Fearless Predictions - Week 16

Unlike the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals, the people who bring you the People's Pigskin will be taking Saturday off. Before we get too heavily into the egg nog, though, it's time to tell you what will happen in the first half of the final two-week playoff matchups. Last week's predictions, including those for week 15 and overall results, went 5-5, leaving us with a season record of 51-29 and clinching an overall winning record. (Something the Shanahans can't claim, by the way.)
NINTH PLACE GAME: cowboys romero vs. t-bay cuervonatersXXL. Jack and Juan go down to the wire fighting to avoid last place. Rashard Mendenhall is already in double-digit land and should be joined shortly by Miles Austin and Felix Jones. The Cowboys enter this matchup with an unhealthy Mark Sanchez, and the Cuervonaters will enter the new year with a healthy lead.
SEVENTH PLACE GAME: Team z vs. NFL2K10 RedZone. The Zs got 22 points from Ben Roethlisberger Thursday night, but Philip Rivers should match that with ease. Brandon Marshall is a strong option for the Zs, but Randy Moss has all but disappeared. Reggie Wayne and the Patriots defense/special teams are turning it on at the right time, and the RedZone should prevail this week.
FIFTH PLACE GAME: Chicago VinSethBears vs. Feely Her Up... The Feelys got 20 points Thursday night from Jonathan Stewart and the Steelers defense/special teams. Andre Johnson is listed as questionable for the VinSethBears, and predicting Brandon Jacobs' fantasy output is tricky at best. But if this comes down to a quarterback duel, you should bet on Tom Brady over Joe Flacco. The bet here is for the VinSethBears to win this week.
THIRD PLACE GAME: Hudson Valley Hawks vs. nuckin' futs. These are two strong teams that fell in the semifinals. The Futs have a clear advantage in the running game, especially if Adrian Peterson misses another game. But DeSean Jackson's presence alone would give the Hawks the edge in receiving. This one will still be tight enough to be up in the air on Monday night, but the Futs probably will regret parking Mike Wallace and his 16 points on the bench. The Hawks should win a close one.
CHAMPIONSHIP: People's Pigskin vs. Fighting Amish. The Internet's favorite fantasy football team takes on one of the two teams that beat it during the regular season. (The other was last week's opponent, the Hawks.) Michael Vick has proven lethal in fantasy football, but Peyton Manning and Michael Turner have plenty of motivation to have strong games this week. The Pigskin takes an early lead going into the final weekend.
Have a merry one, and be sure to vote in the lineup polls on the right side of this page. And if you see a certain fat man (this one, not this one), encourage him to vote, too. We'll be back with the results.

The People's Choice - Week 15

It's Sunday once again, so that must mean a lot of analysts are laughing too loudly at each other's jokes. It also means it's time for the People's Pigskin to set its lineup. And once again, thanks to you, the Internet, we have a lineup for the second half of our two-week People's League semifinal against the Hudson Valley Hawks.

Quarterback: Jon Kitna got some love, but not enough to unseat Peyton Manning. He faces the Jacksonville Jaguars today.

Running back: Darren McFadden was the winner of this poll. He faces the Denver Broncos in a late afternoon game. The other votes were split evenly between Michael Turner (playing the Seattle Seahakws in the late afternoon) and Knowshon Moreno (playing McFadden's Oakland Raiders in the late afternoon). Turner will get the second running back start, while Moreno will stay in the flex spot...

Wide receiver: ...because all the votes in this poll were taken by two players: Calvin Johnson (who gets the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Dwayne Bowe (who faces the St. Louis Rams).

No changes at kicker (Olindo Mare, facing Turner's Atlanta Falcons) or defense/special teams (the Tennessee Titans, facing the Houston Texans). And on Thursday, we played Randy McMichael, whose 5 points increased our lead over the Hawks to 116-74.

The poll results appear below, and we've put up a holiday-themed poll, so feel free to vote on it now. (We say "holiday-themed" because it's easier to fit into a poll headline than "Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year's/Festivus/fantasy playoff-themed.") Enjoy the games.

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A Christmas Day Update

This update will be brief, since there's a good chance you're checking this blog and your other fantasy football sites in between holiday conversations with friends, relatives, neighbors and various hangers-on.

First, thanks to those of you who voted in the Nate Washington and Christmas football polls. You voted to keep Washington in our starting lineup for week 1 of our fifth-place matchup against the Southern Rebels. Washington and the rest of the Tennessee Titans host the San Diego Chargers tonight, and you can watch keep track of the Pigskin-Rebels matchup by clicking here.

You also voted to keep playing football on Christmas Day. Santa Claus (who undoubtedly played defensive end in college with his knowledge of sacks -- ho, ho, ho) would be pleased. You can see the results of both polls below.

Speaking of polls, there's still time to vote on the rest of our lineup. That poll will close Sunday.

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The People's Choice - Week 14

Another week has passed, and once again you, the Internet, have spoken. You voted to leave our lineup the way it is now for week 1 of our consolation round matchup against the Houston Wreckin' Crew. You can follow that matchup live by clicking here.

You also voted to replace Steve Slaton with Austin Collie. He's now a member of the People's Pigskin bench. I'm sure his mama is proud.

And in the debate over what makes the best fantasy football trophy, there was a split decision, as you can see below.

Our latest poll has a holiday flavor. To quote Bing Crosby, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. There's snow on the ground in most of the country, stores are becoming impossible to navigate and children are being extra good in the hopes for extra presents (one example: I have yet to see anyone rearrange backyard animatronic deer into Kama Sutra positions).

Another sign of Christmas: football on the TV schedule. In this case, the San Diego Chargers and the Tennessee Titans are scheduled to play on Christmas night. Our latest poll basically asks if that's a good thing. Please vote.

We'll be back with an update on our matchup. Poll results are below.

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