While there are tons of matchups this week that are intriguing (the undefeated teams take each other on, two 2-1 teams face each other as well as two 1-2 teams), the most important one might be the one featured in this week's MOTW.
MOTW
12. Cry Me a Rivers (JY) vs. 11. Ben There Raped That (Paul)
These two teams are the only teams left without a win in this young season. Now at 0-3, their chances at making the playoffs hovers somewhere around 16% (according to some Yahoo blogger based on last year's data). While 0-4 isn't an impossible hole to dig out of, as shown by myself and Paul in past seasons, it drops your chances of making the playoffs to 8%. With a win, you put yourself on the right track and get closer to 25%. So this game isn't just about which team is the most pathetic; it's about which team can actually hope to play past week 13.
Key players lost to bye:
JY - None
Paul - Emmanuel Sanders, Cincinnati Defense
At first glance, I definitely would have given the edge to Paul's team as he showed in the past week that he can put up points with the best of them. However, these are three crucial players on bye. Sanders has emerged as one of Peyton's favorite targets. Cincinnati's defense has grounded every team they've played, including the vaunted Falcons offense. Looks like we're going to have to do a position breakdown for a verdict on this MOTW.
QB: Like I said in the short draft preview, Tom Brady was taken way too high. He's look terrible in his first three starts but KC could be where he finds his bearings unless he's reminded of the time they tore his ACL (this is not a jinx...). Romo on the other hand has had some up and down weeks but he should be in a shootout against a leaky Saints defense. Edge: Paul
WR: Both sets of WRs are pretty weak but one stands out: Mr. Jones. He might single-handedly beat the entire WR corp of JY's team. Edge: Paul
RB: If you noticed, I didn't put Montee Ball as a key player on a bye. This is because Montee Ball has done nothing but waste starting space for better players like Joique Bell and Terrance West. Having him and West on bye makes the decision easy for Paul. But Bell plays a Jets defense that nobody seems to be able to run on and KC, while not as great as last year, shouldn't get destroyed by Vereen, who doesn't even have the RB1 job secured in New England. Meanwhile, JY has the inconsistent Martin and Lamar Miller, who has been getting more reps in recent days. The two don't face any stiff competition in the middle of the field. Edge; JY
TE: Paul has done nothing but pick the wrong TE to play from week to week. Between two 30+ players, he's having a hard time figuring out which one will break out. This week isn't much easier as Gates plays a horrendous Jaguars defense and Witten should be involved in a shootout. Hopefully he'll make the right choice as JY has only Fleener after trading away Walker for Julius Thomas (who is on a bye). Edge: Paul
K/DEF: Neither Kicker figures to make a significantly larger impact than the other but Chicago has continued their turnover forcing ways. Not only that, they keep scoring more than some offenses do (looking at you Oakland). Paul's gotta pick up somebody from the free agent pool but nothing is as enticing as the Bengals defense that has been so dominant to this point but is unfortunately on a bye. It looks like he'll have to cede this battle this week. Edge: JY
Winner: Ben There Raped That (Paul)
Paul climbs out to join at least a few teams at 1-3 and stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. JY makes a trade for an elite tight end, but his team is still in a tight spot with an ignominious end to the season fast approaching.
Good luck to all!
Simon Kim
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Week 3
It's only week 2 and I'm already behind on posts and at a loss for words. With the whole Ray Rice saga, Peterson, Dwyer, Hardy, and many more, I feel like this season is just out of control. This doesn't excuse my lack of a post but this whole situation is affecting me in a weird way.
On top of this, I found out that Rob Bironas has passed away in a car crash. To the average person, he's not really someone notable. But in our fantasy community, I'm sure at least half of us have rooted for Bironas to knock a couple 50 yarders through for our team. I feel like adding all of this on top of all the sad news that's already come out just multiplies the amount of sadness in the league.
I'll get back on track next week. Hopefully we'll be able to go back to thinking about the NFL as a form of entertainment and not a collection of criminals.
Good luck to all!
Simon Kim
On top of this, I found out that Rob Bironas has passed away in a car crash. To the average person, he's not really someone notable. But in our fantasy community, I'm sure at least half of us have rooted for Bironas to knock a couple 50 yarders through for our team. I feel like adding all of this on top of all the sad news that's already come out just multiplies the amount of sadness in the league.
I'll get back on track next week. Hopefully we'll be able to go back to thinking about the NFL as a form of entertainment and not a collection of criminals.
Good luck to all!
Simon Kim
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Was it just me or...
was this last week of fantasy the most boring we've had in a while. Although we had some monster games (Matt Ryan, Julius Thomas, Calvin Johnson, Marshawn, Cruz), there were way too many duds by stars (D. Thomas, Charles, Rodgers) and no-namers that stole the show that were either in the FA pool or sitting on people's benches.
Here's to a week 2 that hopefully has many more breakouts from our favorite players. As much as we love the come out of nowhere stories, we love fantasy because we love watching the stars play. We don't want to see a 1-yard John Kuhn plunge or a reception from 10th receiver Allen Hurns for TDs.
I was going to write a MOTW but instead I realized its a) way too early in the season to do a proper MOTW and b) my team would probably be involved in the MOTW and I refuse to write about my own team.
So here's to hoping our stars shine. But that my stars shine brighter than yours. Especially you, Dan.
Good luck to all!
Simon Kim
Here's to a week 2 that hopefully has many more breakouts from our favorite players. As much as we love the come out of nowhere stories, we love fantasy because we love watching the stars play. We don't want to see a 1-yard John Kuhn plunge or a reception from 10th receiver Allen Hurns for TDs.
I was going to write a MOTW but instead I realized its a) way too early in the season to do a proper MOTW and b) my team would probably be involved in the MOTW and I refuse to write about my own team.
So here's to hoping our stars shine. But that my stars shine brighter than yours. Especially you, Dan.
Good luck to all!
Simon Kim
Thursday, September 4, 2014
No-Huddle™: A quick recap of the draft
Hey guys,
With the draft happening less than 48 hours ago, my travel back from New York, and catching up on work e-mails, I wasn't able to write a full draft review AND a separate MOTW. So instead, I've brought something new for this season: No-Huddle™. These will be short, bullet-pointed columns that allow me to mind-dump on the blog instead of trying to coherently organize and piece together every thought I have. So yes, it's a way for me to be lazy when I've run out of time.
I couldn't let you guys go into week 1 without something, so here's the first No-Huddle™ of the year (as I'm pretty sure it will not be the last)!
Draft Recap:
Best Draft:
1. Cho
2. Mike
3. David K.
Cho and Mike have very balanced teams with different strategies (Cho going hard on RBs and hoping that Foles can repeat the magic of last year, Mike taking some risks in Gronk, Wallace, and Jennings that could pay off huge). The surprising best draft was by David K. who might actually be able to back up his trash talk this year after missing the playoffs every year. With the best TE, 3 arguably top 20 WRs, 2 boom or bust RBs and a Rivers who looks to be on track after the turnaround in 2013, Rice Beaters might do to the league what Ray did to Janay.
Curious Moves:
I don't think anybody had a terrible draft (just goes to show the collective IQ and improvement of this league) but I think there were a few interesting picks.
1. JY Lee - Tom Brady in the 4th.
He became the 4th QB taken, over the likes of Ryan, Luck, and Stafford. I may be bias because I hate the Patriots with a passion, but after what happened last year, I believe that Brady is on a legit decline.
2. Paul Kim - Shane Vereen in the 3rd.
I really don't know if there was a clear better choice but it seemed a little early for Vereen. With some top flight TEs and a slew of WRs, could this pick have been used more wisely?
3. Nelson Kim - Gerhart in 4th, Spiller in 5th
I understand that his draft up to this point had left him needing to take RBs before they ran out. But a white guy on a terrible team and a back who hasn't been able to take the starting job from an old CFL-er don't really make up the backfield of your dreams. With players like Mathews, Gore, and Bush, Nelson definitely could have done better.
Best Picks:
1. David Y. - Aaron Rodgers - 23rd Overall
The top 3 QBs are Manning, Brees, and Rodgers. I thought for certain once Brees and Manning had gone off the board, Rodgers would be snatched up because the pressure would be on to snag a top tier QB. Instead, he wasn't taken until 6 picks later by David. I think if Dan had taken him and had Lacy AND Rodgers, that would have been a scary force to be reckoned with.
2. Rich K. - Chris Johnson - 6th Round, 67th Overall
It wasn't long ago that CJ2K was the most ridiculous thing anybody had seen. Since that one season, everyone has acted like he's been dead. But did you know he's been averaging 1500 yards from scrimmage each season? He was still averaging over 4YPC and the biggest problem between his breakout year and the past 4 have been the number of touches. While he got 400+ in 2009, he's averaged around 325 in the 4 years after. I'm not saying he's going to be your number one back, but with Chris Ivory injured and finally refocused, why can't he accumulate 2000 yards from scrimmage on 375 touches this year? What a steal.
3. Eric Lee - Steve Smith - 13th Round, 151st Overall
I'm just going to leave this quote by Steve Smith: “Put your goggles on cause there’s going to be blood and guts everywhere.”
Week 1 Predictions:
Easiest Victory to Call: Marc by MarcTrestman over Leaky Spark Tube
An injured kicker and too many unproven players means Eric starts off the year with a bang.
Toughest Victory to Call: Cry Me a Rivers over Gotta Catch Jamaal
While there are tons of other players on the roster, this one comes down to Shady vs. AP. My pick to win the fantasy RB MVP this year is McCoy so I'll have to take him over AP. The similarities in these two teams is downright scary though. 2 immobile QBs, 2 young secondary RBs, awful TEs, and defenses whose strength relies on sacking the QB.
Best player of Week 1: Calvin Johnson - its my vick in a box
He gets to play a terrible NYG secondary, at home, in a dome. Good luck, Cho.
Good luck to all!
Simon Kim
With the draft happening less than 48 hours ago, my travel back from New York, and catching up on work e-mails, I wasn't able to write a full draft review AND a separate MOTW. So instead, I've brought something new for this season: No-Huddle™. These will be short, bullet-pointed columns that allow me to mind-dump on the blog instead of trying to coherently organize and piece together every thought I have. So yes, it's a way for me to be lazy when I've run out of time.
I couldn't let you guys go into week 1 without something, so here's the first No-Huddle™ of the year (as I'm pretty sure it will not be the last)!
Draft Recap:
Best Draft:
1. Cho
2. Mike
3. David K.
Cho and Mike have very balanced teams with different strategies (Cho going hard on RBs and hoping that Foles can repeat the magic of last year, Mike taking some risks in Gronk, Wallace, and Jennings that could pay off huge). The surprising best draft was by David K. who might actually be able to back up his trash talk this year after missing the playoffs every year. With the best TE, 3 arguably top 20 WRs, 2 boom or bust RBs and a Rivers who looks to be on track after the turnaround in 2013, Rice Beaters might do to the league what Ray did to Janay.
Curious Moves:
I don't think anybody had a terrible draft (just goes to show the collective IQ and improvement of this league) but I think there were a few interesting picks.
1. JY Lee - Tom Brady in the 4th.
He became the 4th QB taken, over the likes of Ryan, Luck, and Stafford. I may be bias because I hate the Patriots with a passion, but after what happened last year, I believe that Brady is on a legit decline.
2. Paul Kim - Shane Vereen in the 3rd.
I really don't know if there was a clear better choice but it seemed a little early for Vereen. With some top flight TEs and a slew of WRs, could this pick have been used more wisely?
3. Nelson Kim - Gerhart in 4th, Spiller in 5th
I understand that his draft up to this point had left him needing to take RBs before they ran out. But a white guy on a terrible team and a back who hasn't been able to take the starting job from an old CFL-er don't really make up the backfield of your dreams. With players like Mathews, Gore, and Bush, Nelson definitely could have done better.
Best Picks:
1. David Y. - Aaron Rodgers - 23rd Overall
The top 3 QBs are Manning, Brees, and Rodgers. I thought for certain once Brees and Manning had gone off the board, Rodgers would be snatched up because the pressure would be on to snag a top tier QB. Instead, he wasn't taken until 6 picks later by David. I think if Dan had taken him and had Lacy AND Rodgers, that would have been a scary force to be reckoned with.
2. Rich K. - Chris Johnson - 6th Round, 67th Overall
It wasn't long ago that CJ2K was the most ridiculous thing anybody had seen. Since that one season, everyone has acted like he's been dead. But did you know he's been averaging 1500 yards from scrimmage each season? He was still averaging over 4YPC and the biggest problem between his breakout year and the past 4 have been the number of touches. While he got 400+ in 2009, he's averaged around 325 in the 4 years after. I'm not saying he's going to be your number one back, but with Chris Ivory injured and finally refocused, why can't he accumulate 2000 yards from scrimmage on 375 touches this year? What a steal.
3. Eric Lee - Steve Smith - 13th Round, 151st Overall
I'm just going to leave this quote by Steve Smith: “Put your goggles on cause there’s going to be blood and guts everywhere.”
Week 1 Predictions:
Easiest Victory to Call: Marc by MarcTrestman over Leaky Spark Tube
An injured kicker and too many unproven players means Eric starts off the year with a bang.
Toughest Victory to Call: Cry Me a Rivers over Gotta Catch Jamaal
While there are tons of other players on the roster, this one comes down to Shady vs. AP. My pick to win the fantasy RB MVP this year is McCoy so I'll have to take him over AP. The similarities in these two teams is downright scary though. 2 immobile QBs, 2 young secondary RBs, awful TEs, and defenses whose strength relies on sacking the QB.
Best player of Week 1: Calvin Johnson - its my vick in a box
He gets to play a terrible NYG secondary, at home, in a dome. Good luck, Cho.
Good luck to all!
Simon Kim
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