The lineup polls for the People's Pitstop will close in a couple of hours. (Here's a hint: Kasey Kahne may not be a strong candidate for this week's Sprint Cup race.) In the meantime, it's time to discuss a painful subject for every fantasy football player.
Injuries.
Anyone who has played fantasy football is already familiar with the concept of monitoring the health of their own players. If you have Antonio Gates on your roster (as the People's Pigskin does), you probably already know that he's looking like the dreaded "game time decision."
Most fantasy football players also know to watch the health of their players' teammates. For example, you probably have heard about the injury woes of Dallas Clark and Austin Collie. These injuries may hurt you if you're starting Peyton Manning (as the Pigskin does most weeks), but they might actually help you if you have one of the other 4,579 receivers on the Indianapolis Colts roster, whether it's the veteran Reggie Wayne or the up-and-comer Pierre Garcon or the where-the-heck-did-he-come-from Blair White.
But the National Football League took this concept to a whole new level this week by forcing fantasy players to monitor something new: the health and safety of their players' opponents.
If you have the Pittsburgh Steelers defense/special teams, and James Harrison delivers another hit like the ones he dished out last week to the Cleveland Browns, you better make sure the recipient of that hit gets up quickly. If he doesn't, the NFL won't hesitate to suspend Harrison, and the Steelers defense will pay the price.
And fantasy football players already have enough reasons to do this.
Speaking of fantasy football, the polls for the People's Pigskin are still open. Please vote.
We'll be back with the NASCAR poll results.
Showing posts with label San Diego Chargers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Diego Chargers. Show all posts
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The People's Victory!
It's now official: The People's Pigskin won its initial matchup against the former Beanie's Weenies by a score of 103-54. Here's how we did it.
Peyton Manning, QB: 40 for 57 passing for 433 yards, 3 touchdowns and 29 fantasy points. He and his Indianapolis Colts can't be happy about their performance against the Houston Texans, but even what Manning would consider an off day is a pretty good day for fantasy football.
Michael Turner, RB: 19 rushes for 42 yards, 1 reception for 7 yards and 4 fantasy points. Chalk one up for the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. They stuffed the run and forced Matt Ryan to try to win the game with his arm. Turner will have better days.
Darren McFadden, RB: 18 rushes for 95 yards, 6 receptions for 55 yards, 1 touchdown and 20 fantasy points. That's more like it. It's too bad the Oakland Raiders faced a more talented team (and runner) on Sunday.
Calvin Johnson, WR: 4 receptions for 45 yards and 4 points. Those numbers would be much stronger if it weren't for a certain ruling. Fantasy players will have to hope Calvin wraps his arms around the ball next time. Oh, and they better hope his new quarterback is as good as his old one.
Dwayne Bowe, WR: 1 reception, 13 yards and 1 fantasy point. Fortunately, this week's contest was settled before Bowe had a chance to affect it.
Chad Ochocinco, Flex: 12 receptions, 159 yards, 1 touchdown and 21 fantasy points. Another excellent fantasy performance for someone whose team as a whole did not have a good day.
Antonio Gates, TE: 5 receptions, 76 yards, 1 touchdown and 13 fantasy points. Again, his points were gravy, but his numbers, even on a night when the San Diego Chargers weren't clicking, offer hope to fantasy players that maybe Vincent Jackson's absence won't kill him, after all.
Minnesota Vikings, D/ST: 1 sack, 14 points allowed and 2 fantasy points. It's old news by now, but the Vikings' outing against the New Orleans Saints could have been a whole lot worse.
Jeff Reed, K: 3 for 5 on field goals and 9 fantasy points. You can take the glass-half-full view that Reed put up the type of points you would want from your fantasy kicker, or you can take the glass-half-empty view that Reed missed two kicks, including one that would have prevented Rashard Mendenhall's overtime run from ever happening.
Anyway, next up for the Internet's favorite fantasy football team is a matchup against the Hudson Valley Hawks. The lineup polls are now open (under the NASCAR polls) and will close Sunday morning. Please vote now.
We'll be back with some information about this week's NASCAR track.
Peyton Manning, QB: 40 for 57 passing for 433 yards, 3 touchdowns and 29 fantasy points. He and his Indianapolis Colts can't be happy about their performance against the Houston Texans, but even what Manning would consider an off day is a pretty good day for fantasy football.
Michael Turner, RB: 19 rushes for 42 yards, 1 reception for 7 yards and 4 fantasy points. Chalk one up for the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. They stuffed the run and forced Matt Ryan to try to win the game with his arm. Turner will have better days.
Darren McFadden, RB: 18 rushes for 95 yards, 6 receptions for 55 yards, 1 touchdown and 20 fantasy points. That's more like it. It's too bad the Oakland Raiders faced a more talented team (and runner) on Sunday.
Calvin Johnson, WR: 4 receptions for 45 yards and 4 points. Those numbers would be much stronger if it weren't for a certain ruling. Fantasy players will have to hope Calvin wraps his arms around the ball next time. Oh, and they better hope his new quarterback is as good as his old one.
Dwayne Bowe, WR: 1 reception, 13 yards and 1 fantasy point. Fortunately, this week's contest was settled before Bowe had a chance to affect it.
Chad Ochocinco, Flex: 12 receptions, 159 yards, 1 touchdown and 21 fantasy points. Another excellent fantasy performance for someone whose team as a whole did not have a good day.
Antonio Gates, TE: 5 receptions, 76 yards, 1 touchdown and 13 fantasy points. Again, his points were gravy, but his numbers, even on a night when the San Diego Chargers weren't clicking, offer hope to fantasy players that maybe Vincent Jackson's absence won't kill him, after all.
Minnesota Vikings, D/ST: 1 sack, 14 points allowed and 2 fantasy points. It's old news by now, but the Vikings' outing against the New Orleans Saints could have been a whole lot worse.
Jeff Reed, K: 3 for 5 on field goals and 9 fantasy points. You can take the glass-half-full view that Reed put up the type of points you would want from your fantasy kicker, or you can take the glass-half-empty view that Reed missed two kicks, including one that would have prevented Rashard Mendenhall's overtime run from ever happening.
Anyway, next up for the Internet's favorite fantasy football team is a matchup against the Hudson Valley Hawks. The lineup polls are now open (under the NASCAR polls) and will close Sunday morning. Please vote now.
We'll be back with some information about this week's NASCAR track.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
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.
[polldaddy poll=3715058] [polldaddy poll=3715069] [polldaddy poll=3715074] [polldaddy poll=3715081] [polldaddy poll=3715085]
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.
[polldaddy poll=3715058] [polldaddy poll=3715069] [polldaddy poll=3715074] [polldaddy poll=3715081] [polldaddy poll=3715085]
Friday, September 3, 2010
NFL Polls and Notes
Those of you interested in helping the People's Pitstop set its lineup for Sunday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway still have a few hours to vote on those polls. And those fantasy football fans who are interested in helping the People's Pigskin set the top of its draft board have some new polls available under the NASCAR ones.
So far, you, the Internet, have decided that and Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Ray Rice and Frank Gore should be the top five players on our draft board. You also decided that Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers should be our top quarterbacks, that Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne and Brandon Marshall should be our top wide receivers, that Dallas Clark should be our top tight end and that the New York Jets should be our top defense/special teams.
You'll have until Sunday evening to vote on the newest football polls. They will close shortly before the People's League draft, which is scheduled for 9 p.m. EDT. By the way, we still need three players to sign up for this league. Any takers? Click here.
In the meantime, here are a few stories fantasy football players should be following as the regular season (mercifully) approaches.
Pittsburgh pitfalls: The good news is that Ben Roethlisberger didn't do anything egregious over the last few months, so he will miss only the first four games of the season. The bad news is that Byron Leftwich may not be so lucky.
Leftwich, the quarterback still best known for getting a lift from his linemen, was expected to fill in for Roethlisberger during his suspension. But that was before Leftwich sprained his knee Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers. That means either Dennis Dixon or Charlie Batch will get the starting spot. For fantasy football fans, it means you might want to downgrade Pittsburgh's receivers (and running backs, since defenses will be less nervous about stuffing the box) until Batch/Dixon proves that they can get the job done.
Denouement in the desert: We knew the Arizona Cardinals would have a hard time filling the dancing shoes of Kurt Warner. What we did not know was that Matt Leinart, the former Heisman Trophy winner who has watched Warner for the last few years and presumably has absorbed Ken Whisenhunt's system, would fail to hold off Cleveland Browns castoff Derek Anderson. By the time you read this post, Leinart could be traded to another team or on the street.
If you have Larry Fitzgerald on your team, it's OK to be nervous. If you have Beanie Wells or Tim Hightower, it's OK to salivate over the handoffs they might be getting next week.
Game 4's not for them: The National Football League is considering switching from a four-game preseason to a two-game one. Those who are probably in favor of that right about now include LenDale White (out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon),Montario Hardesty (out with a torn ACL) and Albert Haynesworth (who played the whole game and probably wishes he were injured Thursday night).
In happier news: Patrick Crayton has a new home, while Vincent Jackson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh may soon get theirs. Stay tuned.
We'll be back later with results from the NASCAR polls.
So far, you, the Internet, have decided that and Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Ray Rice and Frank Gore should be the top five players on our draft board. You also decided that Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers should be our top quarterbacks, that Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne and Brandon Marshall should be our top wide receivers, that Dallas Clark should be our top tight end and that the New York Jets should be our top defense/special teams.
You'll have until Sunday evening to vote on the newest football polls. They will close shortly before the People's League draft, which is scheduled for 9 p.m. EDT. By the way, we still need three players to sign up for this league. Any takers? Click here.
In the meantime, here are a few stories fantasy football players should be following as the regular season (mercifully) approaches.
Pittsburgh pitfalls: The good news is that Ben Roethlisberger didn't do anything egregious over the last few months, so he will miss only the first four games of the season. The bad news is that Byron Leftwich may not be so lucky.
Leftwich, the quarterback still best known for getting a lift from his linemen, was expected to fill in for Roethlisberger during his suspension. But that was before Leftwich sprained his knee Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers. That means either Dennis Dixon or Charlie Batch will get the starting spot. For fantasy football fans, it means you might want to downgrade Pittsburgh's receivers (and running backs, since defenses will be less nervous about stuffing the box) until Batch/Dixon proves that they can get the job done.
Denouement in the desert: We knew the Arizona Cardinals would have a hard time filling the dancing shoes of Kurt Warner. What we did not know was that Matt Leinart, the former Heisman Trophy winner who has watched Warner for the last few years and presumably has absorbed Ken Whisenhunt's system, would fail to hold off Cleveland Browns castoff Derek Anderson. By the time you read this post, Leinart could be traded to another team or on the street.
If you have Larry Fitzgerald on your team, it's OK to be nervous. If you have Beanie Wells or Tim Hightower, it's OK to salivate over the handoffs they might be getting next week.
Game 4's not for them: The National Football League is considering switching from a four-game preseason to a two-game one. Those who are probably in favor of that right about now include LenDale White (out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon),Montario Hardesty (out with a torn ACL) and Albert Haynesworth (who played the whole game and probably wishes he were injured Thursday night).
In happier news: Patrick Crayton has a new home, while Vincent Jackson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh may soon get theirs. Stay tuned.
We'll be back later with results from the NASCAR polls.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Saturday Afternoon Update
Those of you fortunate enough to have access to NFL Network on Christmas night (either in your own home or whoever was hosting was you) got the gift of seeing the San Diego Chargers make mincemeat of the Tennessee Titans. Unfortunately, one of the victims of this slaughter was Nate Washington, who put up only 3 fantasy points for the People's Pigskin. Washington was the only Titans receiver to get more than 1 catch. That means he was Vince Young's favorite target, but that's cold comfort for fantasy football players.
Speaking of fantasy football, there's still time for you to vote on our poll about what to do with the rest of our lineup for week 1 of our battle against the Southern Rebels. That poll will close on Sunday before kickoff, so please vote now.
While you're pondering how you'll vote, you can also check out the Alice in Chains Fantasy Football Charity League. Ten musicians/personalities have agreed to auction various items next month to benefit a charity. Which charity? The one chosen by the winner of this fantasy league. The finalists: Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who's playing for Mending Kids International, and Matt Willig, the former NFL lineman, who's playing for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. You can follow their two-week matchup by clicking here.
We'll be back Sunday with the results of our lineup poll.
Speaking of fantasy football, there's still time for you to vote on our poll about what to do with the rest of our lineup for week 1 of our battle against the Southern Rebels. That poll will close on Sunday before kickoff, so please vote now.
While you're pondering how you'll vote, you can also check out the Alice in Chains Fantasy Football Charity League. Ten musicians/personalities have agreed to auction various items next month to benefit a charity. Which charity? The one chosen by the winner of this fantasy league. The finalists: Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who's playing for Mending Kids International, and Matt Willig, the former NFL lineman, who's playing for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. You can follow their two-week matchup by clicking here.
We'll be back Sunday with the results of our lineup poll.
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