Fantasy Football Preview - Week 13

So here we are, the last week of the regular season. No time like the present for the bubble teams to make a strong push into the playoffs, for the 5th and 6th place teams to hang on for dear life, and the guys (and girl) at the top to start looking towards a title run. With final assignments looming over my head, and my money team in a must win and get some help game to make it into the playoffs (ridiculous I know), the previews are going to be a bit abbreviated. Not to worry, you probably know what I was going to say anyway.

LT Get Outta My Way (2-10) vs. Dogs and Guns (5-6-1)

LT finishes up a season in the only way fitting - trying to ruin big brother's playoff hopes. He currently leads by 9.5.
It's been a tough road for last year's champion and he finds himself in need of a win and some help just to qualify for the playoffs this season. What changed? Well, one could easily point to marriage as the cause of his downfall but that would be too easy. Wouldn't it? The injury to Ronnie Brown didn't help and D&G has been on a 2 game slide since he was placed on IR. They wind up the season with Carson Palmer at QB, best running back in football (no matter how fast Adrian Peterson drives on the highway) Chris Johnson and Rashard (Mendelbaum!) Mendenhall as the running backs. Larry Fitzgerald is turning in another great season but unless he puts up exceptional numbers this week the best D&G can hope is one of those signed balls he's sending out to his fantasy owners.

Mr. Scott's F***kUps (2-10) vs. Beer Burgers and Blue (8-4)

First off, a huge thanks to the F**kUps for participating this year. Sure, given that LT never joined the league they weren't really necessary to balance things out, but it's the sign of a good friend to help out despite knowing little to nothing about football. And hey, they got 2 wins so far and lead 17.5 to 11. WR Randy Moss is looking to bounce back from a poor showing against the Saints by ceremonially torching the Dolphins secondary. Giants QB Eli Manning is playing hurt but against the Cowboys he's sure to suit up. The running backs are the returning Cedric Benson (who was picked up in a great trade) and Cadillac Williams, as Reggie Bush and Ahmad Bradshaw are both dealing with injuries.
BBB is heading into the playoffs with a bit of a QB controversy going on. Matt Schaub was drafted to be the starter but you can't argue that Brett Favre isn't playing out of his mind right now. If that's the worst of your issues heading into the playoffs you'll be alright. The running game is powered by Ray Rice and Steven Jackson, two beasts in the backfield and the revolving door at #3 WR seems to be a bit more stable with the acquisitions of Robert Meachem and Chris Chambers. The team is currently playing from behind but needs to win in order to solidify a first round bye in the playoffs.

Any Given Sunday (8-4) vs. Wide Right (5-7)

Sunday is playing for playoff seeding this week, but starts Sunday off down by 13. QB Aaron Rodgers has been on a tear of late but will face a Baltimore defense that may be able to limit his potential damage. That of course, leaves recently de-throned RB Adrian Peterson to rip through the Arizona Cardinals. Heading into the playoffs this team's biggest question mark is going to be the receivers, and they get a chance this week to prove they can scare opponents with favorable matchups for Steve Smith and the rookie Michael Crabtree.
Wide Right will be heading into the offseason after this week, but that's no reason not to come out and play hard in the last game. They currently lead by 13 thanks to the efforts of hometown pick Marshawn Lynch and with Tom Brady at QB there is always the potential for a very big scoring day. A big play or two from streaky WRs Steve Breaston and Percy Harvin could see this team going out with a bang, and a W, this season.

The Breakfast Club (7-5) vs. Wandering Jews (6-6)

From unstoppable #1 team, to not going to make the playoffs to solid playoff contender everyone should fear, it's been a long strange trip for the Breakfast Club. They currently have a 12.5 point lead thanks to a defensive player, putting them in excellent position this week to improve their playoff standing. Of course you know Drew Brees at QB and the Johnsons (Andre 1,000 [yards] and Chad) as the WRs, but it's been the running backs, the tandem of Kevin Smith and Ryan Grant who have quietly been getting work done. If they can keep the momentum going through this week and into the playoffs the Breakfast Club is just as dangerous as they were week 1. Maybe even moreso.
8th place. That's where the Wandering Jews are now. It's not where they would like to end up. To get in they'll need an all out assault from RBs DeAngelo Williams and LaDanian Tomlinson, which means no TD vulturing from Jonathan Stewart or Darren Sproles. QB Donovan McNabb faces an Atlanta secondary which is nothing to be concerned about, however, McNabb isn't known for always putting up the big numbers when he should. This week he needs to for the sake of Jews everywhere (well I guess with the exception of the one who controls the Breakfast Club). WRs Marques Colston and Brandon Marshall will also need big games because when you're playing against Drew Brees, everyone needs a big game.

Vick's Vet Service (9-3) vs. The New Good Ones (7-5)

For a long time VVS looked unbeatable, but they've gone 1-2 in their last 3 games and although they have locked up a playoff spot, this game against a potential playoff opponent is huge for their psyche. The RB duo of MJD-Lite and Ricky Williams has gotten a boost with the season ending injury to Ronnie Brown, making their combined scoring even more impressive. However, it is now December and QB Tony Romo is notorious for sucking it up during this month (much to the delight of Giants fans and other Cowboy haters). The unsung heroes at WR, Roddy White and Vincent Jackson will have to up their game if the QB struggles as the backs are already pushing beyond maximum capacity. In this last big challenge, how will the top seed perform?
The New Good Ones are almost assured of a playoff spot (I'm not checking tie-breakers to confirm that). But a win against the top seed would obviously mean a lot more than just about any other win they've had this season. Not to mention it's potential impact on seeding. Jets RB Thomas Jones has already put up 5 points to give the team the early lead. QB Philip Rivers faces Cleveland, so it's fair to say that they are expecting big things from him. Neither the Titans nor the Vikings have very good secondaries. That means that WRs Reggie Wayne and Anquan Boldin could each post 15 point games. And of course the sleeper will be TE Visanthe Shiancoe who seemingly catches a TD from Brett Favre every week. This week he could change the playoff landscape.

And finally, this week's game of the week because of playoff implications:

NY DAs Office (6-6) vs. Giant Ten Pins (6-5-1)

The DAs Office got hot at the right time. Winners of their last 4 they are currently in 7th place, a half game behind their opponent, the Giant Ten Pins. Ain't it great when things work out like this? QB Peyton Manning will have to contend with a feisty Titans pass rush, but if his O-line can hold up he can pick apart their depleted secondary for big points. RBs Brandon Jacobs and Joseph Addai will need to show up big this week and leave it all on the line. If Manning (Peyton that is) can lossen up the Titans with some big throws, it will open up lanes for Addai both out of the backfield and as a check down option. Jacobs on the other hand will need to get out of his season long funk and run someone over on the first carry, and then repeat for the rest of the game. Otherwise, the DAs Office will need to rely on their patchwork receiver corps of Steve Smith, Mike Sims-Walker and Johnny Knox to get them into the playoffs.
The Giant Ten Pins hold the last playoff spot. For now. If they want to keep it, they need to win, simple as that. They currently lead by 10 points thanks to a George Wilson. Not a name you'd expect, but in this situation those kinds of contributions are crucial. Vince Young starts at QB for the injured Matt Ryan, and we'll see if he can continue his impressive win streak, or if the Colts defense, at home, is fast enough to catch up with him. The running game of LeSean McCoy and Jamaal Charles probably isn't what the Ten Pins were hoping to pin their season on, but you can't always get what you want. They'll be front and center in determining if this team makes it to the playoffs. At WR Donald Drive has been solid, Miles Austin is a big play threat and Donnie Avery is the only guy worth throwing to in St. Louis. It ain't pretty but it gets the job done. They'll have one more shot to do it.

Thanks everyone for playing this year. For those teams not making the playoffs, I hope you'll continue to follow the league as the top teams battle it out for this year's crown and at the end of the season trophies will be passed out for various achievements, low-lights, etc. So stay tuned.

Fantasy Football Preview - Week 12

Thanksgiving gave us 3 games, of which I only watched one, and it was about as much of a game as the Packers schalacking the Lions. Anyway, with 2 weeks left in the regular season these matchups are pretty important, with every yard, point and injury taking on a more significant meaning.

LT Get Outta My Way (2-9) vs. Vick's Vet Service (8-3)

After Thanksgiving, LT leads 22 to 5, having used 3 roster spots.
This matchup couldn't have come at a better time for Vick's Vet Service, having lost 2 in a row for the first time all season and raising the hopes of teams across the league. However, they find themselves in a hole heading into Sunday. QB Tony Romo and his 29 points are on the bench and will watch David Garrad with interest as he tries to lead the team back and to victory. RB Ricky Williams will surely be the team's focal point this week as he should be able to run roughshot over the Bills and their horrible rushing defense. His backfield mate, Maurice Jones-Drew gets a stauncher test in the 49ers, but as one of the top 5 backs in the NFL should still be able to make a solid contribution.

The Breakfast Club (6-5) vs. Mr. Scott's F**kUps (2-9)

I don't know what kind of speech BigWeen gave the fellas in the team meeting but he's got the ship turned around, and TBC is riding a 2 game winning streak and looks to be playoff contenders again. Thanks to DB Charles Woodson's bountiful Thanksgiving performance they amassed a whopping 50.5 points, while using only 5 roster spots. Still waiting to show off what they can do this holiday weekend is QB Drew Brees, who will have the Monday Night showcase against the Patriots. WRs Chad and Andre Johnson ("no relation" says Andre) both face weak secondaries and plan on reaching the endzone. This team is starting to roll again and that can be very dangerous for everyone else.
The F**kUps gave it a good run, but with Eli Manning (and really the whole Giants team's) poor performance on Thanksgiving, they find themselves with only 20.5 points having used 4 spots. RB Cedric Benson is banged up and may not go, but the same can be said about the rest of the team's running backs, and Cadillac Williams' numbers haven't been all that impressive. There is hope - his name is Randy Moss, but given the large deficit the team is facing it's unlikely that even he can provide a comeback.

Giant Ten Pins (5-5-1) vs. Wide Right (5-6)

The epitome of of mediocrity, the Giant Ten Pins are exactly .500 after 11 games. Impressive in it's own right but they're looking for a more impressive playoff berth. A pair of 16.5 point performances from WRs Donald Drive and Miles Austin have the 10Pins in comfortable position for the moment. RB Jamaal Charles steps in for the injured Micheal Turner this week, and pairs with fellow backup LeSean McCoy. The two backs won't need to set the world afire, just play consistent and put up 6-7 points each and they should be able to ensure their team a victory this week.
Just about every member of Wide Right has an injury indicator letter next to them. The team of the walking wounded isn't going to go down without a fight though, not with QB Tom Brady at the lead. Brady has his eyes set on a shootout with New Orleans' Drew Brees and 40 points is not out of the question. RB Steve Slaton's job remains in limbo, however, now it appears that Kris Brown is gunning for the #1 spot, not Ryan Moats. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Gary Kubiak, the new Mike Shanahan. Dick. WRs Percy Harvin and Steve Breaston will need to come up big in their games (10 points +) if Wide Right is going to have any chance of making the Ten Pins fall.

NY DAs Office (5-6) vs. The New Good Ones (7-4)

The DAs Office is hot, winning 3 straight to keep their names in the playoff mix. However, 3.5 from Brandon Jacobs on Thanksgiving was not something for J Weiner to be thankful for. It also puts the team in a very vulnerable position going up against a top tier opponent. While they currently lead by 7.5 points, they have used an additional roster spot, and an important one - running back. If there is one saving grace for the DAs Office it's the fact that under center they have Peyton Manning, orchestrator of this 3 game winning streak. In a divisional game, against a team who almost beat him at home, look for Manning to set the record straight and put his team on top with a flurry. Additionally, breakout WR Mike Sims-Walker should be able to find some space against the 49ers secondary and may be able to partially make up for Jacobs' shortcomings.
The New Good Ones are looking to solidify their playoff position at this point. QB Philip Rivers has a soft matchup against the Chiefs, however, it's unlikely he'll be able to match Peyton Manning on his own. RB Matt Forte will attempt to get something against the tough Vikings D, but his pass catching abilities out of the backfield give him a better chance than many of the RBs that have come before him. On the other side, Thomas Jones should have a big game against the Panthers as the Jets look to slow down the handing the franchise over to rookie QB Mark Sanchez. As usual, WRs Reggie Wayne and Anquan Boldin form an impressive unit that makes you question how one team could get both guys. With the entire offense left to play, and only a 7.5 point deficit to make up, the New Good Ones look primed to make it 3 straight.

Dogs and Guns (5-5-1) vs. Beer Burgers and Blue (7-4)

It's getting to be desperation time for the defending champs. Last week they fell victim to the Weiner Whack, as The Breakfast Club put up on unconscionable 180+ points. This week they look to dust themselves off against perennial powerhouse BBB. Highly drafted QB Jay Cutler remains on the bench as the team believes that Bengals QB (and likely comeback player of the year) Carson Palmer gives the team the best chance to win. You know who gives them the best chance to win? RB Chris Johnson. I've been able to watch him about 3 times so far this season; he's the best back in the NFL. Faster than anyone, catches the ball better than Adrian Peterson and has the toughness to get the last yard (despite Jeff Fisher using fat ass LenDale White last week and costing me a game in my money league). Seattle backup RB Justin Forsett will do his best to try to replace Ronnie Brown, but Brown was a top 10 back and they aren't replaced easily.
Thanks to the Lions/Packers game, Beer Burgers and Blue has a 36 point lead heading into Sunday's games. QB Matt Schaub has been replaced by Brett Favre after Favre's ridiculous 4 TD performance last week. This week he's at home against a Bears team that no longer scares anyone on defense. RB Steven Jackson is hurt and may not go, a potential problem for BBB as backup Pierre Thomas has started to see his workload decrease in New Orleans and given the likelihood of a shootout with the Patriots may just be on the bench the whole game. If Jackson can't go, the weight will fall on the shoulders of Ray Rice who is having an incredible fantasy season. However, facing the Steelers is tough enough when you don't have extra pressure on you. Help may come from the receivers as Chris Chambers faces the team that cut him, the Chargers, and the Great White Hope Wes Welker should catch up to 20 passes on Monday Night against the Saints.

And now for this week's game of the week:

Any Given Sunday (7-4) vs. Wandering Jews (6-5)

Thanks to a big game from QB Aaron Rodgers, Sunday is out to a big lead. However, the rest of the Thanksgiving guests didn't bring enough for the whole table and the door is left slightly open for someone to come in and ruin all of the fun. Hoping to protect his house, RB Adrian Peterson. One of the most dynamic backs in the league, he's finally teamed with a passing game which means that defenses can't load up the box to stop him. As a result, expect him to put up Peterson like numbers. Rookie WR Michael Crabtree is improving every week and against a beatable Jacksonville team, Sunday hopes that potential translates into points. Inconsistent WR Santana Moss would do well to show up this week as well. Not only because it's good manners, but Sunday could really use his help in getting the poor taste of Mario Manningham's four and a half point turkey day out of her mouth.
The Wandering Jews have tied a season high by winning 3 straight. They're now down 40.5 points and got 0 from one of their WRs. Not a great start, but not one that can't be overcome. QB Donvan McNabb faces a familiar foe in the Redskins, and with help from TE Brent Celek and WR DeSean Jackson could throw for a few TDs. The RBs, DeAngelo Williams and LaDanian Tomlinson each could contribute a TD to the mix and look for Marques Colston in the endzone during the Saints/Pats shootout. So what does that mean? Well, TE Greg Olsen will need to have one of his good games, and not one of his regular games this week. And as well as everyone else plays it will be up to McNabb to contribute at least 20 points to cut into the lead that Aaron Rodgers has given their opponents.

Fantasy Football Preview - Week 11

With only 3 weeks left in the regular season the final push towards the playoffs is underway. Most teams find themselves battling opponents with similar records this week, knowing that a victory now is crucial to making it to the post-season. As with last week, the Thursday game has given some teams an early lead and left others wondering what was the name of that truck they just got hit with (the answer is Ricky Williams).

NY DAs Office (4-6) vs. LT Get Outta My Way (2-8)

Last week the DAs Office proved that with Peyton Manning as your QB, you stand a chance to win every game. This week the need for a 40 point game from Manning seems less necessary as the DAs Office faces the league's absentee owner. While currently on the bottom side of the rankings, a win for the DAs Office gives them a chance to make the playoffs thanks to favorable tie-breakers.

Mr. Scott's F**KUps (2-8) vs. Any Given Sunday (6-4)

The F**KUps are off to a solid start if they hope to tack on another loss to Any Given Sunday's current losing streak, getting 6.5 points from Gibril Wilson. QB Eli Manning is looking to bounce back against the Atlanta Falcons. The running game took a hit late in the week, with RB Reggie Bush being declared inactive for Sunday's game. The F**kUPs will need to make a last minute adjustment to provide Cadillac Williams with some backup. Top WR pick Randy Moss faces his toughest challenge in Jets CB Derel Reivis and may not be able to contribute his usual production. TE Brent Celek will need to step up, as the remaining WRs, Terrell Owens and Devry Henderson can't be counted on for much.
Any Given Sunday was able to get 14.5 points from WR Steve Smith on Thursday night. RB Adrian Peterson will be facing a Seahawks defense that can be run on and looks to expand the lead beyond eight and a half points. QB Aaron Rodgers will need to watch out for Nate Clements in the secondary, but still has enough weapons in his passing game to have a good game against the 49ers. Sunday finds herself in the enviable position of facing a lower-tier team this week while all of the other competitors play to their level or above, making a win this week crucial. Can WRs Mario Manningham and rookie Michael Crabtree provide enough support to help Sunday avoid a 3 game losing streak?

Wandering Jews (5-5) vs. Wide Right (5-5)

The streaking Jews have won their last 2 and are back in the playoff race. Thanks to DeAngelo Williams they currently have an 8.5 to 2 lead, but is it enough? Without a double digit performance the door has been cracked open for Wide Right to take advantage. Despite my previously declaring him finished, RB LaDanian Tomlinson has managed to keep himself fantasy relevant with a solid performance against the Eagles. This week he'll face Denver whose defense appears to be falling apart on itself. Perhaps LT could be the late season difference maker that the Jews needed. If that's not the case, the WRs of Marques Colston and Brandon Marshall are more than capable of picking up the slack. QB Donovan McNabb will get a chance against a Bears defense that no longer seems as fierce as it once did, and should put up a fair amount of points this week.
Wide Right just keeps hanging around. When you have a healthy Tom Brady at QB you can't reasonably be excepted to be out of the playoff hunt this early. RB Steve Slaton remains a question mark after the bye week. Is he the #1 back in Houston, a part-timer, or has he already lost the job and we don't know it yet? Unfortunately, Wide Right will find out when the rest of us do on Sunday. Bills RB Marshawn Lynch is the other running back on the roster and hopes to duplicate the success that Jets RB Thomas Jones had against Jacksonville last week. The WR corps is a bit thin with Steve Breaston being the biggest threat. He will, however, get some help from TE Kellen Winslow who faces the Saints this weekend, as Tampa Bay is likely to be down and throwing. The projections have this as a tight matchup which will come down to the Monday Night game before we know which team will make it to 6-5.

The New Good Ones (5-5) vs. Giant Ten Pins (5-4-1)

The New Good Ones are currently sitting in 3rd place, a spot coveted by their opponent this week. With the bye weeks passed, the New Good Ones feature an impressive roster. At running backs Matt Forte and Thomas Jones are a top notch one, two punch. At receiver Reggie Wayne, Anquan Boldin and DeSean Jackson are possibly the best group assembled in the league, making it hard for the other playoff teams to root NGO because no one wants to face that lineup. QB Philip Rivers is the only "weak" link in the roster, but he's a serviceable QB that puts up decent numbers on a consistent basis and TE Visanthe Shiancoe has emerged as one of the tops at his position. It seems as though if you plan to beat the New Good Ones, you'll have to outscore them on your own, because this lineup is to potent to slip far enough and beat themselves.
The Giant Ten Pins took a big one on the chin last week, and have fallen towards the middle of the pack, holding on for their playoff life. This week they have a tall order ahead of them, but if you're going to make it in the playoffs you have to be able to beat playoff caliber teams. QB Matt Ryan has been struggling of late, but the Giant Ten Pins are sticking with him as he faces that atrocious Giants secondary. With RB Michael Turner doubtful, replacement back LaDell Betts gets the call against Dallas and LeSean McCoy will face off against the Bears. While it's not ideal to face a tough opponent without your top runningback, the Ten Pins will have to make do and get help from WRs Hines Ward, Donald Driver and Miles Austin. TE Vernon Davis had a disappointing week and is looking to regain his prominence as a top tight end this season. His regularly scheduled contribution would be a major help to the Ten Pins as they try to avoid a second straight loss.

A special this week, 2 games of the week. First off, the family duel:

Dogs and Guns (5-4-1) vs. The Breakfast Club (5-5)

D&Gs is surging, with 3 straight wins and is now in command of a playoff spot, thanks in no small part to RB Chris Johnson. QB Jay Cutler has been benched (he was 2nd in the league in INTs last season, so what were you expecting when he went to a team with worse WRs?) for Carson Palmer. Is it a good time to make a move? Well, it's a moot point if Chris Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald continue their crazy scoring. The loss of RB Ronnie Brown slows down D&Gs run but Pittsburgh's Rashard Mendenhall is primed to step in and take up the cause. T.J. Houshmandzadeh is coming off of one of his best games this season. Was it the start of something new or just an anomaly? Also of note is that this week Dogs and Guns will not be featuring an overstacked Seattle roster, as WR Nate Burleson has been replaced by Santonio Holmes, presumably after not catching a single pass last week.
Speaking of last week, The Breakfast Club re-announced it's contender-ship by toppling the #1 Vick's Vet Service. Now this week, TBC takes on the defending champion, and cousin in what's predicted to be a high scoring affair. QB Drew Brees should have a field day facing Tampa Bay and a 50 point game is not out of the question. WRs Chad Johnson and Andre Johnson could be key contributors, although Johnson will have to find a way to shake free from Nnamdi Asomaghau. Last week Sidney Rice amassed over 200 yards receiving, and if he does that again this week it could be over quickly for D&Gs, even though the Breakfast Club is relying on Ryan Grant and Kevin Smith at running back.

And the top 2 teams collide:

Beer Burgers and Blue (6-4) vs. Vick's Vet Service (8-2)

Despite losing last week, BBB is happy to have found a lineup they are comfortable with. Hey, it taking 60 points from Peyton Manning and Joseph Addai in order to lose is nothing to be ashamed of. This week QB Matt Schaub steps back under center to lead this potential playoff powerhouse against the league's top team. RBs Ray Rice and Steven Jackson are on hot streaks and WR Calvin Johnson seems to have finally healed up and gotten his legs underneath him. The Great White Hope, Wes Welker could have a big week as the Jets try to shut down Randy Moss and newly acquired Chris Chambers will submit his audition tape for the role of WR3. Beer Burgers & Blue got a solid 8 points on Thursday night from Jon Beason, but will need as much if not more from the rest of the defensive unit. And a defensive TD from the Packers defense wouldn't hurt either.
Vick's Vet Service suffered only their second loss of the season last week. This week they look to re-establish their dominance by crushing their next closest competitor. VVS already has a 24.5 point lead thanks to an incredible 3 touchdown performance from RB Ricky Williams, who is obviously benefiting from the injury to Ronnie Brown. The other back in that tandem is Maurice Jones-Drew, who easily could have had 3 TDs last week as well. This week the pair may combine for 6 total TDs, 50 points and another L for BBB. Regardless of if the RBs hit 50 the rest of VVS is nothing to sneeze at. WRs Roddy White and Vincent Jackson have favorable matchups and Devin Hester always has the potential to break out that one long scoring play. Just like any great match-up this one won't be decided until the final whistle of the final game. Why spoil the surprise of who is the top team early?

Fantasy Football Preview - Week 10

With the Giants on their bye this week, I am at least guarenteed to not have to spend half the day jumping from video stream to video stream as they get shut down, just to watch a secondary that can't cover a bed with an oversized mattress.

In other news, I avoided the calling of the McRib in Santa Barbara this weekend to bring you this week's preview (so you better be appreciative because good lordy are those things delicious).

So here we go, reverse standings order as always with the game of the week at the end.

LT Get Outta My Way (2-7) vs. The New Good Ones (5-4)

LT currently holds a 20-13 lead after Thursday's Bears vs. 49ers game.
Having used a RB and a DB to build a 7 point lead shouldn't have the New Good Ones shaking in their shoes, with their opponent not actually existing and therefore, not likely to replace out for the season TE Owen Daniels. The one possible problem would be if QB Kurt Warner threw for 5 TDs again this week, but that's something you always have to deal with. The New Good Ones are already out to a good start though with RB Matt Forte putting up 13 points in a losing effort, and doing so on a night when the Bears couldn't run the football at all. That sort of versatility has to make the NGOs happy because if your RB gets shut down, it's awfully hard to come back from. Their other RB, Thomas Jones is coming off a bye week and facing the Jacksonville Jaguars who I've heard are not very good, especially against the run. They are the team that gave up over 200 yards on the ground to Chris Johnson, two weeks ago. Even though Jones isn't Johnson, I doubt that the Jaguars (man that's a lot of Js) will be able to hold him under 100 yards and a score. With WR Anquan Boldin expected to play this week the New Good Ones get their talented receiver corps on the field and could potentially blow this game away with double digit performances from each of the three. The concern will have to be how Philip Rivers plays against the Eagles defense.

Mr. Scott's F**kUps (2-7) vs. Wide Right (4-5)

Oh it seems so long ago that the F**kUps were on a two game roll and looking at becoming contenders. A 2 game slide has put them back into overlookville heading into this week. With Giants QB Eli Manning on his bye week the move to Roethlisberger is both necessary and well timed as he at least has an offense capable of putting up points. A questionable move at RB with Cadillac Willams starting over Cedric Benson this week. Despite playing the Steelers, Benson did have over 100 total yards against the Steel Curtain in their previous matchup and this season has been far and away better than Williams. WRs Randy Moss and DeVry Henderson may need to pick up the slack (as they have all season) for the injured T.O., who, at less than 100% should really be considered as a backup option to Colts WR Austin Collie. Rounding out the starting lineup is injured and not playing TE Chris Cooley and the Patriots defense who face the undefeated Colts, at home. Perhaps an early morning adjust that puts TE Brent Celek and the Arizona defense into the starting lineup is in order.
Wide Right seems content to keep their starters in, no matter what. They have shown total confidence in RB Steve Slaton, although it appears that he may now be locked into a timeshare at running back, and are even planning on starting the 2nd year back on his bye week. I've never been a huge Marshawn Lynch fan, but I would have to suspect that even against the Titans defense, Lynch can put up more than 0 points. QB Tom Brady will take center stage on Sunday Night in the start studded QB battle that is Brady vs. Manning. As great as last season was, I really think it missed this game the way it's going to be played this week. 2 premier QBs flinging the ball all over the field and making defenses look silly. Should be fun. Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart is listed as questionable for the game with an injured Achilles, so he may not play. Then again, starting RB DeAngelo Williams is questionable with a knee injury, so Steward might start. How's that for trying to manage your team? WRs Steve Breaston and Jeremy Maclin are likely to have slack to pick up as Dwayne Bowe will be shadowed by Nnamdi Asomaghu most of the day in Oakland. (I think I'm getting better at spelling that, I really do).

NY DAs Office (3-6) vs. Beer Burgers & Blue (6-3)

The DAs Office is coming off an impressive victory over big brother (not the all-knowing, ever watching government program to keep us in line; his actual brother) last week. The DAs Office will be hoping for a similar high scoring output this weekend as they face the #2 team in the league. QB Peyton Manning looks to shine in primetime against arch rival Tom Brady (seriously though, which one is supposed to be the pretty boy and which one is the edgy rebel? Brady was the rebel before, but c'mon, now he's married to Gisele). WR Johnny Knox turned in a disappointing performance on Thursday night leading to only 2 points to start the week for the DAs office. Fellow receivers Mike Sims-Walker and former BBBer Bernard Berrian will need to compensate if the Office hopes to top 140 points again. RB Joseph Addai has managed to stay healthy this late into the season, something I wasn't expecting, however, in what is sure to be a Colts/Patriots pass fest may not factor in so much. Then again, he did throw a TD a few weeks ago so who knows.
Beer Burgers & Blue snapped a 2 game losing streak and is now looking to reverse field and head for the top of the charts. Brett Favre steps in as QB while Matt Schaub is on his bye week and the ageless gunslinger will be at home against the Detroit Lions. BBBs running game has started to develop nicely with 3 top tier backs now that Steven Jackson has found the endzone this season. This weekend it appears that Jackson and fantasy breakout stud Ray Rice will be in the backfield flanked out to the sides by the returning Calvin Johnson and the Great White Hope, Wes Welker. The search for a #3 WR continues, this week with Robert Meachem auditioning for the role. IDPs Dashon Goldson and Patrick "What you talking about" Willis have already combined for an impressive 17.5 points to give 3Bs the lead, but fantasy is a crazy game and the scores change every minute, so you can be sure that they're putting the pedal to the metal to drive this one home.

Wandering Jews (4-5) vs. Giant Ten Pins (5-3-1)

The Jews stopped their freefall last week with a win and how are looking to continue their streaky ways in the opposite direction. TE Greg Olsen scored them 6.5 points on Thursday night to give them a good start, but it will take the rest of the team to match his performance if they want to make it to Streak: W2. QB Joe Flacco will face the, well pitiful Cleveland Browns. Sorry Matt and Jay if you still have love for your once hometown team, but they are really bad. And I know something about bad teams - I'm a Mets fan. Anyway, Flacco should be able to right his ship against a defense that probably shouldn't scare anyone. However, if Flacco goes wacko and throws and early pick will Baltimore ground him and turn the game over to RB Ray Rice? The RB tandem of DeAngelo Williams and LaDanian Tomlinson has a few problems. 1) Williams is hurt and may not play 2) Tomlinson hasn't scored a TD this season against a team not named the Raiders and 3) 2009 is not 2008. That said, Williams if he plays, is capable of a solid game against the Falcons. The same cannot be said for Tomlinson who faces an Eagles defense likely to swallow him up into fantasy irrelevance for another week. In related news former RB Larry Johnson is out of football. The pressure will be on the receivers this week if the backs can't get it done.
The Giant Ten Pins are currently the hottest team in the league, riding a 3 game win streak. Sitting a mere 2.5 games out of first place they are looking to keep inching their way up the ladder. Despite a disappointing 1.5 point performance from TE Vernon Davis, DP Lance Briggs was able to accumulate 9 points to at least lessen the burden of the remaining players. QB Matt Ryan looks to rebound for several consecutive sub-par weeks, but as always will have RB Michael Turner at his back as they face Carolina this weekend. Banking on Eagles RB Brian Westbrook being hurt and unable to play all game (usually a good bet), RB LeSean McCoy steps in and hopes to help keep the streak alive. WRs Hines Ward, Donald Driver and Miles Austin all have favorable matchups this week and should provide the offense with some nice balance to go along with the running game. The remaining roster players should be able to at least hold onto their current 4 point lead.

Vick's Vet Service (8-1) vs. The Breakfast Club (4-5)

Oh how time changes things and people meet at certain times. Early in the season it was the Breakfast Club who looked like easy favorites to dominate the league, while Vick's Vet Service toiled away in the middle of the rankings. Now, in week 10 VVS finds itself nearly uncontested at the top and the Breakfast Club is looking to regroup. Thanks to WR Devin Hester, VVS currently has a 5.5 point advantage in the matchup. QB Tony Romo will be facing the Green Bay Packers this week, who were lit up by an unknown (as I, I have no idea who he is) QB playing for Tampa Bay. That fact alone should give Vick's Vet Service a reason to smile. But the strength of this team has been the running game, powered by Maurice Jones-Drew and Ricky Williams. These backs have been consistent, high producers - the kind of guys you'd promote in a corporate setting or risk losing to your competitors. Although less in the name department, WRs Roddy White and Vincent Jackson have also been important contributors, matching up with each opponents best WRs, no matter what their names are. And of course there is TE Dallas Clark, who in a Sunday Night Game against the Patriots is almost guaranteed to have a big night.
The Breakfast Club is looking for something to hang their hat on. They have QB Drew Brees. But even though he has come close to single-handedly winning games on his own, he never has. The running game this week is Kevin Smith and Ryan Grant, two backs who haven't really had the rebound seasons they were expected (or hoped) to have. At the receiver spot, Chad Johnson is enjoying a glorious return season, however, Andre Johnson's production has dipped and to make matters worse, he is on his bye this week. Stepping in are Sidney Rice and Bryant Johnson. Rice will have the benefit of facing the Lions while, Johnson is one. TE Tony Gonzalez has all but disappeared from the Falcons passing game and TBC is hoping that he gets back on the same playbook page with Matt Ryan soon and begins to produce. Despite the apparent lack of firepower on their roster, The Breakfast Club does have a secret weapon - the Saints opportunistic defense who this week will face the St. Louis Rams. If they can convert a few turnovers into scores, TBC may be back on their way to the top and leave VVS wondering if things will end the way they started.

And now, this week's Game of the Week:

Dogs and Guns (4-4-1) vs. Any Given Sunday (6-3)

The former champ is storming back with a 2 game win streak and looking to break into the top tier of teams. This week will be a challenge, but that the thing with former champs, they know how to win when they need it most. Despite tossing nearly a half dozen INTs, QB Jay Culter set his team up with 19.5 points, which combined with K Robbie Gould's 8 and DB Charles Tillman's 4.5 to give D&G an even 32 going into Sunday. Of course now only having 12 players left and having used (presumably) their biggest bullet in Cutler, D&G must now rely on the rest of the roster to keep the pace up. RB Chris Johnson is coming off of another big game and will face the Buffalo Bills and their lack of a run defense. Thanks to the wildcat formation and partly to Chad Pennington's injury, Ronnie Brown is guaranteed to touch the ball about 20 times per game. When you put those facts together it almost doesn't matter that D&G also has Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, however, is the only WR worth mentioning as T.J. Houshmandzadeh has absolutely sucked it up this year. He's killed me several times in my money league and unless the league conspired to kill the deal, I will finally be rid of him tomorrow morning. I say good riddance to you.
Any Given Sunday has to show that she can hang with the big boys. All of her wins, except for one, have come against teams that do not have a winning record at this moment. The three losses? Against teams with winning records. So here lies the conundrum, this weeks opponent has the perfectly balanced record, so on which side will Sunday fall? Rookie WR Michael Crabtree is making progress, scoring 5 points on Thursday night and providing some solid production in the receiver group. However, veterans Steve Smith and Santana Moss will need to do more than that if they want to keep pace with Dogs & Guns. The runningbacks aren't ever really a concern for Sunday with Adrian Peterson and Marion Barber. However, Barber has been dealing with injuries and the Cowboys do have 2 other backs they can put in the mix and take away Barber's carries. Peterson is likely to get the ball all day as the Vikings beat down the Lions. If the Lions can avoid the blowout, Peterson may still be scampering for 5 yards a carry in the 4th quarter, after having amassed 150 yards and 2 scores. QB Aaron Rodgers will look to improve his game as his team faces the Cowboys. The Cowboys have a weak secondary but the Packers haven't exactly been giving Rodgers time to find receivers downfield. If the O-line can hold on just a little longer, Rodgers may be able to make the big plays that give Sunday her first big win.

McRib Road Trip

It's been an exhausting day, let me tell you.

My alarm woke me up at 8am because I was silly ambitious enough to believe that I could take my medication, a shower, eat breakfast, pack, catch the bus and then catch the 9:15 train. At 8:20 I packed it in realizing that wasn't going to happen. Reset the alarm for quarter to 9 and tried again.

This time I was up, showered, packed and had my pop-tart as I was on my way to the bus. The bus dropped me off at the Caltrain station with about 15 minutes to spare so I figured that was enough time to grab a donut and hot chocolate for the almost 80 ride to Sunnyvale (on weekends all trains run local and with Oregon in town to play Stanford they added an extra stop. Oh joy). Anyway I got to Happy Donut and ordered. Unfortunately, there were a few other people and only 1 woman running the counter so it took a bit longer than expected - i.e. I bought my ticket for the 10:15 train about about 10:14 and jumped on seconds before it started to pull away from the station. Great beginning to the trip.

I managed to catch a minimal amount of zzzs on the train, maybe 20 minutes, after I had finished my donut and hot chocolate. They were good, not Dunkin Donuts good, but not something to complain about. When the train finally reached Sunnyvale I jumped off and began the mile walk to my old apartment. Okay fine, it's .9miles according to Google Maps but I have to change sides of the street so I round up. I was relieved when I made it to my car, one because she was still there in one piece and two because it meant that this trip was really ready to begin. I piled my gear in, selected the first CD and promptly headed to 7-11 to get some on the road nurishment. I was really looking forward to a bear claw but they didn't have any, so I grabbed a frosted apple danish and a Revive Vitamin Water. As I explain in the video, it was a bit too early for the Mountain Dew Big Gulp. I wound up barely drinking any of the Vitamin Water as the hot chocolate just sort of kept me full.

Anyway, after packing up the snacks I programed the GPS and hit the road. I reached California's famed Highway 101 at 12:27pm. The GPS told me that I would be riding it for about 247 miles and at the time I thought nothing of it. Unbeknownst to me, that at about 55 miles out, just past Gilroy, 101 is no longer a freeway and just a two lane road. Almost like the Taconic but without the familiarity I was baffled as to how fast I could go, so I just found some cars and kept up with them.

Then the farmland came. The cows, the crops, the John Deere tractors, all of it. Some of the hills and mountains in the distance were really nice, but oh my god was it boring as hell to drive though. This of course, went on for hours. At around 2:30pm I convinced myself to pull over and stretch/get some gas (I was running at half a tank). About 10 minutes and $31 later I was back on the road. Here's where it started to get fun. When I originally set out my GPS said my arrival time would be 4:40pm. Just before I took a break I had gotten it down to 4:32pm. When I jumped back in the car it was suddenly at 4:42pm and I wasn't happy. Still a two lane road, now with some trucks and stuff so speed is anything but constant. I'm probably about 70 miles from the exit I'm supposed to take off of 101 when my GPS informs me that it's low on battery. Just fucking great. I didn't need it to tell me to keep driving 200 miles and countdown for me, but now when I'm going to need actual directions you're going to crap out on me. Brilliant. I really think I bought into the hype of those things too much. I hate it. I think all of your problems can be solved with a paper map, a navigator or an internet capable phone that can display Google Maps.

I'm getting close to the turn-off and the scenery is incredible. I'm in Pismo Beach, I discover after checking a sign or two. Unfortunately it doesn't last for ever and we're back to farm country. Finally get to make the turn-off. Signs are telling me that Santa Barbara is only another 70 miles away - I can't wait. Then I notice that the next turn I need to make is to get onto 101 South (in about 20 miles). That's the exact road I just got off of. Again, California's highway system is retarded. Also, many fewer rest stops, and small road side conveniences than you'd notice. Jersey - 1, California - 0. So I'm heading towards 101 (again) when guess what? You know it. The GPS goes black. So I know the next direction is to get on 101 S and after that I guess aim the car at the water and try not to go through any walls? I manage to get a few quick glimpses as to the next direction before the battery totally dies. This of course requires me to re-turn on the GPS, wait for it to load, accept the warning not to type or input things while driving, and then hit the map button - while driving; 3 times. I manage to wind up on a road and see a sign for a visitors information booth. Bingo I can find information there.

Except that they're charging $3 for parking and I don't know where the hell I am. So I pass it up and start driving down, what I now know, is Castillo St, right near the harbor. It's really pretty and the sun is starting to set. Well I need to find State St to get my McRib or find a place to stay for the night. (Lesson learned, plan this part in advance for all future trips). I pass by a few streets, and see a bunch of small little motels, all with bright red "No Vacancy" signs. Okay, that's a problem I'll tackle later. I finally find State St and start counting the numbers, I"m looking for 1213. I'm at 26. Great. State St. is the main drag, like you see in all of those movies - typical California. The sides are littered with shops, and restaurants, there are pedestrian crossings every half block and stupid traffic lights. Traffic goes at a snails pace. Oh, and there's no streetside parking either. Despite all of that, I finally make it to the 1200 block and spot MckieDs on my left. At the corner I make a right and follow the signs for a parking garage. I park and grab my video camera, I'm gushing with excitement and the need to pee. I exit the parking lot, cross the street and enter. There are signs, signs saying "The McRib is back!" I'm so happy, it's not in vain. As is expected the guy in front of me takes way too long to order. I wrote a pretty funny short piece about that in high school but can't seem to find a backup copy anywhere. When I'm home I'll have to look for the original paper and re-type it, because it was good. Anyway, there's some funny commentary of me on the video whispering behind him how I will kill him if he doesn't hurry up.

When it's finally my turn I excitedly tell the girl "I want the McRib meal!" She asks if I want the large and for no reason I say "yes". I pay for the food and wait for my order number to be called. I get it and sit down, anxiously awaiting to see the treatment of the McRib. It's got it's own special box! It's big, not the little McRib Jr. they tried to pass off during one of the "McRib farewell tours" years back. This thing is big. I open the buns to check - onions, pickles and sauce. We're good. I close the sandwich back up and take a bite.

Delicious. Look, I know it's probably unreasonable to say that a single food item could be worth traveling 300 miles (when I travel 3,000 back to NY it's for several food items), but it sure seemed close. I loved every bite and the possibly two minutes it took to devour. I think I wiped my mouth twice or it would have been less. After enjoying both the meal and the afterglow I returned to the counter and asked what time they closed that night. 10pm was the answer. Great. I'm in good shape. I exited and looked to tackle my next obstacle. Uhm, I have nowhere to sleep. I started walking up State St. to see if I could find some more hotels, motels, Holiday Inns. With the GPS out of commission I was sorta left to hoofing it. I walked up past the 1800 block and found one place with vacancy. It wasn't much of anything and I had set a reservation price at around $50 when I left. When I saw how Santa Barbara was laid out I figured I'd have to raise it, especially being Saturday night, but still didn't want to over pay. The guy said it was $99 for the night. For that crappy place, I couldn't do it. So now I was a bit worried as I walked back to the lighted sections of the town.

Oh yeah, aside, since I was planning on taking pictures of Santa Barbara at sunset. By 6pm it was completely black, like midnight anywhere else. And the streets are pretty poorly lit so there's no pictures of anything. What a bummer.

So as I'm heading back realizing that all the signs I've previously seen said "No Vacancy", don't have a GPS or Internet connection to help me find new places, I'm sorta fucked. Then I decide to do the unthinkable. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I went back to the car and got my laptop and GPS and charger and headed to Starbucks. I waited 10 minutes or so for a table near an outlet to open up and began charging my GPS. Oh yeah, I ordered a small "Signature Hot Chocolate" for $2.95. They called it a "tall" when they gave it to me but the think was anything but. It also wasn't that good. The medium, actual medium, hot chocolate I got at Happy Donuts for $1.64 earlier that morning was far better. Fucking pretentious Starbucks assholes. Then there's the best part. Since when did Starbucks stop giving away free Internet? I'm sure it was a while ago and I didn't get the memo because I never got there, but now I really have no reason to ever again. So my laptop is useless and I'm waiting for my GPS to charge but that only helps if you pick a specific location it can get you there. I needed Google Maps.

I won't say Verizon to the rescue because I was able to use my phone inspite of them, but it was a saving grace. Note to self, upgrade to Android phone as soon as possible so that I can use the internet when I'm in a bind. Anyway, I wrote down the names of some hotels and played some Elite Beat Agents while waiting for the GPS to charge. Still couldn't beat the last level. GPS is charged, the crappy hot chocolate is done and I'm done laughing at everyone at Starbucks so I'm out.

Into the car I program the hotel. Holiday Inn Express sounds good. If I'm going to have to pay more than I wanted, I better get a name I trust. Of course the GPS tells me to go the wrong way on a way one street and then I somehow pass it, which then renders the GPS useless because if you pass the destination it thinks you, I have no idea what the fuck it thinks, but it doesn't show you how to get back there if you miss it. Helpful.

So driving around Santa Barbara is like driving around those little towns on the Jersey Shore. No lights, small signs and one ways going the way you don't want them to go. I wind up lost I think a town or two over. Great. Pick a new hotel so that the GPS is no longer useless. Days Inn. Should be affordable. After some fighting I convince the GPS that I can't drive through a gate onto a private road and we find away around. I reach the Days Inn to find no vacancy. But at least now I know how to get to Castillo, that main strip. I find a place with vacancy and park the car. But rather than go in, I head a few blocks up to show around. Pass another with vacancy to find a third. So I figure I'll work my way backwards. That third place has a 2 queen available for $149. And now I'm realizing I'm screwed again. Head back to place #2 which now suddenly has "No Vacancy". Great. Head back to where I left the car, still don't go in because I decide I'm going to play with fire. I head to State St. A few blocks up I come across a small hotel whose name I recognized from Google Maps. The guy tells me it's $69 a night plus tax. I walk out and head half way up the street to see if I see anything else. At this point it's around quarter after 9 and McDonalds closes at 10. I quickly dart back in and take the room. Then I run back to the car and drive to McDonalds. Stash it on a side street and make my order - 2 McRibs and a medium Sprite.

Side note - this McDonalds was really weird. Aside from having the McRib, all size drinks are $1 and Big Macs are $1.50.

Anyway, I collect my order and run back to the car. Hop in, pull a U-ie and head back to the hotel. Grab all my backs run up to the room and scarf two 2 more McRibs, both delicious. Now I'm exhausted, I've written this to be posted when I get back home and have an Internet connection and I'm going to call it a day/night.

Although I'm not really looking forward to the ride back. Oh well. All in all, I think this will be a great story.

Fantasy Football Preview - Week 8

So here we are, just at the halfway point of the fantasy season, and on Halloween no less. Let's take a quick look and see the scariest things in the league:

Last week Vicks Vet Service set a new record by amassing 177 points
Mr. Scotts F**KUps have turned it around and won 2 straight
LaDanian Tomlinson looks like a round 1-3 bust
The Saints look pretty much unbeatable

So here we go with this weeks matchups:

Beer Burgers & Blue (5-2) vs. LT Get Outta My Way (1-6)
Triple B's stint at the top of the league was brief, as predicted, and this week it doesn't seem to get any easier. Although it should. Unbeknownst to me somehow, my team's predicted total is only in the high 70s and is actually a few points lower than my non-existent opponent. For a team that just lost the top spot in a week where their lineup was crippled by bye weeks and injuries this sort of prognostication has to worry you, if you were me and I am, in which case it does. Recently acquired WR, Tory Holt brings with him a lot of age, but also a lot of experience and a lot more catches in his life than Bernard Berrian. With the Great White Hope, Wes Welker, on his bye week, the team will look for the new addition to pick up some of the slack. Can a full BBB lineup overcome some weird ESPN math and defeat an opponent that they should have no problems with?

Mr. Scotts F**KUps (2-5) vs. Giant Ten Pins (3-3-1)
The FUps are on the rise, winning 2 straight and putting the league on notice that they won't just roll over (like some other team that wasn't mentioned). However, much of that success has been attributed to WR Randy Moss who is on his bye week this week, along with every single backup on the F**kUPs roster. So you can't really question the lineup they're going with this week - too much. Terrible Terrell Owens will try to step in and lead the receivers, although since this is not 3 years ago, it's unlikely that will happen. QB Eli Manning will need to exercise his demons in Philadelphia and Ahmad Bradshaw will need to show that his injured ankle isn't enough to slow him down. It's likely that the majority of scoring will have to come from the young WRs - Austin Collie and DeVry Henderson as well as the Cardinals defense, if the F**kUPs hope to continue F'ing up the standings.
The Giant Ten Pins are rolling after knocking off the former top seed. They'll again go with what works, in the Matt Ryan/Michael Turner combination, who are likely in for a shoot-out with the Saints on Monday Night Football. Even with a loss, it could mean large quantities of fantasy points for each. RB Lesean McCoy will be stepping in for the injured Brian Westbrook in his customary "have a really good game against the Giants" role, and should provide a decent fantasy score. The names Donald Driver, Miles Austin and Donney Avery don't sound all that scary to opposing teams, but if you look at the trio's stats for the year and then factor in the number of games where Austin and Avery have played and you start to worry. Vernon Davis is coming off a huge game last week and depending on who the 49ers quarterback is, he could have a big day as they're likely to be playing from behind.

NY DAs Office (2-5) vs. AnyGivenSunday (5-2)
First off, Happy Birthday Jay. Now, the DAs Office has dropped 2 in a row but are in a good position to rebound this week as their opponent mourns the loss of Leon Washington. QB Peyton Manning is likely in for a productive afternoon against the 49ers. The DAs Office will hope for total Colts domination, so that RB Joseph Addai gets into the scoring action as well. WRs Steve Smith (of the Giants), Johnny Knox and Mike Sims-Walker are three of the breakout fantasy stars of the year at WR and they've joined forces on the same team to create... a fantasy team that's 3 games under .500. But they can turn it around and will need to with RB Brandon Jacobs in a familiarly tough spot against the Eagles who will blitz constantly to fill gaps and limit the bruising backs running room.
AnyGivenSunday reluctantly dropped fantasy find Leon Washington for the Lions defense of all things, a clear sign of hallucination due to extreme grief. Anyway, Aaron Rodgers will get his re-match with Brett Favre (provided that Lambeau field doesn't swallow up the traitorous QB as he comes out for the opening coin toss) and the Minnesota Vikings. RB Adrian Peterson will likely shoulder a big load of the Vikes offense as the crowd noise is expected to reach decibel levels that will make Favre's old ears bleed, making him unable to call out hot routes and resign to handing off to All Day. APs backfield mate Marion Barber will be running on the Seahawks, and depending on Jason Garrett's play calling he may be running all day, as Seattle can't stop much of anything on defense. The original Steve Smith looks to break out of his funk against the Cardinals while Mario Manningham hopes to fend off the emerging rookie Hakeem Nicks for #2 WR honors. Rookie Michael Crabtree apparently did enough in one week to earn himself a start in week 8 and could be a difference maker.

Dogs and Guns (2-4-1) vs. Wandering Jews (3-4)
It's been a rough go of things lately for last years champion. Much of the teams hope resides in QB Jay Cutler, who this week will face a week Cleveland team he should be able to exploit, with only minimal interceptions. The running game should be solid as Chris Johnson and Ronnie Brown should each get a significant number of carries. Who knows, maybe Brown will throw a few passes too. The WRs are leaning Seattle heavy against a somewhat porous Dallas secondary, with both T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Nate Burleson starting in addition to TE John Carlson. However, if the Cowboys get pressure up front on Hasselbeck, the plan may back fire. Larry Fitzgerald, of course, is a solid play but may find himself with the weight of the team on his shoulders if the Cowboys shut down the high powered Seahawks. Mike, re-read that last part "high powered Seahawks". They're not. Only three teams in football have three or more players you can start on the same fantasy team and hope to win: the Saints, Colts and Patriots.
The Wandering Jews just had their win streak snapped and as the streakest team in the league, are now looking down the tunnel at another 3 game losing streak unless they win this week. QB Joe Flacco is the better matchup play against a tough Denver team than Donvan McNabb against the Giants, considering that loss to the Raiders. RB DeAngelo Williams should have a good matchup against the Cardinals despite what people are saying about how the Cardinals run defense stiffened up at the end of last season. LaDanian Tomlinson is on his last chance as the Chargers face the Raiders, but can't be relied on for production the way he once was. WRs Marques Colston and Brandon Marshall lead a proficient air attack with Cowboys #3 Patrick Crayton bringing up the rear. Colston especially should have a good game on Monday Night as he has separated himself as the guy Drew Brees looks for on every play, before he checks to another receiver. TE Greg Olsen has yet to dazzle in this, the season everyone thought he would emerge, but facing the Browns will make anyone look like the next coming of Mark Bavaro. This matchup will heavily swing the fates of these two teams, and unfortunately, it may come down to the kickers.

In another week, this matchup would have been the game of the week:
Vick's Vet Service (6-1) vs Wide Right (4-3)
The VVS reclaimed the top seed after an impressive victory last weekend. This week they look to hold on to that spot as they face the hottest team in the league. QB Tony Romo will be facing a Seattle team that the Cowboys should be able to run or throw on, depending on their game plan. Still, Romo has this stupid habit of putting up around 30 points per game in order to win a game he shouldn't. RBs MJD and Ricky Williams combine for a brutal combination of backs, capable of large quantities of pointage. WRs Roddy White and Vincent Jackson aren't household names yet, but are fast becoming. Devin Hester is also on the team, and against the Browns could potentially do something. And of course, just in case you get close enough to win, TE Dallas Clark will do just enough to assure his team a victory.
Wide Right looks to keep the hot streak going, but with QB Tom Brady and WR Dwayne Bowe on bye's this week it will be hard. Especially with no suitable replacements on the gameday roster. RBs Steve Slaton and Marshawn Lynch will face off against each other on Sunday, but are playing for the same team in fantasy. Buffalo fan favorite WR Lee Evans looks to exploit a weak Houston secondary along with rookie Percy Harvin who will try to sneak his way through the Packer defense on his way to a non-Lambeau leap. Wide Right is lacking fire power this week and it seems a shame that the winning streak will come to an end in such a manner.

And now, this week's game of the week:
The New Good Ones (4-3) vs The Breakfast Club (4-3)
The New Good Ones face a tough challenge this week, and seem to be perfectly fine going into it a man down. QB Philip Rivers faces the Raiders this week, meaning that he can either throw for 350 yards and 4 TDs, or 150 yards a TD and be on the bench by halftime. Regardless of how long the starting QB plays, the running game will be there all day. RBs Matt Forte and Thomas Jones are locked in to get carries (especially with the injury to Leon Washington). While Jones faces a stiff Dolphin run defense, as mentioned previously the Bears face the Browns, so Matt Forte should be able to put 2 weeks worth of numbers up this week. The receivers are all banged up, but Reggie Wayne, DeSean Jackson and Anquan Boldin are all capable of a getting into the endzone on a single short route even if they are hobbled. TE Visanthe Shiancoe has been a solid scorer all season, and this week a solid contribution from him may be crucial as the New Good Ones play man down.
"Good times, bad times, you know I've had my share" The Breakfast Club finally got back on the winning track and now look across the field at a team that may be their equal. QB Drew Brees should be looking to light up the stage on Monday Night and that could mean big points for the Breakfast Club, as he is capable of 60. The running game isn't impressive sounding, but with Kevin Smith facing the Rams and Darren Sproles taking on the Raiders, they instantly become more dangerous players than they should be. The receivers are a bit thin with Chad Johnson on his bye week, but the news seems good that Andre Johnson will play this week against Buffalo. Sidney Rice has been one of Brett Favre's favorite targets, and with Bernard Berrian injured he could be in line for a few more targets this week. TE Tony Gonzalez has begun to fade from the Falcons offensive plans, but he's still Tony Gonzalez and he can have a big game at any time.

This week the Giants face the Eagles, in Philadelphia. Because of the importance of this game - the G-men having lost 2 straight and the Eagles being from Philly and evil - appropriate measures must be taken. So, for this week only (possibly) I will not only wake up early (which I do to set my final roster each week anyway), but I will throw on laundry day clothes and leave my apartment prior to 5pm, and walk 20 minutes (or however long it takes) to the nearest McDonalds, for breakfast at halftime, in order to reverse the current Giants trend and defeat the evilness of Philadelphia.

Happy Halloween everyone.

Welcome to relevance!

I won my Playstation 3 before my first Christmas working at Google. I didn't even have an LCD TV at the time. Once I got the system though I immediately upgraded my television unit and things were great. Well, the TV was great for playing all of my PS2 and XBox games, watching movies and football. And then later after I built my new computer playing games and watching movies on that. And then when I got my Dreamcast, playing games on that.

Needless to say, the PS3 had been little more than a pretty decoration, a talking point or a trophy of the one time in my life that I've ever won some sort of raffle. It wasn't really much else. I have a pretty large and (I think) awesome collection of DVDs and I'm in no hurry to rebuy them all as Blu-Rays, and there just weren't any "must have" games that I felt I needed to go out and get. So I just kept playing all of my old ones and occasionally checked in on my PS3 by playing a new demo or something. They all looked great but reviews would come out and I'd be underimpressed enough to be able to pass up the $60 price tag. Infamous was the first game that I almost bought. It was interesting, looked nice, the demo was fun and the reviews came back solid. In the end I passed though and instead took up and old Final Fantasy game I hadn't beaten and then Resident Evil: Code Veronica (which reminds me, I really should finish that game).

Then Resident Evil 5 came out. Fortunately from playing the demo I knew there was no chance I was going to own it, even though I really did want to know what happened in the story universe. I spent layover time I had in Terminal 5 at JFK watching all the cutscenes on YouTube and saved myself $60 and a shit-ton of frustration.

Then the demo for Batman: Arkham Asylum was released. It was a game I had been tracking, eagerly anticipating mostly due to my comic/super hero nerd tendencies. I wrote about this game before, how the demo blew me away and I knew I had to own it. I bought it, beat it, have replayed it a bit to unlock more stuff and am glad that I have.

But that was just the beginning. It seems like now, right now, the flood gates are about to crack open and my PS3 will finally ascend to the top level of my entertainment hierarchy. A few weeks ago I played the Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta demo - and I've never played an online multiplayer game EVER. I mostly wrote them off as well... let's say retarded 12 year olds and in-denial frat boys who like the idea of tea bagging each other in games and then awkwardly talking about it like the thought has never gone through their mind.

Anyway, loved the demo and got addicted to all the different types of games. It was then decided that this was my next purchase. Sadly the local game shop down the block had sold out. They next shipment comes in on Wednesday/Thursday and they're putting aside one with my name on it. I even traded in a bunch of old Xbox, PS1 and PS2 games to help me pay.

I figured with Batman and Uncharted I could be content for a nice long while and not get sucked into making the PS3 the focus but then I remembered - Assassins Creed II comes out next month. That game is sick. Then God of War III for the holidays, Final Fantasy XIII (which I'm almost guaranteed to pre-order), Heavy Rain: The Case of the Origami Killer (if you have never heard of it, check out trailers) and a bunch of really good games on here or on their way. And to top it all off, it was officially confirmed that you'll be able to start streaming Netflix to your PS3 next month.

Sonuvabitch. I was hoping to get a little more use out of all of the other things in my life. Guess those new Sony commercials are right, It only does: everything.

Fantasy Football Preview - Week 7

So here we go, we've got an exciting slate of games on the schedule this week, as a new team ranks #1, a new team got a win, and a new team will try to pull off this week's big upset.

As for the games themselves:

The Breakfast Club (3-3) vs. LT Get Outta My Way (1-5)
The Breakfast Club looks to rebound after last week's defeat. While a loss is never a pleasant experience TBC did learn a valuable lesson. Always start Drew Brees. Sure, every once in a while he'll have a bad game (or this year back to back bad games). But more often then not he'll be one of the weeks highest scoring players, and you've just got to give him the shot. This week is a perfect chance to get above .500 while playing the absent cousin. And with no real major losses to the bye week, look for The Breakfast Club to start pulling themselves out of the ditch they're in and climbing back to the top.


Dogs and Guns (2-3-1) vs. Mr. Scott's F**kUps (1-5)
Dogs and Guns had a chance to win last week. They had a chance to lose. Instead they tied and look much less like contenders than they did at season's start. There's been a lot of turnover on this team as they look to find a roster they can run out there week in and week out, with some success. WR TJ Houshmandzadeh is on a bye this week, and that's probably a good thing. He's one of those guys with a big name and then he under performs on a weekly basis (except for a single 2TD week this year) and you're left kicking yourself. You can tell I have him in another league, huh? RB Chris Johnson is also on bye and while he plays for a team that is apparently absolute garbage, he continues to put up the stats you'd expect from your number 1 back, perhaps minus some of the TDs. D&G will need RB Ronnie Brown and WR Larry Fitzgerald to step up in their games if they want to get the taste of tie out of their mouths.
Last week the F**kUps pulled off an upset I'm fairly confident no one could or would have predicted. It was facilitated by a QB shift to Ben Roethisberger, who was playing the Browns, and more so, the fact that Randy Moss put down a game check and bought the Tennessee secondary. What makes it more amazing is that the other 2 WRs combined for 2 points, a stat which will lead to failure in most instances. But the stars were aligned and the Patriots defense held the Titans scoreless, and the F**kUps are out of the cellar. They look to go on one of those "winning streaks" they've heard of, with a slightly improved receiver corp, although worthless Terrible Owens is still there. But with the Pats playing another very bad team, perhaps lightening can strike twice.

NY DAs Office (2-4) vs Wide Right (3-3)
After getting 1.5 points from their running game last week, the DAs Office had to figure they were in for a loss. Brandon Jacobs gets another chance, and if the Giants can manage to keep the Cardinals offense from exploding on them like the Saints did, he should be able to get enough touches to be valuable. His running mate, Joseph Addai is facing the Rams and should have over 100 yards and a score by halftime, where he will then promptly be replaced for the rest of the game, so as not to risk injury. The WRs consist of the NEW Steve Smith (there can be only one!) and a bunch of wavier wire guys. I know they have put up numbers in a few weeks but I'm not ready to start telling people they need to watch out for Johnny Knox and Andre Caldwell. Although Johnny Knox does sound like a hell of a tag team partner. Anyway, the Giants defense will look to redeem itself in the eyes of the home crowd as the DAs Office looks to avoid a two week skid.
Wide Right is flying high thanks to the re-emergence of Tom Brady. This week he'll be showing off for the lords and ladies (and Werewolves) of London. (If you didn't get that song reference, click here, I'll wait). Brady is throwing the ball around secondaries at will and Steve Slaton has found ways to put up points without rushing for 100 yards per week. Combined they've turned this team around and it'll be interesting to see how Marshawn Lynch gets reacquainted with the offense in Buffalo, to see if he can contribute. The WRs remain questionable and with Steve Breaston on the bench, possibly due to injury they're even more of a weakness. However, it'll just take one big play from Percy Harvin or Lee Evans to help elevate this team for another week.

Beer Burgers & Blue (5-1) vs Giant Ten Pins (2-3-1)
Last week Triple B got an unexpected surprise from the F**kUps and found themselves in first place, following a 5 game win streak. However it seems as this will be short lived as super secret fantasy weapon, Ray Rice is on a bye week, exposing some of weak underbelly of the number one team. QB Matt Schaub has been playing phenomenal and will have to continue that this week if he hopes to keep his team at the top. RB Steven Jackson does everything possible except get into the endzone, the curse of being the only guy the other team needs to stop, and top WR Calvin Johnson is nursing an injury on his bye week. However, not one to ever concede a week, BBB went out and picked up WR Lance Moore to plug in with Bernard Berrian and the Great White Hope (Wes Welker) at wide receiver. Pierre Thomas posses a difficult question at running back and may find himself benched for Colts backup Donald Brown - if I truly believe my Joseph Addai scenario.
The Giant Ten Pins walked out of last week's tie feeling good it wasn't a loss, but that's about it. This week they'd love to go from that low feeling to king of the hill by knocking off the current top team. QB Matt Ryan and RB Michael Turner will look to dominate the Cowboys in the air and on the ground, while the receivers who are better than you think look to again quietly kill their opponent. Recently acquired TE Vernon Davis looks to pay dividends quickly as the Houston defense may be slightly distracted by the sight of Michael Crabtree on the field. However, don't be surprised if the team's big scorer this week is the Colts defense, who will be slaughtering the helpless rams. Too biblical? Should they find themselves down though, RB Clinton Portis is the Ten Pins ace in the hole on Monday Night in a game that few people will actually watch. But if the scores are close following Sunday Night, you can bet that both teams will be following him yard for yard - mostly to make sure that the game doesn't end in a tie.

The New Good Ones (3-3) vs Any Given Sunday (5-1)
The Good Ones have hit a recent 2 game slide and they are desperate to get off (of it). QB Philip Rivers should be in for a big game facing the Chiefs this week and his fantasy receivers all have favorable matchups, provided they're healthy. Reggie Wayne, Anquan Boldin and DeSean Jackson could all put up 14 point this week to pair with 9-12 point games for Thomas Jones and Matt Forte. Not to be overlooked, is TE Visianthe Shiancoe, who even against the Steelers is capable of putting up quality points for a tight end. Let's pencil that in at 6 and say Rivers has 23, since I've decided to predict the scores of John's players. He'd have a total of approximately 83 points, not including IDPs, team defense or his kicker. That kind of scoring is just what The New Good Ones will need if they want to get back to where they were 3 weeks ago, as one of the most feared teams in the league.
The Purple Princess has licked her wounds from a humiliating loss two weeks ago (who was that masked man?) and is back on her unicorn, heading for the top. QB Aaron Rodgers faces a Cleveland team that really not much can be said for. 1st round pick Adrian Peterson faces a tough challenge this week against the Steelers, in Pittsburgh and word is that Troy "Nice Hair" Polomalu may be back. My friend Nate, Vikings fan and Minnesota native, has not only picked the Vikings to lose this game but offered the free fantasy advice to bench everyone of your Vikings. You get what you paid for. You don't bench Peterson. It won't be his best game ever, you know that in advance so you make concessions. AnyGivenSunday has inserted Leon Washington into the lineup as the Jets face the hapless Oakland Raiders across the bay. My only hope is that Washington isn't about to score on an 86 yard run or kick-off return when he is suddenly knocked to the ground by the lifeless, Jets jersey clad body of Jason Lazar, who was dumb enough to wear Gang Green in Oakland. The WRs are going to need some work in the upcoming weeks. Right now they feature a used to be, a never was much of anything, and a possibly someday. On the bench is a rookie who just signed and showed up to the team 2 weeks ago, so help isn't readily available. Still you go with what got you where you are I guess.

Which leaves us with the game of the week. Bigger, Longer, and More Offensive!

Vicks Vet Service (5-1) vs Wandering Jews (3-3)
After having a bite taken out of their record last week, McGruff the Crime Dog style, VVS is looking to slaughter their opponent this week like a pitbull who can't keep his guard up. Pretty Boy QB Tony Romo is facing the Falcons at home where fans love him for 3 quarters and then realize that if the game is on the line the should hit the restroom and start the car because this won't end well. Cold filtered MJD is on his bye this week so recently acquired TD vulture in the making Mike Bell will fill the RB spot with fellow 2nd fiddle, Ricky Williams. WRs Roddy White and Vincent Jackson are both eager to face secondaries that aren't known for their ability to cover people and Devin Hester may surprise you against Cincinnati. I mean, they gave up that play to Stokely in week 1, you figure they're due for another hilarious pass play. TE Dallas Clark is back from his bye, giving Vicks Vet Service the last key ingredient for a team you think you can beat on paper, until points start getting filled in on that paper. With the Raven's defense on a bye, VVS looks to the Bills to hold down the fort and hope that they can sustain an onslaught from DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Or else, they may not be the ones doing the slaughtering.
The Wandering Jews have come all the way back from 0-3 to reach the mediocrity mark and they're not satisfied yet. After some finagling they were able to get 3 wins for the price of 2. Now they'd like to take the winnings to Atlantic City and make it big time. With QB Joe Flacco on his bye this week, the Jews have no choice but to use Donovan McNabb, who couldn't have inspired any confidence last week as the Eagles lost to the Raiders. Previously mentioned RB, DeAngelo Williams will look to break through the Bills wagon train defense and deal double trouble damage (scoring for his team and reducing his opponents team defenses' points). LaDanian Tomlinson will try to show that I'm wrong and that he's not on his way to Larry Johnson land, as he faces the Chiefs and Larry Johnson. Not a tough challenge. With WR Brandon Marshall off this week the receivers rely heavily on the Cowboys with Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton. The best that can be said of these guys is that they may cancel out Romo points - that is if Romo wasn't so gay for TE Jason Witten.

Built from the parts of lesser nerds

Full disclosure: I'm laying in bed, under my covers drinking a bottle of chocolate milk as I write this. Probably the most fitting scenario possible.

Now I'm not claiming superiority or anything like that - I worked at Google and even though I could hold my own in some circles, I met and saw some people who were well beyond me. But that's at Google. When lined up against the relative "norm" of the population I score pretty well on nerd and geek, with computers. For the most part I've managed to keep myself out of the Dungeons & Dragons, cosplay, Anime import, etc. groups. To my friends back home I am the nerd they call with technical questions and many are somewhat impressed that I built a computer for my mom for Mother's Day a few years ago - because the idea of building a computer on your own is so foreign, but mostly because doing that for your mom on Mother's Day is just so gosh darn sweet.

So the other day my mom called me because a friend of her's at work needs to get a new computer - and apparently I have "Nerd to Call" status in the PS105 teaching circle, which is actually nice. So I asked my mom the simple questions, what is she looking to do with it, what programs does she need, how much does she want to spend - the basics. Of course, I got the response I was expecting - bare minimums. That's no fun. But I rattled off some tech. specs to look for on the showroom floor, cautioned about particular components to avoid and threw in some opinion on other things. My mom was happy for the assist and passed along that her friend would be thankful as well.

It was nice to do a mitzvah like that, unfortunately they happen too infrequently for me, but it always leaves me with an emptiness in my mouth. I want more, a bare essentials machine has no excitement for me. Sure, I realize that some people don't do all of the things I do, but why not? It's really not that complicated and it so fun.

So since I've last spoken to my mom I've been compulsively checking out sites and articles for parts and ideas. I keep going back to the idea of a Home Theater PC (HTPC), since the machine I currently have is just about 75% there, but I don't really have money for parts. Besides, as much as I love my box and if asked to sell it would demand an exorbitant sum for it just out of sentimental value, I would want to start over from scratch with a new project, a new idea.

As a way to stave off my frustration with not having the financial capabilities to build a new machine, let alone the space, time or necessary power outlets - I've gotten very nostalgic and tried to back track how I got here to this hobby and occasional obsession.

When I was small my family always had a computer in the house. Sometimes more than one. Either my dad saw the future in them, was equally interested (which I'm pretty sure was part of it), or found a way to steal them from his office without ever being detected. Whatever the case was, I saw them go from a single 5.25" drive to a pair, to a 5.25" and a 3.5" to just two 3.5" disks to installing my first CD-ROM drive a year or so after my dad left. I was maybe 11 at the time and while nervous, still pretty confident that I could install this new piece of hardware. Of course I left out tons of stuff, VGA, Super VGA, DOS, Direct Access, Windows 3.11 and all of that, because that just starts going down a pretty nerdy path. Games were pretty much the driving influence in my interest in the technology. As games got more complex specs increased and mediums changed. A 3.5" disk holds a lot more memory (1.21MB) than a 5.25" (I think they were 785K) so it was more convenient to install 12 disks for Wordperfect than 25. Haha, we actually did stuff like that back then. With games leading the reasoning I also became aware of other great new technologies. I was on the "internet" in 1988(citation needed) without even knowing it. We had a 12.2k modem hooked up for a while. I watched baseball on the Super VGA monitor a couple of times - one machine had a TV tuner card in it. Speakers, microphones and all of these great things that really had no practical use at the time except for showing off or making your kids go "wow." Like the mouse. That was a mind fuck.

Anyway, at 27 it's fairly obvious now that this is part of my life, though I probably would have told myself "well duh" back in the 80s. I suppose there was a chance that I'd grow out of it or lose interest, but there are too many shiny accessories and that's usually my downfall. So I'd just like to hope that my life continues in such a way that I'll always be in a position to explore and keep up with this. Maybe even build a Home Theater PC for my kid when he asks why all the other kids dad's took them to Best Buy and asked them to pick something out and all he got was a UPS truckload from Newegg.

So if you're reading this and you're looking at your old machine, on it's last legs, running slow and unable to do new things, why not give your friend Bob here a call. You'll get a certified, 1 of a kind machine that you can show off to all your friends, and you'll have an extra happy friend.

Fantasy Football Preview - Week 5

Alright, so apologies for skipping over an entire game last week. It's not like it included an undefeated team or anything like that. Oh... it did? And they won again and are now the top seed in the league? Okay then, I'll make sure I at least mention them this week.

As always we'll start from the bottom.

NY DAs Office (1-3) vs. Mr. Scott's F**kUps (0-4)

Last week the DAs office went off, handing out indictments for everything from crimes against fashion to jaywalking, racking up an incredible 165.5 points and completely catching Dogs and Guns off guard. How'd they do it? Another near 40 point performance from Peyton Manning, 23.5 from the Giants Steve Smith, 19.5 from Mike Sims-Walker and 20 from Darren Sharper. At least if you have yet to face the DAs Office you can expect Sharper won't have that kind of game again. This week Peyton is in primetime again, taking on the Titans. Early on this seemed like it would be a bad matchup for him, but the Titans have looked nothing like last year's dominant defense, so expect another 30 plus. The runningback duo of Brandon Jacobs and Willis McGahee should tear up the turf against the Raiders and Bengals respectfully. Well the Bengals respecfully, there's nothing to respect in the Raiders. Big games are once again expected out of Smith and Sims-Walker but it may be TE Jason Witten who has the biggest day against the Chiefs.
Last week the F**kUps outscored 3 teams. None of them were their opponent for the week though and they remain winless. With Mr. Scott in Atlantic City it's unlikely his attention is too far from the roulette table. There are some gapping holes in the roster, RB Reggie Bush (bye), DP Stephen Cooper (bye) and another DP spot completely empty, which may cost the F**kUps the game this week. But Mr. Scott is a gambling man and may have read his chances this week were low and is packing it in to play his monster hand when the odds are more in his favor. Or, he's trying to get rich quick at the tables and completely forgot that Sunday is for things other than the early bird buffet special.

Wide Right (1-3) vs LT Get Outta My Way (1-3)

Wide Right was hampered by bye weeks and low scoring receivers last week, but fortunately RB Steve Slaton finally got it going. This week the team should be on unofficial bye week playing against our absentee owner, but some questionable roster decisions - like playing Larry Johnson in any game after 2005 - have them as the underdog this week. Could it be that LT has lured them into a false sense of security like the tortise did to the hare? Could Wide Right be lying half conscious in a ditch somewhere, unable to set his roster using a mobile phone? Did Kelly find out that he plays Fantasy Football and bar him from participating? Or is it something more diabolical - playing to lose the game, in hopes of a high draft pick next year.
As previously mentioned, no analysis will be done on LT's team.

The Breakfast Club (3-1) vs. Giant Ten Pins (1-3)

Oh how the mighty have fallen... to third place. A week after losing a battle of unbeatens to Any Given Sunday, The Breakfast Club is back with perhaps their hardest challenge yet - Drew Brees on a bye week. Dunt Dunt Duuun. Homer QB pick Seneca Wallace will be filling in this week and hopes to get the team back on track. The aerial attack is as primed as the fighter jets that keep flying over my apartment (fleet week here in SF), with Chad and Andre Johnson (like Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson in that movie they did together). However, the Breakfast Club probably wishes they could play 2 TEs to get both Tony Gonzalez and Vernon Davis into the mix. Davis of course is on the trading block for any team in need of a TE. The passing game may be the only way to score points this week as RB Kevin Smith gets a Steelers defense that neither LT nor Darren Sproles could do anything against, and Julius Jones faces a Jaquars team which stopped Titans RB Chris Johnson last week. Will the Breakfast Club get back to their old ways, or did they just by themselves another week of detention?
The Giant Ten Pins were the other team omitted last week. Not that their contribution has been any less meaningful, it's just that if you lament about not including a 1-3 team it's not as powerful as recognizing that you left out the top team in the league. Anyway, this week the Giant Ten Pins are out to make sure that we all remember their name - FAME. Remember, remember, remember. The Ten Pins have put their faith in the Falcons with QB Matt Ryan, RB Michael Turner and WR Michael Jenkins all playing against San Francisco. If I hadn't screwed it up, I'd be going to this game. That's not the point, the point is, that around the league teams may not realize how legit San Fran is on defense. Led by Patrick Willis stacking 3 starting skill players against the 49ers is an awfully big risk. But if you don't play to win, you're just a loser. And to get back on the winning path and hand the Breakfast Club their 2nd straight loss you've got to go for it. This one is lined up to be close which means it could come down to whoever kicks the last field goal.

The New Good Ones (3-1) vs. Wandering Jews (1-3)

Last week the New Good Ones kept rolling thanks to Philip Rivers, Matt Forte and Nate Washington. This week Rivers and Forte are on byes, and Washington is on the bench. A lot can change week to week. The replacement QB is... well this is interesting, Matt Hasselbeck. But Bob, if The Breakfast Club is starting Seneca Wallace, and the New Good Ones are starting Matt Hasselbeck, what does that mean? It means that both owners better wake up early (Matt earlier since games start at 10am out here) and find out who is actually going to play quarterback for the Seahawks. Either way, this is going to severely fuck over one team. Delicious, isn't it? Assuming Hasselbeck plays, the rest of the lineup looks like this: RBs Thomas Jones and Knowshon Moreno against tough run defenses, WRs Anquan Boldin, Reggie Wayne and DeSean Jackson amassing many many points, and TE Visanthe Shiancoe sneaking in 3-9 points. But without a QB, it almost doesn't matter how well everyone else plays.
The Wandering Jews were tired, and thirsty, desperate for a win as they traversed the sands of loser desert. Last week they got a taste of winning and now they want more. QB Donovan McNabb is set to make his return, pushing young 2nd year star Joe Flacco to the bench. RBs DeAngelo Williams and Glen black Coffee no sugar, no cream - should each get upwards of 20 carries and have their opportunity to rack up points. The WRs were happy to see that Brandon Marshall is back, but can he carry the team with backups Patrick Crayton and Deion Branch? TE Ben Watson is a fill in this week for Jeremy Shockey and so far Denver has done an excellent job of preventing opponents from scoring. Will Tom Brady go to plan triple D in order to make it into the endzone this week? Or will the Jews make a wrong turn at Albuquerque (Bugs Bunny anyone?) and find themselves back in the desert?

Vick's Vet Service (4-0) vs Dogs and Guns (2-2)

Vick's Vet Service currently leads the league, despite not getting much press about it. This week they'll take on last year's champion as they continue to get some respect. QB Tony Romo will visit a great place for ribs - Kansas City. However he won't have #1 (at least on the official depth chart) WR Roy E. Williams which means the focus may be on running the ball, or TE Jason Witten will catch 25 passes for 407 yards and 3 TDs. But with those sorts of questions hanging around the QB, Vick's Vet Service will need a total team effort if they want to stay undefeated. RB MJD will have to be anything but MJDLite this week against the Seahawks. Dolphins RB Ricky Williams is likely to get the ball many times on Sunday, but against the Jets defense it's uncertain how many of those times he'll actually be moving forward. The WRs are the wildcards for this team right now. Roddy White is a stud, but San Francisco has the talented corners to take him out of the gameplan and the ability to bring pressure on QB Matt Ryan. Kevin Walter gets open when teams focus 2 men on Andre Johnson. The Cardinals can't afford to put 2 men on any receiver, so will Walter make an impact or will Johnson take over the game? And finally Sidney Rice was introduced to the world on Monday Night Football last week. Against a weak Rams team will he see balls coming his way, or will the Vikings be comfortable to just had the ball to All Day, all day, for the easy win?
Dogs and Guns was cruising along, looking to repeat when they lost their first game. Not a major roadblock they happen. But last week's loss had to come out of nowhere to force them off the road. Now 2-2 and taking on the #1 team in the league, changes were necessary. Carson Palmer steps in at QB for Jay Cutler, who is on his bye. On paper the offense looks ready for a big week with RBs Chris Johnson, Ronnie Brown and WRs Larry Fitzgerald, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Santonio Holmes all spotted in the double digits. Even TE John Carlson is projected to get 10 points. But how accurate are those numbers? Last week Chris Johnson was held to 83 yards by a Jaquars team that couldn't stop anyone in the weeks before. And the Colts best defense is Peyton Manning. If he puts up a few quick scores on the Titans, can they really afford to hand off 3 times a series? Ronnie Brown also faces the Jets defense. While he may be able to sneak through a few times by taking direct snaps, without a real QB under center you would have to believe that Rex Ryan has his defense keyed in on Brown. Fitzgerald will get his because Arizona can still put up points and having Anquan Boldin around makes him tough to double, but Houston may pick their poison and decide that Boldin will beat them. Houshmandzadeh has had 1 good game all year. It was last week, but 1 out of 4 isn't something I'd put much faith in. Especially if he's covered by Rashean Matthis. Finally Santonio Holmes. He's become a big target for Ben Roethlisberger this season, but against the Lions, do the Steelers really need him or will Mendenhall just run through Detroit and leave scraps for the receivers? It'll be an intriguing matchup should an undefeated fall or the defending champ drop 3 straight.

And finally, our matchup of the week: Duke/Carolina; Yankees/Red Sox; Army/Navy; Dark Chocolate/ well we both like dark chocolate.. anyway, it's

Beer Burgers and Blue (3-1) vs. Any Given Sunday (4-0)

Every season this matchup gets circled on the calendars long before draft day even happens. It's actually affected which players have been drafted in order to fill bye weeks to make sure there was no let down for this one week. And now it's here. Well sort of. Unfortunately, I've been a bit distracted. Despite talking the big game in the what we know post I've been concerned with my team in the money league, currently sitting at 1-3, in 9th place (uncharted territory for me in Fantasy Football) heading into a match up with the 4-0 first place team. Fortunately, losing money is something I do often and losing to girls is something I do slightly less and that's enough motivation to snap me back to reality. A late breaking injury has forced an unforseen replacement be brought in on the defense but it seems almost irrelevant. The key will be QB Matt Schaub. In 4 games this year he's had 2 good ones and 2 stinkers. Last week's stinker was only overcome by team captain Patrick Willis rallying the troops and he himself putting in a monster performance. This week Schaub will have to be a big boy and do it himself, or the consequences will be dire. After a very productive 1st week as a starter, RB Pierre Thomas is vacationing, moving Ray Rice back into the starting spot. Rice will team with all purpose yards master Steven Jackson, who as ESPN put it - "may never score again". He faces the Vikings and the Williams wall this week. Expectations are low. Of course that means the burden falls on the wide receivers, namely Calvin Johnson, who finally put up big numbers last week. This week his QB may be Daunte Culpepper, a man who made his career by chucking the ball downfield and hoping that his fast, tall receiver would catch it.It's a strategy that may work for BBB. Vikings WR Bernard Berrian finally showed glimpses that he's involved in the offense on Monday Night Football, but against the Rams may not be used much, leaving things riding on...The Great White Hope. Wes Welker is expected to play this week and BBB will need WW to have a GG if they want a W. Denver has been tough, but if Champ Bailey is focused on Randy Moss, who is left to stop the sensational slot receiver? No one, I hope. And Heath Miller makes his return, one week after Todd Heap made his return. With Charles Woodson out the defense will need someone else to step up and provide a defensive TD if they want to overcome the 10 and a half point spread.
Any Given Sunday hasn't lost a game all season. She's sitting in 2nd place and could move up to first if Dogs and Guns helps out a fellow jew. (The Wandering Jews are only out to help themselves.) To be 5-0, on top of the league, and hold a victory of Beer Burgers and Blue would be like being crowned Princess of New York for life with a purple parade through NYs canyon of heroes, only to have Derek Jeter ride up on a unicorn and offer his hand in marriage. If she wins big, she made need a change of underwear. While pretty boy QB Aaron Rodgers is on his bye this week, Sunday will turn to the only starting QB in the league with the same last name. A brilliant strategy considering he plays for possibly the only team where he would be a starting quarterback. But who am I to judge? Because of this, the team will be almost completely turned over to RB Adrian Peterson who just happens to get to slaughter the Rams. Don't be surprised if he scores more than QB Campbell. Backfield mate Marion Barber should find it equally easy running against the Chiefs, although he is coming off an injury - which I will hope he re-aggrivates, on every down. The WRs could be the weak link as they are all hit and miss. Carolina's Steve Smith is a top talented WR, his problem is that his QB is Jake Delhomme. Santanna Moss is as consistent as the number 12 appearing as a winning lottery number - and he's already had 2 straight good games. Mario Manningham can get open, but his catch percentage is lower than the literacy rate in New York City's public schools. Plus, he'll likely have Nnamdi Asomugha covering him on occasion, meaning he won't get open. It's a numbers game though. If those teams keep throwing, Sunday may get lucky. TE Brett Celek has had a fantastic year so far and is well rested coming off a bye week, and gets Donovan McNabb back. That's all I'm going to say about him because he's an Eagle so I obviously hate him. In turn he will be the single reason I lose this week. Or David Akers. Fucking kickers.

That's all for this week. Tons of great games to scoreboard watch. I think the NFL is pretty light on interesting matchups this week, so watch scores update or finish your homework. And if you have a spare minute - propose a trade for Vernon Davis.