While some people are figuring out how to use those last bites of Thanksgiving dinner, fantasy football players are trying to position themselves for the playoffs. And we at the People's Pigskin are trying to lift our People's League predictions up to the .500 mark. We made some progress last week by going 3-2, lifting our season record to 25-29-1. Let's see if we can keep that momentum going.
People's Pigskin vs. VinSethVaughn Bears: The Bears took a 24-11 lead on Thursday, but the Pigskin has the weapons (including Eli Manning on Monday night) to overcome that deficit and extend its winning streak to four games.
Palm Bay, Fl. BearDown85 vs. Glen Gardner's Finest: As of this writing, the Finest sport a 22-3 lead. As of this writing, the Finest has not chosen a starting quarterback (with Mark Sanchez available on the bench). The BearDowns have Cedric Benson, LeSean McCoy and Vincent Jackson with tasty matchups, not to mention a five-game winning streak. That streak should extend to six, even with Tim Tebow in the starting lineup.
t-bay jacks Young'ry Buccs vs. Arcadia Roses: The Roses lead 19-5. The Roses have the better record, the better fantasy quarterback (Cam Newton), the better fantasy running back (Arian Foster) and better fantasy receivers (Steve Smith and Roddy White). The Roses get the pick.
Team Brotherton vs. LA Lockouts: These two teams are tied at the top of their division. The Brothertons have a 46-26 lead. Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham may make things interesting on Monday night, but Rashard Mendenhall should have a strong enough Sunday night to preserve the win for the Brothertons.
Hudson Valley Hawks2 vs. Minneapolis Fantastic Houll: The Hawks lead this matchup by a score of 24-20. And this matchup might boil down to how you feel about Chris Johnson. He has already wrapped up that Fantasy Bust of the Year award, but this week's matchup against Tampa Bay might be the thing he needs to remind us why the Titans gave him that titanic contract in the first place. Look for Johnson to make the difference in a Hawks victory.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy the games. We'll be back with some fresh polls.
Showing posts with label Chris Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Johnson. Show all posts
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Think Before You Draft
In addition to dealing with Hurricane Irene, the people who bring you this fine blog has gone through two fantasy football drafts in the past week. (Neither one was for the People's Pigskin, which will hold its draft Monday night, so you still have time to vote on the fantasy football polls on the right side of this page.) It's amazing how much a draft can sneak up on you, especially when the off-season is sacrificed at the altar of short-sightedness. So it might be helpful to remember some simple rules.
First and foremost, plan ahead. Take a look at the pre-draft settings at your league's Web site, and adjust them if you think whoever compiled them goes to Ricky Williams' old dealer. You never know when Mother Nature is going to decide to interfere with your draft.
In the days leading up to your draft, know what matters and what doesn't. In the long run, Chris Johnson's holdout wasn't going to matter, since everyone knew he would get a new deal in time for the season. And Arian Foster calling you sick for playing fantasy football doesn't matter. But Foster posting a picture of a possibly torn hamstring will matter. As for Vince Young's hamstring, whether that matters remains to be seen.
Next, get online early. If your draft is scheduled to start at 8 p.m., it's best not to try to sign in at 7:59 p.m. For one thing, many leagues will release the draft order a few minutes before your draft starts, so you can get a head start on figuring out who will be available when your turn comes. For another thing, you want to give yourself a few minutes to handle any last-minute computer glitches.
Also, keep an eye on bye weeks. Yes, both of your favorite receivers may be available when you pick. But if both of them are taking the same week off, that will make it twice as hard to field a full lineup when that bye week comes.
And if possible, don't leave early. After one of our drafts, someone sent out an email asking how he got a couple of the players he didn't recall drafting. As it turns out, this player left the room a few rounds early, and the automatic picking feature took over. (Again, it helps to know whose ranked where on your Web site.)
One more thing: Take the kicker last. This serves two purposes. First, it will keep from being laughed at for taking a kicker too early. (In one of our leagues, someone used a keeper protection on a kicker. You can lead some players to water...) Second, if you have to leave a round early, your computer will pick your kicker automatically.
That should be enough to get you through the draft in one piece.
Now you can turn your attention to your Labor Day weekend, the MDA Telethon (yes, it's still on, and yes, the kids still need your help) and Sunday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The three NASCAR lineup polls will close in a few hours, and we need your help to keep the People's Pitstop at the top of our league. Thanks. We'll be back with the results.
First and foremost, plan ahead. Take a look at the pre-draft settings at your league's Web site, and adjust them if you think whoever compiled them goes to Ricky Williams' old dealer. You never know when Mother Nature is going to decide to interfere with your draft.
In the days leading up to your draft, know what matters and what doesn't. In the long run, Chris Johnson's holdout wasn't going to matter, since everyone knew he would get a new deal in time for the season. And Arian Foster calling you sick for playing fantasy football doesn't matter. But Foster posting a picture of a possibly torn hamstring will matter. As for Vince Young's hamstring, whether that matters remains to be seen.
Next, get online early. If your draft is scheduled to start at 8 p.m., it's best not to try to sign in at 7:59 p.m. For one thing, many leagues will release the draft order a few minutes before your draft starts, so you can get a head start on figuring out who will be available when your turn comes. For another thing, you want to give yourself a few minutes to handle any last-minute computer glitches.
Also, keep an eye on bye weeks. Yes, both of your favorite receivers may be available when you pick. But if both of them are taking the same week off, that will make it twice as hard to field a full lineup when that bye week comes.
And if possible, don't leave early. After one of our drafts, someone sent out an email asking how he got a couple of the players he didn't recall drafting. As it turns out, this player left the room a few rounds early, and the automatic picking feature took over. (Again, it helps to know whose ranked where on your Web site.)
One more thing: Take the kicker last. This serves two purposes. First, it will keep from being laughed at for taking a kicker too early. (In one of our leagues, someone used a keeper protection on a kicker. You can lead some players to water...) Second, if you have to leave a round early, your computer will pick your kicker automatically.
That should be enough to get you through the draft in one piece.
Now you can turn your attention to your Labor Day weekend, the MDA Telethon (yes, it's still on, and yes, the kids still need your help) and Sunday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The three NASCAR lineup polls will close in a few hours, and we need your help to keep the People's Pitstop at the top of our league. Thanks. We'll be back with the results.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Summing Up Michigan
It was both the best of weeks and the worst of weeks for the People's Pitstop.
The Internet's favorite fantasy racing team compiled 287 points at Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. The season total is now 6,168. We're 46, 780th overall on Yahoo Sports, and we rose 6 spots, to 62nd, in the Fans of From the Marbles league. Here are the details.
Tony Stewart: Started 4th, finished 6th, 36 laps led and 91 fantasy points. That includes a 1-point qualifying bonus and a 10-point lap-leader bonus. And this clearly unbiased source tells us that "a win is just around the corner" for Stewart.
Kevin Harvick: Started 8th, finished 1st, 60 laps led and 100 fantasy points. Harvick finished his eligibility for the People's Pitstop in the best way possible. In his nine starts for us, he gave us 7 finishes in the top 10. Though we missed two of his wins, he gave us an average finish of 8.7 and an average score of 81.1. If we exclude the spring Martinsville race (where he finished 35th), he gave us an average finish of 5.5 and an average score of 87.2.
Kasey Kahne: Started 1st, finished 14th and 74 fantasy points. That's right -- the driver who started on the pole (and got the 10 point bonus for doing so) couldn't hold the lead for a single lap.
Paul Menard: Started 10th, finished 35th (3 laps behind the leaders) and 22 fantasy points. It's a good thing he signed that Richard Childress contract before starting this race.
This week NASCAR takes its show to prime time for a Saturday night race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The new lineup polls are open and will close Thursday night in time for Friday's qualifying session.
We also have a fresh set of fantasy football polls. The results of our two most recent ones appear below. You, the Internet, decided that Chris Johnson should be No. 2 on our draft board (after Adrian Peterson), and you said decided that the first quarterback we should target is Drew Brees. This time around, we ask you to pick the No. 3 player for our draft board, as well as the top wide receiver. Please vote now.
[polldaddy poll=3615257] [polldaddy poll=3596858]
The Internet's favorite fantasy racing team compiled 287 points at Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. The season total is now 6,168. We're 46, 780th overall on Yahoo Sports, and we rose 6 spots, to 62nd, in the Fans of From the Marbles league. Here are the details.
Tony Stewart: Started 4th, finished 6th, 36 laps led and 91 fantasy points. That includes a 1-point qualifying bonus and a 10-point lap-leader bonus. And this clearly unbiased source tells us that "a win is just around the corner" for Stewart.
Kevin Harvick: Started 8th, finished 1st, 60 laps led and 100 fantasy points. Harvick finished his eligibility for the People's Pitstop in the best way possible. In his nine starts for us, he gave us 7 finishes in the top 10. Though we missed two of his wins, he gave us an average finish of 8.7 and an average score of 81.1. If we exclude the spring Martinsville race (where he finished 35th), he gave us an average finish of 5.5 and an average score of 87.2.
Kasey Kahne: Started 1st, finished 14th and 74 fantasy points. That's right -- the driver who started on the pole (and got the 10 point bonus for doing so) couldn't hold the lead for a single lap.
Paul Menard: Started 10th, finished 35th (3 laps behind the leaders) and 22 fantasy points. It's a good thing he signed that Richard Childress contract before starting this race.
This week NASCAR takes its show to prime time for a Saturday night race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The new lineup polls are open and will close Thursday night in time for Friday's qualifying session.
We also have a fresh set of fantasy football polls. The results of our two most recent ones appear below. You, the Internet, decided that Chris Johnson should be No. 2 on our draft board (after Adrian Peterson), and you said decided that the first quarterback we should target is Drew Brees. This time around, we ask you to pick the No. 3 player for our draft board, as well as the top wide receiver. Please vote now.
[polldaddy poll=3615257] [polldaddy poll=3596858]
Friday, August 6, 2010
Deflecting Bill Simmons' Rocks
The people who put together the People's Pigskin have been fans of Bill Simmons (aka "The Sports Guy") since he was writing over at Digital City. In fact, if you've missed any of his Vegas journals, you owe it to yourself to take a look at them in his archive.
You'll also find plenty of columns about fantasy football. Today, under the headline "Throwing rocks in fantasy football pool," Simmons offered his latest plan for shaking up a game where "We do things pretty much exactly the same way" as we did a decade ago. It's funny how chess is essentially the same game it was when Benjamin Franklin was playing it, but fantasy football needs an update.
Most of Simmons' column is as funny and insightful as anything he's ever published, even if it does come close to violating his own "150-minute rule" (if you're going to spend more than that much time on anything, you better have a rock-solid reason). However, his recommendations for shaking up fantasy football leave something to be desired. Here are the main recommendations, along with some counterpoints.
1. "Everyone agrees on a Universal Fantasy System"
Longtime readers of the People's Pigskin may have already figured out that I enjoy beer. In fact, I prefer beers on the Guinness end of the spectrum. However, I'm not arrogant enough to expect everyone to like Guinness as much as I do. You might think it is too bitter for human consumption. That's fine. I'll sip my Guinness and allow you to drink your Coors Light (which I wouldn't drink if my esophagus were on fire), and we'll both have a good time. That's why any bar worthy of the name has more than one beer tap.
It's the same way with fantasy football. So far this summer, I've signed up for three fantasy leagues, and I plan to sign up for at least one more. (More details on that in a later post.) I like having choices about how teams are set up, how points are distributed and how ties and championships are determined. Making everyone play the same way wouldn't help fantasy football. It would stifle innovation.
2. "Everyone switches to an auction format"
To continue the beer metaphor, liking Guinness doesn't stop me from sampling new beers. Likewise, I've never been part of an auction draft, but I wouldn't mind trying one out. One reason: "Someone like Chris Johnson goes to the highest bidder instead of someone who just lucked out by pulling an ace from a deck of cards."
3. "Keepers"
Simmons recommends a system that would allow fantasy players to keep some of their players for up to four seasons at a time. You have to pay a little more each year -- this recommendation is based on an auction draft -- and after season 2, you have to decide whether to keep the player for the next two seasons. (No dropping the player after season 3.) If only the New York Jets could to this.
4. "Safe words"
Simmons wants us to pick a word to shout out to stop someone from telling a boring fantasy story. Not only do I agree with him on this, but I'm one step ahead of him. I already have a word for such situations. I find that "SHUTTHE****UP" works just fine.
5. "Menage A Trois Week"
No, Simmons has not been sharing ideas with Kim Kardashian again. He's suggesting that several weeks of the fantasy season should feature matchups involving three teams instead of two. You versus two opponents, with one team getting a win and two teams getting a loss.
One problem: Fantasy players don't need yet another way to lose. The Brian Westbrooks of the world are giving us enough opportunities to lose needlessly as it is.
6. "The Backgammon Cube"
I'm not even going to try to explain this idea, except to say that it involves both escalating double-or-nothing bets and the chance to concede the week's matches before they're over. And to say that it's a way to drive any league's commissioner to slit his/her wrists.
The best conclusion to draw from all this: If ESPN.com is featuring something like this on its front page, how long can it be until we're watching games that count?
By the way, the lineup polls will close soon. Please vote now. We'll be back with the results.
You'll also find plenty of columns about fantasy football. Today, under the headline "Throwing rocks in fantasy football pool," Simmons offered his latest plan for shaking up a game where "We do things pretty much exactly the same way" as we did a decade ago. It's funny how chess is essentially the same game it was when Benjamin Franklin was playing it, but fantasy football needs an update.
Most of Simmons' column is as funny and insightful as anything he's ever published, even if it does come close to violating his own "150-minute rule" (if you're going to spend more than that much time on anything, you better have a rock-solid reason). However, his recommendations for shaking up fantasy football leave something to be desired. Here are the main recommendations, along with some counterpoints.
1. "Everyone agrees on a Universal Fantasy System"
Longtime readers of the People's Pigskin may have already figured out that I enjoy beer. In fact, I prefer beers on the Guinness end of the spectrum. However, I'm not arrogant enough to expect everyone to like Guinness as much as I do. You might think it is too bitter for human consumption. That's fine. I'll sip my Guinness and allow you to drink your Coors Light (which I wouldn't drink if my esophagus were on fire), and we'll both have a good time. That's why any bar worthy of the name has more than one beer tap.
It's the same way with fantasy football. So far this summer, I've signed up for three fantasy leagues, and I plan to sign up for at least one more. (More details on that in a later post.) I like having choices about how teams are set up, how points are distributed and how ties and championships are determined. Making everyone play the same way wouldn't help fantasy football. It would stifle innovation.
2. "Everyone switches to an auction format"
To continue the beer metaphor, liking Guinness doesn't stop me from sampling new beers. Likewise, I've never been part of an auction draft, but I wouldn't mind trying one out. One reason: "Someone like Chris Johnson goes to the highest bidder instead of someone who just lucked out by pulling an ace from a deck of cards."
3. "Keepers"
Simmons recommends a system that would allow fantasy players to keep some of their players for up to four seasons at a time. You have to pay a little more each year -- this recommendation is based on an auction draft -- and after season 2, you have to decide whether to keep the player for the next two seasons. (No dropping the player after season 3.) If only the New York Jets could to this.
4. "Safe words"
Simmons wants us to pick a word to shout out to stop someone from telling a boring fantasy story. Not only do I agree with him on this, but I'm one step ahead of him. I already have a word for such situations. I find that "SHUTTHE****UP" works just fine.
5. "Menage A Trois Week"
No, Simmons has not been sharing ideas with Kim Kardashian again. He's suggesting that several weeks of the fantasy season should feature matchups involving three teams instead of two. You versus two opponents, with one team getting a win and two teams getting a loss.
One problem: Fantasy players don't need yet another way to lose. The Brian Westbrooks of the world are giving us enough opportunities to lose needlessly as it is.
6. "The Backgammon Cube"
I'm not even going to try to explain this idea, except to say that it involves both escalating double-or-nothing bets and the chance to concede the week's matches before they're over. And to say that it's a way to drive any league's commissioner to slit his/her wrists.
The best conclusion to draw from all this: If ESPN.com is featuring something like this on its front page, how long can it be until we're watching games that count?
By the way, the lineup polls will close soon. Please vote now. We'll be back with the results.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Fearless Predictions - Week 12
Somebody should cue Al Michaels -- we have a miracle. Last week the Landshark Maniacs predictions went (hang on, this is gonna require the Caps Lock) FIVE-AND-OH, BABY!!! OH, YEAH!!! This lifts the season record to 31-24.
With the dinner-busting tripleheader on Thanksgiving, we have to get this week's predictions in early. Let's see if the short week affects the forecasts as much as it does the New York Giants.
Peoples Pigskin vs. Hawaiian Surfriders. If the forecasts can have a perfect week, then the Pigskin can make the playoffs.
Ravens Fan T Sizzle vs. T-bay jacks 151rum stumblrs. It comes down to one letter: Q. That's the letter you'll see next to Calvin Johnson's name. The Lions may either inactivate him or hold down his playing time. That will be enough for the stumblrs to squeeze out a win.
Big Lough O vs. Houston Wreckin' Crew. You'll see another Q next to Michael Turner's name, but that one won't matter as much. The Lough Os have too many weapons and will cruise to a victory.
Southern Rebels vs. D.C. Destroyers. This is your wishbone game of the week -- the one that could go either way. The difference? Chris Johnson. He's heading for a rushing title, and the Destroyers are heading for the winner's circle.
Northeast Dragons vs. Tinks Revenge. There are two indisputable facts to remember this week: One of your relatives will attack Thanksgiving dinner the way these folks attack hot dogs, and the Dragons will chalk up another win.
Please remember to vote in our polls, both of which will close tonight. Have a happy Thanksgiving, and be sure to save me some pie.
With the dinner-busting tripleheader on Thanksgiving, we have to get this week's predictions in early. Let's see if the short week affects the forecasts as much as it does the New York Giants.
Peoples Pigskin vs. Hawaiian Surfriders. If the forecasts can have a perfect week, then the Pigskin can make the playoffs.
Ravens Fan T Sizzle vs. T-bay jacks 151rum stumblrs. It comes down to one letter: Q. That's the letter you'll see next to Calvin Johnson's name. The Lions may either inactivate him or hold down his playing time. That will be enough for the stumblrs to squeeze out a win.
Big Lough O vs. Houston Wreckin' Crew. You'll see another Q next to Michael Turner's name, but that one won't matter as much. The Lough Os have too many weapons and will cruise to a victory.
Southern Rebels vs. D.C. Destroyers. This is your wishbone game of the week -- the one that could go either way. The difference? Chris Johnson. He's heading for a rushing title, and the Destroyers are heading for the winner's circle.
Northeast Dragons vs. Tinks Revenge. There are two indisputable facts to remember this week: One of your relatives will attack Thanksgiving dinner the way these folks attack hot dogs, and the Dragons will chalk up another win.
Please remember to vote in our polls, both of which will close tonight. Have a happy Thanksgiving, and be sure to save me some pie.
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