The Return of the Challenge

So it's been a tough last couple of weeks here for us at Fantasy Football Post but we're going to end the year with a bang and do one last Starting 5 Challenge against 3 opponents.  The winners will all get two opportunities to enter the raffle which will be held on the upcoming Monday evening.  The winner will be announced here on Tuesday of next week.  So you know how it works, send us an email at postfantasyfootball@gmail.com and we'll post the three contestants on Saturday evening. Here is our Starting 5:

QB: Aaron Rodgers v. Chicago
RB: Michael Turner v. Carolina
WR: Reggie Wayne v. Tennessee
TE: Vernon Davis v. Arizona
K: Nate Kaeding v. Denver

Thank you for all your support this year and a Happy New Years to all.  Congratulations to Eric M. for winning our Pick'em Challenge, he will receive a Keith Bulluck autographed picture.  Let's finish week 17 strong!

NFL Pick'Em

Last week we had a Paul F. trying to beat Eric M.'s score in our NFL Pick'Em Challenge. Unfortunately for Paul getting 6 correct wasn't going to cut it. Paul finished with a score of 0.428 on the way to a low finish.

This week I will take my second shot at the NFL Pick'Em Challenge and put my picks out there in hopes of defeating Eric M. These are my picks and may everyone have a great day on this wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

Michael M.'s picks:

New England over Detroit
New Orleans over Dallas
New York Jets over Cincinnati
Green Bay over Atlanta
Houston over Tennessee
Minnesota over Washington
Jacksonville over New York Giants
Pittsburgh over Buffalo
Cleveland over Carolina
Kansas City over Seattle
Oakland over Miami
Philadelphia over Chicago
Baltimore over Tampa Bay
Denver over St. Louis
San Diego over Indianapolis
San Francisco over Arizona

NFL Pick'Em Challenge

This week we did not receive entries for the NFL Pick'Em challenge before the Thursday Night Game.  Therefore, we are obmitting that game from this week's pick'em.  The challenger trying to take down Eric M. this week is Paul F.  Before we take a look at Paul's picks let me remind you to send your picks to postfantasyfootball @gmail.com starting after the Monday Night Game.  Now let's see Paul's picks.

Pittsburgh over Oakland
Cleveland over Jacksonville
Tennessee over Washington
Houston over New York Jets
Baltimore over Carolina
Minnesota over Green Bay
Detroit over Dallas
Cincinnati over Buffalo
New Orleans over Seattle
San Francisco over Tampa Bay
Atlanta over St. Louis
New England over Indianapolis
New York Giants over Philadelphia
San Diego over Denver

Starting 5 Challenge

This week our contestant in the Starting 5 Challenge our contestant is Gary O.  Gary is a new reader who is taking his shot at The Post this week.  Let's quickly take a glance at both teams.

Fantasy Football Post:

QB: Mike Vick vs. New York Giants
RB: Frank Gore vs. Tampa Bay
WR: Calvin Johnson vs. Dallas
TE: Jermaine Gresham vs. Buffalo
K: Matt Prater vs. San Diego

Gary O.:

QB: Tom Brady vs. Indianapolis
RB: Cedric Benson vs. Buffalo
WR: Roddy White vs. St. Louis
TE: Vernon Davis vs. Tampa Bay
K: Garrett Hartley vs. Seattle

Challenges

Oh how close it was! This week, in our Starting 5 Challenge, we tied with William F. 19-19. Unfortunately for us, we didn't beat him. Fortunately for William, he gets an entrance into our end of the year drawing for an autographed football. Congrats Will; and if you think that you can beat us at our Starting 5 Challenge, then send over your picks to postfantasyfootball@gmail.com.

In our NFL Pick'Em Brianna F. had a terrible week as she only picked 5 games correctly and ended with a score of 0.357. Brianna now holds down the bottom spot on the board and that leaves Eric M. as the leader for another week. Remember to send your picks in for a chance to unseat Eric M. as our current leader.

This week we will be using the Thursday games so send those picks in soon for a chance to be selected to beat us this week. Here is our Starting 5:

QB: Mike Vick vs. New York Giants
RB: Frank Gore vs. Tampa Bay
WR: Calvin Johnson vs. Dallas
TE: Jermaine Gresham vs. Buffalo
K: Matt Prater vs. San Diego

Starting 5 Challenge

This week's contestant in the Starting 5 Challenge is William F.  Bill will try to halt our winning ways this week, which based on recent history is a sure bet.  Let's quickly look over Bill's picks before the games kickoff.

Fantasy Football Post:


QB: Payton Manning vs. Cincinnati
RB: Arian Foster vs. Jacksonville
WR: Brandon Lloyd vs. Kansas City
TE: Mercedes Lewis vs. Houston
K: Josh Scobee vs. Houston

William F.:

QB: Matt Schaub vs. Jacksonville
RB: Jahvid Best vs. Buffalo
WR: Calvin Johnson vs. Buffalo
TE: Dustin Keller vs. Cleveland
K: Ryan Longwell vs. Chicago

NFL Pick'Em Challenge

It is time for second chances as this week's contestant is Brianna F.  Brianna, who recently gave us one of our rare wins in the Starting 5 Challenge, is now trying her luck at the NFL Pick'Em Challenge.  She'll be trying to outscore Eric M. with her picks.  Let's take a look at those said picks.

Baltimore over Atlanta
Indianapolis over Cincinnati
New York Jets over Cleveland
Minnesota over Chicago
Tennessee over Miami
Houston over Jacksonville
Buffalo over Detroit
Tampa Bay over Carolina
Kansas City over Denver
St. Louis over San Francisco
New York Giants over Dallas
Arizona over Seattle
Pittsburgh over New England
Philadelphia over Washington

Challenges

This week was a good week for the post as we were able to get the win in our Starting 5 Challenge.  This week we beat Brianna F. by a score of 25-14.  Brianna's players just didn't come through this week which allowed us to pull it out without the services of Mr. Antonio Gates.

In our NFL Pick'Em Challenge, Jacob A. went 7-6 for a percentage score of 0.538.  That puts him slightly below The Post in our leaderboard and keeps Eric M. in front.

This week, due to the first Thursday Night game, all players in tonight's game are off limits in the Starting 5 Challenge.  The deadline to submit your Starting 5, to postfantasyfootball@gmail.com, will be Saturday.  Also, by game time today the contestant for our NFL Pick'Em will be sent. I know that we already have some submissions at this time which is appreciated and helpful.  Here is our Starting 5:

Fantasy Football Post:

QB: Payton Manning vs. Cincinatti
RB: Arian Foster vs. Jacksonville
WR: Brandon Lloyd vs. Kansas City
TE: Mercedes Lewis vs. Houston
K: Josh Scobee vs. Houston

NFL Pick'Em

This week's contestant for our NFL Pick'Em is Jacob A.  Jacob has a tough road ahead of him trying to outscore Eric M. and his score of 0.785.  The Post wishes him the best of luck.  Let's take a quick glance at Jacob's picks.

San Diego over Houston
Minnesota over Arizona
New Orleans over Carolina
New England over Cleveland
Tampa Bay over Atlanta
Chicago over Buffalo
Miami over Baltimore
New York Jets over Detroit
New York Giants over Seattle
Indianapolis over Philadelphia
Kansas City over Oakland
Green Bay over Dallas
Cincinnati over Pittsburgh

Starting 5 Challenge

For the first time all season we have a female contestant in our Starting 5 Challenge. This week Brianna F. will look to take down The Post with her lineup.  We took a big risk going with Gates this week, hopefully it'll pay off for us.  Well you know the rules, now let's look at Brianna's team.

Brianna F.:

QB: Tom Brady vs. Cleveland
RB: Matt Forte vs. Buffalo
WR: Marques Colston vs. Carolina
TE: Todd Heap vs. Miami
K: Adam Vinatieri vs. Philadelphia

Fantasy Football Post:

QB: Philip Rivers vs. Houston
RB: Adrian Peterson vs. Arizona
WR: Greg Jennings vs. Dallas
TE: Antonio Gates vs. Houston
K: Mike Nugent vs. Pittsburgh

Midseason Awards

We have reached the half point of the season and it is time for the obligatory midseason awards. So get your tux out and let's hit the red carpet for our award show, er article. As always I'm sure that these will be debated but we tend to look at the players at each position who have put their teams in contention for the playoffs. Also, we'll look at steals from the draft at every position. Without further ado, here at The Fantasy Football Post's Midseason:

QB: Philip Rivers, San Diego
It was a toss up between Peyton Manning and Rivers but Rivers has single-handedly put more teams in contention than Manning in standard leagues and that separated the two. Rivers also leads the league in passing yards and has only had one bad week, all the while with no Vincent Jackson, Malcolm Floyd and Antonio Gates hurt, and Patrick Crayton starting at receiver. No one does more with less.
QB Steal of the Draft: Kyle Orton, Denver

RB: Arian Foster, Houston
Currently leadng all running backs in points, Foster has quietly continued accumulating points after week 1's explosion against the Colts. By the way, did I mention that he's done this after sitting out his bye this season? He has an opportunity to extend the lead between himself and Chris Johnson this week with another solid performance.
RB Steal of the Draft: Darren McFadden, Oakland

WR: Brandon Lloyd, Denver
I can't believe what I have seen from Lloyd this year. Known mostly for his acrobatic catches in the past, he's actually put together a good season so far. He is slightly ahead of big names like Roddy White and Calvin Johnson so I felt I had to give it to him thus far. I see him as the name most likely to fall out of contention but if he doesn't then he's a huge payoff for his fantasy owners.
WR Steal of the Draft (Waiver Wire): Brandon Lloyd, Denver

TE: Antonio Gates, San Diego
Half man, half beast. In the year of the tight end no one has lived up to his billing as Gates has. The future hall of famer has gotten it done whether he's had a healthy receiving corps or not to keep defenses honest. Currently Gates is injured but if he comes back at 80% he's still better than 100% of the tight ends in the league.
TE Steal of the Draft: Dustin Keller, New York Jets

Look out for the Midseasn Busts coming up soon...

Challenges

This week went down to the end and in a tight one we lost (I'm surprised as you are) 22-23 to Bryan M. in our Starting 5 Challenge.  Congrats on the win Bryan, you now have gained entry into our raffle for the autographed Brian Dawkins football.  If you want to be the next contestant to face us email us at postfantasyfootball@gmail.com by Thursday evening.

In our NFL Pick'Em Moises came real close but fell just short of our leader Eric M. with a score of 0.692.  One game that could have gone the other way would have put him in a tie with our current leader.  The deadline for our NFL Pick'Em Challenge is Saturday.  Once again the email is postfantasyfootball@gmail.com.

Here is our Starting 5 for this week's challenge:

QB: Philip Rivers vs. Houston
RB: Adrian Peterson vs. Arizona
WR: Greg Jennings vs. Dallas
TE: Antonio Gates vs. Houston
K: Mike Nugent vs. Pittsburgh

Challenges

Here are this week's contestants for the challenges. In our Starting 5 Challenge I will be going head to head with Bryan M. It's time for me to turn it around as I try to avenge last week's loss. Let's quickly take a look at both teams.


Fantasy Football Post:

QB: Peyton Manning vs. Houston
RB: Rashard Mendenhall vs. New Orleans
WR: Brandon Marshall vs. Cincinnati
TE: Jason Witten vs. Jacksonville
K: Kris Brown vs. Tennessee

Bryan M.:

QB: Kyle Orton vs. San Francisco
RB Arian Foster vs. Indianapolis
WR: Reggie Wayne vs. Houston
TE: Antonio Gates vs. Tennessee
K: Jeff Reed vs. New Orleans

In our NFL Pick'Em Challenge, this week Moises G. will be trying to top Eric M. for first place. Moises will need to have a really good week to get this done. Let's see who he's going with this week.

San Francisco over Denver
Jacksonville over Dallas
Miami over Cincinnati
Kansas City over Buffalo
Detroit over Washington
Carolina over St. Louis
New York Jets over Green Bay
Tennessee over San Diego
New England over Minnesota
Tampa Bay over Arizona
Seattle over Oakland
New Orleans over Pittsburgh
Indianapolis over Houston

Tricks of The Trade

It's seven weeks through the season and I hate to say it, but some of you have been realistically eliminated from the playoffs.  Week seven is the part of the season where you can honestly see where you are.  After looking at league standings for some time now I have learned that on average you need at least 9 wins to make the playoffs.  Sometimes, if you are lucky you can sneak in as the 4th seed with 8 wins but 9 pretty much gets you in.

So what does that mean for you.  Well if your league runs the standard 14 week regular season, then these are the scenarios that are playing out for you.  We are going to look at teams that are 4-3 or worse because if you are doing better than that then you have already taken my advice or forgone it and done well for yourself.  This is for redraft leagues only. 

Teams that are 4-3 need to trade any excess talent for depth.  Let me explain.  If you have three running backs that have already had their bye and you have slim pickings at receiver or quarterback, it's time to make the move and get rid of that extra back.  Realistically he's going to sit there most of the time, give yourself the ability to play matchups in areas of need; especially when you have players that are no-brainers.

Managers of 3-4 teams need to stop hoping that their Cedric Benson, or other underachiever, is going to pull it together.  So maybe you take a lesser star on his way up; remember that Benson once was out of the NFL and worked his way to a 2nd round running back.

2-5 teams are in dire straights.  If you are in this position you probably have incosistent scoring coming from one or more positions.  I'm going to be honest with you; you need to win out and the only way to do it is by trading that big star for two lesser players.  It's great that you have Antonio Gates but if he's giving you a steady amount of points and your constantly changing your lineup around him, then you lack consistency and will not be as confident if you had a Jason Witten and Hines Ward.  I'd rather have the points from those two then those of Gates and Receiver X.  "Receiver X" that's cool.  I should name my first born son that...

Anyways, if you're 1-6 or worse 0-7, your season is over.  Sorry, still fix your lineup and play spoiler but that championship dream is completely over.  Remember, the only way you get better at fantasy is by playing it.  We learn through trial an error and fantasy is the biggest example of that.

Challenges

It's so hard to string two wins together, but so easy to go on a four game losing streak.  This week Matthew V. took us out 23-19 in our Starting 5 Challenge.  Congrats Matthew, you'll be entered into our drawing this year.  Congrats on the win.

On the other hand, Vincent C. did not have such good luck and finished with a score of 0.500 in this week's NFL Pick'Em.  It was a valiant effort however he fell short and Eric M. still leads all participant with his score of 0.785.

If you want to participate in either of our challenges send your email to us at postfantasyfootball@gmail.com with either your picks or Starting 5.  This week the deadline for the Starting 5 is Friday and as always the Pick'Em is Saturday.  Here is our Starting 5:

Fantasy Football Post:

QB: Peyton Manning vs. Houston
RB: Rashard Mendenhall vs. New Orleans
WR: Brandon Marshall vs. Cincinnati
TE: Jason Witten vs. Jacksonville
K: Kris Brown vs. Tennessee

Challenges

We now have the contestants for both challenges this week. Going against The Post this week is Matthew V. Matthew will try to take us out while we look for our first winning streak of the season. Let's look at the tale of the tape:


Fantasy Football Post:

QB: Tom Brady vs. San Diego
RB: Frank Gore vs. Carolina
WR: Randy Moss vs. Green Bay
TE: Jason Witten vs. New York Giants
K: Josh Scobee vs. Kansas City

Matthew V.:

QB: Drew Brees vs. Cleveland
RB: Adrian Peterson vs. Green Bay
WR: Chad Ochocinco vs. Atlanta
TE: Brent Celek vs. Tennessee
K: Rob Bironas vs. Philadelphia

The contestant for the NFL Challenge is Vincent C. Vincent will try to take up the unenviable task of overtaking Eric M. in our challenge. Here are Vincent's picks:

Jacksonville over Kansas City
Tennessee over Philadelphia
Baltimore over Buffalo
New Orleans over Cleveland
Washington over Chicago
Atlanta over Cincinnati
Pittsburgh over Miami
San Francisco over Carolina
St. Louis over Tampa Bay
Arizona over Seattle
San Diego over New England
Denver over Oakland
Green Bay over Minnesota
New York Giants over Dallas

What I Learned This Weekend: Week 6

The NFL trade deadline came and went like it does almost every year, with little fanfare and anticipation.  Trades don't happen at the very last second in the NFL, there just isn't enough that one guy can do for a team that would make a franchise give up a lot to get them.  So this got me thinking on the players that I feel you should sell high on.  Most fantasy trade deadlines are coming up in the next couple of weeks and you don't want to be scrambling at the last minute to round up your lineup.

There is so much I have learned these last 6 weekends and I think I know who has peaked.  Here is 5 guys I would consider trading at their highest value:

QB Kyle Orton, Den:  Chances are that you have Orton as a backup.  And if your other quarterback is one of the top 7 you have a chance to get, pretty much anything you want for him.  Orton is the number overall scorer in all of fantasy and if you can get the appropriate compensation for him, you have to do it now.

RB LaDanian Tomlinson, NYJ: LT has been a pleasant surprise, except for those who aren't surprised by his resurgence  (*cough* yours truly *cough*).  Anyways, enough about me and more about LT.  Tomlinson is currently the 12th highest scorer in standard leagues and the main focus of the Jets running game.  I feel that Shonn Greene will have  a great second half and if you can get a good recevier or a good #2 running back, I take that deal now.

RB Peyton Hillis, Cle:  Hillis is a bruiser who has taken hold of the Cleveland running back job but truthfully those are the reasons why I trade him now.  He's a top-25 player and he has started to show some wear as he is dealing with injuries.  It's time to get a newer, less beat up upgrade while you can get it (Shonn Greene sounds about right).  Plus he plays for the Browns, which means that he won't ever be running out the clock and picking up garbage time yards for you.

WR Austin Collie., Ind:  Collie has recently had surgery and will be out a couple of weeks.  I fully expect the offense to focus around Wayne and Garcon as he recovers and when he does return he'll be hard pressed to get the looks he is getting now.  If you can get a starting running back or wide receiver from an owner that is patient enough to wait for him, I say you take the points and the player.

WR Hakeem Nicks, NYG:  Nicks is good!  So good that he is getting double covered even though he is the #2 receiver on the Giants.  You can definitely shop him around as a low #1 or high #2 receiver and get some value.  Take that chance because if the Giants don't start falling behind in games, his stats will be limited.

Challenges

The losing streak is finally over!!! This week we snuck a win over Gabe D. 22-21 in our Starting 5 Challenge.  Sorry Gabe, but I needed this.  I mean I was losing sleep over it, I wasn't able to concentrate at work, amongst other things.  Now it's time to look ahead and hopefully make it two in a row.

And we know have a new leader in the clubhouse of our NFL Pick'Em.  Eric M. went an amazing 11-3 this week and now has sole possession of first in the Challenge with a percentage score of .785.  That's going to be tough to beat, but we will see how the rest of the contestants fare this year.

If you'd like to participate in one of our challenges, send your Starting 5 postfantasyfootball@gmail.com by Thursday afternoon and your NFL Pick'Em by Saturday afternoon.  Remember that you might win some fantastic sports memorabilia at the end of the year.  Let's kick off the week with our Starting 5:

Fantasy Football Post:

QB: Tom Brady vs. San Diego
RB: Frank Gore vs. Carolina
WR: Randy Moss vs. Green Bay
TE: Jason Witten vs. New York Giants
K: Josh Scobee vs. Kansas City

NFL Pick'Em

This week another familiar name graces us with his presence once again. Our contestant for the NFL Pick'Em is Eric M. Eric will be trying to find the top spot on our leaderboard. Let's take a look at Eric's picks:

Atlanta over Philadelphia
Houston over Kansas City
Baltimore over New England
St. Louis over San Diego
New Orleans over Tampa Bay
Chicago over Seattle
New York Giants over Detroit
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
Miami over Green Bay
New York Jets over Denver
San Francisco over Oakland
Minnesota over Dallas
Indianapolis over Washington
Tennessee over Jacksonville

Starting 5 Challenge: Week 6

Four weeks and counting.  The Post is on  a 4 week losing streak and now Gabe D. comes to face us on our weekly challenge.  Gabe will be trying to pile it on as we see who has a stronger Starting 5.  And now, it's time for your, Fantasy Football Post Starting Fiiiiivvve....(and Gabe's too).

Fantasy Football Post:


QB: Philip Rivers vs. St. Louis
RB: Chris Johnson vs. Jacksonville
WR: Calvin Johnson vs. New York Giants
TE: Antonio Gates vs. St. Louis
K: Stephen Gostkowski vs. Baltimore

Gabe D.:

QB: Drew Brees vs. Tampa Bay
RB: Ray Rice vs. New England
WR: Miles Austin vs. Minnesota
TE: Heath Miller vs. Cleveland
K: Ryan Longwell vs. Dallas

Challenges

And the horrible streak continues for The Post.  This week we had a poor showing and lost to Dennis S. 15-22.  Congrats Dennis and this week you'll be placed in the raffle to win the autographed football.  In our NFL Pick'Em Challenge, Carlos ended up with a score of .429 and will now round up the bottom of our Pick'Em Challenge.  That means that Basilio and Dominic both are still tied for first place in the challenge.

If you would like to participate in either Challenge, send us an email at postfantasyfootball@gmail.com and include your first name and the initial of your last name as well as the Challenge you are participating and the week.  The deadline for the Starting 5 Challenge is Thursday and the NFL Pick'Em is Saturday.  Without further ado here is our Starting 5:

Fantasy Football Post

QB: Philip Rivers vs. St. Louis
RB: Chris Johnson vs. Jacksonville
WR: Calvin Johnson vs. New York Giants
TE: Antonio Gates vs. St. Louis
K: Stephen Gostkowski vs. Baltimore

NFL Pick'Em: Week 5

This week our contestant in the NFL Pick'Em Challenge is Carlos Y. Carlos already has won entry into our end of the year raffle for the autographed Brian Dawkins' football. Now he is trying to knock off Basilio and Dominic at the top of our Pick'Em leaderboard. Let's take a look at his picks.

Jaguars over Buffalo
Indianapolis over Kansas City
Cincinnati over Tampa Bay
Green Bay over Washington
Detroit over St. Louis
Chicago over Carolina
Houston over New York Giants
Baltimore over Denver
Atlanta over Cleveland
New Orleans over Arizona
Dallas over Tennessee
San Diego over Oakland
San Francisco over Philadelphia
Minnesota over New York Jets

Good luck to you Carlos and to all our readers this weekend. Have a great Week 5.

Studs and Duds: Week 5

This week brings a number of skill players on a bye week or dealing with injuries that may negatively impact fantasy teams around the world. If you are scrambling for a last second pick up, here are some guys we recommend you start and some guys that you may want to think about sitting.

STUDS

Quarterbacks

Shaun Hill vs. St. Louis: I expect this game to be a shootout and Hill has been more than serviceable in fantasy this season. Given that RB Jahvid Best will be hurt again I like his odds at putting up some points to help your fantasy team.

David Garrard vs. Buffalo: The truth is the Bills are terrible against the run and slightly (by comparison) better against the pass. However, they are still bad and this is Garrard’s best opportunity to put up some big numbers. If you are scrambling for a quarterback, I’d definitely give him a look this week.

Running Backs

Michael Bush vs. San Diego: It is official, Darren McFadden is out this week and the load falls on Bush’s shoulders. The Chargers have the number one overall defense but they have struggled in recent years against the Raiders’ offensive line. Bush has a chance this week, but it is a gamble. Will you roll the dice with Bush?

Ryan Torain vs. Green Bay: Another running back with a difficult matchup. I like Torain to accumulate some stats simply for the reason that there is no one else there. He is going to get many opportunities to touch the ball so that gives him a huge upside that fantasy owners can’t ignore.

Wide Receivers

Danny Amendola vs. Detroit: As mentioned earlier, I expect this to be a shootout, especially late in the game. Amendola is the team leader in targets and I expect him to continue to get enough looks to produce for your team.

Pierre Garcon vs. Kansas City: Austin Collie is expected to miss this week’s game and that means all of his production falls on Garcon. This game is huge for Mr. Squiggly because it may be his one opportunity to re-establish himself in the Colt’s offense.

Tight End

Brent Celek vs. San Francisco: This season seemed lost for Celek once Kevin Kolb lost his job to Mike Vick. However, Kolb is back checking his passes down and that means more targets for Celek. The San Fran Defense is aggressive and it will force Kolb to get rid of the ball quickly which means a lot of Celek this week.

DUDS

Quarterbacks

Brett Favre vs. New York Jets: Everyone is expecting big things now that Randy Moss is back home in Minnesota. However, a quick turn around is not easy to maneuver in the NFL, especially against Darrelle Revis and the Jets. I look for the Vikes to take more shots down the field however their fate will continue to rest with Adrian Peterson.

Kyle Orton vs. Baltimore: Orton has been a pleasant surprise this season with his passing performance. The Broncos have the worst rushing attack in the league and have been depending on Orton and the pass attack to get their points. The Ravens can be run on due to the extra help that they are sending their secondary. That means that the Ravens will be expecting the pass and will surely be guarding against it. Which in turn means that Orton won’t have the lanes to throw.

Running Backs

Shonn Greene vs. Minnesota: The Vikes can be had on the ground but Greene still has not shown that he can be a versatile part enough of the Jets offense. I still like Tomlinson over Greene and I even think Mark Sanchez will have a bigger day with Santonio Holmes now in the mix.

Matt Forte vs. Carolina: With Cutler out, the Panthers can now play run first on nearly every first and second down. That means that Forte will need to find extremely small holes to gain yardage. Also expect him to stay in to block for starter, Todd Collins. It’s definitely not a positive outlook for Forte this weekend.

Wide Receivers

Marques Colston vs. Arizona: Colston has been doing his best impression of H.G. Well’s “The Invisible Man.” This season he has 18 catches for 190 yards and ZERO TOUCHDOWNS! These are not the stats you would expect from a top wide receiver. This week I expect the Saints to take an early lead and to eventually run the game out. If he doesn’t score early, then I don’t see him doing much this game.

Dwayne Bowe vs. Indianapolis: Bowe has been a total bust this season as the KC pass offense has been slow to get on a roll. Plus, the Colts are terrible against the run. Do I have to remind you what Arian Foster did to them in week one? It’s not impossible for the Chiefs to get a victory I just don’t see it happening through the air.

Tight End

Vernon Davis vs. Philadelphia: The Niners have showed improvement in their offense last week however Davis was barely involved sans a score on a screen. The Eagles are a good pass defense and I see them shutting the down the 49ers pass offense with ease. So this weekend’s prospects are not good for this 49er.

Starting 5 Challenge: Week 5

This week our contestant for the Starting 5 Challenge is Dennis S.  Dennis will try to gain entry into our end of the year raffle by beating us in this week's challenge.  Let's look at both teams as we prepare for the weekend.

Fantasy Football Post:

QB: Aaron Rodgers v. Washington
RB: Maurice Jones Drew v. Buffalo
WR: Austin Collie v. Kansas City
TE: Antonio Gates v. Oakland
K: Mike Nugent v. Tampa Bay

Dennis S.:

QB: Eli Manning v. Houston
RB: Ryan Mathews v. Oakland
WR: Randy Moss v. New York Jets
TE: Jason Witten v. Tennessee
K: Matt Bryant v. Cleveland

We'll see if we can survive a probable goose egg from Austin Collie (unlikely to play) and pull out a victory since week one.  Good luck Dennis and good luck to all this weekend.

What I learned This Weekend: Week 4

Let me start saying that I love the NFL. The league gives me something to look forward to every week and they make Mondays bearable by showing a game on the longest day of the week. However, there are some gripes that I do have about the league. I don’t have all day to bore you about what I do and don’t like about the NFL, however I have finally felt the sting of a local TV blackout. It hurt not being able to see my team go out and bounce back for a victory and it got me thinking about all the fantasy players that have blacked out fantasy teams from getting victories this season. So let’s go over a couple of guys that I learned are blacking out fantasy teams.


When talking about blackouts from this weekend one must start with Jay Cutler. I have heard many owners complaining how the Cutler blackout left them disappointed and with an extra loss. Given he was hurt but he teased owners so much the first three weeks with serviceable performances (so much that I annointed him the 8th best QB) and then he blacks out. Literally. This weekend I learned that there are a lot of owners who were affected by the Cutler blackout.

Another blackout occurred in Jacksonville, and I’m not talking about the game. I’m talking about Mike Sims-Walker. Sims-Walker managed to get another goose egg for his owners, his second of the season, and left his owners feeling foolish for drafting him as a #2 receiver. This weekend I learned that owners no longer trust Mike Sims-Walker.

The third blackout that I saw this weekend was in the Eagles/Redskins game. Santana Moss (How many of you saw that coming? You thought I was going to go Vick, didn’t you) manages a whopping 5 rushing yards. Seriously, 5 yards. That is a major blackout from such a little man especially in a game where the ‘Skins won. This weekend I learned that the Redskins’ offense is untrustworthy.

The last blackout has changed a lot of thoughts in the fantasy world and that is the blackout of Devin Aromashodu from the Bears offense. Aromashodu has not caught a pass since week 1 and this past week he was active, but not on the field. Going into the season he was a huge sleeper but it never really happened. This weekend I learned that barring a trade Aromashodu has become dead to fantasy owners. May his potential rest in peace.

Blackouts happen all the time. Sometimes they are a one-week occurrence, other times they are season or career long things. All I know is that they are hard to predict and when they happen you are left with the feeling of missing out. It is truly an empty feeling.

Challenges

I can't believe that we lost again! This week in our Starting 5 Challenge Dominic M. beat us 26-22 in a match that wasn't as close as the score makes it out to be.  Now Dominic will be in the running for the autographed Brian Dawkins football at the end of the year.

In our NFL Pick'Em Challenge, Manuel T. did the unthinkable, he finished below The Post.  Manuel scored 0.500 on his way to the low score of the year.  That means that for another week, Basilio and Dominic will be at the top of the leader board.

Do you want to top The Post in our Starting 5 Challenge?  Well, here is what you have to do.  First, pick one quarterback, running back, receiver, tight end, and kicker which are different from the ones that are selected at the bottom of the post.  Secondly, send your Starting 5 to postfantasyfootball@gmail.com with the headline: Starting 5 Challenge: Week 5.  Finally, check back on Thursday to see if you were selected.

If you want to turn in your picks for the NFL Pick'Em challenge, then email your picks to postfantasyfootball@gmail.com and in the subject line write: NFL Pick'Em: Week 5.  The weekly contestant will be selected on Saturday.  Good luck to all our contestants and readers in this week 5 of the fantasy season.

Fantasy Football Post: Starting 5

QB: Aaron Rodgers v. Washington
RB: Maurice Jones Drew v. Buffalo
WR: Austin Collie v. Kansas City
TE: Antonio Gates v. Oakland
K: Mike Nugent v. Tampa Bay

Studs and Duds: Week 4

It really bothers me when people blame their players' bye week as the reason they lost their matchup. It’s important to have depth so that you can keep your team rolling while your starters play out their bye. As week 4 and the bye weeks begin we will be looking at those guys that can take the place of our starters for the week and which ones can’t.

Last week I used the numbers to determine the best plays for the week and I went about 50% correct. That just shows the unpredictability of fantasy football. This week I’m not going to throw a bunch of numbers at you, but instead I’ll use some logic to determine which players will go off. Call this my little experiment on the better manner to prognosticate player performance.

STUDS

Quarterbacks:

Shaun Hill v. Green Bay
The opportunity for Hill to throw will be there. First RB Jahvid Best is hurt. Then you know the Pack will take the lead early and the Lions will need to throw to catch up. Finally, the Packers did a good job stopping Bears’ running back Matt Forte last week so you can expect more of the same. If you need a one week fix in two quarterback leagues, Hill is a good option.

Bruce Gradkowski v. Houston
Opposing quarterbacks vs. Houston: Peyton Manning 433 yards and 3 TDs, Donovan McNabb 426 yards and 1 TD, and Tony Romo 284 yards and 2 TDs. Needless to say, Gradkowski is a good bye week replacement.

Running Backs:

LaDanian Tomlinson v. Buffalo
Buffalo is terrible against the run. If you have read previous articles then you know that I think the Bills are bad in all facets of the game. So I say the Jets take an early lead in this one and depend on their running back tandem throughout the game with LT outperforming fellow back, Shonn Greene.

LeSean McCoy v. Washington
The Rams running backs came out and dominated the ‘Skins for over a hundred yards last week. Oh yeah, the Redskins stacked the box and forced rookie Sam Bradford to beat them. This week, they do not have that luxury and that will open up big runs for McCoy.

Wide receivers:

Hakeem Nicks v. Chicago
Mario Manningham is coming off a concussion and the Bears defense put a halt to the Packers run game last week. So that means a lot of targets for the Giants #2 receiver.

Donald Driver v. Detroit
If you own Driver and have players on a bye this week you probably will be starting him. I’m here to tell you that you should start him regardless. Brandon Jackson has been terrible since filling in as a starter for Ryan Grant and for the Packers to be successful they will need to throw it. So that works out for Driver, this week and beyond.

Tight End:

Tony Scheffler v. Green Bay
The Packers let the seldom used Greg Olsen go for 5 catches, 64 yards, and a touchdown. I’ve already mentioned the throwing philosophy for the Lions so it stands to figure that Scheffler will produce another solid game.

DUDS

Quarterbacks:

Carson Palmer v. Cleveland
Palmer has been a huge disappointment this year. He has two above average receivers (Owens and Ochocinco), a good slot receiver (Shipley), a good tight end (Gresham), and a top 15 running back. Still he can’t put it together and lead a decent aerial attack. I wouldn’t trust him on my team until he strings together a couple of good weeks.

Vince Young v. Denver
Young has been inconsistent and hesitant this year. Denver held Peyton Manning in check, well as much as possible. Those two things do not add up to a promising Sunday for Young. If you’re thinking about starting him, I’d look elsewhere.

Running Backs:

Brandon Jackson v. Detroit
In two weeks as a starter, Jackson has 18 carries for 42 yards. Don’t start him, I warned you.

Peyton Hillis v. Cincinnati
I know Hillis is a hot commodity after he punished the Ravens Defense for 144 yards and a touchdown- through the ground alone. But the Bengals D have been playing out of their mind and I expect them to continue. Plus I expect the Cleveland Offense to be standing on the sidelines a lot as the Bengals try to control the clock.

Wide Receivers

Kenny Britt v. Denver
See Vince Young above and add the fact that Britt is wildly inconsistent and that fantasy owners are in love with his potential. But potential gets GMs fired and it makes fantasy owners cry. Avoid all Titans receivers this week.

Steve Smith (Car) v. New Orleans
I actually do not think that Clausen being out there will hurt Smith as much as people think. I feel like they just need time to get their timing together. However, I don’t see that happening until the bye week. Therefore I’d avoid Smith at this time.

Tight End:

John Carlson v. St. Louis
Carlson had a big game and a lot of targets against the Chargers last week but they are yearly one of the worst teams against tight ends. This week, the ‘Hawks play the Rams who tend not to let tight ends score. I’d temper my expectations a bit and look elsewhere.

NFL Pick'Em Challenge: Week 4

This week our picks come from Manuel T. Manuel is looking to top our co-leaders, Dominic and Basilio. Because there are less games due to the bye week, Manuel will only need to get a higher percentage right than the previous contestants. We want to wish Manuel luck and see if he can take the lead atop the standings. Here are Manuel's picks:

St. Louis over Seattle
Atlanta over San Francisco
Pittsburgh over Baltimore
Tennessee over Denver
New York Jets over Buffalo
Cincinnati over Cleveland
New Orleans over Carolina
Green Bay over Detroit
Houston over Oakland
Indianapolis over Jacksonville
Philadelphia over Washington
San Diego over Arizona
Chicago over New York Giants
Miami over New England

Starting 5 Challenge: Week 4

This time we have a familiar name back for another go around with The Post. Dominic M., our current co-leader of the NFL Pick'Em is back but this time taking his shot at The Post in our Starting 5 Challenge. Let's look at both teams' Starting 5:

Fantasy Football Post:

QB: Philip Rivers v. Arizona
RB: Chris Johnson v. Denver
WR: Wes Welker v. Miami
TE: Dallas Clark v. Jacksonville
K: Stephen Gostkowski v. Miami

Dominic M.:

QB: Peyton Manning v. Jacksonville
RB: Arian Foster v. Oakland
WR: Brandon Marshall v. New England
TE: Antonio Gates v. Arizona
K: Robbie Gould v. New York Giants

Now that the teams are set, we'll see if we can stop our losing streak. As always, if we can't beat our opponent, then Dominic will win entry into our raffle for the autographed football to be held at the end of the NFL regular season. Good luck to both teams, but especially ours. Remember that there is still time to submit your pick'em picks for this week. Send them to postfantasyfootball@gmail.com by tomorrow for a chance to dethrone our aforementioned challenger Dominic and his co-leader, Basilio.

What I Learned This Weekend: Week 3

English Poet, William Blake once said “It’s easier to forgive an enemy than a friend.” This saying brings me to my friends and the weekend that just passed. This weekend three friends and I went to the sports bar to catch the morning games. As we were sitting there I became tongue-tied when talking to our waitress and had an embarrassing moment. I’ll spare you the details I’m sure you’re not interested and if I told you the story it would be a big let down.

Well since my friends are truly great they proceeded to tease me for the next three hours. When other people would come by they would include them in the joke until they had felt like they had been there to witness the event. Anyway, it was an annoying weekend and it left me bothered with my buddies. It’s kind of like some of my “fantasy friends” whom I drafted but no longer can stand to be around. They’ve broken my trust and at this point I would love to get them off my roster but I know that if I do then I will probably not get true value for them. This weekend I learned that my friends are jerks. Actually, I already knew that, but I forgive them because they are reading this article right now. Thanks for the support. This weekend I learned that I lost a few fantasy friends.

This weekend I learned that Dwayne Bowe is no longer a friend. Seriously, 7 catches man! Bowe has 7 catches and don’t be fooled by that trick play touchdown that he scored last week. The KC pass attack looks awful and Bowe and his owners are suffering. That’s why he and I aren’t friends anymore. If he’s on your team, make him and your bench BFFs.

I also learned that Michael Crabtree and I aren’t friends no more. If you thought Bowe was bad, Crab is even worse. 6 catches and 0 touchdowns! I’m hoping that the firing of Jimmy Raye helps this offense because it can’t hurt it any. However, I’m not optimistic. My solution, get a new quarterback, coach, and coaching staff. Then maybe, just maybe, Crabtree will do something.

This weekend showed me that I can’t trust Donovan McNabb to beat anybody. I believe that McNabb has the skill set but he isn’t putting it together and into the endzone. However, he’s still got Cooley and Santana Moss, so there’s hope. But he couldn’t throw more than one touchdown against the Rams. And they’ were playing from behind! C’mon man. If that lousy bum of Kevin Kolb were still on my team we’d be talking about him but instead we’re talking about McNasty.

Finally, I’m no longer friends with Ricky Williams. How are you going to average 40 yards a game while your quarterback does nothing the first two games? To add insult to more insult his team is 2-1. Yeah, there is some motivation to get out there and run the ball more. I like his chances best of all to bounce back but I just don’t trust the Dolphins to give him the opportunity.

With some friends you need to stick it out, you’ve got to much invested in your friendship. Then with some other guys it’s time to cut the ties. I can’t tell you which relationships you should end and which you should continue pursuing (at least not in this article). I’m not a psychologist or a relationship expert. However, it’s time you start taking note of the friends that let you down and decide if you can trust them the rest of the way. The next couple of weeks will begin to shape the direction your team will take.

Challenges

Congratulations to Carlos Y. for beating The Post, 30-17. It's the second straight week that we are beaten by one of our readers, which continues to prove that we have some of the most knowledgeable readers in the business. Carlos is our second entrant in our raffle for the autographed football. I would hate to be our next contestant as we can assure you we will be putting our optimum lineup out there once again and we will do our best to end this streak. With that in mind, here is our Starting 5:

QB: Philip Rivers v. Arizona
RB: Chris Johnson v. Denver
WR: Wes Welker v. Miami
TE: Dallas Clark v. Jacksonville
K: Stephen Gostkowski v. Miami

In the NFL Pick'Em Basilio G. came up huge and went 10-16 for a percentage of .625 and a share of first place with Dominic M. These two guys are the ones to beat so send in your picks by Saturday in hopes of getting the opportunity to pass them up.

Do you want to go up against The Post in our Starting 5 Challenge? Or do you want to dethrone Basilio and Dominic in our NFL Pick'Em Challenge? Well then send your Starting 5 (By Thursday) or Picks (By Saturday) to postfantasyfootball@gmail.com. Let's start preparing for Week 4, the first of the bye weeks.

NFL Pick'Em Challenge: Week 3

Congratulations to this week's NFL Pick'Em Challenge contestant, Basilio G. Basilio has set his sights on the top spot and will be trying to overtake our current leader Dominic M. Let's jump right into his picks:

Kansas City over San Francisco
Tennessee over New York Giants
Tampa Bay over Pittsburgh
Minnesota over Detroit
New Orleans over Atlanta
Baltimore over Cleveland
New England over Buffalo
Cincinnati over Carolina
Dallas over Houston
Washington over St. Louis
Philadelphia over Jacksonville
San Diego over Seattle
Oakland over Arizona
Indianapolis over Denver
New York Jets over Miami
Green Bay over Chicago

Basilio has got some guts taking the Bucs over the Steelers this week. But who knows? That's why they play the games. Well good luck to you, Basilio and good luck to all of you this weekend in fantasy. May Lady Luck smile upon you.

Studs and Duds: Week 3

Numbers never lie. We’ve all heard the expression and know it to be true. However, sometimes we get a gut feeling and we pass on the probable and take a chance hoping for a big payoff. That is why the casinos are multi-billion dollar enterprises and most of us are their patsies. We spend hundreds of dollars on a game that may last less than three hours in order to satisfy our hunger for competition. We want to demonstrate our dominance on something that we have no control over. The game could be poker, roulette, or fantasy football.


I want to take this time to focus on those gut feelings. We have them on a nearly weekly basis while we are setting up our lineup. Often we get that feeling that a certain player is going to go off even though the “fantasy experts” say that they are not. If you’re like me you push those thoughts out of your head and go by the numbers. If you’re a gambler, then you take a chance for the big payoff. If you’re right, then you look like a genius. It’s like you knew something that the rest of us missed. If you’re wrong, then you usually sit there kicking yourself for not making the obvious call. Today I’m going to help you make those tough calls by “looking at the numbers.”


STUDS


Quarterbacks:

Mike Vick vs. Jacksonville

Wow, two weeks in a row! We must really like Vick. Even though we here at The Fantasy Football Post are all about second chances I like Vick more for this matchup than for his skill set. The Jags have given up 600 yards through the air as well as four touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks. In other words, start Mike Vick.

Joe Flacco vs. Cleveland

The Browns are actually decent against the pass as they have only given up 341 yards this season. However, those two games were against the Bucs and Chiefs, two sloppy offenses. The number that catches my eye from this game is 2, the number of touchdowns that the Browns have given up through the air, compared to the 0 they have given up on the ground. I think Flacco and co. will get their scores through the air this week; which makes him a great play.

Running Backs:

Correll Buckhalter vs. Indianapolis

Remember week 1? Arian Foster? Well. I bet you don’t know that even though the Giants felll behind 24-0 at half last week; running back Ahmad Bradshaw still gained 89 yards rushing at an average of 5.23 a clip. I expect the Broncos to be at least in this game at half so they should be able to give Buckhalter, starting for an injured Knowshon Moreno, enough opportunities to rack up the yards.

Jahvid Best vs. Minnesota

Think this is a gut feeling call? No way. The Vikes are allowing less than 160 yards passing (bad for a QB) and are allowing 100 yards rushing (good for a RB) per game. Plus, Best was the Arian Foster of fantasy for week 2. Best is a good start as a number 2 back and a great start at the flex position.

Wide Receivers:

Malcolm Floyd vs. Seattle

The Seahawks have been great against the run through two weeks allowing less than 60 yards per game. On the other hand they are allowing over 250 yards through the air. This benefits the Chargers, Malcolm Floyd, and his owners. This week Mike Tolbert is starting in place of Ryan Mathews and that will force the Chargers to throw a bit more. Also, keep in mind that the Chargers continued throwing late in last week’s game against the Jaguars even though they were in control throughout.

Santana Moss vs. St. Louis

The Rams give up yards both through the air and on the ground but the ‘Skins can’t run the ball and that means a positive passing outlook for Moss. The Rams give up about 250 yards a game and this bodes well for a team whose strength is its passing game. St. Louis may not be able to keep up with Moss who can beat them both short and deep.

Tight End:

Mercedes Lewis vs. Philadelphia

Forget that the Jags will be down early and have to throw to stay in this game. Let’s focus on how the Eagles have given up nearly 250 yards a game for a total of 4 touchdowns this season. The Eagles give up a lot of short passes; which means more looks for the tight end and a busy Sunday for Lewis this week.


DUDS

Quarterbacks:

Kyle Orton vs. Indianapolis

The way to beat the Colts is on the ground. The positive for Orton owners is that he is going to have to throw this game however I don’t feel that those passes are going to find his receivers. The Colts average less than 120 yards passing per game and there is no reason to believe that Kyle Orton will do what Eli Manning and Matt Schaub could not.

Mark Sanchez vs. Miami

I know plenty of people got excited about Sanchez’s performance this past weekend. However, the truth is that this week he is playing a team whose strength is its defense. The Dolphins are holding their opponents to around 160 yards per game and giving up 100 yards per game rushing. Expect the Jets to run the ball a lot and try to wear down the Miami Defense.

Running Backs:

Dallas RBs vs. Houston

This is more a statement about the Houston secondary than the Cowboys three headed monster, Barjoice. The Texans have given up 822 yards passing in two games. With Tony Romo quarterbacking why would you run the ball? No really, why would you?

DeAngelo Williams vs. Cincinnati

The Panthers are having trouble getting their ground game going and now they face off against a team that gives up 110 yards per game on the ground. That’s good news you say? Oh yeah, divide that by one third because that’s about as many touches fellow back Jonathan Stewart is slated to get. Not a good scene for D-Will this week.

Wide Receivers:

Randy Moss vs. Buffalo

What?? Randy Moss a dud against Buffalo?? I know, but the numbers speak for themselves. The Bills give up 210 yards a game through the air. That number isn’t good but by Bills’ standards its great. Expect the Pats to throw early to Wes Welker and then take this opportunity to get their running backs involved.

Steve Smith (NYG) vs. Tennessee

The Tennessee Titans have given up 171 passing yards… all season! Yes they can be run on and their special teams is poor, but they can’t be thrown on. That sets up an unfavorable matchup for Mr. Smith and the rest of the receivers. Smith is as likely to catch a pass as fellow wideouts Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks. That makes him untrustworthy for this weekend.

Tight End:

Kellen Winslow vs. Pittsburgh

Winslow has had a tiny jolt to his stats based on the Bucs success in the passing game. This week he faces the Steelers who have allowed one passing touchdown to four interceptions. The Steelers D is the top scoring defense in fantasy through two weeks and that makes me look elsewhere for a tight end if I have K2.

Starting 5 Challenge: Week 3

Can The Post redeem itself after that gold medal collapse last week?  I put together my own Redeem Team to take on this week's contestant, Carlos Y.  Can Carlos join Eric M. in the raffle or will The Post return to its winning ways?  After Monday, we'll find out.  Let's look at both team's starting 5:

Fantasy Football Post:

QB: Tony Romo v. Houston
RB: Ray Rice v. Cleveland
WR: Malcolm Floyd v. Seattle
TE: Jermichael Finley v. Chicago
K: Josh Scobee v. Philadelphia

Carlos Y.:

QB: Tom Brady v. Buffalo
RB: Adrian Peterson v. Detroit
WR: Miles Austin v. Houston
TE: Antonio Gates v. Seattle
K: Neil Rackers v. Dallas

The matchup is set and we look forward to getting back on track with a W over Carlos Y.  However, if somehow we can't beat his team; we'll give him entry into our special raffle for the Brian Dawkins football.

Did you miss the signup for our Starting 5 Challenge?  Well don't fret, there is still time to do this week's NFL Pick'Em.  Send your picks to postfantasyfootball@gmail.com by Saturday for a chance to dethrone our current leader, Dominic.  Remember, you can't win if you don't send in.

What I Learned This Weekend: Week 2

There is no place like home. After taking the first week of the column on the road to New Orleans, I came back home to San Diego to catch the Chargers’ home opener. I again, walked to the game for a second straight week but this time with a more subdued crowd of people. As I arrived in one of the biggest parking lots in the NFL, I saw tailgating being done all over the place. People in SD tailgate a lot differently than other places. Sure we have the common football feast of hamburgers, hot dogs, and beer. But we do things differently with our carne asada and games of cornhole, touch football, and bolo toss. We love our team but we have infused our laid back style to our viewing of the game. Sometimes the game isn’t the main event of the day, sometimes it’s the pregame or postgame party. From my travels I understand that people in other parts of the country, especially the East and South, consider that a sacrilege. But that’s how we do it in California. I love going to watch the Chargers play because the game, to me, is the climax of the day.

This weekend I learned that I’m not the typical San Diego guy who loves to party on Football Sunday. And I’m okay with that because I’m a knowledgeable, diehard football fan. I mean, if I wasn’t then this blog probably wouldn’t be happening right now. So to all my diehard football fans I salute you and all my partiers keep the party going each and every Sunday. Because no matter how we celebrate Football Sunday, we do it together.

Week 2 is in the books and as always the weekend has come and gone and we are left with new a perception of the fantasy football landscape that we didn’t have last week, let alone before the season started. As we prepare for week 3, we must look back and learn from week 2.

This weekend I learned who the 8th best quarterback is. As mentioned in this blog previously, there are 7 top quarterbacks that you should have tried to select in your draft (Rodgers, P. Manning, Brady, Brees, Romo, Schaub, and Rivers). Well who should you have on your team if you didn’t get those guys? Before the season I would have said Flacco, Favre, or Kolb. Flacco and Favre have thrown one touchdown and five and four picks respectively. Kolb on the on the other hand, lost his starting job. So who is the 8th quarterback? Jay Cutler. Cutler has 5 touchdown throws to only 1 interception. If he keeps this up then he will be a great steal for any owner who picked him up this year.

This weekend I also learned that LaDanian Tomlinson still has something left in the tank. LT has been a more dominating runner than fellow Jets back, Shonn Greene. Tomlinson has 60 more yards rushing than Greene and more catches as well. Even though I think that Greene will get on track, I learned that LT still has value and could be a very solid bye week replacement.

This weekend I learned that Donovan McNabb is the Rodney Dangerfield of fantasy. He gets no respect. Now I know that McNabb has had to constantly prove his doubters wrong but for the first time that I can remember, D-Mac didn’t get the love in fantasy circles. I saw the man being drafted in the 11th round for goodness sake! I understand that he went from a pass happy offense in Philly to Mike Shannahan’s offense in D.C. but his talent is still there. I saw that McNabb still has “it”, and I would get my roll on with him as my starter if I didn’t have one of the top 8.

Finally, this weekend I learned that the Pittsburgh Defense has returned. It’s hard to imagine that a defense could be so dependent on one player, but the return of Troy Polamalu has jump started the Pittsburgh D to where it was 3 years ago, at an elite level. The D has given up 20 points in the first two games and has recorded 6 sacks, 4 fumbles, and 4 interceptions. Expect the defense to continue this pace throughout the season and to finish in the top 3 defenses this year.

Every week our fantasy world changes. Some times it changes ever so slightly that we have to pay close attention to adjust accordingly. Other times the world turns on its head and we are left trying to make sense of what we saw. But remember, that no matter what you think you know you’ll have learned something new next weekend.

Challenges

The Fantasy Football Post readers are awesome as both of our challenge participants had positive outcomes in their respective contests.  Dominic M. took the lead in our NFL Pick'Em Challenge by nailing 10 out of 16 picks for a percentage of .625.  That's good enough to give him the early lead and to make him the man to beat.

In our other challenge, The Starting 5 Challenge, Eric M. came out and whooped on The Post by a score of 33-21.  Congratulations to Eric!  We tried our best but we just couldn't beat him.  Eric has now won entry into our end of the year raffle for an autographed Brian Dawkins football.

Now it's time to announce The Posts' Starting 5 for the Starting 5 Challenge.  Remember, you can submit one quarterback, ruuning back, wide receiver, tight end, and kicker; so long as we haven't selected them.  Here are the players that you can not choose, otherwise known as our Starting 5:

QB: Tony Romo v. Houston
RB: Ray Rice v. Cleveland
WR: Malcolm Floyd v. Seattle
TE: Jermichael Finley v. Chicago
K: Josh Scobee v. Philadelphia

If you think that you can dethrone our Pick'Em leader Dominic or beat The Post in our Starting 5 Challenge then send us an email at postfantasyfootball@gmail.com and send us your picks for either contest.  Make sure you put the contest name and the week so that we know that you want entry into this week.  Our Starting 5 Challenge contestant will be picked on Thursday evening and our NFL Pick'Em player will be selected on Saturday.  Let's begin the preparation for next Sunday's games.

Studs and Duds: Week 2

What are some of the things we learned from Week 1? Well, Peyton Manning and Chris Johnson are still fantasy studs. Brett Favre and Shonn Greene? Eh, not so much. Those sounding the fantasy death knell of Chad Ochocinco may have been a tad premature (looking at you Fantasy Football Post Editor). New fantasy stars have emerged (Arian Foster and Hakeem Nicks). Old fantasy stars have re-emerged (Matt Forte and Michael Vick).

So what does all this mean? Nothing. Yet. It’s only Week 1. It is too early to panic or celebrate. Shonn Greene owners shouldn’t throw in the towel just yet. By the same token, Ochocinco owners shouldn’t think he is a number one fantasy receiver.

In Greene’s case there could not have been a worse possible scenario to open the season. The Ravens were second against the run last year and showed every bit of continuing that trend this year (yes, LaDanian Tomlinson ran for 62 yards, but a third of those yards came on one run). Greene’s quarterback, Mark Sanchez, did not help in the least passing for only 74 yards. The Ravens had no respect for the Jets’ passing game as they consistently stacked 8 or 9 in the box. Greene’s two fumbles did not help matters. That being said, this is likely Greene’s worst game of the season. Fantasy owners should not give up on him just yet, but keep an eye on that fumbling problem as Tomlinson is likely to gain a greater share of carries than we thought.

Ochocinco’s big game can be directly attributed to the circumstances of the game. The Bengals were down big early in the game and were forced to throw and throw often. Carson Palmer threw 50 times on Sunday. Palmer has only thrown 50 times or more in a game on three other occasions. That is why Ochocinco, Terrell Owens, Jordan Shipley, and Jermaine Gresham (see our Tight End Stud below) had so many targets. I would not expect Ochocinco to have many games like this as the Bengals are still a run first team, though that may change this year. Sell high on Ochocinco if you can get number one receiver value for him. The Bengals have too many viable receiving threats for Ochocinco to be considered a number one receiver. He’s not going to tank this season, but he is not going to be the player we saw last Sunday.

Now on to our Week 2 Studs and Duds. As always we will spare you the obvious starts and sits.

STUDS:

Quarterback:

Michael Vick vs. Detroit – It is official that Kevin Kolb will be out this week against the Lions. Andy Reid has said that Kolb will be his quarterback when he comes back, but it is not going to be this week. The Lions were 29th against the pass last year. Vick is not the most accurate of quarterbacks, but he should feast on the Lions weak defense with his arms and his legs. Look for Vick to rack up passing and rushing stats.

Carson Palmer vs. Baltimore – As mentioned earlier the Ravens were number two against the run last year. The Bengals will be forced to attack the Ravens through the air. The Ravens will be sans Ed Reed, their ball-hawking safety. With all the new weapons at Palmer’s disposal I would expect the Bengals’ passing game to look much better than the Jets did on Monday. Look for Palmer to score big this week.

Running Back:

Thomas Jones/Jamaal Charles vs. Cleveland – Charles owners are likely starting him regardless this week with his enticing matchup. Jones owners should be playing him as a low end number two running back. The Browns were dead last against the run last year. Chiefs’ coach Todd Haley seems intent on splitting carries between these two, despite Charles’ superior production with the touches he is given. Both running backs should have nice stats against the lowly Browns.

Darren McFadden vs. St. Louis – I cannot believe I am recommending McFadden, but after last week’s performance and the Raiders matchup against the Rams, McFadden is a solid flex option this week. The Rams were 31st against the run last year. McFadden’s problem has not been his talent, but his inability to stay healthy. Last week he showed what he can do by turning in what has been the best performance of his career to date. He should continue that production this week against the Rams. Even if Michael Bush plays, he should not vulture too many carries as he will be limited by his thumb injury.

Wide Receiver:

Jeremy Maclin vs. Detroit – See Michael Vick above. Maclin was actually the third option at wide receiver for Vick last week as both DeSean Jackson and Jason Avant were targeted more often. Watch for Maclin to improve the number of targets this week as Vick looks to air it out against the Lions suspect passing defense. Jackson and Maclin should have big games with Avant suffering a letdown as Brent Celek becomes the short - intermediate route option for Vick.

Danny Amendola vs. Oakland – Amendola was targeted nine times last week despite all the looks Mark Clayton received. Outside of Nnamdi Asomugha, the Raiders’ passing defense can be exploited as Vince Young and the Titans showed last week. With Clayton likely to be covered by Asomugha, look for Amendola to receive some extra attention this week from Bradford. Double digit catches from Amendola this week should not be surprising.

Tight End:

Jermaine Gresham vs. Baltimore – See Carson Palmer above. Gresham looks to be every bit the red zone threat he was in the preseason. He was targeted ten times last week by Palmer. Once the Bengals get in the red zone, Gresham should get plenty of opportunities to score a TD this week.



DUDS

Quarterback:

Vince Young vs. Pittsburgh –Young seems to have turned the corner in his career, and has become a much more complete passer. That being said this is not a good matchup for Young. Pittsburgh did not surrender a passing touchdown last week against the Falcons. Look for both teams to grind this game out on the ground much to the chagrin of Vince Young owners. Young may pick up some yardage rushing, but his passing stats will be limited by the Steelers.

David Garrard vs. San Diego – The Chargers held Matt Cassel to 68 yards passing on Monday. The Chargers have an underrated secondary. Quentin Jammer and Antoine Cason are more than capable of stifling the Jaguars limited passing game. Conversely, the Chargers showed that they can be run on. With one of the best running backs in the game in Maurice Jones Drew, the Jaguars will run and run a lot against the Chargers.

Running Back:

Shonn Greene vs. New England – Earlier I said not to panic just yet on Greene. That being said, this is not the week he breaks out. While the Patriots secondary is suspect, the strength of their defense is their front seven. Cedric Benson was limited to 43 yards and an average of 2.9 yards per carry on Sunday. New England’s run defense is solid. Add LaDainian Tomlinson’s resurgence and that spells a down week for Greene.

Ricky Williams/Ronnie Brown vs. Minnesota – The Vikings had the number one run defense last year. It all starts in the middle with the best defensive tackle combination in the NFL – Pat and Kevin Williams. Brown and Ricky Williams split carries evenly. The combination of limited carries and facing the best run defense in the league means a bad fantasy week for both of these running backs.

Wide Receiver:

Randy Moss vs. New York Jets – Darrelle Revis. Moss faced Revis twice last year. He had 58 yards combined in those games. Revis will shut down anybody in the league, including Moss. If you have Moss you have to play him, but I would not expect even an average game from Moss this week.

Mark Clayton vs. Oakland – Clayton was a popular pickup in many leagues. If you own him he looks like a good play this week as a third wide receiver or a flex spot. He quickly became a favorite target of Sam Bradford’s. He was targeted 16 times last week – second most behind Roddy White’s ridiculous 23 targets. That being said, Clayton is likely going to be matched up against Nnamdi Asomugha. Asomugha is an elite shut down corner and should eliminate Clayton’s production this week.

Tight End:

Any Patriot Tight End vs. New York Jets – Odds are that either AlgeCrumpler, Rob Gronkowski, or Aaron Hernandez will have a decent game. The problem is choosing the right one. The Jets defense is likely to limit the vaunted Patriots’ offense to an extent. The Patriot tight ends are likely to suffer as well. It is best to avoid any of these tight ends this week.

NFL Pick'Em Challenge: Week 2

This week's contestant in the NFL Pick'Em Challenge is Dominic M. Dominic has sent in his picks and is going to see if he can finish the season with the best pick'em score on his way to winning that autographed Keith Bulluck photograph. Dominic will also try to show up The Post by beating our poor score from last week. So let's take a look at Dominic's picks:

Tennessee over Pittsburgh
Baltimore over Cincinnati
Philadelphia over Detroit
Atlanta over Arizona
Minnesota over Miami
Kansas City over Cleveland
Tampa Bay over Carolina
Green Bay over Buffalo
Denver over Seattle
Dallas over Chicago
Oakland over St. Louis
San Diego over Jacksonville
New England over New York Jets
Houston over Washington
New York Giants over Indianapolis
New Orleans over San Francisco

There are some gutsy picks in this set but it overall they look great. Good luck Dominic and we'll see how the weekend treats your picks.

Starting 5 Challenge: Week 2

After a tight victory against Luis R. last week The Post is ready to start a streak against this week's opponent. This week the randomizer has selected Eric M. as the opponent for this week's contest. If The Post can't beat Eric this week then he will win entrance into the end of the year raffle for the Brian Dawkins signed football. Here are the two teams that will be going head to head:

Fantasy Football Post:

QB: Peyton Manning v. New York Giants
RB: Michael Turner v. Arizona
WR: Marques Colston v. San Francisco
TE: Vernon Davis v. New Orleans
K: Nate Kaeding v. Jacksonville

Eric M.:

QB: Matt Ryan v. Arizona
RB: Frank Gore v. New Orleans
WR: Reggie Wayne v. New York Giants
TE: Jermichael Finley v. Buffalo
K: Sebastian Janikowski v. St. Louis

We'll see how this matchup ends up on Monday night. Good luck Eric M. and good luck to all this fantasy weekend. Remember we are still taking contestants for our weekly pick'em until Friday evening. Send your picks for week 2 to postfantasyfootball @gmail.com for a chance to win the autographed picture of New York Giants linebacker Keith Bulluck.

What I Learned This Weekend: Week 1

As I sat on the plane heading back to San Diego from New Orleans I began to reflect on my weekend. I had learned a lot about The Big Easy and its passionate football fans who celebrated their team’s game with the same vigor that they celebrate life. And it’s true. If you don’t have a Saints jersey or Who Dat shirt, you’re in the minority.

This weekend I learned that alligator actually tastes delicious. In case you’re wondering it tastes like a more flavorful fried calamari, with the same chewiness. I also learned that walking 14 blocks to Bourbon Street on a humid night is the easiest 14 block walk ever. Finally, I learned that if you ever want to party in a different city, New Orleans is the place to go.

This weekend also taught us a lot about some of our beliefs in fantasy football. The first thing that I learned this weekend is that the San Francisco 49ers are a bunch of underachievers. I just can’t explain why. Is it the lack of maturity? The team’s two young stars- Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree- had a verbal confrontation in the offseason. Or is it the shoddy quarterback play? Maybe it’s that the starters hardly played during the offseason. Reports coming out of 49er camp aren’t good. The offense is said to be off track and my eyes can confirm that. After being a trendy pick to win the division the last three years, every fantasy player, except Davis, bombed in their first game against the Seattle Seahawks. You still have to start Gore and Crabtree, but put them on a very short leash.

This weekend I also learned that Kevin Kolb has been really overrated. Most of the time, the preseason is not a good indicator of how a team or player will perform in the regular season. I mean the 2008 Detroit Lions went 4-0 in the preseason and then went on to lose all 16 regular season contests. However, he was being touted as a top 10 quarterback with very little history to back that up. If you saw him play in the preseason or read last week’s STUDS AND DUDS you know that he didn’t lead the team to an offensive touchdown the entire preseason. And if you saw the game then you know how lost he looked out there on the field before he got hurt. As of right now, until he proves himself for a couple of weeks, Kolb is a bench quarterback.

This weekend I learned that Arian Foster is a must start. Go beyond the fact that he had over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns. The man got 33 carries! In this day of the running back by committee, it’s rare for one guy to get so many carries. But the Texans coaching staff clearly trusts him and so do I. With the Texans having such a good passing game you can expect Foster to get the opportunity to accumulate the yards as defenses won’t be able to put too many defenders in the box without worrying about Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. What you saw this weekend from Mr. Foster is what you get. Start him from now on.

This weekend I learned that Miami is the third best team in the AFC East. I don’t know if I mentioned this but I think Buffalo is REALLY BAD. Miami, however, squeaked by with a 15-10 victory against a team that they should have dismantled. After watching the game it became apparent to me whom to blame, Chad Henne. Henne finished with 182 yards and an average of 5.4 yards per attempt. He seemed hesitant to throw the long ball and it forced his receivers to have to make a play for first downs. The defense was great and the running game was too. If Henne does not make improvements, then this team will suffer and the Dolphins on your fantasy squad will too.

The last thing I learned this weekend was that Brett Favre loves Visanthe Shiancoe. The Minnesota receivers were terrible against the Saints and none of them caught more than one pass. I’m not saying that will continue but expect the big tight end to be the recipient of #4’s passes until Sidney Rice gets back or one of the receivers steps up.

The first weekend is always the toughest. If you lose you want to run out and make a quick decision and “fix” your team. Remember that you’ve studied for months before your draft, don’t let one Sunday change all that. I’m talking to you Frank Gore and Michael Turner owners. Let the next couple weeks play out. Nobody wants to be 0-2 but remember fantasy football is a game of skill and luck, you need to put your best foot forward and let the cards fall where they may. And since I don’t have another idiom handy let me end this article because next weekend I’ll have learned something new.

Challenges

So it was a mixed bag this week with a good performance in the Starting 5 Challenge and a dreadful performance in Pick'Em.

This week in our Starting 5 Challenge, The Post beat Luis R. 26-24.  It was a close match-up but Antonio Gates pushed us over the top for a victory.  This week another reader will take us on; so send your starting 5 to postfantasyfootball@gmail.com and don't forget to put Starting 5 Challenge: Week 2 in the subject line.  Remember that you have until Thursday when our computer program will pick our next contestant.

This week our Starting 5 includes:

QB:  Peyton Manning v. New York Giants
RB:  Michael Turner v. Arizona
WR:  Marques Colston v. San Francisco
TE: Vernon Davis v. New Orleans
K: Nate Kaeding v. Jacksonville

In the pick'em we did terrible as we went 9-7 for an abysmal score of .563 correct this week.  Do you think you could have done better?  Then go ahead and prove it.  Send us your picks for all the games this weekend to postfantasyfootball@gmail.com by Friday for a chance to have your picks selected to be on the blog.  If you finish first this season then you win the autographed Keith Bulluck picture.  Put NFL Picks: Week 2 in the subject line in order to get your picks inputted into the computer.

Studs and Duds: Week 1

Now that the football season is officially underway, it’s time to begin that game that we love to hate, fantasy football. Fantasy football consumes lives, destroys relationships, and strains friendships. Trust me; I’ve gone through all of those and more. But like Herm Edwards said, “you play to win the game.” And we hype ourselves up every Sunday morning. We get up early, turn on our favorite pregame show, scour the bottom line for injury updates, and put up our “best lineup” in hopes that we will beat whatever schmuck we are playing that week. I don’t need to tell you to start Peyton Manning or Chris Johnson. We here at The Post are going to give you insight into some middle tier guys who are toss ups to being included in your “best lineup.” Because, really, we won’t know the best lineup until the week is over, so we look at the facts and give you the reasoning on guys to play and those to leave on your bench. Let me give you Fantasy Football Post’s Studs and Duds for week 1.


STUDS

QB:

Donovan McNabb vs. Dallas: McNabb always gets up for a divisional game and this one is his first Redskins’ start against the ‘Boys. I know he is coming off an injury but he has good weapons in Santana Moss, who has a great history against Dallas, and Chris Cooley, who he’s been finding the entire preseason. If Washington is going to stay in this game, it’ll be through the air. And if they don’t stay in it, then they’ll have to go through the air once again. Good for fantasy owners!

Derek Anderson vs. St. Louis: I know it’s a risky start and I can almost guarantee you that Anderson will throw a pick, BUT I also think he’s going to throw A LOT. And score, a lot. Beanie Wells is most certainly not playing in this game, and that means that Tim Hightower- a pass catching back- will be playing a lot and that leads to the philosophy change. Plus, the Cardinals still have Larry Fitzgerald. I see a pick or two but I also see the possibility of 3 touchdowns.

RB:

Ricky Williams vs. Buffalo: Let me start by saying that I think this is going to be a BAD year for Buffalo. I can’t do any justice to how bad I think the Bills are going to be. That being said, I like the Dolphins and I think they’ll put this game away early. This means, they’ll run the ball more and that equates to more touches for Williams. I think he’ll get a bulk of the carries over Ronnie Brown mostly because Brown is coming of injury (once again) and the Dolphins staff will limit his touches early to ensure he’s healthy for the rest of the year; all to the benefit of Ricky Williams and his fantasy owners.

Jerome Harrison vs. Tampa Bay: Every time that Harrison has had at least 17 carries he gained at least 121 rushing yards. Now that Montario Hardesty is out of the picture, Harrison has a great opportunity to run up the yards against a young Tampa Bay defense.

WR:

Terrell Owens vs. New England: From watching the preseason I’ve learned a couple of things about the Bengals. One, there isn’t enough balls to go around, odd man out: Chad Ochocinco. Two, if Carson Palmer doesn’t have a great season, he’s lost IT. You know, that IT he had a couple of years ago when he was an elite quarterback. And three, T.O. seems like a good fit for the team and will take better advantage of single coverage. I like him this week for at least 6 catches and a touch.

Hakeem Nicks vs. Carolina: This is the stud that took me into the deepest thought. The Carolina Defense has looked like their defense of old and I think the Giants’ running game will be slowed quite a bit. So the only way the Giants win this is by throwing to the single covered receiver, Nicks.

TE/DEF:

Jermichael Finley vs. Philadelphia: We all know that this guy is going to be a stud and this was the only time I could put him up here without him being a no-brainer. So give me a break, I want to guarantee that I’ll be right at least once and this is it. This is a potential shootout game in which I expect the Packers and Finley to put up a bunch of points.

Miami Defense vs. Buffalo: Have I mentioned that I think the Bills will be terrible? With no offensive weapons to speak of besides rookie C.J. Spiller this team is going to suffer and the Miami D will capitalize. They are definitely a good spot play this week.

DUDS

QB:

Chad Henne vs. Buffalo: This is one of those fantasy cases in which a team is so much better that they don’t need to pass the ball to win. I expect a heavy dose of the run and defense from Miami en route to an easy win. I really can’t see Henne getting more than one touchdown throw in this one.

Kevin Kolb vs. Green Bay: I like this matchup for Kolb because I feel that this game is going to be a shootout. But to me he is a dud because you just can’t put him out there with the rest of your fantasy team. He hasn’t done anything to warrant a start, especially in the preseason (0 TDs). If you have another safe option, then go there. But if not, throw caution and my words to the wind and go with him.

RB:

Jahvid Best vs. Chicago: This is another example of uncertainty that would make me look elsewhere. The scouting report coming out of college on Best was that he was injury prone. Well, he starts his NFL career with one of the toughest teams in the league, DA BEARS!! I’d wait a week if I had a better option, but if not, run with him. You probably drafted him as your number two RB, so it’s a gamble, one that I’m not willing to take.

Justin Forsett vs. San Francisco: Many people are starting to come around and join me in not believing the hype around this guy. He’s the starter for the ‘Hawks but the offense is poor and they want you to believe that Mike Williams- from USC and Bustville- is going to lead a turnaround. As you can tell, I don’t like to gamble early on with the unknown, but one thing I do know is that Coach Pete Carroll is a smooth talker and I just don’t trust what he is selling.

WR:

Kenny Britt vs. Oakland: Britt has emerged as a popular late round selection in many drafts. And I have to agree, I think the potential for a breakout season is there. However, this week he’ll get to know Mr. Nnamdi Asomugha very well and that is not good. Plus, I expect the Titans to rely on their run game to manage the tempo. Britt and his owners who start him are going to be in for a long Sunday.

Chad Ochocinco vs. New England: Trade Chad Now!!! Heed my warning; take whatever you can before it’s too late. Here is the deal, I love Ocho. He’s my favorite player in the NFL and I will be getting my jersey in the next few days. I’ve drafted him religiously the last three years and faced the ridicule from fellow owners. I like his work ethic and the shenanigans, of course. The truth is, there are too many weapons on the team and I feel his stats will diminish. He only had 72 catches last year, but the 9 touchdowns softened the blow. This year, with more “help” around him, expect his touchdowns, catches, and yardage to all go down.

TE/DEF:

Owen Daniels vs. Indianapolis: Daniels is coming off his third knee surgery and was cleared to practice two weeks ago. This week he is expected to only play a part of the game and that makes me go out and plug someone else into my lineup. The target is for him to play in 25 plays. But if he only gets 5 looks and catches one, he does me no good. I’d rather look at a Heath Miller or Chris Cooley out on the free agent market.

Pittsburgh Defense vs. Atlanta: Pittsburgh has perennially been a top-5 defense but they have their hands full with Matt Ryan and company. The Falcons bring a strong running and passing game to the table and I am not sure that the Steelers, even with the magnificently haired Troy Polamalu, can overcome what will be bad field position all day long.

Look out on Tuesday as we go over “What I Learned This Weekend, New Orleans Edition.” We’ll look at my predictions and see what was right and we’ll play Tuesday morning quarterback. Good luck to all this week, may you have the best lineup out there.