2009 fantasy recap, week #8

A closer look at the biggest choke jobs from Gotham in the last 15 years:

1995 – The New York Knicks, in the first game of the Eastern conference semifinals, boast a six-point lead with 17 seconds left in the game. But they miraculously surrender 11 points to Reggie Miller over those final ticks, and lose 107-105. They go on to lose the series in seven games.

2001 – The New York Yankees hold a 3-2 lead in the World Series after a pair of extra-inning wins over the Diamondbacks in New York. They are blown out in game six, and in game seven Mariano Rivera blows a one-run ninth-inning lead as Arizona wins the series.

2002 – The New York Giants, playing in the first-round of the playoffs, led the 49ers 35-14 with under five minutes left in the third quarter but surrendered three touchdowns, a two-point conversion and a field goal to lose 39-38. To add more insult to the loss, the refs blow an easy pass interference call against the 49ers on the final play of the game, denying a chance at a game-winning field goal.

2003 – The New York Giants, 25 years after the Miracle at the Meadowlands, lead the Eagles 10-7 with 1:18 left to play when RB Brian Westbrook returns a punt 84 yards for the game-winning TD. The win raises the Eagles record to 3-3, and is the first of an eight-game win streak that sees them finish the year at 12-4.

2004 – The New York Yankees, led by Derek Jeter, blow a three games to none lead in the ALCS by losing four straight games to the Boston Red Sox (including two in Yankee Stadium.) The Red Sox become the first team ever to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs.

2007 – The New York Mets, who held a seven-game division lead with 17 games left in the season, lose 12 of their remaining games and miss the playoffs as the Philadelphia Phillies steal the NL East title on the final day of the season. The next season they again lose on the final day of the season and miss the playoffs.

2009 – The New York Yankees …

QB: Aaron Rodgers, 34.68 pts – started by me
RB: Chris Johnson, 37.53 pts – started by NewMike
WR: Reggie Wayne, 27.80 pts – started by Joel
TE: Dustin Keller, 19.07 pts – started by ChampMike
K: Rob Bironas, 14.00 pts – sitting on the wire
DEF: Chicago, 31.00 pts – started by Neal
D: Spencer Haver, 15.40 pts – sitting on the wire

Haver totally cheated to get on this list; The Green Bay linebacker was inserted into the offense in the second half of Sunday’s game, catching two TDs while pretending to be a TE. If there was any justice, NewMike would get credit here for starting Julius Peppers and his 13 pts. But there isn’t, so he won’t.

You could have been rich if you had bet…

… that Eagles FB Leonard Weaver would rush for more yards on Sunday (75) than LaDainian Tomlinson (56).
… that seven games into the year Texans 3rd string RB Ryan Moats would have more rushing TDs (three) than Eagles 1st string RB Brian Westbrook (one).
… that this Sunday Eagles QB Donovan McNabb would have more catches (one) than Vikings WR Greg Lewis (zero).
… that Colts QB Peyton Manning would pass for over 300 yds this week (347) but zero touchdowns.
… that the Rams would win a game.

"Just players we started" edition
3rd place – Shonn Greene, -0.20 pts – started by Bobert
1st place (tie) – Seattle, -2.00 pts – started by Jeff
1st place (tie) – Green Bay, -2.00 pts – started by Joel

I hate ties, so let’s say Jeff had the worst starter this week.

Every Friday ESPN announcer Chris Berman does a preview of the upcoming slate of NFL games in a quick segment that SportsCenter calls “the two minute drill.”

Last Friday, the segment was five minutes long and was about 75 percent focused on the World Series. He never mentioned the upcoming Eagles-Giants game.

For the record, Fox baseball commentator Tim McCarver has said many, many stupider things in this World Series (in game five, within 10 minutes, he used the phrases “with which to hit except” and “it can be realized during the throw”) but the grammar auto-correct would not allow me to type any of them out completely.

On a scale from 1 (utterly predictable) to 10 (unbelievably unbelievable)

1 -- QB Eli Manning made a funny face
2 -- QB Eli Manning threw a pair of dumb INTs
3 -- QB Mike Vick was a non-factor in the game
4 -- WR Jeremy Macklin caught a TD.
5 -- QB Donovan McNabb still had a stupid fumble.
6 -- The Eagles won the game by 23 points.
7 -- No one covered WR DeSean Jackson on his TD catch.
8 -- The Eagles let their fullback rush the ball.
9 -- The Eagles fullback scored a rushing TD.
10 -- The Eagles scored two TDs in the last two minutes of a half.

Big game between Philly and Dallas this upcoming Sunday. Both the Eagles and Cowboys are coming off big wins. Both their QBs looked sharp this past week. Both their defenses look solid. Everything points to a close game … except for Dallas’ own interior defense. Just look at what Keith Brooking’s name clearly spells out.

Dallas Cowboys inside linebacker Keith Brooking
--- I beckon dis: Hero Eagles tack dorks, win by a billion ---

It’s bad enough the Cowboys are evil; The least they could learn is proper spelling.

Click on the picture to make it bigger.

Paul holds onto the top spot for the second week in a row (only the second time this year that’s happened) but the real story is Champ Mike, who just two weeks ago was in 10th place and slipping. Now ‘s back up in the top half … and he’s not even in this country. I’ve always said with strong, reliable fantasy coaching you don’t even need to be in the same room as your players.

Neal, who has effectively destroyed my “Andy Reid Blown Coaching Call of the Week” award, managed to outscore seven other teams despite leaving three inactive players in his roster. And more great news: One of those inactive defensive players he keeps using finally appeared on the field this week, meaning he scored his first points of the season out of the defensive player slots. It now looks inevitable that’s he’ll erase that 300-point hole he’s dug for himself.

** Dad finally broke the ice on the 2009 NFL season, going up a game in the weekly picks for the first time all year. That leaves him a mere seven games behind on the season. He’d be only six down if he hadn’t picked against the Eagles this week.

** This week’s reader-submitted links:
From Paul – Stop zooming in on Andy Pettitte.
From NewMike – Which big hit is worse? Raiders or Packers?

** On Saturday night Tim McCarver said that Brett Myers "knows something about strikes, because his teammates say he's the best bowler on the team." Later, when he struck out Jeter on a ball in the dirt, McCarver said "sometimes gutterballs can lead to strikes." I still am not sure why he wasn't arrested on the spot.

** Another baseball game tomorrow night, kids. Just take them one at a time.