After the big holiday weekend, many of us have that slow, bloated feeling.  Nothing like a little fantasy football success to boost our spirits, eh?  Well, you had to have a winning weekend like our teams had.  Not that I’m gloating or anything, but here’s what I’m thankful for:

• Justin Forsett’s (RB-Seattle) 22-130-2 performance against St. Louis.
• Green Bay and Dallas‘ solid defensive efforts (each near 20 points)
• And, of course, Drew Brees’ (QB-N.O.) lights out game 18-23-375-5 vs. the Pats!

Both teams are 7-5, and perhaps playoff bound!

Yes, we’re in this era of “information overload”…but if you can’t get enough fantasy football information, here’s some websites that may help put you over the top.

www.rotoworld.com this has to be one of my favorite sites.  Very timely and offers great analysis.

www.espn.com sometimes the site takes a while to load, but Matthew Berry (The Fabulous Mr. Roto) is worth the wait.

www.yahoo.com the videos with Brandon Funston and Brad Evans are more than educational.

My friend Andy Levin here @ WFSB is an avid fantasy footballer…and he volunteered some of his favorite sites (I have not looked at these): www.fantasyfootballchamps.com … I think this one can only be accessed by non-members on non game days.

www.fantasyfootball.com

www.fantasysharks.com

Let me know what you think!  Happy Thanksgiving….lb

You get to this point in the season, and you might be doing well, or not.  For example, our two teams; Skills, and Uncle Rico’s Team…are both 6-4…and well positioned for a possible playoff run.

From my limited experience in fantasy football, this is when the trouble can start.

Several things can happen to you as a fantasy owner:

• Complacency
• Attachment to your players
• Disinterest

And what I have learned in this game, is month to month, sometimes even week to week, the players who dominate fantasy football can change dramatically…and you have to adjust to the changes, or….I have found…you can get left in the dust.

Case in point:  Bernard Berrian-WR-Vikings.  I had him on both teams, and have since cut him on one…he is underperforming dramatically, in spite of being on the explosive Vikings, because of a tender hamstring that has plagued him all season, and WR’s Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin in front of him.

So…it’s time to “cut the cord”. 

But it’s hard to do.  Look at his #’s last year.  16 games, 48 catches, for 964 yards…and 7 TDs!  This year:  9 games, 30 catches, 321 yards, and 3 TDs.  Not a dramatic dropoff, but enough of one that if he’s my #2 WR, I’m hurting. 

So I had the courage to cut him in one league, but not in another.  I may wait another week…the only reason being there are not a lot of good WR’s to replace him.  I had a chance to replace him with Jericho Cotchery on the Jets…but someone snatched him up just before me. 

So if you’re like me, and you stopped checking fantasy football websites, and stopped listening to fantasy football podcasts, or the ESPN2 show just before gametime Sunday…get back to it…or get left in the dust.  Like my wife says, “…ya’ snooze, ya’ lose!”

It can be this way on Halloween even for fantasy footballers.

Take the case of Matt Forte, the running back for the Chicago Bears.  We have him on Uncle Rico’s Team in the Western Mass. Conference.  Just look at his numbers over the course of the season:

GAME             CARRIES     YARDS      TD        REC      YARDS        TD

1                       25                   55                0             0             0                 0

2                      13                    29                0             5            33                0

3                      21                    66                0             6            40                0

4                      12                    121               1             2            19                0

6                      15                    23                 0            5             37               0

7                       6                     24                 0            4             25                0

Yeesh!  Keep in mind that great Week 4 game was against Detroit.  I do think things will get better for Forte, and don’t forget this is a guy who ran for 1238 yards, and 8 TDs last year, along with 63 catches for 477 yards and 4 TDs!  Also don’t forget most of the teams he’s played against so far have winning records.  The schedule though, gets just a little easier going forward, including Cleveland, St. Louis, and Detroit.  He is playing Detroit in Week 17, so if you’re still in the playoffs then you could be golden (hope I’m still in).  So my strategy with Forte will be to sit or start him depending on the matchups going forward.  Uncle Rico’s Team is lucky enough to also have Ray Rice-RB-Baltimore, Beanie Wells-RB-Arizona, and Cedric Benson-RB-Cincinnati.

Still, Forte’s season going forward looks spooky, scary, call it what you will…Happy Halloween.

Status Update:

Skills                                           5 wins, 2 losses

Uncle Rico’s Team            4 wins, 3 losses

About one third into the season, my one team, Skills, is 5-0.  But my other team, Uncle Rico’s Team, is 3-2.  Yet Uncle Rico’s Team has a wealth of riches at RB that anyone would envy:

Ray Rice, Baltimore

Cedric Benson, Cincinnati

Matt Forte, Chicago

Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants

Leon Washington, New York Jets

This weekend I’m starting Forte, Benson, and Washington, based primarly on the matchups.  We’ll see how it goes. 

Good luck with your fantasy teams this week!!!…..lb

To follow up on yesterday’s “Wealth of Riches”….yes, Uncle Rico’s Team has a wealth of running backs….and yes, the team emerged victorious yesterday.  But while most of the running backs did great yesterday, Matt Forte-Chicago remains a mystery/problem/worry.  My top draft pick is not delivering, for me or fantasy owners across the globe.  Just 2 points last night.  Yeesh! 

At least I have a huge stable of RB’s until Forte gets his groove…lb.

“Fantasy fudge” has nothing to do with that great treat you get at every other store on the main drag in Lake George Village. 

It’s the player who really doesn’t fit into the fantasy position he’s assigned, but has nowhere else to go.

Case in point:  Josh Cribbs of the Cleveland Browns. 

Cribbs is a some time wide receiver, but most of the time top 3 kick returner, who, in any league with big points for punt and kick returns, will get you big points for just that….punt and kick returns.  But in most leagues, there’s no position for kick/punt returner on your roster.  Cribbs though, “qualifies” at Wide Receiver by virture of the fact he sometimes plays there.  So he can be a good play on a week when your wide receiving corps looks like it has some rough matchups (or bye weeks). 

The question is, is it right? 

The thing to remember is, this is fantasy football, not reality football, so there’s a lot of wiggle room.  It still feels weird though, I guess I’m sort of a traditionalist. 

Though, during my fantasy baseball season I acquired Brandon Inge of the now out of the playoffs Detroit Tigers.  He played third base all year.  But I was able to start him on my team, The Scorpions, at catcher.  How does that happen, you ask?  Well Inge played catcher for more than 17 games last season, so that “qualifies” him at catcher for 2009, according to the rules in my league. 

Combine that history with the fact I have a grudge match this weekend in football against Oliver’s Twist, a rival in my QB League owned by the infamous WFSB assignment editor “Skeeter“, and you can see my compulsion for putting the best team out there possible.

So this week, starting at wide receiver for Skills, Joshua Cribbs!

(By the way, Skills is 4-0 so far, my other team Uncle Rico’s Team is 1-3.)

EDDIE ROYAL-WR-Denver….is the highest on my list. I actually have him on both teams. His numbers through the first three weeks of the season are abysmal (just 6 catches for 42 yards, 0 TD’s!). The Broncos new coach Josh McDaniel employs an offense that doesn’t feature Royal like his predecessor Mike Shananhan did, he spreads the ball around more, like his mentor Bill Belechick with the New England Patriots. Notice how few people have any Patriot running backs, for example? A number of fantasy experts say hold on to Royal….don’t give up on him yet…something I’m inclined to do…but if I find a wide receiver who appears to be of equal value off the waiver wire, I just might have to jump at him…and you should too.

MATT FORTE-RB-Chicago…my brother in-law Andrew has him on a team like I do…he’s beside himself because Forte was his #2 pick, and his stats so far aren’t so good (50 carries, 159 yards, 0 TD’s, 11 receptions, 73 yards, 0 TD’s). He’s my #1 pick and I’m still “okay with Forte”. Of course, I also have RB’s Ray Rice, Leon Washington, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Cedric Benson on that team (the one that is 1-2). Forte was a fashionable, top 5 running back pick because he ran for over 1200 yards in his rookie season, and he caught a lot of passes. This year, his rushing yards are down, as are his grabs. Some experts say it has to do with new quarterback Jay Cutler, and an offense that because of him may be changing its run first mentality. Other reports say Forte may be nursing an injury, possibly a knee. At this point though, Forte remains a concern, but not someone I’d even consider dealing…let alone, cutting.

“Taking a flier” is a familiar phrase in fantasy sports.  It means taking a chance on a player that may, or may not, pan out.   With my team Skills at 2-0, and Uncle Rico’s Team at 1-1, I’m satisfied through Week 2 of the NFL season, but always looking for an upgrade.

This weeks big pick?

Mario Manningham.

The second year New York Giants wide receiver has suddenly made an impression, after being listed as one of five or six undistinguished members of a receiving corps looking for an identity following the departures of the now imprisoned Plaxico Burress and longtime possession receiver Amani Toomer.

Oh, and did he impress. 

This past Sunday night he lit up the Dallas Cowboys, catching 10 passes for 150 yards, plus a touchdown.  That comes on the heels of a three catch, 58 yard performance in Week 1 against the Washington Redskins where he also netted a TD.  Manningham is now listed as one of the team’s starters along with Steve Smith.  He has displaced Domenik Hixon, another very able receiver who has been dealing with a knee issue.

Being a diehard Giants fan, I stayed up ’til near midnight Sunday, watching Big Blue eke one out against our hated rivals.  And right after, I scanned the waiver wires and found Manningham available in both leagues, and snatched him right up. 

To be fair, he isn’t what you’d call a traditional “sleeper”, meaning he didn’t come out of nowhere.  I have to give credit to the Fantasy Football Focus podcast team at ESPN.  One of the hosts, Nate Ravitz  http://search.espn.go.com/nate-ravitz/, has been talking about Manningham going back to the preseason.  Most fantasy analysts though, believe Manningham will be a good possession receiver, meaning he will get a lot of 5-10 yard catches, but not the long, vertical passes that Plaxico used to get for touchdowns. 

I believe Manningham’s performance the past two weeks, which included touchdowns, shows he has the potential to be a deep threat.  Also having the benefit of watching two games with him playing with quarterback Eli Manning, it seems to me these two work well together.  We’ll see.  I have him starting for one of my teams, and sitting for the other.  That’s because one league awards points for every reception (PPR) , and the other does not, and if Manningham is truly a possession receiver, he should do well in that league.  The other reason I’m not starting him for both my teams is the Giants are going against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have a talented secondary including talented longtime defensive back Ronde Barber.  So why take a chance that he could get totally shut down and make both teams suffer, when I already have a number of other talented receivers?

Remember, I am only “taking a flier” on this guy.

Okay, first week, Skills wins behind a 50 point plus day from Drew Brees (QB-New Orleans)…while in the other league I’m in, Uncle Rico’s Team lags behind and loses thanks to lackluster performances from Eddie Royal (WR-Denver), and Matt Forte (RB-Chicago).

So the analysis, or, as my late stepfather used to say, “paralysis by analysis” continues.  The Internet makes this information overload so easy to find, and frankly, so addicting.  I applaud all the sites like Yahoo, and CBSSportsline, and ESPN, that slice and dice these stats and projections in more ways than I can count.  Use them, but overdo it though. 

I have.

My brain is squishy right now.

I’m going to watch Star Trek reruns with my family.  Much less taxing.

Good Luck on Sunday!….lb