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Alright, I’m back.
Now, I’m not gonna do what everyone expects me to do, and that’s…….FLIP OUT!!!
(I already did that apparently)
Much has happened since I last wrote. There were backbreaking injuries, the trade deadline has come and gone, and
a few teams have officially been eliminated from the playoffs. But we’ll get to all that in just a bit.
With the test out of the way (did I mention I hate standardized tests?), I finally was able to catch up on some movies
since I haven’t seen anything since September. Finally saw “Borat”. I agree with Jay’s review once again. It was a great
(but not classic) movie, a bit slow at first with only a few chuckles here and there. Then it happens - the moment that
will go down as one of the most memorable things ever put on film. It may very well be the funniest thing I have ever
seen on film. The scene practically made the movie. Anybody who saw the movie knows exactly what I’m talking about.
As a matter of fact, Parker and I will be re-enacting the scene at next year’s draft. I will be playing the role of Azamat,
while Parker will be Borat (extra large black censor line included). But overall, it was nowhere near the funniest film of
all time. That would be “Van Helsing”. Wait, hold on, that was supposed to be a scary, action movie?
Then, on opening night, I saw Casino Royale. Now, that’s a great action movie. I’ll leave the specifics for Jay’s review,
but Daniel Craig does a great job.
Ok, now back to the football stuff.
The season is almost over. Only two weeks late for the six of us who won’t make the 2006 playoffs. I’ll leave the
specifics for Scott’s playoff preview, which is excellent as always. But it appears that Rich, Parker, Nick, Dave, and I
are the teams that are on the outs. Nomads already have the asterisk and Jason, Jarrett, and Canton FC are on the
right side of the medium. The other teams will battle it out with one team falling short and joining the lottery party.
As for the five of us with seven or more losses, the battle to get the toilet bowl (or not get) looks like it will come down
to the wire. Rich, Nick, and Parker are tied for the worst record, with Nick holding the advantage in points. However,
this weekends battle between “labor power” and “born to run my mouth” looks to narrow down the race a bit.
I honestly feel like it would be a good idea to get the first pick next year. Stephen Jackson is back in the pool next year
and he looks to be the best option of the bunch. It’s not like last year when LDT was back in the draft pool (btw, did I
mention that Jason’s best move was out of some backhanded luck. Even if it wasn’t his intention, he picked the best
year to get it.) Stephen Jackson is a pass catching threat out of the backfield that is important in our league (what
other RB has caught 13 passes in a game?). If he would just score some more TD’s, then he could easily take over
Tiki’s place in the top five next year.
Let’s take a quick look at these lottery bound teams, b/c they were easily overlooked this year.
Marques Colston (BTRMM) and Tony Romo (labor power), who will go down as two of the best waiver wire pickups of
the year, were grabbed by two of the teams. These two went from undrafted to keepers. In the offseason, “fantasy
experts” will make predictions about what to expect from Colston in 2007. They will compare him to Boldin and Michael
Clayton (the last two WR to have an impact their rookie year). There will be some talk of a sophomore slump, but I
think Colston will be fine and will have more of a Randy Moss-esque sophomore season (remember that Boldin was
injured in year two). Meanwhile, Romo could be the next Brady. They aren’t the same type of players, but they could
put up similar stats next year and Brady was a keeper this year.
(Sidenote: I told Nick this already, but that column “Assigning Countries” was one of the most original and creative
things I’ve ever read. As always I take partial credit.)
Tough year for S dot. His team is much better than the record shows. I think he just suffers from some of the worst luck
in this game called fantasy football. I will say this much. Larry Fitzgerald has had a down year. But so did Andre
Johnson in 2005. Now AJ is becoming a pass catching stud and has jumped into the elite WR class. I think Fitz does
the same next year (even though he is already considered elite) when he gets healthy again and is prime for a Randy
Moss/T.O. like career year in 2007. On the other hand, Edgerrin James looks like the exact replica of Emmitt Smith
(winner of the 2006 Dancing with the Stars. Take that Jerry) when he left Dallas for Arizona. It might be that both
were/are on the downward trends of their careers or Arizona O line is just that bad. Either way, don’t look for much out
of Edge next year, other than just a couple of good games here and there that will make everyone remember the good
old days.
Tough four game stretch for Dave, he went from playoff contender to potential lottery bound. Like I said in Fantasy vs.
Reality, as Donovan goes, so goes Dave’s team. Donovan has not been great during this four game losing streak,
and now that he is done for the year, it’ll be tough for Dave to make one last push (he could still get in if he wins out
and a few things go his way).
Speaking of injuries (See how I did that. What a great transition. Admit it. You guys missed me.), week eleven saw a lot
of major ones. Who would have thought there would be so much waiver wire activity this late in the season? Some of
the big names are LaMont Jordan, who is possibly done for the season, and finally putting an end to Scott’s misery.
LaMont joins Domanick Davis and Nate Burleson as keepers placed back in the waiver pool. Kevin Jones, also on
team Watson, went down. He is questionable for the Thanksgiving game. Throw in the aforementioned Marques
Colston and Donovan, and a fantasy lineup of starters are down for the count. If you really want me to keep going,
there were also inactives from Reuben Droughns (wait, he was active the other ten weeks?) and Tatum Bell, and we
have such prestigious names as Devery Henderson, Terrance Copper, Jason Wright, Arlen Harris, Justin Fargas, Jeff
Garcia, and Zack Crockett being picked up faster than you can say “Eli sucks”.
With the trade deadline come and gone, another relatively quiet trading season has passed. Now, I know everyone
expected Gregg to make a move, especially after he sent out that email. But I think the best move he will ever make is
the trade he didn’t make this year involving DeAngelo Williams. After twelve weeks, the most overhyped draft rookie
may finally make himself worthy of his draft round selection.
While we’re talking about Gregg’s team, how about them “Fighting Blue Crabs”? They are really coming on these last
couple of weeks. A lot of people noticed this past weekend thanks to his 164 point showing, but he has won five of his
last six (after staring out the season 1-4. His only loss during this streak is to me of course). Gregg’s team has gone a
bit unnoticed, because of Jason’s impressive showings. But beware, his team is getting hot at just the right time and
Chad is playing……I can’t even describe it. Chad’s been good to say the least. Gregg just might have the 3rd best
team in the league right now.
Looking ahead, this week’s match-up between Nomads and Jason looks like it could be a preview of the championship
game. I’ll leave the predictions to Marc, but if the rankings stay the same, these two teams could avoid each other in
the playoffs and meet only in the finals.
A few quick notes on Jason:
So all in all, Jason has made some moves that have really paid off. I’d say he has done a good job planning ahead,
mixed in with some very good luck. That is what it takes to win this league. And much to the dismay of many of the true
Retired Orangemen in the league, that looks like a possibility this year. I find it funny that the two people the majority
of the league does not want to see win this league, are the two odds on favorites.
I can see Jarrett being competitive year in and year out. I just don’t know when he’ll take it all the way and get his
hands on the trophy. He has Portland Trail Blazers of the 1990’s written all over him. What I mean by that is he’ll
always have a playoff team, but it looks like he’ll come just short of winning it all. Not that that’s a bad thing. I’m actually
saying this; so that Jarrett may change it up a bit. He needs to pull the trigger on a deal or two when he has the
chance, like this year. He’s been carrying three great QB’s for most of the season. I think he would have been best
served for this year and next if he had decided who he wanted to keep (Palmer or Leinart) and trade the other. Or just
trade Grossman when he was playing so well, even if it meant giving up more than he would like. I think he could have
come out with a good young RB.
Canton FC has been hit hard by injuries (McGahee and Hasselback), but at least he gets one of them back potentially
as early as Monday. Canton is having a very similar year to the real life NFL team that he writes about. There are still
doubts about whether either team is for real, even though both are headed for the playoffs. Still you have to worry
about both, because they could be dangerous.
Marc has had an up and down year, but looks to be on the good side of all the 6-5 teams thanks to points. The Portis
injury was a big blow to his team and puts an end to a disappointing season, but he’s still a keeper the next two years,
and I still would have taken him with the 3rd draft pick. Plus Marc was smart enough to hold onto Ladell Betts just in
case. I’m also really glad that Trent Green got the starting job back. I would have felt bad for Marc if he held onto
Green for ten weeks, only to see Trent Green lose his starting job to Damon Huard. Now, that’s what I call loyalty
people.
I think I’ve discovered this about Jay. He puts himself as “gross” in his WGLPT column, so that he doesn’t hurt anyone’
s feelings, even if his team is playoff bound and deserving of at least a “cute” ranking. Of course, if Jay has the best
team he will not be afraid to put “The Stare” right next to the “handsome” word. Taking a look at his team, looks like
the Cedric Benson experiment is a failure, but I still hold firm in my belief that he plays eventually (most likely next
year). Chicago pays him way too much to sit the pine (see Philip Rivers). I think Jay is shaped up nicely for next year
(some solid keeper options, although none great). I also like the waiver moves he has made. Way to jump on top of
those backups buddy.
Looks like the magical ride that is known as Chris’ team has come back down to earth. A three game losing streak will
do that to you. It’s basically down to him and Scott at this point, since a mere 1.37 points separate them.
Even though Brock has had a tough time lately, his “pick winners” strategy just might be the “cool” draft strategy for
next year. Even though it hasn’t worked out great for Brock (Roethlisberger sucks. I don’t want to hear anything about
it), there was something I noticed about this strategy. If you pick two players from the same team, you better make
sure they are on a winning team (see Shermtanks combo of Rivers and LDT), because if they are on a losing team
(see Parker’s combo of Fitz and Edge or my sad combo of Dolphins), then you are most likely headed for the toilet
bowl. I guess the only exception is Jarrett’s tandem of St. Louis Rams, although the Rams did have a winning record
for most of the season.
Lastly, I feel bad for Scott. He was very active at the trade deadline and made two good moves in acquiring KJ and
Chris Henry. But so far, looks like both those trades are not working in his favor. KJ looks like he will miss this
Thanksgiving game and Henry has nothing to catch now that Chad is hogging the ball. But Scott could still back into
the playoffs, even if he lost the final two games.
That’s all for now. Have a happy thanksgiving everyone!!!
Now, I’m not gonna do what everyone expects me to do, and that’s…….FLIP OUT!!!
(I already did that apparently)
Much has happened since I last wrote. There were backbreaking injuries, the trade deadline has come and gone, and
a few teams have officially been eliminated from the playoffs. But we’ll get to all that in just a bit.
With the test out of the way (did I mention I hate standardized tests?), I finally was able to catch up on some movies
since I haven’t seen anything since September. Finally saw “Borat”. I agree with Jay’s review once again. It was a great
(but not classic) movie, a bit slow at first with only a few chuckles here and there. Then it happens - the moment that
will go down as one of the most memorable things ever put on film. It may very well be the funniest thing I have ever
seen on film. The scene practically made the movie. Anybody who saw the movie knows exactly what I’m talking about.
As a matter of fact, Parker and I will be re-enacting the scene at next year’s draft. I will be playing the role of Azamat,
while Parker will be Borat (extra large black censor line included). But overall, it was nowhere near the funniest film of
all time. That would be “Van Helsing”. Wait, hold on, that was supposed to be a scary, action movie?
Then, on opening night, I saw Casino Royale. Now, that’s a great action movie. I’ll leave the specifics for Jay’s review,
but Daniel Craig does a great job.
Ok, now back to the football stuff.
The season is almost over. Only two weeks late for the six of us who won’t make the 2006 playoffs. I’ll leave the
specifics for Scott’s playoff preview, which is excellent as always. But it appears that Rich, Parker, Nick, Dave, and I
are the teams that are on the outs. Nomads already have the asterisk and Jason, Jarrett, and Canton FC are on the
right side of the medium. The other teams will battle it out with one team falling short and joining the lottery party.
As for the five of us with seven or more losses, the battle to get the toilet bowl (or not get) looks like it will come down
to the wire. Rich, Nick, and Parker are tied for the worst record, with Nick holding the advantage in points. However,
this weekends battle between “labor power” and “born to run my mouth” looks to narrow down the race a bit.
I honestly feel like it would be a good idea to get the first pick next year. Stephen Jackson is back in the pool next year
and he looks to be the best option of the bunch. It’s not like last year when LDT was back in the draft pool (btw, did I
mention that Jason’s best move was out of some backhanded luck. Even if it wasn’t his intention, he picked the best
year to get it.) Stephen Jackson is a pass catching threat out of the backfield that is important in our league (what
other RB has caught 13 passes in a game?). If he would just score some more TD’s, then he could easily take over
Tiki’s place in the top five next year.
Let’s take a quick look at these lottery bound teams, b/c they were easily overlooked this year.
Marques Colston (BTRMM) and Tony Romo (labor power), who will go down as two of the best waiver wire pickups of
the year, were grabbed by two of the teams. These two went from undrafted to keepers. In the offseason, “fantasy
experts” will make predictions about what to expect from Colston in 2007. They will compare him to Boldin and Michael
Clayton (the last two WR to have an impact their rookie year). There will be some talk of a sophomore slump, but I
think Colston will be fine and will have more of a Randy Moss-esque sophomore season (remember that Boldin was
injured in year two). Meanwhile, Romo could be the next Brady. They aren’t the same type of players, but they could
put up similar stats next year and Brady was a keeper this year.
(Sidenote: I told Nick this already, but that column “Assigning Countries” was one of the most original and creative
things I’ve ever read. As always I take partial credit.)
Tough year for S dot. His team is much better than the record shows. I think he just suffers from some of the worst luck
in this game called fantasy football. I will say this much. Larry Fitzgerald has had a down year. But so did Andre
Johnson in 2005. Now AJ is becoming a pass catching stud and has jumped into the elite WR class. I think Fitz does
the same next year (even though he is already considered elite) when he gets healthy again and is prime for a Randy
Moss/T.O. like career year in 2007. On the other hand, Edgerrin James looks like the exact replica of Emmitt Smith
(winner of the 2006 Dancing with the Stars. Take that Jerry) when he left Dallas for Arizona. It might be that both
were/are on the downward trends of their careers or Arizona O line is just that bad. Either way, don’t look for much out
of Edge next year, other than just a couple of good games here and there that will make everyone remember the good
old days.
Tough four game stretch for Dave, he went from playoff contender to potential lottery bound. Like I said in Fantasy vs.
Reality, as Donovan goes, so goes Dave’s team. Donovan has not been great during this four game losing streak,
and now that he is done for the year, it’ll be tough for Dave to make one last push (he could still get in if he wins out
and a few things go his way).
Speaking of injuries (See how I did that. What a great transition. Admit it. You guys missed me.), week eleven saw a lot
of major ones. Who would have thought there would be so much waiver wire activity this late in the season? Some of
the big names are LaMont Jordan, who is possibly done for the season, and finally putting an end to Scott’s misery.
LaMont joins Domanick Davis and Nate Burleson as keepers placed back in the waiver pool. Kevin Jones, also on
team Watson, went down. He is questionable for the Thanksgiving game. Throw in the aforementioned Marques
Colston and Donovan, and a fantasy lineup of starters are down for the count. If you really want me to keep going,
there were also inactives from Reuben Droughns (wait, he was active the other ten weeks?) and Tatum Bell, and we
have such prestigious names as Devery Henderson, Terrance Copper, Jason Wright, Arlen Harris, Justin Fargas, Jeff
Garcia, and Zack Crockett being picked up faster than you can say “Eli sucks”.
With the trade deadline come and gone, another relatively quiet trading season has passed. Now, I know everyone
expected Gregg to make a move, especially after he sent out that email. But I think the best move he will ever make is
the trade he didn’t make this year involving DeAngelo Williams. After twelve weeks, the most overhyped draft rookie
may finally make himself worthy of his draft round selection.
While we’re talking about Gregg’s team, how about them “Fighting Blue Crabs”? They are really coming on these last
couple of weeks. A lot of people noticed this past weekend thanks to his 164 point showing, but he has won five of his
last six (after staring out the season 1-4. His only loss during this streak is to me of course). Gregg’s team has gone a
bit unnoticed, because of Jason’s impressive showings. But beware, his team is getting hot at just the right time and
Chad is playing……I can’t even describe it. Chad’s been good to say the least. Gregg just might have the 3rd best
team in the league right now.
Looking ahead, this week’s match-up between Nomads and Jason looks like it could be a preview of the championship
game. I’ll leave the predictions to Marc, but if the rankings stay the same, these two teams could avoid each other in
the playoffs and meet only in the finals.
A few quick notes on Jason:
- You may not remember that he pulled a last minute deal last year. The trade was Willie Parker for Jamal Lewis
and Derrick Mason. I’d say that trade has worked out well for him. - On top of that, like I said, he picked the right year to get the #1 pick as LDT has had an unbelievable year and
is the unquestioned #1 fantasy player. - Philip Rivers has put himself in the argument of the best young QB’s in the league. As was mentioned by Jason
and Canton FC, Rivers was grabbed off waivers earlier this year. - Javon Walker has had a few good games, while being relatively consistent. The other Walker on “Shermtanks”
was a late pickup off waivers last year in hopes that he could be a potential keeper.
So all in all, Jason has made some moves that have really paid off. I’d say he has done a good job planning ahead,
mixed in with some very good luck. That is what it takes to win this league. And much to the dismay of many of the true
Retired Orangemen in the league, that looks like a possibility this year. I find it funny that the two people the majority
of the league does not want to see win this league, are the two odds on favorites.
I can see Jarrett being competitive year in and year out. I just don’t know when he’ll take it all the way and get his
hands on the trophy. He has Portland Trail Blazers of the 1990’s written all over him. What I mean by that is he’ll
always have a playoff team, but it looks like he’ll come just short of winning it all. Not that that’s a bad thing. I’m actually
saying this; so that Jarrett may change it up a bit. He needs to pull the trigger on a deal or two when he has the
chance, like this year. He’s been carrying three great QB’s for most of the season. I think he would have been best
served for this year and next if he had decided who he wanted to keep (Palmer or Leinart) and trade the other. Or just
trade Grossman when he was playing so well, even if it meant giving up more than he would like. I think he could have
come out with a good young RB.
Canton FC has been hit hard by injuries (McGahee and Hasselback), but at least he gets one of them back potentially
as early as Monday. Canton is having a very similar year to the real life NFL team that he writes about. There are still
doubts about whether either team is for real, even though both are headed for the playoffs. Still you have to worry
about both, because they could be dangerous.
Marc has had an up and down year, but looks to be on the good side of all the 6-5 teams thanks to points. The Portis
injury was a big blow to his team and puts an end to a disappointing season, but he’s still a keeper the next two years,
and I still would have taken him with the 3rd draft pick. Plus Marc was smart enough to hold onto Ladell Betts just in
case. I’m also really glad that Trent Green got the starting job back. I would have felt bad for Marc if he held onto
Green for ten weeks, only to see Trent Green lose his starting job to Damon Huard. Now, that’s what I call loyalty
people.
I think I’ve discovered this about Jay. He puts himself as “gross” in his WGLPT column, so that he doesn’t hurt anyone’
s feelings, even if his team is playoff bound and deserving of at least a “cute” ranking. Of course, if Jay has the best
team he will not be afraid to put “The Stare” right next to the “handsome” word. Taking a look at his team, looks like
the Cedric Benson experiment is a failure, but I still hold firm in my belief that he plays eventually (most likely next
year). Chicago pays him way too much to sit the pine (see Philip Rivers). I think Jay is shaped up nicely for next year
(some solid keeper options, although none great). I also like the waiver moves he has made. Way to jump on top of
those backups buddy.
Looks like the magical ride that is known as Chris’ team has come back down to earth. A three game losing streak will
do that to you. It’s basically down to him and Scott at this point, since a mere 1.37 points separate them.
Even though Brock has had a tough time lately, his “pick winners” strategy just might be the “cool” draft strategy for
next year. Even though it hasn’t worked out great for Brock (Roethlisberger sucks. I don’t want to hear anything about
it), there was something I noticed about this strategy. If you pick two players from the same team, you better make
sure they are on a winning team (see Shermtanks combo of Rivers and LDT), because if they are on a losing team
(see Parker’s combo of Fitz and Edge or my sad combo of Dolphins), then you are most likely headed for the toilet
bowl. I guess the only exception is Jarrett’s tandem of St. Louis Rams, although the Rams did have a winning record
for most of the season.
Lastly, I feel bad for Scott. He was very active at the trade deadline and made two good moves in acquiring KJ and
Chris Henry. But so far, looks like both those trades are not working in his favor. KJ looks like he will miss this
Thanksgiving game and Henry has nothing to catch now that Chad is hogging the ball. But Scott could still back into
the playoffs, even if he lost the final two games.
That’s all for now. Have a happy thanksgiving everyone!!!