When a Football Game Means More

        Yesterday was one of those days for the Indianapolis Colts, one of those days where an NFL game is more than an NFL game. As you may already know, Colts head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with a treatable form of leukemia about a week ago. The whole week the entire Colts organization was downplaying that their coach would an inspiration, even though it is really hard to imagine that being the case. So in come a recent Super Bowl winner, and the best record in the NFL last year in the Packers. So the Colts are staring at a game of being a underdog at home, with their head coach in the hospital diagnosed with cancer.
       This is why Sunday is one of those days in sports where we get some inspiration in life. Where a team fights so hard for a member that has fallen to where they don't care if they are an underdog. Where we draw that inspiration for those slightly over the top cheesy sports movies. This is also where we saw the whole Colts team in the "there is no way you are beating us after what has happened to us this week" mode that we see many players or teams in after something like this. The Patriots felt the Packers pain earlier this year, when we saw Torrey Smith operate under the same mode and delivered a very similar performance.
      I love sports for so many reasons, but these occasions where we see all those cliches of bouncing back and overcoming is easily one of the best ones. How could you not feel good after seeing the Colts in the locker room with owner Jim Irsay telling his team he is going to deliver the game ball to Pagano in the hospital? If you watched the game, seeing Reggie Wayne (who wore orange gloves in honor of cancer research) stretch as far as he can to get just enough for a touchdown felt so perfect. It makes us all feel good. It is where I see all the inspirational quotes and saying for reasons to live shine, in real life, in front of my eyes. So whether it is Chuck's battle against cancer or it is the Colts pulling up the upset in his honor, this was a Sunday where we can see a lot of inspiration from the Colts.

Other Sunday Stories

Saints Finally Breakthrough: The Saints finally got a notch in the win column against the Chargers. It was definitely a matter of when, not if, for Drew Brees and company. The thing is the Saints didn't have to change their game plan much, in fact they didn't look that much better in this win than any of their 4 losses. They just finally got the right plays at the right time this week, so don't be surprised if we see more of this to come.

Sophomore Slump: Cam Newton is almost as news worthy this year, this time for being more disappointing than anything. All of the Cam question marks that he put to rest last year are starting to creep back into the question. Personally, I feel Cam is just way too talented for this to last the rest of his career. However, I can see Cam's sophomore season to continue to be disappointing. The talent around him as pass catching options and blockers just seems to be sub-par. Carolina will be an interesting team to watch the rest of the season.

NFC Goes Through Atlanta?: Atlanta is the last unbeaten team in the NFC after this week, question is will they have the same success all year? I feel like Atlanta has the same formula as the Packers last year, MVP QB with offensive weapons and an average defense. So I can see the Falcons going 14-2 or something and being the one seed in the playoffs. Once we get to the latter part of the year though, anything can happen.

San Francisco Dominating... On Offense??: San Francisco put up 621 yards on offense, 311 passing and 310 rushing. This was a franchise record, and the first time in the NFL that team had over 300 yards through the ground and air. The 49ers have also won their last two games by a combined score of 79-3, and yes they were actually playing NFL teams. The roster additions to the offense have seemed to pay off for the offense, and the 49ers figure to be in the playoff picture again.

NFL Picks record going into Monday Night Football: (9-3)

Fantasy Football Position Rankings: Week 5

   
     Ok, so here is how I'm going to do this. I am in several PPR (Point Per Reception) leagues, so I will be doing rankings according to those rules. It shouldn't be much of a difference from other league formats, there should just be a few differences. Also the way I am ranking these players is strictly due to how many fantasy points they should score.
     I will do the top 25 QB's, 40 RB's, 50 WR's, 25 TE's, and I guess all of the defenses. I won't be doing kickers, as long as your kicker starts, he should get at least a few points. I will make 4 tiers for each position: 1. Must start. No matter what. Even if there's a fire. 2. Safe start, should put up solid numbers. 3. Iffy, at best. If you have better options don't bother, could put up good numbers. 4. Only play if you are extremely desperate due to injuries, or if you just have no idea how to draft a fantasy football team. Ok so let's do this:

NOTE: Obviously this will be posted after the Thursday game unfortunately, I was unable to do this until now, so no Rams or Cardinals players will be on this list.
QB's
Tier 1
1. Robert Griffin III
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Drew Brees
4. Tom Brady
5. Matt Ryan
6. Jay Cutler
7. Cam Newton
8. Eli Manning
Tier 2
9. Peyton Manning
10. Andy Dalton
11. Philip Rivers
12. Ben Roethlisberger
13. Andrew Luck
14. Michael Vick
15. Joe Flacco
16. Matt Schaub
17. Ryan Fitzpatrick
Tier 3
18. Alex Smith
19. Christian Ponder
20. Matt Hasselbeck
21. Brandon Weeden
Tier 4
22. Matt Cassel
23. Russel Wilson
24. Mark Sanchez
25. Tim Tebow (See what I did there?)
Honorable Mention: Josh Freeman... If you're really that desperate.

RB's
Tier 1
1. Arian Foster
2. Ray Rice
3. LeSean McCoy
4. Adrian Peterson
5. Trent Richardson
6. MJD
7. Jamaal Charles
8. Matt Forte
9. Marshawn Lynch
10. Ahmad Bradshaw
Tier 2
11. Reggie Bush
12. BenJarvus Green-Ellis (aka The Law Firm)
13. Darren Sproles
14. Frank Gore
15. Ryan Matthews
16. Donald Brown
17. Rashard Mendenhall
18. C.J. Spiller
19. Cedric Benson
20. Alfred Morris
Tier 3
21. Willis McGahee
22. Chris Johnson (Note: I won't be convinced he is better than this until he is consistent)
23. Jonathan Stewart
24. Andre Brown
25. Shonn Greene
26. Michael Turner
27. Jackie Battle (Still up in the air for me, could end up being better than what I have him)
28. Doug Martin
29. Michael Bush
30. DeAngelo Williams
Tier 4
31. Pierre Thomas
32. Stevan Ridley
33. Ben Tate (He would be higher, but is hurting and has Foster..)
34. Toby Gerhart
35. Brandon Bolden
36. Jacquizz Rodgers
37. Kendall Hunter
38. Isaac Redman
39. Danny Woodhead
40. John Kuhn

WR's
Tier 1.
1. Roddy White
2. Julio Jones
3. Jordy Nelson
4. Mike Wallace
5. Victor Cruz
6. Wes Welker
7. A.J. Green
8. Percy Harvin
9. Brandon Marshall
10. Eric Decker
Tier 2
11. Demaryius Thomas
12. Dwayne Bowe
13. Brandon Lloyd
14. Reggie Wayne
15. Torrey Smith
16. Andre Johnson
17. Domenik Hixon (Just until Nicks is healthy)
18. Anquan Boldin
19. Steve Smith
20. Antonio Brown
21. Marques Colston
22. Stevie Johnson
23. Pierre Garcon
24. Malcom Floyd
25. Jeremy Maclin
Tier 3
26. Jeremy Kerley
27. Lance Moore(NOTE: Moore was just ruled out, just pretend everyone moves up a spot)
28. Kenny Britt
29. Sydney Rice
30. DeSean Jackson
31. James Jones
32. Davone Bess
33. Donnie Avery
34. Michael Crabtree
35. Santana Moss
36. Brian Hartline
37. Kendall Wright
38. Nate Washington
39. Greg Little
40. Alshon Jeffery
Tier 4.
41. T.Y. Hilton
42. Mario Manningham
43. Stephen Hill (Could be a sleeper since Holmes is gone)
44. Leonard Hankerson
45. Brandon LaFell
46. Robert Meachem
47. Eddie Royal
48. Kevin Walter
49. Brandon Stokely
50. Andrew Hawkins

TE's
Tier 1
1. Rob Gronkowski
2. Jimmy Graham
3. Tony Gonzalez
4. Vernon Davis
5. Jermichael Finley
6. Antonio Gates
Tier 2
7. Brent Celek
8. Dennis Pitta
9. Jermaine Gresham
10. Fred Davis
11. Scott Chandler
12. Martellus Bennet
13. Heath Miller
14. Owen Daniels
Tier 3
15. Greg Olsen
16. Jered Cook
17. Mercedes Lewis
18. Coby Fleener
19. Kyle Rudolph
20. Jacob Tamme
Tier 4
21. Joel Dreessen
22. Benjamin Watson
23. Tony Moeaki
24. Anthony Fasano
25. Kellen Davis

DEF
Tier 1
1. Chicago
2. Houston
3. San Francisco
4. Baltimore
5. Seattle
6. Atlanta
7. Cincinnati
Tier 2
8. Pittsburgh
9. Philadelphia
10. Giants
11. Minnesota
12. Carolina
13. Kansas City
14. Green Bay
15. New England
Tier 3
16. San Diego
17. Miami
18. Tennessee
19. Buffalo
Tier 4 (If you know what's good for you, please do not play any of these defenses)
20. Jets
21. Indianapolis
22. Denver
23. Washington
24. Cleveland
25. Jacksonville
26. New Orleans

Well there you have it. If you're wondering why I do the predictions, my 4-0, 3-1, and 3-1 respective fantasy league records speak for themselves. Don't agree with me? Let me know in the comments below.

Week 5 NFL Picks

    After last week the panicking over the Packers and Patriots are over, and now we seem to maybe in the week before the Tebocalypse. This may be the best week to have an intelligent football conversation, so let's get into week 5:

Thursday Game Notes: In a battle between two teams in the seemingly surprising NFC West, we saw one of the unbeaten's go down. It shouldn't be a big surprise to many though, as the Cardinals' zero in the loss category was on borrowed time anyways. So what do we take from this game? First off the Cardinals are not as good as their record says, and may be more like the 2011 Buffalo Bills than anything. First off, the defense has played too good. They can be improved this year, but they aren't the Ravens or 49ers. Also, they have the always shaky Kevin Kolb and one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. Larry Fitzgerald isn't going to be the answers for all their problems, and their are plenty of problems there.
       As for St. Louis, well it seems like a good idea to believe in them going 7-9 or 8-8 and finishing second in the NFC West. They are very talented on defense particularly in the secondary and on the defensive line. This leaves former number one pick Sam Bradford in a position to just make enough plays to put Steven Jackson and Greg Zuerlein in scoring positions (even if Jackson hasn't scored this year, yet). Personally, I like the Rams as a contender for the wild card maybe not this year, but down the road. Adding a free agent or top draft pick receiver to be the number one guy in the passing game could really make this team special.

Game of the Week: Don't have to say too much about this classic rivalry. Tom Brady. Peyton Manning. Brady has much more left in the tank than Manning, who has had arm strength issues early in 2012. 31-28 Patriots.

Upset of the Week: New Orleans gets the monkey off their back and takes down the 3-1 Chargers. Honestly both of these teams have played very similar this year on offense, the Chargers defense has just made enough plays to be 3-1 instead of 0-4. The Saints have lost by an average of 5 points a game, and they have lost each of them by only one score. This week the Saints make enough plays on offense, and the Chargers fall short. 28-24

Almost Upset of the Week: The Giants are actually better on the road than at home, which is such a Giants thing to do. Just when you think they have an easy win at home against Cleveland, the Giants make a mess of this game. On the flip side, Cleveland is THE best team in NFL at pulling the near upset. The moment you sit on your couch going "Cleveland is actually going to win this game", divine intervention comes in and balances out the world. I have even gotten to the point where I would believe the Browns players forget what down it is and unbelievably run a play on 4th down that doesn't get the first down, when a field goal would have won them the game. Oh wait... the Lions already took care of that one. 17-14 Giants.

Chalk These Up: Green Bay will take care of the Colts, 35-17. The 49ers are way too good to lose to Buffalo, 21-10. Baltimore takes down the Kansas City Jamaal Charles, 27-14. (Note: if the under/over for Matt Cassel's turnovers is 4 what would you do? If you take the over I feel like you haven't watched enough Kansas City football to know how bad he has been.) Minnesota has been playing good, and they take on the 1-3 Titans. This is more about Tennessee being bad than the Vikings being good, 27-17. Finally, I BELIEVE Chicago can when this game no matter which Jay Cutler shows up this weekend (now that I said that we will now probably see Jay Cutler take bad up another notch, sorry Chicago). So they beat Jacksonville 16-10, despite 3 interceptions from Cutler.

So We Are Left With This: Atlanta is one of the unbeaten's left, but are taking on NFL's most interesting man Robert Griffin. Almost put this as the upset of the week, and it is going to be close. Redskins secondary isn't really good at stopping things though, even though that is what defenses are told to do. If the Rams can put up 31, this high powered Atlanta attack can put up a really high number. In a shootout, Atlanta gets one score too many for RGIII, 38-28. Carolina and Seattle is very interesting, as neither have really been phenomenal. It is coming down to Cam and Carolina's offense versus Seattle's stout defense, and I feel Cam can't be bottled up forever. Seattle's offense is also not good enough to take advantage of a poor Panthers defense. 20-13 seems like a good score for this one, with Seattle not being able to move the ball.
       Cincinnati seems like a shoe in at home against Miami, but Miami has had a couple close run ins that weren't wins lately. Add that to the fact Cincinnati is playing above a level some thought they would be, and it isn't too hard to see Miami sneaking out a win. Dolphins don't let the other team kick the game winning field goal this time, 27-24 Miami. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia is very intriguing also, as it really depends on which Michael Vick shows up. I think the good one comes out to surprise most of us and the Eagles put up 35, Steelers don't keep the pace and put up 30.

Monday Night Football Final Note: This game is not in doubt, but Mark Sanchez's job really is, 33-6.

Gearing Up for Week 5 Fantasy Football

Week 5 is approaching this week and which means fantasy football is shaping up a little more from it's usually unpredictable beginning. The good news about that is you are more ready for knowing what to expect, the bad news is if you feel helpless because you are expecting defeat. So what are the keys going into this week that can win you a possibly key game. Let's get into it:

(All percentages are based on ESPN and this of course is all speculation, you have been warned)

If he is a free agent do yourself a favor and pick him up: Rashard Mendenhall is only owned in 63.7% of leagues, which is a high amount for someone who will typically be found is this column. The thing is that in every league he is not owned, you are going to want to be the smart guy in the room that picks him up. He is going to play this week, and he is going to be the lead back. The Steelers don't run nearly as much as they use to, but he is still a good call for at least 60 yards and a good shot at getting a TD. That's 12 points, and I am sure you have room on you roster for someone who has a good shot of getting 12.

Also another favor you can do yourself: The guy who would lead this column in normal circumstances is definitely Brian Hartline. Had I been doing this two weeks ago I would of told you to pick up Hartline, but I wasn't there, so I am telling you now. He is available in 73.3 percent of the leagues, and I bet that is cut into at least one fourth of that after this waiver period. Hartline will be the hot pickup if available, so if you are at the bottom of the priority list you may want to go in a different direction. If he's there though and you have a real shot of grabbing him, get him you are not going to regret it.
     Another receiver that may be a good pick up is Andre Roberts, who has put up a couple solid weeks to start up the year. He is owned in 1.9 percent of leagues, and is also the number 8 receiver fantasy-wise on the season. He won't be ranked that high all year, but it is guaranteed everyone in your league has someone on their bench that is much worse than 8th best player at their position.

Buyer Beware: Look, this is not about to say don't pick him up, because if you can get him then go ahead. That being said, it is hard to see Brandon Bolden being a consistent fantasy producing player, even though he really looked like a stud on Sunday with 20 points. He is owned in only 0.3 percent, and there is sure to be one of the running back deprived players in the league who will pick Bolden up (and I am guaranteeing there is someone who will start him this week). Beware though as New England can get murky, Shane Vereen believers haven't seen any return on their investment, and there is as good of chance Bolden's name is barely brought up the rest of the year.

Because running backs are always in demand in 2012: The running back position use to be one of the most revered in fantasy football, and now it seems like there are players in every league throwing out someone who gets a score of 5 or less. There are some options that are safer than Bolden that can be picked up this week. Jackie Battle is owned in 9 percent of leagues and has averaged 14 points the last 3 weeks. There is a 5 point game in there, and that is most likely his production this week, but he is a pretty good guy to put on your bench if Matthews struggles. I personally am a big believer in Battle, he has played well every opportunity he has had. I personally think he is consistently better than some backs that start in this league. (Quick Edit: Battle has been named the starter this week over Ryan Matthews on Wednesday, hopefully you took the advice.)
       Another solid pickup at running back is Shaun Draughn, right now Jamaal Charles fairly has a vice grip on the carries in Kansas City. Draughn though has been rising up Kansas City's depth chart, and may be the back up even if Hillis returns. So right now Draughn has some value as a back up (averaging 5.5 points a game), and he has a long term value if Charles gets hurt too. Bilal Powell will start one day for the Jets and is owned in only 5.4 percent of leagues, so even if he hasn't shown a whole lot of explosion he is still a solid pickup. Kendall Hunter, Ronnie Hillman, and Jacquizz Rodgers are backups that also should not be ignored.

Sell High, Buy Low: Most fantasy columns don't have a list of who to trade for and who to trade, so here it is going to be attempted to incorporate a list of these players. It has gotten to that point where you are better off making your team better through trading. So here is the list of people you might want to buy low if you believe in them (think Wes Welker 2 weeks ago) or might want to sell high before you feel their value will go down (Michael Bush before Forte returned), always try to get a fair deal though.
Buy Lows:
Phillip Rivers, Tony Romo, Chris Johnson (if you believe), Ryan Matthews, Ryan Williams, Beanie Wells, Greg Jennings, Sidney Rice, Kenny Britt, and Antonio Gates
Sell Highs:
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco, Alfred Morris, Stevan Ridley, Chris Johnson (if you think that was his last hurrah), Miles Austin, Danny Amendola, Andrew Hawkins, Dennis Pitta, and Kyle Rudolph

One Last Note: Pro tip, if you have a bench player who collects dust every week and need some help not only now but in the future. Jahvid Best is only owned in 1.4 percent of leagues, and has better case to be a  better option than any of the aforementioned running backs. He comes back in Week 7, that is only 2 weeks from now. Do it now and avoid the rush for Best.