Guys, it was a great weekend. The
Patriots silenced their doubters while decimating the Steelers, which was
awesome to watch. More importantly, all four of my fantasy teams won this
weekend. I climbed to first place in my Pride league, my pathetic Buddy league
team pulled out its third victory, and my Money team put up 200 points(208.04
to be exact, I know you were wondering)! What was so gratifying about my wins
this weekend is the fact that they were powered by big performances from
lesser-known guys who I sought out. Zac Stacy, T.Y. Hilton, the Panthers
Defense. I urged so many of my friends to pick up these players, and now I have
everything to show for it. Looking over the recap of my 200 point performance,
I felt like Meg when she’s boasting to Hades about Hercules. “He has no
weaknesses! You can’t beat him!” Even the guys on my bench were putting up 14
points. Anyway, we’re here to talk about who’ll be winning the games this
weekend, so let’s do that. As always, projected winners in bold.
Thursday Night Football: Minnesota
Vikings vs. Washington Redskins
I’m not particularly interested in
this game, and by that I mean not at all, but at least it will feature two of
the NFL’s best running backs. RG3 has begun to look more like himself, but AP
is the real draw of this matchup. Alfred Morris is a powerful runner of his
own, but Mike Shanahan hates fantasy football, so look for Darrel Young to
vulture more touchdowns tonight (knock on wood). If you’re a defense freak like
me and want to see one of the game’s best developing safeties, keep an eye on
Minnesota’s Harrison Smith. Plus, the last time AP was on the field, this
happened:
Vikings 17, Redskins 24
Sunday Games:
Atlanta Falcons vs. Seattle Seahawks
You may remember this as last year’s
NFC Championship matchup. A great game, which I missed by the way, that will
likely have a disappointing sequel. The last time these two teams met up, I
thought it was an afternoon game, heard about what happened, didn’t believe my
friends, checked ESPN, and then proceeded to cry. The Falcons aren’t too great
this year, so I’m not expecting much out of their offense. There’s also a 100%
that I’m going to miss this game for a second time. Falcons 20, Seahawks 31
Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati
Bengals
The Bengals have basically become
what the Ravens were these last couple of years. The AFC North-leading team
with a dual personality, convincing us of their talent and then making us feel
foolish for believing in them. However, I genuinely believe in Cincy, which is
something I could never say for Baltimore. And now look, they suck just like I
always thought they did. I predict that the Bengals will get up for this game
to make sure that they let everyone know who’s running this division. However,
Gio Bernard’s injury may slow the offense down if he can’t play like himself.
Ravens 14, Bengals 27
Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions
In light of Aaron Rodgers’ injury,
this game just became 10,000x more important. The Bears, Lions, and Packers are
5-3 with a 2-1 record in division play. Assuming that Seneca Wallace is not
exactly Jeff Hostetler, the NFC North is up for grabs in these next few weeks.
Calvin Johnson is playing at an otherworldly level, and Reggie Bush is hitting
his stride at exactly the right time. If Brandon Marshall and Matt Forte can’t
keep up, Chicago’s defense is in for quite a long day. It will also be
interesting to see if Jay Cutler is fully healed as he returns to the field.
I’m sure Suh and Fairley will be happy to check for us. Bears 24, Lions 33
Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia
Eagles
Nick Foles is coming off his
record-tying seven touchdown performance, but something tells me that Philly
will lose this game despite Green Bay featuring their backup quarterback. The
contrast in running styles between Eddie Lacy and LeSean McCoy will be fun to
watch, assuming that McCoy even gets the ball. Packers 27, Eagles 17
Indianapolis Colts vs. St. Louis Rams
There’s nothing the Rams have done
during this season to make me think that they could beat the Colts, save their
7-sack performance against the Seahawks in week 8. However, the Rams will have
to score points of they want to beat Indy, and that’s not exactly one of their
strengths. Colts 31, Rams 14
New York Giants vs. Oakland Raiders
I personally believe that the Raiders
are a much better team than what they displayed last week, and even more than
that I don’t see how the Giants have managed the two games they’ve scratched
together. Pryor’s big-play ability could ignite at any second, and I expect it
to be on full display this Sunday. Plus, I hate the Giants with a fiery
passion. Giants 0, Raiders 24
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills
Usually I would say that a Dick
Lebeau-coached defense that just had 55 points poured all over it would come
back with a fury, but now I’m not so sure. I’m getting increasingly worried
that the Steelers really have lost it. The Bills weren’t supposed to be very
good this year, but they’re definitely putting up a fight, draft position be
damned. Le’veon Bell continues to assert himself as a rising star in the
Pittsburgh offense, so pick him up if the others in your league are still
oblivious. Steelers 23, Bills 30
Tennessee Titans vs. Jacksonville
Jaguars
The Titans are what you’d call a
good-bad team. They lose to good teams, but they sure can beat a bad team.
Their defense is better than you think, and don’t forget about that last-second
touchdown they beat the Chargers with. If Chris Johnson can keep it rolling
from his 150-yard, two touchdown showing last week, this game will be no problem
for Tennessee. Titans 27, Jags 10
San Francisco 49ers vs. Carolina
Panthers
This will actually be my favorite
game this week, because I’m a weirdo who just loves watching good defenses. As
I’ve preached since the season kicked off, Carolina’s defensive unit is very
stout and they continue to prove me right. Meanwhile, both of these teams
feature young, dynamic, dual-threat quarterbacks and strong running games. You
might the Panthers as an underachiever, but they’re riding Ron Rivera’s new
aggressive tactics to a four game win streak, and they don’t want it to stop. I
can’t wait! 49ers 21, Panthers 17
Arizona Cardinals vs. Houston Texans
The Cardinals and Texans are both
third in their respective divisions. The difference? Arizona is sitting at .500
while Houston is 2-6, two very different stories indeed. The Texans have looked
resurgent behind Case Keenum’s performances, but no real fruit has come of that
yet. Arizona’s defense is one of the best in the league(practically carrying my
fantasy team) and is probably licking its chops at the thought of facing a
rookie quarterback. The last time Wade Phillips took over for Gary Kubiak,
Houston did some great things on their way to the playoffs. Can Wade re-create
his magic? Cardinals 24, Texans 17
New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys
There’s no way this game doesn’t turn
into a shootout. Both of these defenses have shown up at times this season, but
neither will be able to prevent the onslaught that is coming this Sunday. Start
every fantasy player possible for both of these teams(please ignore my hype and
make wise fantasy decisions). The difference in this game will be Jimmy Graham,
who has been destroying defenses (except New England’s, just saying) and scored
twice last week even as New Orleans lost to the Jets. Saints 145, Cowboys 131
Monday Night Football: Tampa Bay
Buccaneers vs. Miami Dolphins
All signs point to a Dolphins victory
in this game. The Bucs suck. Let’s move on. Bucs 10, Dolphins 23
Game of the Week: San Diego Chargers
vs. Denver Broncos
Each of these teams is really, really
going to need their defenses to step up this week. On the Charger’s side, Danny
Woodhead, Eddie Royal, and Keenan Allen could go off on any play and Denver’s
offense features weapons like Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, and Wes Welker In
The Wrong Jersey (his new full name). I would give San Diego the home-field
advantage, except that there’s no such thing here in San Diego. In all
likelihood, there will be much more orange jerseys in the stands than blue
ones. If Peyton Manning’s ankles received the proper care during the bye week,
Denver should come out on top(you’re welcome, Chris). Points will abound
though, I have no doubts about that. Chargers 31, Broncos 42
Fantasy Victory Story of the Week:
Well, I already spent the entire
intro talking about how I put up 200 points, so I guess I’ll just show you how
it all went down.
·
QB:
Tom Brady, 41.18
·
WR:
Denarius Moore, 13.20
·
WR:
Torrey Smith, 13.80
·
WR:
T.Y. Hilton, 38.10
·
RB:
Adrian Peterson, 27.70
·
RB:
Alfred Morris, 18.10
·
TE:
Jordan Cameron, 1.40 (Seriously, this guy decides to disappear on Vernon Davis’
bye week)
·
FLEX:
Zac Stacy, 35.80
·
K:
Steven Hauschka, 9.00
·
DEF:
Cincinnati, 9.76
Fantasy Football Advice from a
Fantasy Football Expert
Ø I absolutely hate the Giants, but
maybe you’d like to pick up Andre Brown. David Wilson was just placed on IR and
the Raiders aren’t exactly the top run defense in the league
Ø If nobody in your league has Bears
receiver Alshon Jeffery, pick him up. He’s been much more consistent in his
second year and I have a feeling that the Lions will be very focused on Brandon
Marshall and Matt Forte this weekend
Ø This is some insider trading stuff,
okay? Patriots running back Shane Vereen is eligible to return from IR this
week, but as New England is on their bye, he will get an extra week to rest.
The Patriots will almost certainly be rolling him out to surprise teams after
their bye week. You heard it here first!
There it is folks, another week of
bold predictions just waiting to come true! The Redding Report Crystal Ball of
Athletic Clairvoyance© was almost literally dead tired last week, so it went
6-7 on the week, which brings us to 82-55 for the season. Still not doing too
bad, right? And hey, maybe next week I’ll be able to actually publish this
before the Thursday night game starts, how awesome would that be? Until next
time!
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