By: Johnny Whisenant on Dec 19th, 2009
As the season winds down, some of us find ourselves in championship games, semifinal matchups, opening round matchups, or taking stock of a tough year, trying to make the right moves to get a title in 2010. Today we sit down with Chris Slabaugh, whom many of you know as “The Lineup Doctor”, to get his expert take on this week and the things to come in the fantasy football world. I know I am ready to gain some knowledge, so let’s get started.
Johnny Whisenant: Chris, many of us are sitting at home this week thanks to a poor performance by Randy Moss and Tom Brady. For those of us who happened survive, we look with a bit of concern at this week and the future with the Patriots from a fantasy perspective. What do you anticipate, both short term and long term from the Patriots, and should we be in a “sell high” mode?
Chris Slabaugh: First of all if you managed to survive Brady and Moss’ disappointing game against Carolina last week, then you’re in luck. I can’t think of a better schedule to finish the year with than the Bills, Jaguars, and Texans. I would consider Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker all must starts for the remainder of the year.
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Posted in Fantasy Football, Featured, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
By: Jeremy Miller on Dec 13th, 2009
Sorry for the late article this week. Last week was a bad week for the locks as both of us dropped another one. We will try to rebound this week as I hold on to my slim lead over Chris. This week we both go to the prime time games to make our locks. Here are our locks for week 14:
Chris Slabaugh: Arizona -3 1/2 @ San Francisco
Arizona looked great against Minnesota last week. This week they have San Francisco in a division game on Monday Night Football. San Francisco has played well this year, but they do not have the secondary needed to stop Warner, Fitz and Boldin. On the other side of the ball the Cards shut down AP last week so Frank Gore doesn’t stand a chance. Should be an easy cover.
Locks Record: 4-6-1
Jeremy Miller: Philadelphia PK @ New York Giants
I think the Eagles are still the class of this division. The Giants look to have gotten back on track against Dallas last week, but I’m not buying it. Dallas gave that one away, and the Eagles are not going to be in such a giving mood. Look for this is be your typical NFC East grudge match decided by less than a TD, but the edge goes to Philly to win.
Locks Record: 6-7
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By: Scott Henkel on Dec 10th, 2009
All this started when I had to come to a decision on my #2 WR for my money league today. I needed a guy to pair with Calvin Johnson and was left with Steve Breaston, Devin Thomas, Nate Washington, or Donnie Avery. Matchup wise they all are sweet picks. Breaston gets the 29th ranked pass defense in San Francisco and was a 1,000 yard receiver last season. Washington gets a bad St. Louis Ram’s secondary that just go worse this week on a hot Vince Young led team. Devin Thomas is the soup de jour after blowing up for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns and goes against a Raiders squad that is bottom 5 in the NFL for yards given up per catch. Avery, while banged up, gets a statistically terrible Titans secondary. While none of these guys will carry my squad past a tough round one matchup every point counts so the decision deserves considerable thought. I decided that opportunities and targets were the key indicators to use on this decision.
Opportunity comes in the form of what kind of offense the player is in, what kind of defense they face, what kind of quarterback they have throwing the ball, the number option the receiver is in the offense, and the overall health of the player. Looking at my options I decided that Devin Thomas is my best choice as he’s the #2 guy on the Redskins which in his case is a big plus because he won’t face the #2 shut down corner in the NFL yet is still a main option in the red hot Redskin’s passing attack and is fully healthy. Decision is over, right? Not so fast. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Devin Thomas, fantasy football who should I start, wide receiver, wide receiver rankings
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By: Scott Henkel on Dec 7th, 2009
Ladies and gentlemen and Bengal fans of all ages welcome to the playoffs! By now you’re sweating every move…even your kicker. Well I promise you we will not be discussing kickers here but we are going to take a look at the strong plays this week. I want to remind you of the two basic rules in playoff fantasy football:
1) Start your studs. Benching your studs because of a matchup problem is a big no-go. Yes, once out of a hundred games you will beat the house and foresee a stud’s bad game and smartly replace him with a no-name who will have a career game. It happens every year. But don’t be that guy who decides to throw caution into the wind and bench Anquan Boldin for Austin Collie because you heard the Colts bench their stars after they get the playoffs locked up.
2) At the same time play your matchups when making the tough call between two players. At this point in the season there is enough statistical data out there on every team and player that with enough time and analysis you can make one hell of an educated guess on how a guy will perform. Now, how does Rule #2 reconcile with Rule #1? Easy, matchups are differentiators you can use between two guys, not a reason to start Robert Royal over Antonio Gates because Cleveland has a sweet passing matchup.
I’m about to unleash Hell in December. So strap on your chin straps, jockstraps, or bra straps and lets go to work:
Ballin’
Quarterback
Alex Smith
Alex Smith- Statement Game – a statement game happens when a player with seemingly inferior skill sets taps the asswhuppin’ keg and then asks when he can play them again. Yes, the Seahawks aren’t all that impressive on defense and Vernon Davis is setting franchise records this season. But all that doesn’t explain how Smith has thrown for 7 touchdowns and only 1 pick in the last 3 games. The Niners have the Cardinals on Monday night so he is a gamble start. But he is a hot hand and the Cards let Shaun Hill throw for over 200 yards and a score in Week 1. I’m not buying the idea that the Cards defense is up and coming because Favre had an off game. Aside from the obvious starts if you are considering starting Smith he is a strong play and gets my blessing.
Honorable mention: Chad Henne, Vince Young, Ben Roethlisburger
Runningback
Ryan Grant
Ryan Grant-Well he didn’t get much from Baltimore which will concern some folks. Stephen Jackson ripped Chicago apart. If Jackson can do it with Kyle Boller at the helm there should be no doubt that Grant can go into Chicago with the elements and put up a 20 carry 100+ performance up against the Bears with Aaron Rodgers behind center to keep the defense honest. This is a guy you might have as a RB2 or RB3 depending on your league and will take some blind faith to start over a WR you may have on your roster. But in December I’d rather trust my fantasy football playoff hopes on a Green Bay runningback over a wide receiver any day and twice on Sunday. And Grant’s matchup couldn’t be any more sweet. Roll with him.
Honorable mention: Thomas Jones, Rashard Mendenhall, Fred Jackson
Wide Receiver
Robert Meachem
Robert Meachem- Show of hands; who else had Meachem on their bench this past week? Well not again! Meachem has been very consistent lately and gets a Falcons secondary that allowed both Donovan McNabb to take a half off and let Michael Vick come back to Atlanta and rip it up. Meachem has shown solid to spectacular production and gets a big matchup advantage against a floundering Falcons. I’m putting him in my lineup with confidence this week and I’m doing it over Rock Cartwright. Now given what I just wrote about Grant above that should give you a good indication on how well I feel Meachem can do this weekend.
Honorable mention: Davone Bess (in PPR leagues), Miles Austin, Mike Sims-Walker
Defense
New England Patriots DEF
New England DEF – Chad Henne lit these guys up and they are Ballin’? I know what you’re thinking, one too many Sailor Jerry’s and Cokes. While that may be a fair assesment let’s look a bit deeper than my penchant for rum. The Pats haven’t been themselves lately. Tom hasn’t been the touchdown and baby making machine we’ve grown to know and love. And the defense hasn’t been able to confuse quarterbacks like in days of old. But the Pats aren’t newbies to the playoff scene and they need a win. If they don’t lock up a tight divisional race they may be home watching the playoffs. Add to that motivation the fact that they get to feast on the anemic and turnover prone Panthers (whoever is starting at quarterback) and the signs are there for a great defensive game. Again, don’t go out and start the Pats just because I was able to drum up a good picture of their cheerleaders (which took considerable work on my part…my sacrifice to the craft) but because they are a better option than a marginal defense like the Cards due to matchup.
Honorable mention: New York Jets, Green Bay Packers
So we shook it up a bit this week because if you’re still reading this you’re likely the kind of person who has a specific question on your mind. If you didn’t see your guy or team above this is the time to send me an email at airram98@hotmail.com, post in the comment section below, or start a thread in the forums and I’ll answer your questions with specific and detailed research. I did this last year and the results were 3 championships and I want to do better this year. Best of luck to you and hope to see you in the forums! – Scott
Tags: Fantasy Football, fantasy football playoff
Posted in Fantasy Football, General NFL | 3 Comments »
By: Jeremy Miller on Dec 4th, 2009
Last weeks locks had mixed results. I have retaken the lead thanks to another Indy comeback after falling behind by 17 early. The win gets me back to .500 and puts me on a two game win streak. The news was not as good for Chris as New Orleans ran up and down the field on the Patriots Monday night knocking him back below .500 for the year. This week Chris tries his hand at a pick’em while I go back to the Indy game again this week with a different direction. Here are our locks for week 13:
Chris Slabaugh: Houston PK @ Jacksonville
Houston should be very motivated in this game after giving up a 17 pt lead to lose to Indianapolis last week. Jacksonville’s secondary is awful and Matt Schaub and co. will put up huge numbers in this one.
(Are the Saints done scoring yet?)
Locks Record: 4-5-1
Jeremy Miller: Tennessee +7 @ Indianapolis
Well I sure didn’t see this turn around coming from Tennessee, but here they are, guided by Vince Young and on a 5 game winning streak. The test get difficult this week as they head to divisional rival, undefeated Indianapolis. The Colts have perfected a come from behind style that he gotten them to an 11-0 record. But at some point that type of play will blow up in their face. The Titans are playing inspired football right now and the Colts seem to be doing enough to just get by. This smells like a recipe for taking the 7 pts and the Titans. The Titans just might pull off the upset outright.
Locks Record: 6-6
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By: Scott Henkel on Dec 1st, 2009
If you’re anything like me, then you’ve come to the end of the fantasy football regular season and are eyeballing a championship. This is familiar territory and I’m spilling my secrets on how to frustrate your opponents with smart, almost precognitive player moves. The best part is that there isn’t anything magical about rolling into the playoffs with both barrels blazing. In upcoming playoff editions I abandon the traditional Ballin’ or Fallin’ format and instead of predicting player value upticks or tanks I’ll take you through the absolute strongest plays possible using this very simple but ultimately effective Rules for the Playoffs:
1) Start your studs. Benching your studs because of a matchup problem is a big no-go. Yes, once out of a hundred games you will beat the house and foresee a stud’s bad game and smartly replace him with a no-name who will have a career game. It happens every year. But don’t be that guy who decides to throw caution into the wind and bench Anquan Boldin for Austin Collie because you heard the Colts bench their stars after they get the playoffs locked up.
2) At the same time play your matchups when making the tough call between two players. At this point in the season there is enough statistical data out there on every team and player that with enough time and analysis you can make one hell of an educated guess on how a guy will perform. Now, how does Rule #2 reconcile with Rule #1? Easy, matchups are differentiators you can use between two guys, not a reason to start Robert Royal over Antonio Gates because Cleveland has a sweet passing matchup.
The playoff format is a bit different in that I’m focusing on the guys who are the strongest plays for the next round of games so we’re keeping it positive up here and are not doing a Fallin’ portion. Alright let’s do this:
Ballin’
Quarterback
Ben Roethlisburger
Ben Roethlisburger- Ben was hurt and not playing in that travishamockery of a game against the Ratb..I mean Ravens. His head injury was not the same severity of Brain Westbrook’s and he was likely held out of the Baltimore game to not repeat the same mistake Westy made in coming back too soon. Also the liklihood of the Ravens taking cheap shots on Ben are much higher than in a game against the Raiders. When most folks think of the Raiders they think this is the Raiders team of 2008 that had an astounding pass defense. This year the Raiders are 17th out of 32 teams defending the pass and in the bottom 5 in yards given up per catch. Yards per catch is crucial when evaluating the Steelers passing game. While they are opening up bigger and bigger plays this is still an offense that asks Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, and Heath Miller to move the sticks. And when the Raiders are giving up an average of 7.9 yards per catch moving the chains is pretty easy when your running back averages over 5 yards per carry. Ben comes back and rolls.
Honorable mention: Kurt Warner, Vince Young, Donovan McNabb Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Ben Roethlisburger, Brandon Marshall, Fantasy Football, fantasy football advice, fantasy football who should I start, Rashard Mendenhall, Vince Young, Week 13
Posted in Fantasy Football, General NFL | 4 Comments »
By: Scott Henkel on Nov 24th, 2009
Ballin’ or Fallin’ is an unorthodox look at the fantasy football values of players from around the league taking in everything to see if a guy’s value is going up or down.If your guy isn’t one of the ones looked at in the feature article or you think I’m full of it shoot me an email, start a thread in the forums, or post a question in the comments below and I’ll answer. I don’t just answer one or two softball questions, I answer all of them. Seriously.
I’m rantless this week. No, wait, no I’m not. I still cannot freaking believe the Steelers, your Super Bowl Champion Steelers, lost to the Chefs. The Chefs for crying out loud! Great googly moogly.
Week 12 is here and time is running out for your playoff hopes…..unless of course you’ve faithfully tuned in to Ballin’ or Fallin’ in which case the people in your league now suspect you of voodoo or clairvoyance. You’ll get used to it. Wherever you’re at in your season you’ve come to the right place for the best fantasy football information on the net. If you’re new to the feature don’t expect the same obvious garbage that can be gleamed from the stats sheets. We’re talking about players that are either outproducing their perceived value or draft status or are tanking. Ballin’ or Fallin’ is a the MOAB in your fantasy football arsenal when considering making major roster moves or making trades. I’ve been scary accurate this year so if you’ve found me, bookmark this page. Alright let’s do this:
Ballin’
Quarterback
Vince Young
Vince Young- Alright I’ve seen enough. Welcome back to fantasy football relevance,VY! He looked sharp and made very sound reads all night. 116 yards and a touchdown are hardly noteworthy stats from a quarterback but when you factor in 76 yards rushing VY may have been a serviceable quarterback for you Monday night. Other than Michael Vick no other active quarterback has rushed for more yards than Vince Young which makes him a very streaky option weekly. But he does have a much more accurate arm than Vick and the weapons around him are getting better. The Titans are starting to see some signs of life from their passing game with Kenny Britt emerging as a goal line go to receiver. Ow, and there is that Chris Johnson guy who I hear is pretty decent. In the future I’m sure the Titans will want to keep CJ more involved in the passing game on prescribed checkdowns and screen plays. Young is without question worth picking up in all scoring formats as a backup QB as long as your other options are guys like Jake Delhomme or Jason Campbell.
Honorable mention: Matthew Stafford (tough guys who throw for 400 yards and 5 tds go far with me), Brett Favre (go old man!), Alex Smith Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Carrie Prejean, fantasy football advice, Greg Jennings, Jason Snelling, Pierre Thomas, Vince Young, Week 11 advice
Posted in Fantasy Football, General NFL | 1 Comment »
By: Gene Zarnick on Nov 20th, 2009
The fantasy season is winding down. Unfortunately, there’s only three weeks left before playoffs start for most leagues. Now’s the time where every matchup is critical and everyone needs to make the perfect lineup configurations. That’s great and all, but there’s some more important things that commissioners have to do then to worry all about their teams and the playoffs coming up. You need to make sure that the losers of the league still feel apart of the league during the playoff season.
There’s nothing worse then not making the playoffs. Your season is cut short and you don’t get a shot at the money and more importantly the championship. Some people, if they’re not fantasy junkies like us, may feel that the season was a waste and their money went down the drain. You need to make sure they don’t feel that way and that their season was fulfilling, just doesn’t have the same upside as others. Make sure to put in place some sort of loser’s bracket tournament that actually means something. I don’t care if you give them a toilet paper roll with their name on it if they win, but make them want to play the final three weeks. Get a trophy, get a prize, give them a better draft pick; I don’t care, just do it. The satisfaction they receive from the gesture will be worth it to them and worth it to you in the future.
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Tags: Fantasy Football, Favre Dollar Footlongs
Posted in Fantasy Football | 2 Comments »
By: Scott Henkel on Nov 17th, 2009
Scott Henkel
Ballin’ or Fallin’ is an unorthodox look at the fantasy football values of players from around the league taking in everything to see if a guy’s value is going up or down.If your guy isn’t one of the ones looked at in the feature article or you think I’m full of it shoot me an email, start a thread in the forums, or post a question in the comments below and I’ll answer. I don’t just answer one or two softball questions, I answer all of them. Seriously.
I’ve been without a rant for quite a while and it is quite time I went on a small one early in this week’s edition. Bill Belichick, you sir have some brass ones. If you weren’t such a douchenozzle in every other aspect of coaching and in your own personal life I would salute you. It takes moxy to go for it on 4th down with 3 yards to go on the road. It takes cajones of Mountain Ram proportions to do so on your own side of the field and with under 2 minutes in the fourth quarter. I wouldn’t do it. I’d be pissed if the Steelers did it. But since it is you Coach B, that was awesome! Also to Jim Rome who decided to call out fantasy football hobbyists who WIN their leagues for not having a life I have one response; dude, more people care about fantasy football than horse racing by a long shot. Seriously, just because you dumped more coin into a freaking horse than most Americans can afford to spend on a house in one lifetime doesn’t translate into the all important “give a crap” by your listeners. You have coin to drop in a sport with a steroid history that makes baseball look clean, hell, pro body building looks clean by comparison, good on ya’! But seriously, pot meets kettle when a horse racing fan clowns on fantasy football for being worthless and taking time away from work and families.
Week 11 is here and the time is now to act if you want to make a push for the playoffs this season or if your team stinks like a methane farm you may want to start putting things in place for next year. Wherever you’re at in your season you’ve come to the right place for the best fantasy football information on the net. If you’re new to the feature don’t expect the same obvious garbage that can be gleamed from the stats sheets. We’re talking about players that are either outproducing their perceived value or draft status or are tanking. Ballin’ or Fallin’ is a the MOAB in your fantasy football arsenal when considering making major roster moves or making trades. I’ve been scary accurate this year so if you’ve found me, bookmark this page. Alright let’s do this:
Ballin’
Quarterback
Chad Henne
Chad Henne- Looking at his stat line only tells 1/4 of the story. He didn’t light up the scoreboard and had more than one bone headed throw. But he showed me something that I can’t put into a stat line. He had his second 4th quarter comeback this season and looked like a grizzled veteran as he made great decisions with the ball and audibled at the line to give “Sticky” Ricky Williams the chance to put the Fins in a great spot to win it with a field goal. He’s not going to tear it up stat wise at least this season but to be bold and go out on a wild limb with the pieces being put into place around him, Henne could be an absolute beast in the near future…like next year. Considering Ricky is thinking hard about retiring from pro-football and taking up the bong and holistic massage full time that leaves Ronnie Brown as the sole offensive weapon in the backfield. The whole Wildcat thing sticking around for a second year is amazing and without Williams unlikely to continue in any appreciable amount next season. No, the depth in the Dolphin lineup is at wide receiver and not that trumped up return man Ginn Jr. There are about 3-4 1st and 2nd year players who have some good talent and more important fit a role to an offensive scheme that centers around the quarterback. Henne won’t be Tom Brady but numbers similar to Donovan McNabb are possible if the Dolphins continue to build around Henne.
Honorable mention: Josh Freeman (loved what I saw from him), Phillip Rivers, Vince Young (3-0 as a starter this year and his numbers are getting better each week), Jason Campbell Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Beanie Wells, Bill Belichick, Calvin Johnson, Chad Henne, Devery Henderson, fantasy football rankings, Kellen Winslow, LeSean McCoy, Week 10 fantasy football, who do I start fantasy football
Posted in Fantasy Football | 1 Comment »
By: Gene Zarnick on Nov 13th, 2009
My first article I wrote on SO was entitled Fantasy Football is a Game of Poker. I basically compared how the season was like a poker tournament and other stuff that you can read if you click the link above. Well now were into the point of the season or tournament where you could get knocked out with a bad beat. Like they say in poker, “You never remember the big hands you won, but always remember the bad beats.”
Well yesterday I saw a bad beat that I’m sure happens weekly, but I haven’t seen happen to my league before. In one of the divisions the first place team was playing the last place team. The last place team had Eddie Royal going into Monday night up 1.5 points and the first place team had Santonio Holmes. After Monday night’s game the first place team got the victory by .5 points. Tough loss for the last place team as it pretty much knocked him out of any playoff consideration. I wanted the first place team to lose as well because it would’ve sent me up to first.
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Tags: Fantasy Football, Favre Dollar Footlongs, NFL
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