What a Week!

What a week.  No Stanley Cup, no more A-Ran, no more Doc, no more Paul or Kevin.  Not the best week for what has been a fantastic run of New England sports.  Did anyone see this coming?  This week was crazy enough to get me out of my blogging hiatus (round of applause).  Hockey isn’t my forte and I am not in the mood to write about a scumbag – so you got it C’s fans, what just happened?

First let’s start with what we know, we don’t have our coach anymore.  What does that really mean?  In all honesty, probably not a whole lot in such a players’ league with a rebuilding team.  Could he have bought us a few more wins next year?  Maybe.  Could he have kept the core together one more run?  Maybe.  But would it be worth it?  Probably not.  So why does it hurt so much still?  In Boston we aren’t used to being second fiddle in anything.  That is basically what happened, the greatest organization in NBA history was no longer desirable for a coach that preached family & togetherness.  That is why it hurt, we are no longer good enough.

We saw the same thing last year with Ray, now Doc.  Ray left for our rivals in Lebron and the Heat.  Now Doc is going to LA – not to the Lakers, but to the lowly Clippers and their scumbag owner.  Ray left more money on the table; Doc is going to a racist, sexist pig of an owner.  That is why it hurts, Boston is no longer good enough.

Boston will miss these 3

What hurts the most isn’t any of the above, but what broke last night during the NBA draft.  Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett (and Jason Terry) will no longer be a member of the Celtics.  It had been rumored for some time now, but it finally happened, the new Big 3 era was finally over.  15 years for the captain were over.  The heart and soul of the last 6 years was gone.  And to the New Jersey Brooklyn Nets.  Wow.

We did double the length of the window that was expected at the beginning, doesn’t make it any easier to see now.  No doubt #34 and #5 will one day come back to raise their numbers to the rafters, but it won’t be easy to see them in Black and White playing in an awkward new arena in Brooklyn.  It will be weird to see them coming out of the visitors’ locker room in Boston.

But it had to be done, the time was right.  The only way to be good in the NBA is to be a destination city in free agency or to be really bad, and get lucky in the draft.  Boston and Danny Ainge had only one option, the draft.  Boston has never been a desirable city for free agents, so they needed to go to the draft.  And why not go for the 2014 draft?  It is loaded.

Is Wiggins the future?  One can hope.

Boston fans – it won’t be fun next year, but hopefully it’s bad enough to get better really quickly via the draft.  One can only hope the next savior of the Celtics will follow the same path as the truth, from Kansas to Boston for 15 years.  Andrew Wiggins will make it worth the bad year.  Here’s to hoping for #22 to Boston.

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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 1^st 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 2^nd 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 2^nd 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 2^nd 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 8^th 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 5^th round pick.  HAHAHA.

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

Draft Grade - F

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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 1^st 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 1^st team.  Without further ado I present my 1^st,  2^nd, and 3^rd Teams as well as Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

1^st Team

F: Cody Zeller                        One of two consensus 1^st 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 1^st 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.

2^nd 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.

3^rd 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 1^st 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 1^st Team and McAdoo is 3^rd 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 2^nd 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.

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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.

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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 4^th 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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The NFL or NCAA – Who Has It Right?

It is late August, so that means only one thing when your baseball team is out of playoff contention – Football.  This always brings the interesting debate around the country, college or the NFL – what game is better.  Both sports are so different, which is why I love both.  Alright, enough of this intro, let’s get into what you came here for – the actual debate.

History

The NFL has teams such as the 49ers, Cowboys, Steelers and Packers who have tremendous history.  However, they can’t compete with USC, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame.  The first college game took place in 1875, which is almost 50 years before the NFL was founded in 1920.  There are hundreds of college teams to choose from and discover their history as opposed to the 32 in the NFL, which includes numerous expansion teams in recent memory.

Advantage: NCAA.

Stadiums

This point comes down to your preference rather than factual information.  Are you one that loves the history of a stadium or would you rather a corporate municipal type stadium.  The NFL stadiums have more comfortable seats, bigger aisles, HD monitors and are newer.  College stadiums have hard bleachers, skinny aisles and are less fan friendly.  However, the college stadiums are much more unique with tons of history.  You will not see that with NFL stadiums.

Advantage: NFL.  (NCAA would have huge advantage if stadium seats were stripped to be all chair backs).

Play Calling



Do you see this in the NFL?



The NFL is considered to be a copy cat league, while college football is constantly changing its play calling.  In the NFL you see mostly the same thing – an ace backfield, 3 wideouts, a tight end.  Sometimes you see this same variation in a shotgun.  There is absolutely no variation at all.  At the college level and you can see all kinds of variation.  Like running football?  There is the power option at Georgia Tech.  Like a fast paced spread option?  Look at Auburn and Oregon.  Like to see a lot of passing?  Go to Oklahoma St and Texas Tech.  Like an I-formation?  They run that at Alabama.  Like the pistol?  Arkansas runs that.  Like a balanced attack?  That is what Oklahoma runs.  College football is the total opposite of a copy cat league, teams are constantly thinking of new ways to attack.  The NFL is constantly stealing ideas from college – where do you think the Wildcat came from?

Huge Advantage: NCAA.

Fans

Uh oh NFL fans, we have another category here that is favoring the college game.  This one is a landslide.  NFL stadiums are filled with white collar corporate people who are afraid to make noise at a game.  At college games, half the stadium is filled with college students.  There are two, not just one, two stadiums with the nickname with Death Valley.  They have a stadium named for their “12^th Man.”  Kansas City is the only city in the NFL that can come close to this, but there are multiple college stadiums like this.

Huge Advantage: NCAA.

Players

Finally, the NFL has a huge advantage.  The NFL boasts the best football players in the world and it’s pretty deep as there are only 32 teams.  Compare this with the 100+ teams in college football with a high turnover rate, the NFL wins this easily.  The only thing you can say about these future accountants, insurance salesmen, etc is they really play with a passion that is unparalleled in the NFL.

Huge Advantage: NFL.

Rivalries



The Iron Bowl is one of the
top rivalries in Sports



Top rivalries in NFL include Steelers-Ravens (Browns), Cowboys-Redskins.  These games have included some of the best players that have ever played and some of the best games ever played at the NFL level.  However, college boasts Auburn-Alabama (Iron Bowl), Texas-Oklahoma (Red River Rivalry), Florida-Georgia (World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party), etc.  These games not only have the history that the NFL games have, but most of these games are played with a National Championship or major bowl game on the line.  The NFL games never have that level of intensity unless they are in the playoffs.

Advantage: NCAA.

Playoffs

This is one we could look back on in a few years and flip the scripts here.  College football currently has one of the most corrupt and wrong ways to determine a national champion – a “computer”.  The best two teams based on these rankings play for the title game.  This can lead to controversy (see 2005: Auburn going undefeated and being left out).  However, in 2 years they will create a 4 team playoff, which I think eventually gets to be an 8 or 16 team playoff and watch out.  That would be runner up to March Madness in terms of a playoff system.  But anyways, right now the NFL has the best playoff system going.  12 teams make it, single elimination – win and move on.

Huge Advantage: NFL.

TV

Without ordering NFL Sunday ticket you can only watch possibly 4-5 games a week with the NFL.  This is totally not the case with college football.  Not only do you not need to order a special package but there are always 3-4 games on National TV at each time slot on Saturday.  One game is a blowout, no need to worry, just switch to the other.  You don’t have this luxury with the NFL as you are just stuck with whatever game CBS/Fox decides to air for you.  Oh, did I mention college football is literally on ESPN every day of the week besides Sunday and Monday.

Huge Advantage: NCAA.

Overall

I think its pretty clear to me what the better game is – NCAA.  5-3 in favor of the “amateurs”.  The passion, history, uniqueness make the college game a far better game.  See you on Saturday.  War Eagle all Day.

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My Breakdown of The League

So with the controversy that Bob created yesterday with his terrible rankings.  I figured I would give my unbiased rankings soley on stats and my projected points.  These power rankings include only starters in the rankings.  However the pictures below that show all the breakdown of every player's projected points for each team.

First, let's explain.  I have included starters (based on where they were drafted), team, bye week, positional ranking and projected fantasy points.  I then average the positional ranking among starters and total the projected fantasy points.  This leads to the below rankings.  Let the hating begin.

Below is the breakdown of each individual team.  I know you will all have issues with this, but these are totally unbiased rankings and stats.

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Bob's Preseason Rankings Fantasy Football

So I know it has been a while since anyone has blogged.  One of my buddies, Bob recently assessed my current fantasy league I am in giving his unbiased opinion on everyone's team.  Don't take any of this personal, as he didn't make the playoffs in his league last year.  Without further ado, I present Bob's Preseason Rankings.

LANE-O -     

            As a fan of the Pats and winning, I would have to say I love your first pick.  It’s a safe, very high upside pick that will make all Pats games more enjoyable.  However, your 2^nd pick is terrible.  Not only did you pass on the likes of Jamaal Charles or Demarco Murray, but you picked a rookie RB who plays with a 48 year old Rookie QB and their best WR is a rookie out of the Supplemental Draft.  If you think MJD saw stacked boxes last year, you ain’t seen nothing yet.  After that, you followed it up with 2 walking injuries (Matthews and Colston) and then picked the worst RB playing organized football, and that includes high school teams.  Oh wait it gets better, you picked back to back WR on the same team next.  I mean good team but it could have been soo much better.

Draft Grade – C-

Skinny –

            Rodgers, Fitz, and Cruz are all studs and will produce for you every week.  The Lynch pick was wayyy to early though.  I mean do you really trust Marshawn Lynch to keep running for skittles???  Ya, me neither.  He just got paid and can buy as many skittles as he wants now.  I would have picked any RB that was picked in the next 2 rounds over him, except the offensive tackle named Michael Turner but we will get to him later.  And then you added even more risk by taking Beanie and Reggie.  I like to pick running backs on teams that actually know who their starting QB is but that’s just me.  Your best 3 picks were probably your last 3. 

Draft Grade – D-

Mike V -        

            Like this owners draft the most so far.  (Just remember, you are going against a C- and a D- so far)  You have 2 of the top 5 RB’s (AP could play with a prosthetic leg and be top 10).  Andre Johnson is in for a rebound year and your next 4 picks (Jordy, Hernandez, Austin, Peyton) are all solid picks with upside.  Greg Little that late is even a great value.  But you picked a Defense in the 9^th round.  The only way they live up to that draft spot is if they play the Jets every single game.

Draft Grade – B

Orrico –

            Best RB combo out there.  Rice is so dependable and McFadden probably has the highest ceiling of all players.  Frank was too early there considering the talent he has behind him and the miles he has on his tires.  I am a fan of the double dip (Rivers and Gates) but think you could have got a QB that will finish with similar #’s at least 2 or 3 rounds later (Vick round 7 is just 1 example).  Love the WR’s you got so late because they all have the possibility to be #1’s on their teams (Antonio Brown, and Torrey Smith).  Buttttt Plax really?  I want to give you an F just for that 1 pick but will be nice.

Draft Grade – B+

Quinn –

            Quinn Quinn Quinn.  I love the fact that you picked 7 RB’s, great ambition.  The only problem I have is that none are any good.  You picked Bradshaw before Mathews and Mathews would have to miss the first 8 games for me to do that, not just 2.  Then you picked Roy Helu, Law Firm, and Ben Tate all before your best running back Stevan Ridley.  You do have the best TE out there but you only have 3 WR’s.  Roddy will be solid (even if he is the #2 on his own team), Wallace isn’t even playing yet, and Meachem has caught 1 pass so far from Rivers in 2 preseason games.  Not the rapport I would be banking on with only 3 wide outs.  Start thinking about the first pick for next year.

Draft Grade – F

Scaf –

            WOW!  Talk about a great draft.  Like having the best RB fall to you at 6^th wasn’t good enough, but Jamaal Charles in the 3^rd.  Are you serious??  Incredible!  Then to lock up 2 proven starting WR’s in Welker and Marshall is just fantastic.  Oh and it gets better.  You should be arrested for getting Vick (who was the unquestioned #1 pick last year) in the 7^th.   That’s Bernie Madoff type stuff.  Decker, Spiller, and Romo just round out a great overall draft.  Well done.

Draft Grade – A+

Mike R –

            You have an OK team, and by OK I mean not that good.  Calvin is, well Calvin but Matt Ice with your 2^nd??  Yikes.  I mean I play in an 18 team league and he lasted until the 3^rd round.  I mean if you could have got Tony Romo in the 11^th, you could have had Matt Forte /Tony Romo instead of Matt Ryan / Mario Manningham.  I would much rather have the first.  Like Murray but HATE HATE HATE Turner.  I think he will either be cut or moved to the O-line at some point this year.  And if one of those guys gets hurt (or cut) you are screwed.  And Reggie Wayne and Boldin are both on the backside cliff of their careers.  Love Lloyd but I also loved Ocho last year.  Best pick on this team was Cutler in the 12^th.

Draft Grade – D-

Dan-o –

              Dan-o the man-o put forth arguably the best draft (sorry but my vote goes the team with McCoy, Forte ANDDDDDD Jamaal Charles….. that just shouldn’t happen unless you are in a 4 man league).  But CJ2K, Old reliable Steven Jackson, and Doug Martin isn’t too bad either.  Add to that you have 2 of my favorite WR’s in Julio (he will be the #2 wr this year behind only Calvin) and Percy “I do everything” Harvin.  Like that you waited on a TE and stole Pettigrew late.  And you waited on a Defense and Kicker til the last 2 rounds.  Great draft.

Draft Grade – A

Matty V –

            I am going to try to be as nice as possible since I’ve heard you are a UNC fan and I have a soft spot.  I am not as big a fantasy fan of Cam Newton as others are.  Listen, I know he is a stud in the making (Lane edit: War Eagle); however his fantasy points were inflated from rushing TD’s that will never be repeated.  Why?  Well if I own the Panthers, and saw the QB play before Newton, I am def not letting him take goal line carries to risk injury and going back to Jimmy Clausen.  Not happening.  Add that he only threw for over 200 yards once in the last 4 games last year and avg only 28 attempts over the last 8 games compared to 36 from the first 8 games.  Well you get my point, rant over.  Gronk is a beast but will never live up to that draft spot with all the other mouths to feed in New England now.  The rest of your guys I like but don’t love any, except Nicks, but with him he is always hurt.  You have a bubble team as of right now, sorry bud.  Go Tarheels tho.

Draft Grade – B-

Jon –

            Hopefully you missed the draft because that would give you an excuse of having such a bad team.  First, MJD isn’t that bad a pick right there, but not backing up him with Rashard Jennings and instead choosing GB defense, Danny Woodhead and Santana Moss is realllly bad.  You could have made up for it by taking a sure thing RB next round but instead you picked a QB that throws 25 interceptions a year and has lost some valuable weapons in his arsenal.  I do like Jennings and Dez, but not enough to call your team good.  Hope that Green Bay defense really holds it down for you. 

Draft Grade - D

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