As some of you know, I went on a road trip to see Lambeau Field this weekend. Just a few random thoughts....

Brett Favre's steakhouse had that amazing "oaky" smell that great steakhouses have. But the outdoor tailgate party? Like Favre, highly overrated. The screwdrivers and Bloody Marys were good (I just can't drink beer at 9:30 in the morning), but they had the worst brats I had all weekend (and trust me, I had quite a few), and the rest of the food at the restaurant's tailgate was marginal at best.

 

Speaking of Favre, I found lots of varied opinions amongst the locals. Some still love him and are rooting for the Jets. Others could care less what he does. But should the Packers play the Jets in the Superbowl, every single fan I talked to will be rooting against number four.

 

I heard that new Pink song, but I think that might be the only song from the last decade I remember hearing between both the stadium and three different bars I visited. I think the most recent song I heard at the stadium was House of Pain's Jump Around. I'm not sure the people in Green Bay are aware that a bunch of new music has been released since 1992. On second thought, this might not be such a bad thing.

 

Between the fried cheese curds and the brats (which both get a big thumbs up by the way), I don't think I ever left a city craving a salad more.

 

It is probably because Mark Tauscher was born in Wisconsin and went to the University of Wisconsin, but you gotta love it when an offensive lineman gets one of the biggest ovations during player introductions.

 

I could care less about autographs but I do enjoy meeting past players and ended up meeting Gilbert Brown on Saturday night. I asked him what he thought about Matt Forte and his response was "WHO?" I can't reprint what he said the Packers would do to him but let's just say he thought the Packers would contain him. 

 

And the stat line might show how much the Pack were keying on Forte (with the Bears passing game being totally shut down), but he was still eluding tacklers on every play. The kid definitely showed me something.

 

On the flip side, Ryan Grant looked even more impressive than his stat line. As I told the Grant owner in my league, "Bench him for the rest of the season. He went nowhere when five guys were tackling him and barely managed to get four yards with three guys hanging on him". Seriously, he refused to go down. If you can somehow buy low on Grant, do it.

 

I already mentioned the impotent Bears passing game. But the Packer fans expected it. One told me beforehand, "Oh, we love Rex Grossman here. He's a good Christian--he's constantly giving things to the Packers and we appreciate all he does to help make us happy."

 

If you've been to an Eagles game for example, you know how rude fans can be to opposing team fans. But every city has its obnoxious fans and most of the time, I've seen home fans just ignore their more belligerent brethren and possibly roll their eyes. Packer fans were actually apologizing to Bears fans for some of their fans.

 

And that behavior was typical of the people of Green Bay whom could not have been nicer. And it was sad, because if you want to see the effects of a recession, go to a small town in this country and you'll see the impact much more than you do in a big city. Multiple residents thanked us for visiting and supporting the local economy. I could retell some stories I heard, but I'm really not hear to bring you down. Let's just say the Packers are one of the best things for the city of Green Bay.

 

People knew we were out of town because my traveling companions were a Ravens and a Redskin fan respectively and both proudly wore their team. We heard plenty of good natured jokes ("Hey, you guys made a wrong turn at Alba-koik-eee!), but I think some fans really could not understand why we were there. I guess when your stadium is the Vatican of football stadiums, the thought of traveling elsewhere to see a stadium probably just seemed unthinkable.

 

And it was a religious experience. My fellow M.O.T.s might understand that I did in fact say the Shechianu blessing upon entering. We entered the stadium and bowed our head in reverence. And as we took the stadium tour the next day, I actually kneeled down and felt the grass, like someone feeling the sand of the holy land. Was in the Lombardi exhibit at the Packer Hall of Fame and actually got chills.

 

I've wanted to go to Green Bay since I first heard John Facenda's legendary "the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau field..." many, many years ago. I always knew that someday I would go and unlike most things you wait a lifetime for, it actually lived up to the expectations. 

There were a lot of other predominant storylines from the pure football perspective on Monday Night, but the one that jumped out most at many fantasy players was the fact that Lee Evans was shut out. There must have been countless Evans owners who confidently headed into Monday Night needing just a few points for a victory – and didn’t get it!

 

Evans delivered another stinker, after catching only two passes for 22 yards in Week 10. He has not scored in four consecutive games. One can easily link Evans’ lack of production to quarterback Trent Edwards, who may have played his worst game of the season in terms of throwing the ball. He threw three interceptions, often struggling to locate open receivers and to make decisions quickly. Edwards threw one TD pass and rushed for another, but it was apparent that he was having problems going through his progressions and anticipating throws. Edwards hasn’t thrown more than one TD pass in a game this season and should not be on fantasy rosters for the playoff push.

 

Lee Evans owners might actually be pining for the return of J.P. Losman, and there were times Monday that you had to wonder if Edwards was going to get pulled in favor of the erratic former “future franchise QB.” Losman has great skills but lacks on-field smarts. Yet, the one thing he does right is get the deep ball to Evans. If the Bills don’t make a switch, though, you can’t start Evans with any regular confidence. Josh Reed has not been worth much in fantasy leagues, but he has been a dependable target for Edwards on key downs. His loss only makes the Bills easier to defend in the passing game. With Reed sidelined, Evans has no real help to draw even a bit of defensive attention away from him.

 

While Edwards had possibly his worst game of the season, Marshawn Lynch came through with his best performance of 2008. He rushed for 119 yards and a score, catching 10 passes for 58 yards, including an 18-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown. Lynch is versatile and tough, and he runs equally well in short and open spaces. He hasn’t played up to expectations this season, but there is no way you can bench him if you have fantasy playoff aspirations. Fred Jackson rushed for a career-best 60 yards on 12 carries, and he remains a must-have handcuff for Lynch’s owners. Jackson has good vision and hits holes quickly before taking off for extra yards.

 

It was a night for reserve running backs to showcase their talents, as Cleveland’s Jerome Harrison scored on a 72-yard run. Some fantasy leaguers may be moved to add Harrison, but I would resist the urge unless you need him as a handcuff to Jamal Lewis. Harrison simply isn’t going to get enough touches to consistently post quality numbers, as he had not rushed for more than 48 yards in a game prior to this week. Even if Lewis were to go down, Harrison might struggle to provide anything more than adequate fantasy totals as a regular ball-carrier.

 

Brady Quinn managed the game well overall for Cleveland. He didn’t make costly mistakes despite being pressured often, especially by a blitzing Kawika Mitchell. Quinn finished with 185 passing yards, no TD passes, and no interceptions. Even though Quinn helped them win by not hurting the team, such performances indicate that you are better off with a more productive backup QB on your fantasy roster for the playoffs. Be sure to register for RotoUniversity on RotoExperts.com, where I’ll teach you how to form the ideal roster for you’re your fantasy postseason.

 

The best thing Quinn did was firmly establish a better on-field relationship with Braylon Edwards, who caught eight passes for 104 yards. Quinn did a nice job of threading the ball to Edwards, sometimes in tight windows. While the ultra-talented WR has been inconsistent this season, it’s now apparent he’ll have some good outings in the weeks ahead, even though he is working with a young QB. Edwards will have some off games, but you don’t want to miss out on the quality outings, so keep him active as a WR3. Kellen Winslow Jr. caught three passes for 40 yards, but at this point of the season, you should expect anything most tight ends produce to be bonus additions to the output of your true core players.

It sounded like a great idea when the trade went down. A potent offense picks up a star TE that should make them even more diverse and deadly. Of course, it hasn't worked out that way. Jeremy Shockey is just too unpredictable, and now, he may come at too high a price.

As if Shockey's constant string of injuries and sub-par play wasn't enough, now it comes out that he may cost the Saints more than they bargained for. A series of reports indicate that Shockey has become the equivalent of a Baby Ruth bar in the Saints' pool. In addition to his sparkling personality and charm-school manners spreading joy around the Saints facility, Shockey may cost the Saints a first round draft pick.

In last summer's wheeling and dealing, the Saints also brought in a player that they figured could help their long-ailing defense, Jets LB Jonathan Vilma. They acquired him in a conditional trade that will almost surely result in a second rounder going to the Jets next year. Vilma has certainly been worth that price, as he's in the top 10 in the league in tackles, and has at least helped to stabilize the Saints run defense.

Unfortunately, the price for Shockey was a second and a fifth round pick. Uh oh. The Saints only had one second-rounder. I'm no math nerd, but that doesn't sound good. Apparently, if the Saints don't have a second rounder, the price for Shockey jumps up to a first round pick. Yikes! That's a pretty steep price to pay for a guy who is always hurt, hasn't played well when healthy, and by some accounts, is "hated" in the locker room.

Oh, yeah. ProFootballtalk.com reports that several Saints players and coaches have been getting the word out privately that Shockey is kind of a douche-nozzle. C'mon, the guy that watched his team win the Super Bowl from a luxury suite while double-fisting drinks isn't a good teammate? The hell you say!

At least his replacement, Billy Miller, comes cheap.

From our home offices in Toad Suck, AR:

10. Both teams played hard

9. It's business

8. I'd like to thank God [because he obviously hates my opponent...]

7. We have our backs against the wall

6. I'm going to put that behind me

5. I'm a role model

4. We played our game

3. At the end of the day

2. Like I said

1. No one gave us a chance

 

 

Have any of you ever had to enact a roster move limit because of the frequency of unneccesary manuevering done by a leaguemate? I'm the commissioner of a league with a bunch of longtime friends, and there was an owner that dipped into the free agency pool an unimaginable 106 times last season. To put that in perspective, over half the league was under 30 moves.

Normally I'm all for letting owners mangage with any style that they want (there's another guy that's boycotted the kicker position), but the constant pickups were starting to offset the balance of the league. He was picking up and dropping potential free agents that his opponent might be able to use (thus placing them on waivers for 2 days). After dropping a player that he really liked, he would make moves to clog up the transaction box in an attempt to distract everyone from what he was really doing. One time, he added and dropped Jason Campbell nine times in a two-hour span for no reason at all.

I talked to him about it, and he vehemently defended his methods. While I agreed with some of his points, when we put it to a vote,the roster-limit rule passed nearly unamiously. This was partly because his actions were actually screwing other owners over, and partly because we thought it would be funny to watch him struggle with the new mandate.

And it was...at first.

Within the first five weeks of the season, he had 55 moves. This included a weekly defense and kicker rotation, adding and dropping Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw twice each, multiple flirtations with Robert Meachem, 11 tight-ends and one three day period where he tried out seven different back-up quarterbacks. I warned him that he was on pace to hit the restriction by Week Eight, and he informed that it was all part of his master plan to have the most perfectly balanced lineup in the history of fantasy football.

He kept saying something to that effect over the next few weeks as his moves climbed to 60, 65, 70 and finally to 77 heading into the Thursday Night Broncos/Browns. I headed over to his house to sneak a glance at Ryan Torain (how painful was that knee injury...for fantasy owners?), talk some basketball trades, eat some pizza and catch a buzz. Per usual, I was running a little late and by the time I got over there, it was nearing the end of the first quarter. After greeting the small pony that lives in his house (or maybe it's a giant dog, I'm not sure) and cracking some brews, he looked at me kind of ashamedly.

"I think I made a bad pickup."

It seems he had just picked up Jerome Harrison after the Browns backup reeled off 53 yards on five consecutive plays.

"Is Jamal Lewis hurt?" Was my obvious question.

"No, he just came back in and rushed for nine yards...but you should have seen Harrison, he was awesome! If Lewis ever goes down, he's going to be huge."

Now keep in mind, this is a standard sized 12-team league, and Harrison would have been his fifth string running back. I couldn't help but burst out laughing as I incredulously asked him why he would do that.

"You know you've only got seven more moves left right? There's still four weeks in the regular season, and potentially three more in the playoffs! What are you going to do when Matt Jones gets suspended, or David Akers severes his groin in Week 13? You probably shouldn't make any moves from here on out..."

He just shook his head in the affirmative, and then looked up at me. And what I saw in his eyes at that moment wasn't the look of a man that didn't give a crap, or even a glimmer of slight embarrassment over his lack of control. No, what I saw hiding behind his glazed, boozy stare was pure... fear.

"I don't know man...I just...I can't control myself. I know I shouldn't do it, but I start thinking what if and...and...I just do it! I think I have problem."

As quickly as the look had formulated in his eyes, it was gone, as Jay Cutler connected on a deep pass to Brandon Marshall -- both of whom he owns. But I saw it. In that instance, I saw the despair, worry, and late-night free agent urgings that this guy was dealing with on a daily basis. And that's when I realized that he was going completely insane because of fantasy football. It was almost enough to make me feel sorry for having put in place the roster-move rule. Almost.

By the way, he immediately picked up Peyton Hillis after the game.

 

Some guys I like, some I don't, but definitely not a love/hate thing.

Hot Plays

Larry Johnson - He has a nice schedule ahead of him, a young defense that is improving and an offense that is evolving nicely. Thigpen is a smart young QB; he'll make mistakes but you can see his confidence. It's nice that Kansas City went out and got him another weapon in Bradley

Mark Bradley - 15 targets and 9 catches for 81 yards and a score. Since being signed as a free agent in mid-October Bradley has proven to be the missing link. Defenses can no longer key on Bowe and Gonzalez, and with LJ back it should provide more looks for Bradley.  Bradley has been as consistent as Bowe and more valuable the last four weeks.

Tyler Thigpen - With so many targets and a soft schedule I love his prospects.

Terrell Owens - I know, he is such an egotistical cry baby (see Larry Johnson) but he has a point. Get him the ball in space or on the move and he'll eat the Redskin secondary alive.

DeAngelo Williams - Nothing like a little Lion to whet the appetite.  Especially with the game at home.

Adrian Peterson - The Bucs have been pretty good against the run, but the lack of a running game is going to hurt them, and the Viking defense is going to give their offense good field position. The Bucs rotation won't hold up against the beating and AP should have a solid game, possibly a couple scores

Anquan Boldin - He's come back with a vengeance. Larry Fitzgerald has more catches and yards in more games, but Boldin has him 10-6 in touchdowns scored

Marion Barber - Washington scalped the Cowboys in their first meeting, but the running game is suspect with the likely loss of Clinton Portis. Romo will be firing to TO, Roy Williams and Jason Witten, and that will keep the Redskin defense off balance enough for the Barber-ian to go berserk.

Cold Days

Marshawn Lynch - here are some numbers to consider; 292 yards, 2 TDs, six games. That is what Marshawn Lynch has done for fantasy owners in the last several games.  To put that in perspective, he is neck and neck with Earnest Graham for fantasy production, but Graham was available in the fifth round or later while Lynch was gone by the second.

Cedric Benson - I shouldn't even have to justify this, but for those of you impressed with his 100 yard game against Jacksonville, consider this. Jacksonville creamed Detroit last week but still gave up 96 yards and a touchdown to Kevin Smith. Benson has Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Baltimore the next three games.

Calvin Johnson - Megatron was pretty good when he had Roy Williams occupying opposing corners, but with Williams gone teams can double cover him and not worry to much about what is left.  Carolina has a pretty solid d and playing at home.

Clinton Portis - The best back in fantasy for most of the year is down with a sprained MCL, likely for the next three to four weeks. Pray you have Ladell Betts handcuffed or you are likely in for a rough road ahead

I could spend an entire day questioning the offensive strategies that the 49ers used when they clearly had a chance to beat Arizona. From a fantasy perspective, though, I was thoroughly impressed by the obvious adjustments made to the game plan. Finally, Mike Martz relented and tailored his attack to the strengths of his players, instead of expecting them to adapt to an offense not suited to their skills. Of course, with Mike Singletary pointing that classic intense stare in his direction, Martz really didn’t have any choice other than to be more flexible.

The Niners’ offense centered around the running game, with Frank Gore leading the way (99 yards on 23 carries). That’s no surprise to any fantasy player, as Gore is an elite running back. What was more of a revelation was Martz’s willingness to change the approach to better suit new starting quarterback Shaun Hill, who lacked significant experience in Martz’s seventy-step drop, force the linemen to block forever and look for the bomb approach. It’s a system that is designed for a star quarterback and standout pass-catchers, and San Francisco doesn’t have either of those. That has taken Martz long enough to realize, possibly even in time to save his job with the 49ers. Singletary may be around for awhile, and it’s not smart to challenge his desires right now. Even a defensive-minded guy like Singletary could see Martz was living in  2001 and not cognizant of the fact that he no longer has top-level players to suit his schemes.

Hill performed adequately, and while he threw 40 times, he often combined deep drops with quick hitters, trying to take what the defense gave him. He also focused on making many short and mid-range throws. Hill finished with two touchdowns and two interceptions, although he could have had more picks if not for penalties, and he also lost a fumble. His flip to Gore late in the game with the RB not even looking his way was one of the worst decisions I’ve seen this year, and in a long time for that matter. Hill looked very shaky, even though he didn’t have the pressure of adapting to Martz’s true offensive desires. If I don’t see improved play from him very quickly, I don’t even want Hill on my roster as a backup.

Young wideouts Jason Hill (seven catches, 84 yards) and Josh Morgan (four catches for 54 yards, including a 31-yard TD) were San Francisco’s leading pass-catchers. Hill displayed a knack for making key possession grabs, while Morgan again flashed the playmaking ability that made him generate buzz as a possible sleeper during the preseason. The pair could be the true future of the team at wide receiver. They seem to complement each other well and fit nicely with aging Isaac Bruce, who still commands defensive respect. Bruce caught just one ball for 12 yards and is no longer worth a spot on fantasy rosters. You should certainly pick up Hill and/or Morgan if you need more quality receiving depth for the stretch run.

Vernon Davis got back on his coach’s good side with his first TD reception of the season, a picturesque 18-yard grab. It was his only catch of the game, though, and Davis has to string together a few good fantasy performances before fantasy owners even consider adding him again. As we start getting closer to the fantasy postseason, you don’t want to gamble on a possible Davis “comeback”, when you just might get burned by him again. Overlooking “teaser” performances will be among the topics covered by me in the fantasy playoffs primer at RotoExperts.com’s new Roto University.

There weren’t many surprises from Arizona, as Kurt Warner (328 yards, three TDs, no interceptions) delivered another stellar performance. Warner is playing so well he can now be considered the top quarterback in fantasy football, having surpassed Drew Brees, at least for now, after the New Orleans QB had a spotty performance in a loss to Atlanta. Warner is playing so well that he’s making second-year man Steve Breaston look like the best No. 3 WR [on his team] to use in fantasy since back when Chris Henry was relevant. Breaston led the Arizona wideouts with seven catches for 121 yards, and Anquan Boldin's return has not cut into his numbers at all. Warner is throwing the ball so well, and so often, that the Cardinals obviously have the most productive trio of WRs in the league right now.

My one major concern coming out of Monday’s game was Tim Hightower. He totaled 22 yards on 13 carries, adding 28 receiving yards on six receptions. Hightower didn’t look like a player who was ready for his recently expanded role. He didn’t make defenders miss and didn’t break tackles with regularity. With time to prepare for him and the knowledge he would be the main ball-carrier, the Niners appeared to be able to defend him rather easily. There is no doubt that Hightower is a good short-yardage runner, but he may need to share time with another RB again to truly be effective. The additional playing time may not provide the expected major boost to Hightower’s fantasy production, and his owners may be better off wishing he returns to a part-time role. That could mean the return of Edgerrin James (four yards on two carries) to a more prominent role in the offense, although we all know he’ll be mediocre for fantasy purposes. Don’t get any ideas about J.J. Arrington (one carry, one yard) seeing more quality playing time. Smaller running backs who aren’t consistently elusive don’t become major cogs in their team’s offensive plans. - - Scott Engel

So, I'm tied for 2nd place and playing the #1 team in one of my leagues this week. A loss could leave me in a tie for 6th place and out of the playoffs. But I'm not going to complain about a competive league.  That might be seen as petty and unsympathetic!

In addition to  Fitzgerald, I need to start an additional two of Driver, Colston, and Cotchery. I know they're all good choices and I shouldn't complain. But deep down I just know whichever one I sit is the one that is going to go off.

It would bother me less if I didn't feel like I need every possible point this weekend. My opponent  has these fantasy plagues going for him this weekend: Randy Moss, Anquan Boldin,  Andre Johnson, Adrian Peterson,  Chris Jonson, and the "Burner" and in this two QB league the horrible matchups of Warner vs SF and Delhomme vs the model franchise that is the Oakland Raiders.  Thank goodness his TE is just Antonio Gates.

No problem, I've got preseason studs Peyton Manning and Roethlisberger! And I'm not sure what is worse--the fact that I traded for Shaun Hill or the fact that I am happy about it.

Could be worse, Orton was my insurance plan just a couple weeks ago. But when getting maximum value for Orton is the highlight of your season, Captain Hazelwood could probably do a better job steering the ship.

Well, at least Willie Parker will be playing this weekend...

 

As if the Raiders had enough problems with the Panthers coming to town, Tom Cable released DeAngelo Hall, leaving the team collectively shaking their heads and wondering what the heck is going on.

Hall has not earned a dollar of the $70 million he signed for this past off season, so maybe it was a cost-cutting measure, but regardless it sent the wrong message at a time when the Raiders need salve for their wounds, not salt.

Of course anyone willing to play for Al Davis needs to have his head checked, but I sense a deepening spiral of discontent and disillusionment from the Oakland players. 

Carolina is likely on a few waiver wires, and could be a really good play against an uninspired Oakland team that got crushed last week by Atlanta.

I talked a big game when it came to Marshawn Lynch this preseason. I had just traded for the guy in my most important keeper league, and combined with Frank Gore, I thought I had the best running back duo in my league. I had stars in my eyes, I guess.

It's taken me nine weeks to admit it, but Lynch is a bust this season. He was overrated. I fell for the gold teeth and the funny ghost ride videos on YouTube. I thought Lynch was primed for big things this season. I even had the audacity to say in my Big Fat Claims piece that he would be a Top Five running back in 2008 when all was said and done. I stand corrected.

 In eight games, Lynch is averaging a stellar 58.3 yards per game on 3.5 yards per carry. He does have six touchdowns on the season, but four of them came in the first three games of the season. Since then, Lynch hasn't topped 70 rushing yards in any game. Granted, the Bills offense hasn't found any sort of rhythm, but Lynch is not making the most of his opportunities. Lynch is the 14th-ranked running back in my league, which isn't horrible. In fact, it's close to RB1 status. But I expected so much more from my little Beast Mode.

I tend to act on emotions in these situations, so let's analyze Lynch's second half opponents and their respective run defenses:

Week 10: Patriots - 15th

Week 11: Browns - 28th

Week 12: Chiefs - 32nd

Week 13: 49ers - 19th

Week 14: Dolphins - 9th

Week 15: Jets - 4th

Week 16: Broncos - 26th

Week 17: Patriots - 15th

After taking a look at this, I'm slighly more relieved. Besides the Jets and Dolphins, Lynch doesn't face a top-notch run defense the rest of the season. And besides, the guy is becoming more of a passing threat out of the backfield. I'll have faith in Lynch a little longer, but that doesn't mean I'm not disappointed. For the first time I've had him, and he isn't hurt or on a bye, I'll be benching him this week. Rookie sensation Tim Hightower will get the start in his place. I hope you learn your lesson, Beast Mode!