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.

Thankful for Another Win

As you dig in to your turkey tomorrow, the People's Pigskin will be celebrating its third straight win and starting work on a fourth.
The Internet's favorite fantasy football team defeated Glen Gardner's Finest by a score of 92-62. Our season record has improved to 5-6, and we now sit two games behind the division leader in the People's League.
Here is a quick scoring breakdown.
Eli Manning, QB: 18 of 35 passing for 264 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 1 fumble lost and 10 fantasy points. Unfortunately, Manning is making a habit of giving up late turnovers that cost his NFL team even more than they cost his fantasy teams.
Ray Rice, RB: 20 rushes for 104 yards, 5 receptions for 43 yards, 2 touchdowns and 26 fantasy points. The Baltimore Ravens have figured out that they are more likely to win when they find ways to get Rice the ball.
Michael Bush, RB: 30 rushes for 109 yards, 2 receptions for 20 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 fumble lost and 16 fantasy points. The only thing that might slow Bush down at this point is a recovery by Darren McFadden.
Larry Fitzgerald, WR: 3 receptions, 41 yards, 1 touchdown and 10 fantasy points. It's a good thing Fitzgerald found the end zone. Otherwise, these numbers would be ugly.
Plaxico Burress, WR: 4 receptions, 64 yards and 6 fantasy points. Thursday night was a bad night to be a New York Jet.
Wes Welker, Flex: 2 receptions, 22 yards and 2 fantasy points. Both of Welker's catches came late in the fourth quarter of a game that was decided the moment the Kansas City Chiefs allowed Rob Gronkowski to run free.
Jason Witten, TE: 3 receptions, 85 yards, 1 touchdown and 14 fantasy points. Witten's yardage was his highest in a month and a half.
Buffalo Bills, D/ST: 1 sack, 1 safety, 35 points allowed and 2 fantasy points. It's safe to say this waiver wire pickup didn't pan out.
Mike Nugent, K: 1 for 1 on field goals, 3 for 3 on extra points and 6 fantasy points. Nugent scored 6 fantasy points for the third straight week.
Bench: Tony Romo racked up 23 points on our sidelines. Percy Harvin added 15, and DeAngelo Williams (remember him?) scored 10.
Now, let's talk about Thursday. The National Football League is gracing us with three games, all of which have fantasy relevance. (Even NPR has noticed.) And we need your help setting our lineup. We have four players taking the field on Thanksgiving: Rice, Romo, Witten and Brandon Pettigrew. Our polls are still open and will stay open through Wednesday night. If you'd like to help out, get your votes in now, and encourage your friends/relatives/random holiday visitors to do the same.
We'll be back with the results.

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.

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.