Fantasy Football Drafts 4 & 5, and I'm done!

Ok, yeah I over did it this year.  I really need to seek professional help for my addiction to Football and Fantasy Football.  Either way I had two drafts again last night at the same time.  I did both online, I wasn't able to focus on each individually like I would normally like because I was constantly switching between screens but I was also a bit tipsy (to say the least) from Labor Day cookout celebrations.  All in all I would say that I love my teams.

First, Killa Kingz the returning champions for the Plus Side of Fantasy a NFL.com league.  My team has been to the championship both years of this league and we plan to make it back to back to back this year with this strong lineup.

 

 

Next up the is the Largo 99ers in the East Coast Blitzers 2.0 league.  Last year I was in the ECB Yahoo, I traded that league for this one after making the playoffs.  This one is hosted by CBS Sports and the commissioner from the original East Coast Blitzers league.

 

Asher Roth has felt my pain and now understands my Joys...

Asher Rother wrote an article for ESPN about how similar his career and Alex Smith's career has been.  I'm still not convienced that Alex Smith is the end all be all, but he seems to be managing the offense better this year. So if he can continue to do that and a rookie can learn the system on the bench behind him I think the future will be bright.  Asher also goes down a brief timeline of being a 49ers fan.  I believe he is a bit younger than me based off of the timeline that he gives, but much like me he was raised in a NFC East town and choose to send his fanship to the West Coast Bay Area.  The link to the full article is below and a few quotes that stood out to me.

"Raised close by the sports-crazed city of Philadelphia I had no choice but to become a devoted fan. As attractive as it was to root for Rodney Peete, Bobby Hoying and the Detmer Bros. it wasn't enough to uproot my allegiance to my father and his love for Bill Walsh. Both with ties to Stanford and an admiration for the West Coast Offense, I inherited a 49ers ballclub and a Jerry Rice jersey before I even knew how to play the game."

"I vividly remember watching Terrell Owens and "The Catch II" to finally beat Brett Favre in '99. The miraculous comeback to beat the New York Giants in the 2002 wild-card game was witnessed in the Oxford Valley Mall food court and then … that was it. After watching Jeff Garcia complete 68 percent of his 6-yard passes, I was forced to root for the likes of Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey, Cody Pickett (I liked rooting for Cody), Trent Dilfer, Shaun Hill, Chris Weinke, J.T. O'Sullivan and Troy Smith. Ugh."

"And of course, Alex Smith. Ask any of my college buddies. I have a soft spot for Mr. Smith. Drafted No. 1 overall in '05 out of Utah, he came into the league around the same time I was pursuing a rap career. I was a sophomore in college and was being "scouted" by "talent agents" while Smith was taking the starting job from Rattay. Smith had a productive year under Norv Turner, and I signed a record deal with a hit single. Here we go. Ups and downs, lefts and rights, B, A, B, A, select, start. Seven offensive coordinators in seven years and never a head coach that really spoke the language. It was a direct correlation to what was happening in my professional career. Sure we had the talent, sure we had the wits, but for some odd reason it was not translating. The losing seasons weren't all our fault but it sure felt like it. Lines were crossed. Something was off."

Click Here for the Full Article



My NFL Week 14 Picks - Peyton's Plight

Peyton's Plight

Well right now the Colts are a team actually in the playoff hunt instead of having their division secured at this point in the season for the first time in what seems like forever.  They are 1-2 in their division and the Jacksonville Jaguars are on top of the division.  Good thing for the Colts they have 3 more divisional games left starting with this week against the Titans.  The Titans are in complete disarray, they don't pose a threat to many teams at this point in the season.  The Texans have a good team, but their defense hasn't been great and they have allowed too many points.  So when they score a lot their opponents score more, you can't win anything like that. Now the surprising Jaguars have been winning close games and the recent games they have lost to good teams have been close as well.  Their team is playing like the franchise is on the line.  

I've always been a Brady over Manning fan except for when it comes to commercials, Peyton is definitely better than Tom when it comes to that.  But I do have a good feeling that the Colts will make a turn around in their season with 4 games left, 3 divisional games and 1 game against the Raiders.  They are the better team in the division but they are also very injured.  Peyton has been finding himself forcing passes that he might not have done before, this leads to interceptions, which leads to their team losing.  It seems like the teams in the AFC South have below average defenses so it will be their offense that wins the games. I have a feeling they will lose to the Raiders (sounds crazy right?) but if they can win the 3 divisional games they are playoff bound.  The Wild Cards in the AFC will go to the North and the East, so winning the division is necessary.

Lets start with tonight. Indy over Tennessee with ease.  Now Peyton won't put on the QB clinic that Mike Vick did against the Skins or that Tom Brady did against the Jets, but he will look more like the Peyton we knew last year in tonights game.

Buffalo over Cleveland: This is oddly enough a tough pick. If Buffalo gets their air game going they can win the game against a Cleveland team that will depend on the ground game and their defense/special teams.

Green Bay over Detroit: Do I need to explain this?  If Green Bay loses this game they don't deserve to make the playoffs this year.

Minnesota over NYG: this was a tough pick too but I just went with the home team.  I got a feeling Favre will take one snap to keep his streak going, then let Tarvaris Jackson & AP take over.  But if Favre plays the whole game the smartest thing he can do is just let AP control the game so that the Giants don't McNabb him.

Pitt over Cincy: Cincy is the bust of the year, they might as well just play for draft picks at this point.

Tampa Bay over Washington: Tampa is a good team and have shown it against some of the best, I think their defense and young offense will be too much for the beat up Skins on Sunday.  Plus the Skins have failed me in the picks too many weeks recently.

Atlanta over Carolina: Is it wrong for me to reference someone referencing me? Well like Mike said I said that Atlanta is due for a loss, it aint happening this week.  Actually only the Saints in week 16 have a chance to beat them. They play Carolina, Seattle, New Orleans, then Carolina again sounds like 13-3 to me.

Oakland over Jacksonville: Oakland has been playing tough football since getting beat by the 49ers in week 6 and they look like they want to sneak in and win the division and the Jags have been playing good football as well.  I just think the Raiders are a tougher team. The Jags have a good chance at home but I'll say it will come down to the last play and the Jags just won't get it this time.

New Orleans over St. Louis: I think the Saints are back on top of their game and the Rams suck on the road they won the last two on the road, but this one won't be as easy. I'm calling NO by at least 2 scores.

San Francisco 49ers over Seattle: The Seahawks have beaten us in the past two matchups, they were are only divisional loss last year, and the season opener will be the only divisional loss for the 49ers this year. The 49ers will win this one at home.  The Seahawks also appear to be confused at the running game and their WRs are dealing with injuries. Either Smith QB should be able to manage this game with no mistakes and get a 10 point win. My actual prediction is 27-16.

New England over Chicago: This is still a tough game no matter what happened against the Jets on Monday.  The Bears have proven to be a contender this year, but I think the Patriots will just show that they are the better team in this match up.

NYJ over Miami: Miami is still confused and the Jets practiced hard all week and they will show up on this game to prove to their fans that they should still be in the playoff/superbowl conversation.  Defense will win the game and make it a little more comfortable for Sanchez.

Denver over Arizona: I'm a little shakey about this pick.  Josh McDaniel's pass heavy team would mow over the Cardinals, I'm not sure which way they will go on Sunday.  If it becomes the Tebow show and Orton doesn't get the same chances he's had before it will be close.  Regardless Denver will win, their defense will pick apart the horrid Cardinal offense.

San Diego over Kansas City: Matt Cassel is out this week. Rivers knows he needs wins, its December, all that means a win for the Chargers.  Yeah they lost last week, but the Raiders showed up the Chiefs are at a disadvantage.

Philly over Dallas: I just can't pick Dallas, but they have a good chance to win this game based on the way they have been playing.  Dez Bryant being out made a slight difference in my pick.  I think this game will play out much like last weeks Thursday night game between Philly and Houston.  Philly 35 - Dallas - 31

Baltimore over Houston: Defense vs. No Defense... Defense will always win.  The Ravens might let this game get scary or close, but I think they will win it in the long run and make it look good. 28 - 17, Ravens.

My Week 12 NFL Picks

Turkey Time!

I'm a little late with this post but I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving and enjoyed their Thanksgiving day football.  Thanks to TNF the past couple of years we've gotten more than the traditional two games featuring the Cowboys and the Lions facing various opponents.  The 8:30 TNF game always feels like a bonus.  The bonus for me this week is that my 3 picks for Thursday turned out to be correct.

New England over Detroit: Seemed like a no brainer, but at the end of the first half I was a little in shock, but at that point the family and I headed to our first of three dinners, by the time we got to my aunts house the Patriots had turned the game around full circle. Cha Ching!

New Orleans over Dallas: The Cowboys have seemed renewed since dropping their coach, but the Saints are looking to get back into the Superbowl contender conversation with their starting distraction Reggie Bush back, so the Saints seemed like an easy win for me.  But this one came down to the wire.  When the family and I were at our 2nd dinner it seemed like the Saints had complete shut down the Cowboys.  But once again during our travel time to the 3rd dinner something happened.  The game was now close, and this game went to the wire! I would like to thank Roy Williams for helping me to get this pick correct.  Maybe she should be carrying the whole teams shoulder pads in practice this week.

New York Jets over Cincy: The Bengals are the largest disappointment of the season to me.  The 49ers, Cowboys, and Vikings are also disappointments but neither of those teams have reality shows and "Superhero's" on their team.  At the end of the night, this was an easy pick.

Green Bay over Atlanta: Honestly, I'm picking the Packers because my money league fantasy team is headed by Aaron Rodgers.  But this game could go either way.  I assume it will be a shoot out.  Green Bay has the better QB, but ATL has the better running game and better WR.  So what will decide this game is the defense, whoever turns the ball over the most will lose.

Pittsburgh over Buffalo: Yeah I've picked the Bills in past weeks, but not against the Steelers.  The Steelers are top 3 in the AFC, this will be an easy win for them as long as they don't underestimate the Bills.

Cleveland over Carolina: The Panthers suck.  The Browns have actually shown that they can beat teams, plus they are at home.

Jacksonville over New York Giants: This sounds like a stretch but the Jags are at the top of their division that includes the Titans, Colts, and Texans.  They are on a natural high right now, and they will look to keep that going against a Giants team on the decline of their season and dealing with several injuries.  Peyton can get it done with any WR staff, I'm not sure that Eli can do the same...

Minnesota over Washington: I want to take the Skins at home against a disappointing Vikings team, but I'm going to take the Vikes only because the fired their coach.  Not that Chilly was a bad coach and neither was Wade, but I guess making that change lights some fire under whatever team.  The Cowboys looked like we thought they would and with a backup QB, I'm looking for the Vikings to come to life as well. This is actually an underdog pick too.

Houston over Tennessee: I just think the Texans offense will take over this game.  The Titans looked confused last week, now they have a 3rd string QB running the show.  I think the Texans will prove to be the better team in this game.

Oakland over Miami: They both have tough loses last week, but I think the Raiders were expected to lose, Miami didn't seem to be able to do anything last week.  This game could go either way, but I'm going with the Raiders, they are just the faster team and I think it will help them in a redemption victory this week.  Plus they are at home.

Kansas City over Seattle: The Chiefs are actually a good team both teams are at the top of their division, but as time has shown over the past few years the NFC West is probably the worst division in the NFL.  The 2nd worst this year would have to be AFC West, based on team records.  I look for KC to destroy the Seahawks in this NFL West Superbowl.

Philly over Chicago: The Bears defense seems to be getting close to being back in form, but I'm going to go with the Eagles.  Its hard for me to pick against them going forward this season.  This should be a good game and I do think it will be close but the Eagles offense is just so much more explosive than the Bears offense.

Denver over St. Louis: The Rams have been good at home, but bad on the road.  The Broncos have a high powered offense, The Rams have an above average offense.  The Broncos should have this game put away by half time.

Baltimore over Tampa Bay: Tampa Bay is looking good in the NFC, but the AFC is a different ball game.  The Ravens are a top 3 AFC and top 3 NFL team right now.  The game might be close at the beginning but once the Ravens get warmed up, I look for them to take complete control of the game.

San Diego over Indy: The Chargers are getting key weapons back, even though they are missing Gates again, they have some other great WRs back in place.  The Colts are dealing with too many injuries.  I think it will be a close game, but the Chargers will continue their 2nd half of the season run to make the playoffs.  I called 31 to 27 in the Chargers favor.  The Colts will need a TD to win, and won't get it to end the game.

San Francisco over Arizona: Both teams have the same record, but the Cardinals have lost twice in the division and the 49ers have only lost once.  Another issue for the Cardinals is that they have allowed more points against them than the 49ers.  The Cardinals will continue their losing streak to 6 games in a row after this Monday.  I look for the 49ers to bounce back with their first road win of the season which will move them to 2nd place in the division.  I'm calling a score of 21 to 6 in the 49ers favor.

My Week 11 NFL Picks - A VICKtorious Revenge...

A VICKtorious Revenge...

In week 4 the Redskins stopped Vick short of the endzone, and also put his season on pause just when most people thought he was returning to greatness.  A sandwich tackle to prevent a touchdown led to broken ribs, trouble eating, sleeping, sitting down, breathing and a host of other things.  Not to mention it lead to a divisional win for the Redskins in Philadelphia for a game that people were calling the McNabb homecoming game.  

As a 49ers fan I was happy about this, because honestly at 0-4 I was scared for my team to face Michael Vick (I can't call him Mike anymore this dude has show tremendous growth over the past 2 years) in the form that he had been in the previous weeks.  None the less we still lost to Kolb in a game that will be remembered for Alex Smiths mistakes, his attempted benching, his blatant unapproved of the benching, him returning to the field and kicking David Carr of the field to almost mount an amazing come back.  But in the long run too many mistakes & turnovers will lose you a game no matter how much heart you have.

But either way I'm sure this haunted Vick and fueled his eagerness to get back on the field and prove himself as he sat on the bench watching Kolb take over the team (not that there is any bad blood there).  This year is important for Michael, he's playing for next years contract whether its with the Eagles or with someone else, the better he does the more money he will get in the off-season, he can't prove himself from the bench with broken ribs.  His first game back he played a back and forth game with future Hall of Famer possible top 5 QB of all time Peyton Manning, and he won.  Then on Monday Night Football, a stage for the world to see, he faced the team that injured him in their home, after weeks of their team going through a Quarterback/Coach crisis that ended with a multi-million dollar deal for McNabb to "solidify" him as the starter.  Well it seem like Vick and the Eagles wanted to make other headlines in Washington.  The first play of the game was a close to 90 yard pass and catch for a TD from Vick to DeSean Jackson and that ignited a flurry of air and ground assaults that the rain in Landover, MD couldn't put out.  Vick scored 6 total TDs and had the best game of his career and embarrassed the Redskins, 59-28,  in what is probably the worst loss of recent years (the only other one I can think of is the 52-7 loss in New England back in 2007).

I'm happy to see Vick back in rare form, I wasn't happy about the win, I did pick the Redskins to win that game, but it was amazing to watch history live at the stadium from great seats on the 40 yard line.  On the radio earlier that day Redskin & Football great Sam Huff down played Michael Vick saying "he's ok, but he's nothing compared to *some old dude's name I don't remember* that guy was the fastest and best QB ever", I'm sure Sam is kicking himself for that comment.  Michael Vick can lead the Eagles to multiple Superbowls and possibly be mentioned in a top 5 QB ever conversation if he can continue to play at this rate for another 5-8 years.

My first pick this week will be Philly over New York Football Giants, the Giants usually look good for a half of a season, well they started of 6-2 (I believe), so that half appears to be over after that surprising loss to the Cowboys last week.  I'm going with Philly for that reason, I'm also going with them because I just can't pick against Vick at this point in the season.  Its like picking against Peyton or Brees last year, or Picking against Brady in 2007, I just can't do it!

TNF: Miami over Chicago - I like Thigpen as a versatile backup QB, I trust him more than Cutler, Grossman, or any other QB that has worn a Chicago jersey in recent years (maybe except Orton).  

Buffalo over Cincy - I picked Buffalo last week and I'm going with them again, Cincy continues to disappoint.  Buffalo is a team that has almost won too many games and have come close against way tougher opponents than Cincy.

Dallas over Detroit - Detroit hasn't won on the road in the last 2 seasons, I don't think they will do it here either.  The Cowboys look like a new team, like the team they were projected to be.

Washington over Tennessee - The Redskins are better than they looked on MNF last week.  They are able to score point a lot more this year.  I think they will give Vince Young a hard time and as long as they don't allow Chris Johnson to have a career game they can win this game in the 4th Quarter.

Kansas City over Arizona - Arizona stinks.  KC still seems legit, even after the Denver loss last week.  The AFC West can be won by any team in it at this point. (IMO)

Green Bay over Minnesota - Aaron Rodger will place ownership on Favre much like Favre did to him last year.  The Vikings are in complete disarray, their circus of a team has been a disappointment this year.

New York Jets over Houston - I don't believe in Houston.  I don't think the Jets will have a field day, but I think their defense will win the game for them at the end of the game.

Pittsburgh over Oakland - This is a logical pick.  Part of me feels like Oakland can do it and actually of the 1:00 games I'm most interested in this one.  It feels like an old school clash of the titans type of game.  Pitt on paper is a better team, but Oakland has started to do great things in the 2nd half of the season.

Baltimore over Carolina - I'm not explaining this pick...

Cleveland over Jacksonville - Cleveland is a tough team, I think they can pull out a win at home against the Jaguars.  It might be a close game, this one can go either way.

Atlanta over St. Louis - St. Louis has been good at home this year, but the Falcons have proven to be a top contender this year and I think they can give the Rams another loss.

New Orleans over Seattle - The Saints are the Saints.  Reggie Bush (no hydro) will be back on Sunday to add as another distraction or weapon or whatever he is, but he helps them win.  The Seahawks are just eh...

San Francisco over Tampa Bay - I think this will be a close game, looking at stats the teams a very similar, the only difference is that Tampa Bay has been able to pull out wins even though they made some mistakes. San Francisco lacked that ability, but as of recently they stopped making mistakes so they are able to win.  I think they will win this game on Sunday at home.  The team has confidence in their new Smith QB.

New England over Indy - This can go either way.  I'm giving Tom Brady the edge because he's at home.

San Diego over Denver - The is the Chargers time of year, I think they will score at will on the Broncos, but they will need their defense to show up so that this is a close game/shoot out to the very end.

My NFL Week 6 Picks

Berger Week

The Steelers did good but not great without their star QB Ben Roethlisberger but now he's back, hide your college daughters gone wild Cleavage, I mean Cleveland will be his attempt to bounce back from his suspension.  I'm picking the Steelers, with or without Ben they are better than Cleveland. This should be an easy comeback game for Berger.

Seattle @ Chicago: I pick Chicago they are the better team, Seattle is a roller coaster team and they really only look good at home, and a lot of that goes to the acoustics of their stadium and their unreal loud fans.  Seattle will look horrible today against the Bears in Chicago.

Miami @ Greenbay: I originally picked Miami with Aaron Rodgers possibly being out of the game and the Greenbay defense looking very poor this year.  With Rodgers back at the helm I'm going with the Packers.

San Diego @ St. Louis: I'm taking St. Louis at home. The Chargers have looked confused this year as if they don't have an identity.  The Rams on the other hand have looked a bit brand new behind Sam Bradford.  If my 49ers can't get it together, the Rams should win the division without a problem down the stretch.

Baltimore @ New England: this is a tough one, especially with the Randy Moss trade, but I'm picking New England. I feel like they have something to prove, most people have counted them out now that superstar Randy "Straight Cash Homie" Moss is gone.  Brady won 3 SuperBowls with average WRs and just spreading the ball, I think they are going to get back to that.  The Ravens are the better team in this match up but I'm sticking with the Patriots at home.  Random fact: Today's Tickets for this game have Randy Moss as the featured player on them.

Detroit @ New York (Giants): The Giants hands down.  Their defense has show up as of recently. The Lions have a high powered offense behind Shaun Hill but I believe that only works against average defenses.  I don't see them getting lose against the Giants, unless rookie Jahvid Best goes nuts like he did at the beginning of the season before getting injured, but I doubt it.

Atlanta @ Philly: I'm going with the Falcons 100% even picked them as my Streak for the Cash entry.  Even though the Falcons almost lost the Saints and almost lost to the winless 49ers, I think the Falcons are probably the best team in the NFC (with Michael Vick being sidelined).  I wish Vick was healthy for this match up, I would love to see him torch his old team.  Kolb isn't going to get it done. They will probably use this game to help shop him for a trade pending Vick being healthy enough to play again.

New Orleans @ Tampa Bay: I'm going with the Buccs. They haven't figured out their running game but their young QB Josh Freeman has looked great this year.  New Orleans has a Madden curse looming over their head and all the black magic and voodoo in the NO can't compete with Madden.  This will be an interesting game but the Saints aren't who they were last year.

Kansas City @ Houston: The Houston team confuses me, I'm not sure if they are good or bad, however Kansas City has been surprising this year, maybe they had an easy schedule or played teams that underestimated them, who knows.  Matt Cassel is a talented QB, I think he will lead them to a win in this game.  KC just has to stop Arian Foster. The Chiefs

New York (Jets) @ Denver: Denver has looked decent at times and Orton has looked surprising and so had Brandon "former Niners & Skins failure" Llyod.  But the Jets hands down will win this game, they have one of the best defenses and I don't think Denver will even look as decent as they did in their 17 to 31 loss against the Ravens. The Jets should be able to stop them and run all over them all day.

The Battle of the Bay aka Oakland @ San Francisco: Two great NFL franchises that haven't been trying to get it together since the mid part of the last decade.  The Raiders won a big game last week in thei division. The 49ers are 0-5 and having internal battles and implosions that have all been made public.  I think the 49ers will win this game, they have more on the line.  Alex Smith should play like he did in that 4th quarter after his teammates stood behind him and told the coach they wanted him in the game and he told the coach that he wasn't coming out of the game.  He's fighting for something...his career, but he has the respect and belief from the captains of his team that he can get it done.  The 49ers will win this game and celebrate like just clinched the division.  As long as the rest of the team plays their roles and the confused people in this pictures below can get it together, this should be a win that won't go down to the wire.

Dallas @ Minnesota: The Vikes should rip Dallas a new one, but it will be a game won in the 4th Quarter.  This game will have a lot of offense, but I think it will be won on defense.  I only say that because Bret Favre is a gunner and Tony Romo makes mistakes.  A fumble, interception, or holding call will win the game for the Vikings today.

SNF

Indianapolis @ Washington: I've been impressed with the Redskins, their defense has played tough and McNabb has made some great passes, recently the running game has gotten a new face.  If Washington can run for 120+ yards they could win this game.  But Peyton Manning is a drill sergeant and I don't think he's going to lose this game, so he won't make it easy for the Redskins.  I'm not a believer in Indy's defense but I will say it is better than the defense of the teams the Skins have beaten so far.  I'm taking the Colts for the win but pulling for the Skins.  I think this will be a very interesting game, possibly the highest rated of all the games this week.

MNF

Tennessee @ Jacksonville: Tennessee without a doubt.  Both QBs are average with semi-explosive moments to me, but this game will be won on the ground and the Titans have the best ground game in this match up.  Chris Johnson should have 100+ yards and a couple of TDs in this game.  This might not even be a game I would watch all the way through, unless a fantasy win depends on it.