An Ugly End to a Painful Weekend

Some weekends, you can do no wrong as a fantasy player. And then there are weekends like the one the People's Pigskin had. The only thing that didn't malfunction for us was the bullpen phone.

The Internet's favorite fantasy football team extended its losing streak to four games with a 74-65 loss to Palm Bay, Fl. BearDown85. Our season record of 2-5 puts us in the bottom of our division in the People's League.

Here are the (mostly) unpleasant details.

Tony Romo, QB: 14 of 24 passing for 166 yards, 2 touchdowns and 14 fantasy points. If you're a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, it's hard to find a downside to having a rookie running back set the team record for rushing yards in a game. If you're a fantasy football player starting the Cowboys quarterback, finding a flaw in that strategy is much easier.

Ray Rice, RB: 8 rushes for 28 yards, 5 receptions for 35 yards, 1 fumble lost and 3 fantasy points. Rice was on the losing side of one of the ugliest Monday night games in recent history. He was in a position to fuel a comeback for the Pigskin, if only he could find a hole (and hold on to the ball).

Michael Bush, RB: 17 rushes for 99 yards, 2 receptions for 12 yards and 10 fantasy points. The good news is that Bush got most of the carries once Darren McFadden left with a foot injury. The bad news is that, despite the multiple interceptions thrown by both their quarterbacks, the Oakland Raiders eventually had to abandon the run to try to get back into Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Larry Fitzgerald, WR: 4 receptions, 78 yards and 7 fantasy points. Every wide receiver is dependent on his quarterback. And Fitzgerald's quarterback simply isn't getting the job done right now.

Damian Williams, WR: 1 reception, 5 yards and 0 fantasy points. As a show of gratitude for getting picked up by the People's Pigskin (and many other teams across the fantasy landscape), Williams missed the second half of his game with headaches.

Percy Harvin, Flex: 2 rushes for 8 yards, 2 receptions for 15 yards and 1 fantasy point. At least Harvin got on the fantasy scoreboard before missing the second half of his game with a rib injury.

Jason Witten, TE: 5 receptions, 35 yards, 1 touchdown and 9 fantasy points. Finally, a positive trend -- Witten's touchdown was his third in as many games.

Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST: 1 interception, 2 sacks, 1 safety, 20 points allowed and 6 fantasy points. Kevin Kolb isn't giving the Pigskin many points through Fitzgerald, but he did provide us some defensive points with his grounding in the end zone.

John Kasay, K: 2 for 2 on field goals, 8 for 8 on extra points and 15 fantasy points. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Pigskin's top-scoring starter was its kicker, who was a beneficiary of a New Orleans dismantling of the Indianapolis Colts.

Bench: Despite all those lousy statistics, the Pigskin could have still walked away with a victory if it had started Plaxico Burress. His three touchdowns on four catches left him with 20 fantasy points -- more than he compiled in his previous five games combined.

Of course, Burress will now take his talents to the bye week, along with Bush. And the Pigskin must dust itself off and get ready for this week's matchup against the LA Lockouts. Obviously, we need your help. The football polls are now open (on the right side of this page, right below the NASCAR polls) and will stay open through Saturday night. Please vote. We need all the help we can get. Thanks.

The People's Choice - Week 7

Bye weeks might have limited the choices, but they did not stop you, the Internet, from coming out to help us halt the People's Pigskin losing streak. Here are the players you chose for our fantasy football showdown against Palm Bay, Fl. BearDown85.
Quarterback: With Eli Manning off the proverbial table, you decided that Tony Romo should take the field again this week. He faces the St. Louis Rams in a late afternoon game. Let's hope he fares better against St. Louis than the Texas Rangers pitchers did Saturday night against Albert Pujols.
Running back: This poll had two winners to fill the two available slots. They are Ray Rice (who gets the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night) and Michael Bush (who will help his new starting quarterback -- whoever he is -- deal with the Kansas City Chiefs in a late afternoon game).
Wide receiver: This poll resulted in a three-way tie. Since we have only two starting spots available at this position, we look at projections to break the deadlock. The two victorious receivers are Larry Fitzgerald (playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in the late afternoon) and the newly acquired Damian Williams (who plays the Houston Texans and, curiously, is the only Pigskin starter with an early afternoon game).
Flex: In our weekly meeting of third-place finishers we find Percy Harvin facing off against DeAngelo Williams. No need for projections this week. Harvin got more votes and thus will start for his late afternoon affair with the Green Bay Packers.
Tight end: Brandon Pettigrew served us fairly well the last two weeks, but you decided to hand the ball back to Jason Witten. He'll play the Rams in the late afternoon.
No changes at defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, facing the Arizona Cardinals in the late afternoon) or kicker (the ageless John Kasay, who hosts the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night).
Thanks again for voting. We'll be back shortly with predictions for the People's League.

New Polls (and a New Player)

The people have spoken, and so have the waiver wires.

You, the Internet, were asked to help us pick a new wide receiver to claim off the waiver wires. The winner of this poll was Steve Breaston, but, as Mick Jagger has sang a few times over the decades, you can't always get what you want. Another team was able to snap up Breaston. As a consolation prize, the People's Pigskin was able to acquire another receiver who got your vote in the poll: Damian Williams of the Tennessee Titans.

Now that the waiver wire has settled down, it's time to turn our attention to this week's fantasy football matchup against Palm Bay, Fl. BearDown85. Unfortunately, bye weeks mean we will be missing several players: Wes Welker, Danny Woodhead and Eli Manning. Once again, we need your help picking our lineup. The new football polls are now open. They appear on the right side of this page below the NASCAR polls and will close Saturday night. Please feel free to vote now.

We'll be back with more fantasy thoughts.