Are you ready for some football?

[HighLordDave]

Okay, guys; I need some help this week. I'm 4-2 and one game back going into week 7. I've done a little bit of roster tinkering but I'm trying to squeeze some more points out of my guys.

Here's who I have and who they're playing this week:

QBs
Daunte Culpepper (MIN) @NYJ
Rich Gannon (OAK) vs. SD

RBs
DeShaun Foster (CAR) on IR
Ricky Williams (MIA) vs. BUF
Fred Taylor (JAX) @BAL
Marshall Faulk (STL) vs. SEA
Warrick Dunn (ATL) vs. CAR

WRs
Antonio Freeman (PHI) vs. TB
Deion Branch (NE) bye
Joey Galloway (DAL) @ARI
Rod Smith (DEN) @KC

TEs
Tony Gonzalez (KC) vs. DEN
Jim Kleinsasser (MIN) @NYJ

Kickers
Jason Elam (DEN) @KC
Ryan Longwell (GB) vs. WAS

Defense
Miami Dolphins vs. BUF
Philadelphia Eagles vs. TB

In my league, we start one QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 kicker, 1 defense plus one "flex" player who can be a RB, WR or TE.

Who should I start to get the most points this week? My league scores for TDs, bonus yards for TDs, points for yards and bonus points for total yards.

[Ned Flanders]

always start culpepper
always start ricky williams
always start marshall faulk
galloway
rod smith
always start tony gunz
I'd always start elam over longwell (I watch the pack every week and cringe every time longwell comes in for a FGA)
Defense - depends on how they're scored (points for what, etc.)

flex playa - warrick dunn

[HighLordDave]

Our league scores defenses based on points allowed, yards allowed, sacks, INTs, fumble recoveries and defensive/special teams scoring.

I am leaning toward playing the Eagles because I think that Buffalo is going to put up a fair number of points against the Fish, and the Bucs aren't known as an offensive powerhouse.

[Ned Flanders]

bledsoe is more prone to being sacked and throwing picks, however, we all anything can happen on any given sunday. we don't use special teams so I don't know how these two teams rate for KR/PR

[McBane]

Philly's defense is giving up an average of 18 points, whereas the Fish have given up 20 points per.

The Bills are averaging 34 pts per game on offense. I think I would stick with the Eagles D.

Just my 2 cents.....

[Bloodstalker]

I'd start Culpepper....just because he's playing the jets and Gannon is playing the Chargers Actually, I'd start who Ned said to.....but I am o-6 with one of my teams

I'd play the eagles D, cause TB doesn't get most of their point's off offense anyway.

[HighLordDave]

Because there's no late game tonight, it's Sunday night fantasy score check; who's still alive this week going into the Monday night game?

After a heartbreaking loss last week, my guys rebounded and crushed this week's opponent 196-91. Both of our teams are done for the week with no players in the Monday night game. Despite a dismal showing by Daunte Culpepper (12 points, 288 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs), I was bouyed by Marshall Faulk (63 points, 4 TDs), Fred Taylor (33 points, 1 TD), Jason Elam (21 points, 3 FGs, 4 PATs) and the Eagles D (29 points, 6 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FR). I was scared after the early games because my opponent had Todd Heap (20 points, 2 TDs), Laveranues Coles (18 points, 1 TD) and Curtis martin (21 points, 1 TD). However, he also had Brett Favre (4 points) who didn't finish the game, Mike Allsott (-1 points, 1 FL) and the Panthers D (4 points, 1 sack).

The team leading my division lost, and that's good for me because we're now both 5-2 and while he owns the tie-breaker, I've got an easy game next week and he's up against a team that has beaten him once. The weakest spot on my roster is my wide receiver group; they're simply not producing much. I've got Joey Galloway, Antonio Freeman, Deion Branch (bye) and Rod Smith. I'm thinking of dropping Freeman or Galloway and trying to pick up either Corey Bradford or one of the Browns receivers (Quincy Morgan, Dennis Northcutt or Andre Davis). All of the other good ones are taken.

I am also considering benching Culpepper in favour of Gannon. Gannon has the hot hand right now and the Vikes are entering a stretch where they will be playing the Bears, Bucs, Giants, Packers and Patriots. In that same stretch, the Raiders will be playing the Chiefs, 49ers, Broncos, Patriots and Cards. Culpepper leads the league in turnovers with something like 12 INTs and 4 lost fumbles.

Any suggestions and advice would be helpful.

After this week, our season will be over halfway over and we'll spend the next six weeks wrangling for position for the playoffs. I imagine that I will be holding a communion with the football gods in this thread in about a month with everyone who's wanting to make their league's playoffs.

Meanwhile, here are my football musings for the week:

1. If Brett Favre is lost for any length of time, it could be devastating for the Packers. He's been their starter for almost 10 straight years and I don't know what kind of psychological impact that will have on the rest of the team. We'll just have to see.
   
2. If the season ended today, the playoff picture would look like this: San Diego, Miami, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Denver and Oakland from the AFC (seeded in that order) and Green Bay, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Arizona, Tampa Bay and San Francisco from the NFC. Ain't parity great?
   
3. The Vikings are officially on life support, and the clock is ticking on Mike Tice's job security. Their problems lie deeper than Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss; in fact, they start in the front office and go back several years to salary cap mismanagement and wanton overspending on offensive talent at the expense of the defense. If they're still in Minnesota next year (and maybe even if they aren't), I think they'll blow up the team and start over like an expansion team. They're that bad anyway.
   
4. Speaking of expansion teams, David Carr went 22-36 for 267 yards with 1 TD, 0 INTs and 1 FL; not great but he's a rookie on a team that has never taken the field before this year. He's been sacked 40 times already and despite the Texans's growing pains, I still think he's the real deal. Just imagine how good he'd be with a healthy Tony Boselli blocking for him.
   
5. If anyone has another team's number right now it's the Eagles over the Bucs. Man, does Tampa Bay suck at the Vet.
   
6. In my fantasy league, the top 10 scorers (through week 6) are Drew Bledsoe, Donovan McNabb, Brett Favre, Trent Green, Priest Holmes, Tom Brady, Rich Gannon, Aaron Brooks, the Bucs Defense and Brian Griese. Conventional fantasy wisdom says that RBs should be the backbone of your team, but maybe that first draft pick would be better spent on a QB.
   
7. Welcome to the NFL, Steve Spurrier! I don't think he's a bad coach, but he's got to give up on his old Gator QBs and bring in some good WRs to match up with his new guy, Patrick Ramsey. Ramsey looked awful, but that's something we should expect from a rookie who held out for most of training camp. As long as Dan "Menace to Western Society" Snyder doesn't start meddling with the team later this year, Spurrier and the 'Skins should have a much better year in 2003.
   
8. Spurrier's problems in the NFL also mean that Bobby Bowden is licking his chops while waiting for Ron Zook to bring his boys into Doak Campbell Stadium for the kind of woodshed ass-whupping he wanted to give Spurrier for all those years. I just hope that Zook gets to keep his job for more than one year because he's not as bad a coach as the Gator faithful think he is, nor is his team as talented as they're used to in Gainesville.
   
9. It's a good thing the Fish and the Pack are off next week. Lucas was absolutely horrible today; he's not truly bad but he's rusty and it showed (there's also a reason why he's a career backup). Favre also needs to be healthy for the Packers to have any hope of success deep into the playoffs. I know everyone is looking for the next Kurt Warner to step in for their downed starter, but he was the exception rather than the rule, especially in this era of salary cap parity.
   
10. I heard a probably erroneous rumour that Mike Brown is actually considering bringing in a general manager to run the football operations of the Bengals. It would probably be a bad idea to actually believe this, but this might actually make the team competitive (provided that he's also willing to spend the money necessary to put together a good scouting staff and other front office personnel). I don't have any personal sympathies for the Bengals, but I hate to see a team and community suffer like Cincinnati has for the last decade because an owner is a jackass.

Who I Like on Monday Night and You Know I Don't Mean Al Michaels
This is a tough call. Colts or Steelers. The Steelers D has more talent and is a better unit, but Dungy's cover 2 scheme has made them competitive and isn't giving up gobs and gobs of points like they were last year. The Steelers also have an overall better wide receiving corps, although the guys in Indianapolis aren't bad either. Still, I think that the game will come down to the play of the quarterback and the running back and I don't think that Maddox and Bettis will out-duel Manning and James. I'm going with the Colts.

Cheerleader of the Week
I love San Diego. The weather is perfect, the people are friendly and they have the widest variety of restaurants per square mile of any city in the country. San Diego is also home to the United States's most elite fighting units, the US Navy's SEALs who are trained and based at the Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado.

San Diego is also where the Charger Girls appear every Sunday during football season. They are represented by Sara Beth who was born under the Pisces sign, and is a student who describes herself as "genuine, outgoing and friendly". This is her second year with the squad and she likes Julia Roberts movies, sushi and anything with chocolate on in (oops . . . I seem to have spilled some Magic Shell™ on myself . . . ).

http://www.chargers.com/images/charg...hGutterman.jpg

[Bloodstalker]

Team 1 still dead in the water...grand total...13 points

Team 2 95-36 my lead....

My conclusion...I suck with the first draft choice

[Ned Flanders]

@HLD, Sara Beth is your best find yet. I, too, spilled magic shell on myself.

Looks like another victory for my team, "Money Shots", this week. I'm up 15 points with a dual of bettis vs. Harrison tonight and I've got harrison. Unless, Bettis has the game of his career, I should win and the two teams ahead of me in the division lost this week. A victory actually bumps up to second place and I've won two in a row. I've got some tough bye weeks coming up though for my team.

@HLD,

definitely pick up corey bradford. it seems every week a different browns receivers has a good game. My FF game is consistency, so I'd stay away from browns receivers.

Moving on...

I'm a little nervous of Favre's injury. With his October play, I put him back on top of the NFL for best QB. The team has already succeeeded my expectations this year. I thought they'd have a down year but the receiving core has gelled beyond anyone's expectations. It looks as if the LCL of his left knee is damaged. With any luck it doesn't require surgery and he only misses one or two games. They don't play until 11/5 against miami at home. I'd take my chances with Doug Pederson at home against the mighty ray lucas. Ricky Williams will have a monster game thought.

back to HLD,

QB controversies are the worst. Last year, I had gannon and mcnabb and I always seemed to play the wrong guy. If I were you, I'd find a halfway decent backup and trade gannon for a good wide out. I'd hang in there with Daunte unless of course you lose points for INT's.

[HighLordDave]

I am lucky this week that I play a weak team (I crushed them 206-101 the last time we met) because both of my fantasy point factories, Ricky Williams and Marshall Faulk are off this week.

The other guy's team is going to hinge on the 49ers/Cards game; he's got Jeff Garcia, Garrison Hearst, Terrell Owens and Jose Cortez on his team, so if they run up the score on the Cards, I'm in big trouble. On the flip side, though, Arizona has been an assassin team for years, so I can only hope that Jake Plummer plays the game of his season this week and Dave McGinnis and his boys stick it to the 49ers.

Right now I'm thinking of playing Gannon instead of Culpepper; the Raiders should be able to pick apart the porous Chiefs defense and I think that Culpepper is going to struggle against the Bears (yes, our league penalises for turnovers; you lose 3 points for and INT and 2 points for a lost fumble). I'm also going to start Tony Gonzalez (vs. OAK), Jason Elam (@NE) and the Eagles D (vs. NYG). It's my WRs and RBs that I'm worried about.

Fred Taylor is a no-brainer considering that both Faulk and Williams are off, and I'm trying to pick up a RB off the waiver wire (I'd trade for one but our league is a no-trade league); I also have Warrick Dunn, but Atlanta has been systematically been taking him out of their offense in the past few weeks, so I'm looking at both Amos Zereoue and T.J. Duckett as sleepers to pick up if I waive Dunn.

My WRs are a mess right now; they're my lowest-point producing bunch. As of today, I'm starting Deion Branch, Joey Galloway and Rod Smith. I've put both Galloway and Antonio Freeman on waivers in hopes of picking up Corey Bradford, Andre Davis and/or perhaps Cris Carter (yes, I know he has a bye this week, but assuming that he's stayed in shape, "all he does is catch touchdowns") in the hopes that the two-headed Lucas/Fiedler monster can get him in the end zone a few times this year.

I have another option and that's to play a second TE as my flex player, so I may play Taylor and Dunn/Zereoue/Duckett as my RBs, Branch and Smith as my WRs and Gonzalez and Jim Kleinsasser as my TEs.

This week has "disaster" written all over it for me, but I am hopeful that the 49ers will play very, very poorly and I can count on some of my non-marquee players to come through for me.

[Ned Flanders]

someone offered me ricky williams and tim brown for curtis martin and eric moulds.

I'm not sure what to think of this but I'm inclined to not take the trade offer as I see ricky williams stock going way down due to the loss of fiedler. Plus, ricky always gets hurt and he hasn't missed any games so far.

your opinion HLD, as always, is respected and asked for here.

[HighLordDave]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ned Flanders your opinion HLD, as always, is respected and asked for here.

. . . Just don't ask me to prognosticate the outcomes of games, something I have repeatedly shown myself to suck at.

Williams and Brown for Martin and Moulds?

That's a tough call. In my league, Ricky (168 points) is the fourth overall RB while Martin (65 points) doesn't even break the top 30. Moulds (127 points), however, is the league's #1 WR, while Brown (63 points) is #29.

On paper (and according to my league's scoring rules), you're getting a better deal; Williams and Brown have been more productive than Martin and Moulds. I don't think that Williams's injury problems are likely to surface in Miami, where they play on grass not turf, but Fiedler being out may hurt him. On the flip side, if you believe that Lucas's horrible performance last weekend was an aberration (which I do), then we may see him manage the game as well as Fielder can, especially if the Fish can get some productivity out of Cris Carter after the bye.

Looking down the Dolphins's schedule, they play the Packers, Jets, Ravens, Chargers, Bills, and Bears before entering the fantasy football playoff season and playing the Raiders, Vikings and Patriots. The Ravens, Chargers and Bears have good run defenses and the Packers have been playing pretty good D lately, too, so Williams's output may suffer a little bit.

On the flip side, Moulds and the Bills are up against the Lions, Patriots, Chiefs, Jets, Dolphins and Patriots again before playing the Chargers, Packers and Bengals down the stretch. The two good defenses in this group are the Fish and the Chargers, so Moulds should have big days every week (although he also has to compete for touches with Peerless Price, the second overall WR in my league).

Not to say that either Tim Brown or Curtis Martin are bad players, but they're essentially non-factors here (at least right now). Brown has taken the bump to the #2 guy in Oakland behind Jerry Rice and Martin plays on a horrible team (although they show flashes of potential behind first-year starter Chad Pennington). Their fantasy production is about even, so you're getting a 1-for-1 deal with them. It's Williams and Moulds who are driving this trade.

Without going through too much hand-wringing, I wouldn't take the trade, at least not yet. Do you have a WR that's not rated as high as Moulds that he'd take (like Deion Branch or Marvin Harrison), or does he have a better one than Brown? Williams is a fantasy stud this year, but I'd want to get more for Moulds than just Brown.

If the other guy instigated this trade, you may be able to negotiate up. Can you get someone like Torry Holt or Marty Booker out of the guy? Another consideration is this: are you slated to play against this guy again before the playoffs? If so, you might think twice before turning over the league's leading WR to him, even if he's offering you Ricky Williams.

My advice is this: hold out for more. The week is still young, so don't be in a rush to consummate this deal. See if he gets ancy and tell him that you're in no rush to trade for a player who has a bye this week. If he really wants more, he might be willing to cough up a better player than Brown (plus maybe some cash, too) on Friday or Saturday.

[HighLordDave]

Well, guys, I absolutely got spanked this week. Without my two fantasy point generators, Marshall Faulk and Ricky Williams, and with lackluster performances by Jason Elam (7 points, 1 FG), Tony Gonzalez (7 points, 0 TDs) and my horrible WR corps of Corey Bradford, Rod Smith and Deion Branch (6 points total, 0 TDs), I got killed 183-95, failing to break 100 for the first time this year.

It didn't help that the other guy had Jeff Garcia (57 points, 4 TDs), Terrell Owens (38 points, 2 TDs), James Stewart (25 points, 1 TD) and Tiki Barber (21 points, 0 TDs).

I am looking to bounce back, but I need to do something about my WRs. They suck, and since I'm in a no-trade league, I can't really do much aside from look to the waiver wire for help (where there isn't much).

My new job also had me working on Sunday afternoon and Monday night, which is why I'm a little late in writing my weekly column, but it also means that I didn't get to watch much football. So my comments this week are going to be a little more general than usual. Rest assured, though, that the Cheerleader of the Week isn't going away.

10 Things I Think I Think

1. How about that Emmitt Smith? I have been reading many things about Emmitt and his place in history and whether or not he is the greatest running back of all time. One column I read said that numbers don't tell the whole story and that even though his durability and perseverance are unquestioned, the author said that Emmitt benefited from a run-friendly system and that he wasn't even the most feared RB of his day. Remember that Barry Sanders quit football while within a stone's throw of Payton's record and that was three years ago; if he were still playing, Emmitt would still be chasing Barry. I don't know where Emmitt ranks on an all-time list, which must include Jim Brown, Payton, Sanders, OJ Simpson and even Gayle Sayers, but surely being the all-time leading rusher entitles Emmitt to be considered in their company.
   
2. If there were ever a time for Brett Favre to be hurt, now is certainly the time. The Pack is four games up on everyone else in their division with nine games to play, three of which are at home in December. If Favre can bounce back quickly or the Packers can win behind Doug Pederson, the NFC's road to the Super Bowl will go through Green Bay, which doesn't bode well for anyone but the Pack.
   
3. The Chiefs lead the league in scoring (259 points), yet they are 4-4 and in last place in their division; if the playoffs were held today, they'd be watching from their couches.
   
4. Seattle is 2-5, tied for last in their division and their starting QB is hurt (again). I give Mike Holmgren 50/50 odds of still being with the Seahawks next year.
   
5. In case you haven't heard, Bengals head coach **** LeBeau has guaranteed a win against the expansion Houston Texans next week (in Houston nonetheless). I guess there really isn't much else he can say other than that Cincinnati wants to be the first team to go 0-16 in NFL history or that they're just trying to lock up the first overall pick in the draft (again). Maybe the Bengals should hire the Rally Monkey and make him earn his money.
   
6. How bad must the Texans feel to be disresptected by the worst team in the league? At 2-5, Houston shares a tie for the second-worst record in the league with the Jets, Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, Seattle and the defending NFC Champion St. Louis Rams. If I play for Houston this week, I make sure that the Bengals go home losers.
   
7. This past week in pre-game warm-ups, Terrell Owens caught a pass, whipped out a Sharpie™, signed the ball and handed it to a kid in the stands. If you don't like Owens's showboating, stop him and shut him up. No one ever complained about the way Deion Sanders taunted . . . er, celebrated . . . after making a big play.
   
8. My beloved Jaguars dropped a game to an expansion team on Sunday. What in the name of all that's holy at the Gator Bowl is going on in Jacksonville? Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that they beat the Chiefs, Jets and Eagles? While I don't think Tom Coughlin is in danger of losing his job (yet), I think they'll be bringing in a general manager next year.
   
9. There are eight undefeated college football teams right now: Miami, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Georgia, Notre Dame, NC State and Bowling Green. Conceivably, seven of those could run the table and be undefeated at the end of the season (Miami and Virginia Tech play on 7 December). Think of the mayhem for the BCS if there were seven undefeated teams but only two teams playing for the "national championship". Playoffs, anyone?
   
10. If the Bucs selected their team MVP today, there would be a tie between Martin Grammatica and Derrick Brooks. Have the football gods decided that there should be no credible offense in Tampa?

I am skipping my usual Monday night pick because the game is already over, so let's just skip to the only reason why you yahoos even open this thread:

Cheerleader of the Week
Tina has a lot of experience as a cheerleader; she spent four years with the Atlanta Falcons squad and was also on the NBA's Washington Bullets dance team. This is her third year with the Redskins. She lives in Deerwood, Maryland and is 26 years old; although she has a degree in sports medicine, she is a real estate specialist by trade. Tina's dream date is "enjoying beverages on a sunny day watching baseball."
http://www.redskins.com/images/TINA.jpg

[Bloodstalker]

It is with a heavy heart that I must bring you the news that the signs do indeed indicate that the Apoclalypes is upon us. That's right, it seems my horrible and underachieving team actually won a game. By 2 point, 67-65, but I'll take it. Not bad considering my 2 QB's at the begginning of the season were Warner and Brad Johnson. I lucked up and picked up Chad Pennington on Friday. Finally, having Amos Zeroue(sp) paid off for me. For one bright moment, I was a victor

My other team continues it dominance, McAllister is one fantasy machine

@HLD....These cheerleaders get better every week

[HighLordDave]

@Bloodstalker:
I pledge that I will do whatever it takes to post pictures of only the prettiest cheerleaders that the NFL has to offer.

As a side note, in addition to the Packers, the Pittsburgh Steelers do not have an obvious link to their cheerleaders on their official team website. I am writing a letter to commissioner Paul Tagliabue expressing my disappointment that two of the league's most respected franchises refuse to include these people, who are such a vital part of their oganisation, on their webpages.

In other news, I have a quarterback controversy on my fantasy football team. As you all may know, I got chewed up and spit out this past week and need to storm back with overwhelming wins to round out the season if I have any chance of making my league's playoffs.

My two QBs are Rich Gannon and Daunte Culpepper. Who should I start this week?

Neither guy did particularly well last week. I played Gannon and he got me 27 points (1 TD), while Culpepper came up just a little bit short with 24 points (1 TD, fewer yards).

The Raiders are hosting the 49ers this week and the Vikings are going to Tampa. As of right now, I am leaning towards Gannon because I think he'll fare better against San Francisco than Culpepper will against the Bucs. I fear Derrick Brooks et al will exploit Culpepper's penchance this year for throwing the ball away and putting it on the ground. On the flip side, the 49ers aren't giving up many points either, so I may not do much better with Gannon starting.

Any advice would be appreciated.