Feels Good to be Home: Week 7 Review, Week 8 Picks

So for starters, I want to apologize for my prolonged absence from sharing my thoughts with you all. I just moved into an apartment downtown (San Diego) and there’s no Wi-Fi, so when you combine that with a jam-packed schedule it results in the Redding Report staff (still just me, but it sounds better that way) wondering if we’ll ever publish again. But don’t fret, we’ve made it back! Obviously the picks for week 7 didn’t get out, so instead this week I’m review each game, state who I had picked and  why, etc. At the end we’ll talk about some fantasy football like we always do. Man, it’s good to be home. Let’s get into it! True to form, projected winners are in bold.

Thursday Night Football: Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks

This shouldn’t be as obvious as it probably is to you, but I chose the Seahawks to win this game. By now you’ve probably picked up on my affinity for the Seahawks and Football’s Messiah Russell Wilson, so it was likely an easy guess. However, Arizona’s defense is the real deal. However, you do still have to score points to win a football game, and when it came down to it the Cardinals just couldn’t keep up. However, they’ll be trouble for the league all season long.

Sunday Games:

Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I had Atlanta to win this game because really how could anybody expect Tampa Bay to win at this point? Long-forgotten receiver Harry Douglas relished his chance to get back in on Matt Ryan’s passing party, and he performed well. The Buc’s ship sunk a little bit more during this game because Doug Martin is very likely done for the season. But hey, that Mike Glennon-to-Vincent Jackson connection is looking great. Matt Ryan’s return to form was quite welcome by my fantasy team, but don’t get excited about Atlanta.

Carolina Panthers vs. St. Louis Rams

Some of you might have been fooled by what Sam Bradford did to the Jaguars, but you have to remember that they’re the Jaguars. So with that said, I took Carolina in this game without thinking about it. Their defense has been a stud for my fantasy team for some weeks now, but somehow they’ve still gone largely unrecognized. Sam Bradford tore his ACL on Sunday so I’m pretty sure the Rams are 0-fer from here on out, but rookie Zac Stacy has been a bright spot in that offense, so he’ll most likely be given more carries as a new quarterback is brought in.

Detroit Lions vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Now, I was afraid of Cincy’s defense coming into this game, I’ll admit. So much so that I started Brady over Stafford in my Money League and got 7 points instead of 32 (loving life!). However, I didn’t think Andy Dalton would be able to keep space with Stafford. The end result was that A.J. Green made us all realize how dominant he really is as a receiver against any defense. Megatron put on a clinic, but Mike Nugent’s improbable 54-yard booter negated his effort. The Bengals are real, people. Have you realized that they’re sitting at the same record as both the Patriots and the Colts? Cincinnati cometh.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. San Diego Chargers

If you chose the Jaguars, you don’t deserve to watch football. That’s all I have to say about this game.

Miami Dolphins vs. Buffalo Bills

This would usually be a matchup between two horrible teams, but both of these squads are actually not bad this year. In fact, there is only one team below .500 in the usually pathetic (excluding New England) AFC East. Whaaat?! The Dolphins still haven’t changed my mind about them being cousins to last year’s Cardinals, so they better get back to winning soon. Also, Fred Jackson is tearing up defenses right now, mostly in the red zone. You hear that, fantasy owners??

New Jersey Jets vs. New England Patriots

I can already tell that I’m going to have no problem hating Geno Smith for years and years to come. Without defensive stalwarts Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly, Jerod Mayo, and Aqib Talib the Patriots’ defense fell victim to Geno. However, that’s not all that upsetting. The ridiculous penalty that was called in overtime, however, IS. Are you kidding me?! I can’t even….let’s move on. Gronk is back and looking absolutely back to form. Small comfort in the wake of this undeserved loss.

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys

I was expecting the Cowboys to win, but I definitely wasn’t expecting them to have their offense stifled by Philly so much. The Eagles’ have barely even had a defense on the field this year, so I was surprised that they were able to stop Romo and his merry men. On the bright side, Romo did not throw an interception that cost Dallas the game. He still threw two interceptions, but Philly’s offense was just too weak to take advantage of them. Nick Foles is NOT the guy.

Washington Redskins vs. Chicago Bears

If you were watching this game, I am truly envious of you. Isn’t this the whole point of sports? 86 total points and two lead changes in the last four minutes of the game sounds like a great Sunday to me. Devin Hester made sure we haven’t forgotten about him and Matt Forte kept himself among top fantasy running backs. However, the real X-Factor here was Roy Helu who STOLE ALL OF ALFRED MORRIS’S TOUCHDOWNS. What a jerk, this guy. But hey, here comes the Redskins, everybody! Chicago is still on par in their division, but that could change very soon with Jay Cutler out for at least a month.

Tennessee Titans vs. San Francisco 49ers

Frank Gore stole the show (and the fantasy points) for San Francisco, who had a great day offensively and defensively. Tennessee scored all 17 of their points in the fourth quarter, which means they were most likely playing against backups at that point. Delanie Walker got in his “hey, remember when we were on the same team and my touchdowns weren’t a failure on your part?” touchdown, which is always a plus for a guy facing his former team.

Green Bay Packers vs. Cleveland Browns

With Cleveland’s Savior Brian Hoyer down for the count, there’s not much hope for the Browns. However, Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron will continue to be fantasy studs for the rest of the season, so don’t you worry. Green Bay is getting more and more injured, which is good news for Jordy Nelson but bad news for the team as a whole. Something tells me that Cleveland doesn’t really want to win right now. Hmm…

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans

This was going to be a telling test for either team, the faltering Texans and the undefeated Chiefs who are widely perceived as a mediocre team with a weak schedule. It wasn’t easy for Kansas City, but their defense did what it always does (destroy quarterbacks) and Alex Smith did what he always does (not throw interceptions) so they did what they always do (win). In the silver lining for Houston is the fact that Case Keenum played well and has probably already taken Schaub’s job (that rhymes) no matter what the state of his health is.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens

This one-proud division rivalry was nothing more than a meeting of two teams that are staring up at the Bengals and wondering what happened. I wasn’t expecting Baltimore to hand the Steelers their second win of the season, but we all know what happens when Ray Rice isn’t driving the offense (he had 45 yards) and the game is on Flacco’s shoulders. What a great week to win a fantasy game with a breakout performance from your kicker, though.

Game of the Week: Indianapolis Colts vs. Denver Broncos

I’ll admit, as much as I predicted the fall of Peyton and documented the Colts’ big wins, I didn’t think this game would play out the way it did. The biggest repercussion of Indy’s victory is probably the fact that Patriots fans (like myself) are simultaneously rejoicing that Luck’s gang is not on our schedule, yet dreading our very likely playoffs matchup. However, this means that the Colts are no longer a sleeper team. The league’s been put on notice: Indy is winning and they are winning now, and they definitely did not need Trent Richardson in order to do it. The Seahawks, Niners, and now Broncos can all attest that these kids are real.

Monday Night Football: New York Giants vs. Minnesota Vikings

Hey, look! Josh Freeman actually really is just a bad quarterback! The Giants managed to dodge 0-16! My conclusion is that two people should be fired for even airing this game on Monday night: the guy who suggested it, and the guy who said okay.

Expert fantasy advice from a Fantasy Expert:

·         If you haven’t noticed by now, Andrew Luck has formed quite a friendship with receiver T.Y. Hilton. I mean, the dude scored two touchdowns against the frickin’ SEAHAWKS DEFENSE. Must start.

·         The Lions and Cowboys are facing off on Sunday morning. Let me rephrase that, Calvin Johnson and Dez Bryant will be trying to one-up each other on Sunday morning. Don’t overthink this one!

·         Two weeks ago I picked up Denarius Moore and he was far from disappointing. Pryor loves getting him the ball deep downfield, so if he’s available in your league pick him up or try to trade for him if he’s sitting on some WR-heavy team

Fantasy Triumph Story of the Week:

So, I happen to have one team that is what you might call an underachiever. It resides in a league that I joined with my friends from a young adult bible study, and until two weeks ago, hadn’t won a game. That is, until we got off on a two-game winning streak! We’re going to win the league, I can feel it. The run to victory starts now!

Week 8 Picks:

There’s not a lot of free time in my foreseeable future, so we’re going to knock these picks out right now. No justifications this week, sorry. Projected winners still in bold.

Ø  Panthers 24, Bucs 10

Ø  Detroit 32, Dallas 45

Ø  Jaguars 3, 49ers 27

Ø  Chiefs 23, Browns 13

Ø  Patriots 31, Dolphins 20

Ø  Saints 30, Bills 17

Ø  Eagles 24, Giants 13

Ø  Bengals 20, Jets 14

Ø  Raiders 27, Steelers 20

Ø  Cardinals 23, Falcons 21

Ø  Broncos 37, Unfairly Ejected Peoples 24

Ø  Vikings 13, Packers 33

Ø  Rams 17, Seahawks 30

Ah, okay, finally done. The Redding Report Crystal Ball of Athletic Clairvoyance© has been working overtime, so give it some grace people. Including the game yesterday, our record sits at 65-46. Hanging in there, am I right?  Let me just apologize in advance for the lack of consistency that will plague this blog for the days, weeks, and in all likelihood months. But keep the faith! The Redding Report will live on. For now, it just feels good to be home.