a subpar 2008 season despite a sixth straight 12+ win season, as well as a wildcard playoff berth, the first round ejection by 8-8 San Diego that capped the 2008 season.
As to players on the field, the draft brought much needed help at running back and on the defensive line.
The first round brought the Colts RB Donald Brown from Connecticut, who will hopefully boost a subpar running game and provide a sort of “Thunder and Lightning†combination between he and incumbent starter Joseph Addai.
Defensive tackles Fili Moala (Southern Cal) and Terrance Taylor (Michigan) were aquired in the second and fourth rounds, respectively. while receiver Austin Collie (BYU) was added in the fourth as well. Pat McAfee, a punter, was drafted to replace long time booter Hunter Smith who has found a new home in Washington with the Redskins.
Let’s break down each of the three units as the Colts get ready for the regular season, which is now less than two weeks away.
The Offense (The Good)
Of course any team with Peyton Manning will be successful offensively. The good news is that Manning’s knee is at full strength, and we won’t have to wait a hand full of games in the regular season to watch the timing get ironed out, as happened last year.
Joseph Addai has shown signs of returning to his former self in the preseason thus far, and rookie running back Donald Brown continues to impress. The question remains, however, will the offensive line be able to consistently open holes for these two feature backs to run through?
The line is healthier than last year, but there is a glaring issue in the worst possible spot: Peyton’s blind side. OT Tony Ugoh has been replaced as a starter by Charlie Johnson, due to the fact that no one on the coaching staff believes that Ugoh is working his hardest, nor living up to the potential his draft position and salary would suggest. However, Johnson has not been much better thus far, with the Colt’s O-line giving up a horrific three sacks in just the first possession alone of the first preseason game against the Vikings.
The most intriguing position on the Colts offense comes at wide receiver. With the departure of long time #1 receiver Marvin Harrison, the Colts are looking to fill a significant void of experience and production. Reggie Wayne will become the #1 WR (and basically was last year) while 3rd-year man Anthony Gonzalez will take over the #2 spot.
But who will be the #3 WR in the slot?
Dallas Clark, the Colts starting tight end, will no doubt be put into the slot with various personnel groupings. Through two weeks of the preseason, we have seen Pierre Garcon and rookie Austin Collie making great plays and looking to be solid contenders for the slot when the Colts go 3-wide.Â
Tom Santi and Jacob Tamme look to have locked up the backup roles to starting TE Dallas Clark.
The Defense (The Bad)
Amidst all of the many questions that surround one of the NFL’s worst third down defenses is, what about Bob? It’s been a while since Bob Sanders has played an entire season, but when he is in the lineup we all know that his presence is invaluable as a stabilizing and inspirational force  in the Colts’ D.
The linebackers looks solid, anchored by Gary Brackett, Phillip Wheeler, and Clint Session, but still seems somewhat weak in certain coverage and run schemes and situation.
The defensive line seems to have improved, adding a couple of 300+ pounders, but the injury to Raheem Brock could make things a little more challenging. The pass rush, anchored by DE’s Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, seems as strong as ever; but, can the Colts stop the run?
Only time will tell if Larry Coyer can make a major difference replacing Ron Meeks as the leader of what was ranked as one of the worst run defenses in the league last year, as well as one of the worst defenses at getting off of the field on third down.
A lot of questions remain for the Colts on defense, and only time will tell how good the D can be in 2009.
Special Teams (The Ugly)
Where do I start with the special teams?
The Colts can boast that they have one of the most reliable placekickers in the league in Adam Vinatieri. However, the lack of touchbacks, the poor kick coverage, and poor kick returns that are often riddled with turnovers and bad decisions, have plagued the Colts for years and made both the offense and defense have to work much harder to attain victory.
They say that defense wins championships, but I personally believe that special teams plays just as important a role, if not slightly more. There must be change. There must be improvement. Need I say more? Ray Rychlesky, the pressure is on from Day 1.
2009 Outlook
This season’s schedule seems a little soft at first glance, but there could be teams that were weak last season that may be more of a challenge this year. The Colts will host the Jaguars, Seahawks, 49ers, Texans, Patriots, Titans, Broncos, and Jets, and will find themselves traveling to the Dolphins, Cardinals, Titans, Rams, Ravens, Texans, Jaguars, and Bills.
Will the Colts make it to 12 wins for a seventh consecutive season? Las Vegas thinks not. The over-under for the Colts is currently 10. My prediction is somewhere between 11 and 12 wins, but, of course, that’s why they play the games!
There has been a lot of change in Indianapolis this offseason, and the Colts have more competition in the AFC then ever before. Only time will tell if Peyton Manning will win his second Super Bowl, or perhaps a record 4th MVP. He’s Peyton, so anything is possible.
Either way, here’s hoping on another fun ride and successful season for the Colts — one of the NFL’s best and most consistent team over the course of this decade.
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* – Bob Sanders / Marlin Jackson photo credit: NFL Gridiron Gab
