Thursday, October 25, 2012

Bob's Midseason Rankings

Bob is back for more, this time with his midseason rankings.  Please send all hate to him, not me.  Just note, some of the recent trades were not accounted for as this took him a little while to write up.



LANE-O -     
            The Good:  Jerry, you have great RBs in Foster, Mathews, and T-rich (even if it cost you hometown favorite Tom Terrific and the best WR over the last month in Colston).  I also think you have 2 top WRs in AJ Green and Jordy Nelson that should keep this team in the hunt.

The Bad:  You are very weak at QB (Luck & Dalton) and this could prove to be a huge difference maker.  Most weeks you will be getting outscored by 10+ points just in the 1 position.  Your bench is another area of concern.  They are not scaring anyone so you better hope your starters stay healthy.  The Black Unicorn (Martellus Bennett) is good, just not that good where he would be considered a strength on your team. 

Best move:  Your best plan of attack is to ship one of your RBs off for a QB upgrade. 

Mid-Season Grade – B+

Skinny –
            The Good:  Since I own him in my major league, let’s just quickly talk about how good Aaron is.  After the first 3 games of the season, I have to admit I was a little scared as Rodgers only had a 3:2 TD/Int ratio.  It didn’t matter to the Fantasy world that he played 3 of the toughest defense’s in football as everyone seemed to question if he was still elite.  Well that was 4 weeks & 16TD’s ago and since Week 3, he has been the epitome of perfection by averaging over 300 yards and 3tds a game.  Can you say WINNING?  Also, having 3 WRs (Cruz, Fitz, & Thomas) that could score 30 points in any given week (Ex. Cruz having 6 TD’s over 4 games).  Add to this that you have the #1 ranked TE and a defense that probably outscores your RBs in most weeks….Very good team.

The Bad:  Lynch and Bush are 2 very good real life RBs, the only problem is they are on bad offenses that don’t score a ton of TDs.  Not good for Fantasy.  But that’s about it Skinny, good luck.

Best Move:  I would try flipping Witten and an RB for a better RB that scores TDs.

Mid-Season Grade – A


Mike V -        
            The Good:  “My husband cannot f--king throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time” Very true Gisele, but your husband hasn’t been that good so far this year.  Sure he has 4 300 yard games, but when you throw it 50 times a game, even Weeden can do that.  However, he is in the good section because I do think that he turns it on soon since Hernandez is close to 100% and he is a huge part of what they do on offense to help Tom identify the defense.  From here on out, I think AP only gets better and still could push for most TD’s. 

The Bad:  You have 3 WRs that are probably Strong WR2’s but no absolute Stud (Austin, Colston, Money-Sandwiches).  Yes, Colston has been on a tear as of late, but will it continue when Jimmer comes back?  Colston’s targets in the 1st 3 games with Jimmer are 4, 4, & 13.  His targets in the 2 games without him are 18 & 10.  Now the worst of all, your 2nd RB is a choice between (Pierre Thomas, Vick Ballard, and Hyphen).  I know I wouldn’t feel good about those options.

Best move: Ship off either Brady or Peyton for an upgrade on your 2nd RB.



Mid-Season Grade – C-

Orrico –
            The Good:  You still have 3 good RB’s (Rice, Gore, Run DMC) even if Mcfadden has been awful.  He has the easiest schedule coming and a workload of 20+ touches a game.  It has to get better.  I love Cobb, especially since he is becoming Percy-like on a way better offense.  He will have some down weeks but as long as Jennings is not playing, the sky is the limit. 

            The Bad:  Flacco? Rivers?  And you haven’t tried to trade for an upgrade?  Bad bad bad.  Rivers throws like an 8 year old girl and getting worse and Flacco can’t hit a barn.  Also, outside of Cobb your WRs are mediocre at best.  Smith was a beast last year, but since Cam Newton is playing worse than Jamarcus Russell he really can’t do much.  (Editor’s Note: Mind your tongue.) Brown is a possession WR and Smith is a Boom or Bust.

            Best Move:  Trade for a QB and do it yesterday.  See above, Mike V has 2 goodies.

Mid-Season Grade – B-


Quinn –
           
            The Good:  Well this is going to be short, Drew Brees. Done.  Ok fine, I’ll give you Graham even though he hasn’t done all that much yet and Roddy.

The Bad:  You traded Roy Helu Jr. for Dez Bryant and your team still isn’t good.  Your RBs are terrible at best and once Bradshaw’s feet fail him again, which history has proven they will, it will get even worse.  Wallace needs to borrow some “Stickem” from the San Diego equipment team and you may have a chance.  Unfortunately, there is nothing to fix Dez from being an idiot and running wrong routes.  Trust me the Cowboys have even tried a life coach. 

Best move:  Stop playing Fantasy Football?  Or trade Jimmer and an RB for an upgrade.

Mid-Season Grade – Z-

Scaf –
            The Good:  This owner’s feeling everytime he looks at his team. 

            The Bad:  Deciding which studs to play has to be brutal.  Your RBs are top notch and your WRs are no slouches either.  Marshall and Wes certainly would find a spot on my team.  The only problem I have with your team is your TE situation.  Scott Chandler barely is a starter in my 18 team league. 

            Best move:  Go trade for an upgrade at TE, and with your roster, it shouldn’t be hard.

Mid-Season Grade – A+ 

Mike R –

            The Good:  Well I may have not given Matty Ice the credit he deserves in my Pre-season rankings but he is starting to be considered with the “elite” group of QBs now.  I also love Owen Daniels this year.  They are a run based team and leak Daniels out a lot for quick hitting throws.  He will probably outscore Andre if they keep winning games and aren’t playing from behind.

            The Bad:  The rest of your team.  Sure you have Calvin, but someone still needs to throw him the ball and Stafford obviously can’t.  Also, I am pretty sure that anyone playing Indy has figured out if you shut down Reggie Wayne, then they will have problems passing.  Turner has to slow down in the 2nd half of the season as well, I mean carrying that much weight around can not be easy. 

            Best Move:  Pray to the Fantasy God’s.

Mid-Season Grade – F+


Dan-o –

            The Good:  As a former owner of ALF, I have to say he is the most consistent RB I’ve had in quite sometime.  Did you know he can squat 700 pounds?  Well, he can and I see him being solid all year because of RG3 and their system.  Also, CJ?K and Morris have their best days ahead of them, don’t sell either.

            The Bad:  Stafford.  What a disappointment this bum is.  How long before the Lions give Hill the starting job?  He at least understands that throwing to Calvin is a must.  You have a bunch of RBs on your bench, none of them any good, but you should have WR depth on the bench because that is where you need the most help.  Julio is great, but the options of Crabtree and James Jones for spot #2, would make me want to punch my computer screen every time I looked at it. 

            Best move: Try to trade your entire bench of RBs for a WR.  I say try because they are that bad.

Mid-Season Grade – C-

Matty V –

            The Good:  You have a couple of MVP caliber players in Percy and RG3.  I mean RG3 is the 8th leading rusher in the league right now.  Not bad for a QB.  Nicks and Andre form a nice Trio of WRs that is the strength of your team.  And even though Gronk isn’t having the year he was last year, he still gives you quite the advantage in the TE spot. 
            The Bad:  I hate being right about Cam Newton sucking this year as I predicted in my Pre-Season rankings.  Oh wait, no I don’t.  He’s terrible but probably because he was a War Eagle at one time (Editor’s note: you are treading on a thin line Bob).  The only RB you have that will be consistently good for you is a 31 year old McGahee.  Yup, I kind of want to throw up too.

            Best move:  Try to trade Cam for a bag of Doritos.  Even a half eaten bag.

Mid-Season Grade – D-

Jon –
            The Good:  ………….. Ummmm Vincent Jackson’s pretty good I guess. 

            The Bad:  Keeping this short may be difficult.  Didn’t I say every MJD owner should have Rashad?  Well there was a reason.  Bingo, bango, bongo.  Onto the rest of this stud filled line-up.  Sproles is a Flex at best, Woodhead should be on waivers and you have him starting, ditto with Santana Moss.  Jennings is probably done for the year, Blount is awful, and Lance Moore will go back to doing nothing once Jimmy Graham comes back.  Oh yeah, and Green Bay’s D is looking good and worth a 5th round pick.  HAHAHA.

            Best move:  Probably drop half your team and go get better on waivers.

Draft Grade - F

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

My Preseason All American Teams

So we are now less than a week away from my favorite time of year, the start of college basketball.  This especially needs to happen because of my dysfunctional Auburn Tiger football team.  Friday night is the start of it all with midnight madness getting things underway.  With that, I am going to give my previews this week.  I am going to first start with a very debatable topic, Preseason All American teams.  With the constant influx of freshmen talent, it is a tough prediction to make as we saw last year with Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist making the 1st team.  This year you hear freshman names such as Shabazz Muhammad (if he even plays) and Nerlens Noel (aka the Flat Top from Everett, MA).  This year, I am going to go against the recent trend and predict no freshman will be on the 1st team.  Without further ado I present my 1st,  2nd, and 3rd Teams as well as Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

1st Team
F: Cody Zeller                        One of two consensus 1st Team members (Doug McDermott being the other) has put Indiana back on the basketball map.  The younger brother of Tyler leads this title contending team in points, rebounds, blocked shots while being able to pass and run the floor well.  Player of the Year contender will be on everyone’s ballot for the 1st Team.

F: Doug McDermott               The other shoo in, McDermott is the leader of the lesser known Creighton Blue Jays.  He may never be a great NBA player, but the junior is one of the most complete college basketball players out there.  He gave a much more talented UNC bunch everything it could handle by himself.  This Creighton team is better than last year, so get used to hearing a lot about McDermott.

G: Isaiah Canaan                    This Racer (pun alert) from Murray State is a lot like Chauncey “Big Shot” Billups.  Canaan comes up big when it matters most.  Canaan may be the best college player in Kentucky this year.  Canaan led the Racers to an awesome 23-0 start last year and expect similar results this year as Murray State will be a force again led by the feisty guard.

G: CJ McCollum                     Just ask Duke and Xavier how good CJ is as Lehigh knocked off Duke and put a huge scare into Xavier last March.  I have been watching McCollum since he was a freshman at Lehigh (the perks of Patriot League basketball) and the growth he has made has been tremendous.  Always a great scorer, he has developed into the best rebounding guard in the country and has such quick hands on the defensive side of the ball.  His scoring will get him on this list, but it’s the other things that make CJ McCollum great.

G: Trey Burke                         As a freshman Burke exploded last year for the Michigan Wolverines.  He is back, with a better squad this year and could be a sleeper to win Player of the Year.  Michigan hasn’t been this excited about its team since the Fab 5 days, and Burke is the reason why.  A great playmaker that can also score the basketball, Burke should be a first round pick in June too.

2nd Team

F: Shabazz Muhammad          What a name – Shabazz is about as talented as it gets.  The only reason he is not on the first team, he might not play this year.  Faced with charges of illegal benefits in high school, he may not suit up until January.  But, if he does play, he will lead the UCLA Bruins back to where Bruins fans are used to – the Final Four.  Muhammad can score from anywhere and is extremely athletic.

F: Tony Mitchell                     The Missouri recruit ended up committing to North Texas because of academics, Mitchell is as talented as anyone in the country.  He also could be the most risky pick here as he doesn’t exactly have the best motor out there.  North Texas doesn’t exactly have the most talent around him, so Mitchell will have to lead them to the tourney to be included in this list, but man can he play.

C: Jeff Withey                        Everyone likes to make fun of Withey – they even made a website about his goofy faces he makes.  But what people don’t always talk about his how good of a defender Withey truly is.  He is a legit 7 footer that has shut down some of the best low post players – ask Jared Sullinger and Tyler Zeller what its like facing him.  Without Thomas Robinson or Tyshawn Taylor in the mix, look for Withey to expand his offensive role this year.

G: Elijah Johnson                    Back to back Jayhawks, does it get any better?  Elijah proved last year he certainly loves the big stage as Kansas wouldn’t have made it to the Championship without him.  No more Tyshawn Taylor, which means Elijah will now be handling the point guard duties.  He is a better decision making than Tyshawn with a much better shot.  Look for Elijah to shoot up everyone’s list this winter.

G: Phil Pressey                        Maybe the best pure point guard in the country (a lot easier without Scott Machado and Kendall Marshall around), Pressey can play.  Without a lot of the seniors from last year’s veteran squad, Pressey is looking to the take the SEC by storm this year.  Look for 8-10 assists per game from this little playmaker.

3rd Team

F: Nerlens Noel                      In Lexington the Unibrow is gone and the Flat Top is in.  Big shoes to fill for Noel, but the Everett native has been blocking shots everywhere he has played already.  Look for that to continue as he looks to lead a very, very, very young Wildcats team with high expectations.  Noel has an extremely high ceiling and may end up making the 1st Team by season’s end.

F: James Michael McAdoo     Zeller, Henson, Barnes, Marshall – all gone.  McAdoo looks to step up in a similar role to Thomas Robinson did last year.  The thing that separates McAdoo and T-Rob is the motor.  That is why T-Rob was 1st Team and McAdoo is 3rd Team.  UNC will lean heavily on this highly regarded sophomore.  He has an NBA ready body but is still raw on the offensive end.  If he gets a little help from his Tar Heel teammates I could see him as a 2nd Teamer.

C: Mike Muscala                    Wow, another Patriot League player on this list.  Has this ever happened?  People forget that Muscala’s Bucknell Bison were the favorites in the Patriot League before CJ McCollum and Lehigh upset them in the Patriot League final.  Muscala played well against Arizona in the NIT last year and will continue to improve this year.  Muscala is a future NBA player who can rebound as well as anyone.  Look for a potential two bid league from the Patriot League this year from Lehigh and Bucknell and just enjoy Muscala and McCollum.

G: Kyle Anderson                  The people of Los Angeles sure are excited about this young prospect Kyle Anderson.  There are already people throwing around Magic Johnson comparisons.  I am not ready to put him in the NBA Hall of Fame yet, but the 6’9 point guard is a matchup nightmare for anyone in the Pac 12.  He has an NBA ready body with outstanding skills.  Will he put it all together?  I can’t wait to find out.

G: Ben McLemore                  Head Coach Bill Self doesn’t go raving about many of his own players as much as he has with McLemore.  Ben is a freshman for the Jayhawks this year, but was in the program last year as he was a partial qualifier.  Well, he is ready to step into the starting lineup.  Think Xavier Henry with more explosion.  Rock Chalk Jayhawk indeed.


Player of the Year:                Doug McDermott
This is really a toss up between McDemott and Cody Zeller.  Both players should be great this year for their respective teams.  Look for McDermott to win the award because he will have to do more for Creighton to be successful than Zeller will for Indiana.

Freshman of the Year:         Shabazz Muhammad/Kyle Anderson
Can you believe this award isn’t going to a Kentucky Wildcat?  Well UCLA’s freshmen class is loaded this year.  If Shabazz plays before January you can lock this award up for him.  If not, I look for his teammate Kyle Anderson to win the award.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Is Patrick Chung Overrated?

When people hear the name Patrick Chung they probably think great New England Patriots safety.  I think overrated.  To me, Chung is no different than Patriot cast-off Brandon Meriweather.  In fact, I think Meriweather was a better player than Chung is.  When people think of Meriweather, they think of bad routes and big hits.  What is different about Chung?  He doesn’t have the reputation of bad routes, but he always seems to be a step slow on everything.  Primarily, tight ends get covered by safeties, and like usual Scott Chandler lit the Pats D up yesterday for two easy scores.

Let’s put up the stats of the two recent safeties for the Pats.

Player A:







Player B:






Just looking at those stats alone, don’t you want Player A every time.  Well, player A is Meriweather.  When you think of great safeties, you think of playmakers that can cause turnovers.  That’s what Ed Reed does, that’s what Rodney Harrison used to do.  Let’s face it - that is also what Meriweather did better than Chung.  Chung also has a knack for getting hurt (has played in one full season so far) while Meriweather never missed a game for the Pats.  The tackle numbers are pretty equal, and any advantage Chung has in that department over Meriweather is strictly due to being on a worse defense and being on the field longer.

I know it’s not a popular opinion in New England, but Patrick Chung isn’t very good.  Maybe the young safety will figure it out this year, but if yesterday was any indication with Scott Chandler, it may be time to go a different route next year.

What to Think About This 2012 Pats Team

This might be the most confused I have ever been about a Patriots team since the Matt Cassell days.  Are they a power running team with good defense?  Are they a fast paced team with a porous pass defense?  So far, we have seen both.  Yesterday, they actually showed both of those teams off.  The first half the Pats made Ryan Fitzpatrick (and his Aaron Rodgers celebrations) look like Joe Montana.  Brady wasn’t the Tom Brady we are accustomed to (has he really looked like Tom Brady this year yet).  Even Bill was being a lot more conservative than he had in the past.  Since when do the Patriots not go for it on 4th and inches at the opponent’s 30 yard line?

But then the second half rolled around yesterday and boy did they look good.  It all started in the trenches.  The O-line started opening holes that I could have ran through.  Bolden and Ridley were awesome.  Then the d-line and linebackers started punishing every Bills ball carrier (even an unlucky Donald Jones).  Brandon Spikes started popping balls out of everyone and the lethargic first half was gone.  The offense started clicking when believe it or not; they got Wes Welker the ball.  Tell me why anyone thought Edleman was a better choice please?  Gronk was back to himself too, with over 100 yards and a TD.  Order was restored again in the AFC East.  No more Aaron Rodgers imitators, just “F*** you b******”.

Is this the Pats team we are going to see the rest of the way?  It’s hard to say.  If the offense continues to use Woodhead less in goal line situations and decides Welker is a good choice to throw the ball to, then the offense will be the same.  But what about that defense?  I think some weeks, you will get what you got against the Ravens, and some weeks you will see that 3-INT performance from yesterday (yes – Devin McCourtey can catch the ball sometimes).  You will see plays like Scott Chandler going up the middle for 6 without anyone near him, but you will also see shut down rush defenses like yesterday – shutting down the NFL’s leading rusher and a stud from last year (yes, two different guys).

All I know, this year’s team will be fun and frustrating at the same time.  But for at least the time being, order was restored in the AFC East.

 
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