A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
If you’re reading this post right now, one of three things is happening:
One, you are in your league’s championship round and looking for some advice as you try to make the most important lineup decisions of the season. We congratulate you, and we’re here for you. Skip ahead and start soaking in the analysis as you go for your league’s equivalent of The Shiva.
I’mmm baaaaaaccccckkkkk!
Did you miss me?
Jon has himself a busy schedule this week, so he texted me this morning and asked if I’d be up for reprising my role as the author of our weekly Start/Sit column here at MSF. I have to admit, as soon as I saw his text I was pretty pumped.
Doing these posts every week, week after week, can admittedly be a bit of a grind, as I learned over the last couple of years; so I was happy to let Jon take it over this year and focus my efforts in other areas. But I’ve missed the weekly challenge of poring over matchups and stats and trends to figure out which players to recommend to you as starts and sits.
So it’s good to be back in the saddle.
Anyway, It’s not like I’ve been totally absent. I still offer commentary on Jon’s posts, answer questions in the comment sections, and monitor the @FantasyMSF Twitter account. So I haven’t really given you a chance to miss me even if you wanted to. Now though, for the first time all year, I have to go on record with start and sit picks.
I’m ready. Let’s roll.
Luckily for a lot of owners, there are not many major players who have a bye this week, except for my team…but I have faith in Jay Cutler!
Regardless, there may be some surprises this week from a few highly unknown RBs. This position may very well be the most important for owners in terms of touches for players, but on the professional level it is the most dispensable position, as almost anyone can succeed in the right situation.
If you are itching to see how Tim Tebow is going to follow up his breakthrough game in Week 5, then you are going to have to wait until next week, but if you want to hear a bunch of media chatter about him just turn on ESPN.
Having said that, we have a lot of good stuff for you in this week’s Stock Report.
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.
Week Three is over, and you are probably wondering one thing: How is a guy that’s giving such great advice 0-3 in his own fantasy league?
I wish I knew…injuries have just killed me…and I’ve lost each week by an average of 1.2 points. Just heartbreaking.
Some of you are probably in the same boat as me. Even if you aren’t, it’s the time in the fantasy football season when leagues are won and lost. Now is when we have to start making the tough calls.
Week Three is here, and hopefully you aren’t 0-2. Don’t worry, it’s still not panic time…but it very well could be time to shake some things up. As always, let’s recap last week’s predictions before looking ahead.
Because we at MSF try our best to get you our Start Em, Sit Em picks before everyone else, we have to take a few chances. One of the downsides to coming out with these picks on Tuesday is that we won’t know all of the injury updates that come out later in the week. We answer your questions and update our predictions accordingly as more information comes out.
However, a few predictions didn’t pan out this week because of injuries (either during the game, or because guys with nagging injuries didn’t end up suiting up on Sunday)…so out of fairness to me, we are going to throw out Michael Vick, Felix Jones, and Dez Bryant.
So besides those guys who caught the injury bug, I went 29 out of 46 overall…a little under 65%. I improved from week one…and that’s exactly what you should try to do from week to week in fantasy.
Week One is finally here. You have done all the research (you know, the usual: waiver wire picks…injury updates…comparing QBs to Michael Jackson songs…), you have gone through your draft, and most importantly, you have started talking smack to everyone in your league.
You only have one job left to do: start the right guys.
Nothing could be worse than having an awesome team…on your bench.
Each and every one of us has a fantasy sob story or two, and it’s almost a guarantee that one of them revolves around sitting the wrong guy.
So who are you going to start this week?
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.
We already know that Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks in football history. The only question left is whether or not he will ultimately retire as the best. With every statistical milestone he passes, Manning gets one step closer to such a designation.
And he has two more impressive ones right around the corner.
[Read more...]
Update: 2/7/10: The latest on Reggie Wayne, per Suzy Kolber on ESPN, is that he is fine and good to go this evening. Exhale Colts fans. Now, as for Dwight Freeney…
All week, Colts fans and Super Bowl observers have been playing close attention to the injury status of DE Dwight Freeney.
Yesterday, it looked like another Colts star might be added to the questionable list for Sunday night.
WR Reggie Wayne, among the most productive receivers of this decade and one of the most underrated players in the NFL, had to leave Friday’s practice early after aggravating a right knee injury.
So how serious is the injury and will Wayne be on the field Sunday night?
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.
**********
* – Bob Sanders / Marlin Jackson photo credit: NFL Gridiron Gab
A season of tough luck has continued for the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts, who have won the AFC South for what seems like 100 years in a row, currently sit with a 3-4 record and are on the outside looking in at the playoffs with a huge battle impending this weekend against the 5-2 New England Patriots. Here are the injury updates for the Colts after Thursday’s practice:
The latest injury problem for the Colts appears to be the knee of WR Reggie Wayne. There were conflicting reports on whether Reggie Wayne participated in practice on Thursday. One newspaper said he did practice, while the Colts’ official website listed Wayne as not having participated. Tony Dungy appears to think that Reggie Wayne will be okay to play on Sunday, but this appears to be one those game time decisions that can frustrate the hell out of fantasy owners. We’ll update you with more information on Reggie Wayne as it becomes available.
Welcome back all to yet another edition of the Fire and Ice Fantasy Sports Forum.
For those of you new to the weekly column, which began last week, I will post several players each week and rate them as being on fire or on ice. My fellow writers at Midwest Sports Fans, and our loyal readers as well, will then chime in with their own thoughts on the selected players. Keep in mind this is evaluated from a fantasy football perspective.
So, who is on fire or on ice for Week 8?
