The People's Choice - Week 12

We'd like to thank those of you who were able to tear yourselves away from the joy of shopping long enough to vote on the People's Pigskin lineup for this week. Here are the players who will take the field for the Internet's favorite fantasy football team against the VinSethVaughn Bears.
Quarterback: With Tony Romo voted down on Thursday, you went unanimously with Eli Manning, who will take the field Monday night against the New Orleans Saints.
Running back: After starting Ray Rice on Thanksgiving night, we had only one running back spot left to bestow. Fortunately, you wanted only one running back out there: Michael Bush (hosting the Chicago Bears in the late afternoon).
Wide receiver: The two leading vote-getters this week are the ones who have been getting votes (and points) all season long. Larry Fitzgerald has an early matchup against the St. Louis Rams, and Wes Welker has a late afternoon game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Flex: The third-place finisher in the wide receiver poll handily beat the second-place finisher in the running back poll. Therefore, Plaxico Burress starts for us this afternoon against the Buffalo Bills.
The voters turned back to our usual starters at defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, facing the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night) and kicker (John Kasay, hosting the New York Giants on Monday night). And longtime readers of the blog will recall that Jason Witten started for us Thursday at tight end.
Thanks for voting. We'll be back later with the People's League picks.

Hot Results from Phoenix (and New Football Polls)

We'll get to our special football polls in a moment. But first, we picked a heck of a week for the People's Pitstop to have one of its best outings ever.

The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team racked up an astounding 335 points during Sunday's Chase race at Phoenix International Raceway. The season total of 9,270 left us in 4th place in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league, but we got more points than anyone else in the league this week. So, no, we might not win the league, but we got feel what it's like to win a week.

Here is how we got here.

Tony Stewart: Started 8th, finished 3rd, 160 laps led and 106 fantasy points. Stewart got 10 bonus points for leading a lap and 10 more for leading the most laps. But he'll probably focus on the fact that he has turned the Chase for the Sprint Cup into a two-way race.

Kasey Kahne: Started 10th, finished 1st, 14 laps led and 100 fantasy points. Now, that's how you finish a season. Kahne made his 9th and final start for the People's Pitstop. In his nine starts, he scored an average of 51.2 points and had an average finish of 23.3. His worst performance came in Richmond in September, when was collateral damage in a get-together between Marcos Ambrose and Brian Vickers. His best (other than this week, of course) was in Kansas in October, when he finished second to Jimmie Johnson. And it's nice that he got Red Bull Racing something to celebrate before its potential breakup.

Marcos Ambrose: Started 3rd, finished 8th and 79 fantasy points. Once again, all that was missing was leading a lap.

Bobby Labonte: Started 31st, finished 21st (1 lap behind the leaders) and 50 fantasy points. You know it was a good day when the lowest scorer on your fantasy team got 50 points.

The NASCAR folks have one race to go -- at Homestead-Miami Speedway -- and for once, it will be more than simply a coronation. We have one more lineup to field for the People's Pitstop, so the lineup polls are upon once more. Qualifying is Saturday, so these polls will close Friday night. But feel free to get your votes in today.

Speaking of polls, the People's Pigskin has some decisions to make. The bye weeks return this week and will claim both our starting defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers) and our starting kicker (John Kasay). Since we have no backups at their positions on our roster, we need to hit the waiver wire to get their substitutes or replacements. And since this is a fantasy sports democracy, we have polls for you, the Internet, to help us make our choices. Which kicker and D/ST should we pick up? Who should be kicked off the roster to make room for our newcomers? The polls are now open. These polls will close Tuesday evening, since the waiver wire transactions will be processed Wednesday morning. Please get those votes in right away, too.

We'll be back with the football results for this week.

The People's Choice - Week 10

We at the People's Pigskin don't want to be late like DeSean Jackson, so we're going to have to make this quick. Here are the players who will represent the Internet's favorite fantasy football team this week against the Minneapolis Fantastic Houll.

Quarterback: You must have liked what you saw last week from Eli Manning, because he's starting again this week in a late afternoon game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Running back: We used one of the two starting spots on Michael Bush (with wonderful results) on Thursday night. This poll produced a two-way tie. Using the projected points tiebreaker, we award the second starting spot to Ray Rice. He faces the Seattle Seahawks in a late afternoon game.

Wide receiver: This poll produced the dreaded three-way tie. (Leave the jokes alone, please.) Again, we look to the projections to help us out. The starting spots go to Larry Fitzgerald (visiting the Philadelphia Eagles) and Plaxico Burress (who has a Sunday night date with the New England Patriots).

Flex: This week's flex battle pits a pair of Patriots against each other. With points projections, Wes Welker edges out Danny Woodhead for this starting spot against the New York Jets on Sunday night.

There were no changes at tight end (Jason Witten, hosting the Buffalo Bills), defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, facing the Cincinnati Bengals) or kicker (John Kasay, matching up against the Atlanta Falcons).

We'll be back later with the People's League predictions.

An Early Taste of Victory

The streak is over for the People's Pigskin.

The Internet's favorite fantasy football team beat the Arcadia Roses by a score of 105-66. Our season record has been raised to 3-6, and even if we did ruin our chances to draft Andrew Luck, we'll take it.

Here is the most pleasant scoring breakdown we've run in six weeks.

Eli Manning, QB: 20 of 39 passing for 250 yards, 3 rushes for 11 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception and 17 fantasy points. No, he doesn't get extra fantasy points for leading a last-minute comeback victory, but those last-minute points count just the same.

Ray Rice, RB: 18 rushes for 43 yards, 5 receptions for 43 yards, 1 touchdown and 14 fantasy points. Considering that he got those statistics against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, you have to call them impressive. And they'd be even more impressive had it not been for a certain holding call.

Michael Bush, RB: 19 rushes for 96 yards, 2 receptions for 33 yards, 1 touchdown and 18 fantasy points. Bush has been the big beneficiary of both Darren McFadden's injury and Carson Palmer's misadventures.

Larry Fitzgerald, WR: 4 receptions, 43 yards, 1 touchdown and 10 fantasy points. Who would have guessed the way to get Fitzgerald his first touchdown in a month was to get John Skelton under center?

Plaxico Burress, WR: 5 receptions, 79 yards and 7 fantasy points. There had been questions about Burress' back, but there are no questions about his hands.

Wes Welker, Flex: 1 rush for 13 yards, 9 receptions for 136 yards and 14 fantasy points. All that was missing was a touchdown.

Jason Witten, TE: 4 receptions, 71 yards, 1 touchdown and 13 fantasy points. Weeks like this are the reason Witten keeps showing up on "under-appreciated weapons" lists.

Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST: 1 fumble recovery, 3 sacks, 23 points allowed and 4 fantasy points. Those last two figures were more impressive until Joe Flacco put that last drive together.

John Kasay, K: 2 for 3 on field goals, 3 for 3 on extra points and 8 fantasy points. Kasay is not the top fantasy kicker anymore, but he remains serviceable.

Bench: We would have been all right with Tony Romo, after all. He scored 20 fantasy points. Damian Williams scored 9, and Danny Woodhead scored 5.

Now, we have to deal with a new fantasy football wrinkle: Thursday Night Football on NFL Network (the same network that told us the greatest touchdown celebration of all time was by Barry Sanders). We have one player involved in this Thursday's match between the Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers. That would be Michael Bush. And the decision on whether to play him won't wait until Saturday. So we have a special poll set up for him now. That poll will close Thursday evening before kickoff. Please vote now.

We'll be back shortly with the fantasy racing results.

The People's Choice - Week 9

Daylight Savings Time is in our rear view mirror, and Thursday night football is just around the corner. (We'll discuss that further on Monday.) In between those two events, you, the Internet, have selected a lineup for the People's Pigskin. The Internet's favorite fantasy football team may be 2-6, but we're putting on a brave face and, with your help, fielding this lineup against the Arcadia Roses.

Quarterback: It's unanimous. You, the Internet, want to see Eli Manning take on the New England Patriots for the first time since this game. Well, you've got it. Eli takes the field late Sunday afternoon.

Running back: There were two clear winners in this poll to select two starters. They are Ray Rice (facing the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night) and Michael Bush (hosting the Denver Broncos in a late afternoon game).

Wide receiver/Flex: Three wide receivers dominated the voting, so all three are going to get starts over the third-place running back (Danny Woodhead). Your winning receivers are Larry Fitzgerald (in a late afternoon game against the St. Louis Rams), Plaxico Burress (visiting the Buffalo Bills) and Wes Welker (in a late afternoon game against the New York Giants.

Yes, the people who run this blog have noticed the "Q"s next to Burress and Welker. All indications are that both players should play today. However, if they can't, we have backups available to plug in, and we'll let you know if we're forced to use them.

There were no changes at tight end (Jason Witten, taking on the Seattle Seahawks), defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, who play the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night) or kicker (John Kasay, looking to bounce back against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

Thanks again for your contributions. We'll be back with the People's League predictions.

As Ugly as It Gets

It's hard to tell whether the People's Pigskin had a worse weekend than Tim Tebow, but they are definitely running neck and neck.

The Internet's favorite fantasy football team lost a butt-ugly 81-64 matchup to the LA Lockouts. Our season record is now 2-6, and the losing streak now stands at five games.

Here are all the charisma-challenged details.

Tony Romo, QB: 18 of 35 passing for 203 yards, 1 rush for 9 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception and 10 fantasy points. It would be nice to say Romo's stats would be better if the Philadelphia Eagles let him play more. But the Dallas Cowboys offense stank just as much as the defense. No, Jerry Jones isn't pushing a panic button, but he's probably considering turning down future opportunities to play on Sunday night.

Ray Rice, RB: 18 rushes for 63 yards, 7 receptions for 36 yards, 3 touchdowns and 27 fantasy points. Feast your eyes on the only bright spot in this report. Rice maximized his opportunities in the red zone and produced a season-high fantasy score.

DeAngelo Williams, RB: 7 rushes for 26 yards, 2 receptions for 13 yards and 3 fantasy points. Williams is being paid like a featured back but certainly isn't be expected to perform like one at this point.

Larry Fitzgerald, WR: 3 receptions, 98 yards and 9 fantasy points. Most of Fitzgerald's points came on one catch early in the game. Other than that, he fully earned his spot on this list.

Wes Welker, WR: 6 receptions, 39 yards and 3 fantasy points. Welker was a victim of a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that had the New England Patriots' collective number on Sunday.

Danny Woodhead, Flex: 0 rushes, 0 receptions and 0 fantasy points. Woodhead, on the other hand, was a victim of Kevin Faulk's comeback.

Jason Witten, TE: 4 receptions, 28 yards and 2 fantasy points. The good news: Witten was targeted 12 times and clearly remains a go-to guy in the Dallas Cowboys offense. The bad news: It doesn't do any good to be the go-to guy if your offense isn't going anywhere.

Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST: 3 sacks, 1 safety, 17 points allowed and 8 fantasy points. Say what you want about Troy Polamalu's hair, but his slapping the ball out of the end zone did wonders for his team's fantasy score.

John Kasay, K: 0 for 1 on field goals, 3 for 3 on extra points and 2 fantasy points. You know you're having a bad week when one of the top kickers in fantasy football misses his only field goal attempt of the game.

Bench: This loss could have been different with a different set of starters. Eli Manning scored 21 points from the bench. Percy Harvin scored 10, and Damian Williams scored 6, a week after those two players gave us 1 point combined.

What do we do now? We get ready for our next matchup and hope things will get better. This week's opponent is the Arcadia Roses, who beat the Pigskin 122-86 earlier in the season. And this week's bye week victims are Williams, Brandon Pettigrew and Percy Harvin. And this week's polls are open. They will stay open through Saturday night, which should be plenty of time to round up some friends and get them to vote. Thanks.

The People's Choice - Week 8

Neither nor could stop you, the Internet, from making your voice heard in this week's fantasy football polls. As a result, the People's Pigskin will field this lineup this weekend against the LA Lockouts.

Quarterback: Eli Manning may have the Dolphins on his schedule, but Tony Romo gets the Sundy night spotlight. Maybe that's why Romo won this week's pool. His prime time opponent is the Philadelphia Eagles.

Running back: Two players tied for first place in this poll, despite their less-than-stellar performances last week. They are Ray Rice (who gets to take out his frustrations against the Arizona Cardinals) and DeAngelo Williams (who gets to do likewise against the Minnesota Vikings).

Wide receiver: It should surprise absolutely nobody that Wes Welker won this week's poll, even if he gets a late afternoon game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It also should surprise few that Larry Fitzgerald came in second, even if he does visit the Baltimore Ravens.

Flex: Danny Woodhead, the third-place finisher in the running back poll, got more votes than Percy Harvin, the third-place finisher in the wide receiver poll. Therefore, Woodhead gets the late afternoon start against the steelers.

Tight end: The People's Pigskin will be busy on Sunday night. That's because Jason Witten won his head-to-head voting battle against Brandon Pettigrew and gets the start against the Eagles.

There were no changes at defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, facing the New England Patriots) or kicker (John Kasay, playing against the St. Louis Rams).

Thanks again for voting. We'll be back later with the People's League predictions.

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.

Time to Get Some Help

Once again, the People's Pigskin fell short, though we're getting closer to victory.

The Internet's favorite fantasy football team lost to Team Brotherton this week by a score of 84-76. We are now sitting on a three-game losing streak and a 2-4 record.

Before we get to the step we're about to take to turn things around, here's a look at how we got here.

Tony Romo, QB: 27 of 41 passing for 317 yards, 1 rush for 17 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception and 15 fantasy points. Those stats would probably be higher if Jason Garrett hadn't decided the best way to beat New England was to kill the clock (and force his opponent to use timeouts) by running the ball late.

Ray Rice, RB: 23 rushes for 101 yards, 5 receptions for 60 yards and 16 fantasy points. All that was missing this week was the touchdown, which was taken by the vulture Ricky Williams. (Remember him?)

DeAngelo Williams, RB: 12 rushes for 44 yards, 1 reception for 2 yards and 4 fantasy points. One has to wonder if the Carolina Panthers would win a little more if they relied a little less on Cam Newton to carry the offensive workload.

Wes Welker, WR: 6 receptions, 45 yards, 1 touchdown and 10 fantasy points. If this is what happens when the defense focuses all its efforts on taking the best receiver in football out of the game, imagine what happens when the defense has to worry about something else.

Plaxico Burress, WR: 1 reception, 16 yards and 1 fantasy point. Burress looked more than just a little off against a winless Miami Dolphins team on Monday night. Who knew a prison sentence could do that to you?

Michael Bush, Flex: 10 rushes for 28 yards, 1 reception for 9 yards and 2 fantasy points. The good news: Those 10 carries were a season high for Bush. The bad news: None of them took him to the end zone. Whether the new quarterback is good or bad news remains to be seen.

Brandon Pettigrew, TE: 8 receptions, 42 yards, 1 touchdown and 10 fantasy points. Pettigrew was actually targeted several times in the end zone. His relationship with Matthew Stafford is obviously much warmer than Jim Schwartz's relationship with Jim Harbaugh.

Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST: 5 sacks, 13 points allowed and 10 fantasy points. Now that's more like it.

John Kasay, K: 2 for 2 on field goals, 2 for 2 on extra points and 8 fantasy points. Fantasy football players, please note that Kasay, currently tied for fourth among kickers in fantasy scoring this year, was taken in the last round of our draft.

Bench: Eli Manning led the bench with 11 fantasy points, followed by Jason Witten (10), Percy Harvin (7) and Danny Woodhead (2).

Now, let's talk about our receivers. The People's Pigskin welcomes Larry Fitzgerald back from its bye week, but we'll have to say goodbye to Mike Sims-Walker, whom the St. Louis Rams released Monday to make room for the newly acquired Brandon Lloyd. We'll have to waive Sims-Walker and pick up a wide receiver to take his spot. (Before you ask, Lloyd is taken.) That's why we have a new poll today. According to ESPN, the top four wide receivers available to pick up in the People's League are Steve Breaston, Damian Williams, Jacoby Ford and Doug Baldwin. They are featured in our newest poll, which will close Wednesday night. Please vote now. And if you think we should get someone else instead, please fire off a comment.

We'll be back with some more thoughts on what happened Sunday.

The People's Choice - Week 6

UPDATED 12:30 P.M. Sims-Walker is surprisingly inactive this week, so we are calling an audible and starting Michael Bush, after all. He faces the Cleveland Browns in a late afternoon game.

As you go through your normal Sunday morning routine, we're glad you've taken a moment to check in with the People's Pigskin. We're also glad you voted on the lineup the Internet's favorite fantasy football team will use in this week's People's League matchup against Team Brotherton.
Quarterback: Both of the quarterbacks on our roster were available again this week, but you liked Tony Romo slightly more than you did Eli Manning. Romo gets the start this week and faces the New England Patriots late Sunday afternoon.
Running back: That long touchdown last week must have really made an impact. The winner of this week's poll is DeAngelo Williams (who plays the Atlanta Falcons). Ray Rice took the runner-up spot and will take on the Houston Texans (minus Mario Williams) in a late afternoon game.
Wide receiver: We have another surprising winner in this poll. That would be Plaxico Burress, who hosts the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. The other starting spot goes to -- who else -- Wes Welker, who plays the Dallas Cowboys in a late afternoon game.
Flex: This week's battle of third-place poll finishers pitted running back Michael Bush against wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker. Using the projected points as the tiebreaker, Sims-Walker (5) edges out Bush (2). He'll get the Green Bay Packers.
Tight end: Despite what happened Saturday night, the Detroit resurgence keeps rolling along. The latest evidence comes from this poll, in which Brandon Pettigrew beat out Jason Witten. Pettigrew welcomes the San Francisco 49ers this week.
There were no changes at defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Jacksonville Jaguars) or kicker (John Kasay, taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a late afternoon game.)
Thanks again for voting. We'll be back later this morning with People's League predictions.

OK, This One Hurt

If you play fantasy football for any length of time, eventually you will suffer a beatdown like the one the People's Pigskin experienced.

The Internet's favorite fantasy football team lost to the Arcadia Roses by a score of 122-86. This lowered our season record to 2-3.

Here are the scoring details, which are almost as gory as some of the signs from the Wall Street protests.

Eli Manning, QB: 24 of 39 passing for 420 yards, 3 rushes for 5 yards, 3 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 1 fumble lost and 20 fantasy points. This season, the People's Pigskin seems to be collecting quarterbacks with a propensity for late turnovers.

DeAngelo Williams, RB: 9 rushes, 1115 yards, 1 touchdown and 17 fantasy points. As so often happens in fantasy football, most of Williams' points came from a single play. But we'll take it all the same.

Joseph Addai, RB: 6 rushes for 19 yards, 1 reception for 6 yards and 1 fantasy point. Addai left the game in the first quarter with a hamstring injury. That's something we'll have to monitor throughout the week.

Larry Fitzgerald, WR: 4 receptions, 66 yards and 6 fantasy points. Fitzgerald's fantasy points dropped for the third straight week.

Wes Welker, WR: 5 receptions, 124 yards and 12 fantasy points. That point total would be much higher if Darrelle Revis hadn't stopped him from scoring on his 73-yard catch.

Percy Harvin, Flex: 1 rush for 12 yards, 1 reception for 11 yards and 2 fantasy points. Someone on the Minnesota Vikings must have remembered that they had Adrian Peterson on the active roster.

Brandon Pettigrew, TE: 4 receptions, 39 yards, 1 touchdown and 9 fantasy points. That touchdown helped the Detroit Lions reach 5-0 for the first time since this man was president.

Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST: 1 interception, 3 sacks, 17 points allowed and 6 fantasy points. No one will confuse this year's Steelers with the Steel Curtain, but as long as they keep winning, no one in Pittsburgh will mind.

John Kasay, K: 3 for 3 on field goals, 3 for 3 on extra points and 13 fantasy points. Don't look now, but the 41-year-old Kasay is now the third-highest fantasy scorer among kickers. We may have a debate about what to do with him when his bye week comes up.

Bench: This report will be short but not sweet. Plaxico Burress scored 4 fantasy points. Everyone else was on a bye week, injured or ignored by his team.

This week, we get several of those bye-week players back, including Jason Witten, Tony Romo and Ray Rice. But we send Fitzgerald to the bench for this week's matchup against Team Brotherton. And we certainly need your help filling out our roster. Therefore, the lineup polls are now open (below the NASCAR polls on the right side of this page) and will close Saturday night. Please do your part to help us turn this ship around. Thanks.

The People's Choice - Week 5

It's Sunday morning again. And if you're reading this blog, chances are your morning routine includes setting your fantasy football lineup. The People's Pigskin is able to set its roster thanks to you, the Internet. You overcame the many questions that arise during bye weeks and picked this lineup for this week's People's League matchup against the Arcadia Roses.
Quarterback: Tony Romo's much-needed week off helped make this selection easy. You chose to start Eli Manning instead of taking a chance on the waiver wire. Manning hosts the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday.
Running back: There were two clear-cut winners of this poll. Fortunately, there are two clear-cut spots for running backs in the starting lineup. They go to Joseph Addai (who takes on the Kansas City Chiefs) and DeAngelo Williams (who faces the New Orleans Saints).
Wide receiver: As should be expected by now, the winner of this poll was Larry Fitzgerald, who visits the Minnesota Vikings this week. In second place, we have a tie between Wes Welker and Percy Harvin. Turning to the points projections as a tiebreaker, Welker (19) easily beats out Harvin (13) for the starting spot. He'll play in a late afternoon game against the New York Jets.
Flex: This battle between the third-place running back (Michael Bush) and the third-place wide receiver (Percy Harvin) goes to Harvin by virtue of the points projections (13-9). He gets the Arizona Cardinals today.
Tight end: It's always fun to have a fantasy player take the field in prime time to help you cement a win or erase an afternoon deficit. This week, thanks to Jason Witten's bye week, that role falls to Brandon Pettigrew, who will entertain the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
There were no changes at defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, who face the Tennessee Titans) or at kicker (John Kasay, who visits the Carolina Panthers).
Thanks again for your votes. We'll be back later this morning with the People's League predictions.

Back Down to .500

The People's Pigskin had almost as bad a weekend as the Philadelphia sports fans.
The Internet's favorite fantasy football team lost to the t-bay jacks Young'ry Buccs by a score of 113-98. The final dagger was a touchdown run by LeGarrette Blount, which made what happened to our quarterback irrelevant. (More on that in a moment.) The loss drops our record to 2-2.
Here are the scoring details:
Tony Romo, QB: 34 of 47 passing for 331 yards, 3 touchdowns, 3 interceptions and 19 fantasy points. See if this sounds familiar. Romo got off to a blazing start and then took just enough off the table for his Dallas Cowboys to lose.
Ray Rice, RB: 25 rushes for 66 yards, 2 receptions for 64 yards, 1 touchdown and 18 fantasy points. Rice got the only offensive touchdown scored by either team in Sunday night's return (and turnover) fest against the New York Jets.
Joseph Addai, RB: 11 rushes for 41 yards, 1 reception for 7 yards and 4 fantasy points. Addai's Indianapolis Colts had better figure out some way to win that doesn't involve sending Peyton Manning to Lourdes.
Larry Fitzgerald, WR: 8 receptions, 102 yards and 10 fantasy points. Fitzgerald became the top receiver in Arizona Cardinals history on Sunday. But he lost the spotlight to a receiver who forgot to get tackled.
Wes Welker, WR: 9 receptions, 158 yards, 1 touchdown and 21 fantasy points. Welker -- currently the NFL's leading receiver, by the way -- actually accounted for about two thirds of Tom Brady's passing in a bounceback victory over the Oakland Raiders.
Danny Woodhead, Flex: 2 rushes, 13 yards and 1 fantasy point. Woodhead left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury.
Jason Witten, TE: 8 receptions, 94 yards, 1 touchdown and 15 fantasy points. Witten found the end zone for the first time this season. Just goes to show you don't need a bunch of touchdowns to be dominant in this game.
Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST: 17 points allowed and 1 fantasy point. It doesn't take long for a team to go from Super Bowl contender to looking long in the tooth. And James Harrison's eye socket fracture certainly won't help things.
John Kasay, K: 3 for 5 on field goals, 2 for 2 on extra points and 9 fantasy points. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Bench: Eli Manning scored 18 points in a come-from-behind New York Giants victory. Michael Bush added 13 points, and Percy Harvin (who sat in favor of Woodhead) scored 10.
Now we turn for the first time this NFL season to bye weeks. This week's recipients of a free week off are Romo, Rice, Witten and Mike Sims-Walker. That's why this week's lineup polls (now appearing below the NASCAR polls) look a little slimmer than usual. Nevertheless, we need your help picking a lineup to face the Arcadia Roses. Please feel free to vote now and/or leave a comment about what we should do next. Thanks.

The People's Choice - Dover

Once again, we would like to thank you, the Internet, for turning out to vote on the People's Pigskin lineup. Here are the players who will represent the Internet's favorite fantasy football team this week against t-bay jacks Young'ry buccs.
Quarterback: Apparently, it doesn't matter if his ribs are broken or his center is being fooled. You like Tony Romo. You really, really like him. He gets the start against the Detroit Lions today.
Running back: One player won this poll running away. That would be Ray Rice, who faces the New York Jets on Sunday night. In second place, we have a tie between Joseph Addai and Danny Woodhead. In situations like this, we used ESPN's point projections as a tiebreaker. Addai (16) gets the second starting spot over Woodhead (11) and will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
Wide receiver: In this poll, the tie was at first place. Fortunately, we have two of these spots to dish out. They'll go to Wes Welker, who faces the Oakland Raiders, and Larry Fitzgerald, who takes on the New York Giants. Both are late afternoon starts.
Flex: Another week, another tie between the third-place running back and wide receiver. Once again, we use point projections to break the tie. Danny Woodhead (11, in case you skipped the running back section) edges out Percy Harvin (8) and will take on the Raiders in the late afternoon.
No changes at tight end (Jason Witten against the Lions), defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, who visit the Houston Texans) or kicker (John Kasay, who takes on the Jacksonville Jaguars).
Thanks again for voting. We'll be back shortly with the projections for the People's League.

Sometimes It Just Comes Together

It's too early to soak ourselves in champagne, but winning like this does feel good.

The People's Pigskin recorded a resounding 133-77 victory over the VinSethVaughn Bears. The Internet's favorite fantasy football team now sports a 2-1 record.

Let's dissect the results.

Eli Manning, QB: 16 of 23 passing for 254 yards, 3 rushes for minus-3 yards, 4 touchdowns and 26 fantasy points. It certainly helped that Victor Cruz picked this week to announce himself to fantasy players.

Ray Rice, RB: 9 rushes for 81 yards, 5 receptions for 83 yards and 16 fantasy points. Rice didn't score any touchdowns, but the Baltimore Ravens didn't need him to.

Joseph Addai, RB: 17 rushes for 86 yards, 1 reception for 2 yards, 1 touchdown and 14 fantasy points. The only possible silver lining to the quarterback problems in Indianapolis is that Addai (who scored the Colts' only offensive touchdown Sunday night) may get more of the workload.

Larry Fitzgerald, WR: 5 receptions for 64 yards, 1 touchdown and 12 fantasy points. Yet another Pigskin player scored the only touchdown for his team's offense.

Percy Harvin, WR: 2 rushes for 41 yards, 3 receptions for 47 yards and 8 fantasy points. This score certainly would have been higher if Harvin didn't lose his pregame meal late in the game.

Wes Welker, Flex: 1 rush for 19 yards, 16 receptions for 217 yards, 2 touchdowns and 34 fantasy points. With his career outing, Welker gave the New England Patriots everything except a win.

Jason Witten, TE: 6 receptions, 60 yards and 6 fantasy points. Witten made the most of an evening where Tony Romo's biggest problem may have been his center instead of his ribs.

Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST: 1 touchdown scored, 1 fumble recovery, 1 sack, 20 points allowed and 11 fantasy points. That defensive touchdown alone would have made this a successful fantasy outing.

John Kasay, K: 1 for 1 on field goals, 3 for 3 on extra points and 6 fantasy points. Kasay was one of the beneficiaries of a fourth-quarter scoring bonanza in New Orleans.

Bench: Some weeks, having three bench players score 11 points each (Michael Bush, Plaxico Burress and Brandon Pettigrew) would be a problem. And then there are weeks like this one.

Now, it's time to put that game in the rear mirror and turn our attention to this week's matchup against the t-bay jacks Young'ry Buccs. The polls are now open and will remain open through Saturday night. So please get those votes in, so we can keep this winning streak going.

The People's Choice - Week 3

On this first Sunday of autumn, we are pleased to report that you, the Internet, came through again. You registered your votes (and, by extension, your concerns) on the People's Pigskin lineup for this week. Here are the players who will take the field for the Internet's favorite fantasy football team as they take on the VinSethVaughn Bears.
Quarterback: You had enough concerns about Tony Romo's midsection to turn his "questionable" status into a "let some other fantasy team take the chance" status. As a result, you decided to start Eli Manning instead. He'll face the Philadelphia Eagles and hope he doesn't face a Miracle of the Meadowlands, Part 3. (Yes, I know the game is in Philadelphia. Work with me here.)
Running back: It's no surprise that the top vote-getter in this poll was Ray Rice. He suits up in the late afternoon against the St. Louis Rams. What might surprise is that the runner-up was Joseph Addai. He gets a few extra hours to prepare for the Sunday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Wide receiver: This week's receiver poll resulted in a three-way tie involving Larry Fitzgerald, Wes Welker and Percy Harvin. Since there are two spots labeled "wide receiver," we'll use ESPN's week 3 projections to break the tie. Fitzgerald (19), who visits the Seattle Seahawks in the late afternoon, and Harvin (15), who plays the Detroit Lions, edge out Welker (14). However...
Flex: Since Wes Welker got more votes than the third-place running back (Michael Bush), he gets this spot for his matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
There were no changes at tight end (Jason Witten, who has a Monday night date against the Washington Redskins), defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, playing the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night) or kicker (ageless wonder John Kasay, facing the Houston Texans).
Thanks for your votes, everybody. We'll be back with the People's League predictions.

Our First Victory of the Season

It's easy to get nervous when you're playing fantasy football against someone who has Michael Vick as a starter, but the People's Pigskin can now breathe a sigh of relief.
The Internet's favorite fantasy football team beat Glen Gardner's Finest by a score of 109-71. That lifts our season record to 1-1.
Here's how we did it.
Tony Romo, QB: 20 of 33 passing for 345 yards, 2 touchdowns and 21 fantasy points. How do you extinguish questions about your ability to perform under pressure? By making a big play in overtime to lead your team to victory. Of course, the pressure questions have been replaced with questions about his ribs, which we'll have to monitor closely this week.
Ray Rice, RB: 13 rushes for 43 yards, 5 receptions for 53 yards, 1 touchdown and 15 fantasy points. Yes, his production against the Tennessee Titans dropped from last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But he's definitely a keeper.
DeAngelo Williams, RB: 5 rushes for 13 yards, 4 receptions for 23 yards and 3 fantasy points. Yes, it's hard to shine in Cam Newton's shadow, but eventually Williams has to start performing like a player who signed a big contract in the off-season.
Larry Fitzgerald, WR: 7 receptions for 133 yards, 1 touchdown and 19 fantasy points. Play like this one are what everyone had in mind when Arizona traded for Kevin Kolb.
Wes Welker, WR: 7 receptions, 81 yards and 8 fantasy points. No, Welker didn't get another 99-yard touchdown, but he will remain a fantasy factor as long as he's running patterns for Tom Brady.
Percy Harvin, Flex: 2 rushes for 18 yards, 7 receptions for 76 yards, 1 fumble lost and 6 fantasy points. This shows that you can get just as much fantasy production from a player on a struggling team as you can from a player on a Super Bowl contender.
Jason Witten, TE: 7 receptions, 102 yards and 10 fantasy points. If you're paying attention, you've noticed that four different starters for the People's Pigskin caught seven passes. We're sure that's a coincidence and not some football conspiracy.
Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST: 5 sacks, 0 points allowed and 13 fantasy points. It seems as if the Seattle Seahawks had the cure for whatever ailed the Steelers.
John Kasay, K: 3 for 3 on field goals, 3 for 3 on extra points and 14 fantasy points. This 53-yarder helped Kasay post a double-digit fantasy score for the second time in as many weeks.
Bench: Joseph Addai, who lost this week's flex faceoff to Harvin, scored 9 points. Michael Bush scored 8 points. We'd give you Eli Manning's score, but he plays Monday night against the St. Louis Rams.
Now that we have that first win, it's time to start working on collecting our second against the VinSethVaughn Bears. To do that, we'll need your help. The polls are now open and will stay open through Saturday night. Please vote now.
We'll be back with NASCAR results when (and if) they become available.

The People's Choice - Week 2

Before we make the switch from your usual morning beverage to the unofficial beverage of the People's Pigskin, it's time to thank you, the Internet, for another week of input. Thanks to your votes, the Web's favorite fantasy football team has a strong roster to bounce back from last week's loss. Here's who will take the field against Glen Gardner's Finest.
Quarterback: Turnovers aside, Tony Romo showed you enough talent to keep his starting spot. He will visit the San Francisco 49ers late this afternoon.
Running back: The two top vote-getters in this poll were -- no surprise here -- Ray Rice (who visits the Tennessee Titans today) and DeAngelo Williams (who faces the Green Bay Packers).
Wide receiver: Somebody was paying attention on Monday night to something other than Ron Jaworski's language. You gave one starting spot to Wes Welker, who faces the San Diego Chargers late this afternoon. The other spot went to former fantasy football magazine cover boy Larry Fitzgerald. We pays a visit to the Washington Redskins.
Flex: In this week's battle of third-place finishers, we didn't need the projected points tiebreaker. Percy Harvin got more votes than Joseph Addai, so he gets the start. He'll play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
There were no changes at tight end (Jason Witten, facing the 49ers), defense/special teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers, who face the Seattle Seahawks) or kicker (John Kasay, who goes up against the Chicago Bears).
Thanks again for voting. We'll be back a little later with some predictions for the People's League.

The Pigskin's Painful Week 1

The National Football League's opening weekend did not hurt as much for us as it did for Eric Berry or Nate Kaeding, but it came close enough.
The People's Pigskin dropped a heartbreaker to the Hudson Valley Hawks2, losing by a final score of 84-81. We open the People's League season with a record of 0-1.
Here's how we got here.
Tony Romo, QB: 23 of 36 passing for 342 yards, 3 rushes for 9 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, 1 fumble lost and 17 fantasy points. Maybe it's unfair to pin this on him, but Romo was one of the last two players representing the Pigskin, and we had this game won until those two late turnovers.
Ray Rice, RB: 19 rushes for 107 yards, 4 receptions for 42 yards, 2 touchdowns and 26 fantasy points. Rice was clearly our star of the week. His ability to find holes (and the end zone) played a critical in a Baltimore beatdown of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
DeAngelo Williams, RB: 12 rushes for 30 yards, 1 reception for 6 yards and 3 fantasy points. While Cam Newton was setting records under center, Williams must have been wondering whether he could get a little love. The good news: He got more carries than Jonathan Stewart.
Larry Fitzgerald, WR: 3 receptions, 62 yards and 6 fantasy points. The good news is that Fitzgerald got the most targets from Kevin Kolb. That should mean the reception and yardage figures will go up as the season progresses.
Percy Harvin, WR: 4 rushes for 15 yards, 2 receptions for 7 yards, 1 return touchdown and 7 fantasy points. It's a good thing Harvin found the end zone on special teams, because Donovan McNabb's tenure at the Minnesota Vikings got off to a rough start.
Joseph Addai, Flex: 8 rushes for 39 yards, 2 receptions for 13 yards and 4 fantasy points. The conventional wisdom was that, even without Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis Colts had enough offensive weapons to at least tread water. Maybe not.
Jason Witten, TE: 6 receptions, 110 yards and 11 fantasy points. How many things would have changed if Jim Leonhard doesn't tackle Witten on that late deep catch? Well, for one thing, we would have had enough points to win this game.
Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST: 1 sack, 35 points allowed, and minus-3 fantasy points. It's not often you hear the words "Steelers" and "completely manhandled" in the same sentence. At least, not with the Steelers as the recipient of said manhandling.
John Kasay, K: 2 for 2 on field goals, 4 for 4 on extra points and 10 fantasy points. So what if he's 41 years old? He might be a keeper.
Bench: Wes Welker racked up 28 points (in bunches). Eli Manning scored 14, and former teammate Plaxico Burress scored 13.
This week, the People's Pigskin licks its wounds and gets ready for a week 2 matchup against Glen Gardner's Finest. We need your help to avoid an 0-2 start. The polls are open (below the NASCAR lineup polls) and will remain open through Saturday night. Please vote now. Thanks.