2) Big Time Johnson doesn't own a Johnson (Andre, Calvin, Chris or Steve that is)
So to all of you owning Michael Vick or a Johnson, for the integrity of the league I insist you offer a trade to their true and rightful owners. Dave, as soon as you get done with this article, offer up Vick to back to his homeland. I know I will be offering Calvin Johnson over to Big Time Johnson... after we play this week Ryan.
I predicted 4 out of 5 correctly last week. Here are my week 3 winners...
The Biggest Fumblers
Aaron Rodgers is a big advantage over Matt Schaub, but the Fumblers get another 50+ out of "ADarren McPeterson" this week. And that might be conservative.
Point Machine
I actually love the machine's lineup this week and believe he moves to 3-1.
Philly's ConVicks
Despite his WRs, the ConVicks get back to .500
Team Run n' Gun
The Blount will roll monday night to give RnG his first victory of 2011
Hunk Hoisters vs. Big Time Johnson
At 3-0, the Hunk Hoisters make the GOTW again this week by mathematical default. Big Time Johnson who is also undefeated is looking strong with a 112 scoring average through 3 weeks. Johnson has a 5 point edge in this one, according to ESPN. #1 Wideout Wes "point-per-pound" Welker should set the pace for Johnson. I believe Wes actually scored his exact weight last week with 34 points. Hunk's trio of talented pass catchers should propel him near triple digits. Will it be enough?
3 points again this week. Whats wrong with Mendenhall?
There's no drama for this weeks weekly Haha, as Steelers runningback Rashard Mendenhall disappoints again this week. Mendenhall was picked as a top 5 runningback by many ESPN experts this week. Nonetheless, Donkey Power had just enough for a four point victory this week. The Biggest Fumblers was also a victor in the blowout of the week. Hunk Hoisters, Big Time Johnson and My Team - all won and are the three remaining unbeatens. The toughest loss of the week was sustained by Casey in a 73-72 win by "the minus." Defending Champ, Philly's ConVicks also lost a close one by the score of 84-80.
WEEK 1: Awards
Owner of the week: Hunk Hoisters (134pts)
Thats right, the bar has been raised just a tick as the purdy 130 is no longer. The Hunk chose an excellent time to go off with a 134-93 victory over Point Machine in the Game of the Week. This is Point Machine's first loss of the season, though he's still sitting in playoff position at 4th overall.
Player of the week: Wes Welker, 34 pts (Big Time Johnson)
The little guy did it again this week with a ridiculous 217 yards and 2 TDs. Welker's big week is enough to move him into the #1 points spot at wide receiver.
[Honorable Mention: Darren McFadden, 29pts]
Double-take Award: Ryan Matthews, 26 pts (Donkey Power)
Where have you been all my life Matthews?!? A year and a half after Ryan Matthews was supposed to rise to stardom he finally has a decent game. Not a star yet, he has at least reached start-dom.
[Honorable Mention: LaDainian Tomlinson, 20pts]
Coaching move of the week: Donkey Power
After putting up 0 points in week two, Justin decides to start Plaxico Burress over Jordy Nelson. Burress ended up scoring 11 points to Jordy's 4. A 7 point difference in a week he won by 4.
Special Teams Award: Ravens D, 17pts (Big Time Johnson)
The #1 defense in fantasy held St. Louis to just seven points on Sunday. The Raven's D also had a pick, fumble recover and touchdown.
[Honorable Mention: Neil Rackers, 15 pts]
The Weekly Haha Award: Rashard Mendenhall, 3pts (Donkey Power)
Mendenhall was disappointed Sunday night with just 3 points against the beatable rushing defense of the Colts. Donkey took the win anyway but it was in spite of Mendenhall.
[Honorable Mention: Michael Turner, 2pts]
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Hope you fellas enjoyed this. Don't forget to be active on the message boards. I haven't heard any put downs or good ol-fashioned threatening posts yet.
There's a lot of good match-ups this week, and none better than our game of the week. But before we go there I'd like to give 2 observations on the early season, each due at least partially to the lockout.
1) Tons of injuries.
2) Tons of scoring.
Each of these have a profound effect on fantasy football. Lack of offseason prep has made the cool thing to go out and tear your ACL this year. Sadly, I don't think Jamaal Charles is the last fantasy star to go on IR this year either. Fortunately, I will have just traded 2 days prior for that guy, so it won't hurt your team at all. Time and practice help the defense, in my opinion, more than offense. The more you go against another team the tougher it is to fool them on offense. But that should resolve itself a little as the year progresses. Because of the lockout and the sissy rules the NFL plays by now, I think a lot of scoring and yardage records will be broken this year. (ie: Tom Brady on pace for a 7,200 yard passing season)
Is this the week someone breaks the purdy 130??
Week 3 winners...
Donkey Power
This game projected as dead even, but DP has too many talented players who can go off for 20+
Wright On
Quarterbacks are Flacco vs. Cutler in this one. What is this an 18 team league?? Wright has 6 players listed as questionable this week. But I list his chances of winning as probable.
Fumblers
It sounds like Vick should play for the Favre, but Miles Austin isn't touching that field sunday night. "Run all day DMC" had 50 points last week and should near that total again for the Fumblers.
The fumbler's fearsome RB Duo
Big Time Johnson
This was the toughest call of the week for me, but I like BTJ's receivers better. Johnson stays unbeaten.
Hunk Hoisters vs. Mean Keen Point Machine
The last two true unbeaten teams go up against one another in a classic GOTW. The winner will be guaranteed first place bragging rights. After the Jamaal Charles injury, the Hunk Hoisters will be sporting a JV-style backfield with Hightower and Tate. HH will need their receiver's, including newly acquired Larry Fitzgerald to make up for their weakness at runningback. The point machine counters with the #1 Runningback in fantasy, LeSean McCoy who could be leaned on even more heavily this week if Vick is limited. Point Machine also owns the current #1 TE in fantasy, Rob Gronkowski.
Position Advantage:
QB: Hunk
RB: Point Machine
WR: Hunk
TE: Point Machine
K/Def: Point Machine
Prediction: Hunk Hoisters
Machine will pick up points in the RB position, but wide receivers will win the day for the Hunk.
===============================
Go get 'em this week. And for pete's sake, no more ties!
Week 2 had plenty of drama, injuries and big performances, but none bigger than the Mean Keen Point Machine. Just one year removed from beginning 0-5, Point Machine has lived up to his namesake thus far and stands tied for first place in the lonely division of the BIG TIME.
WEEK 1: Awards
Owner of the week: My Team - (129pts)
The minus eliminated archrival Donkey Power in week 2 with an extremely well-rounded performance. The ageless one, Tony Gonzalez came up big in the sunday night game for the -, and 8 of 9 starters scored in double digits. 7 days after the "purdy 130" gauntlet had been thrown down, the minus flirted with Johnson's week 1 score falling just short.
Player of the week: Miles Austin, 32 pts (FKA Favre)
143 yards and 3 touchdowns will usually win you this award and thats exactly what Dave's #1 Wide receiver did on Sunday. Unfortunately, Miles forgot to stretch the hammy prior to the contest and should be out until week 6. Nonetheless, Austin flat out dominated and is our number 1 wide receiver for the season.
[Honorable Mention: Vincent Jackson, 29pts]
Double-take Award: Jeremy Maclin, 29pts (Big Time Johnson)
Maclin, a solid player, played like a superstar in week two. After scoring just 2 points opening week, he followed up a poor performance with a special one. Jeremy "Maclin on your girl" Maclin even outplayed Roddy White and DeSean Jackson in the ballgame.
[Honorable Mention: Tony Gonzalez, 20pts]
Coaching move of the week: Philly's ConVicks
The ConVicks lost the battle this weekend, but may have won the war as the Hunk Hoister's recently acquired Jamaal Charles tears his ACL in the 3rd play of the game, meanwhile, MJD had a respectable game for the ConVicks and Ben avoided a disaster. Concerned for me? Don't worry, I'm a chiefs fan too, so it makes the loss easier. Also I've got my people working on the identity of the man in the Lions costume that took out Jamaal Charles. When I connect it all back to you Ben we are gonna have us some words.
Special Teams Award: Lions D, 22pts (My Team -)
It was on like Ndamukong once Charles left the football field Sunday. Ndamukong Suh and the beastly defensive line of the Lions punished the Chiefs for 60 minutes and racked up 22 points along the way.
[Honorable Mention: Jets D, 19 pts]
The Weekly Haha Award: Mike Williams, 0pts (My Team -)
Williams is not a superstar but was drafted in the fourth round as the number one receiver for Tampa. His performance this week makes his selection easy as week 2's weekly haha. How bad was Williams this week? He hauled in one catch; for -4 yards. Williams contributed greatly to minus' week high 129.
[Honorable Mention: DeSean Jackson, 2pts]
==========================
Good luck to everyone in week 3, I plan on getting up the preview on Thursday.
The current owner and CEO of the D+ Advantage, Troy Anderson held a press conference early Friday morning stating that the name of the franchise has been officially changed to 'Team Run n' Gun.'
"I've never quite understood where all the mocking and bad publicity came from with our former team name" stated Anderson "but apparently its just not as cool as my PR guys promised it would be."
Franchise pretty boy Tom Brady was also available for some brief comments on the matter. "This was my idea" stated the league's top-scoring quarterback "I call the shots around here, unless its regarding my hairdo." Brady refused to comment on the matter any further, then went into a brief but public tantrum complaining about how Anderson signed Matt Cassell to be his backup again.
"Brady is a team player." stated Anderson "You can see it every week when he wins for the team all by himself."
It may not always be this way, but I'll try to get the game of the week up every Thursday and each Recap up on Tuesdays. The ConVicks and Hunk Hoisters matchup this week guarantees at least one 2-0 team after Monday night. It is not the game of the week, but thought it warranted some comments. Since both teams swapped star backs (MJD & Jamaal Charles) and both players have the same week point-projection, the winner's spoils should be that much sweeter. Serious smack talk should probably follow as well. Teams I see coming out on top this week:
Hunk Hoisters
How can I not pick me? I am officially predicting I go 14-0 every year for the next ten years.
Point Machine
The packers might score 80 in Carolina. And I am starting to believe in Matt Forte.
FormerlyKnownAsFavre
I went back and forth on this one, and even voted for Casey in the poll. Vick wins this one for Favre on Sunday night.
BigTime Johnson
The Johnson will go big time once more as Rivers and company overcome the Fumblers "Run all-day DMC" runningback duo. (what, no good?)
Drumroll please...
Week 2
Donkey Power My Team -
VS
(Ok, I could be embracing this a little bit)
Peyton aint Manning up for "the minus" any more, but his replacement Jay Cutler was great in week 1 and looks to do it again against the saints. Gore and Hillis should bring steady production to the minus at Runningback and Rick has 3 lottery tickets starting at wide receiver. One of those should hit. For the Donkey, Aaron Rodgers should flirt with 30 against the panthers and Mendenhall and Bowe should bounce back with big yards.
Position Advantage
QB: Donkey Power
RB: My Team -
WR: My Team -
TE: Donkey Power
K/Def: Donkey Power
Prediction: Donkey Power
DP's quarterback advantage is too much for the minus to overcome. Somewhere over Dwayne Bowe (heheh) and Reggie Wayne, the Donkey Powers his way to 2-0.
Another great opening week of football has come to a close, and man was it awesome. With the exception of that hideous Raiders/Broncos matchup (6 fumbles and 25 penalties), it seemed like every matchup had about 60 points in it. The ConVicks, Point Machine, Johnson and Hunk were victorious in week 1. Interestingly enough, Team Favre and "the minus" decided to tie. Good work guys. If you can do that the next 13 weeks of our regular season, there might just be a playoff spot for you. I also may have buried the lead as the Point Machine's own Sebastian Janikowski ties the NFL record with a 63 yard field goal on Monday night.
WEEK 1: Awards
Owner of the week: BigTime Johnson (130pts)
Johnson blasted out of the gates with what I'm coining the "purdy 130." This beautiful point total could stand for some time, we'll all be aiming for it next week. 76 of those points came from three players as Johnson whipped Donkey Power. Also if you look a little closer at the picture above, none of his starters have lost an NFL game yet this season. Who had the 2nd highest total this week? Why the Mean Keen Point Machine of course. The Moral? ...sweet names make you win.
Player of the week: Tom Brady, 34 pts (D+ Advantage)
D+ didn't have a lot going for him this week, but his quarterback position alone kept him respectable. Brady was a monster monday night throwing for 4 TDs and 517 yards against a Miami Defense that might have been 11 actual dolphins. Sadly I don't see why Brady can't win this award every week going forward.
[Honorable Mention: Chad Henne, 33pts]
Double-take Award: Steve Smith, 29pts (Wright On)
(Most unexpected Success)
I was definitely guilty of a double take when looking at Smith's numbers in the box score on Sunday. Its not that Smith isn't amazingly talented. Its that he's aging, coming off a horrible year and had a quarterback with zero career starts throwing him the pig. Was this just the Arizona defense or will the Newton-Smith connection be something special? Only time will tell, and we may find out soon as they play Green Bay in week 2.
[Honorable Mention: Mike Tolbert, 26pts]
Coaching move of the week: My Team -
Trades Ben Roethlisberger (5pts) for Jay Cutler (18pts) and starts him to secure an 87-87 tie.
Special Teams Award: Ravens D, 22pts (Big Time Johnson)
(Highest scoring Defense or Kicker)
The Ravens mopped up the field with the Steelers in what was anticipated to be a close matchup. Johnson's D gave up just 7 points and totaled 7 takeaways against Pittsburg.
[Honorable Mention: Bears D, 19 pts]
The Weekly Haha Award: Chris Johnson, 4pts (D+ Advantage)
(America's favorite accolade)
The #2 overall pick didn't exactly justify his $53.5 million on sunday. CJ2K had just 9 carries and 49 total yards. My advice to Troy? You might as well drop him. Because only 30 million of that money you're paying him is guaranteed anyway.
[Honorable Mention: Rashard Mendenhall, 2pts]
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Check out the Week 2 Preview and GOTW coming up next.
Are you as excited as I am for football season to get under way? I am first and foremost a baseball fan, and nothing will ever replace that. But there's something special every time week 1 of the NFL rolls around. Special like I just got a snow day that turned into Christmas AS I found 20 bucks in my pocket. Most of you seem to have someone playing tonight, so make sure you get your lineups set early.
VS.
The D+ Advantage versus Philly's ConVicks
Week 1's Game of the Week is no doubt D+ versus our defending champion ConVicks. While I expect a workmanlike and scholarly approach to the game from the Advantage, the ConVicks have been known to fight dirty. Brady versus Brees should be awesome and I think its a stalemate between four excellent runningbacks. Convicks have a solid squad of receivers with favorable matchups, while Colston, Marshall and Hines Ward all seem to be playing solid secondaries.
Prediction:D+ Advantage
Going into Green Bay is a difficult matchup, even for Drew Brees. I think that makes all the difference and Brady goes for 20+ points and the defending champ starts 0-1
The 2011 BIG TIME Football draft was completed Monday night with few surprises. Adrian Peterson with scooped up quickly by the Fumblers, and the top 10 nearly paralleled ESPN's rankings to the letter. Your commissioner was beaming with pride as this made the second year in a row that no kickers were taken in the second round. My initial impression was how solid all ten teams drafted. I said it last year and it is even more true this time around; no major mistakes seemed to be made and I anticipate all ten teams winning some games this year. "Best Draft" awards are all well and good, but instead i'm going to go through all ten teams and give some comments. This can also serve as an introductory course on who's who for you new owners. Besides, isn't it obvious who cleaned house in the draft?
1. Caleb Davis (The Fumblers)
I like the start with All-day Adrian Peterson. Peterson seems to have been so consistent for so long yet he's still drafting a 26 year-old. Plus he makes some decent commercials. AP has as little risk as anyone in the top 10 with proven success at a valuable position. If Darren McFadden can keep his ligaments intact, the Fumblers have the second best RB tandem in the league. The Fumblers are mildly weak at the 3rd WR position but are otherwise extremely well-rounded.
2. Troy Anderson (The D+ Advantage)
What I believe to be Troy's first live draft went smoothly for the Advantage as he went with CJ2K to anchor his team and continued to load up on RBs with 3 of his first 5 picks. D+ should truly have an RB advantage through the bye weeks with his amazing depth at the position. D+ is also very well rounded throughout his starting 9, although his Wide Receivers are average at best. Again, awesome backs.
3. Ryan Johnson (BigTime Johnson)
How do you compete with a name like BigTime Johnson? Johnson took care of each major position with his first 3 picks taking Rice, Fitzgerald and Rivers. Then he made a commitment to wide receivers with Maclin and Welker. Mark Ingram went in round 6 as his starting RB2. After 3 great picks to start the his draft, I think Johnson went downhill a little bit reaching for his next 3 picks. Nonetheless, this team has deep WRs, and an excellent quarterback in Phillip Rivers.
4. Ben Wiele (Philly's ConVicks)
Ben begins to defend his title after kicking butt and taking names in 2010. Last year he was Stanzi's Americanzis and has another great team name this year. To my disappointment, however, the ConVicks didn't draft Michael Vick. Instead Ben passed up Vick in the first round for some looser named Jamaal Charles. Ben: I hope you have a trade in the works! The convicks went for balance in the early rounds, and got some good early value in Ahmad Bradshaw. Brandon Lloyd scares the living daylights out of me, but if he can be near last years level, he got a great deal in round 5. The ConVicks should be competitive at 8 starting spots, but is very weak at TE. Another bonus, Jason Campbell is anxiously riding the pine ready to start if Drew Brees, Josh Freeman and David Garrard all simultaneously injure themselves.
5. Rick Stammer (My Team -)
Is this pronounced "My team, minus?" or "My team, dash??" I'll be on the edge of my seat waiting for the answer as the season progresses. Rick unfortunately wasn't properly informed about our draft change and got the shaft by having to autodraft. Rick fortunately got a borderline awesome team if you ask me. Foster and Gore are probably the best pair of runningbacks in the league and his 3 WRs (V-Jax, Mike Williams and Britt) are above league average. The interesting part of his team is the quarterbacks, when - (I'm pronouncing it "minus") got Peyton Manning late since he should miss week 1 and followed with Big Ben to back him up. With Ben as a more-than-competent backup to hold the fort until Peyton comes back, I can see "the minus" being a scary team the second half of the year. Minus's team weakness, like the ConVicks, is at tight end.
6. Rick Keeney (Mean Keen Point Machine)
Mean Keen Point Machine, who might change his name back to Raider Nation, drafted wisely at number 6 taking LeSean McCoy. Point Machine took a little bit of everything over the first 5 rounds, taking top TE Antonio Gates in round 4 then stealing my quarterback Tony Romo (Big year, seriously, I'm calling it now) in round 5. Point machine's season may ride on how Forte and Manningham play this year. If they can each be productive, look out for the Mean Keen Point Machine. Janikowski is also on the teams payroll for another year, to be the backup for Neil Rackers. Because sometimes paying one kicker just isn't enough.
7. Justin Ott (Donkey Power)
Donkey Power; just what this league was missing until good ol' Justin came around to fill our tenth spot this year. DP drafted wisely with his first four picks, grabbing proven veterans. The 5th pick, Jahvid Best is an interesting one and can take a touch from anywhere on the field and turn it into a score. Wayne could suffer until his quarterback returns to full health. The oldies-but-goodies Ochocinco and Plaxico Burress will compete for Donkey's WR3 spot. Led by Aaron Rodgers, Donkey's team can afford a few mistakes, but all his runningbacks after Mendenhall are full of questions.
8. Casey Wright (Wright On)
Wright On who may change his name to Da Bears went WR early with Andre Johnson. Johnson is always a top 3 receiver if he is on the field. Dez Bryant was a guy I still haven't decided how I feel about him. As long as Romo is throwing him the ball, he should have a decent year though. Wright is deep and talented with RB and WRs but the talent ends there. Flacco is a poor starting quarterback and Brandon Pettigrew (Petti-who?) is his starting TE. Maybe Jay Cutler will change his name and get arm replacement surgery. There's always hope.
9. Luke Harden (Hunk Hoisters)
The Hunk Hoisters got the bowling ball in round 1 and continued rolling to the end. Or, at least until they got to some guy named Roy Helu. Hunk made WRs a priority in the early rounds and got some excellent value with Shonn Green and Jimmy Graham. Jimmy-who you say? Graham is big, runs like Usain Bolt and in Drew Brees' offense should be as busy as an 8-year old at a Nike factory. I'm predicting Graham as a top 5 tight end this year. If MJD and Peyton Hillis can play 16 games, Hunk should be in for a good year.
10. Dave McConnell (FormerlyKnownAsFavre)
Mr. Favre was an autodrafter monday night, but seemed to pick many of his usual favorites anyway. Vick has to be the most interesting player in fantasy in the past decade, and any owner of Vick is a league-championship threat. That being said I don't see it happening for Favre this year. McConnell's WR's are excellent, but the runningbacks could be ugly and if Vick gets hurt, Favre's starting QB will be fresh from the waiver wire. Don't fret though Dave, I just checked waivers. Brett Favre is available.
Best Quarterback(s) = Donkey Kick
Best Runningbacks = D+ Advantage
Best Receivers = Wright On
Best Tight End(s) = Point Machine
Most Stars = My Team - (Arian Foster, Frank Gore, Peyton Manning & Ben Roethlisberger)
Most Scrubs = Johnson (Toby Gerhart & Taiwan Jones)
If anyone else has any comments get on the message board (ESPNs site) and let me know who you think won the draft.
Welcome back for another beautiful football season! For the 5th anniversary of the BIG TIME, fantasy football league owners now have a website strictly devoted to their fantasy football team. It will feature additional stats and commentary including everyone's favorite, the weekly recaps. Hope you enjoy it. If there is something you think should be added, let me know.
VS
