** QB Frank Reich, born 1961 — The journeyman QB lead the largest comeback in NFL history when he led the Bills to a 41-38 overtime win after trailing 35-3 in the third quarter. But his most important NFL work was as offensive coordinator for the 2017 Super Bowl champion Eagles.
** QB Jeff Blake, born 1970 — A Pro-Bowl QB with the Bengals in the mid-1990s, Blake appeared in three games with the 2004 Eagles and managed more turnovers (two) than TDs (one). But he did score a Super Bowl trip with that team.
** LB Ted Johnson, born 1972 — The nine-year Patriots tackler ended his career with three Super Bowl rings, including one he earned snagging four tackles against that 2004 Eagles team.
** T Joe Thomas, born 1984 — The 10-time Pro Bowl lineman for the Browns is a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer. He played 10,363 consecutive snaps during his career, setting a record that is unlikely ever to be matched.
** LB Skip Vanderbundt, born 1946 — Started 100 games for the 49ers, the most ever for a defensive player whose name sounds like a holiday dessert.
** SS Montae Nicholson, born 1995 — The only current NFL player who was born on this date, he was active for the Maryland Racial Slurs game against the Eagles last night. Happy birthday, buddy! Sorry about the game.
WR: Keenan Allen, 24.87 pts — started by Sam
RB: Todd Gurley, 28.90 pts — started by Bob
TE: Travis Kelce, 27.20 pts — on Jo’s bench
K: Ka'imi Fairbairn, 21.00 pts — on the wire
DEF: Jacksonville, 22.00 pts — on Dad’s bench
D: Bobby Wagner, 19.00 pts — started by Joel
Again, so close … at least we owned most of the right players this week.
If Travis Kelce (the top fantasy TE) was a wideout, he’d be the fifth-highest scoring WR in the league right now. Not bad for a position that has been a complete mess this year. After 12 weeks, only five TE’s have topped 100 pts on the season, and only one more (Austin Hooper, 90.67 pts) has a realistic chance at joining that club next week. The #7 TE, OJ Howard, is out for the season with an injury, and the #8 TE, Trey Burton, still hasn’t broken 80 pts.
Of course, we haven’t had more than nine TEs hit that 100-pts plateau each of the last two years, so maybe being a TE just kind of stinks for fantasy.
“Just ugh” edition
3rd place: DeAndre Washington, -1.30 pts — on the wire
2nd place: Oakland, -2.00 pts — on the wire
1st place: San Francisco, -3.00 pts — on the wire
We’ve got our first appearance by a position player on here in a while. Washington rushed three times for a whopping 7 yds and had a fumble in a game where Oakland scored a lot of points and could have used some more RB help.
For the record, Racial Slurs’ third-string QB Mark Sanchez managed 3.30 pts in Monday night’s game. I really have no idea how.
** I get that both of Georgia’s losses this year were to the #1 team in the nation, but arguing they should have been one of the final four teams in the college football playoff (with that #1 team) undermines the entire “every game counts” nonsense the NCAA is peddling. They’ve lost twice to Alabama, so they deserve a third shot to beat them! Really, the only way to determine the best team out of 120 collegiate programs is to pick two and have them play five or six times...
** Front cover of Sport Illustrated this week: “It’s time to rethink Drew Brees — please stop calling him an underdog.”
Great headline … for 2006, when Brees was coming off an arm injury and was seen as a questionable pick as the new Saints field general. Since then he has made 10 Pro-Bowls, thrown for more than 5,000 yds in four seasons, and won a Super Bowl. Not exactly underdog material there.
Oh and he is also the favorite in Vegas to win the league MVP award this year. But don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s a bad player…
The Eagles and the Cowboys play Sunday in a matchup that will likely determine the winner of the NFC East. Here’s a look at the omens heading into the game:
** The Eagles are 4-1 against the Cowboys in AT&T Stadium. Their only loss came in an overtime contest in October 2016.
** Since 2000, the Eagles are 9-3 in December games against the Cowboys. They’re 12-6 in away games played in Dallas over that same stretch.
** The Eagles and Cowboys have never played on December 9 before. The day after the game, however, the Eagles will celebrate the 23rd anniversary of the infamous “they stopped him again!” contest where the green D stuffed Emmitt Smith on fourth and one twice in a row.
** Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has never beaten the Eagles twice in the same season. He won in Philadelphia earlier this year.
Remember, you can’t spell Dallas without spelling “all sad.” And you can’t spell Cowboys without spelling “cosy bow.” And you can’t spell Nick Foles without spelling “Super Bowl MVP has more playoff wins than the Cowboys over the last 21 years.”
Speaking of spelling things with Cowboys letters… Dallas is still one of the few teams in the NFL to employ a fullback on their squad, a throwback to the days of old-time smashmouth football. And their fullback is a throwback to the old-time days of fire and brimstone. Consider what his name spells out:
Cowboys Fullback Jamize Olawale
** We foul boozy jackals bawl malice
“Boozy jackals” is a lot more fun than the “sad cows” I usually come up with.
** A glimmer of hope: I swept Dad in our picks this week, picking up four and jumping to a mere 11 down for the season. So we’re back in the Wentz zone. Maybe that’s a good time the second time around? ** Remember when getting into the Rose Bowl mattered?
** This Saturday, when you sit down to watch the Army-Navy game, please remember that it’s one of the best traditions in all of sports and also some of the toughest football to watch in any venue. Over/under for passes in the game is seven.
Week 13 standings 1 — For Who? For Wentz? (Ant), 1779.73 pts
2 — Tackleball 4EVAH! (Paul), 1719.22 pts
3 — Nick 'MVP' Foles (Capt. Awesome), 1648.62 pts
4 — Kneel Armstrong (Sam), 1632.51 pts
5 — Philly Special (Jo), 1590.31 pts
6 — The Garoppolo Gamble (Joel), 1515.63 pts
7 — Witch Hunting (Jim), 1510.17 pts
8 — We Love the Mud (Mom D), 1506.07 pts
9 — Last Exit 2 Kutztown (Bob), 1413.44 pts
10 — Kiss A Fish Today (Dad), 1368.92 pts
11 — SweatpantsEnthusiast (Mike), 1352.86 pts
12 — Blue Collar Killers (Jeff), 1265.86 pts
Mostly status quo this week, at least at the top of the standings. Paul and Ant pulled away from the pack with two solid weeks, while Jo and I combined for only about 30 points more than Paul. Jim and Bob crept up, Mom D and Dad fell back. And with four weeks left in the season, Jeff’s path to victory is not looking good.
Thursday night game is the Jaguars and Titans, a contest that has playoff implications. Terrible, terrible playoff implications, but implications nonetheless.
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