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 am skipping an introduction this week because I’m too mad at fantasy football.
In my league of 14 teams, I finished right in the middle of the pack in terms of points…but because I had the third most points scored on me, I missed the playoffs…by a lot.
I finished second to last.
Lame.
Sometimes, fantasy football goes that way. I will spare you my three heart-breaking losses of the year because, quite frankly, we all have them…and nobody else cares.
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.
Thanksgiving is a football fan’s dream: plenty of good food and plenty of good football.
Even though some fantasy owners don’t like their guys playing so early, it could actually work in your favor if you are down a pretty big margin after the Thursday games have ended and taking a big risk is necessary.
No byes again this week, so getting a lucky matchup with your opposition missing Aaron Rodgers and Matt Forte are over.
Please, enjoy your holiday and this week’s Stock Report. (And find a replacement for Fred Jackson fast.)
Jon will have the overall Week 12 start/sit post ready to go for tomorrow morning, but with three games on Thanksgiving Thursday I thought it might be helpful to do a special start/sit column for those games.
So in this post I’ll do just that, providing analysis and recommendations for the key players you need to decide on before Turkey Day.
[Read more...]
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.
So how’s everyone’s fantasy team doing? Are you confident like the dominating Green Bay Packers or feeling a little lost like the unfortunate Minnesota Vikings? If it’s the latter…well maybe you’re not paying close enough attention to my injury updates! Then again my team is 1-3. Yeesh.
Here are the injury updates for Week 5 of the fantasy football season.
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.
Everyone loves to draft a guy that he thinks is a sleeper. Why? Because it’s our way of proving to everyone else that, “Yes, I know more than you.” Beyond that, it’s simply quite fun to draft a guy that surprises everybody else.
Like I said before, it’s not that fun to draft Ichiro. You know exactly what you’re getting. (Or at least you used to know, before this season.) On the flip side, thinking about Jason Heyward’s upside gives us all visions of glory.
But when it comes to drafting running backs for your fantasy football team this year, save the “sleepers” for other positions.
Update 10/5/10: Marshawn Lynch has been traded, but not to Green Bay. Jay Glazer reported today that Lynch has been traded to the Seattle Seahawks.
The idea of the Green Bay Packers trading for Marshawn Lynch in return for equally disgruntled linebacker A.J. Hawk, on the surface, seems to make way too much sense – especially after quarterback Aaron Rodgers said publicly that he would give his stamp of approval to being reunited with his former Cal teammate. (Will Yahoo Sports’ Michael Silver propose a Scott Fujita to the Packers trade next week??)
The Buffalo Bills need help on defense (they actually need help everywhere, except for punter), especially with linebacker Paul Posluszny constantly hurt. After the loss of Ryan Grant, the Packers seem equally needy for running back depth. And the Bills and Packers just happen to be playing each other on Sunday. After the game Lynch could just pack up and head into the other locker room, while Hawk can hop on the Bills charter to Buffalo. Seems like an easy enough way to make a rare player-for-player swap in the NFL.
Don’t hold your breath if you think it’s happening.
Anytime a running back is on the majority of waiver wires and has the potential to produce top 20 value for the balance of the season, it’s a big story.
Thus, Brandon Jackson of the Green Bay Packers is a big story.
Yesterday we suggested that you to pick Brandon Jackson up because of the uncertainty regarding the ankle injury suffered by Ryan Grant in Week 1. Now we implore you to pick Jackson up, even if you have the #1 waiver position, because Grant has been ruled out for the remainder of the year with “severe leg and ankle injuries.”
Where did the high-powered offense go?
Where is this vaunted Packers defense?
For the second straight week, the Green Bay offense was inconsistent. The defense, which bailed the Packers out against Chicago, couldn’t stop the run in their 31-24 loss to Cincinnati Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.
Bears castoff Cedric Benson looked like a Pro Bowler while gashing the Packers defense for 141 yards on 29 carries. It was pretty clear the Packers still have some issues against the run, and they’re still without first-round pick B.J. Raji, who missed his second straight game with an ankle injury.
The Bengals were also 9-of-14 on third down conversions as the Packers defense even allowed a third-and-34 conversion late in the second quarter.
Instead of punting from its own end zone, Cincinnati then had the ball near midfield. One play later Chad Ochocinco burnt Jarrett Bush for a 44-yard gain. That led to a controversial touchdown for Carson Palmer on a quarterback sneak.
The official who initially signaled for the touchdown had his vision of the play obstructed by Ochocinco. Although replays appeared to show that not only that the ball did not break the plain, but Palmer also fumbled as he raised the ball up over the heap of bodies.
Referee Ed Hochuli called it a touchdown, the first of two crucial mistakes he made. The second came in the game’s waning seconds.
With the Packers trailing 31-24 with 10 seconds remaining, Donald Driver caught his sixth pass over the middle at the Cincinnati 10. The Packers rushed to the line, and the ball was snapped with a second remaining, and before a pair of Bengals were able to get back on their side of the line of scrimmage. A flag was thrown, and the assumption was for offsides.
Instead, Hochuli’s crew ruled that tight end Jermichael Finley was not set and moved early.
Hochuli’s explanation was that time expired before the ball was snapped, which was false, but “even if the ball was snapped before time expired, there was a false start on the play, which requires a 10-second runoff. The game is over.”
The loss overshadowed a stellar performance from Charles Woodson, who picked off Palmer twice, returning one for a touchdown to give Green Bay a 21-14 lead in the second. He also led the team with nine tackles, seemingly being the only defensive player to show up to play.
Backup defensive backs Aaron Rouse and Jarrett Bush were both forced into more playing time because of injuries to starting safeties Atari Bigby and Nick Collins, who left early in the second quarter.
As poorly as the Packers played on defense, the offensive line was worse. Green Bay (1-1) managed just 89 rushing yards – 43 of which came on four Aaron Rodgers scrambles, and Rodgers was sacked six times. Five of those sacks came from Cincinnati defensive end Antwan Odom, who now has seven sacks in two games.
Odom abused the Packers line, especially after tackle Chad Clifton was carted off the field with an ankle injury. Whether he was lined up over Allen Barbre or Daryn Colledge, Odom was in Rodgers’ face the entire game.
Not helping Rodgers were the receivers, who dropped six passes as Rodgers finished 21-of-39 for 261 yards and a three-yard touchdown toss to Driver in the first. Driver led the Packers with six catches for 99 yards, but Greg Jennings was held without a catch.
The Driver score tied the game at 7-7 after the Bengals (1-1) scored on their opening possession. Palmer and Benson easily led them downfield, averaging 10 yards per play before a 5-yard touchdown pass to Laveranues Coles.
Woodson’s first interception set up a four-yard touchdown run from Ryan Grant, who struggled to find holes for the second straight week. He finished with 46 yards on 14 carries, a 3.3-yard average, and a crucial fumble that led to Cincinnati’s go-ahead score in the third.
The Packers special teams also struggled, giving up punt returns of 60 and 32 from rookie Quan Cosby that both led to scores. Mason Crosby also badly missed a 55-yard field goal.
Both teams played sloppy football. Cincinnati was flagged 13 times for 100 yards while the Packers had 11 penalties for 76 yards.
The Packers were a nine-point favorite, but the linemen were flat on both sides of the ball. With the St. Louis Rams and Steven Jackson next on the schedule, if the Packers don’t figure out how to stop the run, they could fall victim to another disappointing upset.
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* – Mike McCarthy photo credit: The Red Zone Report
After all of the games are played Sunday afternoon, there will be one remaining – and it’s the oldest rivalry in the NFL.
The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears will meet for the 178th time Sunday night at Lambeau Field. It will also be the 21st time the two teams have met in the season opener.
The storied teams split last year’s series, with the Packers routing the Bears at home 37-3, while the Bears escaped with a 20-17 overtime win on a frigid December night at Soldier Field. (I should know. I was there.)
Before we break down the two rosters, here are the particulars for Sunday night’s Packers-Bears matchup:
Chicago Bears (0-0) at Green Bay Packers (0-0)
This year brings with it a lot of questions for both teams:
The questions go on, and most will be answered, at least in the short term, Sunday night.
The Packers have been downright dominant in the preseason, posting a 3-1 record — the same as the Bears — with the first-team offense scoring touchdowns on nine of 13 possessions. The Packers were 3-0 before dropping the backup-filled finale to Tennessee.
The Pack seem to have a slight edge at quarterback, mainly because Cutler’s effectiveness is a relative unknown with receivers such as Earl Bennett, Devin Aromashodu, Rashied Davis and rookies Johnny Knox and Juaquin Iglesias. The supposed top receiver for the Bears is Devin Hester, who is still learning the ropes on offense bytdefinitely trumps any return specialist the Packers have.
The Packers certainly have a huge edge is at wideout. Aaron Rodgers has a plethora of weapons, including Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones and Jordy Nelson. Jennings, in fact, just might be emerging as the best player from the 2006 draft. Add Donald Lee and Jermichael Finley at tight end, and it makes the weapons pool even deeper for Rodgers.
The Bears have their own talented tight end in third-year player Greg Olsen, but neither Desmond Clark, Michael Clark, nor Kellen Davis give Chicago a 1-2 punch at tight end like Lee and Finley.
The running back edge belongs to Chicago, mainly because the versatile Matt Forte can flat out carry the rock and is effective catching passes out of the backfield. The second-year stud from Tulane ran for 1,238 yards last year to set a new franchise record for rookie tailbacks. Adrian Peterson is a nice change-of-pace back for Chicago, which recently lost Kevin Jones for the season.
Green Bay has plenty of runners, but none with the talent of Forte. Ryan Grant did eclipse 1,200 yards last year, but averaged less than four yards per carry. If he can get that number back up this year, the Packers will be all right. Spelling him in the backfield will be Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn.
Both teams have solid offensive lines, which they’ll need against the aggressive defenses they’ll see on Sunday night. Despite finishing the year 6-10, the Packers led the NFL in defensive touchdowns last season. Where they struggled was in the pass rush, something the new 3-4 scheme is supposed to remedy. Cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris are two of the best in the business, and safety Nick Collins was a Pro Bowl selection in 2008.
Chicago has another aggressive unit led by linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. If they can control the middle, the Bears can exert their will on pretty much any team. Green Bay’s backers are also good with Nick Barnett, A.J Hawk, Brandon Chillar, rookie Clay Matthews, and now Aaron Kampman added to the mix as an outside linebacker.
Kampman led the Packers with 9.5 sacks last season, his first year without registering double-digit sacks since 2005. If the Packers can get some pressure on Cutler, it could be curtains for the Bears.
It’s hard to overlook that Green Bay led last year’s game in Chicago 14-3 before imploding and handing the game back to Chicago. The Packers were clearly the more talented team last season, and look to be again this year.
Green Bay wins its home opener by beating up on the Bears, 31-13.
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* – Brian Urlacher getting owned photo credit: Mouth Piece Sports
