Where I’m at.

I’m not going to post matchups anymore but I’ll at least update the blog to the end of the regular season to see how I ended up finishing.

Right now in the ESPN league that I can win the hdtv, wii, and honda generator in, I’m in 2nd place but the guy in 1st has a decent lead so I have to be on the top of my game these last 3 weeks to overtake him. He had Drew Brees this week who had an ok game against the Bears, so that’s one opportunity to gain ground. I think I’m going to go with Tony Romo and Kurt Warner this week. I am a Cowboy fan and I think I’ll go down with them if all this drama actually effects the team (which I don’t think it will).

In the sporting news leagues I’m still kinda close to on the bubble of winning money, I’ll see where I am at tomorrow.

Week 14 Matchups

This is probably my final week for posting in this blog since the class is ending and I’m not a fan of the blog form of communication. It has its place for certain things, and maybe if I were keeping a log of what I were doing on a certain project maybe or something along those lines but for most things I’m interested I think just relying on forums or maybe some forms of instantaneous communication are much better.

Quarterbacks: Pretty easy this week it seems.

Drew Brees vs Atlanta: Perhaps the top QB in the league against the Falcons secondary which although is improving, should still give up quite a bit, and the threat of Reggie Bush in the pass game is back which helps.

Kurt Warner vs St. Louis: Another easy pick, elite quarterback on a pass first team, should blow out the Rams.

Jay Cutler vs Kansas City: If for some reason you can’t get either of the top 2 or feel like taking a gamble in order to catch up, Cutler will get it done as well, I doubt he does as well as the top 2 though.

Matt Cassel vs Seattle: Should have a good day against a terrible Seattle team that has been struggling and has nothing to play for anymore whereas the Pats are in a fierce playoff race. Get him if you need a value pick for cheap that should perform well.

Runningbacks:

Adrian Peterson vs Detroit: I don’t think there needs to be an explanation here.

Michael Turner vs New Orleans: He’s been performing well in big games as of late and should be huge vs the Saints.

Matt Forte vs Jacksonville: The Jags are clearly not trying anymore and are totally demoralized. The Bears are still in the playoff race and the offense revolves around Forte. The issue is which 2 of these 3 backs do you take in your lineup.

Wide Receivers: Not as easy as the QBs and RBs but not too bad either, pretty easy week, good week to take gambles too.

Anquan Boldin vs St. Louis: Been flat out better than Fitzgerald this year because he’s catching so many touchdowns, the better pick, but either should be fine. Could be another game where both get over 150 yards if the game isn’t out of hand too early.

Randy Moss vs Seattle: With Cassel coming on, Moss is becoming big time again. He uncharacteristically dropped passes against the best defense in the league last week that would have been big gains or touchdowns. He won’t do it again. Should torch the Seahawks.

Brandon Marshall vs Kansas City: He hasn’t caught many touchdowns as of late, should come up big this game.

Defenses:

Tennessee vs Cleveland: Both of Cleveland’s starting QBs are out for the Browns against a top defense in the league, pretty simple, everyone and their mother should have the Titans this week.

Dallas vs Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh’s offense is awful and the weather should be a bit bad, Dallas’ defense has finally been coming on and getting exotic and should show up big time this week, a solid gamble.

Minnesota vs Detroit: It’s the Lions and they are very turnover prone. Another solid gamble if you don’t want or can’t afford Tennessee, it only takes a defensive touchdown to tip the scales in your favor over the Titans who may just have a solid game with no touchdown.

Week 13 Matchups

Well, I didn’t get to post the Thanksgiving Day matchups which kind of sucks because there were tons of great matchups to exploit in the blowout wins on turkey day, oh well. I think most of the matchups should have been obvious other than McNabb/Westbrook anyways. I wouldn’t have recommended Westbrook simply because he hasn’t looked good at all with his myriad of injuries anyways and there were safer picks, but if you did take the gamble on him, it paid off in the biggest way, over 100 yards and 4 tds, doesn’t get much better than that. Chris Johnson vs Detroit should have been obvious, Romo I think everybody and their mother had vs the terrible Seahawks defense, and the Tennessee defense of course vs the dreaded lions was another obvious play that everyone probably has. Well if you missed out on some Thanksgiving matchups there’s still some good matchups available for today.

Quarterbacks:

Philip Rivers vs Atlanta: Atlanta’s defense isn’t very good and their offense should put up some points, Rivers has been a solid qb as of late and is a safe play because weather conditions at this time in San Diego are still good.

Jay Cutler vs New York Jets: The weather should be bad in the Meadowlands but the Broncos will probably have to play catch up the entire way and Cutler will be forced to throw the ball a lot. Brett Favre is also a good play somewhat but not as good as Cutler to me because Thomas Jones and Leon Washington could easily steal numerous touchdowns and if he gets a huge lead then the Jets will run the clock out on the terrible Denver run d.

Peyton Manning vs Cleveland: Matchup would be an obvious play but the weather in the northeast today is going to be dreadful so it could be a rough day through the air with high winds and rain. Drew Brees also falls under the same catagorey here, there’s supposed to be 25-30mph winds in Tampa Bay today and a tornado watch so he is a very risky pick despite being perhaps the best QB in the game right now, plus the Tampa defense is excellent against the pass.

Runningbacks:

Thomas Jones vs Denver: A Chris Johnson vs Detroit style matchup, absolutely terrible run defense that should get shredded.

Adrian Peterson vs Chicago: Best RB in the game, Chicago does show a cause for concern because their defense is very stout against the run, but AD has demolished the bears in the past and should continue to do so, plus they are in the Metrodome so weather is never a factor.

LaDainian Tomlinson vs Atlanta: Much like Rivers, horrible defense, high scoring offense usually equals shoot out. He’s been a risk as of late because of his health, but the ideal weather conditions should help his cause. Michael Turner is a risky play, he could get touchdowns, but the chargers are horrendous against the pass but deceptively good against the run.

Wide Receivers: Much of the WR picks were made on Thanksgiving day but there’s still a few available.

Roddy White vs San Diego: Worst pass defense in the league, somebody’s gotta catch those passes and he’s turning into a great WR.

Andre Johnson vs Jacksonville: Not the greatest of matchups but still solid and Johnson is as good as anybody in the league.

Eddie Royal vs New York Jets: Safe pick for the triple threat and cheap cost, hard to go wrong here, great matchup as well.

Defenses:

Baltimore vs Cincinnati: If you didn’t take Tennessee, this is pretty much your only other option. Miami would be a great play if the Rams weren’t getting Steven Jackson back but they are so Baltimore is it pretty much.

Week 12 Matchups

This is a week where nothing stands out as obvious picks but there are a slew of good matchups across the board so it’s a good week to gain more ground with the right decisions.

Quarterbacks:

Peyton Manning vs San Diego: San Diego’s dead last in the entire league this year against the pass, Peyton’s been hot as of late as he and his team gets healthier so this should be a good pick. Another good thing about Peyton this week is his schedule for the next few weeks all the way to the end of the season is VERY favorable so he can be kept for a long time without dropping.

Tony Romo vs San Francisco: His pinky is still affecting his throwing it seems, but with him healthy, the offensive line healthy, and all the weapons he has now with Roy Williams, T.O., Witten, etc, it’s hard not to see him put up huge numbers… unless Barber runs out an entire quarter like last game… He does have favorable matchups 2 weeks in a row though so keep that in mind.

Aaron Rodgers vs New Orleans: This game should be a shootout so either QB is a decent play here, but I think Rodgers is the better play because the Saints defense is light years worse than the Packers against the pass.

Runningbacks:

LaDainian Tomlinson vs Indianapolis: The Colts run defense is already shoddy at best and now with Bob Sanders out (yet again) their run defense becomes putrid. LT is getting better week by week, he should be huge in this game which should be high scoring.

Adrian Peterson vs Jacksonville: Jacksonville’s defense has been terrible this year compared to years past and they are having issues within the locker room with some of their key players even so can’t really go wrong with the best RB in football right now.

In a 2 RB league I’d stick with those 2, safe picks. If you need a 3rd RB or can’t afford both of those guys above there are tons of options and that’s where it gets flexible.

Marion Barber vs San Francisco – could be relied upon once again like last week. Joseph Addai vs San Diego – great matchup w/ favorable upcoming schedule. Marshawn Lynch vs Kansas City – Solid RB vs the 2nd worst run defense in the league. Steve Slaton vs Cleveland – Big play rookie RB against a terrible run defense, weather could be a factor though. Matt Forte vs St. Louis – Another great rookie RB against a terrible run defense.  If you take a gamble here it could pay dividends, lots to choose from.

Wide Receivers:

Greg Jennings vs New Orleans: Big play receiver who’s been surprisingly consistent this year. If this game turns into a shootout like it should, he should be in for a big day.

T.O. / Roy Williams vs San Francisco: Either WR could have a big day today, T.O. will cost more, RW might give better value.

Reggie Wayne vs San Diego: I think Peyton will have a huge day, if so, Wayne should have one as well.

Andre Johnson vs Cleveland: Been quiet as of late, should have a good game against Cleveland’s porous defense. Good pick if you can afford him.

Steve Smith vs Atlanta: Atlanta’s pass defense is improved, but still not great, Smith is an elite receiver and could easily have a big game. They’ve relied on their run game the past few weeks with Jake Delhomme playing flat out terrible so it is a risky play.

Eddie Royal vs Oakland: Triple threat player, receiver, returns kicks, returns punts, and shouldn’t be defended by Nnamdi Asomugha who is probably the best cornerback in the league and has been shutting down receivers all year.

Defenses:

Pittsburgh: They already played but I picked em already so.. I’ll go ahead and list them here.

Tampa Bay vs Detroit: Tampa has one of the best defenses in the league going against turnover prone Detroit, should have a good day.

Chicago vs St. Louis: Steven Jackson is out again, the Rams are absolutely awful without him, Chicago has been bad on defense as of late which is uncharacteristic but they should bounce back this week.

Week 11

Ok, I missed another week because I was out of town again so I apologize. I had a pretty bad week and am gonna have to make some great decisions in the coming weeks to gain ground. I took a huge gamble in taking Tony Romo coming off his injury and it backfired in a way. The decision was good because he has a favorable schedule in the next couple of weeks, but I did not account for gusting winds in Washington affecting the passing game. I also didn’t account for 2 bonehead interceptions by Romo inside the Redskins’ 30 yard line which killed point opportunities, 1 of which was his (pinky’s) fault and the other was on T.O. Also Marion Barber killing the final 7 minutes of the game on the ground was nice to see, but absolutely horrible for Romo’s numbers. I should have went with Kurt Warner instead of Romo and played it safe but on the bright side, I won 50 bucks on the game so….. win some lose some I guess.

 

I’ll throw in a Monday Night Special since I missed this week, I’m feeling real good about Cleveland tonight +5-7 depending on when/where you take it. Bad weather game, Buffalo battling injuries on defense, Cleveland had a long time off to figure things out now since the last time they played was against Denver a couple of Thursdays ago. Buffalo’s offense has been garbage, their offensive line is not very good and they should have a lot of trouble running on the Browns. Trent Edwards has been bad. When I put this all together it gives me at worst a close game that Buffalo edges out, so Cleveland plus the points is the play for me. Also the public seems to be hammering the home favorite (Buffalo), which is usually really really bad on nationally televised games.

Diary of my Day on November 4th, 2008

I didn’t really get to do much the first 3/4ths of the day because I worked from 7am to 3pm and then had an exam in computer architecture from 5:30pm to 6:45pm after that. After that, I had a modeling assignment for ATEC3317 which was due the next day that I had to continue finishing because it was a 2 week assignment and I was a bit behind so even when I got home I wasn’t going to be able to pay close attention to the race.

I did turn on the television and still watched much of what transpired during the vote counting process however. I flipped between CNN, MSNBC and CBS mostly I think and just for the most part watched the key moments when the votes were finalized and states were awarded to candidates. Everything was going, for the most part, according to projections early on. The only real moments of suspense in this blow out was waiting on the results of Ohio and Virginia really I think. Once Obama won Ohio that was pretty much a wrap. There was no way McCain was going to win because Obama was over 200 I believe and the west coast had yet to close their voting booths. Once the west coast came in it was over and every channel was celebrating the Obama victory. I laughed at how Florida was still undecided when he had already won and how the west coast was done before them despite being 4 hours behind.

The television stations just had analysts give their keys for what would have to happen for each candidate to win. I believe McCain needed 4 out of 5 states on an important list which included Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Indiana, and North Carolina. The analysts also showed that despite McCain winning some states that were generally Republican, he was winning them by a much smaller margin than Bush had in the previous elections, which was a bad omen for the McCain campaign. Also the television stations showed live footage of numerous places such as an Atlanta church where Bernice King, Martin Luther King’s daughter, was spending the election night at and Howard University. In addition, television offered interviews with big name former politicians like former governors and senators including people such as Hilliary Clinton giving their insight on the current state of the election. These are a few things that I feel television offered that other media types would struggle to provide. New media could perhaps provide a dedicated live stream, but that is just basically a tv channel.

Sure enough, Obama won in a landslide and I just watched his victory speech and then that was it for me.

Week 10 Matchups

Fewer plays this week since I already made a few for the Thursday game. Cutler, Marshall, and Kellen Winslow all had huge games, forgot about Eddie Royal though. Quinn was alright for his first nfl start, but they were very conservative with their play calls for him.

Quarterbacks:

Drew Brees vs Atlanta: Absolutely must get this guy, the best QB in the league this year so far against a weak secondary and with a favorable upcoming schedule.

Kurt Warner vs San Francisco: Something tells me he’s gonna have one of those games where he turns the ball over multiple times this Monday night but… he’s still been ridiculous this year so he’s guaranteed to at least put up good yardage and probably a couple of touchdowns minimum.

4 QBs if you include Cutler and Quinn is usually enough to decide upon but there’s a few other value picks if you need to take a gamble.. Philip Rivers vs Kansas City, Aaron Rodgers vs Minnesota, and Sage Rosenfels vs Baltimore with a banged up secondary.

Runningbacks:

LaDainian Tomlinson vs Kansas City: He’s coming off a bye where he should be healthy from that nagging turf toe injury that has been bugging him all year and historically has destroyed the Chiefs. Get him if you can afford him.

Adrian Peterson vs Green Bay: Green Bay is putrid against the run this year so Peterson and the big Minnesota offensive line are a very safe play for 100+ yards and a td or two.

Michael Turner vs New Orleans: Big divisional rivalry game here and Turner should be able to run on the Saints defense despite them getting back Sederick Ellis. They have to respect Matt Ryan and Roddy White unlike when they faced Minnesota earlier in the year.

Jamaal Charles vs San Diego: Big time sleeper pick here, used to go to UT and you might remember him from the days of Vince Young winning the national title vs USC. He’s a rookie in the NFL this year and now has his chance to be the full time starter with Larry Johnson’s suspension and Kolby Smith being out for the year. Had over 100 yards last week against a tough Tampa Bay secondary and should be able to shred the Chargers. Pick him up if you’re in a draft league and he’s still available on waivers for a solid backup to play in favorable matchups.

Wide Receivers:

At this point in the year I think for the salary cap league you have to play it safe with all the big name receivers that will be the least random and put up consistent numbers. I failed miserably with Braylon Edwards on Thursday but I did have the huge game from Kellen Winslow in 2 out of 3 of my leagues to help amend for that terrible decision.

Andre Johnson vs Baltimore: This looks like a bad matchup initially but Baltimore’s secondary is banged up with Chris McCallister, their pro bowl CB, out for the year and Samari Rolle out as well. It’ll be tough for their backups to cover arguably the best WR in the league right now.

Calvin Johnson vs Jacksonville: Don’t know how this will turn out with the Lions just signing Daunte Culpepper a couple of weeks ago, but he’s still just too talented and pretty much the only option on the team now with Roy Williams gone. Safe pick.

Larry Fitzgerald/Anquan Boldin: Problem is picking which one is going to have the huge game. It’s been Anquan for most of the year since he leads the NFL in touchdowns for a WR. Going with either is a pretty safe play.

Defenses: I’ve picked up one defense in all of my leagues and am sticking with them for two weeks in a row for two great matchups in a row.

Carolina vs Oakland: Oakland is straight garbage and in turmoil right now. This is the safest play on the board and then Carolina gets Detroit next week which makes things even better. Their defense is very good this year and they come at a cheap price. Hard to turn this play down. The only problem is if you’re looking to gain ground this is probably the defense everyone else in the world is going to have this week so it will be tough to do that. Try and do it at another position and go with Carolina.

Quick Thursday Update

Well this week starts the frustrating process of making sure rosters are set up properly to not get hosed before Thursday evening because of the games on NFL network and Thanksgiving. Tonight’s game is Denver vs Cleveland and I expect a shootout. Brady Quinn is taking over Cleveland so if you haven’t picked him up in your draft league it’s already too late, I had him on my bench over a month ago in both my draft leagues.

Denver is missing Champ Bailey and their defense was already bad enough with him, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow are great plays tonight to me and so is Brandon Marshall on the other end. Naturally Quinn and Cutler are great plays as well. I think Quinn is the safer play for leagues that take off for fumbles and turnovers because Cutler hasn’t been able to avoid turnovers lately but Cutler might have a slight edge in the yardage and TD department. Ryan Torain has been hyped since early in the year as the next great Denver running back. He’s the only guy they have now because every other RB is injured so he is a safe play and we’ll find out if he’s for real after tonight.

Who I Plan on Voting for

I am voting for Obama because after watching some of the presidential debates, I see that he is a very intelligent individual who can keep his composure under duress and is clearly capable of making decisions on his own without reliance on advisers. McCain seems more like a firecracker that will make snap decisions to me. Right now with the current state of the country, I believe it needs an Obama that has good policies for the future to help this country rebuild. I am also going to lean democrat because right now the trickle down effect is clearly not going to accomplish anything. The country needs help from the bottom up not the top down. The rich people don’t know what they’re doing right now so giving them relief isn’t what I’d prefer.

Favorite Blogs related to Fantasy

I mostly prefer to read forums rather than blogs because they offer much more interaction, but there are a few good blogs out there that I read from time to time.

www.rotoguru.com is a great blog that is in direct correlation with The Sporting News salary cap leagues. They have daily blurbs that give out information on recent happenings and standout performances for the major fantasy sports leagues. They also have a very handy “sched-o-matic” which is a godsend for salary cap basketball because it tells you which teams have the highest number of games during the time period you enter. This is important because if you want to succeed in salary cap basketball you have to know which teams have the most games each week so you know who to get. Having Kobe or Lebron doesn’t mean much if they have only 2 games on a week, they’ll be outperformed by a much lesser player with 4 games that week.

Rotowire Fantasy Football Blog Here is a quality fantasy football blog that is very up to date and has some good insight that the average fan might overlook.

ffgeekblog.com Like above, another good ffootball blog that helps people in standard draft leagues, especially with sleeper picks.

fantasyfootballgoat.com Another good ffootball blog that gives good information on relatively unknown players that are ready to step in and produce.

ESPN’s NFL Nation Not a fantasy football blog, but a blog about the league as a whole. Frequently updated and has links to articles from local media for each respective team. Lots of information and any fantasy football player has to know what’s going on with the league so.. still very useful.