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Circus time: Check out the best NFL catches of the day

21 Oct
2012

Posted by Jay Busbee in Fantasy Football, General

Some Sundays, you get a full slate of defensive slogs. And some Sundays, you get a cornucopia of acrobatic theatrics. This was one of those latter Sundays. Check out the catches you'll be seeing on highlight shows all week:

First up, you've got Texans tight end Garrett Graham with the tip to himself, part of a 43-13 win over Baltimore:

Next, Greg Little sees Graham's tip and raises him a touchdown, though Little's Browns would come up short to Indianapolis, 17-13:

Then check Jordy Nelson's tap-dancing footwork to score for Green Bay, part of a 30-20 win over St. Louis:

Finally, we go back to Houston, where the defense gets in on the act as Glover Quin intercepts Joe Flacco with grace and style:

Not a bad run there. Perhaps the NFL needs to add a degree-of-difficulty component.

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

Fantasy football advice on Yahoo! Sports:

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Tags: Browns, Check, Jordy, nfl, score, slate

Tip Drill: The bye week from hell awaits (let’s do some planning now)

11 Oct
2012

Posted by Scott Pianowski in General

Generally speaking, I'm a proponent of "live for today" fantasy management. I never understand when some owners start picking out their Week 14 tight end and their Week 15 defense several months in advance. The NFL is the ultimate reshuffle league, and that reshuffling can happen at any time. Don't get too far ahead of yourself. Don't make hard assumptions on players with significant injuries. Focus on what's in front of you. Let's try to build a lead, see if the others can catch us.

That all said, we need to take a few minutes to jump ahead to Week 7. There's one key issue from that slate that deserves immediate attention.

The standard bye week for 2012 is a four-team holiday; that's what we're getting in most segments, including this week. But only two teams rested back in Week 4, and to make up for that later, we're getting a jumbo-sized bye week in Week 7. A whopping six teams are excused from action next week, and just about every fantasy owner is going to feel the sting. Let's examine the soon to be missing; look at all the stars who can't help you in your seventh fantasy game:

-- No Falcons next week. Scratch off Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez, Michael Turner.
-- No Broncos next week. Peyton Manning and passing game take a break, along with Willis McGahee.
-- No Chiefs in Week 7. Hey, Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe are legitimate losses.
-- The Dolphins take a break. We'll miss you, Reggie Bush and Brian Hartline. Davone Bess is a deep-league loss, too.
-- The Chargers won't be in action. Put those Norv Turner jokes on ice for a while. Philip Rivers, Ryan Mathews, a handful of useful receivers, all taken off the board.
-- And last but not least, Philadelphia does not play in Week 7. Scratch Michael Vick, Shady McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson and Brent Celek from your plans. But take heart in one thing: Andy Reid is 13-0 in post-bye games, so your favorite Eagles should be well primed for the Week 8 showdown against Atlanta.

Talk about a mother lode of talent. You could stock most of the Pro Bowl with the skill players here.

Shrewd fantasy owners will probably want to give the Week 7 slate a quick look before shifting back into Week 6 mode. Maybe there's one or two proactive moves you can make now that will help you later. I've been doing this over the last day or so, in part because I've blown a lot of my FAAB funds in leagues, here and there. But no one wants to hear about my first-world problems.

A few Week 7 schedule notes that might be of interest:

-- Tennessee is at Buffalo, which means Scott Chandler wins the tight-end lottery.
-- The New Orleans offensive (and defensive) circus plays at Tampa Bay. Washington's carnival is at the Giants.
-- Jacksonville is at Oakland. Maybe the leaky Raiders secondary can get Justin Blackmon going.
-- The Patriots host the Jets. I've already made a preemptive New England defense grab in one pool.
-- Minnesota hosts Arizona. Even if you don't like the Vikings defense at Washington for this week (I realize Minnesota is no secret at 64-percent ownership), you'll want them next week.

There's no one-size-fits-all to this sort of thing. Just know we have a funky schedule next week. In some instances, you might want to make a play or two now. Your call, gamer.

Tags: defense, drill, fantasy, hell, Jamaal Charles, Michael Vick, proponent, slate, Today

10/2/2012: The Day the Offense Died

03 Oct
2012

Posted by Scott Pianowski in General

Don't feel too bad if your fantasy offense went into a 7-for-51 tailspin during Tuesday's play. Your arch rival might have fared even worse.

Make no mistake, the penultimate day of the baseball season turned into a Streaming Party. For whatever reason, offense took a complete holiday on Tuesday. Only one team, the Mariners of all clubs, scored six runs. A whopping 13 of the 15 games went under the posted total, and the other two games were pushes. Vegas projected we'd see 119.5 runs from the full slate — instead, we got 87. It felt like a backyard Wiffle Ball game, dominated by the bagel.

There were a few starting pitchers who bombed, but not too many. Captain Erratic Tommy Hanson allowed five earned runs while Anthony Swarzak and Anthony Bass gave up four each — that's it for the crooked numbers. Everyone else escaped at three earned or fewer. Chris Capuano didn't last long and there were some bullpen meltdowns (Rafael Betancourt and Andrew Bailey allowed game-altering homers in the ninth), but for the most part this was a good day to be on the mound.

Where does a day like this come from? Is this just a sample of randomness, or were results being driven by something else? Did some batters in throw-away games take a hack-first approach? Were umpires handing out borderline strikes in some of the non-critical matches? I was primarily watching NFL film on Tuesday night; I can't point to anything specific from the sandlot. How much can we blame the JV lineups, the teams who were resting key players? Whatever it was, it felt odd all evening.

Feel free to salute your Tuesday heroes, the expected and the unexpected, in the comments below. Is Hisashi Iwakuma a shoo-in for a Wiggy? Did James Shields push you to the promised land with his 15 strikeouts, or did the tough-luck loss do you in? Did you have the nerve to start a Bud Norris or a Kevin Correia? How much of a winner's share are you giving to Miguel Gonzalez?

The batters did get one piece of good news on stupid bloody Tuesday: the fences are coming in at Safeco Field. Alas, we'll have to wait until 2013 on that one. The pitchers laughed first, last and hardest on this day.

Good luck with the final 15 games, amigos. First pitch is a mere five hours away. Get your popcorn ready, start clearing off some mantle space.

Tags: fantasy, for, mistake, Party, slate, Streaming, tailspin

Stream Police: Marco Estrada, come on down

28 Sep
2012

Posted by Scott Pianowski in General

The Saturday slate on the sandlots is a meandering one, starting at 1 pm ET and winding down around midnight. Some aces are in play for their fortunate owners (Justin Verlander and Chris Sale most notably), so we'll have to work around that. Let's find you a temporary option, a one-night contractor.

(Standard disclaimer: consider every starting assignment to be tentative. It's the final week of the silly season. Double-check before you commit.)

Countdown to Ecstasy
Andy Pettitte at TOR
Marco Estrada vs. HOU
Mike Minor vs. NYM
Daniel Straily vs. SEA

Estrada was knocked around last week at Washington, but that's going to happen sometimes when you face a playoff-bound bully. The Astros are obviously low on the threatening meter, and Estrada's been especially sharp at home (70.2 IP, 10 BB, 78 K, 3.31 ERA, 0.95 WHIP). He's also drawing one of the weaker Houston starters.

Do It Again
Ricky Nolasco vs. PHI
Ervin Santana at TEX
Jason Vargas at OAK
Eric Stults vs. SF
Steve Johnson vs. BOS

We lost Nolasco's number a while ago, but the siren is singing again: 1.93 ERA, 1.11 WHIP over the last month. He's up against Doc Halladay here, but that hasn't been a big deal for 2012 (he's carrying a 4.78 ERA in the second half). Can you forgive Nolasco for past transgressions? … Santana has been lights out in six of his last seven turns, though four home starts and some friendly road locations (Seattle, 2012's version of Boston) played into it. His career numbers in Arlington are not pretty, covering 15 starts (7.08/1.53). Which way are you going to play it?

Pretzel Logic
Joe Blanton vs. COL
Trevor Cahill vs. CHC
Chris Young at ATL
Derek Holland vs. LAA
Mike Leake at PIT
Felix Doubront at BAL
Jake Odorizzi at CLE

They've got a name for the winners in the world; Blanton (9-13) wants a name when he loses. But a home start against Colorado qualifies as a favorable draw: the Rockies are an .867 OPS club at home (best in the majors), but it's a .663 nightmare at sea level (28th in MLB). It might be time to start dropping some of those bats you streamed at Coors Field. … Odorizzi cruised through the first five innings of his major-league debut, then tired in the sixth (three runs).He's facing the Tribe for the second straight start, and I suspect that's a bigger advantage for the hitters. You can still consider him if you really need the innings, but don't force it if you don't need it.

Can't Buy a Thrill
Kyle McPherson vs. CIN
Tyler Chatwood at LAD
P.J. Walters vs. DET
Justin Germano at ARI
Ricky Romero vs. NYY
Dallas Keuchel at MIL

Hey man, didn't you used to be Ricky Romero? … Keuchel has been has been cheating the ERA gods over the last month, but you don't trust pitchers with more walks than strikeouts. And working in Milwaukee these days is a hornet's nest — it's a surging Brewers offense, and a team that generally plays better at home.

If you're looking ahead by a day, here are some possible preemptive adds for Sunday (in no particular order): Tommy Milone, Josh Beckett, Mike Fiers, Edinson Volquez. We'll keep the Police on patrol until the season is complete.

Tags: Andy Pettitte, era, Ervin Santana, fantasy, home, innings, justin verlander, Marco Estrada, Play, Ricky Nolasco, Ricky Romero, slate, WHIP

Report: NFL, NFLRA ink deal; will work Thurs. – Golden Tate | SEA

26 Sep
2012

Posted by Fantasy Football News - Rotoworld.com in Fantasy Football, General

According to multiple reports, the NFL and NFLRA have signed a deal late Wednesday night that would put the referees in position to work Thursday night's game, along with the full Week 4 slate.

Tags: football, Golden, Golden Tate, nfl, NFLRA, position, Report, slate, Week

Stream Police: Correia tops weak Thursday card

26 Sep
2012

Posted by Scott Pianowski in General

It's okay to eat fish, cause they don't have any feelings. Time to look at some streaming options.

The Thursday slate doesn't offer much quality freely available, but there are some good Friday picks waiting for you. Don't be afraid to pass on this group altogether; let the game come to you.

Plays for a certain context
Kevin Correia at NYM — Handy in September (2.52/1.04, six strikeouts, 18 Ks) but up against Dickey.
Hisashi Iwakuma at LAA — Numbers collapse on road, though he's worked 10 solid innings here.
Ivan Nova at TOR — Hard to trust on regular basis but Blue Jays are in tank mode.

Plays if you're chasing innings
Tyler Cloyd vs. WAS — He's been steady, but up against Gio Gonzalez.
Wily Peralta at CIN — Lefties hitting .286 against him.
Jacob Turner at ATL — Walked five in first appearance; just six free passes since (against 24 Ks).
Patrick Corbin at SF — Only full-on mess came at Colorado.

Plays if you're already desperate
Casey Kelly vs. LAD — Three useful turns, two bad ones. Decent strikeout numbers, anyway.
Barry Zito vs. ARI — No matter the day or assignment, I'm not interested.
Travis Blackley at TEX — Arlington is not to be trifled with.

Point-shaving mode
Luis Mendoza at DET — Wrong place, wrong time, wrong spot below Mendoza line.
Chris Volstad at COL — Last party of the year at Coors.
Jhoulys Chacin vs. CHC — Won't go deep, none of them do.

Here are some considerable plays for Friday (in no particular order): Mark Buehrle, Tim Hudson, Jon Niese, Scott Diamond, Edwin Jackson, Travis Wood, Blake Beavan, A.J. Griffin, Ryan Vogelsong, Andrew Werner. I'm also curious who the Orioles throw against Boston — right now that's listed as TBD.

I've designated Friday as my "surge past the innings cap" day in the Yahoo! Friends & Family League. It probably won't mean much given my placement in the pitching categories (not to mention my mediocre slot in the standings), but you want to play the game right until the end.

Tags: Barry Zito, fantasy, fish, game, innings, Kevin Correia, mode, Patrick Corbin, Plays, Ryan Vogelsong, slate, Travis Blackley, Tyler Cloyd

Throwing Darts: Dog Day Afternoon

23 Sep
2012

Posted by Scott Pianowski in General

This felt like the trickiest slate of the young season. That's not necessarily a predictive thing, but I'm throwing it out there anyway.

Time to release the hounds. The spreads below are taken from the Yahoo! Pro Football Pick'Em game.

Patriots +3 at Ravens: One of the buried takeaways to the Patriots season is that the defense is significantly improved. Chandler Jones is making an impact immediately, and Brandon Spikes is a dynamic run stuffer. Obviously the schedule plays into this narrative (thanks, Locker and Kolb), but I've watched every snap twice and I've come away impressed.

Getting the full three is important here, though I never strongly considered taking the Ravens. Bill Belichick's record in bounce-back games is astounding (43-16 SU, 37-22 ATS since he joined the Pats) — and while it's driven largely by Tom Brady, the Pats also won all of their bounce-back games during the Matt Cassel year.

Rams +7.5 at Bears: I like the edge and attitude Jeff Fisher has brought to this Rams team; it's a chippy club that doesn't back down from anyone. Cortland Finnegan is a perfect player for this group; a Ken Linseman type, someone to start scraps and antagonize the opposition. St. Louis could easily be 2-0 right now, as that opening-day loss at Detroit could have gone either way. Maybe the Bears regroup nicely after the ugly public undressing at Green Bay (the extra prep time helps), but I need to see it first. This number is too high.

Buccaneers +7.5 at Cowboys: Most of what I said above on the Rams will apply to the Bucs as well. Dallas isn't protecting Tony Romo week-to-week; sometimes he makes dreamy plays with uncanny pocket awareness, and sometimes he throws the ball to the other guys.

Broncos +2 vs. Texans: I know, I know, three wobbling Peyton Manning interceptions in Atlanta. But let's not miss that Manning played very well the remainder of the game, and the Broncos are also getting strong contributions from Willis McGahee and their defense. Mile High remains one of the better home-field advantages.

A lot has been made about Manning's arm strength this week; to me, it's much ado about nothing. Even at his best, Manning never had a rocket, nor did he throw the tightest spiral. His biggest assets are his mind and his work ethic. While I no longer consider Manning a Tier 1 quarterback, he's still one of the 5-8 best ones in the game, easy.

Raiders +4 vs. Steelers: Sometimes it's all about going ugly with the picks, taking a side that few want to consider. Obviously the Oakland secondary is a mess and the Steelers have the pieces to exploit that. Sure, Carson Palmer looks like dirt right now. I hear you, Darren McFadden is running in quicksand, struggling to adjust to the zone scheme. But if every road favorite were an obvious winner, we wouldn't see those plush carpets in Las Vegas. This is a hunch-driven pick more than anything, but I'm following my instincts.

Survivor: I gave out New England last week (caveats and all), so I'm in the elimination pile. It feels false to give out this advice after my stake is gone. I wish you well with your plays.

Last Week: 4-1
Season: 8-2
2011: 41-39
2010: 49-34

Tags: Bill Belichick, Chandler Jones, defense, Dog, Dog Day Afternoon, fantasy, football, Matt Cassel, Peyton Manning, Ravens, slate, Week