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.

MLB Wild Card Preview And Predictions: American League

I am throwing a couple other people on this site, for various reasons. Zack Waltz is an avid Chicago fan, and follows sports as much in general as I do. I am personally very weak in the field of the MLB, and there is where Zack Waltz will find an early niche here at Last Second Points. So I am proud to introduce the first piece here not done by yours truly. - CP

Baltimore Orioles @ Texas Rangers (8:37 p.m. on TBS)

     Did anyone see this matchup coming?  The Rangers led the A.L. West for what seemed like an eternity, yet here they are, stuck in a one game playoff with a relatively hot Baltimore team.  This game is going to be very interesting, especially from the perspective of the Texas Rangers, as this could very well be the last game that Josh Hamilton puts on a Rangers uniform.  Not only that, but the Rangers have lost the last two World Series'.  If there was a team in the playoffs that really thought they had something to prove, it would be this team.  The pressure for the Rangers to perform is unbelievably high.

     Then there's the Baltimore Orioles, the young team that almost stole away the A.L. East from the incredibly stacked New York Yankees.  This team isn't messing around, as they finished with an unbelievable record of 93-69, while going above .500 in the last 10 games with a record of 6-4.  For those of you who have no faith in this team making noise in the postseason, start believing.  The only problem possibly hindering Baltimore is they have no ace pitcher.  Wei-Yin Chen will most likely start, and he had a solid 12 wins with a 4.02 ERA.  But it seems like there is usually a pitcher or two in the postseason who makes a name for themselves with huge starts, maybe Chen will end up being that pitcher.  Anything can happen in baseball.  Also this team hasn't been to the playoffs since Cal Ripken Jr. played in 1997, so they are just excited to be in the postseason, which means less pressure.  The pressure for Baltimore will be a fraction of what the Rangers are dealing with.

Prediction:  Orioles: 6 Rangers: 4 The Rangers are getting cold at the worst possible time, going 3-7 in their last 10 before this game.  Oakland had their number at the end of this season, which is going to damage their confidence in this game, even though the Rangers owned the Orioles this season with e 5-2 record. Baltimore is going to want to bounce back from that performance, and that added fuel to their fire will be a boost. It is also easy to see Yu Darvish will crack under the pressure of his first taste of the playoff atmosphere. Hamilton is more than likely to hit one more homer as a Ranger, as it feels like he is going to be singing somewhere else this winter. Adam Jones is also a great candidate for going to go off, not only in this game, but the postseason in general, as he hit .287 with 32 home runs this season. Jones will lead his team to victory, maybe with a little help from Mark Reynolds or even Nate McClouth. To summarize quickly, Baltimore is hot, Texas is not, and it is going to show in this game.

Disagree? Think I'm insane for not picking the reigning A.L. champs? There's a comment section right here.  C'mon, you know you want to.

(Stat Sources: mlb.com, ESPN)

The Return of a Cult Icon: Rasheed Wallace

As the Jay-Z song in NBA 2K13 perfectly puts it: "Allow me to reintroduce myself."

   
        It's been two years, twoooo looooonnggg Sheedless years. The wait however is over, Rasheed Wallace has officially signed a contract with the Knicks for $1.7 million dollars (insert fist pump). One of the main icons of the early 2000's NBA bad boy, hip-hop era is back. Out of all of them, he was definitely the most quotable. Just look at this:

And feel free to look at this:

Not only was Ball Don't Lie quotable, it has quite frankly become a figure of speech many people watching any sport now uses. There are definitely people out there who didn't know who Rasheed Wallace was that quoted this. Rasheed was also really good at getting ejected, so good he didn't even have to say a word:

But when Rasheed opens his mouth it is just as fun:

Including opening his mouth to spit some hot-fire freestyle raps:

So a very exciting welcome back to the NBA for Rasheed Wallace, can't wait to see what you get into this year.

Stern's New Rule May Be A Flop (Puns!)

     David Stern today instituted the flopping penalty in the NBA, after a season where flopping was definitely gaining more and more criticism by the day. It's intentions are definitely not something to be questioned, getting rid of a popular play in the NBA that is based on fooling a referee. Player's have used flopping as one of their main skills to stop the opponent from scoring, which in no way anyone can say is the way the game should be played. The way the penalties are set up, a player will get a warning the first offense. Then will have a fines of $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, and $30,000 in order on the next 4 offenses. On the 6th offense going forward, a player can be up for suspension (which no where I have seen is specific on if it carries over to the playoff or not). Now there is no doubt that this rule institution has the right mind set, but in order for this to have the positive impact on the game it will be need to govern correctly.
      The issue is going to be what the interpretation of what is a flop, and the consistency of what makes a flop. The rule is going to have to be consistently governed, because if not things could get messy really fast. Can you imagine if LeBron James gets suspended from a flop on a prime time game in May that is very similar to one Kent Bazemore gets away with on a random Wednesday in January. The fans won't react to the gray area of the calls very well, and I can see SportsCenter running a "plays that weren't called flops" segment if a star finds himself punished unfairly. The issue isn't the intentions of this rule, because as already said the intentions are golden. There just may be more problems created from the rule being implemented than problems removed by the rule.
      The next issue, is that quite frankly that the NBA world may of been better off by keeping flopping involved in the game. NBA player's are hyper competitive people that will use any means necessary to win basketball games. Tricking referees into calls has been something that is been a part of the game for years, and flopping was just a newer means to do so. Reggie Miller is someone every Pacers fan loves and greatly respects, and yet Reggie would always use methods to trick the refs and get fouls called on his opponent that aren't fair. Watching Reggie antagonize John Starks in 1994 is a clear example of this. It was in a way fun to see Reggie get Starks all riled up by pushing him around, to finally get Starks to push back leading to a foul on Starks. This is just another way to mislead refs into the wrong call, and Reggie would never get fined. Sure, last season we saw flopping probably reach an all time high in the NBA. This is something that during a game to watch can be disappointing, and something that really couldn't be ignored. The only thing is if the NBA's office doesn't take care of this in the right manner, however, it really can be more detrimental to the league than helpful.

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.

NFL Week 4 Sunday Quick Points

Week 4 in the NFL wasn't quite the spectacle that week 3 was in the NFL, but many fans probably enjoyed it more. What the NFL lost in unpredictable officiating, key injuries, and crazy finishes everywhere; they got back in just some really good football. Here are some quick points you should take from Sunday:

If You Root For An Expected Contender You Will Be Okay: Some of the things that were said last week around this time were "Oh no, the Patriots have a losing record for the first time since 2003" and "The 49ers just lost to the Vikings, maybe they aren't as good as we thought (we will talk about the Vikings later)." Look, this is a league that you don't have teams go undefeated over 99% of the time. On top of that these teams normally lose to one or two teams that they shouldn't lose to. So this whole worrying about some of these teams after the first three weeks was a little premature. In this league you can lose 6 games and still make the playoffs, so this week proved you should be fine if you're the Packers or Patriots. Also, a loss to the Vikings doesn't make the 49ers go from a popular best team in the NFL to maybe just a borderline contender.

Well Unless You Root For These Two: Well, maybe you should actually hit the panic button on the Saints. The aren't the same team after bounty gate, which came so surprising to some especially with an 0-4. Especially me, I was sitting there saying "They have DREW BREES, they will be okay", "So what about bounty gate, they still have a solid team without Sean Payton", and "Man, DREW BREES has done so much for New Orleans, he can get this done." As you can see, I believed in the Saints team (and that Drew Brees guy) overcoming this and making the playoffs. Four weeks in and anyone with that opinion couldn't feel more wrong, and all of the games have lacked key late game execution. Sean Payton is pretty much this years Peyton Manning, the more he is staying away from the Saints the more this guy looks like a genius. New Orleans could easily be 4-0, had they just put a drive together in the 4th quarter in each of the games. Which just makes it seem Drew Brees isn't so much a great coach on the field, as much as he seems to be a great quarterback who misses his great coach on the sidelines.
       Now for the 1-3 Lions, who aren't in nearly as bad of shape, but still there are some real issues here. They squeaked out a game against St. Louis, and then lost 3 straight to the 49ers, (expected) Titans, (really not expected) and Vikings (not as shocking). There are two fixable issues here that can turn the Lions ship around. First of all, they need to finish their drives off right. The Domininc Raiola play is such a symbol for this as the Lions seem to be able to gain the yards needed to put up points. Other than the Titans game, which they still lost, they have averaged 19.6 points a game. That isn't awful but it definitely doesn't meet the standards that such a highly respected offense requires. As for the second issue, its the return touchdowns, which can be pointed to bad preparation. The Lions are the only team that has let up a kick return touchdown up this year, and they have let up two. Add to that two punt return touchdowns the last two weeks, and that is 28 points the last two weeks that special teams gave up. This should be easily fixable, lets see if Jim Schwartz tries to fix the issue.

Is It Time To Hop On The Viking Ship?: Yes, it can be conceded the first two weeks were a little more ugly, but these last two were really solid for Minnesota. It is hard to be attributed to it really being a fluke either, since they beat two teams in the 49ers and Lions that are suppose to be pretty solid squads. The Vikings were not a trendy pick to win the NFC North by any means, especially when looking at the competition, but when you look at the roster it isn't all that crazy. The Vikings still had some real offensive talent, especially now that Kyle Rudolph seems to be emerging as another good young Tight End in the NFL. Really their only big differences last year to the 12-4 team was the fact that Donovan McNabb's ghost, and a Christian Ponder more unaware of the world than Bambi were the quarterbacks instead of Brett Farve. Christian Ponder has come out in the last two games and is improved greatly from the rookie who was vastly unprepared after the lockout. Ponder is in a great fit in Minnesota with the talent around him in Peterson, Rudolph, and Harvin. Game managing can be looked at as his best skill, and Ponder is on a team that just needs him to manage the game. Add that defensive line, and a secondary that is revamped by adding Chris Cook and Harrison Smith to the established Antoine Winfield. This seems like a great recipe to make Minnesota this years version of the team that goes from last in their division to first, something we have gotten every year.

Do We Believe In Chris Johnson Now?: Ehhhhhhh, no. As much as most of the NFL's fans want to see the electric Chris Johnson that we use to know, and as seductive as believing in this guy can be (you just want to believe!). One impressive performance isn't enough to remove the stink that was around the artist formerly known as CJ2K. Even if he can come out once every four weeks and have a game like this, he still is on pace for 744 yards on the year. There are articles everywhere after that game saying there is more of this to come, all of which are completely fair to say. It just seems to overlook how awful he was through 3 weeks of the year, 44 yards isn't something to just throw out. He was on pace until this game to have 6 more yards the whole year than Jamaal Charles had against the Saints. In my opinion he won't be that bad the rest of the year, but he isn't going to lead the NFL in rushing every week like he has so far this week. I feel like 70 yards is a good expectation going into the next couple weeks, with no surprise if he gets 60 less or 60 more.

The Mark Sanchez Question: Oh what do the Jets do? They brought in Tim Tebow to be the league's most notorious back up, and now Sanchez is playing like well... Sanchez. The issue that is circling around Sanchez is the fact that everyone is waiting for some kind of improvement that might never come. If you take a look at Mark Sanchez's last 32 starts and split them up into two groups of 16 you don't see much of a difference. Bill Barnwell of Grantland did so:

Split	Completions	Attempts	Comp %	Yards	Yards/Attempt	Touchdowns	Interceptions
Last 16 starts	290	519	55.9%	3,282	6.3	25	17
Previous 16 starts	313	575	54.4%	3,746	6.5	17	18

As you can see, Sanchez's improvement is minimal at best. These stats work for a guy who is a quarterback of a run oriented team that just needs the quarterback to make some plays, like Sanchez was at the beginning of his career. Now with a run game that is just deteriorating, and no improvement being made by Sanchez, this is just screaming trouble. As my good friend texted to me while watching the Jets game "if you are going to have a quarterback who can't throw, might as well be the one who can run." I don't know if it's time to bury Sanchez yet, but he really needs to get something going if the Jets are about to do anything.

Brian Hartline playing so good he surprised Brian Hartline: We have heard about Ryan Tannehill's chemistry with Brian Hartline through Hard Knocks. I don't think anyone expected 12 catches 253 yards and a TD though. Even Brian Hartline: https://twitter.com/BenVolinPBP/status/252557833374138369
Hartline hadn't gotten a 100 yard game even at Ohio State, and 4 games into 2012 he has already had a 111 yard game and now this 253 yard game. Expect a vastly improved year for the 4th year receiver from Canton.