My sabbatical weekend went as expected, I feel completely refreshed and ready to roll for the remainder of the season. But first I want to recap the football-less weekend with a running log:
Friday, 8PM – I give my five fantasy teams a once over, trying to find some reason to be optimistic about my chances break my five game losing streak (my longest ever in fantasy football).
The Thursday game did me no favors as I watched Jay Cutler’s go nuts in the second half against a Browns team that wanted to die. To make matters worse, Ryan Torain promising game ended abruptly when he limped off the field early in the second half with a torn ACL. I picked him up four weeks earlier in hopes he would bring some clarity to the Bronco running back situation, which it for a half appeared was the case.
I am already down big in two leagues (SFL, DHFL), scored a scant 2.5 points from a main guy (Braylon Edwards) in one league and have no score both my other leagues.
I traded Kellen Winslow this week for Ryan Grant, a good move by any standard but in a keeper league a great move. Of course I didn’t realize that Brady Quinn lacks the arm strength to throw anything more than a five yard pass across the middle and Winslow will probably average 10/100/1 the rest of the way. That was the cherry topping on my worst fantasy football weeks of my life.
Saturday, 8AM – My kids have soccer games from 9AM to 12PM this morning, so I take one more quick look at my lineups and decide I cannot trust S-Jax, I pull him and I am forced to play McGahee, whom I actually feel confident about. I close down ready to be “football free” for the entire weekend.
Saturday, 1PM – Home from soccer and guess what, big surprise, both my kids teams lost. In the first game, my youngest scored two early goals to put her team up 4-1. Then the coach inexplicable turned into Herm Edwards and put his two best players on the bench, as we watched the other team score five un-answered goals. By the time he got those two back in the game it was too late and they fell 6-5.
My other child’s game was a blowout loss. Their team has the minimum number of players and they play on a regulation size field, so they are constantly gassed.
But while the game lacked drama the post-game scene was quite interesting, as a cat fight broke out between the coaches. The two met at mid-field with a series of flaying arms and bitter words. That alone was entertaining, but nowhere near as entertaining as the comments by our “soccer moms” – “What’s that skanks problem?”, “What a b!tch! I mean you’re a soccer coach, what are you doing wearing that tight tanktop.” I mean priceless stuff.
Since I was bored and didn’t need to rush home to watch the end of the Northwestern/Minnesota game, I wanted to hang around and see if I could instigate a full fledge brawl between these two. Unfortunately, my wife talked me out it. I have it on my to-do list for the winter league.
Saturday, 5PM – Does it get any better than hanging curtains and playing the Wii for an entire Saturday afternoon? That definitely beats watching the Nebraska/Kansas game. BTW, my arms are about to fall off from the 400M in “Mario v. Sonic at the Olympic Games”. And I am irritated because I can’t figure out the swimming. It’s always something!
Saturday, 8PM – I pass my biggest test so far, out at a restaurant with TVs showing college football, I refuse to look up to even check a score.
Saturday, 10PM – I am slightly curious about the Nebraska game, so I try to find the score without hitting a major sports website. I find an article titled “Kansas drought in Lincoln continues”. Sweet the worm is turning; maybe I will have the at least a mediocre fantasy day tomorrow.
Sunday, 10:30AM – I get home from church and quickly check ESPN’s fantasy surround for late inactives that would affect my teams. Normally, I would feel confident about my lineups on Friday, but I have an inordinate amount of wimps this year.
Also, I have to admit staying away from watching the NFL is going to be harder than I thought. I rationalizing that its perspective and that I have the proper one right now, so I should be able to watch without feeling the rage of Private Pyle in “Full Metal Jacket”. I hold off as the early games begin.
Sunday, Noon – I have reached the bargaining phase, I steadfastly refuse to watch football this weekend, but what is the harm in trying to find out a couple scores and some stats? I start off by perusing other leagues on our league website. The first two things I come across – Maurice Jones-Drew is going off and the Rams are getting killed. I am playing against MJD and needed Marc Bulger to step up.
I am calm, but I can feel the frustration starting to build. I take a break and play so more Wii.
Sunday, 1PM – I finally give in and load up NFL.COM. Holy cripes, 40-0 NYJ over the Rams. My goodness this team has flat out quit. And making matters worse Bulger totally sucked and is now watching from the sideline probably with that scorned women smirk on his face.
Sunday, 4PM – I took break to go practice soccer with my kids. When I get back I found out that this is “Crappy quarterback week” for all of my starting quarterbacks, Delhomme (2 leagues), Rodgers, Bulger all sucked. And Brees and Favre were less than what I expected. Other non-performers – Torry Holt and Donnie Avery, because only the Rams cannot muster a garbage TD when trailing by 40 points.
Any thoughts of watching the end of the late games vanishes after I see the scores of the late games. I really do not want to watch Delhomme throwing interceptions.
Sunday, 8PM – Back from dinner with the in-laws and I find out the bad news – I am headed for another 0-5 weekend. If not for the sabbatical I would be seriously contemplating a twelve state killing spree (starting in eastern Missouri).
Sunday, 9:30PM – The sabbatical is over, I watch the last 5 minutes of the Eagles/Giants. I am speechless at Andy Reid’s poor coaching decisions.
All in all, I accomplished my goal – take a week off and re-invent the season as though it were the first week of the season. I am now excited for the Thursday night game and not as worry about my floundering fantasy teams. Plus, after looking at my teams, I still have a reasonable chance to make the playoffs in every league.
On to the power rankings
The “All Dead” Division
32. Detroit (0 change from last) – If the Lions are going to win a game they’re going to have to beat a team with playoff aspirations. The remaining schedule: @Carolina, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Minnesota, @Indianapolis, New Orleans and @Green Bay. My guess is the Saints will give it up in week 16.
31. St. Louis (-10) – Marc Bulger reminds me of a scorned wife of politician, who is forced to stay with her husband because of his career. The way he smirks after throwing an interception and continually throws off his back foot, tell me the Rams have done him wrong and he is secretly plotting to sleep with their most hated enemy – the 49ers!
Just think Rams fans – the front office sent the 2008 NFL MVP packing for Bulger.
The “Mostly Dead” Division
30. Oakland (-2) – They have the best cover corner in the game. Now they need to add a mediocre offense and they’ll be all set.
29. Cincinnati (+2) –It appears we have seven games left in the Marvin Lewis era; gamblers will never be the same!
28. Cleveland (-6) – Finally the Browns have figured out how to cure Braylon Edwards problem with drops – stop throwing to him. It’s so simple, yet brilliant. Maybe Romeo and Marvin can be co-defensive coordinators for the Cowboys next year.
27. San Francisco (+2) – Mike Singletary will be a great head coach, but he is in an impossible situation. He has no control over Martz and that seriously comprises his ability to be effective.
The “Spoilers” Division
26. Kansas City (+4) – I can’t wait for next year’s fantasy draft when Tyler Thigpen goes about 10 rounds higher than he should. But it’s hard to argue with his numbers the past three weeks.
25. Seattle (+2) – They get Hasselbeck and Branch back this week. Teams are going to have a tough time winning in Seattle the rest of the way.
24. Houston (-1) – Any team with Andre Johnson cannot be taken lightly. But one has to wonder will this team ever “make the leap”.
The “Let’s reload a saved season at week 4″ division
23. New Orleans (-4) – Remember when the Saints were 2-2 with two home games ahead and a healthy Reggie Bush.
22. Buffalo (-15) – Remember when the Bills were 4-0 and Trent Edwards was playing more like Jim Kelly and less like JP Losman.
The “First to 8 wins” Division
21. Denver (+3) – If the Broncos make the playoffs they owe a share to Kellen Winslow. While Winslow had a nice fantasy game, he gave the “real” game away with a stupid penalty and a terrible fumble.
But I am officially on record with the statement that “there is no way the Broncos win the division.”
20. San Diego (-4) – Fortunately for them they play in the second worst division in the NFL and as long as they stay within a game of the Broncos they’ll overtake them in their week 17 head-to-head matchup.
The “Underachievers” Division
19. Jacksonville (-4) – There is too much talent in J-Ville for them miss the playoffs and Jack Del Rio has to be held accountable. Imagine what Bill Cowher could do with the Jags.
18. Green Bay (-5) – What happened to the youngest team in the NFL and we don’t need Favre? Last year they found ways to win games, this year they’re finding ways to lose.
How about the play calling at the end of the game last week – Two runs and a screen pass from the Vikings 40 with 2 minutes left in the game. They settled for a 52 yard field goal that sailed wide right!
17. Dallas (-3) – It’s official, if the Cowboys fail to make the playoffs Wade Phillips is gone! Jerry Jones stated this week “we will definitely make the playoffs”, this making “Bum’s son” seat so hot, he will be crapping fire for the next month.
The “Who have they beaten” Division
16. New York Jets (+10) – They’ve beaten Kansas City, a free-falling Buffalo team and St. Louis in their last three games. Let’s not get too excited.
15. Philadelphia (-11) –The Eagles are 0-3 in their division and three of their five wins have come against the NFC West. Andy Reid is feeling the heat.
The “Who knew these guys could play QB” Division
14. Miami (+6) –Yikes, this team is going to be scary good next year. Parcells is genius.
13. Chicago (-5) – The Titans go down last week if Kyle Orton isn’t hurt. Read that last sentence again. Men with strait jackets are knocking on my door if I make that comment one year ago.
The “Back from the Dead” Division
12. Indianapolis (+13) – Every year there is a team that flies under the radar and then seemingly comes from nowhere to surprise the league. The Colts are the best bet to be that team this year. I can see them going into Tennessee and winning a playoff game
The “Something is missing” Division
11. Minnesota (+7) – They have quietly moved into first place in the North and their defense is starting to live up to the pre-season hype, but I still cannot get on the Gus Bus.
10. Washington (-7) – I was wondering if the early season overuse of Clinton Portis would take its toll, now the Skins have try and find a way to recapture their early season magic with the corpse of Shaun Alexander.
9. Arizona (+2) – They got extremely lucky on Monday night, but the Cardinals of the past would’ve let that game slip away. Even though the division is all but locked up, they need to focus on getting home field advantage because they will not win a road playoff game.
The “Jedi Mind Trick” Division
8. New England (-2) – With their schedule there is no reason they cannot finish with the #2 seed in the AFC. I cannot see a team in the AFC going into Foxboro and winning in January.
The “Pretenders” Division
7. Baltimore (+10) – Realistically any of the teams ranked from 3 to 23 could be the next Super Bowl champs, that is how mediocre this league is right now. And no team exemplifies that mediocrity more than the Ravens.
6. Tampa Bay (+4) – They aren’t going to win the division and a wildcard is not a guarantee, but they have earned this ranking. The comeback over KC doesn’t look that bad now.
The “Why not them” Division
5. Atlanta (+7) – “Now I’m a believer; Not a trace of doubt in my mind; I’m in love; I’m a believer . . .”
Think about this year in sports – the NBA finals featured two teams that won a combined 66 games the year before (the Celtics won 66 themselves this year), the Rays made it to the World Series, Philadelphia finally won a championship and the BCS top 25 contains six teams from non-BCS conferences – why can’t the Falcons go to the Super Bowl?
The “Contenders” Division
4. Carolina (+6) – The Panthers survived one of the worst performances from a quarterback in the history of the NFL. How bad was Delhomme? He completed two passes in the second half and both were to the Raiders; in the fourth quarter, the Panthers were up one possession and refused to pass in obvious passing situations.
Yep, that’s the 4th best team in the 2008 version of the NFL, where if you can do one or two things very well you can win a Super Bowl. The Panthers can run the ball and play defense.
3. Pittsburgh (+2) – Basically they play great defense and that is good enough to get it done this year. Plus, they have the coolest head coach in the league!
The “Favorites” Division
2. NY Giants (0) – They have a strangle hold on the division and the inside track for home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Who is going to go to the Meadowlands in January and beat them?
1. Tennessee (0) – So now we know that the Titans can win a game where Kerry Collins has to pass. But there were quite a few open receivers that Rexy missed, that has to be a concern. I am on record with the Titans run the table to go 16-0 but lose in the divisional playoff round.
