Game Time Decisions…Week #10 Studs and Duds

Nov 13, 2010

Andre Johnson Wide receiver Andre Johnson #80 of the Houston Texans completes a pass in front of cornerback Donald Strickland #30 of the San Diego Chargers at Reliant Stadium on November 7, 2010 in Houston, Texas.

With apologies to all, really thought I was headed for the PUP (physically unable to perform) list this week. Been sick since this past Tuesday and am still under the weather. To those who took Roddy White of the Falcons this past Thursday, I say congratulations…you’ve got more nerve than I do. Really thought the Ravens “D” would rise up and expose Atlanta as a wanna-be contender in the NFC. Although, in my opinion the jury is still out on the Falcons (not every game is going to be at home), the Ravens showed me that their defense is overrated right now and will need to significantly step up if they plan on reaching the playoffs let alone reaching the Super Bowl. So enough about who I didn’t take…let’s see how we ended up for week #9. We “highlighted” Peyton Manning of the Colts and he gave us a decent point total with a 31 for 51 and 294 yd performance. Problem is it only included 1 td pass, but 2 interceptions. Drew Brees did Manning one better going 27 for 43 for 253 yds and 2 tds, while only throwing 1 pick. Clearly our best prediction was Philip Rivers who had 4 scoring passes out of his 17 for 23 performance with 295 yds. passing and just the one interception. If he continues to put up those kind of numbers, the Chargers will be relevant at the end and again vying for the AFC West crown.

At running back we again did well with our main selection of Adrian Peterson. In truly a “must-win” scenario for the Vikes, he came through with 81 yds. rushing and 1 td on the ground, while adding 4 catches for another 63 yds. and one more score. “Shady” McCoy of the Eagles also did not disappoint against a rather suspect Indy defense. His 103 total yds. helped Philly in pulling out a very big win. Tomlinson of the Jets gave his fantasy owners a 102 total yd. performance as New York stormed back late and beat a stubborn Lions team in OT.

Got fooled big time at the one position we usually do well with. Right team, wrong receiver when we took Garcon of the Colts. Assumed the Eagles would roll coverage to Wayne’s side, but it turned out that Philly knew what is was doing in keeping Wayne in front of them the entire game. His 11 catch performance was one we wish we had capitalized on (instead of the 2 receptions for 15 yds. for Garcon. The saddest part of this scenario is that the identical issue occurred on the other sideline as we chose Maclin over DeSean Jackson. Maclin had 4 balls for 48 yds. (okay, but no where near Jackson’s totals). Finally, we took Anquan Bolden of the Ravens. 2 receptions for 28 yds. is obviously not what we expected. At tight end, we had a little better success. Jason Witten gave us 3 catches for 44 yds., but our other two “starters” helped us out that much more. Tony Gonzalez hauled in 8 passes for 72 yds. and V. Shiancoe had 66 yds. and a score for Minnesota.

Kickers were the usual crap shoot. Carpenter of the ‘Fins only gave us 1 out of 2 fgs and 1/1 on extra points. And, even though Janikowski of the Raiders was a hero at the end, he did miss one attempt going 3 for 4 with 2 PATs. Loved the Giants defense against the Seahawks before the game and nothing changed my mind afterward. Sure, they technically did not record a single sack, but their 2 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery went a long way to holding Seattle to just a late touchdown. The Bears, in a much closer contest than I anticipated, matched the Giants in turnovers and did get a sack, as well.

So all in all, not a disappointing week at all. Some very big numbers from a few helped make up for some obvious deficiencies at some other positions. Let’s see if we can correct those mistakes in Week #10.

Hands down, I love Matt Schaub of the Texans and (believe it or not), David Garrard of the Jags. Neither team’s defense can stop the other and this one should be a high scoring affair. Also like Michael Vick against the Redskins on Monday night. His dual weapons (arm and legs) make him an attractive choice.

For the same reason as above, take Arian Foster of Houston and Maurice Jones-Drew of Jacksonville. We also like Frank Gore of the Niners to run early and often as San Fran has clearly decided to go with Troy Smith at quarterback and simplify the passing game.

Gee, can you guess who we like at wide receiver? Andre Johnson is an absolute must play. Also go with the Bucs’ Mike Williams and Calvin Johnson of the Lions. Got to take Mercedes Lewis of the Jags and Hernandez of the Patriots. You should also consider Tamme of the Colts who is proving to be a strong replacement for Dallas Clark.

Just a hunch, but we like Carpenter of the Dolphins and Longwell of the Vikings. Take the Jets to play a strong defensive game at Cleveland and the Eagles on the road in Washington.

Much like the real deal, I need to see the trainer and get some “pregame” treatment. It looks like the coaching staff has given me the green light to suit up but I’m not really sure how well I will do… Check out this site next week to see if we rose to the occasion or were pulled from the game early…..