Fearless Predictions - Season Finale

There's still time to vote on the Nate Washington and Christmas football polls (both of which will close tomorrow) and the lineup poll (which will close Sunday). In the meantime, it's time for one last set of predictions for the Landshark Maniacs fantasy football league. Again, these are two-week matchups, so week 17 will be in play here, too.

Last week's predictions went 4-1, raising our season record to 41-29. The only miss was the win by the Southern Rebels, our opponent in the final round. Here's hoping the Rebels don't hold that against us.

Let's start with the ninth-place matchup between the Houston Wreckin' Crew and Ravens Fan T Sizzle. In this game, it will be important to mind your Ps and Qs--that is, the "probable" and "questionable" statuses throughout both lineups. This matchup will hinge on Michael Turner, who could put up big numbers for the Crew or injure himself on his first carry and put up a doughnut (as he did in last week's game against the Pigskin). My guess is that Turner will show up for the last two weeks and fuel a victory for the Crew.

Next is the seventh-place match between the D.C. Destroyers and T-bay jacks 151rum stumblrs. Both sides have plenty of players fighting for playoff spots, but the most intriguing player is Chris Johnson, who is chasing a postseason bid, a 2,000-yard season and possibly Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record. Since the Titans need to win both games to get into the playoffs, they'll be motivated to feed Johnson the ball early and often. That will mean big fantasy points for him and a victory for the Destroyers.

The fifth-place match for the title of Best Landshark Maniacs Team Not to Make the Playoffs (yes, I just made that title up) pits the People's Pigskin against the Southern Rebels. Which team is the pick here? Let me give you a hint: In the immortal words of Terrell Owens, "I'd love me some of me."

In the playoff consolation game for third place, we have the Hawaiian Surfriders facing Tinks Revenge. As of this writing, the Surfriders have not selected a kicker, but it probably won't matter. Ray Rice is a contender for fantasy football find of the year, and his team is in a "We need to win both games to get into the playoffs" situation, so he'll get the ball early and often. The Revenge gets the win and the proverbial bronze medal.

Finally, we have the Landshark Maniacs championship game, Northeast Dragons vs. Big Lough O. One thing that's striking about this matchup is the proliferation of 1s and 2s under the "position rank" column. We can honestly say that the two best teams are meeting for the title. (Note to college football fans: We used a playoff to get here. We did not need a fraudulent set of polls and computer numbers. Remember: Playoffs rule.)

Anyway, it's hard to find a player who won't be in a position to put up a ton of points over the next two weeks. Even Drew Brees has a reason to keep slinging the ball in the fourth quarter. (The New Orleans Saints have not wrapped up home-field advantage.) The difference here may be the wide receivers. Given the choice, I'll take Brandon Marshall, Andre Johnson and Vincent Jackson over Roddy White, Terrell Owens and even Wes Welker. As a result, I'll take the Dragons to win it all.

We'll be back tomorrow with poll results. Have a merry one.

Last Week's Results (and This Week's Prospects)

The People's Pigskin had a simply awful week. The Internet's favorite fantasy football team was clobbered by the Hawaiian Surfriders by a score of 94-37. The Surfriders should get the credit for a great week, but the Pigskin got subpar results from everyone on its roster. Here's a brief breakdown:

Matt Cassel, QB. The stats: 19 of 31 passing for 178 yards, 6 rushes for 22 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 1 fumble and 9 fantasy points.

Matt Forte, RB. The stats: 8 rushes for 27 yards, 4 receptions for 34 yards and 5 fantasy points.

Chris "Beanie" Wells, RB. The stats: 8 rushes for 20 yards, 1 reception for 21 yards and 4 fantasy points.

Greg Jennings, Flex. The stats: 4 receptions, 53 yards and 5 fantasy points.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR. The stats: 2 receptions, 14 yards and 1 fantasy point.

Chad Ochocinco, WR. The stats: 3 receptions, 38 yards and 3 fantasy points.

Jeremy Shockey, TE. The stats: 1 reception, 15 yards and 1 fantasy point.

Nick Folk, K. The stats: 1 for 2 on field goals, 3 for 3 on PATs and 5 fantasy points.

Philadelphia Eagles, DEF/ST. The stats: 2 interceptions, 1 sack, 24 points allowed and 4 fantasy points.

Bench. Steve Slaton scored 9 fantasy points. Nate Washington scored 6. The San Francisco 49ers scored 17. Kurt Warner was inactivated shortly before his game.

The Pigskin's record is now 5-7. Next up is the D.C. Destroyers, another 5-7 team. Here's how our lineup looks now.

Quarterback. Matt Cassel remains in the starting spot for the moment, since Warner still seems to be battling concussion symptoms. If you believe he'll be cleared to play this Sunday, you can vote to move him into the lineup.

Running back. Matt Forte keeps his spot, and Steve Slaton returns to the starting roster. If you want either of them benched, Beanie Wells can take the spot.

Flex. This week's flex starter is Jamal Lewis. If you disagree with this, you can vote to put T.J. Houshmandzadeh in this spot.

Wide receiver. Back to the well we go with Greg Jennings and Chad Ochocinco. Again, Houshmandzadeh awaits if one of these receivers should be benched.

Defense/special teams. The Philadelphia Eagles remain in the starting lineup, unless you vote to put the San Francisco 49ers into that spot.

There are no changes at tight end (Jeremy Shockey) or kicker (Nick Folk).

The lineup poll is now open. Please vote. The lineup is in your hands. Thanks.

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.

Sunday Update: Executive Decision

Every democracy has procedures in place for an emergency. In this fantasy football democracy, one of those emergency procedures is being put in place.

At about 3:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals reported that Kurt Warner would not play against the Tennessee Titans. In light of this, the People's Pigskin has benched Warner in favor of Matt Cassel. You can see the updated lineup here and follow our matchup against the Hawaiian Surfriders here.

The People's Choice (and a New Poll)

Another week has passed, and you, the Internet, have spoken again. In our latest fantasy football poll, you decided that our team should bench Steve Slaton in favor of Matt Forte. Slaton has been benched, and Forte has moved into the starting lineup for our Landshark Maniacs matchup against the Hawaiian Surfriders. You can follow that match live here.

Our latest poll deals with something that has haunted fantasy football pretty much since its creation. Last year I played in an online league where one team was ... and there's no pleasant way to put this ... abandoned. How do we know it was abandoned? By looking at the starting quarterback for all 17 weeks of last year's NFL season: Tom Brady. (You might remember he had a problem with his knee in the season opener that year.)

I remember being frustrated about the fact that whoever was playing this team (which I will not identify here) was getting what was essentially a head start, if not an outright gift of a win, because it seemed as if one fantasy player had suffered a setback and decided that the team was a lost cause.

Nothing happened to that player as far as I can tell. Was that right? This poll is your chance to answer. Please vote now, and enjoy the Sunday games. The lineup poll results can be seen below.

[polldaddy poll=2304605]

Saturday Afternoon Reading

If you're reading this, let me congratulate you on surviving your Thanksgiving dinner and Black Friday.

The People's Pigskin got off to a disappointing start against the Hawaiian Surfriders. Greg Jennings and Nick Folk scored 5 fantasy points each, giving us a 10-0 lead heading into Sunday's games. There is still time to vote on the rest of our lineup. That poll will close late Saturday night.

So before you settle into a plate of leftover turkey and a slate of college games, here are some fantasy football links to peruse.

Forget the budget! I've gotta set my lineup! Who says politicians can't make tough decisions? Twelve mayors from across the country are competing in the Yahoo Sports Mayoral Face-Off. The grand prize: a $15,000 donation to a nonprofit of the winning mayor's choice. One of the participants is Oklahoma City's Mick Cornett, a former sportscaster. How much has his sports background helped him in this competition? At the time the article was posted, his team was 11th.

Another set of opposing views. A couple of WordPress bloggers make this week's list. First, there's Big Rips, who offers this comparison of fantasy football versus gambling. The thesis: fantasy football "has turned many people into “that guy” at the bar." In this case, "that guy" means the guy who annoys everyone else in the bar, to the point where the barkeep tosses the guy out on his Oshiomogho Atogwe.

Another blogger, Glenn's World, offers some thoughts on having NFL games on Thursday. In a nutshell, Glenn would prefer to have games on Sunday or Monday only. "With every Sunday spent watching football, I really don’t want to devote more time to watching more football other days."

(Glenn also invited me to give him a set of confidence picks to compare with his own. My picks, which skipped the already-played Thursday games, can be found in the comments section of his post.)

And just in case... you haven't seen this yet, here is video proof that Ray Lewis hasn't cornered the market on big defensive plays.

We'll be back tomorrow with an update on our lineup.

Pick the People's Team - Week 12 (and Thanksgiving Help)

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who have kept this blog going with your visits, comments and votes. We couldn't do it without you.

We had two polls close last night. The first one was about whether Greg Jennings and/or Nick Folk should start for the People's Pigskin today or be benched. You voted to keep them both in the lineup, so they'll stay right there.

The second poll was about how much football you plan to watch this weekend. As the results (at the bottom of this post) show, you won't exactly be camped out at your local retailer all weekend.

While you're waiting for the turkey to roast -- or fry; I'm not one to look down on those of you daring enough to do this -- it's time to consider the rest of this week's lineup for our matchup against the Hawaiian Surfriders. (And at the end of this post, we'll have a link to help you deal with relatives today. Stay tuned.)

Quarterback. At the moment we have Kurt Warner as our starter. He reportedly expects to play Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, despite last week's injury. If you're nervous enough to bench him, Matt Cassel can start in his place.

Running back. Our current starters are Steve Slaton, who missed practice Wednesday with a shoulder injury, and Chris "Beanie" Wells, who is asserting himself more and more each week. If we bench one of these runners, we'll start Matt Forte.

Flex. Greg Jennings is in this slot and should be carving up the Lions at about the time you're carving up your poultry.

Wide receiver. Our starting lineup has T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Ochocinco, who hopefully won't fumble any boxing references (or footballs) this week. If either receiver is benched, Nate Washington will move into that spot.

Defense. At the moment, we have the Philadelphia Eagles ready to go against the Washington Redskins. If you would rather insert the San Francisco 49ers (who face the Jacksonville Jaguars), vote accordingly.

You already know about the kicker, and there is no change at tight end (Jeremy Shockey).

The new poll is up. Please vote.

Now a public service announcement from the People's Pigskin. If you're a fantasy football player who's visiting or hosting some non-fantasy players today, it's possible that you'll be asked the question, "What is this fantasy football everyone's talking about?" The likelihood of this skyrockets in one of the following scenarios.

1. You excuse yourself from a conversation about Uncle Henry's surgery to go to your computer and adjust your lineup.

2. You hear over your shoulder that your quarterback is out, and you immediately ask your host for permission to use his/her computer to fix your lineup.

If they ask about fantasy football while you're at the computer, you could try to fumble your way through an explanation yourself, or  you could just click here for a quick video tutorial and thank the People's Pigskin later.

[polldaddy poll=2257311] [polldaddy poll=2292722]