Reality vs. Fantasy

One of the interesting things you notice when you play fantasy football is how it can alter your perception of players.

If football is the ultimate team sport, then fantasy football is the ultimate individual sport. When you focus so much on how each player did on Sunday, it can be easy to forget how that player's team did on Sunday. Many of the best performances in fantasy football come in games in which the player is on the losing side. (Witness Arian Foster's 31 points last week, when the Houston Texans fell to the San Diego Chargers.) And many games that an NFL head coach will chalk up as a victory, or even as a defining moment in the season, can make a fantasy player want to do this.

For an example of how fantasy football can alter perceptions, let's take a look at two quarterbacks who are probably starting somewhere in your league this Sunday.

Here's what the inimitable Bill Simmons had to say last week about Carson Palmer:

"Apparently, I'm the only person outside of Cincinnati who realizes that Carson Palmer hasn't been good in four years. ... His conventional statistics keep throwing everyone off his rancid scent -- 1,855 yards (seventh overall), 12 TDs, seven picks, 83 QB rating. Not terrible, right? So you have to dig a little ... and that's when you find out that he's last in third-down passing (49 percent completion rate, 431 yards, 62 rating), or that defenders have dropped 215 possible Palmer interceptions (approximate) ... If the Bengals were smart, they'd start pounding the ball with Cedric Benson and reducing Palmer's effect on the game."

And it's true that Palmer is having a terrible season when it comes to winning and losing. His Cincinnati Bengals currently sit at the bottom of the AFC Central with a 2-6 record. They're even looking up at the Cleveland Browns.

Now, consider this recent quote from the top-notch Don Banks about Tom Brady:

"As his work with the just-arrived [Deion] Branch on Sunday showed, Brady makes his receivers relevant. Yep, we're starting the MVP debate as October winds down, and my vote at the moment belongs to Brady. ... When it comes to deciding his team's fortunes, he's the biggest difference-maker there is. Take him out of the lineup, and New England is a third-place team in its division, miles behind both the Jets and Dolphins."

Again, hard to argue here. Despite losing to the Browns last Sunday, the New England Patriots have a 6-2 record. The only thing keeping them from the top of the AFC East is the head-to-head tiebreaker against the New York Jets.

Now, consider this about the two quarterbacks in question: As I type this (halftime of Thursday night's game), Palmer has put up 116 points so far this season in standard ESPN fantasy football leagues. Brady has put up 115. They are separated in the fantasy world by a single point.

This is not to discount the many strengths of fantasy football. But it goes to show that determining a good NFL team is not one of them.

Reminder: The NASCAR lineup polls will close later tonight, so please get your votes in now. We'll be back with the results.

Assessing the Damage

It's safe to say the People's Pigskin will not be attending any Amish barn-raisings in the near future.

The Internet's favorite fantasy football team lost for the second time this season. And for the second time this season, the opponent who delivered the crushing blow was the Fighting Amish. The final score: 116-69.

Here's a look at how our players fared.

Peyton Manning, QB: 31 of 52 passing, 294 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions and 11 fantasy points. A very un-Peyton-like performance against the Philadelphia Eagles. Maybe he finally lost one reciever too many.

Michael Turner, RB: 24 rushes, 107 yards, 2 touchdowns and 22 fantasy points. Turner did his part to help the Pigskin, and he helped the Atlanta Falcons beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the process.

Darren McFadden, RB: 17 rushes for 89 yards, 4 receptions for 25 yards, 1 fumble and 8 fantasy points. The Oakland Raiders veered from their script and relied on Jason Campbell to beat the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime.

Calvin Johnson, WR: 1 reception, 13 yards and 1 fantasy points. Maybe "Revis Island" really is more than just a way to sell shoes.

Dwayne Bowe, WR: 5 receptions, 63 yards, 1 touchdown and 12 fantasy points. This Bowe knows how to find the end zone.

Chad Ochocinco, Flex: 1 reception, 15 yards and 1 fantasy point. Ochocinco also had a catch nullified by a penalty. Other than that, he might as well have stayed home looking for love.

Randy McMichael, TE: 2 receptions, 23 yards, 2 touchdowns and 14 fantasy points. You'll recall that McMichael was filling in for the injured Antonio Gates and joined our lineup at the last minute. He picked up where Gates left off in the scoring department. Too bad his performance was wasted.

New England Patriots, D/ST: 1 fumble recovery, 34 points allowed and minus-2 fantasy points. The Patriots found themselves in a hole before Tom Brady had a chance to break a sweat.

Jason Hanson, K: 2 for 2 on extra points and 2 fantasy points. It's never a good sign when your kicker is injured to the point where you're asking your nose tackle to make extra points.

Speaking of Hanson, it looks like he will miss some time with his injury, so this week's lineup polls will include one where we ask you, the Internet, to find us a new kicker. The Internet's favorite fantasy football team faces the NFL2K10 RedZone this week. The tight end poll will close tonight. The poll about Michael Turner will close Thursday before his game. The other football polls will close Sunday morning. Please vote now.

We'll be back with a look at this week's NASCAR race site.

The People's Choice - Week 9

It's almost time to kick off another National Football League weekend, and we at the People's Pigskin have a lineup to field thanks to you, the Internet. Here's who you picked for this week's People's League showdown against the Fighting Amish.

Quarterback: Another week, another sweep for Peyton Manning. He's got a late afternoon date with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Running back: With Knowshon Moreno on a bye week, two players swept this poll -- Michael Turner (who plays the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Darren McFadden (who has a late afternoon game against the Kansas City Chiefs).

Wide receiver: With Kenny Britt out, you split your votes among three wideouts. The receiver slots go to Calvin Johnson (who faces New York Jets early) and Dwayne Bowe (who plays the New York Jets late in the afternoon). Meanwhile, Chad Ochocinco gets the flex spot. He plays the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night.

Tight end: Antonio Gates won this poll unanimously. However, he was ruled inactive about the time this poll closed, so we grabbed his backup, Randy McMichael. Welcome back, Randy, and so long, Robert Meachem, who was cut to make room for him. You get the gift of facing the Houston Texans.

There's no change at kicker (Jason Hanson, facing the Jets). And earlier in the week, you voted to pick up the New England Patriots defense/special teams. They visit the Cleveland Browns today.

The poll results appear below. Thanks for voting. Two new polls are now open. The first one, which will close Tuesday night, asks which tight end we should acquire to deal with Gates/McMichael's bye week. The second one, which will close Thursday afternoon, asks whether Turner should start for us Thursday night. Please vote now.

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The People's Facts - AAA Texas 500

Before we get into racing, let me offer a word of thanks to those of you who voted in the poll on which defense/special teams the People's Pigskin should acquire for its fantasy football showdown against the Fighting Amish. As you can see at the bottom of this post, the New England Patriots won this one unanimously and have earned a spot in our starting lineup.

Now, let's turn our attention to the People's Pitstop, which is hoping to bounce back with a strong performance at Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race. We need you, the Internet, to select our drivers. Here is some information you might find useful.

Track basics: Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile oval in Fort Worth. You can call it a "cookie cutter" if you want, but consider this. The Sprint Cup qualifying record on this track was set by Terry Labonte in 2000. His speed? Over 192 miles an hour. That's one fast cookie.

Last time we were here: Back in April (yes, seven months ago), Denny Hamlin held off a late charge by Jimmie Johnson and took the checkered flag in his second race after ACL surgery. The People's Pitstop fared well, scoring 307 fantasy points. Our top scorer was Kevin Harvick, who finished 7th.

Other recent winners: Kurt Busch (fall 2009), Carl Edwards (2008), Johnson (2007).

Who wins here a lot: For once, there's not a Hendrick driver in sight. Edwards leads all active NASCAR drivers with three victories in Texas, followed by Jeff Burton with two.

Where we stand: For the first time in a while, this race and the two that will follow are going to matter in the big picture. Take a look at the top of the points standings. Johnson normally has the Sprint Cup title all but sewn up by now, but Hamlin sits just 14 points behind, and Harvick is just 38 points behind. That means every pit stop, restart and passing decision will play a role in determining this year's championship. So much for conspiracy theories.

As always, you can learn more by downloading this guide from our friends at Yahoo Sports. The NASCAR polls will close Thursday night, so please vote now.

We'll be back with some football thoughts.

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Our New Kicker (and London Calling)

First of all, thanks to those of you who voted on which kicker the People's Pigskin would claim off the waiver wire for this week's People's League matchup against the nuckin' futs. The winner of this poll was Jason Hanson, who has been added to the lineup in place of the unneeded Randy McMichael. (We hardly knew ye, Randy.) The results appear at the bottom of this post.

Now, it's time to turn our attention to the renewal of an annual NFL tradition. By "annual," of course, we mean "in the last few years." The National Football League, in its never-ending quest for more money fans, has instituted an International Series of games. This year's version has the Denver Broncos playing the San Francisco 49ers Sunday in London's Wembley Stadium.

The 49ers will make the journey without Alex Smith. (I'll leave it those players who have Smith on his roster to say whether that's a good thing.) The Broncos may be making the journey without their pride after the shelling they suffered at the hands of the Oakland Raiders last week.

There has been some debate about whether flying to and from London puts too much strain on an NFL team, even one that gets its bye week immediately after the game. But the New England Patriots probably would beg to differ. They hammered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year in London by a score of 35-7. Tom Brady threw three touchdowns, and the Patriots defense/special teams benefitted from an interception that Brandon Meriweather (yes, that Brandon Meriweather) returned for a touchdown.

The lesson: Just because a game is being played in an unusual time zone doesn't make the players any less relevant in fantasy football.

Remember to vote in our polls. The NASCAR polls will close Friday night, while the football polls will close Sunday morning.

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An Angel Gets Its 6 Points

One of the best lessons that fantasy football can teach is how, as Clarence Oddbody, AS2, said in "It's a Wonderful Life," each man's life touches so many others, and if he isn't there, it leaves an awful hole.

Football players can leave that hole by finagling a mid-season trade, as Randy Moss did this week. In fantasy terms, the trade should be good news for Brett Favre, who now has a wide receiver without a bum hip, a history of migraines or a reality TV wife. It may be bad news for Tom Brady, who can't throw deep passes to the draft pick his team received in exchange for Moss. And it may be horrible news for Wes Welker, who was able to catch so many balls over the past few years in part because his teammate was the one drawing all the attention from "shutdown corners."

Another way a football player can leave a hole is by refusing to show up for games or practices, as Vincent Jackson has been doing for months. In this case, the only hole being generated so far is in Jackson's wallet. Antonio Gates certainly isn't missing Jackson. Neither is Philip Rivers. In fact, Legedu Naanee might want to send Jackson a basket of fruit.

Sometimes, you don't have control over when you leave a hole on your team. For example, you can be sacked 9 times in a half because your offensive coordinator has decided that the words "blocking" and "tight end" don't belong in the same paragraph. In fact, you can get concussed so badly that your team has to rule you out for the following week's game. Though it's not fair to call this Jay Cutler's "fault," it's true nevertheless that his absence will hurt every other offensive player wearing a Chicago Bears helmet.

And sometimes, you leave a hole on your team by performing as if your football had a hole in it. That's what Derek Anderson has done so far with the Arizona Cardinals. His loss (and Arizona's losses) may prove to be Max Hall's gain. It may even benefit Larry Fitzgerald (remember him?), but it will definitely be a blessing for Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower, at least in the short term. After all, if Ken Whisenhunt wants to keep Hall upright, he'll call plenty of handoffs and screens until the quarterback gets his feet wet.

Hear that bell ringing? No, it's not you getting your wings. It's a reminder to vote in our polls. The NASCAR polls will close tonight. We'll be back with the results.

Fearless Football Predictions - Week 4

It's Saturday morning, so it's time to grab a coffee (or another beverage; we at the People's Pigskin are not here to judge) and peruse this week's predictions for the People's League. For the second consecutive week, the picks went 2-3, leaving us with a season record of 9-6.

People's Pigskin vs. t-day cuervonatersXXL. The Internet's favorite fantasy football team has only one player on a bye week (Dwayne Bowe) and only one injured player (Knowshon Moreno, who has been ruled out again). Our opponent has three injured players and six players with bye weeks. The numbers add up to another victory for the Pigskin.

Team z vs. Fighting Amish. Both rosters feature running backs with injury concerns. The Amish have Michael Vick, who seems to be unstoppable right now and has already locked up Comeback Player of the Decade honors. His numbers against the Washington Redskins should be enough to buggy whip the Amish to a third win.

Hudson Valley Hawks vs. Chicago VinSethBears. At least one of these 0-3 teams will get its first non-loss of the season. (Yes, they could tie, and that would mean the first non-loss for both teams.) The VinSethBears have not one, but two high-quality receivers listed as questionable. That may be one question mark too many. The Hawks taste victory for the first time this week.

nuckin' futs vs. cowboys romero. My heart would like to say that the Cowboys get off the mat this week. But my head sees big days for both Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald. The head wins, and so do the Futs.

NFL2K10 RedZone vs. Feely Her Up ... This one should come down to the wire on Monday night. The RedZones have two Patriots players facing a Miami defense that just made Braylon "Don't Drop Your Drink" Edwards look like an All-Pro. Those two players should help the RedZones erase a Feely lead and give them the victory.

Remember to vote on the lineup polls. They will close Sunday morning. We'll be back later with the NASCAR predictions.

Fearless Football Predictions - Week 2

Someone call the Pope, because we may have a miracle on our hands.

Last week's predictions for the People's League were perfectly accurate. That's right. FIVE-AND-FRICKIN-OH, BABY!!! That still doesn't mean you should use them for anything other than entertainment purposes. (You listening, Tim Donaghy?) It does mean the bar is set pretty high for the rest of the season. Here goes.

People's Pigskin vs. Hudson Valley Hawks. The Internet's favorite fantasy football team had no trouble cruising to victory last week. And there's no reason for the winning ways to stop here. The Pigskin takes another one.

NFL2K10 RedZone vs. t-bay cuervonatersXXL. Both teams won their week 1 matchups, and both have players in the Monday night game. In the end, though, Vernon Davis will make the difference and lead the RedZone to another victory, no matter what play his coaches call.

Feely Her Up ... vs. nuckin' futs. In addition to Beanie Wells' gimpy knee, the former Beanie's Weenies now have to deal with an injury to Kellen Winslow. Both players are being called "game-time decisions." Those decisions usually don't end up going well for fantasy players. Look for the futs to win here.

Chicago VinSethBears vs. Fighting Amish. The Amish plodded their win to a narrow win last week, but now they have to face Tom Brady. Children may be scared of Brady's Javier Bardem haircut (can't you picture him going out to the coin toss and telling the Jets, "Call it ... friend-o"?), but fantasy players should fear his arm. It will produce enough points to lead the VinSethBears to victory.

cowboys romero vs. Team 9. This one is a puzzler. Both teams lost last week. As of this writing, one plans to start Kevin Kolb (who is out for being concussed), while the other plans to start Ben Roethlisberger (who is still out for being stupid). Still, Marques Coltson should give the Cowboys just enough points to seal the late win.

The lineup polls are still open, but they will close Sunday morning, so please vote now if you haven't done so already. We'll be back with some NASCAR predictions.

The Worst Words to Hear

What are the worst words that a fantasy football player can hear?

You might think they would be "out for the season." There's no denying that the phrase can hurt you almost as much as it does the athlete himself, but all it means for you is that you need to run out and get his backup before he becomes the "Pickup of the Week." A few clicks of the mouse, and you're done.

A far worse phrase for anyone in the fantasy football universe is this one: "game-time decision." That's the one that will have you racing home, turning on every television set in the house and hitting the "refresh" button on your computer relentlessly until the team either releases its inactive list (if the team is having mercy on your soul) or takes the field (if the team is the New England Patriots, who like to treat their injury reports this way.)

Some injuries are harder to forecast than others. One thing that has helped in this regard is the NFL's new stance on concussions. If Kevin Kolb, for example, can't pass his test in time, the Philadelphia Eagles have no choice but to start Michael Vick and hope HE doesn't get injured.

But most of the time, fantasy players have to guess whether the word "questionable" means the athlete should be able to gut it out on game day (as Todd Heap hopes to do with his shoulder) or whether that athlete will be scratched late enough to make you question your sanity. The People's Pigskin benefitted Sunday when Beanie Wells went from "coach anticipates him playing" to "inactive," even though he kept the "Q" on our box score page. It's the sort of thing that can happen to anyone, even if you are paying attention.

Moral of the story: Don't take a player's status for granted, and don't believe everything an NFL head coach says.

There are still a few hours to vote on the polls for the People's Pitstop lineup, but if you haven't voted on them, please do so now. We'll be back with the results.

Last Word? Try Opening Salvo

Everyone circles a certain date on the NFL offseason calendar: the day by which all teams must whittle their lineups to 53 players. "Cut day" is known far and wide as the date when many football dreams die, as well as the day when players learn whether they are "safe," or at least as safe as a player ever can be in this league.

It's also the day when we fantasy players are supposed to have some sort of clarity about who's part of a team's plans and who's not. Matt Leinart wasn't part of the plan for the Arizona Cardinals. Ditto for T.J. Houshmandzadeh and the Seattle Seahawks.

This year, "cut day" was Saturday, September 4. But it was also the day when some NFL teams seemed to start forming their plans for the 2010-11 season.

Since Saturday, there have been plenty of reports about plenty of players. Some of the stories are absolutely useless to the average fantasy players. In one Yahoo fantasy league, I happen to have Tom Brady, whose name had a "breaking news" icon next to it this evening. The news that Yahoo felt fantasy players needed to know? The New England Patriots are reportedly close to signing Brady to an extension. The effect of that potential deal on this year's fantasy teams? None.

There was also news about a certain Heisman trophy winner (this one, not this one) potentially being stripped of that trophy. The effect of that on this year's fantasy teams? None. As we learned on "cut day" when two former winners got the axe, the NFL hasn't taken a player's trophy case into account for a long time.

Now, on to the post-cut developments that will affect fantasy teams. First, Darrelle Revis made a lot of fantasy players happy by deciding not to extend his holdout into the regular season. So, yes, those of you who drafted the New York Jets defense/special teams way too early can breathe easier.

If you spent a late pick on the Washington Redskins defense, it's time to scan the waiver wire. Albert Haynesworth, the $100 million malcontent who has spent the preseason ticking off his coaches, may soon be out the door. Since all he'd probably draw is draft picks, he will leave a hole in the middle. Whether a hole would be better than Haynesworth is up to fantasy players.

Oh, and as far as Houshmandzadeh, Leinart and Troy Smith are concerned, all three have new homes now. Houshmandzadeh will probably get significant playing time Monday night, while the other two are only a play like this away from being relevant in fantasy football again.

It just goes to show that fantasy football is a seven-days-a-week hobby. Plan accordingly.

We'll be back with a look at this week's NASCAR track.

One Last Pre-Draft Set of Poll Results

Before the People's Pigskin drafts its lineup for the 2010-11 NFL season, it's time to post the results of one last set of draft board polls.

First of all, you, the Internet, decided that Drew Brees should be sixth overall on our draft board (after Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Ray Rice and Frank Gore). You also said that Tom Brady should be the No. 4 quarterback (after Brees, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers) and that Randy Moss should be our No. 4 wide receiver (after Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne and Brandon Marshall).

You said that we should have Antonio Gates as our No. 2 tight end (after Dallas Clark). When asked who should be our No. 2 defense/special teams (after the New York Jets), you split between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings. We just had Roger Goodell flip a coin for us, and we'll have the Vikings No. 2 and the Steelers No. 3.

Meanwhile, even though the NASCAR Sprint Cup race is taking place right now, we have a new set of driver polls up. They will stay up until Thursday evening. Feel free to vote now. We'll be back with the draft results.

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Coming Soon (or Not) to a Camp Near You

There are some things that always happen at this time of year. Someone will try to get America to care about golf's fourth major, and NFL players are going through training camp.

Most of them, that is.

While you're getting ready for your draft (regardless of how it is set up), some teams are dealing with players who, for one reason or another, have decided to stretch out their summer vacation. Here are a few examples, and whether fantasy players need to be worried about them.

Darrelle Revis, New York Jets. If you caught the first episode of this year's "Hard Knocks," you saw a lot of people, but Revis was not one of them. He wants to get Nnamdi Asomugha money. And Woody Johnson, the owner of the Jets, has raised the possibility that Revis will miss the season as a result of this holdout. Should fantasy players be concerned? Yes. Revis is one of the primary reasons the Jets defense will be one of the first off your draft board.

Vincent Jackson, San Diego Chargers. He's one of several Chargers involved in contract disputes. One of the others, Shawne Merriman, is reportedly ready to sign his deal, but Jackson has been away from the team long enough that he's "not a part of the plan" anymore. If you're a fantasy player, you probably cooled off on Jackson a long time ago. The reason: He faced a three-game DUI suspension the moment he signs, anyway.

Logan Mankins, New England Patriots. Yes, we're going to discuss a guard's holdout. He's trying to get something the Patriots are loath to give out: a lucrative deal. You probably aren't going to draft him (unless you're using the services of our friends at Trench Fantasy), but you probably have an eye on the man he guards. Should fantasy players be concerned? Not yet. Keep an eye on Dan Connolly during the preseason games. He wouldn't be the first Patriot to come out of nowhere and become an All-Pro player.

A certain quarterback, Minnesota Vikings. He's not the first veteran to decide he doesn't like training camp. He's just inspiring more stories than most. Unless he files retirement papers with the National Football League office (something he didn't do after either of his previous two stops), you should expect to see him show up as late as he can get away with.

Incidentally, would we all feel differently about him if all these stories about his situation used the word "holdout"? He is under contract, after all.

Anyway, the lineup polls for the People's Pitstop will close later tonight. Please vote now. We'll be back with the results.

A Pre-MNF Update

In fantasy football, there are times when you can do no wrong, and there are times when everything you do will blow up in your face.

A week after a 30-point win over the Houston Wreckin' Crew the People's Pigskin finds itself trailing the Hawaiian Surfriders by a score of 69-36. The Surfriders have Laurence Maroney and John Carney in the Monday night matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots. We have Jeremy Shockey. It's not an entirely lost cause, but it is certainly time for a Hail Mary.

We'll be back tomorrow to review this game and get ready for the next one.

Some Pre-Thanksgiving Reading

Here are some links to peruse while you consider what to do with our lineup for our upcoming matchup against the Hawaiian Surfriders.

Champ, why don't you stop talking for a while? In his always-essential "Monday Morning Quarterback," Peter King alerted football fans to a tweet he got Monday morning from our very own Chad Ochocinco:

"Good morning to all, top of the morning on this awesome football Sunday ALI-HOLMES=OCHO CINCO-NNAMDI'' I damn sure ain't HOLMES either.''

In case you missed yesterday's post, Chad got only 6 fantasy points Sunday and was kept out of the end zone by Nnamdi Asomugha and the rest of the Oakland Raiders.

Maybe Chad knew he was headed for a mediocre fantasy football performance. After all, Larry Holmes beat Muhammad Ali.

Cause for alarm. The New York Jets had to know they would need all the help they could get facing the New England Patriots in Foxboro. What they got instead was dragged out of their hotel rooms early Sunday morning when someone pulled a false fire alarm.

Once again, this is something that one of the pregame television shows could have flagged before fantasy players set their rosters. (And you can't argue that the networks didn't know about this. Players were sending out tweets starting practically the moment it happened.) Seriously, if you had known that the Jets were being pulled out of their beds that late, would you have started any of them?

The only Jet I would have started in those circumstances is Joe Namath, since he would have just been getting back to the hotel at that time, anyway.

Well, there's a switch. Unless you live in Buffalo or Jacksonville or had players from the Bills or Jaguars in your fantasy lineups, you probably did not see Eric Wood of the Buffalo Bills break his leg and end his season. That's because CBS decided that the injury was too gruesome to show in a replay. (If you want to see it for yourself, you can click here.)

It's interesting that CBS made that decision about that injury. Those of us old enough to remember Joe Theismann as something other than a TV personality remember how his playing career ended. When the Washington Redskins were playing the New York Giants on Monday night, Lawrence Taylor sacked Theismann and broke his leg in a way that probably still send chills down Joe's spine when he thinks about it. However, no one felt any qualms about replaying the hit immediately afterward or in the days, months and years that followed.

(You can see Taylor's hit, and a replay of it, by clicking here.)

We'll be back tomorrow with an early edition of the Landshark Maniacs predictions.

Week 3 notes

Here are some random thoughts about the dress rehearsal weekend that is week 3 of the NFL preseason.

At this point, no one expects Bill Belichick & Co. to reveal anything more about his plans and players than the National Football League forces them, but at some point don't you have to play the BS card on this stuff? The "football decision" regarding Tom Brady was "making sure New England's Meal Ticket isn't flattened like a flapjack in a meaningless game by Albert Haynesworth." Frankly, I'm surprised New England admitted that the Tom Brady part that was sore was his shoulder.

(What does this have to do with where and whether to draft Brady? Umm, I'll get back to you.)

I was driving friends home from the airport Sunday evening, so I did not see Kyle Orton's injury. But after what happened with Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall this season, would anyone blame the Broncos for saying, "Um, we're cancelling the rest of our preseason. The reason? Ummm...snow! That's it!"

I'm not concerned at all about the fact that LaDainian Tomlinson, Terrell Owens, Willie Parker and Carson Palmer have been taking time off this preseason. If those folks don't know how to play with their teammates by now, it's time for them to just hang em up, already. Michael Crabtree? That's another story. He's running the very real risk of becoming irrelevant to fantasy players this season. Clearly, his agent is not a fantasy player.

Speaking of fantasy, by the time many of you read this, The People's Pigskin will have drafted its team. Expect a new poll shortly.

(One more thing: We got an award. You like me! You really, really like me! Check it out on the right.)