NFL Recap – Week 16

Final recap of the year here. Always sad when another fantasy football season comes to a close; hope every had a blast, win or lose:

Texans v. Colts: Houston is the most 1-dimensional playoff team on offense, and you-know-who, Mr. Foster, had another great game (158 rushing, TD, 3 for 16 receiving). Good news for Foster owners, bad news for Houston fans. No passing game whatsoever from the Texans, while Dan Orlovsky (244, TD, fumble lost) and Reggie Wayne (8 for 106, TD) hooked up often, rewarding those who gambled on Wayne in the championship round.

Killin’ the Odds & the Regular Season

Welcome to Killin’ the Odds & the NFL Season! Below you will see my picks to win for the week. I will post either the “Money Line” or the “Point Spread”. The money line is always a “straight up” bet which means your team will never need to win or lose by a specific amount of points. The money line odds represent what amount has to be wagered or what can be won. For example, if there is a minus sign (-) next to an amount, you have to wager that amount to win 100. If there is a plus sign (+) next to an amount, you will receive that amount for every 100 wagered. A “Point Spread” wager is made on either the favorite (-) or underdog (+) team. A wager on the favored team means that this team must not only win but also win by the specified point spread. A wager on the underdog means that this team may either win or lose, as long as they do no lose by more than the specified point spread. If the game ends on the teams meeting the spread exactly, the wager is a push. Example: If the Cowboys are favored by -3 and win the game by exactly 3 points, the wager is a push.

WR Waiver Gems – Week 16

Its Championship Week! Here is the last installment of the year for the low-owned receiver waiver picks that I think can make the difference between winning it all and placing second:

Demaryius Thomas, DEN, 40% (@BUF): I’ll just have to hammer it home again in the final week; Thomas deserves to be owned in more than 40% of the yahoo leagues, given his league leading 338 yards in December, to go with 3 TDs. He doesn’t have too bad of a match-up either, going against Buffalo’s average pass D (230 yards, 26 TDs). Look for Denver’s late season #1 WR to put up double digit points against the Bills: 75 yards, TD.

Darrius Heyward-Bey, OAK, 31% (@KC): Not in love with his match-up – KC’s pass D has only given up 209 yards/game, along with 22 TDs. But Bey has been Oakland’s best WR this year when healthy, with 2 productive weeks in a row, and I can’t see him being totally shut down at this stage; look for him to have mid-level yardage to go with a score: 50 yards, TD.

Donald Driver, GB, 25% (CHI): Driver is not a sexy pick, but he should start with Greg Jennings out, and gets a pliant Bears D to find holes in (254 yards/game, 17 TDs) as Rodgers’ third option behind Nelson and Finley. I don’t expect too much from him, but he might be a solid flex play if you have no other great options – ringing endorsement, I know: 75 yards.

Deep League Special:

Andre Roberts, ARI, 3% (@CIN): Roberts has had three straight productive fantasy games, with his last coming against the stingy Browns’ pass D. He draws Cincy’s nearly as tough secondary this week (214 yards/game, 18 TDs), but John Skelton seems to like the kid – that is, when Larry Fitz is being triple teamed as per usual. Roberts could sneak into fantasy relevance again in week 16, so might be worth a look: 80 yards.

NFL Recap – Week 15

Falcons v. Jaguars: Matt Ryan has come on of late, and continued his high scoring here (224 passing, 3 TDs), with 2 of the TDs going to Roddy White (10 for 135). White has been one of the best if not the best fantasy WR the last few weeks, and this game came right in the thick of the fantasy playoffs. Julio Jones also contributed nicely (5 for 85, TD). Jacksonville did very little all game, with Chastin West getting the only TD catch (3 for 38). Blaine Gabbert was awful again. On the ground, Michael Turner (61, TD) and MJD (112 rushing) both provided decent totals, but you know you wanted more out of these two studs.

Cowboys v. Bucs: Tony Romo had a special game (249 passing, 3 TDs, 1 rushing TD, fumble lost), and he spread the scores around to Miles Austin (5 for 53), Dez Bryant (4 for 40), and Laurent Robinson (3 for 29). Jason Witten had himself a decent yardage day as well (4 for 77). Felix Jones ran well for the second straight week (108 rushing, 3 for 23 receiving, fumble lost) and merits consideration in all leagues for the championship round against the Eagles. Tampa gave you Dezmon Briscoe (3 for 36, TD) and a little bit of Josh Freeman (148 passing, TD, 37 rushing, fumble lost) and that was it.

Texans v. Panthers: Houston’s fantasy impact started and stopped with Arian Foster (109 rushing, TD, 5 for 58 receiving, fumble lost); the rest of ’em were invisible. For Carolina, Cam Newton gave you what you expect by now (149 passing, 2 TDs, 55 rushing), tossing scores to Steve Smith (5 for 82) and Jeremy Shockey (2 for 35), while DeAngelo Williams was productive (61 rushing, TD).

Dolphins v. Bills: If I told you Reggie Bush would lead many teams to a win in the semi’s, you might have thought I maybe was thinking of Michael Bush. Well, Reggie proved us all wrong with another big game in the clutch (203 rushing, TD, fumble lost). Matt Moore also chipped in (217 passing, 2 TDs), while Brandon Marshall (3 for 84, fumble lost) and Anthony Fasano (2 for 28) caught the scores. The Bills gave you a monster game from C.J. Spiller (91 rushing, TD, 10 for 73, TD), a good one from Stevie Johnson (5 for 82), and a TD catch from Derek Hagan (2 for 12). Ryan Fitzpatrick was erratic, but put up solid fantasy numbers (318 passing, 2 TDs, 3 INTs); if you trusted him, you had more faith than me.

Titans v. Colts: Ugly one, with none of the QBs doing anything of note. Several receivers had good days though: Nate Washington (7 for 62, TD), Jared Cook (9 for 103, fumble lost), Lavelle Hawkins (8 for 88), and Reggie Wayne (3 for 33, TD). Both running backs also did well, as Chris Johnson (55 rushing, 8 for 54 receiving) and Donald Brown (161 rushing, TD) each went over 100 total yards; CJ hurt his ankle, but expects to play this week. You could’ve started Donald Brown and C.J. Spiller in week 15 and dominated your match-up; thats late-season fantasy football for ya.

Bengals v. Rams: Welcome to 2011 Kellen Clemens! He actually did ok, especially considering the circumstances (229 passing, TD). Steven Jackson was an all-purpose nightmare for Cincy (71 rushing, 9 for 72 receiving), and Danario Alexander caught Clemens’ TD pass. The cats got two solid fantasy rushing outings from both Cedric Benson (76 rushing, TD) and Bernard Scott (2o rushing, TD), and, as usual, A.J. Green did his thing (6 for 115), though he sprained his shoulder; look for him to suit up in a must win for Cincy on Saturday.

Seahawks v. Bears: Mighty Mighty Marshawn strikes again; he rushed for two, despite a low yardage total of 42. Dude just produces. Tarvaris Jackson held his own (227 yards, TD), hitting Michael Robinson for a score, but otherwise it was Seattle’s D that did the heavy lifting. Chicago is a mess right now, and only Kahlil Bell did anything useful (65 rushing, 5 for 43, TD). Johnny Knox suffered a pretty bad back injury, and he is done for the year; the Bears just cannot catch a break.

Saints v. Vikings: Of course the big story is Drew Brees again having a ridiculous video-game type of performance (412 passing, 5 TDs, fumble lost), on his way to almost certainly breaking Dan Marino’s season passing yards record in the next week or two. Ok, on to the recipients of his generosity: Lance Moore (5 for 91, 2 TDs), Marques Colston (8 for 91), Darren Sproles (33 rushing, 5 for 79, TD), Jimmy Graham (7 for 70, TD, fumble lost), Pierre Thomas (44 rushing, TD, 2 for 41), and John Gilmore (2 yard TD grab). Christopher Ivory provided most of the ground game (74 rushing). Minny never really got AP going, but Christian Ponder (120 passing, 2 TDs, 34 rushing) did hook up with Toby Gerhart often (4 for 46, 2 TDs); Everyone else blew.

Packers v. Chiefs: So close GB, so close. Ah, well, at least Aaron Rodgers didn’t have too bad a day (235, TD, 32 rushing, rushing TD). Donald Driver caught the TD pass, but only had 7 yards, Jermichael Finley was the leading receiver for the Pack (3 for 83), and Ryan Grant provided over 100 all-purpose (66 rushing, 3 for 35 receiving). KC didn’t have much to crow about fantasy-wise, but Steve Breaston (4 for 50, 25 rushing), Leonard Pope (2 for 72), Jackie Battle (37 rushing, TD) and Kyle Orton (299 passing) weren’t terrible.

Redskins v. Giants: Eli Manning had his worst game of the year by the numbers, but his receivers didn’t help at all, dropping passes and running  bad routes left and right. This led to no good QB or WR/TE numbers from a single Giant, probably crippling any one who was heavily invested in this team this week. Only Ahmad Bradshaw with his garbage time TD (58 rushing, 3 for 21 receiving) helped you. Washington had Jabar Gaffney (6 for 85), and Santana Moss (2 for 40, TD) giving you positive points; they didn’t exactly put on a show, it was just that bad a game played by the boys in blue.

Lions v. Raiders: Matt Stafford (391 passing, 4 TDs) and Carson Palmer (367 passing, TD) put on quite the aerial display, with Stafford obviously getting the better of it. Megatron returned to elite-ness with a vengeance (9 for 214, 2 TDs), and could not have picked a better week for his owners. Nate Burleson (7 for 81, TD) and Titus Young (5 for 21, TD) also reaped the benefits of Stafford’s prowess. Michael Bush maybe didn’t match Reggie, but he had a nice day himself (77 rushing, 7 for 62 receiving), while Darrius Heyward-Bey (8 for 155, TD, fumble lost) had his best game of the year; he is not a great WR, but this year he at least shed his ‘complete first round bust’ tag with flashes of brilliance.

Browns v. Cardinals: Seneca Wallace probably didn’t budge from the waiver wire, but he had a better day than Eli (226, TD, 21 rushing, fumble lost). He hit Greg Little all day (5 for 131, TD), while Peyton Hillis actually gave his owners – those who remain – something to sing about (99 rushing, TD). John Skelton (313, TD) hooked up with Andre Roberts (6 for 60, TD), and Beanie Wells ran for a score (51 rushing) to complete the fantasy notables.

Jets v. Eagles: I think this was the dream team Vince Young was talking about pre-season. Michael Vick did it with the arm and legs (274, TD, 32 rushing, TD), LeSean McCoy was unstoppable (102 rushing, 3 TDs, fumble lost), and Brent Celek looked incredibly fast and was uncoverable (5 for 156, TD). Mark Sanchez had a rough game, but did toss two TDs (150 yards), while Santonio Holmes (4 for 40, fumble lost) and Plaxico Burress (1 9 yard TD, simply amazing catch) were the targets. Shonn Greene was back to his 70 yards and a cloud of dust routine.

Patriots v. Broncos: Tim Tebow didn’t lead a comeback, but he did put up great fantasy numbers yet again (194 passing, 93 rushing, 2 TDs). Demaryius Thomas got the lion’s share of the passing yards (7 for 116), and he makes for an intriguing start against the Bills next week in all but the shallowest leagues. Lance Ball replaced the injured Willis McGahee (leg) and scored a TD (64 rushing, 2 for 41 receiving, fumble lost). Tom Brady was exceptional (320, 2 TDs, 1 rushing TD), as Aaron Hernandez (9 for 129, TD) was the TE of choice this week; he also got Chad Ochocinco his first TD catch of the year (1 33 yard catch). New England got two additional rushing TDs, 1 each from Danny Woodhead (40 rushing) and BJ Green-Ellis (17 rushing).

Ravens v. Chargers: Philip Rivers throws for 270 and 1 TD, yet SD put up 34 on Baltimore due to their short TD runs from Ryan Mathews (90 rushing, 2 for 19 receiving) and Mike Tolbert (40 rushing, 2 for 18 receiving). Malcolm Floyd found many a hole in the secondary (5 for 96, TD), while Vincent Jackson also had some nice catches (3 for 84). Despite only scoring 14 points, the Ravens did have some useful fantasy players, namely Joe Flacco (226 passing, 2 TDs), Ray Rice (57 rushing, 9 for 55 receiving), and Torrey Smith (6 for 77, TD). Ed Dickson also hauled in a score (3 for 36).

Steelers v. 49ers: Not much to report here, big defensive battle. Vernon Davis was the #1 star (6 for 72, TD), Frank Gore the #2 (65 rushing, TD), and Heath Miller (5 for 82) and Jerricho Cotchery shared the #3 (5 for 93). Honorable mention for Rashard Mendenhall (64 rushing, 3 for 25 receiving). Mostly a dud if you were banking on Big Ben, Mike Wallace, and Antonio Brown to work their magic.

WR Waiver Gems – Week 15

Playoff semifinals (or first round, if your league stupidly includes week 17) are upon us; let’s see what is out there on the waiver wires:

Steve Breaston, KC, 37% (GB): With Kyle Orton back behind center and Green Bay’s ultra friendly passing D (288 yards/game, 23 TDs) on tap, Breaston could be a nice sleeper as a flex/WR3. Yea, Orton is not going to remind people of Joe Montana – or even Steve DeBerg – but he should fare better than Tyler Palko did, which means more targets for Breaston throughout the game, with KC probably down by 21 before the 1st quarter is over: 85 yards.

Demaryius Thomas, DEN, 31% (NE): Back to the well with D.T. Featured here last week, he performed great for the second straight week. Tim Tebow seems to looks his way often – when he is actually interested in passing the ball – and the Pats’ secondary is a mess, as everyone is no doubt aware (308 yard/game, 21 TDs). Is it three WR1 games is a row for Thomas? I say affirmative: 80 yards, TD.

Jacoby Jones, HOU, 26%, (CAR): Jones gets the start in place of the injured Andre Johnson, so there’s one plus. Another is that T.J. Yates seems like a competent QB who can heave the ball downfield from time to time. A third is that Carolina’s defense is terrible across the board (236 passing yards/game, 22 TDs), and will have no choice but to focus on containing the Texans’ vaunted rushing attack, leaving holes throughout the secondary for Jones to run through. I don’t love him for a huge day, but a couple of deep balls should find his hands, leading to a serviceable day: 70 yards.

Deep League Special:

Devin Aromashodu: Michael Jenkins is hurt, giving Mr. A a start against the sieve-like Saints passing D (268 yards/game, 20 TDs). More of a possession guy than a vertical threat, he should be able to haul in 6-7 passes from Christian Ponder playing from behind, on his way to a Wes Welker-lite kind of day: 75 yards.

NFL Week 14 Recap

Steelers v. Browns: Ugly score, ugly fantasy impact. Well, Big Ben had a good day (280, 2 TDs), but it came at a price: he has a badly sprained ankle and his status is in doubt for this Sunday’s game; he is day to day. And, ok, so did Antonio Brown, who was really the only receiver Ben looked to for big gains (5 for 151, TD). Rashard Mendenhall had 76 on the ground, pretty disappointing against Cleveland’s horrid rush defense. The Browns? No one did a thing against Pittsburgh’s suffocating defense. Injury-wise for the Browns, Colt McCoy was leveled by Mr. James Harrison, and suffered a concussion as the price.

Killin’ the Odds & the NFL Season

Welcome to Killin’ the Odds & the NFL Season! Below you will see my picks to win for the week. I will post either the “Money Line” or the “Point Spread”. The money line is always a “straight up” bet which means your team will never need to win or lose by a specific amount of points. The money line odds represent what amount has to be wagered or what can be won. For example, if there is a minus sign (-) next to an amount, you have to wager that amount to win 100. If there is a plus sign (+) next to an amount, you will receive that amount for every 100 wagered. A “Point Spread” wager is made on either the favorite (-) or underdog (+) team. A wager on the favored team means that this team must not only win but also win by the specified point spread. A wager on the underdog means that this team may either win or lose, as long as they do no lose by more than the specified point spread. If the game ends on the teams meeting the spread exactly, the wager is a push. Example: If the Cowboys are favored by -3 and win the game by exactly 3 points, the wager is a push.

WR Waiver Gems – Week 14

Its playoff week for most leagues, so here are some last minute little-owned picks of mine who might give you that 1 pt win to move on.

Davone Bess, MIA, 22% (PHI): Bess’s numbers don’t jump out at you, with him only catching a handful of passes for minimal yardage each week. However, he has caught two TDs the past three weeks, and Philly does allow its fair share of passing TDs (22, with 229 yards/game). Worth a flier as a red zone scorer in my opinion: 35 yards, TD.

Demaryius Thomas, DEN, 11% (CHI): Talk about going from complete afterthought to star in 1 week. Thomas had his best game a pro against the Vikings (144, 2 TDs), and, although I don’t foresee another near 30 pt. fantasy output this week against the Bears (260 yards/game, 15 TDs), I can still see him giving solid WR3/WR2 production, as long as Tebow throws at least 15 passes or so: 90 yards.

Deep League Specials:

Golden Tate, SEA, 3% (STL): The last two weeks, Tate has caught two TDs, and looks to be coming on as Tarvaris Jackson’s prime red zone target. Yea, St. Lou is actually stout against the pass (208 yards/game), but they have given up 18 TDs, and they have to stack the box against Marshawn Lynch inside the 20, giving Golden Boy some openings near the goal line. Look for Tate as a sneaky  play in your flex/WR3 slot: 40 yards, TD.

Chaz Schilens, OAK, 1% (@GB): Schilens should get plenty of looks this week, starting in place of the injured Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore, against the opportunistic but porous Green Bay pass D (293 yards/game, 22 TDs). He had himself a nice game last week in Garbage Time against the Dolphins (6 for 89), and I can see him putting up a similar yardage total this week with Oakland likely playing from behind most of the game: 80 yards.

NFL Week 13 Recap

Eagles v. Seahawks: It was the LeSean McCoy and Marshawn Lynch show in this one. McCoy (84 rushing, TD, 4 for 49, TD) and Lynch (148 rushing, 2 TDs) both made fantasy owners happy. Wish the same could be said for the QBs. Vince Young was terrible, but I guess you could do worse fantasy-wise (208 passing, TD,  4 INTs, 32 rushing). Tarvaris Jackson was as vanilla as can be (190, TD). Golden Tate had a tidy little day filling in for done-for-the-season Sidney Rice (4 for 47, TD), while Riley Cooper continues to do well in Jeremy Maclin’s absence (5 for 94). Maclin could be back this week, but I wouldn’t expect the 4-8 Eagles to rush him back.

Colts v. Patriots: Kudos to Indy for making a late run in this game, thanks to Dan Orlofsky (353 passing, 2 TDs), Donald Brown (41 rushing, TD, 15 receiving), and Pierre Garcon (9 for 150, 2 TDs), with Austin Collie in a supporting role (7 for 70). At least the Colts look like they can score with the new QB. Still no passing defense in sight though: Tom Brady (289, 2 TDs, ho-hum), Rob Gronkowski (rushing TD – on a lateral, 5 for 64, 2 TDs), and Wes Welker (11 for 110) all went to town. BJ Green-Ellis scored a rushing TD too, but not much else (14 rushing).

Broncos v. Vikings: Did not see this offensive explosion coming. Tim Tebow actually completed over half of his passes, and only rushed for 13 yards! (202 passing, 2 TDs, fumble lost). Demaryius Thomas caught 144 of those yards on 4 catches, 2 of which went for TDs. Willis McGahee did the heavy lifting on the ground for Denver (111, TD, fumble lost). For Minny, Christian Ponder went off (381, 3 TDs, fumble lost), Percy Harvin was the biggest beneficiary (8 for 156, 2 TDs), while Toby Gerhart filled in solidly for AP (91 rushing, 8 for 42 receiving). Kyle Rudolph caught a 19 yard TD, and Devin Aromashadu (6 for 90) rounded out the fantasy mentions.

Titans v. Bills: CJ is back folks! Maybe too little too late for some of his owners, but hey, whatta you gonna do? (153 rushing, 2 TDs). That was it from Tennessee. Buffalo saw Ryan Fitzpatrick (288, TD, fumble lost), C.J. Spiller (83 rushing, TD, 3 for 19), Brad Smith (7 for 72), and Stevie Johnson (5 for 52, TD) all put up respectable days.

Raiders v. Miami: Matt Moore had a Tebowesque day against the Silver and Black (162 passing, TD, 22 rushing, TD), Reggie Bush kept being useful (100 rushing, TD), and Devone Bess caught a short TD (4 for 27). For Oakland, a bunch of garbage time points: Carson Palmer (273, 2 TDs), Chaz Schilens (6 for 89), T.J. Houshmandzadeh – yes, that guy (1 for 40, TD), and Darrius Heyward-Bey (3 for 23, TD) all provided shot in the dark waiver value.

Jets v. Redskins: Shonn Greene had his best fantasy day of his career, yet most people probably benched him in shallower leagues (88 rushing, 3 TDs, 26 receiving). Besides Greene, you really didn’t get much from the other Jets: Mark Sanchez was ‘eh,’ (165, TD), and Santonio Holmes caught his TD throw (4 for 58) but that was it. Roy Helu had another fine day in the starting RB role for Washington (100 rushing, TD, fumble lost, 4 for 42), and Fred Davis had 6 catches for 99 yards.

Falcons v. Texans: T.J. Yates? He held the fort (188, TD, fumble lost) while Arian Foster did his thing (111 rushing, TD, 3 for 41). Andre Johnson even had a solid game (4 for 97) – before leaving with a hamstring injury, and Joel Dreessen had a 3 yard TD catch. Guy has been cursed this year. Tony Gonzalez (7 for 100) and Roddy White (4 for 51, TD) led the way for Atlanta, while Matt Ryan was below average, albeit against one of the better defenses in the league (267, TD).

Chiefs v. Bears: Ugly offense all around. Tyler Palko didn’t do anything bad, but not much good (157, TD) after he took back over for Kyle Orton, who left with a dislocated finger, ouch. Dexter McCluster caught a hail mary TD, which pretty much made his fantasy day (61 rushing, 4 for 46 receiving). This game was otherwise a fantasy wasteland. Oh, and Matt Forte sprained his MCL, probably done for the year; More bad news for the Bears.

Bengals v. Steelers: Other than A.J. Green (6 for 87), this was all Pittsburgh. Rashard Mendenhall didn’t have the yards (60), but did have the scores (2 rushing); ditto for Mike Wallace (3 for 38, 2 TDs). Antonio Brown only had 2 catches for 67 yards, but returned a punt for a TD. Big Ben threw for 176 yards and 2 scores.

Panthers v. Bucs: Cam Newton has a lot of work to do to be a great QB, but not to be a great fantasy player; the guy just produces (204 passing, TD, 54 rushing, 3 TDs, 27 receiving even!). He even was nice enough to leave some points for Jonathan Stewart (80 rushing, TD, 19 receiving), while getting Legedu Naanee his first TD of the year (2 for 38). Tampa didn’t put up much, with Josh Johnson (229, TD, 45 rushing), Mike Williams (5 for 93), and Dezmon Briscoe (23 yard TD catch) being the only useful ones.

Ravens v. Browns: Ray Rice. Over 200 yards. Nicely done young man. (204, TD, 10 receiving). Ricky Williams. 76 and a touch. Sense a pattern? Baltimore ran all over Cleveland, so the passing game was not needed. Hope you benched Flacco and Co. Peyton Hillis had a good yardage day for the Browns (45 rushing, 52 receiving), Even Moore caught Colt McCoy’s 1 TD pass (2 for 28), and McCoy himself was middle of the road (192, TD, 12 rushing).

Packers v. Giants: Where to begin? Rodgers (369, 4 TDs, 32 rushing) and Manning (347, 3 TDs) were great, as were many receivers: Jordy Nelson (4 for 94), Greg Jennings (7 for 94, TD), Jermichael Finley (6 for 87, TD), Donald Driver (4 for 34, 2 TDs), Victor Cruz (7 for 119), Hakeem Nicks (7 for 88, 2 TDs), and Travis Beckum (1 for 67, TD). Oh, and Brandon Jacobs wasn’t half bad (59 rushing, TD).

Cowboys v. Cardinals: No one had a monster day here, but there were a few good ones. Tony Romo (299, TD), and Kevin Kolb – welcome back –  (247, TD) were decent QB2’s, while Dez Bryant (8 for 86, TD), Laurent Robinson (4 for 72), Andre Roberts (6 for 111), and LaRod Stephens-Howling (1 for 52, TD) did you right in the WR/flex slots. Beanie Wells held his own on the ground (67, TD). This was the first game DeMarco Murray really bombed (38 rushing).

Rams v. 49ers: For the Rams…the punter Donnie Jones had a lot of punts. Yea, this was all SF, really an understatement. Michael Crabtree (4 for 96) and Kyle Williams (2 for 66) caught TDs, Frank Gore ran for 73, and Alex Smith gave you great numbers for him  (274, 2 TDs). The rest of the scoring was left to David Akers.

Lions v. Saints: Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers? Really can make a great argument for either being MVP. Brees kept pace this week (342, 3 TDs), while his opponent Matt Stafford was playing catch-up and thus threw for a ton of yards (408, TD). Kevin Smith hurt his ankle again, but did provide decent numbers nevertheless (34 rushing, TD, 6 for 46); he may be ok for this week’s game against Minnesota. Mark Ingram scored for the second straight week (54 rushing). For the receivers, Nate Burleson (5 for 93), Maurice Morris (5 for 47, TD, 28 rushing), Darren Sproles (5 for 46, TD, 28 rushing), Robert Meachem (3 for 119, TD), Jimmy Graham (8 for 89), and Lance Moore (2 for 23, TD) all joined the party.

Chargers v. Jaguars: Philip Rivers reminded everyone why he was a drafted as a top 5 QB this year, at least for one game (294, 3 TDs). As such, Vinny Jackson (4 for 72, TD), Malcolm Floyd (4 for 108, TD in a triumphant return), and Vinny Brown (1 for 22, TD) all turned in good to great performances. Antonio Gates also had a decent game, but you didn’t draft him for 6 catches, 70 yards. The ground game also was on for SD, as Ryan Mathews (112 rushing) and Mike Tolbert (24 rushing) both crossed the goal line against the Jags. Blaine Gabbert was actually ok here (195, 2 TDs), but it was a big game for MJD (97 rushing, 6 for 91, TD); dude has been a big fantasy value, given many people thought this would be a down year for him. Some guy named Cecil Shorts caught Gabbert’s other TD, a 5 yarder, his only catch of the night.

Killin’ the Odds & the NFL Season

Welcome to Killin’ the Odds & the NFL Season! Below you will see my picks to win for the week. I will post either the “Money Line” or the “Point Spread”. The money line is always a “straight up” bet which means your team will never need to win or lose by a specific amount of points. The money line odds represent what amount has to be wagered or what can be won. For example, if there is a minus sign (-) next to an amount, you have to wager that amount to win 100. If there is a plus sign (+) next to an amount, you will receive that amount for every 100 wagered. A “Point Spread” wager is made on either the favorite (-) or underdog (+) team. A wager on the favored team means that this team must not only win but also win by the specified point spread. A wager on the underdog means that this team may either win or lose, as long as they do no lose by more than the specified point spread. If the game ends on the teams meeting the spread exactly, the wager is a push. Example: If the Cowboys are favored by -3 and win the game by exactly 3 points, the wager is a push.