Do you know why serious fantasy football players have busier Labor Day weekends than Jerry Lewis used to have? It's because serious players hold their drafts as close as possible to Opening Day. They want to have all the preseason games (physical and mental) done and over with before they make their selections.
We're all used to players getting banged up during the preseason. But we may never have had a situation like the one we have this season.
When Peyton Manning announced that he was having a second surgery on his neck, most observers brushed it off. After all, he missed absolutely no regular season playing time as a result of his first surgery. But then a few things happened. First, Manning's backups, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky (remember him?) demonstrated once and for all why they were backups. Then, the Indianapolis Colts signed Kerry Collins. Those two events, when taken together, suggest that someone in Indianapolis suspects Manning may not be ready for the opening Sunday, after all, and they needed a better back up plan than "Start Painter and hope the opponents get lost on the way to the field."
For the NFL fan, of course, Manning's health issues are a lot more pleasant than the issues in the New York Giants defensive backfield, where players are dropping like flies. After all, we know those defensive backs are done for the season, and Manning could very well start all his team's games again. For the fantasy football fan, however, Manning's health issues are far worse. After all, you already know what happened to the Giants, and you can reassess their defense/special teams accordingly. In the worst-case scenario, Manning may not be scratched until right before kickoff.
That's why the People's Pigskin, for the first time in its brief history, is reopening a poll. We asked last week which quarterback we should target first, and you chose Manning by a healthy margin. Now that you know Kerry Collins is an option for Indianapolis, do you want to change your vote? Here's your chance.
The quarterback and running back polls will close Saturday night. The NASCAR polls beneath them about picking a lineup for the People's Pitstop will close Thursday night. Please get your votes in for all of them. Thanks.
We'll be back with a look at this week's race.
Showing posts with label New York Giants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York Giants. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
How to Treat Cuts
For most fantasy football players, one of the hardest parts of the last week in August, other than watching the last preseason games, is making sure their draft picks actually can take the field when the season gets started.
National Football League teams had until Tuesday to get their rosters down to 75 players. This round of cuts was not the deepest (next week, that 75-player roster has to get down to 53), but it was extensive, and it can affect your roster if you're not careful.
With that in mind, here's a survival strategy for the season of The Turk.
1. Draft as late as possible. If your draft was in early August, you might know someone who took a late-round flyer on Antonio Bryant or Derrick Ward. That's why the People's League plans to hold its draft the night before Labor Day. (By the way, we still need six teams to join, so feel free to join now.)
2. Know who was cut. This is not as easy as it seems. A lot of the "usual suspect" Web sites don't seem to have a list of all the people released by 32 NFL teams. This seems to be the closest thing ESPN has to such a list. At least it does let you know that the Broncos running attack won't include Huggy Bear's kid.
3. Know your terms. The NFL seems to have more lists than the folks who put together the Top Ten of Everything books. The injured reserve list (home of Jim Sorgi and Sinorice Moss) is for players whose seasons are over. The physically unable to perform list (where Sidney Rice resides) is for players who are injured but could still contribute to their teams during the season. Then there's the "waived failed physical" list, which means the player is off a roster but free to sign elsewhere. And if the player was put on the list by the Bengals, the player's agent is free to crucify the team for it.
By the way, the Bengals may not actually have these folks on its medical staff, but they may want to consider getting some second opinions.
We'll be back with a look at this week's NASCAR track.
National Football League teams had until Tuesday to get their rosters down to 75 players. This round of cuts was not the deepest (next week, that 75-player roster has to get down to 53), but it was extensive, and it can affect your roster if you're not careful.
With that in mind, here's a survival strategy for the season of The Turk.
1. Draft as late as possible. If your draft was in early August, you might know someone who took a late-round flyer on Antonio Bryant or Derrick Ward. That's why the People's League plans to hold its draft the night before Labor Day. (By the way, we still need six teams to join, so feel free to join now.)
2. Know who was cut. This is not as easy as it seems. A lot of the "usual suspect" Web sites don't seem to have a list of all the people released by 32 NFL teams. This seems to be the closest thing ESPN has to such a list. At least it does let you know that the Broncos running attack won't include Huggy Bear's kid.
3. Know your terms. The NFL seems to have more lists than the folks who put together the Top Ten of Everything books. The injured reserve list (home of Jim Sorgi and Sinorice Moss) is for players whose seasons are over. The physically unable to perform list (where Sidney Rice resides) is for players who are injured but could still contribute to their teams during the season. Then there's the "waived failed physical" list, which means the player is off a roster but free to sign elsewhere. And if the player was put on the list by the Bengals, the player's agent is free to crucify the team for it.
By the way, the Bengals may not actually have these folks on its medical staff, but they may want to consider getting some second opinions.
We'll be back with a look at this week's NASCAR track.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Fearless Predictions - Bristol
While you get ready to split your time between watching tonight's NASCAR Sprint Cup race and warming up to play quarterback for the suddenly needy Giants, it's time to offer predictions for which drivers will finish in the top 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Last week's forecasts should have hit the snooze button -- they went a pitiful 3-7, lowering the season record to an equally pitiful 104-116.
1. Kevin Harvick. The points leader can now cruise to the Chase. Of course, if he knew how to cruise, he wouldn't be the points leader now.
2. Jimmie Johnson. The four-time defending Sprint Cup champion needs to stop cruising. Of course, it helps that he has the pole for tonight's race.
3. Tony Stewart. You want a hot driver? How about one who has finished in the top 10 in five straight races and nine of the last 10?
4 and 5. Kurt and Kyle Busch. One driver has five Sprint Cup wins under his belt here. The other one has won two races here this week.
6. Clint Bowyer. He's holding the final Chase spot, but he'll need to stay on his toes...
7. Mark Martin. ...because this driver isn't going to let that spot go without a fight.
8. Juan Pablo Montoya. With his 7th-place finish at Michigan last week, Montoya now has 10 finishes in the top 10 this season. You know who else has that many? Denny Hamlin. (I'm just saying.)
9. Carl Edwards. He's won here before. He's starting in the front row tonight, and, perhaps most importantly, he's starting with six rows of cars between him and Brad Keselowski, who just can't seem to avoid trouble lately.
10. David Reutimann. Yes, he still counts as a medium to long shot, even though he's won a race this year and is starting 5th tonight. That's because he's starting one of the toughest races on the NASCAR schedule while recovering from the type of food poisoning that would make you and I want to crawl into bed, assume the fetal position and pray for a quick demise.
Enjoy the race, and if you're a fantasy football fan, or you'd like to become one, make sure you sign up to run a team against the People's Pigskin in the People's League. We'll be back with results and new polls.
1. Kevin Harvick. The points leader can now cruise to the Chase. Of course, if he knew how to cruise, he wouldn't be the points leader now.
2. Jimmie Johnson. The four-time defending Sprint Cup champion needs to stop cruising. Of course, it helps that he has the pole for tonight's race.
3. Tony Stewart. You want a hot driver? How about one who has finished in the top 10 in five straight races and nine of the last 10?
4 and 5. Kurt and Kyle Busch. One driver has five Sprint Cup wins under his belt here. The other one has won two races here this week.
6. Clint Bowyer. He's holding the final Chase spot, but he'll need to stay on his toes...
7. Mark Martin. ...because this driver isn't going to let that spot go without a fight.
8. Juan Pablo Montoya. With his 7th-place finish at Michigan last week, Montoya now has 10 finishes in the top 10 this season. You know who else has that many? Denny Hamlin. (I'm just saying.)
9. Carl Edwards. He's won here before. He's starting in the front row tonight, and, perhaps most importantly, he's starting with six rows of cars between him and Brad Keselowski, who just can't seem to avoid trouble lately.
10. David Reutimann. Yes, he still counts as a medium to long shot, even though he's won a race this year and is starting 5th tonight. That's because he's starting one of the toughest races on the NASCAR schedule while recovering from the type of food poisoning that would make you and I want to crawl into bed, assume the fetal position and pray for a quick demise.
Enjoy the race, and if you're a fantasy football fan, or you'd like to become one, make sure you sign up to run a team against the People's Pigskin in the People's League. We'll be back with results and new polls.
Monday, December 21, 2009
A Pre-Christmas Comeback
It's Monday, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and the People's Pigskin has found the proverbial ray of sunshine.
The Internet's favorite fantasy football team has more than erased its deficit against the Houston Wreckin' Crew. In fact, we're now sporting a 145-111 lead. The Crew has two New York Giants suiting up for Monday night's matchup against the Washington Redskins: Hakeem Nicks and Lawrence Tynes. The Pigskin has one player tonight: Kevin Boss, the emergency acquisition who replaced the injured Jeremy Shockey.
Nicks and Tynes must outscore Boss by 35 points for the Crew to beat the Pigskin. Is that a long shot? Perhaps, but so were the Cowboys and the Buccaneers this weekend.
We'll be back Tuesday with a breakdown.
The Internet's favorite fantasy football team has more than erased its deficit against the Houston Wreckin' Crew. In fact, we're now sporting a 145-111 lead. The Crew has two New York Giants suiting up for Monday night's matchup against the Washington Redskins: Hakeem Nicks and Lawrence Tynes. The Pigskin has one player tonight: Kevin Boss, the emergency acquisition who replaced the injured Jeremy Shockey.
Nicks and Tynes must outscore Boss by 35 points for the Crew to beat the Pigskin. Is that a long shot? Perhaps, but so were the Cowboys and the Buccaneers this weekend.
We'll be back Tuesday with a breakdown.
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