Here we go.  Second half of the season officially starting this week.  On a bye are your Panthers, your Saints, your Chargers and (gulp!) your Niners.  Make sure you get those lineups adjusted.  Some interesting matchups this week.  Here’s how I see them…

NY Jets @ Buffalo Bills

So let’s get started with my boys here and I’ll try and be as objective as possible.  Gang Green has a tough division matchup here and it’s not giving Brett Favre owners a whole lot of confidence based on the way he’s played over the last few weeks.  Rumors of him playing hurt don’t help either.  The Bills rank 13th against the pass, only give up an average of 203 yards through the air, and have 4 picks on the year — one of which was taken back for a TD.  You know Favre is good for a couple of INTs again, so be careful.  However, the Bills also rank 13th agains tthe run and allow less than 100 yards per game on the ground.  Expect it to be rough going for Thomas Jones, so look for Favre to still take to the air plenty.  He’ll be looking heavily for Jerricho Cotchery (battling a shoulder ailment still) and Laverneus Coles,  but also keep an eye on TEs Dustin Keller and Chris Baker.  Leon Washington could also be a big factor on the check downs.  For the Bills, I don’t know how many times I need to keep saying it.  They live and die by Trent Edwards, and with his bum foot now, it could be a tough day for him.  Sure, he’ll find a way to burn the Jets on a 80 yard bomb to Lee Evans somehow (they always do), but if the Jets can get a pass rush going, he’s going to have some trouble escaping the pocket.  It also doesn’t bode well for Edwards that the Jets have the fourth best run D in the NFL which will inhibit the production from Marshawn Lynch.  He still doesn’t have a 100 yard day, so expect the usual sta line.  The Good:  Laverneus Coles, Jerricho Cotchery, Lee Evans  The OK: Brett Favre, Trent Edwards, Marshawn Lynch, Thomas Jones, Leon Washington  The Ugly:  Dustin Keller, Chris Baker, Roscoe Parrish (more…)

We don't just skim the Round Up. We take in the whole thing.

I’d like to start this week’s Round Up with a little story that I hope everyone learns from.  There’s this guy I know…we’ll call him David…that becomes an annual donator in fantasy leagues for one simple reason.  He just doesn’t pay attention at the most critical moments.  2 weeks ago, David pulled of a fantastic trade for himself as he dumped off his wide receiver depth in exchange for quality at both the running back and tight end positions.  He went on to win his game and immediately put himself back in contention for a possible playoff spot.  But this week rolls around and, rather than carry that momentum into the following week, David drops himself off the grid (as he usually does) and fails to make the necessary lineup change.  He leaves in an inactive Steven Jackson while a 24 point Leon Washington (his only available backup due to bye weeks) languishes on his bench.  He’s down 11 points right now and needs a good showing form the Colts to eke out a victory.  It happens every year to him.  He can have a great draft, make a great trade, whatever.  But when it comes down to those crucial moments where you need to pay attention, he doesn’t.  Don’t let this be you.  Pay attention.  Read the updates.  It doesn’t take a lot of time.  Be smart and don’t waste an investment.  OK.  That’s enough of that.  Some crazy stuff happened in fantasy leagues in Week 8, so let’s take a look at what happened.  It’s Round Up time!! (more…)

Oakland @ Baltimore

Howard:  Baltimore - tally up another for “defense wins ball games”

Keith:  Baltimore -  They could still wind up a good team this year. (more…)

Critical matchups, playoff possibilities, booms and busts all over the field — it looks to be a great Week 8 in the NFL which means even greater things in fantasy football.  Are you ready?   Chicago, Denver, Green Bay and Minnesota are all on their bye week, so make sure you’ve got your lineups all set.  Here’s what I’m expecting from this week’s games…

Oakland Raiders @ Baltimore Ravens

Let’s just get this week’s snooze-fest out of the way here.  The Raiders, coming off of a huge upset last week, will try to carry that momentum against the league’s top defense?  Not gonna happen.  And the Ravens, coming off of a great offensive output last week, hope to carry that momentum against a weak Oakland team?  Not gonna happen either.  Let’s start with the Raiders, shall we?  With a healthy Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden, the Raiders running game was supposed to be explosive.  Not the case against the Jets and certainly won’t be the case against the Ravens.  They won’t even be able to fool them with any kind of wildcat formation either as we already saw the Ravens dismantle that against the Fins last week.  That puts the onus on Jamarcus Russell and we all know how he’s been progressing.  I’d be surprised if he completes a pass to a WR and doesn’t spend all day dumping to McFadden or TE Zach Miller.  For the Ravens, it could spell trouble as well.  While they did a good job against a usually sound Miami D, they won’t repeat that success if defensive coordinator Rob Ryan sticks to the same game plan as last week.  A heavy dose of blitzes and great cover corners should rattle Joey Flacco and stifle the Ravens passing game.  Now if they can just stop Willis McGahee.  The Good:  Willis McGahee, Matt Stover, Sebastian Janikowski  The OK:  Justin Fargas, LeRon McClain, Derrick Mason, Zach Miller  The Ugly:  Jamarcus Russell, Joey Flacco, Derrick Mason, Javon Walker, Darren McFadden (more…)

I love me a good ol' round-up!

Week 7 has come and gone, but not without some painful fantasy repercussions!  We saw some top guys throw in some terrible performances and believe me…there were enough garbage time fantasy points to really make you lose your mind.  I’m sure the playoff picture is starting to come in a little clearer in your leagues, so it’s crucial to stay on top of what’s going on in the NFL.  You never know which guys that are still out on your waiver wire could come in and steal an important game for you.  A few of them are listed here, so take a look at what went down in Week 7.  That’s right folks…it’s round-up time again!! (more…)

San Diego @ Buffalo

Keith: Buffalo -  Early game and a long trip make home field huge here.

Howard:  San Diego - LT2 finally catches up to the rest of the offense (more…)

I don’t know about your league, but this is pretty much the halfway point in all of my leagues.  Not that they aren’t always important, but wins are crucial right now as you try to make your way to the top of the standings.  You’ve got maybe another 3 or 4 weeks to go before the playoff picture becomes clear, so stay on top of things and make sure you’re making the right personnel decisions.  Here’s a look at how I see the NFL’s Week 7 unfolding along with who you should start and who you should sit.

San Diego Chargers @ Buffalo Bills

An interesting game to start with here.  The Chargers are making their way back from a horrible start and have gone from riding the back of LaDanian Tomlinson to riding the arm of Phillip Rivers.  But with the Bills D ranking 8th against the pass and the questionable status of Chris Chambers again, will the Bolts try to lean a little more on the running game?  It’s tough to see, when LT2’s toe is still a minor concern, Darren Sproles‘ touches have decreased, and Vincent Jackson has emerged as a target that rivals even Antonio Gates.  But I think they’ll switch it up a little and we could be seeing a more improved ground game this week.  For the Bills, as always, it’s live or die by Trent Edwards.  They’ll try and pound away early with Marshawn Lynch, but with San Diego’s secondary problems (they rank 31st against the pass), I can see the long ball finding it’s way to WRs Lee Evans and Josh Reed.  The Good:  LaDanian Tomlinson, Marshawn Lynch, Lee Evans, Antonio Gates  The OK:  Phillip Rivers, Vincent Jackson, Trent Edwards, Josh Reed  The Ugly:  Chris Chambers, James Hardy, Darren Sproles (more…)

Giddy-up!!!!

 Baltimore 3  Indianapolis 31 –  Whoops.  Called this one wrong.  At least for the KOH.  I did take the under, which won despite making me sweat bullets after a huge first quarter by the Colts.  Peyton Manning had a double secret knee surgery and it seems like his slow start could be attributable to that.  Joseph Addai got hurt early.  This ruined first round picks across the country, and sent owners scampering to their computers to pick up Dominic Rhodes.  As promised, I started Le’Ron McClain over Addai due to the defensive strength of the Ravens.  Addai scored zero points so I was right huh?  WRONG!  McClain scored -1 with a fumble.  Shit. (more…)

So here’s who we like coming into Week 6…

Chicago @ Atlanta

Keith: Chicago -  The Falcons could steal it, but they are so bad against the run and pass.

Howard:  Chicago - Forte vs. Turner will be fun to watch but the Bears steal it. (more…)

Chicago @ Atlanta -  You can expect another nice day from Matt Forte against a sub-par Falcons rushing defense, but don’t count on the Bears winning the game.  Expectations for Atlanta were low to begin the year partially because of the hell that the team went through last season.  Michael Turner has fixed part of the problem, and Matt Ryan hasn’t been terrible either.  Chicago may have run the score up on the Lions, but even the Falcons are light-years better than those clowns.  A fairly low scoring game.  THE GOOD: Matt Forte, Michael Turner.  THE OK: Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Rashied Davis, Greg Olsen.  THE BAD: Kyle Orton. (more…)