A sentence I wrote this past Monday morning, lamenting yet another inevitable defeat (I was up 9 points with the other team running the Steelers D – I was under no delusion that the Baltimore offense would bail me out):
“I would have won if only I had started Ryan Grant and Julius Jones instead of Travis Henry and Laurence Maroney.”
This is what it’s come to. Another season laid waste by injury and poor decision-making. The best I can hope for now is to make the final spot in the playoffs and get waxed in the first round by the guy who has Tom Brady going against the Jets in Week 15. Hooray.
But, like the local St. Louis Rams, I have an ethical mandate against throwing in the towel. This is my job, even if I don’t get paid for it. And I will continue with my head held high.
Who knows? Maybe Bill Belichick will want to show up Eric Mangini so bad, he’ll run up the score using only back-ups, the equivalent of challenging somebody to a fight with one hand behind your back and still kicking the other guy’s ass.
It could happen.
Anyway, got to make the playoffs first.
Week 10
Possible fill-ins if you’re desperate:
QB: Kurt Warner, Arizona (Detroit): The Lions defense looked considerably better against the Broncos, but that doesn’t make them unbeatable.
RB: Aaron Stecker, New Orleans (St. Louis): Blowout points.
WR: D.J. Hackett, Seattle (San Francisco): Caught 6 balls for 58 yards and a TD in his return to action against the Browns.
TE: David Martin, Miami (Buffalo): He’s been cleared to return to practice, so his chances of returning for this game look decent. Follow the news.
K: Jeff Wilkins, St. Louis (@New Orleans)
D: Buffalo (@Miami): Be it Cleo Lemon playing for his job or John Beck seeing an NFL rush for the first time, it’s a good fantasy match-up for the Bills.
Possible bad match-ups:
QB: Vince Young, Tennessee (Jacksonville): Mike Vick with a better defense
RB: Ryan Grant, Green Bay (Minnesota): Nobody runs on the Vikings, plus now he has a concussion.
WR: Braylon Edwards (@Pittsburgh): This isn’t a reflection on Edwards, but more of a statement of respect for the Pittsburgh defense.
TE: Jason Witten, Dallas (@NY Giants): With the Giants D unleashed, Tony Romo is going to be running for his life.
K: Joe Nedney, San Francisco (@Seattle): Don’t be surprised to see the Niners get shut out.
D: San Diego (Indianapolis): The Colts are not a team prone to let-downs.
The Patriots, Jets, Bucs and Texans are off.
Week 11
Keep an eye on:
QB: Steve McNair, Baltimore (Cleveland): It all depends on the Ravens’ Week 10 match-up against the Bengals. If Baltimore wins, they still have the talent to make a run. If they lose, they go in the tank.
RB: Kolby Smith, Kansas City: Hopefully, you got Priest Holmes when you had a chance. If not, roll the dice on Smith. If Holmes proves incapable of handling the load, Smith could be the feature back in a playoff hunt.
WR: Reggie Brown, Philadelphia (Miami): The Dolphins are signing street free-agents to fill up their secondary.
TE: LJ Smith, Philadelphia (Miami): See Reggie Brown.
K: Rob Bironas, Tennessee (@Denver): There’s an interesting race brewing for the NFL scoring lead. Stephen Gostkowski currently leads the race at 79 points, with amazingly only 11 field goals to 46 point after attempts, while Bironas is second at 75, with an NFL-high 20 FG and only 15 PAT.
D: Seattle (Chicago): Seattle at home good. Seattle on road bad. It’s as simple as that.
Potential bad patch-ups:
QB: Jay Cutler, Denver (Tennessee): Denver is a mess without C Tom Nalen.
RB: Thomas Jones, NY Jets (Pittsburgh): The Jets are cursed.
WR: Lee Evans, Buffalo (New England): The Pats can take away you main weapon. Evans is that guy for the Bills.
TE: Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City (@Indianapolis): Gonzalez in four home games: 34 receptions for 407 yards and 3 TD. Gonzalez in four road games: 18 receptions for 208 yards and 1 TD.
K: Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland (@Minnesota): Shutout alert
D: NY Giants (@Detroit)
Week 12
Thanksgiving is the single greatest day of the year. And thanks to the NFL Network, we get three games instead of the two we grew up with. In one of my own holiday traditions, I force myself to start at least one player from each game on Thanksgiving. With Green Bay-Detroit, Dallas-Jets and Colts-Falcons on tap this year, that shouldn’t be too hard.
Keep an eye on:
QB: Jon Kitna, Detroit (Green Bay): Regardless of what happens between now and then, this will be a crucial game in the NFC playoff race. Ford Field is going to be absolutely rocking, and I fully expect Mike Martz to put the passing game to work.
RB: Julius Jones, Dallas (NY Jets): He’s a clear-cut number 2 now, which is actually good for him. The more he gets used to the change-of-pace role, the more aggressive he’s going to become with the chances he does get. We saw that already with his runs against Philly last Monday. Also note he’s caught more balls (7) in the past two games than he did in the first six games combined (6).
WR: Anthony Gonzalez, Indianapolis (@Atlanta): Gonzalez has yet to catch fire as many thought he would, but that’s not entirely unexpected. It’s not easy being a rookie WR, evidenced by the fact not a single rookie receiver has yet to break the 30-catch barrier (Dwayne Bowe and James Jones have 29 each). With that said, this is the time of year a lot of these guys finally start to get comfortable. Don’t be surprised to see Gonzalez increase his production as the Colts try to develop another weapon for the playoffs.
TE: Bubba Franks, Green Bay (@Detroit): Donald Lee is the #1 TE, but Franks is still a red zone threat.
K: Mason Crosby, Green Bay (@Detroit): Not only a strong leg in an offense that sometimes struggles to finish drives, but he’s kicking in a dome.
D: Indianapolis (@Atlanta): It’s the only choice, really.
Potential bad match-ups:
QB: Carson Palmer, Cincinnati (Tennessee): Everybody talks about how the defense stinks, but the biggest problem with this team is their offensive line. They’ve neglected it through the draft and free agency, and now they can’t run the ball, which is killing their play-action game.
RB: Branson Jacobs, NY Giants (Minnesota)
WR: Kevin Curtis, Philadelphia (@New England)
TE: Todd Heap, Baltimore (@San Diego)
K: Jason Elam, Denver (@Chicago)
D: Philadelphia (@New England)