The People's Win (and the Next Step)

The People's Pigskin made all the right moves and chalked up a 103-100 win this week over the Southern Rebels. Here's a breakdown of how we did it.

Kurt Warner, QB. The stats: 20 of 36 passing, 231 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and 11 fantasy points. His Arizona Cardinals did just enough to defeat the New York Giants. The primary credit goes to the defense: Eli Manning was picked off three times.

Steve Slaton, RB. The stats: 18 carries for 67 yards, 4 receptions for 22 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 fumble, and 18 fantasy points. His Houston Texans held off a rally by former No. 1 draft choice Alex Smith to beat the 49ers. Slaton continues to get his touches.

Donald Brown, RB. The stats: 2 carries, 58 yards, and 5 fantasy points. Brown left the game against the St. Louis Rams in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. He says the injury was no big deal, and there was no need for the Indianapolis Colts to risk any aggravation against the Rams. It's disappointing, but it seems like he'll be available next week.

Matt Forte, Flex. The stats: 6 carries for 24 yards, 4 receptions for 25 yards, and 4 fantasy points. The Chicago Bears found themselves in a gargantuan hole early against the Cincinnati Bengals. As a result, they had to abandon any hopes of a running game and throw deep. Fantasy football players, as usual, suffered the consequences.

Greg Jennings, WR. The stats: 5 receptions, 52 yards, and 5 fantasy points. The Green Bay Packers threw a lot of short routes against the Cleveland Browns. That was bad news for a deep threat like Jennings.

Chad Ochocinco, WR. The stats: 10 receptions, 118 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 23 fantasy points. Now that's more like it. Carson Palmer found Ochocinco early and often against the Chicago Bears. Ochocinco has been nothing short of a fantasy football stud.

Chris Cooley, TE. The stats: 2 receptions, 21 yards, and 2 fantasy points. Both catches came on the Redskins opening drive. And it's a good thing Cooley caught them when he could, because his night ended early. (More on him later.)

Nick Folk, K. The stats: 3 for 3 on field goals, 4 for 4 on extra points, and 14 fantasy points. Welcome back to the fold, Folk. The Dallas Cowboys finally had a complete offensive day against the Atlanta Falcons, and the kicker always benefits from this.

Philadelphia Eagles, D/ST. The stats: 1 interception returned for a touchdown, 3 fumble recoveries, 6 sacks, 17 points allowed, and 21 fantasy points. They made us wait until the last minute, but the Eagles' dominance at the line against the Washington Redskins provided the winning margin.

Now, back to Cooley. He left the Monday night game with a broken ankle. His season may or may not be over, but we cannot afford to find out. We need to get another tight end who can play right away. That means it's time for another poll. Here are the nominees:

Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans Saints. He has at least 3 fantasy points in every game he has played this season, and he currently ranks ninth among tight ends with 45.

Tony Scheffler, Denver Broncos. Another player who has scored at least a point in every game he has played. After his team's bye last week, he ranks 18th among tight ends with 31 points.

Marcedes Lewis, Jacksonville Jaguars. He has a point in five of the six games he's played so far. After his team's bye last week, he ranks 19th among tight ends with 29 points.

The poll is up and will be available until Wednesday night. Please vote and/or comment. We'll be back next time with a more detailed look at our upcoming game.

Behind the Loss

There was no miraculous comeback for the People's Pigskin, which fell to Tinks Revenge by a final score of 110-79. The season record is now 3-3. Here's the breakdown of the breakdown.

Kurt Warner, QB. The stats: 32 of 41 passing for 276 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, 1 fumble, and 15 fantasy points. Warner once again was the engine for the Arizona Cardinals offense, but the turnovers held down Kurt's fantasy numbers. (So did Seattle's lack of offense, which kept Kurt from having to throw deep late in the game.)

Matt Forte, RB. The stats: 15 rushes for 23 yards, 5 receptions for 37 yards, 1 fumble, and 3 fantasy points. Matt had a golden opportunity to score a touchdown for the Bears, but his goal-line fumble was a killer for the Chicago Bears.

Steve Slaton, RB. The stats: 19 rushes for 43 yards, 6 receptions for 102 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 fumble, and 18 fantasy points. We can't complain about Steve's Sunday, but his point total simply could not compete with the Revenge's big numbers from DeAngelo Williams (29) and Ray Rice (30).

Chad Ochocino, Flex. The stats: 5 receptions, 103 yards, and 10 fantasy points. The Cincinnati Bengals had a rough outing against the Houston Texans. Chad needs to start finding the end zone again.

Greg Jennings, WR. The stats: 6 receptions, 64 yards, and 6 fantasy points. The Green Bay Packers put up 26 points against the lowly Detroit Lions, but Jennings couldn't get a piece of that.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR. The stats: 4 receptions, 34 yards, and 3 fantasy points. The Seattle Seahawks had a miserable outing against the Arizona Cardinals. And from T.J.'s numbers, you'd think Seneca Wallace was the starting quarterback.

Chris Cooley, TE. The stats: 5 receptions, 57 yards, and 5 fantasy points. Perhaps Cooley should spend a little less time at the pottery wheel and a little more time in the end zone.

Matt Prater, K. The stats: 2 field goals, 4 extra points, and 9 fantasy points. Thanks for playing, Matt. It was fun while it lasted.

Philadelphia Eagles, D/ST. The stats: 2 interceptions, 2 sacks, 13 points allowed, and 10 fantasy points. The defense did its part against the Oakland Raiders, though the offense laid an Eagle-size egg.

Bench. Not much help there: Jamal Lewis scored 3 points, and Chris "Beanie" Wells scored 2.

We'll regroup and offer a week 7 preview tomorrow.

The People's Loss (and the Next Step)

Congratulations are in order for t-day jacks 151rum stumblrs, who defeated the People's Pigskin by a score of 77-76. Each team had two players put up zero points, so this one could easily have gone either way. Here's a breakdown of our team's letdown.

Kurt Warner, QB. The stats: 26 of 38 passing, 302 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 20 fantasy points. His team had to sweat a goal-line stand by its defense, but the Arizona Cardinals offense clearly goes through Warner.

Steve Slaton, RB. The stats: 13 rushes for 39 yards, 6 receptions for 59 yards, and 8 fantasy points. One has to wonder what would have happened, for both the Houston Texans and the People's Pigskin, if Slaton had been on the field for that goal-line stand.

Donald Brown, RB. The stats: 6 rushes for 22 yards, 2 receptions for 13 yards, and 3 fantasy points. The Indianapolis Colts did go into preserve-the-lead-and-kill-the-clock-with-runs mode with Brown late in the game, but Brown still couldn't find holes in the Tennessee Titans defense.

Brandon Stokley, Flex. The stats: 0 receptions, 1 target, and 0 fantasy points. More on him later.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR. The stats: 5 receptions, 77 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 19 fantasy points. Now, there's the T.J. we all know and love. Matt Hasslebeck's return to form was a godsend for fantasy players who did not give up on his receivers.

Chad Ochocinco, WR. The stats: 7 receptions for 94 yards, 1 fumble, and 7 fantasy points. His Cincinnati Bengals rallied to beat the Baltimore Ravens, but Ochocinco was kept out of the end zone.

Chris Cooley, TE. The stats: 0 catches, 0 targets, and 0 fantasy points. Cooley was held without a catch for the first time since 2004, when he was a rookie. Hopefully, this won't become a trend.

Nick Folk, K. The stats: 2 for 3 on field goals, 2 extra points, and 7 fantasy points. Fantasy football players who started Folk may be the only people outside of Kansas City who were disappointed that Miles Austin scored in overtime to give the Dallas Cowboys a victory.

Philadelphia Eagles, D/ST. The stats: 3 interceptions, 1 safety, 14 points allowed, and 12 fantasy points. Yes, these numbers came against the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but as long as they keep coming (and as long as Donovan McNabb stays upright), we'll take them.

Bench. Jamal Lewis put up 11 points, and Trent Edwards put up 8.

Now, about Stokley, who was held without a fantasy points for the third straight week, it's time for him to go. (Yes, I'm being Mr. Obvious here.) That means it's time for you, the Internet, to vote on who should be picked up off the waiver wire. Here are the nominees.

Nate Washington, Tennessee Titans. He's averaging 7.5 fantasy points a game, and that average would have made the People's Pigskin 4-1 today instead of 3-2.

Kenny Britt, Tennessee Titans. Yes, another Titan, but this one has at least a point in every game this season.

Kelley Washington, Baltimore Ravens. His team is becoming a passing one as much as a running one, so Washington has as good a chance as anyone to get scores on any given week.

Earl Bennett, Chicago Bears. This receiver, whose team had a bye this week, has at least 2 fantasy points in every game this season.

Bobby Wade, Kansas City Chiefs. He has 2 touchdowns to his name so far this season, and this team seems ready to beat somebody.

Those are the nominees. Here is the poll. It will stay open until Wednesday. Please vote now.

[polldaddy poll=2109615]

The People's Choice - Week 5

You, the Internet, have spoken once again on our lineup. You voted to leave it the way it is. And we successfully picked up Chris Cooley for the tight end slot, so here's how we look right now. And if you want to watch our matchup against t-bay jacks 151rum stumblrs, you can click here.

This week's poll deals with a certain reality about football: You probably fell in love with football -- and with a certain football team -- long before you got involved with fantasy football. Please vote.

We'll be back later with an update on this week's competition. Until then, enjoy the games and your Columbus Day weekend.

[polldaddy poll=2105175]

Pick the People's Team - Week 5

Thanks to those who voted in the latest waiver poll. Unfortunately, your unanimous choice (Jerome Harrison) got scooped up by someone else, so the People's Pigskin went "off the board" by making a claim on Chris Cooley of the Washington Redskins. This transaction would not be processed until Sunday morning, when Cooley would replace Kellen Winslow, who has become a nonentity in fantasy football for the time being.

Anyway, now it's time to prepare for this week's contest against the t-bay jacks 151 rum stumblrs. Let's take a look at our current lineup.

Quarterback. Kurt Warner, fresh off his bye week, returns to the starting lineup and faces the Houston Texans. Trent Edwards goes back to the bench but is available if you deem it necessary.

Running back. Matt Forte's Bears have their bye week, so our current starters are Steve Slaton (against the Arizona Cardinals) and Donald Brown (who faces the Tennessee Titans. If one of them is not to your liking, we can have Jamal Lewis (if he's healthy enough to play) or Chris "Beanie" Wells (if Lewis can't go).

Flex. Yes, it's another Brandon Stokley sighting. His Broncos get the New England Patriots. The other option is to insert Wells/Lewis here. (Again, Lewis would get the start if he's healthy, and Wells would get it if Lewis is still hurt.)

Wide receiver. With Greg Jennings having his bye week, we have a reunion of sorts: T.J. Houshmandzadeh (who faces the Jacksonville Jaguars) and Chad Ochocinco (who gets the Baltimore Ravens). If you want to bench one of them, we could go to the waiver wire for a replacement.

We already discussed the tight end situation. Nick Folk remains our kicker, and the Philadelphia Eagles defense/special teams return to the starting lineup this week.

Here's the poll. You should know the drill by now -- it will close Saturday night. Please vote now, and feel free to comment.

[polldaddy poll=2093245]