Can you feel it in the air? The chill of winter with just a hint of the upcoming FF playoffs. Hopefully, if you are like the EveryMan, you’re gearing up for an exciting last few weeks of the FF regular season as each game takes on monstrous proportions. For those of you that are completely out of it, you have my sympathy and for those of you that have everything locked up, well, just imagine me glaring at you in an envious fashion. Trade deadlines are on the horizon in most leagues so make sure to go over your roster and maybe hit up some of those out of it players for missing pieces before your buddies do! Now on to business…
Hits and Misses:
The name of the game is accountability so let’s take a look back at last weeks Starts and Benches and see how I did.
Starts:
QB Trent Edwards: 155 total yards 2 tds 3 ints MISS (barely)
RB Michael Turner: 81 yd 2 tds HIT
WR Hines Ward: 11 catches 124 yds HIT
Benches:
QB Joe Flacco: 164 yds 1 td 2 ints HIT
RB Maurice Jones-Drew: 93 total yards 2 tds MISS
WR Chad Johnson: 4 catches 34 yds HIT (and I said last week 3 catches for 35 yards…so close)
Starts of the Week:
QB Peyton Manning (Ind): Yes, I’m being obvious here but if you haven’t noticed, the Colts O is really staring to click. RB Joseph Addai is back and WR Marvin Harrison is starting to show signs of his past self. Plus Peyton has just been on fire recently, posting 22 or better point games in 5 of the past six weeks. Look for him to have another monster week against the Chargers.
RB Ryan Grant (GB): It’s time to send a little EveryMan love to Ryan Grant. I’ve dogged him a few times over the past few weeks but he’s really stepped up his game recently (yes, I’ll take credit). The 20 point explosion over the Bears opened my eyes a bit and with a questionable Saints D next up for him, I only have good things to type. Start him if you got him.
WR Kevin Walters (Hou): Look, I know he’s probably not going to crack the top ten receivers this coming weekend, points-wise, but he has been a pleasant surprise to owners who drafted him. His solid play opposite Andre Johnson has been, well, solid, and with a weak Browns D as the next opponent, look for that trend to continue.
Other Notable Starts: QB Kyle Orton (vs. Stl) RB Marshawn Lynch (vs. KC), WR Hines Ward (vs. Cin)
Bench Material of the Week:
QB Chad Pennington (Mia): Chad Pennington has been a solid pick-up for the Miami Dolphins and has made an average (or lets face it, below average) team respectable. But a bum foot has made him a rough play the past few weeks against easier opposition. With the Patriots, who are coming off a tough loss against the J…E…T…S (Jets, Jets, Jets!), next on the schedule, it doesn’t look good for Pennington to rebound this week.
RB Larry Johnson (KC): LJ saw his first game action in four weeks and put up an ok 8 points against the Saints. It appears he is going to be getting his fair share of touches and should be a solid start in the coming weeks. But they are facing a Buffalo team that are still angry over giving one away to Cleveland on Monday night so look for them to shut Johnson down.
WR Larry Fitzgerald (Ari): Ok, I know you’re not going to bench him…why would you…but just be prepared for a rough week as the Cardinals are going up against the toughest team in the NFC, the Giants. I think the big plays will be limited and most of them will go to Boldin.
Other Notable Benches: QB Tyler Thigpen (vs. Buf), RB Antonio Pittman (vs. Chi), WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (vs. Pit)
CraveOnline Yohoo’s Week 11 Recap: Yohoo’s 87, Volunteers 69
Gotta hand it to my boys, in a must win situation, they came through with a gutsy performance. This victory was spearheaded by solid performances by the hot (in a fantasy sense…er, Fantasy football sense!) Peyton Manning (22 points) and Michael Turner (20 points). My trio of receivers also chipped in for a total of 28 points. The only downfall of this past weekend is that it looks as if I lost RB Earnest Graham for the season, meaning I have to hope for something on the free agent market to tide me over these next few weeks. On a playoff note, the win puts me at 5-5-1 and currently 5th seed (top 6 get in). I can’t let myself feel too good about it though, because there are 3 teams sitting at 5-6 just waiting to fill my spot if I slip up. Oh, as an added bonus, this win was over my brother, which always makes you feel a little better about it!
*Brawlers Update: The Brawlers, my keeper league team I’m fielding and the one that makes me feel good about my FF skills, put another W up this week. That puts them at 8-3 and first in the division, second overall. One more win and I wrap up the division (ching) and a first round bye (CHA-ching!).
Reason #33 of Why Fantasy Football is better than (most) Women.
Because I said so…so there!
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