Fantasy recap week #14

Getting ahead of ourselves



     How the Eagles can clinch a playoff berth:

-- If they win their last three games
** Atlanta needs to lose 1 of its last 3 (vs TB, MIN or STL), or
** Tampa needs to lost 2 of its last 3 (vs ATL, SD, or OAK), or
** Carolina needs to lose its last 3 (vs DEN, NYG, and NO)
-- If they win only two of their last three
** They must win the DAL and WAS games, and
** Dallas must lose 1 more (vs NYG or BAL), and
** The Bears must lose 1 of their last 3 (NO, GB or HOU), and
** Atlanta needs to lose two, or Tampa needs to lose three.
-- If they win only one of their last three
** The NFL needs to expand to 10 playoff teams per league.


     If you think that’s complicated, try figuring out how the Racial Slurs can still make the playoffs.




Top performers



QB: Seneca Wallace, 29.18 pts – sitting on the wire
RB: Brian Westbrook, 35.90 pts – started by Ant
WR: Antonio Bryant, 34.33 pts – started by Paul
TE: John Carlson, 18.60 pts – sitting on the wire
K: Stephen Gotkowski, 13.50 pts – started by Mike
D: Ed Reed, 16.50 pts – sitting on the wire
DEF: Indy, 29.00 pts – started by Jim
     Second big week in a row for Westbrook (and Ant) but the big story was Bryant, who knocked me out of the fantasy playoffs in my other league. It truly was the biggest surprise of the week, considering how dominating my team has been.
     On the more predictable scale, backup QB Seneca Wallace of the 2-11 Seahwaks was the best passer in the NFL this weekend.





Worst Performers, "Everybody Sucks" edition



3rd place: Mario Manningham, -1.20 pts – sitting on the wire
2nd place: Jacoby Jones, -1.60 pts – sitting on the wire
1st place: Jamarcus Russell, -3.28 pts – sitting on the wire
     Russell posted an even worse game than McNabb’s performance in Baltimore last month – 68 yards passing, two interceptions and a fumble. On the positive side, he was injured and left the game before things could get worse.





Rose Bowl Preview


     Pick the more highly regarded college football team!

Team A – 11-1 record
Resume: Three wins against top 25 teams (one top 20), one loss to a top-25 team; 37.5 pts per game.

Team B – 11-1 record
Resume: Three wins against top 25 teams (two top 20), one loss to an unranked team; 40.2 pts per game.

Team C – 12-1 record
Resume: Five wins against top 25 teams (four top 20); one loss to a top-25 team; 54 pts per game.

     So explain to me why USC (Team A) is a easy 10-point favorite against Penn State (Team B) and why everyone seems to think USC deserves a slot in the title game more than Oklahoma (Team C)?
     Oh, that’s right – East Coast bias. I forgot.




Andy Reid Blown Call of the Week Award/Stupidest thing I read this week


     ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Detroit Lions coach Rod Marinelli insists he still believes in his team despite their winless record.
     "I believe in the invisible," Marinelli said Monday. "I think you go on and you have faith in what you do. If you don't have it, you're nothing. You're not a man."
     Dude is 0-13 this year, with games against the Colts, Saints and Packers. Maybe he should start believing in the very visible, terrible team in front of him.





Cowboys anagram insult of the week



     Dallas’ back-up tight ends were heavily involved in Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh, but in the locker room afterwards “Dallas TE Martellus Bennett” spelled out where he really stood:
     ** Tall, nude tart smells beaten **
     He probably smelled sweaty too, but that’s not as funny.




Our standings so far



1st place: Donnie loves Westy, Ant – 1766.64 pts
2nd place: Cougar in Chief, Mike –1762.09 pts
3rd place Awesomenicity, Heidi –1737.45 pts
     Holy crap, somebody knocked the Doyles out of the top spot. Three weeks ago it looked like the Awesome Cup would have its first repeat champion. Now, Ant and his Eagle-laden lineup are just three weeks away from the sweet nectar of victory.
     Bob is in fourth place, just 61 pts behind Anthony. Everybody else looks like they’re playing only for pride.





News and notes



-- We saw a good amount of Phillies hats and Shane Victorino shirts in Hawaii this week, but most of the Japanese tourists were still wearing Yankees hats. Losers.
-- They still won the World Series, by the way.