Fantasy Wrap-up - NFL Week 13

Wow, what a week for me in Fantasy Football in the Dallas League. I needed a win to make the playoffs. Sunday morning I was bouncing back and forth between starting Brandon Jacobs or Cadillac Williams. I chose Cadillac. Terrible move. Sunday evening I thought this move was going to keep me out of the dance and keep me from winning any cash.

With all my players finished playing, I had a 23 point lead on my opponent, but he still had Brett Favre and Greg Jennings to play. Luckily for me, Favre played his worst game of the year, but he did score 6 late Fantasy points on a garbage touchdown. I was yelling for Vikings coach Brad Childress to bench him.

So, going into MNF, I had an 8 point lead and I only needed to avoid a touchdown or a big yardage night from Greg Jennings. It was clearly touch and go all night long, but I ended up winning my game by 2 points 69-67. I am the #6 seed out of 6 playoff teams. I just need Peyton Manning to get hot again, Randy Moss to play big, and Brandon Jacobs to do what he did this week.

Going into the playoffs, I am already down a starter because I do not think that Hines Ward is going to play tomorrow night. I probably have to play Michael Crabtree as my #2 receiver. He could have a big game and he plays on Monday night. He actually could be the deciding Fantasy player this week.

I had one of my worst weeks of the year picking games against the spread. I ended up 6-10 for the week and that drops me to 102-89-1 on the season. Tonight, I need to pick up a back up QB and a back up kicker for the playoffs. In our league, rosters are set this Sunday, so if Manning or Nate Kaeding got injured I would be in trouble.

Fantasy Wrap-up - NFL Week 12

On my NFL picks this week I went 9-7 against the spread to make me 96-79-1 on the season.

In my Dallas league, this is the last regular season game. I am currently in a 4 way tie for the final playoff berth. I need huge games this week from Peyton Manning, Brandon Jacobs, and LeSean McCoy. I drafted Jacobs in the 2nd round and he has killed me all year. I am strongly considering starting Cadillac Williams with a favorable match up.

In my Atlanta league, I lost another game, but this was a heartbreaker. I went into the Sunday night game with Derrick Mason and I needed a big game from him to win. Mason played great, but I came up one point short. I needed Mason to catch one more ball for about 20 yards. That would have been nice. My performance in this league has been a disaster and I am in danger of finishing dead last.

Fantasy Wrap-up - NFL Week 11

The Steelers are my team and they got upset this weekend by Kansas City. That game pretty much shows how my weekend went. I was 8-8 picking games. This week is another week this year where I lost almost all of the early games against the spread, but the late games I came storming back just to reach .500 for the week.

Fantasy Football can be so frustrating. I picked up Ladell Betts last week, but did not play him. Clearly, my fault. Then, I thought about picking up Jason Snelling from the Atlanta Falcons on waivers, but I figured I would play Betts and be fine. Betts ended up getting hurt earlier in the Redskins and Cowboys game. He did not score a Fantasy point. Meanwhile, Snelling had a monster game.

In my Dallas league, I am in a four way tie for 4th place. Someone in this group with a very solid team is not going to make the play-offs this year. My team scored well last week, but lost. I think I had the 3rd most points for the week, but I was playing one of the best teams in the Kellen Winslow Friendship League.

I have a tough schedule, but if I can make the play-offs I have a dangerous team led by Peyton Manning and Randy Moss. I need Brandon Jacobs to come up big Thanksgiving night versus the Denver Broncos. It looks like Ahmad Bradshaw might not be able to play, so that should boost Jacob's value a little bit.

If anyone is interested, I will pick the games for tomorrow on my twitter feed on the right hand side of the page.

Fantasy Wrap-up - NFL Week 10

Wow, what a Sunday and Monday this week. I went 12-3 in my NFL picks (that makes me 79-64-1 on the year) and 2-0 in Fantasy Football. I finally won another game in my Atlanta league. I was worried that I was going to finish the season with 1 measly win. I still did not make the right call on my only crucial line-up decision.

I picked up Ladell Betts on waivers last week with plans to start him, but he barely practiced last week and was listed as questionable by the Redskins. I hate running backs that have ankle or knee injuries, so Sunday morning I started thinking about starting Chester Taylor of the Vikings.

I figured the Vikings would kill the Detroit Lions and Taylor would get a bunch of garbage yards and maybe a 4th quarter touchdown. Needless to say, I started Taylor and Betts had a monster game for the 'Skins. I would really like to finish out this Atlanta league schedule with a couple of more wins.

The Sunday night game was a great game to watch especially when you have Peyton Manning and Randy Moss on the same Fantasy team. I started the game behind by 53 points to another playoff contender and the commissioner of the Kellen Winslow Friendship League. Plus, I was robbed of a win by a commissioner decision earlier in this season. It is always nice to beat the Commish and I really wanted to win this one.

Moss and Manning put on show and scored 51 points. I still had the Baltimore Ravens' defense to play on MNF and they scored huge. In this Dallas league, I am right in the middle of the playoff race. I really feel for Cleveland Browns' fans--it was almost impossible to watch the game last night.

The Browns are the worst team I have seen all year. Can Brady Quinn throw anything besides a pass near the line of scrimmage? Awful. Terrible. It might be time for Roger Goodell to step in and do something for the sake of the fans and the city of Cleveland.

Fantasy Wrap-up - NFL Week 9

Steadily, I am making some headway on my NFL picks. 10 out of 13 NFL underdogs this week covered the point spread. The only favorites to win and cover were Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Seattle. I went 8-5 this week.

Monday night was another close call for me in Fantasy. In my Dallas league, I was up by 12 points going into the game. I had the Steelers Hines Ward and my opponent had the Denver Broncos defense. He cut the game to 4 points when the Broncos returned a Big Ben fumble for a touchdown.

At that point, the Broncos defense still had not allowed a touchdown and Ward was struggling big time. The Steelers took that kick-off and drove down for a touchdown scored by Ward. After that score, I breathed a little easier. Ward capped off a great night with a late touchdown. The win moved my to 5-4 on the season, but in this league, there is a very tight race for playoff spots. 10 teams basically have a shot to make the playoffs in this league.

I was able to pick up Ryan Moats in my Atlanta league and he scored 10 points for my team, but now Moats is on a bye. My running back situation is a total mess. The Colts' Donald Brown is not playing, Moats is on a bye, Larry Johnson just got cut by the Chiefs and Matt Forte is at the top of the 2009 list of Fantasy team killers.

2009 NFL Picks Record: 67-61-1

Fantasy Wrap-Up - NFL Week 8

Another mediocre week of picking games left me at 6-7 for the weekend. I did pick the Vikings, Miami, and St. Louis to cover, but lost out on the big favorites San Diego, New Orleans, and Arizona. That still leaves me slightly above .500 for the year.

I am not an Atlanta Falcons fan or a New Orleans Saints fan, but I watched almost every play of the 4th quarter with trepidation. In one of my leagues this week, I had a slim lead going into MNF. I had Tony Gonzales, but my opponent was playing Reggie Bush and Jeremy Shockey.

Late in the game, Shockey caught about a 15 yard pass to tie up our Fantasy match up. The Saints eventually scored and the Falcons got the ball back. When Matt Ryan found Gonzales with a couple of catches in the last minutes, I was celebrating like I had won the Kellen Winslow Friendship League title. I am now 4-4 in my Dallas League and I am in playoff contention.

In my Atlanta league, I am just getting torched. I am 1-7, but there was some light at the end of the tunnel this week. My team put up over 90 points with a garbage number two running back. But, the guy I was playing had Stephen Jackson and Maurice Jones-Drew. Unlucky. Another loss.

I am going to try and pick up Ryan Moats this week, so I am not giving up on playing the spoiler role in the final weeks of the season. To make matters worse, TE Owen Daniels is out for the year on this roster.

Fantasy Wrap-up - NFL Week 7

Finally, I made some good NFL picks against the spread. I went 9-3-1 this week. After making the picks, I was nervous because I picked mostly favorites and gave points. Usually, this is what Las Vegas wants the general public to do. If you go with the public opinion, you often get killed on Sundays, but this week Vegas had to lose a ton of money.

It could have been worse. If the 49ers had not pulled QB Shaun Hill, the Houston Texans probably would have been the 11th favorite to cover in Week 7. The only two underdogs to cover were Arizona and Buffalo and they won their games outright. I picked Buffalo in a feeble attempt to give some karma to my Fantasy wide out Terrell Owens. Well, one out of two isn't bad.

Speaking of Fantasy, I am almost at the give up point. I was in a position that happens every week in Fantasy. I was leading both of my games going into Monday Night Football. All I needed was the Washington Redskins to play really well and make the game a low scoring contest. What a joke. David Akers, the Eagles' kicker and the Eagles' defense combined to beat me in both my leagues before halftime!

One bright spot this week was that I did pick up Michael Crabtree in both leagues and he played okay for his first game. That pick up could help me make the playoffs in my Dallas league. What is going on with the Atlanta league, you ask? Forget it. I just watched the Alien sequels last weekend and I have had a Bill Paxton type meltdown already.

It can't be that bad, these are some of the guys on my roster in that league--Matt Forte, Larry Johnson, Anquan Boldin, and Terrell Owens. Remember how good Boldin and Forte were last year? Yeah, neither do I.

2009 NFL Picks Record: 53-49-1

Fantasy Wrap-Up - NFL Week 6

October is a great time to be a sports fan. Monday night's baseball games and Monday Night Football were fun to watch. I really like the late afternoon start time for playoff baseball games. You might miss some of the early innings, but you are able to catch all of the crucial moments.

Going into the weekend, I felt good about my NFL picks. There were a ton of home favorites and big point spreads. I went 6-8 on the weekend to fall one game below .500 for the season. I missed on some close covers by losing teams like the Ravens and Browns.

At least, playoff baseball is giving me something to look forward to, because my Fantasy Football season is slowly going down the drain. I was killed in my Atlanta league this weekend to drop to 1-5 on the season. In my Dallas league, my receivers had nice games, but both my bench running backs played better than my starters. I am having a major dilemma every Sunday on whether to start the Giants' Brandon Jacobs or Ahmad Bradshaw. So far, I have been staying with Jacobs, but he is struggling big time.

Here is my Fantasy year in a microcosm. Peyton Manning has been carrying me, but he was on a bye this week. There were very few options on the waiver wire, but I went with Mark Sanchez of the Jets against the Bills. All Sanchez did was throw 5 interceptions in one of the worst performances by a QB this season. Sanchez looked miserable in the cold and wind in New York. I guess I should have figured in the weather.

The bright spots this week for me were my TE's, Hines Ward, Randy Moss, and Aaron Rodgers. Hines is quietly having a Pro Bowl season. Moss was huge against the Titans and he looks to be back in sync with Tom Brady. Rodgers has been steady this year, but he is the one guy I can count on in my Atlanta league and he is not going to win Fantasy games by himself.

In my Dallas league, I am 3-3 and I think my line-up is solid going into the second half of the Fantasy season. I need the Ravens' defense to step up, but other than that I am getting above average production from the other players. I need to pick up a kicker this week and will probably go with a kicker playing against a bad team.

Fantasy Wrap-Up - NFL Week 5

It seems that I am destined this year to be very average. I was 1-1 again this week in Fantasy Football and 7-7 in my NFL picks. That still leaves me at .500 for the year on picks versus the spread. Definitely, my best pick of the week was the Bengals to cover the spread against the hated Baltimore Ravens. I also picked Miami to win against the Jets.

In Fantasy games, I am making every wrong move with my roster in the Atlanta league. I dropped the Titans' defense and picked up the 49ers' defense. After the strong showing last year, the Titans have been terrible this year. The 49ers looked like a steal and a good start at home against Atlanta. Wrong. The 49ers put a -7 points on the board which seems impossible. The Falcons totally dominated that game.

To make matters worse, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Forte had bye weeks. I was forced to start Matt Cassel and Larry Johnson of the Chiefs. Cassel actually came through with a solid Fantasy game, but I was so uncomfortable with starting him I picked up Derek Anderson of the Browns and let go of WR Jeremy Maclin. Maclin had his best day of the year and Anderson had one of the worst games in the history of NFL quarterbacks. I think I jinxed him. My team is now 1-4 and in dead last in that league.

Luckily on draft day, I picked Peyton Manning in my Dallas league. I have never been a big fan and I had Peyton rated lower than a few other quarterbacks, but the QB I really wanted was gone when I picked. Lucky for me. Manning has carried me to a 3-2 record. One of those losses is somewhat disputed, so I feel pretty good about that team.

Peyton is on a bye this week and my back up plan is to start Mark Sanchez. I felt okay about that post waiver wire pick up last week, but with his performance last night and the addition of WR Braylon Edwards I like Sanchez this week. I need some other guys on the roster to step up to pick up the points lost with Manning on a bye.

This week I want to make some moves to make my Atlanta team better, but I do not see much out there. My team defense is awful, T.O. has killed me, and my running back situation is the worst in the league. I mean I actually picked up Mewelde Moore last week and thought about starting him against Detroit. That is really reaching for something in the distance...

Fantasy Wrap-Up - NFL Week 4

For whatever reason, the 1 pm NFL games this year are killing my picks. I struggled again out of the gate this week, but with the help of San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota all covering the spread at home, I finished the week 7-7 to stay at .500 for the season.

This weekend I was cut off from my Internet access, but I was able to follow the games and scores on the radio on Sunday. It seemed like my players were putting up some good numbers. The Bears' Matt Forte even came through with a touchdown and over 120 total yards. I started Donald Brown of the Colts and he scored a touchdown, so I was feeling good before checking the scores of my two Fantasy games.

Of course, in my Atlanta league, I was getting killed. My opponent racked up over 100 points this week. That owner made a great pick up and start of Rashad Mendenhall of the Steelers. Mendenhall had a monster game against San Diego. I am a huge Steelers fans so it was hard to be upset with that outcome. In this league, I dropped to 1-3 on the year and I have major bye week roster problems. Good times.

In my Dallas league, I came into the Monday night game down 12 points, but I had Mason Crosby kicking for me. I drafted this guy because he can make 50-yard field goals. He was kicking in a dome to make me feel even a little more confident. Aaron Rodgers helped kill me. The Green Bay quarterback fumbled on the first possession in potential field goal range; and then on the second possession, Rodgers threw a terrible interception when the Packers were driving. To add insult to injury, Green Bay decided not to try to other potential field goals that would have given Crosby points.

This game was frustrating because I made a change late in the week to bench Hines Ward and to start Devin Hester against the Lions. I figured the Bears would score a ton of points and Hester might have a big game. It turned out he put up 0 points and Hines came through with a solid game for the Steelers. That move hurt.

During this week, I have major roster problems because of the byes. Right now, I have to start Matt Cassel at quarterback and I do not have a kicker on one team. I do get Tony Gonzalez back in my line-up and I figure to start Marshawn Lynch this week to hopefully solidify one running back situation, but this season could be me just donating money if I can't get a couple of big wins this week.

Fantasy Wrap-Up - NFL Week 3

So far, I am not able to get a read on this NFL season. I am just scuffling along on my picks. This weekend I went 8-8. Ten favorites covered the spread. Clearly, I have to become a believer in Kevin Kolb, the Baltimore Ravens, and Jay Cutler.

My Fantasy Football weekend was very solid. My teams went 2-0 this weekend with very high scores. Carnell Williams, Tony Gonzalez, and Larry Johnson put up terrible numbers, but other than that my players came through in a big way. It helps that I had Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning starting at the QB position. Manning looked great in the Sunday night game. Without a dynamic running back, the Colts are going to have to throw for touchdowns in the Red Zone. Yes.

Interesting week coming up in the NFL because the bye weeks have arrived. Your bench is going to be a big factor. I am struggling with my number 2 running back in both of my leagues. It may help that I drafted Marshawn Lynch and he is finally going to be active this week after being suspended for the first 3 games. I wonder how much he will play though, because Fred Jackson has been producing for the Bills. It might be a wait-and-see approach if you own Marshawn Lynch.

One of the other pleasant surprises for me this week was the play of Eagles' back up running back LeShon McCoy. Of course, I did not start him, but with Bryan Westbrook always injured, McCoy could be valuable down the road. I also have Brent Celek the Eagles' tight end. I have been starting Owen Daniels and he has been playing well. I definitely would listen to trade offers for either Celek or Daniels. Neither one of my leagues makes many trades. Too much pride on the line and and nobody wants to look foolish.

I would like to pick up either a receiver or a running back this week, because I am not sold on Patrick Crayton and he is one of the back ups that I will need to play when my starters are on their bye weeks. He is a guy that could score some Fantasy points or be held without a reception in a game. Tough winning fantasy games with those type of guys.

Fantasy Wrap-Up - NFL Week 2

Once again this week, I hovered right around .500 on my NFL picks with the spread, but the night games on Sunday and Monday put me over the top for the weekend. I picked the Giants and the Colts in those games to finish at 9-7.

In my Fantasy match-ups, I went 1-1, but with a silver lining. I scored big in the loss which could mean good things for the rest of the season. If the Chicago Bears and Jay Cutler do not start using running back Matt Forte, I am going to be in for a long season. My second highest scorer on this team is RB Mike Bell and I picked him up after the waiver wire last week. Forte was my highest draft pick and he has to play well.

All morning on Sunday, I messed with the idea of starting both Giants' running backs against the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys were horrible against the run in Week 1 versus Tampa. I figured that it was too early in the season to start playing hunches; plus, if you give up a ton of yards rushing one week, the Cowboys' coaching staff probably focused on stopping the run all week against the Giants. Brandon Jacobs had below average game and Ahmad Bradshaw did not really do anything. Starting Mike Bell was my best call of the season so far.

On a positive note, T.O. scored a touchdown and could have had another long completion if he would not have dropped the pass from QB Trent Edwards. Even without probable starter Marshawn Lynch, the Bills' offense looks to be much improved. Owens should be able to have some big games this year.

In my Dallas league, my team scored its first victory of the season. However, it might have been less to do with my players than the fact that the Jets were able to contain Tom Brady who was going for the other owner. I picked up Cadillac Williams in this league and he had another solid performance for the Buccanneers. Another guy that I picked up is wide receiver Patrick Crayton. He gives me a solid back up wide receiver and this week I probably will not be making any roster moves. Hopefully, this week I can post my first line-up advice of the Fantasy season.

Fantasy Wrap-Up - NFL Week 1

The weekend could not have started worse for me with losses in the first 5 games of my NFL Week 1 picks. Luckily, I was able to bounce back on Sunday and I felt good going into last night's Monday night games. I picked both favorites and lost both games to finish Week 1 at 7-9.

My Fantasy teams were worse. I lost both my games this weekend. In my Dallas league, Vincent Jackson's touchdown late against the Raiders gave my opponent a 5 point victory in a close contest. I needed Randy Moss to score one of those last minute Patriot touchdowns. Clearly, Beanie Wells is not the answer at the number 2 running back slot.

In the Atlanta league, my team put up the least amount of points. I was counting on Aaron Rodgers to play big and he came up with one of the worst Fantasy totals of his career. Matt Forte was another major disappointment. If the Bears are not going to use Forte, they are in for a long season. Hopefully, Forte will get a lot more carries and receptions next week.

In real life and in fantasy football, you really cannot feel good when you are counting on wide receivers Terrell Owens and Anquan Boldin. I think Owens can bounce back, but the Bills have to at least give him some targets. I might have been equally as frustrated as Owens during last night's game.

Boldin is a whole other story. Boldin did not practice much last week and I checked the Cardinals' beat writers all week. Most said that he doubted he would play. Boldin even was quoted as saying that he did not want to play and risk missing more time by re-injuring his hamstring. I drafted the other Cardinals' receiver Steve Breaston as a handcuff for Boldin. So, on Sunday, I made the switch. Breaston at least had been practicing. Bad move. Boldin played and Breaston was inactive. Boldin did not play well and the Cardinals look like they might be a victim of the Super Bowl loser jinx.

Luckily, my team played so badly this week that I think I get the first pick in the waiver wire. If that is the case, I will be picking up Cadillac Williams. I might need a Lou Holtz pep talk even though it did not help the Ohio State Buckeyes this weekend.