A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
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.
The playoffs are underway in many fantasy football leagues, and this means that important decisions must be made. Having a player who is on the bench score more than a starter in his place is very frustrating, and could be the difference between winning and losing.
This has got to be one of the most confounding fantasy football weeks I can remember.
With some many teams rich in fantasy talent (Patriots, Giants, Eagles, Bills, plus the 49ers and Bengals) observing their bye this week, it means that we all are having to dig deep into our benches and even onto the waiver wire just to field complete lineups. During such weeks is when start/sit advice is its most valuable, and as always we have you covered here at MSF.
My fantasy team is about as good as the Bears’ O-Line against the Saints. Yeah…0-2, baby. But that doesn’t mean we can’t turn it around!
Let’s take a look at the fantasy football-relevant injuries going into week 3, including Peyton Hillis, Tony Romo, and Beanie Wells.
After losing my Week 1 matchup for fantasy, I am ready to call it quits. Not sure I’m cut out for this.
The first week was full of hard-hitting action and high scores, and with that combination comes the injuries. Here’s your injury update to make sure your second week goes better than my first!
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.
I have to budget more and more time with each successive week for the Friday injury updates. Through the first two or three weeks, the fantasy-relevant injuries are usually pretty limited. But as the weeks go on, more and more top players start getting dinged up.
So sit back, relax, and strap it down as I go through a few running backs dealing with injuries that could affect their Week 4 performance, then link you to a rundown of every injury that will affect your fantasy football week 4 lineup decisions.
As we do every Friday morning, let’s rundown the more important names on the injury report so you know who is out, who will play, and who is a game-time decision as you plan your lineup choices for Sunday.
We’ll start in Minnesota, where Percy Harvin is – surprise, surprise – uncertain for Sunday.
The Bears finally picked up a win after going 4 games without one, though it wasn’t as pretty as most Bears fans would have hoped. After a strong start the Bears stalled and had to hold on to the 17-9 lead late in the 4th quarter.
Jay Cutler, finally, did not throw a interception and actually looked great for at least a quarter, throwing 131 yds in the 1st quarter alone. After that the Bears did nothing but pound the ball with the running game.
The Week 17 start em, sit em lineup advice post is up.
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Watching the Packers-Vikings game as I type this, so I will try not to be too distracted. Week 5 is a big week and we’ve all got to be on top of our games this week.
If you’re 0-4, this is your last chance to stay alive and have a prayer’s chance at the playoffs. If you’re 1-3 or 2-2, a win in Week 5 can potentially get you into first place or a game back, depending on your league. And if you’re 3-1 or 4-0, you’re looking to put some distance between you and your foes.
Either way, Week 5 is a huge swing week that will put you in the position of either being the chased or the chaser over the next few weeks.
Let’s hop to it, starting out with a quick look back at Week 4 and then a glance forward to Week 5 with your usual rundown of start ems and sit ems.
The St. Louis Rams host the Green Bay Packers Sunday in their home opener. The Rams are winless through two weeks, losing 28-0 to Seattle, and 9-7 to Washington. The Packers are 1-1 following a 21-15 win over Chicago, and a 31-24 loss to Cincinnati.
Here is the TV and odds info for this weekend’s game:
There may be more Packers fans at the Edward Jones Dome than Rams fans with thousands of Packers faithful traveling to see their team. Couple that with disappointed Rams season ticket holders selling their seats, and you’ve got another version of “Lambeau South,” as the Dome was referred to two years ago when Green Bay came to town and left with a lopsided victory.
If the Rams expect to stay close and have a chance to win at the end, they must do these three things.
Just days before the St. Louis Rams open their 2009 regular season schedule in Seattle, the team made a surprising move Thursday morning that could send shockwaves through the locker room.
Veteran linebacker Chris Draft, the one member of the Rams most active in charitable events around St. Louis, was released by the club after refusing to take a pay cut.
“They said because of the their current salary cap situation, that down the line with the incentives they needed to pay to other players they’d end up being over the cap,” Draft told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It seems like there’s other people that that could have been directed to, that (a pay cut) wouldn’t have impacted that much. It’s a business decision; they feel like they have to do it.”
Draft did say that the club told him they’d re-sign him Monday if another team had not picked him up. That move would save the Rams nearly $400,000 against the salary cap.
The Rams asked Draft to take a $300,000 pay cut earlier in the week. He was due to receive just over $1.2 million, but was asked to play for the veteran’s minimum of $845,000. If re-signed by the club, Draft would get the minimum, minus a game check.
To replace Draft on the roster, the Rams re-signed linebacker Quinton Culberson. The third-year player from Mississippi State spent all of camp with the Rams before being cut last Saturday to get down to the 53-man roster limit. Culberson will see plenty of playing time Sunday as the Rams enter the game thin at linebacker, especially with Larry Grant nursing an injury.
The lack of depth makes Draft’s release even more of a head-scratcher, because Draft can play every position behind the line.
Thursday’s move overshadows what had been an optimistic camp, complete with enthusiasm and energy. According to the Post-Dispatch, quarterbacks Marc Bulger and Kyle Boller, and running back Steven Jackson are adapting well to Pat Shurmur’s new offense.
“It’s a fun offense, and it’s a proven winner,” Jackson said. “As we see time and time again, teams that run this kind of offense are among the tops in the NFL when it comes to offensive statistics.”
The offense has yet to be sharp in the preseason, but it will need to be against the Seahawks because it’s unknown how the defense will react without one of its most respected leaders.
The news is not good for fantasy football owners of running backs Reggie Bush and Steven Jackson.
The New Orleans Saints had held out hope that Reggie Bush would be able to suit up this weekend when the desperate Saints take on the Chiefs. However, despite partial participation in practice on Wednesday, Bush is officially listed as OUT on the NFL Injury Report. Reggie Bush did not participate in Thursday’s practice. Looks like Deuce McAllister and Pierre Thomas will be splitting carries again; and that Drew Brees will be airing it out a lot, as always. Marques Colston is listed as probable and should play, providing a boon to the Saints, as well as fantasy owners of Colston and Drew Brees.
For fans of the St. Louis Rams and owners of Steven Jackson, you will have to do without the dreadlocked one again this weekend. Steven Jackson is staying in St. Louis when the Rams travel to San Francisco to play the 49ers. Jackson will be seeing a specialist about his injured thigh. Steven Jackson also missed last week’s game, a week after carrying only 7 times against the Arizona Cardinals.
For more fantasy football knowledge for Week 11, head over to the Fantasy Sports Blog and check out Fraschetti’s Week 11 Fantasy Football Sleeper Focus. If you have any lineup questions, ask them over that Week 11 Start Em, Sit Em Live Chat. You can submit questions any time and we’ll be answering between 9:00 and 11:00 ET tomorrow.
[tags]fantasy football, nfl injury news, steven jackson, reggie bush[/tags]
Week 9 has come and gone, with only the Monday nighter left to play, and now we will focus on Week 10 of this 2008 NFL campaign. I have a lot to cover, so lets get to it.
(And remember to check back this Thursday for the Week 10 Fantasy Football Sleeper Focus for that late playoff push.)
On with the show:
ON FIRE…. Any team Defense that is playing the Oakland Raiders. You can count on that Defense, unless of course it is the Cleveland Browns D, who plays to the level, or lack thereof, of their opponent. Oakland is pathetic at best, and most high school teams could play them and chalk up a “W”.
(This post was originally published in Week 8. The most recent injury update regarding Steven Jackson is that he will be ready to play in Week 9 when the Rams play Arizona.)
Breaking news out of New England: St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson will not play on Sunday versus the New England Patriots.
Adam Schefter reported on the NFL Network that Steven Jackson, who had been listed as a 50-50 proposition earlier this week with a leg injury, decided against playing after taking part in pregame warm-ups.
Filling in for Steven Jackson will be Travis Minor and Antonio Pittman.
