A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
And no, I’m not talking about the Houston Texans having the best winning percentage in NFL playoffs history. (It’s true!)
Did you know that since the NFL realigned into eight divisions in 2002 that only one divisions has had at least one team in the divisional round of the playoffs every year? This is fact. Can you guess which division it is?
It was absolutely sick what Matt Flynn did to the Detroit Lions in the snow globe conditions at Lambeau Field Sunday. In fact, it was sick what both Flynn and Matthew Stafford did in snowy, windswept Lambeau Field.
If you’re still playing in Week 17, I have a couple thoughts to share with you.
First off, congratulations!
Second, what the hell are you thinking?
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.
The St. Louis Rams (2-10) will travel to Seattle to take on division rival, the Seahawks (5-7) in Week 14′s edition of Monday Night Football.
I’m sure I’m not the only person who is still scratching their head and trying to figure out why this is a primetime game. Both teams are struggling with the game and fighting injuries leaving fans less than thrilled.
What do I think you should watch for in this game? Check it out.
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.
I wanted to write this post before my weekly radio spot on Jock 98.7, which is coming up around 10:30 CT; but now, with the news about Albert Pujols taking his talents to Anaheim, I’m wondering if the fine folks of Springfield will be in any mood to talk fantasy football.
We’ll see. If they do though, I sure as hell better be prepared to give the some good nuggets. They’ll need something positive after their franchise icon bolted to the coast for the big bucks.
So here is my quick look ahead three defenses that may very well be on your waiver wire that you will want to own in Weeks 14, 15, and 16 of the fantasy football season.
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.
Expected #1 draft pick Andrew Luck capped off a terrific regular season Saturday night by leading his Stanford Cardinal to a victory over the hated Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In the process, Luck went 20-30 for 233 yards and 4 TDs. He did toss one pick, but overall it was a solid, steady performance from the man who just may end up being Peyton Manning’s replacement in Indianapolis.
But today, the phrase “suck for Luck” has nothing to do with a certain NFL team losing game after game and positioning themselves for the #1 pick. Rather, it has to do with the Nike Pro Combat unis that Stanford wore Saturday night.
Which sucked.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Paul Sakuma via ESPN.com
I’ve seen some bad version of the Nike Pro Combat unis (Georgia’s immediately come to mind), but these may the worst. Black helmets? Black numbers? For Stanford? I suppose the jersey itself isn’t bad, but nothing about it says Stanford. And, um, isn’t that what jerseys are supposed to do?
I have a solution.
We need to get this guy on the case:
Seriously, can you imagine the indignation if this bro had seen that Stanford-Notre Dame game? He’d have downed the entire bottle of 1800 by halftime because of those uniforms.
Whatever happened to men, Michael Imperibroli? Nike. And it’s Pro Combat Uniforms. That’s what.
Now drink up while I break down the NFL’s top/bottom 10 in the race to draft Matt Barkley or Robert Griffin (if they go pro) since the race to draft Luck is pretty much done.
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Breaking news: the Colts lost again.
Here is their remaining schedule. You tell me where a win might come from: at New England, at Baltimore, vs Tennessee, vs Houston, at Jacksonville.
So, with nothing else really to say about this sorry sack of a Manning-less team, here is a picture of Curtis Painter doing one of the few things he does better than Peyton Manning: carrying laundry.
Photo credit: USA Today
That’s it. I’m done with the Rams. And they still have to play San Francisco twice! If you own Steven Jackson in fantasy, trade him. Trade him now.
A bunch of the other craptastic teams won this weekend, so we’ll bump the sorry Chargers all the way up to #3. When you start out 4-1 then lose six straight games, each in excruciating fashion, you get rewards like this.
It’s safe to say that the Norv Turner Era will soon be ending in San Diego, and all 16 of their die-hard fans must be thrilled with that news.
In honor of the Chargers’ rapid ascent up these Suck For Luck Power Rankings, here is the most disturbing image of Philip Rivers on the first page of a Google Image search for his name:
Image source: Pyromaniac
Ah, what the hell. Here’s another one:
Image source: Pyromaniac
My apologies in advance for any nightmares you have tonight.
Let’s not carried away with excitement here. You beat Indianapolis, and you allowed them to score 19 points. And congrats on running all over them, but everyone does that.
The Browns jumped out to an early lead over the Bengals, only to give it away to the clear #1 football team in the state of Ohio (since Ohio State is down this year).
But hey, at least Peyton Hillis was back! Maybe now he can start to recapture the magic of 2010. Assuming, of course, that he doesn’t get anymore sore throats or have any more shotgun weddings.
The Bucs have now lost five in a row, and they actually make the Colts looks suffocating against the run. Chris Johnson hasn’t been able to juke a brown paper sack this year, yet he racked up 190 yards against the Bucs on Sunday.
The only question for this team now, with the playoffs clearly out of the question, is does Raheem Morris make it to next year? If the Bucs want to have any hope of not squandering the talent they’ve accumulated, I say the answer is no. We’ll see.
Yes, I think the Vikings and Dolphins, among others, would beat the Eagles right now. That is how bad this team is playing. Their coaches are yelling at eachother on the sidelines, Desean Jackson isn’t blatantly short-arming catch attempts, and good players are getting injured one right after another.
Side note: when Andy Reid gets his walking papers at the end of the year, and it’s becoming likely that he will, some team looking for a head coach (hello Dolphins!) better snatch him up quickly. I’ll agree that perhaps it’s time for a parting of the ways in Philly. Sometimes that happens, even to good coaches. Sometimes change is needed. But it doesn’t mean Reid is no longer a good, perhaps even great, NFL coach. I don’t think he’d stay unemployed for long.
Now, apropos of absolutely nothing, here is a video of a hippo releasing a little pressure after a second helping of Thanksgiving dinner.
Yes, the Vikings have now replaced the Rams as the team I irrationally support despite their record. But seriously, the Vikings have played decent football in hanging tough at Atlanta without Adrian Peterson and almost coming back to beat Oakland. Can you honestly tell me you don’t think Minnesota could beat the seven teams above them on this list?
You lose at home to Rex Grossman and the Redskins, you make this list. It’s as simple as that.
Frankly, I kind of forgot about the Jaguars. Had I remembered them, I probably would have placed them in the 4-6 range because Blaine Gabbert sucks so much. But out of deference to the great Maurice Jones-Drew, who continues to play hard and churn out tons of yards in losing efforts, I’m going to keep the Jags here.
Seriously though, watch Gabbert in the pocket anytime anyone gets near him. He freezes up and braces for contact instead of standing in there like a man and delivering a throw (which I obviously would do if I were a professional football player). I wonder what Michael Imperioli would have to say about that after a few shots of 1800 tequila.
Honorable mention: Kansas City Chiefs (4-7), Washington Redskins (4-7), Arizona Cardinals (4-7), Buffalo Bills (5-6).
Honestly, all four of those teams deserved mention. There is a pretty clear line between the top 18 teams in the NFL and the bottom 14. So congrats to everyone who made this list! You officially suck.
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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.
I’ve decided to make it my new Sunday night mission to find the best of the best animated GIFs to share with you here at MSF.
Last week it was pointing and laughing at Mark Sanchez’s now-infamous flinch. This week, we head to Seattle where Marshawn Lynch stabbed Ray Lewis’ ankles and then obstructed justice on Jarret Johnson afterwards.
Before we get to the Week 9 fantasy football start/sit advice, I want to add a couple more thoughts on my Tebow article from yesterday. (And don’t worry; I’ll analyze his fantasy prospects for Week 9 too.)
Week 8 is now in the books after Philip Rivers fumbled away a road win in Kansas City, which means we are right around the midway point of the 2011 season. Most teams have played 8 games, a few have played 7, and we can finally start to state with some level of certainty who is good, who is not, and who is too enigmatic to declare.
Without question, the story of the first half of the season (other than this) has been the ascent of the Detroit Lions.
They went 0-16 three years ago, then 2-14 in Jim Schwartz’s first year, then 6-10 last year; and now halfway through their 2011 slate Detroit, sitting at 6-2, is a bona fide contender in the NFC. And the Lions aren’t just an empty record either. They have the skill, attitude, reputation, and right now the health (knock on wood) to suggest that they aren’t going away.
So in honor of the Motor City Mufasas, and their roaring wreakers of wreckage Ndamukong Suh and Calvin Johnson, I give to you my Midseason NFL Power Rankings, with each team presented alongside a Motown classic that sums up the first half of its season.
[Read more...]
The Chiefs and Chargers are playing tonight, and though the Chiefs were the #1 team on my original “Suck 4 Luck” Power Rankings, they have done enough non-sucking to remove themselves from consideration win or lose tonight. So unlike last week, when I had to amend my Suck 4 Luck Power Rankings due to Jacksonville’s improbable win over Baltimore, I have no such fears today.
Before we count down the NFL’s suckiest, let’s get our weekly reminder of what the contestants are playing for.
