A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
After weeks of anticipation, it’s finally here…your fantasy championship game.
Oh, you thought I meant Christmas?
Ideally you’ve been shopping the waiver wire all season long and have picked up some bargains along the way. But just in case you waited until the last minute, there are still a few options out there in your hour of need.
I don’t know about you, but I thoroughly enjoyed Week 14.
No, I didn’t make the playoffs in all of my leagues, but I did get to enjoy a couple of Week 14 byes, and my teams that did play meaningful Week 14 games all did well.
Sure, it all could come crashing down this week, but I’m going to spend a few extra minutes studying stats and trends and matchups to ensure that I put myself in the best possible position for victory.
And it all starts with analyzing the waiver wire to see if there are any players out there who may be able to help me out now that the fantasy pressure is racheted up to its highest levels.
Week 14 is here.
For some of you, that means you have a team (or hopefully teams) on bye this week. If so, major kudos to you.
For others of you, Week 14 means that it’s the first week of the playoffs. If so, good luck, and hopefully the advice in this post will help you move on.
For others, Week 14 is the last week of your regular season. Maybe you’ve clinched a playoff spot or maybe you’re still scratching and clawing for one. Regardless, hopefully we can do you and your lineup some good with our picks in this week’s start em, sit em.
And for some of you this may be your first week without fantasy football – if your playoffs start this week and you did not make it; but if that’s the case, why would you be reading this?
Alas, if you’re here, you are looking for help in Week 14. And you’re in luck, because that is exactly what you’re about to get.
Unless your league is crazy and plays in Week 17 (which, make no mistake, is crazy), this week is either the final one of the regular season or the first week of the playoffs. Consequently, it’s not a time to get too cute by picking up obscure free agents and plugging them into your lineup.
Quite frankly, I’m not sure any of these guys are plug and play options, but if you’re in a pinch and looking at the waiver wire for potential help this week or depth down the stretch, here are a few guys you might be considering.
With the fantasy playoffs just around the corner, every week is critical.
Unfortunately, at this point in the season there aren’t too many gems left out on the waiver wire with the exception of those who gain value because of injury.
Still, there are a handful of players out there who just might put you over the top based on their recent play, favorable matchups, or both.
With bye weeks now a thing of the past, fantasy owners have one less thing to worry about as the playoff push begins. However, it’s also a great time to start looking ahead to identify guys who can help you during the fantasy playoffs and to pick them up while you can.
This week we’ll look at not only guys who can help in the short-term but also those who may pay dividends when it matters most.
If you are 3-0 so far this year congrats! Truth is most people are not, but as they say “slow and steady wins the race” and that’s the theme for this week’s stock report.
The NFL season is approaching its fourth week, and it is starting to become clear which players are for real and which ones might under-perform all year. It is a crucial time for fantasy owners to begin pruning their rosters to form the teams they want for the rest of the season.
Knowing who to add and drop, and who to put on the bench and who to start each week, is the difference between winning and losing. Here is some help for both in the Fantasy Football Week 4 Last Minute Tips.
Tonight on Monday Night Football we get an NFC East battle between undefeated Washington Redskins and the banged up Dallas Cowboys.
The biggest question all week has been whether or not Cowboys QB Tony Romo will play despite a painful rib injury. He is officially listed as questionable and has only practiced on a limited basis, but he is expected to suit up and give it a go tonight.
Will he have enough healthy weapons around him to get the Cowboys above .500?
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.
After a brutal, injury-filled Sunday around the NFL, fantasy owners (especially depressed Jamaal Charles owners like me) will be flocking to the waiver wire (and potentially liquor stores) for some relief.
Luckily, a number of options emerged on Sunday, so here is the Week 3 list of potential pickups that are owned in less than half of Yahoo! Leagues.
Update: Jon’s Week 3 Start Em, Sit Em projections are posted. Click here!
Week 1 had some crazy swings that I don’t believe anyone could have expected.
LeGarrette Blount only given five carries?!
Steve Smith for 178 yards?! Listen, I knew that Arizona was trying to figure out their secondary and was very weak after getting rid of Rodgers-Cromartie, but I never would have recommended you play Cam Newton in his first game as a pro!
I have a friend, to save his identity we will call him Kentoso, who had a great draft and his team blew up this week which was expected, but he blew up in an unexpected spot. He had both Stafford and Calvin Johnson. While I thought both of them would do well, I didn’t think they would do that well together. Stafford is dedicated to getting the ball to his best receiver. Much like Stafford, Kentoso is dedicated to a few things; fantasy football, pairing a strong receiver/ QB together, and drinking until he has no shame.
This week’s predictions will look at QB dedications that they will try to exploit this week or lose trying.
Do. Not. Overreact.
If there’s one piece of advice I can give you following Week One, that’s it.
If a player on your roster had an off week (yeah, I’m talking to you DeAngelo Williams), ask yourself whether you would dump them if they did the same thing in the middle of the season. If so, cut away. Otherwise, trust your draft research and strategy for another week or two. Now, if you took a few late-round fliers and see someone on the waiver wire you like more, go for it.
When Super Bowl XLVI arrives in Indianapolis come February 2012, it will be 19 years since one of the most iconic moments in the history of America’s most popular sporting event: Michael Jackson’s epic 1993 halftime show.
Unfortunately, the eternal King of Pop is no longer with us (he would have turned 53 just a few days ago on August 29th), and he thus he will never be able to follow in the footsteps of Bruce Springsteen, The Who, John Mellencamp, and others who have taken to the Super Bowl stage as older musicians, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t weave the musical brilliance of Michael Jackson into a post about the National Football League.
So enjoy this homage to my favorite musician of all time, Michael Jackson, as we kick off our coverage of the 2011 NFL season. Here are all 32 Week One starting QBs in the NFL…as Michael Jackson songs.
I got in the car on Thursday afternoon wondering if the sports radio would be talking about the Bulls’ playoff hopes, the Hawks’ recent stuttering, or opening day being around the corner.
I was not expecting to hear anything about Jerry Angelo.
I presumed he was still on vacation until September 1st, until football commanded his attention. The GM for the Bears was one of the most despised in the city, where falling on ill favor is not that easy. Fans, while loyal and passionate, are usually comfortable here. It is hard to find a terrible rant about a sports figure in Chicago. Jerry Angelo, however, was on the verge of finding Windy City protesters at his house.
The Bears’ 2008 season proved nothing, except that the Bears had a franchise that desperately needed help. Questions popped up everywhere and it seemed that we would have to wait for the draft to have any of those questions answered.
The I hear on 670 the Score immediately upon getting into my car, “The Sun-Times website is reporting that the Bears got Jay Cutler.†Terry Boers stays on the mic reporting the story, while Dan Bernstein clearly pushed the rolly chair back from the mic and said, “Good GOD!†You would think that a stripper walked into the studio with a huge cardboard check, with his name on it.
The news about Cutler coming to the Bears was shocking, an amazing franchise move, something warranting exaltations.
But I paused.
I paused because of my not-so-emotional connection to the Bears. I am a transplant, and while I love the team and the city, my mind immediately began to dissect the pick, the pros and cons. Here’s what I got:
PROS
1. Jerry Angelo is alive and cares about his job. In fact, he has an eye for football talent; in fact, he actually seems to understand the amazing loyalty of Chicago’s fans and will try to reward that by performing the duties of a competitive GM.
All kidding aside, this was huge for Angelo.
On ESPN radio The Afternoon Saloon declared April 2 “Jerry Angelo Dayâ€. The GM has never been a fan favorite but won over hearts by making a decision that will help the franchise in the long term.
2. Jay Cutler. Dude is All-Pro. He’s up and coming at 25 and has proven his competitive edge in the AFC West with a team that struggled last year with injuries and a brutal defense. Finally a quarterback will actually hold the football for the Bears whose major value is not the jokes you can throw around about his neck beard or errant passes.
3. The fans get a shot of life at long last. Bears fans weren’t thrilled about the future of the franchise at the end of last season. The McCaskeys couldn’t hide behind the accidental NFC championship in 2005 and Brian Urlacher. Moves needed to be made, so they were.
CONS
1. When I think of Cutler, I think of the highlight reel of him hitting Brandon Stokely in the slot, Eddie Royal deep, and Brandon Marshall in the end zone. Then I thought about Rashied Davis tripping on poorly run routes, Devin Hester apologizing to Lovie on the sideline cause he can’t run anything but a streak, and Greg Olsen dropping balls.
Who the hell does Cutler throw the ball to?
Yes, Brandon Lloyd showed some talent last year and barring injury maybe he’ll do it again. Of course you hope that Hester and Olsen improve with a talented QB placing the ball or else they’re just more dead weight waving around their two handed “U†on MNF. I understand that things will have to build around him but with a great running game you hope that Cutler doesn’t waste that deadly arm on pitching the ball to Matt Forte 35 times a game.
2. The cost was monumental. It is a fact that the Bears have a terrible history with first round picks but you must understand the value of those picks for two years is humongous. You can kiss that chance at grabbing Jeremy Maclin or some other first round caliber receiver you desperately need (I won’t even consider Crabtree or Harvin, because that’s just unreasonable…)
Forget replacing the aging and injured line. Last year’s 1st rounder, the OT Chris Williams went down with a flimsy back before he even saw the inside of Soldier Field and now you got to look to the later rounds to find that kind of talent again. I’m sure it’s out there, but the Broncos certainly now have a monopoly on it.
3. The buildup could hurt. Let’s remember, Cutler had one All-Pro year. Yes, he is talented. Yes, he can play. Is he Jesus? Well, if you’re going on looks alone Kyle Orton was just as close to this team’s personal Jesus. The reality is, we know nothing yet and if it proves to be a whole lot of not-that-great then this city will have blue balls for the next decade.
4. IF JAY CUTLER IS INJURED OR HIS DIABETES ACTS UP, REX GROSSMAN IS REQUIRED TO PLAY QUARTERBACK, DUE TO THE LOSS OF KYLE ORTON. REXTASY REMAINS DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO THE FOOTBALL, FOLKS.
Are we excited? Damn right we are.
Football season has new blood in this city. Enough blood that I might start inviting people over to watch the games again because it’s worth getting excited about. Unfortunately, Jay Cutler hasn’t even been fitted for his jersey, and has a lot riding on him.
It was a great day in Chicago. For a city that has never had a quality QB, at least not a consistent one, loyalty was rewarded and fans are thrilled. Well done, Mr. Angelo. Perhaps if the Bears go 11-5 this year and win the division with Cutler, April 2nd 2010 will be Jerry Angelo Day. We’ll have to wait and find out, though, and now fans are happy to wait.
